Book Nook And Fireplace Updates

A Gift From Nina!

As some of you Dear Readers may be aware, Nina of "The Tudor-Medieval -Jacobean- Queen Anne Dollhouse "Blog, (http://tudordollhouse.blogspot.com/) upon reading about the VAST Emptiness of my New Book Nook Shelves in my second to last post, decided from the Goodness of her Heart, to send me a selection of her own hand made Books! Her blog is one of the first ones I discovered as I began my adventures in Mini Blogland and DIRECTLY inspired my Construction of my Own Castle Dollhouse, so I am Doubly touched and Honored by this Gift! And of course, you must understand that WITHOUT the awareness of the immanent arrival of these volumes, my New shelves and the rest of the reading nook Probably would have remained unadorned for weeks, if not months! But Just LOOK at how many lovely books she sent!!!


They are not opening books..... but some of them are even covered in gorgeous leather bindings! And they are an assortment of colors and sizes as well! I truly am touched by this gift!

And while I have not yet made any BOOKS myself, I did manage to make some cushions to soften the nook! I started by making a mattress out of some very old and worn sea-green velveteen..... so soft and faded looking...... please excuse the roughness of my stitching... I am out of practice!

And added some round bolsters for each end, tucked into the corners......

And while I was decorating....
I found the right color blue paint and re-painted the shelves to match the rest of the trim.......

And then I made a couple of cushions out of some sparkly Paisley inspired fabric.....

isn't the pattern just Gorgeous?!

And I FINALLY finished the tiny piece of needlepoint I had started almost TWO years ago.... making a cushion out of the little rabbit......

And added a cup of tea on the window ledge....

and a Pear for snacking........

And the books...... Isn't it Cozy?

Nina's books look SO At HOME with the rest of the books I have!

I am going to have to make some more......

Thank you, Nina! I LOVE them!



And now I must show you Another little detail that I have FINALLY completed......
You have seen the ceiling for my Dining Room in the Cupboard House a number of times.... but ever since I started painting it, I have wanted to add some tiny Heavenly Figures looking down from the Clouds.... as though the Gods of Olympus are feasting up above the clouds and happen to look down on the Dining Room below........

Here is a closer view.....

it was a bit tricky to approximate the correct foreshortening......

And here is the view in situ in the Dining Room....

it is such a tiny detail.... they are hardly noticeable at all...

but I just didn't want to leave them out!

And Finally..... you want to see what I have done with the fireplace.....

I have painted the Initial coat of black....

very loosely .... to resemble Marble....

just so I can decide whether black marble is what I want.......

Here you can see it in place.......

And closer..... to see the details...
it is SO difficult to photograph black......

Then I decided I needed to paint the bricks of the firebox in order to really see how it would look.... so I cut some cardboard to the shape and quickly painted the bricks.......

That looks MUCH better!

But I REALLY wanted to see it with the Mirror in place too...
And because I haven't found any mirrors like what I am looking for.....

I started to build the mirror frame...
Using some of that small molding stock from Home Depot.....

Because my cut piece of mirror is a little uneven.....

I built up the back of the frame to surround the glass.....

I am leaving the bottom edge of the glass with no frame....

because I want that sense of the Mirror rising straight out of the marble mantlepiece......

And I have painted it antique gold .......
Here you see it with the glass in place...........

And giving it a try on the Mantlepiece.......

(Oh boy, is it ever difficult to photograph mirrors!!!)

You get the wackiest junk in the reflection.....

or the glaring lightbulbs!

And while we're at it..... I thought I would give a try to the Lighting.......

Gas lamps were the NEWEST technology at the Time of this House......

And another view......

I might need to get the lamp with more arms......
And forgive the still un-repaired ceiling.....

And THEN upon further reflection.....

I decided that Maybe the mirror DID need a bottom frame piece....

just a slim edge.... not the same as the rest......
So I added one temporarily......

Here's a closer view......

But now I'm not so sure.......

THIS is the first way........

And THIS is the second way.....

Such a Subtle difference.......

And I CAN'T Decide!

Sorry to leave you hanging......
but that's as far as I've gotten!

Book Nook and Fireplace Updates

Two Steps Sideways!

Dithering Again.... Or Doing The Dual Dollhouse Dance!

It is Difficult to decide sometimes, Dear Readers, whether it is a Boon or a Bane that I have SO MANY Dollhouses that I am working on all at the same time! There is just SO MUCH that needs doing and the lists just go on getting longer! My Ideas jump from one project to the next ... to the NEXT without settling on anything for long enough to get it Finished! As frustrating as it seems to Jump around from one project to another.... I am realizing that it CAN be a Good thing .... especially when I am held up from progress due to lack of materials or Indecision about a certain step I need to make. Maybe my Motto should be "When in Doubt..... Go work on an Other dollhouse!" This seems to be what I have been doing at any rate! I have been held up on the Cupboard House for a number of reasons.... I need to get some stronger glue... (Go Shopping!)... I am not happy with the paper I started to use for the Hallway mural on the Curved wall... it is watercolor paper and is much too absorbent and has a heavy textured surface which doesn't match the rest of the wooden walls. So I need to get some new paper... or poster board large enough and start that part over again.... (Need to GO Shopping...!) And while I have made a start on the fireplace for the Dining Room, I am not sure I like my workmanship well enough..... at least it still needs a lot of work and I haven't been able to make up my mind about the Color that it wants to be...... And then there is the ceiling Trim for the Hallway.... I have started with this molding.... but it is too PLAIN for the Victorian era.... so I am thinking I need to add a border.....

Like this one... just below the molding at the top of the mural....

but I'm not sure whether it hides too much of the sky......

So I'm Dithering!

DARN!

So I found myself working on some really unrelated small projects for the Folly! "The Folly?" you ask? It's been SO long since I have done ANYTHING for the Folly (other than drag it around outside for Photo shoots!)... that you can be forgiven for not really Remembering the Folly at all! It's the little kit house...... and the upstairs has been divided so there is a SMALL area at the top of the stairs where I have built a small window seat tucked behind the stairs. I picture it as a great place to curl up and READ on rainy days... or snowy ones.... and all that is needed are some soft cushions and some bookshelves filled with books..... along the wall....
This is what it looks like before the shelves...... (just in case you couldn't remember!)

And just because we are JUMPING around from project to project..... this is a view of the Kitchen in the Folly.... actually a very early picture from before I papered the back wall.... but it shows a good shot of the Kitchen stove... an old fashioned sort of range..... which looks really sweet until you stand one of the dolls next to it.... and then it is Obviously TOO low to the ground! It Must have longer legs!

So here is an AFTER shot of the bookshelves .....

(nearly completed before I thought to take pictures!)

And a closer... better lit shot.....

And will you believe me when I tell you that the piece of molding trimming the top of the shelves was a scrap left from another project...... and it was EXACTLY the right size and shape for this bookshelf... requiring NO cutting or trimming of ANY kind! I LOVE it when that happens!

And here is a shot of the stove getting some longer leg "extensions"......

They are really very crudely made.....

but they serve the purpose!

And here is a shot showing the slow progress on the fireplace......

I added the trimming at the top to match the bottom......
and added some Sculpey to trim around the opening.....

And then I started to sculpt some "caryatids" to fit in the angled sides....

Like so........

One for each side.... and of course,

they are Similar but NOT identical......

And now I just need to decide what kind of Glue to use to attach them.......

And decide on the shape of the mantlepiece.....
and decide on the color to paint it...
and decide whether the design should be more complex and ornamental........

Here's a closer view of my funny looking Caryatid.....
so difficult to photograph details in the black.....

And to jump around again..... here is a view of the shelves painted...
I couldn't find the right color blue....
I might have run out and will need to GO SHOPPING....! ......

And there will need to be SO MANY books!

These are just a few that I bought quite a while ago!

I really need to learn to make my Own!

And of course, I need to make a seat cushion......

and a whole pile of soft pillows......

and figure out the lighting........

I can't Tell you how long I've been picturing this little reading corner!

And as for the range....

well, Daphne has come to show you how much easier it is to use now!

I painted the legs black to match the originals.....

it makes them hard to see in the evening light...

Maybe if we get even closer......

Nice Legs!

So in spite of everything...

I DID get some tiny things done.....
But I REALLY do need to GO SHOPPING!

Dithering Again!