Here Comes Fall!

Ahh ... now this is what I've been waiting for: FALL DECORATING!!

From the moment I picked the color of the house and the shutters (both of which are inspired directly from a picture of this house I found online), my vision has been fixated on FALL. Mmm ... Fall colors ...

So, last week, I got started crafting some decorations! Here's where it is so far. I'd wait for an entire reveal, but I really couldn't wait to show this off:

Yes, the Spring/Summer landscaping has been plucked and packed away for next year, but it wasn't a sad excavation as I absolutely cannot wait to turn this yard into a festival of delicious reds and oranges and yellows and browns! (Have I mentioned I love Fall?!)

So, the leaf garland just about makes me want to cry because I think it's so beautiful! Here's how that happened!

First, I snagged some Fall flower bunches at Michael's. I looked for the smallest petals I could find which wasn't easy because, apparently, the fake-flower-makers don't seem to have dollhouse size in mind when creating these:

Next, disassemble:

From there, I cut out the petals to make individual ones. Because this doesn't need to be exact, it was easy and fast. Here's the result:

Ooo ... action shot!

Okay. It took just a little trial and error to figure out how to put these together on a thread to make them look good. First, I simply threaded them, basically, through their centers. But, I realized they were going to lie too flat and look weird. I could wrinkle them up a bit, but it wasn't enough dimension for me. So, I pulled that thread apart and tried again by folding the petals in half and sewing through them. This was closer, but, it was still too ... wrong. I then tried folding the petal in half and then in half again and sewing up near the corner:

THIS was the magic! It worked perfectly!

I would suggest a pretty skinny needle to get through the thickness. Mine was a little bigger in diameter, and it made my fingers sore after a while! Ohhhh, but it was worth it!

I had no actual plan on how to hang these, but I got it figured out. For starters, I still haven't glued in the front door, so I could take it off and use skinny pieces of masking tape to fix the thread in place:

The leaves basically cover up the tape in the front. Unless staring closely (and, we all know the rule about that), it really can't be seen. If you notice it, just look away. 😁 I pulled the thread on the ends to go under the trim at the bottom of the doorway and taped it in place, too.

So, really, my lack of yet dealing with the door to completion paid off. Booyah ... Guess who now has no plans to permanently affix the front door ...

The garland around the post is taped at the base, but the top is pushed through the decorative porch trim which keeps it solidly in place without any adhesive!

It's a little blurry, but you get the idea.

Here are a few more looks:

Kitty moved from the patio to the porch
because she enjoys the colors that
compliment her. As it should be.

I bought a few of the sprigs that have decorative berries thinking I was going to use the very smallest pieces on the garland. But, when I tried, they just blended in and added nothing. So, I cut some branches and made the vase-thing (what do you even call that?) instead! I love that piece because I never planned it.

The next step is to get some Fall foliage going on in the yard! I have a few things to make, so, hang tight! (Did I mention 100 times I love Fall?!)

"C" Is For "Ceiling." Or, Apparently, "Cookies."

So, what's a girl to do with the holes punched out of the foam board ceiling? Make cookies, of course!

A few weeks ago, when I made the Girl Scout Cookie boxes, I got them from an online printable that also had cookies to go with the boxes:

I had no plans to put cookies into the boxes as I fill the food boxes with wood pieces and glue/poly them shut for durability. But, my brain started working on how to utilize the cookie pieces. Hmmm ...

Last night, I decided they would look good stuck on to the foam circles from the ceiling 😁. Here's what I did:

After swiping and wiping the printable with the microglaze to set the ink, I cut all of those little suckers out. It sounds more tedious than it was. It helps to have something excellent on TV, too. Anyway, I cut out two per cookie, one for the top and one for the bottom.

So, here are my little pieces. As they are quite thick, I smushed all of them:

The smushed one is a little more cookie sized to me:

Okay, as it was late at night, and I was on a roll, I didn't take pictures of the in-between process. What I did was color the edges of the foam pieces with either alcohol ink marker or Sharpie, depending on what color I needed, just so they weren't white. I called my color matching system, "Close Enough."

Then, one by one, I swiped a foam piece with some Fast Grab glue and stuck on the top. I did all of one side of each cookie before going back and doing the other. This allowed the glue to dry completely so I could also trim cookie paper pieces that were a little too large. Believe that this was not a perfect process. I called this trimming system, "Good Enough."

After attaching both sides of the cookies, it was time to poly them. While I definitely wanted the sheen from the poly, I also wanted these to be durable. The process finally did become just a little tedious once the clock went past 11 p.m., so I had no interest in the paper cookie parts crumbling down the road!

They dried enough that I could poly both sides before going to bed. Hooray!

And, this morning?!

While certainly thicker and more sandwich cookie-like, when looking at them from the side, than a Girl Scout Cookie, I think they are just absolutely fabulous!

That baking island is really getting loaded with options in case those chocolate chip cookies fail!

Oh, my gosh, that was FUN! And, it's the perfect use for the little jar! I'm pretty sure I bought that at a Christmas shop in Michigan this summer (The lady there also had a small sections of miniatures over which I droooooooled ... Christmas AND miniatures in the SAME PLACE?! Ahhh ...).

And, next?! I really really think it's a Fall project seeing as we're running out of September! Stay tuned!

No More Cooking In the Dark

The following does not constitute a Fall project as I anticipated doing. But, my head is constantly full of so many different ideas that I should have known I'd diverge for at least a little bit into brand new territory! I have had lighting of this house on my mind since before the kit even arrived to build, so, today was the day to strike while the creative iron was hot!

I read the main idea of this project on a miniatures Facebook group I follow (I follow three and have NO idea from which I read this because I *think* it was in the comments of someone's photo). So, while I don't think I would have ever come up with this idea on my own, I am definitely proud of figuring out how to do it!

'Ready to see the kitchen lit up?!?! Here's the spoiler!

Oh, yes. That's some recessed lighting! Here's how it happened!

First, I obtained a new piece of foam board. While I have some older pieces stashed away, they are all warped. And, no one wants a warped ceiling. So, I sprung the less-than-$2 for a new piece. I measured the space where the ceiling would go in such a way that I could wedge the piece in and have it stay put. That way, when the lights burn out or I need to fix something, I can easily remove it.

After measuring the space, I simply cut the new ceiling piece with a metal edge and an X-acto:

From there, I removed the string of lights from the little girls' room because it's the only one I have with only 20 lights (don't worry, she'll get a new set!). For this space, 20 is more than enough. Then, I measured out where each would go:

My measurements are simply based on how many fit well on a side. Whatever was left over would just be run down the wall on the outside of the house and under the table to the on/off switch.

The holes are simply made with a regular-ol' hole puncher. If you do this project, experiment with punching the foam board to see where and how the punch will indent the board so the unsightly dents are on the side no one sees! In the picture below, I'm showing the side that is up against the existing ceiling (or, the unseen side). The side that can be seen is a little indented inward which works well for the recessing.

The next step was to paint the inside of the holes for the "can" look. It's kind of hard to see here, but it's there:

Then, I strung the lights to the holes one by one and taped the wire in place as I moved along. The tape will not only keep the lights in place, but I figured covering the wire was a good idea in case jamming the piece into its space scratched up the original ceiling:

I put some of the Elmer's putty on the corners just to keep it up against the ceiling:

It turned out that what I really needed to do was use a strip of putty all the way across the piece because, without it, there was just enough of a gap between the original and new ceiling pieces that light came through, and it looked really bad. So, I started wedging putty into the gap. I did it this way because I didn't want to unwedge the whole piece of ceiling if I didn't have to. I pushed the putty through the gap with the X-acto knife, cleaned up the edges and clamped it:

I have old gift cards between the clamp and the ceiling to prevent clamp dents!

This ceiling piece actually only goes to the end of the wall where you see the microwave (also adhered with the putty, by the way!). The tricky part of this ceiling design is the fact that I didn't wall off between the kitchen and the front entryway, so there's a lot of open ceiling space. My original vision here was that there would be a little ledge of new ceiling if looking at it from the front. And, I figured no one would care. While it did look reasonably good with the lights off, I had issues when the lights came on because, like the other side, you could see light peeking between the new and old ceiling pieces:

It actually looks better in the picture than it did in real life! But, I wasn't having it. Fortunately, I still had a piece of crown molding that I barely needed to cut to make fit and cover the gap!

That took care of that! (It's not perfect, so glance to ooo-and-ahh because if you stare, well, don't.)

Keeping in mind I did not want this project permanent in any way, I cut really thin strips of Velcro and attached them to the edge of the foam board. Then, I put really thin strips of Velcro on the back edge of the crown molding. Ta-Da! Up it goes, and it can easily come out AND go back in when necessary! I lined the top of the molding with the putty mostly to keep any little light from peeking through.

So, there you have it! I am SO happy with this! Here are two more views from the kitchen side:

Next? Well, I'd say what I plan, but it's not necessarily what I'll do! So, I'll let the next update be a surprise (even to myself!)!

Canines and Consumables

With Fall just around the corner, I've been working on putting some projects to a temporary halt while plotting and planning getting ready for seasonal projects! I needed to clear some space on the work table for the latest and greatest creations!

To that end, I found places for the food stuff! Some of the Girl Scout cookies are on the baking island (I suppose in case the homemade creations are a total fail!):

I'm loving the Sams'-sized box of Goldfish hanging out in the corner, too! Because, where else does one store such a behemoth?!

And, here, the kitty insists on some food ...

She's all, "It's RIGHT HERE, hoo-mons!"

... while the dumb dog begs for what's not his!

These pups have it goin' on in their corner of the kitchen. When no one is looking, they're going to tear into those boxes of treats, just sayin'.

The eat-in area is set up for a little snack time:

And, on the eat-in wall is one of my favorite places:

The donuts are way-up-high doing that out-of-sight-out-of-mind thing.

In the family room, more of the peeps have a stash of something tasty ...

That guy is going for it with the Girl Scout cookies while the pup is anxiously waiting for the inevitable crumb drops!

While not a food creation, the toothpaste and soap found their homes, too:

I love the little things already in the bathroom on the vanity. Perhaps I could make this family a shower curtain sometime ...

The other big notable is that the house could probably technically be called a kennel by now! I have a very difficult time resisting picking up the pups at garage sales and antique stores. So, I don't tend to resist! Because ... why.

There are three dogs in the house including this one ...

... that are actually from a family collection. They were a part of the Christmas "mountain" scenes we built under our Christmas tree as a kid. I'm pretty sure these are dogs my Dad used in his mountain scenes when he was a kid. It's a long story, but it's really fun bringing these to life on an everyday basis!

These, too, are recent adoptees:

The one in the chair was a must-have particularly because she's blue. And, no, that will not be her name. I'm still thinking on names for all of them because there are so many! Ah, but that won't stop them from getting named! ANYWAY, the collie up there and the one here ...

... came from an antique store in Michigan this summer. I had a hard time deciding between the two. So, you guessed it, I didn't. HOW COULD I CHOOSE?!

Also from Michigan came this dalmatian ...

... who is politely requesting to share with Grandma's Life Savers. (Barking up the right tree, there, pal.)

Across the front lawn is this little one whom I could not resist given her flower crown:

She reminds me of what My Girl would pick out, so I had to have her.

Oh, but, wait. There's more! Upstairs, we have the resident corgi:

I don't know how he got up on the bunk bed, but do we really ever know how little boys accomplish their daily antics?

And, in a room straight above, this sweet pup wants to get in on the cuddle-in-Grandpa's-lap action!

The cat is all, "Just try it."

You saw one of its siblings waiting for the Girl Scout cookie crumbs and its mama in the kitchen doorway. There's another sibling, though!

It would like to chew on a crayon or two, thank you. (You can see in the background over the girl's shoulder that there's a box of kitty litter, finally. Now if they only had a litter box ...)

This little family made an appearance this summer at the teddy bear picnic on the rooftop patio ...

 ... but, I didn't want them to be overlooked!

One of my favorite recent adoptees is this little one:

She's just kind of chill minding her own business in the fancy-schmancy room (which has also received a little attention with the additional buffet, flower vase and coffee/cake time!)!

My very most-favorite of all of them will remain this one, though ...

... because she looks the most like my very-favorite-dog-ever. 😊💛

Up next?! FALL. Ohhhhh, how I love Fall! I have lots of ideas just waiting to come to life! Stay tuned!