I Think Maybe I Watch Too Much HGTV...

I made a dollhouse for Caroline for Christmas. I may have projected my decorating fantasies on it. A tiny bit. Okay, maybe a lot. I may have gone overboard. But man, was it fun!!! I'm sure she won't appreciate all the little details, but oh well. I got my need to redecorate out by putting it all into a miniature version. And, by the way, I spent a total of $10, and that was on a "decorate your own dollhouse furniture" kit that I got at Target.com for 50% off. And a package of tiny match boxes that my brother-in-law bought for me while he was in town, and wouldn't let me pay him back for. Everything else was from odds & ends that either I saved for the express purpose of making a dollhouse or little things that while I was in the midst of the project, I thought "hey, that would be great for..." And of course all the fabric scraps that I can't bear to part with that come in handy for stuff like this. Like leftover silk shirt from the silk cowboy scarves I made 3 years ago. Silk shirts I scored at various yardsales for like 25 cents apiece. Floors and some of the walls were from discontinued wallpaper books from the local decorating store. So it may have a designer look, but it's definitely more on the shabby chic side, and I'm pretty impressed with my own thrift on this project. Oh yeah, and the body of the house? An old shelf that was actually the wagon bed from the year I taught 4th grade and had a pioneer theme. A friend helped me build a reading nook that was a covered wagon. So that was recycled. Nice, huh?

"Hannah Montana's" room. (Caroline scored a Hannah Montana doll at her dance Christmas party. I don't think she even knows who Hannah/Miley is. Fortunately.) The mirror part of the dresser didn't come with the furniture. I painted a small picture frame, glued it onto the dresser and put a piece of metal from my scrapbooking tag supplies behind the glass.

Kelly's room. Aunt Cindy found the perfect cute little Kelly doll to go in the house. Because you know, Caroline's three, and Barbies...Well, I'd prefer she plays with a little girl doll for a little bit longer. My favorite piece of furniture is this little armoire that opens & closes.

The living room with a glimpse of the counter & bar stools. Note my cute fireplace made out of a tiny picture frame and the end of a shelf that was supposed to go over my sink but never fit. So I took it apart and used it for different stuff. Parts of it are actually part of Hannah's bed above. And also see the tiny nutcracker on the mantle. Leftover from when I taught dance and gave each student a nutcracker ornament as a gift after our performance of the Nutcracker one Christmas. I knew it would come in handy someday.

The Kitchen complete with picture window (plastic magnetic picture frame that the scrapbook store owner threw in for free one time and a picture I printed off of the internet), sink, stove & drawers that really open & close (match boxes!) The counters are all from a wooden gift box that something came in. I looked at the box and thought, "someday, I could use that for something." And here we are, 2 years later and I used it for something.