Saturday, January 10, 2009

It's time to play..............


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Did you get anything special???? I mean.....that extra special something you have always wanted? Maybe you did ~ you just don't realize it yet! One year for Christmas, 1981 to be exact, Santa brought me a kit to make a dollhouse. I had always wanted one~ with lights and everything! It was a Greenleaf dollhouse kit~ all plywood that had to be punched out, sanded, and put together

I was 10 years old that Christmas.....and I can still remember being absolutely obsessed with building my new dollhouse! I had the entire dining room table all a mess....wood and glue and pieces everywhere......I can still see and hear my Pa walking thru, putting his hands on my shoulders and softly saying... "Do a good job now~ don't wanna rush" ....and when it came time to put the shingles on, I just could not go to bed until every last one was put on! I got the shell built before I had to go back to school, and a little at a time, I would work on my dollhouse. Id pick up bits here and there.....and spent hours and hours pouring thru Pa's Train catalogue, cause they had 1-1 scale wood mouldings in it too........

So Pa~ I have always taken your advise, and I hope that 27 years wasn't rushing it too much!

So come on in and play ~ will you?

I cant believe I finally have it finished~ just finished the porch railing today, and can call her d*o*n*e! Now I can spend the next 27 years finding and making neat little things to go inside! I have always thought of my house being an 1880 era farmhouse....but fell in love with the painting of the ship, so that is over my mantle, and I think the folk living here must be part of the Sea Trade....

My Ladye ( A beautiful one of a kind dolly by Marcia Backstrom) loves to sit at the window up in her bedroom and work on her sewing....I think she must be watching the horizon for her husbands ship to come sailing into port.... her sewing room is up in the tower.

Her Bodo Hennig treadle machine looks just like my White that I have here...........hmmmm, maybe the Ladye is 'me'

One of her little kittys, Curly, is wiggling and stretching on her bed. I made this quilt in 1987.

Heater is stoked with coal and warming up the bathroom for a nice long soak in the tub (I made all the furniture in the bedroom, bathroom, dining room, kitchen and parlour)

The olde pump organ has been the center of many a celebration

I think the dining room table is the first piece of furniture I made, its been so long I cant remember. I CAN remember the drawers of the sideboard are filled with teensy silverware!

My Ma made me the little crochet doily so long ago~ she was surprised the other day when I told her I still had it

Ohhh my kitchen~ a bit sparse....I need to get some food for it! I have always wanted an olde stove like this to cook on....was looking at one the other day, and at a price tag of 8 grand, looks like this is the only one I will ever have!

An attic just would not be complete without a beautiful wedding dress


Ladye keeps her dressing table so nice and neat....wonder what is in those drawers?


Thank you for stopping by to play! I absolutely love my Greenleaf Pierce dollhouse, and would highly recommend one to anyone as a gift that will last a lifetime!



6 comments:

Heather said...

Oh my goodness! Its absolutely amazing!!! You have done a beautiful job. I remember going to the hobby store when i was little and my favorite isle was the one with all the kit doll houses...I never got one, but I still love to look, and Im determined that when my daughter is old enough, Im gonna buy one for us--- er, HER!
;)

Barbara said...

It's just TOO COOL, Rachael!!! I can't believe you finally got it done. I've got to get Dad in here to read and look!! Now all you have to do is find a "minatures" store close to you so you can go "shopping" at least once a week! Get out your play dough, Honey (wasn't that stuff you bake called Fema, or Phyllo or something like that?) I know, Fema is a federal agency and Phyllo is for making wonder flakey baked goods, but I know you know what I mean. You used to make such cute things out of it, and TINY, too! I'll poke around here, I'll bet I still have some! You could make all sorts of lovely food for your table, like pies and cakes and bowls of fruit. Sculpt up a turkey with all the "fixins"! If I know you.....you're not d*o*n*e* yet!
LY Mom

Dollhouse Village said...

Hi Rachel, Congratulations, you did a great job with unique detail.
Can't wait to see your next project.

Barbara
www.manhattandollhouse.com

SweetAnnee said...

That is wonderful

MErry Christmas dear Rachael!!

deena

Carole said...

Rachael, the doll house is wonderful!!!!!!!!!! I think it's wonderful that you still enjoy it. I remembering having one too when I was small, but it was made of metal and i bought the furniture. It must be so much fun playing with it and making little things for it. I still have my set of blue willow dishes and a couple of my dolls and I am so glad I do. Some of us just never grow up, and I'm glad, because after all, I am still playing house and it's so fun.
Happy day-glad you like the stenciling.
Carole

Anonymous said...

Wow! Those doll house pictures are incredible! I felt like I was looking into a REAL house! Thanks