My New Piano

I bought this unfinished piano from my favorite brick and mortar store http://miniaturedesigns.com it will go in the bay window in the living room of the Painted Lady Dollhouse.

They are always very helpful in assisting me with hard to find furniture pieces to complete sets I have purchased and they also carry many unique pieces in their store and online. They are very friendly and helpful. The piano was out of stock at the time, so I had to wait a couple of weeks. I wish I lived in Atlanta so I could go more often.

I have never stained furniture before so I'm a little worried about messing up such a lovely piece. As an alternative I'm considering painting it an off white color and adding gold accents to tie into the furniture.

I'm not sure when that happened but it was an easy fix.

I am really concerned about finishing the inside. 

Any tips or suggestions how to finish????????????????????????????????

Faux Stain Glass Using Paintable Clings

I found these paintable clings made by Martha Stewart in the clearance aisle at Michaels. I used Sharpie Markers instead of paint because I was impatient and wanted to see the results more quickly. Twenty clings came in the kit and they have a raised edge like lead. I plan to use them on the front and balcony doors. I have not trimmed them yet just placed them to get an idea of how they will look.

I need to cut a piece of acrylic to fit the front door, so I have a piece of plastic temporary in place.

I don't like how they interfere with looking inside the regular windows, except the bathroom. 

From Suction Cup to Ceiling Light

I wanted to try to make customized ceiling lights for the bedroom. I bought the bare bulbs that come two in a pack from Hobby Lobby $3.99 and then I started looking for things that might work in the store. I found these suction cups in a pack of 24 and they come in various sizes for $3.99.

I removed the wire hook and used my mini drill to punch a hole in the top and removed the plug from the light and inserted the cord in through the hole. 

You could draw a design with sharpies to create the look of stain glass on the bare suction cup or cover with paper/fabric. I wanted to tie the light into the decor of the room and look more victorian. I was watching one of my favorite movies, "My Fair Lady" and the wonderful hats and flowers, so it may be a little over the top:) I used a circle template to create a cone big enough to match the diameter of the suction cup which is going to become the light's shade.

I covered the suction cup with scrap paper and paper flowers and glued on some trim/fringe. 

I covered the cord later to look more finished

Interior Lights Are On In The Painted Lady

I have installed all the interior lights except a few in the basement that cannot be seen from the outside.

Painted Lady Basement Layout

I added the basement because I wanted to give it the profile of the row houses in San Francisco. I'd been saving the steps from the La Chateau Dollhouse kit and really wanted a project to make good use of them. The height of the steps determined the height of the basement ceiling. I really like this image of a miniature bathroom I found on Pinterest which lead me to a wonderful blog. I used it as my inspiration for the small powder room and staircase in the basement.

I like a mix of real and fantasy in my dollhouse. It bothered me that you would have to go though the entire house, especially as a guest to the top floor to use the bathroom. I originally planned to add stairs leading down from the main floor to the basement, but it was too congested on the main floor to add the hole for the stairs. So I'm creating two faux doors on the walls of the living room and dinning room that suggest how you access the basement. Then I added a set of stairs to nowhere that would in real life lead to the main floor. I moved the kitchen down stairs, added an exterior door and pantry. The brown wall is temporary until I can cut permanent one and attached it to the stairs. This will create a utility room underneath the stairs.

The bathroom is a there-sided box pushed flush against the left wall to keep it removable.

I going to attach the stairs to the right wall to create a removable  unit.

At the rear of the room is a door that leads to the empty space behind the bathroom and creates another room.

We'll Leave the Lights On for Ya

I have begun to run my hybrid tape and round wire system for the lights. Only the porches lights are connected right now. When I stepped back to look at them it reminded me of the Motel 6 commercial and I decided to make a quick post.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!!!

"Wind's in the east, mist comin' in, like something is brewin'... about to begin. Can't put my finger on what lies in store. But I feel what's to happen, all happened before "

Have you ever wondered where Mary Poppins went after she left Jane and Michael Banks' house on the west winds? Well...I happen to know that she is on her way to live with Charlotte and Christopher in the my "Painted Lady" at 40 Birch Tree Lane!

Mary Poppins is my favorite childhood (and adulthood) movie. I didn't know it at the time but its Debbie Dixon-Paver's favorite movie too! We've both seen the stage production and own Mary Poppins souvenirs. I bought a miniature parrot umbrella and just out of curiosity asked her if she had ever made a Mary Poppins doll and as luck would have it, she was in the process of making one on her worktable! The doll became my motivation for cutting a hole in the roof of the Painted Lady, after all its Mary Poppins for goodness sakes. I was too excited to wait on her to arrive to share my news, so I'm posting pictures from Debbie until she "blows" in.

Raise The Roof!

The original arrangement of the rooms in the dollhouse never worked for me but I could see potential if I thought about it long enough. The question of where to put the bathroom just nagged at me. The room often shown as the bathroom was quite an awkward space. The angle of the ceiling was extreme leaving only a third of the room useable. I looked around my workroom and thought about the large dormer on my bungalow and went for it. It was very scary cutting that large hole in the roof and not knowing how to fix it if it was a a mistake.

 I need to touch up a few spots on the dormer, the paint is still wet on the roof.

 I added trim and windows on the large dormer to match the design of the front of the house.

 I drew my guidelines and used my jigsaw to cut the hole out. I made my usual foam board mockup and tested it several times. The blue line eventually be came my cutting line.

I decided on a flat ceiling inside the dormer to make it easy to install a light and it also made the room feel more comfortable. The peak area above is dead space.

After I raised the roof line, the room was now a larger room and my bathroom furnishings looked sparse so I turned it into a bedroom for "someone special" instead. 

I added two walls and a door to the rear of the boy's room and converted the nonfunctional space of the tower into a bathroom. 

Now my bathroom is the perfect size for the furnishings, I even have space for a wicker shelf behind the door for storage.

I going to install a battery operated ceiling light and keep the top of the tower roof removal to provide direct access to the room from above.