Tree House For The Tree House...

 

If You Don't Try... 

I Have to Constantly remind myself, Dear Readers, with this tiny project, that if I don't try... how will I know if I can succeed at my ideas or not? As some of you may have noticed, I am trying to duplicate a few of the actual rooms of The Tree House for the Nursery Dollhouse. The kitchen was relatively easy, and I eagerly rushed forward with starting the Salon... painting the walls a smoky blue and constructing a fireplace for the corner with a grand mirror over it! In the above picture you can see I have underpainted a fire in the corner of the room, and the fireplace is glued onto that strip of card stock to the right. Could I make a mirror at this scale? With the "mirror paper" that I have scraps of from the Secret Christmas House Project...? Well, I would not know the answer if I did not at least give it a try!

 

Well, I hope you can see in this picture... 

that I could! And I Did! 

It has a gold painted frame too!

 

And can you see in this picture that the mirror reflects?!

 

And testing it with the ceiling in place... 

But that was not all I wanted to add to this room! 

Not by a long shot! 

There needed to be the kind of arched wall paneling

 that the Tree House Salon has... 

but could I manage to cut them from the card stock...???

 I had to remind myself that I needed to give it a try...!

 

And Oh, my!

 Yes, I could manage to cut it that small!

 It is not identical to the Tree House Salon... 

but it mimics the style and makes the statement!

 

Here I am testing the fit in the room...

 

 

And painting them the smoky gray I used in the original room...

 

And painting the ceiling to have a blue sky with clouds

 like the original does...

(no I will not be making the domed ceiling structure!) 

And I confess, I did not try to paint Zeus and Hera and the cherubs...

 you will have to use your imagination to see them!

 

Here they have been glued to the walls! 

But I wanted more.... 

in the original Salon... there is a door

 standing ajar at the back of the room... 

could I possibly paint the cut-out piece and glue it in...?

 

Well.. it seems that I could! 

And did! 

But can you see it back there...?

 

It stands just the tiniest bit open...!

 And I admit, I put a couple of dots of paint

 into those roundels over the arches.... 

just to imply a scenic picture

 if you should happen to notice. 

But there is so much more to try! 

The room needed a carpet like the original... 

made from a scrap of woven ribbon... 

did I have anything with a pattern small enough...?

 Well... maybe...

 

Bought many years ago at one of the Fairs...  

with a delicate floral pattern in colors the right hue...

 I cut off a tiny piece and slathered the back side in glue

 to prevent the threads from raveling...

 

And when it was dried.... 

 

 

(Sorry this is a terrible picture...)

 the right side of the ribbon showing the pattern

 before trimming it down to fit the room... 5/32 of an inch square...!

 

Can you see it there??? 

I know... it is very small... 

but I think it does the job!

 But the real challenge was 

whether or not I could make a tiny settee... 

like the lovely pink and gold one in the Salon of The Tree House....

 

Here are some legs gluing to card stock....

 

And painted gold.... like the originals!

 (After being trimmed down a bit!)

 

Here the tiny seat has been cut out 

and is being given a coat of the "glue trick"

 to pad the seat just a little bit...

 

Here the seat has been painted a rosy pink like the original.... 

and the back is being given a coat of gold...

 

And here the seat is being glued to the back section....

 (the original settee has a striped fabric so I tried to mimic it)

 

And does it fit in the Tiny Salon...?

 Well, yes, I think it does!

 

But that is not all, Dear Readers!

 If you know me at all, you will know that

 I cannot leave the ceilings alone! 

And in the original Salon, 

there is a magnificent chandelier overhead....

 could I possibly make something that 

resembles a chandelier for the "Nano House"?

 (Thank you Drora for the name idea!)

 I thought I would give it a try.... 

and forgot to take pictures for a while...

 but the above picture shows the ceiling 

with a tiny bit of tinsel being glued into the ceiling....! 

The blob of glue is bigger than the scrap of tinsel....

 

Here it is a little closer....

 and just for good measure,

 I sprinkled on a bit of iridescent glitter

 to mimic the glowing candles in the original. 

And when the glue has dried.....

 

We have to test the ceiling in place.... 

can you see the glittery blob of a "chandelier" in there????

 It even reflects in the mirror from the right angle... 

and is just about impossible to photograph.... 

 

And of course,

 the opening door wall needs a coat of primer...

 and the paint too...

 

And the arched trims around the window as well. 

And you can see I am rushing on to the the next room...

 but that will have to wait... 

there are a few Larger projects demanding my attention first!

 

But I hope you will agree, Dear Readers,

 that I just had to Try

 to see what could possibly be done

 to furnish this Tree House for The Tree House! 

 

The Tree House Nursery...

 

How Small Can I Go....?

There have been Some things, Dear Readers, about this Tree House Project that I have known for sure since the very beginning that they would be accomplished "someday". And to those of you who have been following this blog for a very long time and have patiently wondered When I would ever get back to working on this Enchanting project, I can assure you that some things are a mystery even to me until all of a sudden the idea is there... clear as a bell when it didn't exist a moment ago! How does this happen? It is a Mystery! But I can say that as I was recently looking admiringly into the Nursery one morning as the Sun decided to come along for a visit and shone so beautifully into the unfinished but now progressing room where I had just made progress with the lovely Ceramic stove and I was pondering the other things that still needed to be made for this room, the ones I had always known would be there, I thought of the "shelves" beside the door where the little ratlings would store their toys and decided I would need to build them next so they could be fitted before I attached the walls permanently. And I thought about what sort of toys they would have and how big the shelves should be...

 

They would need to fit into the space between the door and the bunkbeds.... 

and it occurred to me that perhaps there should be 

a dollhouse in the Nursery for the little ratlings to play with.....

 and then I thought that a dollhouse in a Tree House

 surely must resemble a Tree House....?! 

Uh Oh..... 

and you can imagine what happened next... 

I spent all night dreaming about the Tiny Tree House

 and just how it could be made to have real opening doors....

 Like the bookcases in the library... but for each room.... 

Could it be done????? 

Well, I thought... 

I would never know if I didn't al least Try....!

 

So the very next morning I hunted out the stripwood 

that I had used for the library shelves. 

I knew it was sturdy enough to take the drilling

 and would stay strong through use...

 

Here I am beginning to test the method of construction... 

each floor would be threaded onto the structural hinge wire

 at the corner where the doors would attach. 

I decided the house would only be three rooms tall

 so the ratlings could reach the top floor!

 

Here I am gluing the base to the back panel (cardboard) 

and one side wall to begin the spacing of the rooms...

 

And here I have temporarily stacked all three floors

 on the supporting walls on the wire to see if it will work... 

so far so good! 

 

And then I forgot to take pictures for a while... 

I was so absorbed in finding out if I could construct

 the furnishings for such a small room..... 

each room is about 1/4 inch tall and 1/4 inch deep and 5/16 inch wide!!!

 

I have made a tiny hearth with a glittery "fire" in it... 

and some cabinets on the back wall 

and even a kitchen sink....! 

But it is really really difficult to photograph!

 

Maybe you can see it better with the Flash?

 

 

But what I really needed to figure out 

was if my ideas for the door panels would succeed... 

so I cut the three layers...

 the middle layer supports the acetate window pane 

that shows through the openings in the outer and inner walls...

 

Here the layers have been painted and are being glued together.

 The top shows the inside and middle panels glued together

 and the strip of cloth (cut on the bias) 

that will wrap around the wire to form the hinge itself.

 

Here you can see the acetate window pane 

is inserted in the middle opening...

 

And here you can see the cloth has been trimmed

 and wrapped around the wire and glued to the middle panel.

 

And with the outer panel glued on 

and the wire inserted into the bottom floor 

and the next floor placed temporarily in position... 

But does it work...???

Oh, Yes! It really does!!!

(I had also added some tiny beads to the shelves for "dishes"...!)

 

But that is not All... Dear Readers,

 for I am sure you can imagine that by now

 I had truly fallen down the Rabbit Hole.... 

was there any end in sight.... ???

Surely the kitchen needed a Table....

 

 

The only thing in doubt was would my imagined methods work...?

I cut some very very fine paper covered florist wire 

into impossibly tiny lengths....

 yes, they "pinged" off in every direction until

 I learned to hold my hand in the way..! 

Even then.... they get lost on the cutting mat... 

and my super sharp tweezers are almost too big to hold them....

but you can see four little stubs glued to a piece of card stock..

 

And here it is cut out and painted....!

 

 

And Lady Evelyn de Paradise in all her 1/2 inch tall majesty, 

came by just to show the scale...

 

 

But even so.... 

inside the tiny kitchen the table was Miles too tall.... 

there was nothing to do but try to trim the legs... 

which made quite a bit of mess

 and needed re-gluing in the process.... 

but the table at least got shorter...

 

 and then even shorter...... 

this was very challenging.... 

and finally repainted too...

 

Is that acceptable...? 

Sorry that the flash wipes out so much detail.....!

 

 Can you see it now...??? 

Is that impossibly cute or what???

 

Well... you Know what has to happen next....

 the Salon is the next floor up... 

with it's blue walls and fireplace....  

and before going to bed and

 dreaming all night of possibilities....

 

We just gotta see how it will look 

in that corner of The Tree House Nursery.... 

well, when it is finished it just might look

 a little bit like a Tiny Tree House in there!.... 

but for now.... 

I am just getting started...! 

 

So you can see, Dear Readers, 

I have been chasing Tiny Tree House Dreams

 down Rabbit Holes and maybe even

 Learning just how small I can go!

 

 

Thanksgiving....

 

Giving Thanks..... 

It Is that Time of year, Dear Readers, when Americans gather with Loved Ones to celebrate the Holiday of "Thanksgiving". It is a Feast whose menu has only small variations across the entire continent, for the most part centered around a Roast Turkey, many varieties of vegetable dishes and Pies for dessert. Of course, there are variations, but the History of the Holiday is rooted in a celebration held by the earliest European Colonists (also called settlers) who were mostly here because of religious persecution in their home lands in Europe. This feast supposedly took place in Massachusetts Colony in the early 1620's after they had survived a year in the New Land. The local Indigenous People ("Native Americans") as opposed to the immigrant Europeans, had come to help these new people and had been instrumental in their survival. The settlers were Thankful. And the local large bird, the Wild Turkey figured big in the feasting, along with corn (maize), beans, squash, potatoes and cranberries, all of these being native to the Americas and plentiful in the area. It was a Time when the support of the community and the assistance of neighbors made a real difference to survival. And meanwhile, in the current times, in The Lovely Old Dollhouse Victor and Joanna have been baking the pies ahead of time to make room for the rest of the baking on Thanksgiving Day. Victor is playing "Chef" this year and is heading to the Farmers market for fresh vegetables.

 

 Meanwhile over at Sally May and Chip's house, The "Shabby Sister House" 

Sally May is baking cookies to bring to the celebration.

 

"Daddy is cooking this year" she tells Chip as he comes 

to see if there are any cookies to snack on yet.

 "And he says there's no need to bring anything

 but ourselves and an appetite!"

 "So, I guess there will be plenty of cookies for later..." says Chip... 

sort of hoping for one now.

"Yes", agrees Sally May, "but we are not going to ruin our appetites!" 

she said sternly, knowing Annabelle was listening to every word!

 

And Victor has returned from the Farmer's Market

 with a basket full of squash and onions and potatoes. 

 

"I'll help you peel those potatoes" says Joanna cheerfully.

 "I was hoping you would" replied Victor with a wink. 

"Oh, and I ran into Old Eddie", he added 

"and we got to chatting. You remember him, don't you?"

 "Of course I do!"declared Joanna. "How is he?"

 "Well," said Victor. "he's been having a hard time lately...

 he has no family around here... so I told him to join us for dinner.

 We have plenty to go around, after all!"

 

And in the Living Room, Charles is warning Helen 

that it will be a bigger group than usual celebrating the meal.

 "It seems that Victor has invited an old acquaintance 

to join us for dinner he says" cheerfully.

 "Do you remember Old Eddie, my Dear?" he asks.

 "We haven't seen him in a long time..." said Helen. 

"I do hope he is alright!"

 "Well, Victor thinks he is a bit lonely without family," said Charles,

 carefully not mentioning the real issues. 

"And don't forget we have Cousin Kitty 

staying with us too," added Helen anxiously.

 

It seems Cousin Kitty had recently lost her 

housing subsidy benefits and was camping on 

the nearest couch she could find in the crisis.

 At the moment that was the bench in the upstairs hallway 

with her seven cats! 

 

Pollyanna and Arthur were in their favorite hiding spot...

 the attic "studio" where Pollyanna sometimes worked on

 the Miniature projects she had started so enthusiastically a while ago, 

but mostly spent time Daydreaming. 

Arthur could easily keep her company while

 accomplishing much on his laptop computer. 

"It's starting to smell divine..." said Arthur of the

 cooking aromas that wafted up to them eventually.

 "Yes, Daddy's cooking and he knows 

what he is doing!" agreed Pollyanna. 

"But I think I just heard someone arriving already.." she added, 

"but it sounds too quiet to be Sally May's folks!" 

"We can go down and find out..." said Arthur restlessly. 

 

Old Eddie had arrived and stepped inside quietly, 

not quite sure what to do next.

 

But Charles had heard his arrival and went 

to greet him and help him feel welcome.

 

Charles brought Eddie into the Living Room

 and introduced him to Helen.

 And Pollyanna and Arthur joined them moments later. 

The topic of conversation was mostly the weather conditions

 and the hopes that it would not snow too soon!

 

Not long after Sally May and Chip and Annabelle

 and Chip's parents Ernie and Blanche

 all arrived with cheerful greetings. 

"Here we are at last..." called Sally May 

as she headed to the kitchen.

 

"And you know I can never come empty handed...!" she declared.

 "I have brought a fruit basket to add to the pies!"

 

Victor and Joanna were just deciding that everything was ready

 and they should call everybody in.

 "I hope there's enough..." said Joanna.... 

"Of course there's enough!" declared Victor. 

"That's a 23 lb. Turkey!"

 

 

"You are so thoughtful, darling..." said Joanna 

as Sally May put the basket in the middle of the table. 

"That is just exactly what this meal was missing!" 

declared Victor giving his daughter a big smile.

 

Within minutes, the room was filling with the rest of the family,

 lured by the delicious aromas and the commotion of the latest arrivals.

 

"But where is Cousin Kitty....?" asked Helen, looking around

 and not seeing her in the crowd.

 "She is feeling shy, Grandma..." said Pollyanna. 

"We passed her on the way down... 

she said she will eat 'when the dust settles'" she added.

 "I think she is afraid the cats will climb on the table,"

 said Pollyanna smiling. 

"I'll take a plate up to her," she added quietly. 

 

 

Charles cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone.

 "I always feel so Blessed to have my Family all so near to me,

 and so I can only imagine the situation being the reverse.

 But for many, what family they have are far away or no longer with us,

 and at times of celebration that can only deepen their feelings of loss and loneliness.

 But truly, we are all Humans together in this World,

 and if we look back far enough we all descend from the same Family Tree.

 My hope and prayer is that we all learn to share and give love

 to all the people of our "Family Tree"

 no matter how far or near they are to this branch of the tree.

 I humbly give thanks that you are all here

 to share this Feast.

Let us eat!"

"Hear Hear!" called Victor as he cut the first slices of Turkey.

 "Pass the plates..." said Ernie....

"Let me ladle that gravy" said Sally May...

 

Well, Dear Readers, I hope, wherever you are

 and however far or near to Family you are, 

that you can take a few minutes to Give Thanks 

for the Greater Human Family to which we all belong. 

And perhaps pass along some cheer or assistance

 to those nearest whether you know them or not!

 We are all part of the same family in the end.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!