Monday, January 13, 2014

(Almost) Nothing To Show...




The 200th Post!

I hope you can forgive me, Dear Readers, for being Completely Unprepared for the Momentous Occasion of This, My 200th Post!!! I would have liked to have some thoughtful commentary prepared..... or a summary of the Life of this Blog to show.... or perhaps an update on all the ongoing projects..... or perhaps even a giveaway contest planned..... but, Alas, I have none of those to show! Instead, it was one of those weekends where the RL Chores ate up all my time and I got Almost Nothing Done in my mini worlds! I did manage to add a couple of rows of bricks to the top of the Chimney for the Conservatory.... in fact, I decided that the top of the chimney needed to be a little taller and fancier.... so what should have been only three or four more rows of bricks, grew to ten or twelve rows of bricks.... and it is still Not Quite Done!

Here you can see the brick portion in place.... 
between the halves of the Conservatory.....
I think the chimney looks more realistic when taller....

And here is the view from the side.....
Please forgive the poor lighting.....
It is that dark time of year!
(And now that all of the Christmas Lights have been put away :(
It Feels even gloomier...!)
That was all I accomplished this weekend, Dear Readers, 
so rather than leave you with So little to show...
I thought we could have a Closer look 
at the Dollhouse Annabelle got for Christmas!
(Several of you mentioned that you wanted to see inside it...!)

I made this little doll's dollhouse in 1974.....
(I was still a teenager)
And I had very few materials to choose from when building it.
It is simply painted cardboard.
It is front opening (unlike the Lovely Old Dollhouse)
and the front doors are "hinged" with strips of linen sheet material.
I carved a wooden peg as the latch to keep them closed.

Inside are four rooms and the central Hall with stairs....
On the right downstairs is the Dining Room....
With china and silverware painted on the table....
And a Maid ready to serve....!
And the upstairs is the Children's Nursery....

And on the left downstairs is the Parlor....
and Upstairs is the Master Bedroom...

The Parlor has a mirror over the fireplace made of Tin-foil!
And the sofa and chair are painted cardboard....
painted to resemble dark blue velvet (I think!) with brass tack detailing!
The visiting guests are "paper doll" cutouts... as are the Resident Hosts!
They appear to be dressed in the fashions of the Victorian era....

Here you have a better view of the Hallway and the stairs going up....
It is rather difficult to get good shots of these rooms.... 
the Parlor is only 1 and 1/8 inch wide!
The entire house is less than four inches long and 
about 3 and 3/4 inches tall including the Widow's Walk on top!

Here is a view of the Master Bedroom and the upstairs Hall...
(yes, that is my thumb in the upper corner!)
(And no, I don't have giant hands!)
The bed is also made of painted cardboard.... 
with an American Patchwork Quilt!

Upstairs in the Children's Nursery 
two children are playing with building blocks....
Once again, "paper doll" cutouts....
I even painted the candle sconce on the walls... 
visible on the right!
In places the paint has "crazed"....
but it really has held up very well over the years!
 
 
You can see that my measuring and gluing was a little off....
The floor is definitely higher on the left side!
The attic is not accessible..... 
and it is interesting to note that this cardboard is a good bit thicker 
than the average cardboard available now!

I hope you have enjoyed this Tour 
of Annabelle's Antique Dollhouse.....
Because without it, Dear Readers, 
I really would have had Almost Nothing to show you...
On This, My 200th Post!



23 comments:

  1. Hello Betsy,
    Congratulation on your 200th post...may there be a thousand more. The conservatory is looking fantastic. the brickwork is just spectacular. Excellent work! The dollhouse you made as a teenager is lovely. What a great souvenir...Clearly miniatures are in your blood.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  2. Your little house is very, very charming! I still have some of my 1st miniature books, purchased in the '70s, as a teen, like you, but I never made anything so wonderful, not to mention, ambitious! and yes, congrats on your 200th post - your blog has been very inspiring and I'm grateful that you make the time to express your creativity and then share it as well! - HC

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  3. Congratulations on your 200th post! I guess I have not grown up yet, because I still hate when RL encroaches on my "play/mini time."
    I love the chimney & agree it looks more realistic with some height. Annabelle's dollhouse is adorable. Thank you for sharing the pictures with all of us.
    Hugs,
    Lisa :-)

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  4. Hello Betsy! Congratulations on your 200th post! You have been one of the first blogs I followed since the beginning in June last year. Because I didn't know how everything worked, you were on the side bar of my blog but only today did I follow you properly through Friend Connect. I have tried to catch up with your past posts the last few month but I still have a lot more to read if I want to catch up on all 200!
    I love your chimney and brickwork. It has a very English feel to it. Thank you for the tour of the little dollhouse! It is so precious. Obviously you were already very talented! I love the curtains through the window and on the inside and the little hatch! It is so wonderful that you have kept this. Thank you for sharing and thank you for your inspiration so far. Looking forward to the next 200 posts!
    Hugs,
    Veronique

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  5. Congrats on 200! Your project is really taking shape and looking great. I think the mini dollhouse from your youth is quite fitting for your 200th post. I wish I had more of my projects from my childhood. Looking forward to seeing many more posts - keep up the good work.

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  6. Happy 200th! That conservatory of your is really looking good! Funny how a project knows when it is finished better than we do LOL. I am so glad you kept the sweet little dollhouse. I must bring back great memories!

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  7. Oh BETSY! What a delightful Treasure your little house is!!! The details that you incorporated even then are SO YOU!!! It looks just like an antique doll's house for the doll's house and the fact that it is your own work, preserved so well from your teens, is Fantastic! I love Everything about it and what skills you possessed even from young age. Again, those teeny tiny details were shades of things to come with your tree house as a fuller expression of your incredible talents! Bravo Betsy! And congratulations on your 200th posting! What a Treat for all of us!!! :D

    elizabeth

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  8. Thank you! I wanted to see the inside of this little mansion! It is - how could it be different? - GREAT! Can't imagine to cut out all of these tiny furniture and people! Charming work!

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  9. Congratulations on your 200th post. How lovely you still have this house you made as a teenager with all its wonderful hand work and that it has stood the test of time.

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  10. Congratulations on your 200th posts, Betsy!! The dollhouse from your youth is so charming, it is good to keep this memory forever. Mine are all disappeared, it is such a pity!
    Your conservatory looks great with the chimney and all those bricks, it is a lot of work, but it looks fantastic!
    Hugs, Ilona

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  11. Congrats on 200th posts!
    I loved your old dollhouse, it is proof that you are talented ever.
    The 'double' conservatory is an art piece.

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  12. Congratulations!!! I hope there will be many more posts!!! The chimney looks great and the little dollshouse is wonderful! Must be a treasured memory from you childhood!!!

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  13. I add my congratulations on your 200th post. 4 years? Almost! What a fine record. And the tiny house - how well you utilized the resources at hand. A little sad that you didn't have better. It's sweet. Amazing it survived all these years.
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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  14. Congrats on your 200th posts!
    Your conservatory looks amazing and your tiny and old house is very nice.
    Greetings, Faby

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  15. Congrats for your 200th post and for the little dollshouse.
    Betsy, I think it is GORGEOUS!! a real treasure.
    Hugs, Ro

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  16. Congratulations Betsy, on your 200th Post!
    Your dolls house is so pretty. I love the painted curtains.
    Thanks for your 200 picture and fun filled posts. I can't wait for the next 200...
    X

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  17. The conservatory is gorgeous. All the large windows will be perfect for displaying a mini scene. So much potential! Also, the dollhouse you made a long time ago is absolutely adorable and just so much fun! Hope you can stop by and check out my giveaway! :) http://www.toddlindsey.com/2014/01/giveaway.html

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  18. Now everything makes sense... now I can see truly how you your path showed up since your first steps from building this gorgeous little house with all its lovely details as a teenager (I consider it very well made... today we have access to tutorials and materials via internet, that makes it so much easier... you've taken what you had at hand and made it good) up to your teeny tiny tree house masterpiece. You've always been attached to tiny and detailed... ;O) Thank you very much for showing this lovely tiny house, you're lucky that you still have it. And your brickwork is breathtaking as always, you were right, it looks more solid this way. And what are a few more bricks that have to be ct and glued compared to asking yourself on an on "Oh, why was I so lazy not to add some more rows of bricks when I still had the chance" - yes, this was the right decision to give your soul the rest it deserves. And congratulations to your 200th post - hope we'll celebrate 250... 300... 350... soon!

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  19. The brick work looks so real.....well done for that! I hope you can write many, many more posts and congratulations for reaching your 200th post! The thing I love most is your vintage doll house....spectacular...I would love to have one like that!!

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  20. congratulations on your 200th post and thank you very much for the tour :)

    Hugs
    Marisa

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  21. Betsy, congratulations on your 200th post! and more to go! Faster or slow - the fact is it is progressing and in the right direction. Looks very interesting! The tiny house is marvelous! I am sure you are proud that you saved it. I would, :))) It would give me also so many memories... Mini hugs, Natalia

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  22. Congratulations on your 200th post. That is quite impressive.
    The little dollhouse is gorgeous. What a wonderful memory.

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  23. Congratulations on your 200th post, Betsy. Your little dollhouse is a real treasure!

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