Hearthsong Halfpenny Dollhouse

I purchased this house on eBay a few years ago.  The label says "Hearthsong Halfpenny Dollhouse" and It has been sitting in my hobby room in its original bag.  I was impressed with the artwork on it.

It is a folding house and is made from  "book board" and the hinges or seams are made from fabric tape.  The package is dated 1998 and the house folds flat.

The original artwork appears to be a combination of water color and colored pencil and it has been printed on the dollhouse.

Each room is very detailed.  Everything from the floors,to baseboards, to the wallpapers and crown moldings and even the ceilings are well thought out.

I do not know anything about the house or what type of furniture or dolls it went with 
( any help would be appreciated )

I like the circle side window and the playful wallpaper.

I like this wallpaper, with the flowers "falling" from above and the two types of wood to make the herringbone pattern on the floor.

Here is a detail of the round window on the exterior.  Note the bird nest in the tree.

Cozy Cabin Grout!

I found some time this weekend to grout my newly installed tile in the cabin.  I ended up going with a white grout.  I figured I could tone it down if it ended up being too bright.
I used a sand-less grout sold in the hobby section.  

 The first step was to tape off the area.  I didn't want to take a chance getting grout on the log walls.

 This shot shows the bathroom grouting in process.  It is a good thing I used the tape because this process was a mess!

 Here is the finished upstairs bathroom.  I will probably end up washing it a few more times to remove the haze.  This tile is unglazed so the grout really sticks to it.

 Here is the same bathroom from the the bedroom.  To the left is the medicine cabinet. I found it in a sale bin at a local miniature shop.  I think it is out of a Chrysnbon kit.   I also painted the medicine cabinet white.  I need to find a mirror so that I can install it on the wall.

Here is the finished kitchen floor.  I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Cozy Cabin Update

Here is the kitchen space in my cabin - mostly still a blank slate.

 

I don't remember where I found these tiles, I am thinking it was part of an auction on Ebay. In a box with some windows and doors.  I like them, but I didn't have enough to finish the kitchen.  I also used them in the upstairs bathroom.

 Here are all the pieces I have left.  It is glued to a thin fabric backing.

 This illustrates my dilemma. I scoured the Internet and all of my catalogs.  I considered not putting tile under the sink or some sort of medallion in the center of the room? Maybe a large wood base or border?

 This is what I came up with.  There are still plenty of the Houseworks plain tiles around, just not the checkerboard.  My solution was to make a border out of the plain tiles.  I think once I get it grouted, it should be fine.

 I stuck some of my appliance in to see what it will look like.

The piece in the foreground is actually a Hallmark Christmas ornament.  Its a little small, but I may add some feet to the legs and use it anyway.  Hopefully I can find some time to grout this weekend.  I also found some fabric that I am going to make a skirt out of for the sink.  ( I found the sink at a garage sale for 50 cents!)

Cubanopolis 2012 Follow-Up

The competition was fierce tonight at the 2012 Cubanopolis. 

 Last night were the final preparations on Cole's Army Half-Track.  ( Our family cat Debussy was absolutely no help whatsoever!)

 Cole sacrificed his Tony Hawk belt ( which is now too small anyway) to hold the grenades for his secret weapon.

 The vehicle is complete and we are excited for the races.

 Cole did awesome and we ended up naming his Half Track "The General"
It was a huge hit - then he got hit, took a tumble, lost a fender, got up and kept running
.

The cub scouts are going to sleep well tonight!

Mixed Feelings

I came across this photo online (courtesy of Country Living magazine ).  I guess I have mixed feelings about it.  On one hand, its better than sitting somewhere not being used at all or in someone's attic - but on the other hand, I could picture restoring it and using it as a home for some of my antique dollhouse furniture!  I do think the large decorative brackets are great and would be a great way to display a wall mounted dollhouse.

Victorian Rooms / Cabins

I had the opportunity to travel to Boise Idaho a few months ago.  They had some great Victorian rooms at the Idaho State Historical Museum.

The most striking thing that I remember about he living room was the wallpaper.  The green tile on the fireplace was beautiful also.  The yellows and creme colors in the rug were a nice contrast to the walls. (sorry about the flash in the mirror)

The dining room was saved from a Victorian era house that was going to be demolished.  It was labeled and numbered and re-constructed inside the museum.  It had great built-in cabinets and woodwork.  

This is a photo looking at the other end of the dining room.  More built-in cabinets and great carved wood work.

Here is a photo of the kitchen.  I like the Hoosier cabinet and the old stove.  They had a few period accessories.  I also liked the skirt around the sink.

I took this picture for my daughter..  She loves the program "Say Yes to the Dress"  She wasn't to excited about this Victorian wedding dress.

Couldn't resist this photo of the Boise Girls Tumbling Team in 1933 !

Coston Cabin

On the museum grounds they have the Coston Cabin. You can read about it below.

The Adelmann house was constructed in the 1870s and was moved to the grounds as well.

Logan Home

The Logan house was built in 1865 from adobe bricks and also moved to the museum site.

The Adelmann home was constructed in the 1860s or 1870s and was restored to how it might have looked in 1880. 

Adelmann home

Recent Acquisitions

I have picked a few things up here and there.  Garage Sales, Estate Sales, Auctions and Antique stores seem to be my downfall.

I came across this Playmobil Victorian Mansion at a local estate sale. I created a post about it here: http://tulsatinystuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/playmobil-victorian-house-5300.html

I found the table with the checkerboard "inlay" at a new antique mall in the area, the round table at a local shop and the small resin cocker spaniel at an estate sale.  I think these should go great in my Victorian House.

I picked up this hand carved wood armchair and an old German looking table at a local shop.  I was thinking these would fit nicely in my log cabin.  I will need to put some cushions or pillows on the hard chair.

The large mirror, the sewing machine and the two Durham Pieces were at an antique mall.  they will probably fit in the cabin, as will the red spatter ware pans.  I picked up the napkin holders at a garage sale.  I am still thinking about what to use them for - baskets? cages? table base? light fixtures?  If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Playmobil Victorian House 5300

I have seen pictures of these Playmobil houses and been amazed at how much they cost, there are some on Amazon right now for around $1,000. So today when I stopped at an estate sale during my lunch break, I could not resist the $20 that they were asking for this one!
Part of the house was still in it's original box and there was a tub of accessories that came along with it.  Literally hundreds of pieces that go together like a giant Lego set.

I figured I would buy it, take it home and put it together and see if there were any pieces missing.  I could then sell off the pieces if I wanted to?  It even has old model T and a horse drawn carriage.

My son and I put the house together after dinner.  I am amazed at the details - the texture and color of the "slate roof", all of the ornamentation, the operable windows and doors, the "stone" base with tiny operable grilles.  It came with a big plastic tub that had 50 people in it and all kinds of accessories, hats, aprons, purses.. pretty amazing.  All of the pieces are here there except for one small bracket.

The weird thing about this house is that it has so many windows, that there is no place to put the furniture.  


Who knows.. maybe I will keep it!

A little progress

I had a little time tonight after we got the kiddos to bed so I decided to start the large fireplace in the living room.  

This was my concept sketch.  I need to find the right piece of wood for the mantle.

I am using air-dry clay.  I first made some flat sheets for the 3 sided of the firebox.  Then I decided that they looked to flat, so I added a few more "stones"

 I rolled a bunch of different size balls with the clay and squished them into shapes.  I put some craft glue on the back of the ones that are next to the log walls.

The box says that there will be some shrinkage when the clay drys. The clay is supposed to dry white, then I play on painting it.  I hope that it holds together as it drys...I will keep you posted.