Decorating... Real World Style

It's been such a long time... but a ton has happened! We bought our first house, and picked out grown up furniture and paint colors. Unfortunately, this has taken a toll on creative endeavors. However, soon I look forward to having a dedicated arts and crafts space (for now, the unfinished basement next to the washer and dryer).

Anyway, here are some pictures of my real life home design (mind you, we're still about 50% in boxes); it seems miniatures have inspired my real life paint and furniture choices.

First: this are still in boxes, but my Pottery Barn knock off living room tables. We got them in black:

Secondly, we bought this sofa in brown with a matching loveseat from Macy's. I love the mid century-ness of it. I also bought a fun accent chair, pictures to come later.

Our dining room set, a bit classic with a bit contemporary, also sitting partially in boxes. I can't wait to see my Fiesta Ware in the hutch!

A real life picture of our bedroom. I love the lime green, it's less neon in real life and is quite cheerful. Notice the lack of window treatments!

And a quick shot of our tiny guest room. I could have had this room as a craft room, but I'd rather have a guest room. I also need the extra clothing storage... I love the yellow.

Anyway, keep an eye out for me, I'll be back to crafting in no time! Until then, enjoy the summer!

Happy Holidays!

above : The new Blythes with my CA Blythe.

above: Christmas presents from my boyfriend! (Yes, that is a Snuggie!)

below: My CA Blythe in a holiday dress I made for her, hanging out with the presents under the tree. And a Chewbacca ornament.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday, and has some great plans for New Years Eve. I have the perfect party dress (J.Crew espresso brown taffeta halter dress), but it's going to be so so cold. I think I'll just wear it with tights and a cardigan and suck it up, though.

Anyway, for Christmas by boyfriend bought me some new Blythes! So, here are Simply Peppermint and Simply Lilac! They are so cute, I cannot wait to make them some clothes... because he also bought me a sewing machine! Mind you, I haven't used a sewing machine since 8th grade sewing class... so it's going to be an experience.

I also am eager to reinvigorate my miniatures/dollhouse hobby. It's just so messy. I think I might start working on some of my HOM kits. Maybe I'll add that to my resolutions (which include 1. be better to others 2. eat healthier 3. read 1 classic book a month ~ I'm reading The French Lieutenant's Woman right now, which is very cool, structurally.)

So, enjoy the dolly pics and Happy New Year!!!

Sew-mania, and dollhouse shopping!

So, it's been a while, but don't doubt that I have been busy with crafting and real life (stupid work, stupid cleaning the apartment, planning a halloween party, eating brunch...)

A few weeks ago, the annual Greensburg (near Pittsburgh) dollhouse show was held, and I had a really fun time this year... I didn't drink the night before so I was perfectly prepared for shopping! And shop I did... these pictures are kind of cruddy, but they give you an idea of the cool things I bought. I was in a holiday mood (I'd love to do a Halloween or Christmas themed mini store or house, even, someday).

Below are a few of the purchases I made... The first pic shows a cool Bodo Henig manger scene. Also, a pumpkin pail filled with candy, a fiesta-style pitcher (I have a real life one in kelly green), and an adorable bloody mary tray with cocktails and trimmings.

Here is a ginerbread house, a pumpkin, and a fiesta style holder full of kitchen utensils.

A purple dollhouse to go inside of my nieces purple dollhouse, some rococo-style porcelain wall hanging things (for the Emerson Row boho house), and a bunch of HOM kits (I got 6 for like $40!)

Here is the whole haul. including a red step up chair that I see sold everywhere, but love. It reminds me of a chair my grandparents had in their kitchen when I was little.

Also, a washer and dryer for the Emerson Row basement!

Okay, so much for those poor quality pictures. Here are some pictures of sewing type things I've been doing lately. The first is the beginning of the teen bedroom for the Emerson Row. The bed and shelves are Daisy House kits I bought heavily marked down on Ebay. I made the bedding, curtains, pillows, and stool thing. The stool is an empty thread spool covered with batting and then I glued on some fabric. It was cheap, easy, and I think it came out pretty cute. One day this room will have a floor!

I finally made bedding for the girl's bed for my nieces dollhouse. Here it is in the E.R. basement just for photo's sake. Making these doll comforters is a good way to practice sewing by hand, and also easy to do while watching tv on dvd!

The E.R. master bed is also dressed in this awesome brocade pattern fabric (it is sitting in the E.R. living room for now!)

Finally, I've been trying out more involved Blythe patterns, and I'm getting a bit better at sleeves and collars. This is one of my favorite outfits so far, even if it is a little Little House. It's even got bust darts! Woot! With cheap fat quarters and a little practice, anyone, even me (who has been sewing for like maybe 4 months now) can create some cool dollhouse textiles, or a Blythe wardrobe. Since the dolls cost so much, who wants to spend a lot more on pricey dolly clothes - I'd rather hit up a J Crew sale for myself!

As always, thanks for reading! Hope everyone is having a great fall!

A Lot Of Re-ment!

This weekend, my boyfriend bought me the Re-Ment shop shelves (I've been wanting something to display my massive amount of Re-ment sweets). It's really great, and perfect for displaying all sorts of things, and it is the absolute perfect size for Blythe. Unfortunately, I need another because I ran out of room for cakes!

Activist Blythe!

Well, Pittsburgh is abuzz with the G-20 summit, and the next few days are going to be awful with traffic and protesters and blocked streets, etc, etc so a few days ago my boyfriend and I started quoting PCU (a great '90s movie) to each other, "We're not going to protest! We're not going to protest!"

In honor of that, here is my lovely Blythe with her sign, protesting the protests... if only she could find me a way home tommorrow since pretty much every way will be blocked...

Back from Vacay-- Also, anyone want to trade Re-Ment?

UPDATE: in case anyone wants to swap, still, the chocolate set and fairy tale dishes set are spoken for! thanks!

Hello, there! Well, we just got back from our vacation to the shore... where it rained everyday except for the day we left and the sun peeked through the clouds for like 5 minutes the whole week. Of course, now we are back in Pittsburgh and Voila! The sun is out, it's blue skies all around, and pleasantly warm.

Anyway, I took my Blythe with me, and was afraid to take her out until the last day because of the rain. But here are a few pics of her hanging out on the beach. I made her dress from an XOXOBlythe.com pattern.

Anyway, what I really wanted to talk about was trading Re-Ment. I have a few doubles and actually like buying blind boxes but don't want to have to go the whole selling route. I would love to trade for your doubles, sets you don't really like but that I don't have, any dollhouse miniatures that fit my style, or anything Blythe related. Maybe even for leftover fabric/ trim or craft supplies? If anyone is interested, here are the doubles I have right now:

IS DINNER READY, SET 2 BENTO BOX

This set has a lot of little pieces, but the best one is the plaid thermos with removable top... it's very cute and would look great with a Blythe or a Barbie.

KAWAII KITCHEN, SET 4 GELATTO SET

This set has a cute box filled with wafers, 2 gelatto bowls, and gelatto in a pan. I like the wafers and box, especially.

FAIRYTALE TABLEWARE, SET 8 LITTLE RIDING HOOD DISHES

I actually bought this set on purpose, and then got it in a blind box like 2 weeks later. It's so cute! It comes with 5 plates and plate stands that tell the story of Riding Hood. Great for display in a Blythe or Barbie house, or maybe even as over sized decorative pieces in a 1/12 house!

Lastly:

LOVELY CHOCOLATE, SET 9 "RELAX CHOCOLATE TIME"

A very nice set that will make you crave chocolate just looking at it! Comes with a tray, and cup of cocoa and a saucer, a plate with removable ice cream and a separate lava cake with fudge. Also comes with fork and teaspoon. Oh, and little tiny decorative raspberry garnishes. Seriously a nicely detailed set.

So, if anyone is interested in trade, please contact me via the blog and then we can trade emails or whatever! See you soon!

More Blythe!

I've been having so much fun with my new doll (says the 29 year old!) and I've been trying to learn how to sew. Back in my younger days when we were forced to take sewing and cooking class, I really hated them and preferred wood shop and metal shop (we had to take all of them different years in middle school). I thought sewing and cooking were too girly, too stereotypical or something... now I love to bake and wish so much that I could sew. Blythe has inspired me to be creative and crafty, which I haven't felt in a while.



I went to Michael's and found a plain hat for her big head, and decorated it with fun flowers and ribbons. I wish I could wear big flower hats like some kind of crazy Golden Girl and not be looked at funny!

I went out and bought a Re-Ment hutch and now all of the Re-Ment I keep in shoe boxes has an owner:


I used some of my dollhouse fabric for the bohemian dollhouse (which I've ignored for about 4 months now!) and tried to glue together a dress for her, which looked OK:

But finally, I got the nerve and found some needles and thread and downloaded an awesome free pattern online (puchicollective.com) and I actually sewed this dress with cruddy, crooked stitches... but it fits, and it looks OK! Maybe there is hope for me yet?



P.S. It's even lined, and it has Velcro in the back! Doesn't she look sharp?