First Day of Summer..

I know, the first day of Summer was yesterday but I was a little busy to add this. It is so cloudy and cold it is hard to believe it is summer anyway! I'm sure it is going to turn blazing hot and we will have something else to complain about! Hahaha... Natural complainers we humans are!

This is Summer, my newest add to my bikini line. She was actually created for a customer but I haven't heard from him yet so if she stays she has a place in my family of dolls.

This was such an easy hat to make! I should make a video as it would be a fun project for kids.

Summer looks great in hers. Turquoise just seemed bright and sunny, even though we didn't have any sun to spit at...

The set is made to either be a bikini swimsuit or could be lingerie. I made a pair of skinny pants to go over the bikini bottoms and the cover-all jacket and hat are made from the same netted fabric. Summer comes with her own beach bag that holds her embroidered beach towel, that my grandson helped to cut out, and of course, one of her favorite magazines. Shoes to match complete the look.


So if summer ever arrives at least Summer will be ready!!

Second Guest Room

So, this is the second biggest bedroom upstairs, where Mike had his office but then wanted to move to the smallest room. The window here faces the front of the house, over-looking the driveway. You can see the river when the trees lose their leaves but the view in the smallest room is beautiful a year long as it looks up the hillside with all the huge rocks and ferns.

Anyway, this room is big and can handle color. We bought a bedroom set off of Craig's list that we both thought would make a wonderful guest room. It had presence, if you know what I mean. I never in my life thought I would ever choose any form of orange to paint a wall but this was a color I was moved to get. It is a burnt orange or sunset orange and warm and rich. The adjacent walls will be painted a toasty mocha to compliment the warmth.
This is my daughter, Dori, and her husband, James, making it look easy. I painted too, I just had to stop and take pictures!



Two coats later, we moved in the furniture. Mike hung a picture of "Sleeping Beauty" that we made the frame for a few years ago. I put the new mattress pad and sheets on, added the pillows and...



Voila! A lovely room to share with our guests.



We still have a few things to add. The rest of the bedding, a nice quilt and I'm looking for a vanity to match this set and a sitting chair and maybe a couple more pictures will finish it perfectly.

Vamping up at the Dollhouse

Mike decided to take this room as his office. It is the smallest of the upstairs room but it has a beautiful hardwood floor. So the first picture here is of the before and as you can see the previous owners tried to be creative. But this wasn't going to do for Mike's office space. I asked him what colors he would like and he surprised me with wanting a red, yes, I said "red", wall for accent. We went and looked at paint colors and he picked this one.

It was a chore to cover that mural and repair the damage from taking the scripture of the wall, it was glued on then painted over. So on with the red. I was amazed at how much depth it created. So on with the second coat and it warmed up even more. We choose a moss green for the other wall but the paint I bought was too blue so with my daughter, Dori's help, we used what was left over from painting the guest room downstairs and it turned out perfect. As you can see, Mike was happy taking it all in when he came home to a ready to set up, freshly painted, office space just for him.

The desk was a little too big to get through the door, the top of the desk was removed and that still wasn't enough so the door frame had to be chiseled away. Mike can repair that later.

The set looked wonderful and went well with the color of the walls.

Mike had to test out his chair. Of course, his kitty, Sophie, had to invite herself to join him.

I need to take a photo at night or at least later in the day so you could see the view of the hillside out back. It make this a great space and will make things more pleasant for Mike when he has to spend time working on his computer.

Now on to the next room!!

Second Furniture Design

At first glance you might think this is the same furniture as before but look closely at the legs and that is where you will see the difference. Ron made this set in hopes to offer top quality craftsmanship but at a little lower price. This is still heirloom furniture and will last for generations.

As you can see, it works well with the couch. This set is made with black walnut and a small band of maple for highlights all in a natural finish. Nothing is stained, just rubbed with tung oil to bring out the natural beauty. All the drawers work smoothly and have a beautiful sterling silver pull knob. Ron will be making these sets in many different types of exotic woods as they become available to him.

I think it makes a beautiful room.

It is a perfect set for setting up dioramas, for just play and pretend time. And as you can see, it is ageless as far as how old you are.

If you are interested in this furniture and any other items Ron creates, you can find them on my website, http://dollyknickers.org under the heading "Furniture".