Merry Miniatures: Decorating My Wooden Dollhouse

Public parks are wonderful places to visit, but wouldn't visiting a park of your very own, just outside your front door, be even better? Time to redecorate the upstairs patio of my dollhouse!  To make the palm tree, I followed the instructions in the YouTube video below, ... ... with a few modifications here and there (as usual). Perhaps most noticeably, I decided to wrap the paper trunk in yarn, specifically Red Heart Super Saver Solids yarn in the color Dark Brown. With tacky glue I anchored one yarn end to the base and, very slowly and carefully, worked my way up to the top.  For the planter, I cut a leftover piece of Styrofoam packaging into a rectangular hollowed-out box, then attached 2 popsicle sticks to the top of the box and 5 to the front, respectively, with tacky glue.    For each drinking fountain, I started with the same type of plastic cylindrical spacer I had used for my miniature smart speaker. To one end of the spacer I superglued a pi...

I have fond memories of pool, but it's been ages since I've played, so I'm not sure what inspired me to pay a miniature tribute to the game. All I can say is that, as pleased as I am with what I could make out of a few simple materials, I severely underestimated the amount of work required.  Crafting the pool table, in particular, involved a considerable amount of pre-planning and troubleshooting, given that I was (both literally and figuratively) making things up as I went along. To begin with, I cut 2 pieces of cardboard into matching rectangles so that they would fit inside the room. Next, I superglued some black foam to the first piece and some green foam to the second piece. With an X-Acto knife I cut out of the black foam-covered cardboard a smaller rectangle and attached the green foam-covered cardboard underneath, so that the bed cloth would sit below the rails à la a sunken living room. Then I sliced through all 4 layers to create 4 corner pockets and 2 side pock...

I thought my dollhouse living room could use a bit of redecorating while still retaining a "temple of the soul" theme. What better way to do so than with the time-honored, soul-nourishing activity that is afternoon tea?  I created the teapot, cup, and saucer using GO CREATE EZ Shape Non-Dry Modeling Clay and Mod Podge gloss. To make the teapot, ...   ... I followed the visual instructions in the YouTube video below. (Fast forward to timestamp 3:42.) The cup and saucer I designed myself. First, I rolled a small piece of red clay into a ball and divided it in half with a toothpick to create a hemisphere. Then with my fingers I gently pinched the hemisphere into a cup-like shape. Next, I used the bottom of a paintbrush to scrape out the inside. For the handle, I rolled some matching red clay into a tube, folded it in half, and attached it to one side of the cup. To add the tea, I pushed a tiny bit of light gray clay into the hollowed-out center. For the saucer, I f...

Admittedly, I'm not great at tending to real flowers; my green thumb is more of a black thumb, unfortunately. Paper flowers, on the other hand, I can easily preserve. There's no danger of overwatering or underwatering them, or exposing them to too much or too little sunlight. Really, the only maintenance required is protecting them from a strong gust of wind from an open window.  At first, I had no idea how to make realistic-looking flowers out of paper, until I found the following YouTube video: My first step was to figure out how to display these flowers. I eventually decided on a garden planter using the bottom of a Q-tip box, cotton stuffing, and some confetti I made from green construction paper. Next, after re-watching the YouTube video a few times and experimenting with different measurements, I miniaturized 2 of the 10 flower designs so they would fit inside the planter. For Flower #5, I cut a 1.5 x 14.5 cm strip of purple construction paper for the petals an...

The adverb al fresco literally means "in the fresh air" when translated from Italian to English. In culinary contexts, it's a fancy way to say "eating outdoors."   The welcome mat, cooler, and playing cards all come from the "Playscale (1:6) Printables" page from Small Stuff's PrintMini . Through Amazon I purchased the miniature foods, drinks, and trays, ...  ... while through Ravelry I found the following two free knitting patterns, which I used for the cactus and bench throw, respectively: Lucille Randall's "Woolly Cacti: One Pattern, Three Looks" and Robin Celli's "Pretty Little Stash-Busting Bookmark."     For the flowerpot, I used size US 6 knitting needles and Red Heart Super Saver yarn in the color Dark Brown, and for the cactus itself, I used size US 4 knitting needles and Caron Cakes yarn in the color Pistachio. The bench throw/bookmark features Kollage Yarns Cornucopia in the color Antique Lace, knitted with ...

I don't always have dessert after dinner, but when I do, it's usually something decadent, and it's usually eaten in the kitchen, before I start cleaning up. Through Amazon, I purchased these cups and dishes, ... ... along with these pans ... ... and the forks and brownies pictured below. For the plates, I took 2 plastic rings from a pompom maker kit and filled the center hole of each with tacky glue. To keep the glue in place, I used a 3x5 index card, trimmed (mostly) to size.       The napkin holder is actually a paper clip, ... ... which I made following the instructions in this YouTube video: For the bar stools, I first collected 2 lids from some empty spice containers and inserted into the bottom of each lid a small piece of foam. Then, I carefully cut a slit into the center of each foam piece to accommodate the top of a popsicle stick, which would serve as the stem. For the base of the stool, I chose a large black binder clip. To match the color of the...

As much work as putting together this playroom required—a bit of an irony, I know—the process certainly brought back some fond memories from my childhood. While growing up, I loved to play with all sorts of toys, from Creepy Crawlers to Polly Pockets to rainbow-colored Slinkys. And of course, there was always a pile of stuffed animals on my bed.         The miniature baseball in the photo below is a souvenir I purchased several years ago while visiting a friend in New York.  The alphabet blocks are part of a scrapbooking kit I received from my grandmother-in-law many Christmases ago.  This brings us to the things I actually made, starting with the tent. I followed the instructions in a YouTube video that is unfortunately no longer available, making a few modifications along the way. For instance, I used printer paper instead of cardstock paper and tacky glue instead of double-sided tape. Then, I decorated the outside of the ten...

Designer Terence Conran once said, "The living room should be a place where we feel totally at ease — temple of the soul." I couldn't agree more.  Unquestionably, the logs for the fireplace was the easiest decoration to assemble. I simply opened my pantry door and retrieved two cinnamon sticks. The coffee table was the second easiest decoration: I attached a spool of thread to the bottom of a gift box lid.  In contrast, the most challenging decoration to make was the couch throw, namely because it was my first attempt at double knitting. With US 6 knitting needles and Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn in the colors Black and White, I followed this pattern on Ravelry.  Here's one side of the throw:  And here's the reversible side: For the board game, antique radio, and envelopes, I visited this website .    Finally, I purchased the latte and pastry through Amazon.  Now, my miniature self can relax by the fire, enjoying a sweet treat while listening to some ...