The Sofa Arrives!

My Smidge sofa is here! Wow, that was quick! It is beautifully made and perfectly suited to Josephine. I didn't even redress her for this photo. That's just some old thing she was wearing around the house.

This weekend was really busy. I decided to take the upcoming Year of Luxury seriously. I painted Josephine's living room and installed the wainscotting. Course, I shoulda painted the wall first and the wainscotting got a bit twisty but I still like it. After it's done, it will look like this:

See how perfect my new sofa looks in this room too? This will probably be Josephine's living room sometimes and a cafe at other times. This means I'm still going to need some Smidge chairs for my sitting room. C'mon payday!

So why wainscotting on only 3/4th of the wall? Well, the truth is, I don't have a wood cutter mechanism for the molding. Not even a little saw. And I wanted Josephine to have a foyer anyway, so this worked out.

I lamented the loss of my damask wallpaper. I really liked it but considering the sofa, it just wouldn't work. So I made a wall of my last scrap of foam core and used the damask for the adjacent entranceway. Since it would be Josephine's house only at certain times, I made a little door out of that Barbie screen that all of us seem to have. It never worked well as a screen for me, so voila, French doors. But it warped terribly on me. I'm weighing it down now hoping to restore it a bit.

I also sponge painted Josephine's bedroom ochre mixed with some gold. I'm attaching two doors from one of those cheapo jewlery box that looks like a mini armoire. More French doors. I gave up after the first screw. I dunno what this dollhouse shelf is made of but it ain't wood, at least not in wood's natural state. I even drilled a little starter hole but the screw just won't catch. I'm ready to tape the hinges the wall. Well, maybe some hot glue....

Also, some troubling news. I had Gypsy Ken sitting with Carmen the gypsy sorceress for a week and there is no spark. They don't like each other. Mattel and Fashion Royalty. I mean. It was bound to happen. Plus Gypsy Ken loves Josephine. But I have a solution: This dude

Just imagine him with a nice manly gypsy moustache and eyebrows. That will make him look a lot less douchey.

Oh, what of the gypsy caravan? Glad you asked. I ordered some henna stencils to decorate the outside and I really wasn't very pleased with them. This was through Amazon marketplace. So I got an email asking for feedback. Now I order from Amazon all the time and this is a first. So though there was the usual jazz: call us before you leave feedback, I figured hey, I'll just be honest since you asked for feedback and all. I gave them a poor citing poor quality, getting a duplicate stencil instead of one advertised. So I got a call later asking if I would change the feedback if they sent me a bunch of stencils. Uh? Yeah. So lucky day, free stencils! I do feel like I was a bad small business buyer though.

Okay so after Josephine's house is done, I have to install some doors or covers for the dollhouses. Are you guys familiar with Em'lia Couture? She made some large doors for her doll shelves to keep her cats out. But she made them look like real houses. Just gorgeous. Maybe on the next wave of creativity but for now I just need to keep the interested hands away. Iris is growing very fast.

Know what I love? Expedit shelves. I have the one with 8 cubes and it is a very pleasing room size for dolls. My mom has the 12 cube for her sewing room. My sister uses it for her library and to organize her magazine collections. They're even perfect size for vinyl albums.

Anyway, as I figure it, if I buy the 4 cube ones, which are like $40, I can handle them more easily. They are open on both sides, so I make cardboard or foamcore walls to affix to the back. Adjusting it is problematic when you have to deal with a bigger shelf. Plus if I get the door or drawer inserts, I can keep my stuff organized and the kids from choking to death. Then I can have doll scenes from floor to ceiling if I want.

Okay I love you three and all but I need some more followers! Time to pimp myself out there on the doll forums. I think much of my time will be spent there during the Year of Luxury.

smooches,

dani