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Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Christmas In A Mouse Hole
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Dollhouse wallpapers in shades of blue...
Click on the images to download the largest available size. Three leafy, lovely wallpapers for you to choose in blue shades. This tiny pattern will dress up any dollhouse wall in something petite and perfectly Victorian. Although, blues were not the most favored colors of that era, they have always been my own preference.
Blue and white version |
A paler blue on a darker color |
The original version of blue and ivory, aged with time. |
Monday, October 14, 2024
Make Dollhouse Wreaths Using Felt Squares
Mantels for a dollhouse in watercolor . . .
''Comfort, cheer and restfulness are the natural accompaniments of a Mosaic Faience Fireplace Arc and Mantel such as this, and there is a subtle appeal in its simplicity.'' |
Surely then the setting of the open fire becomes a matter of importance - the fireplace and mantel. In ancestral homes these have always been outstanding examples of the architecture of the period and have reflected the character and tastes of the owner." The Mosaic Tile Company, Zanesville, Ohio.
I've restored the following tile work printables for visitors to decoupage with inside of a dollhouse. The original designs were by the Ohio Mosaic Tile Company.
Sunday, October 13, 2024
The Collie Paper Doll Dog
The collie came from Scotland and was used to help heard sheep. |
''This collie lives on a farm and loves to help his mistress carry home the mail."
THE COLLIE
''The rough Collies have been working dogs for centuries, though the earlier breed was smaller and lacked the handsome appearance of the modern dogs. Originally used for herding sheep, collies were made generally popular by the admiration of Queen Victoria. The height should be 20 to 24 inches at the shoulder and the weight 40 to 60 pounds.
Collies are usually black and tan with white frill and collar or a rich orange brown with white frill, collar and face. The may also be pure white or sable." Cook
More About Collies:
The Fox Terrier Paper Doll Dog
"The fox terrier weights about 18 pounds.'' |
The Chihuahua Paper Doll Dog
"Chihuahuas originated in Mexico hundreds of years ago." |
"Paco says his chihuahua is a lively, playful little dog. He has smooth hair and is easy to train."
The Chihuahua
More About The Chihuahua:
Thursday, October 10, 2024
How to make a Christmas popcorn tin for dolls . . .
In the United States, people often gift large quantities of popcorn to their family and friends packaged inside giant tins. This popcorn is not your average variety, buttered or plain, like the popcorn purchased from a movie theater or at a fair. This popcorn comes in a wide assortment of flavors like: caramel with peanuts, peppermint, cheddar cheese, and other candy flavors. The flavor choices are divided from each other inside the tin by a cardboard partition with two or four compartments. Our Christmas popcorn tin has two special varieties: peppermint and cheddar cheese.
Popcorn tins are usually barrel shaped and decorated with all kinds of festive Christmas scenes.The one we use for this dolly craft is just the right size for 18'' dolls. |
To make a craft for your doll's Christmas popcorn you will first need a tin with Christmas motifs on the outside. These are easy to find in thrift stores, grocery stores, hobby shops and online. Scrap cardboard, newsprint or tissue paper, white school glue, Mod Podge, masking tape, Styrofoam beads and acrylic paints are all the supplies necessary for the following process.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Clean a small Christmas tin for this craft. Make sure the tin is thoroughly dry before proceeding to the following steps.The finished 18" doll sized popcorn
tin for Christmas play.- Stuff the tin with crushed newsprint or tissue paper all the way up the inside of the can minus about an inch of space from the top.
- Fold a piece of scrap white cardboard to fit and divide a shallow space at the top of the can. This cardboard should fit snuggly on top of the crushed paper, across the filled cavity.
- Squeeze a generous portion of white school glue inside of each space and fill these with the white Styrofoam beads. Let dry.
- Repeat step 4. again if necessary. Sometimes the beads settle and you might need a second application to make the divided spaces look as though each is filled generously with pretend popcorn.
- Paint the Styrofoam beads with acrylic colors representing the kind of popcorn you wish your dolls to eat during the holidays. I used yellow for faux 'cheddar cheese flavor' and pink for faux 'peppermint' flavor.
- Once the paints are dry, seal all of the inside parts with a coat or two of Mod Podge.
Monday, October 7, 2024
How to Decorate Miniature Halloween Tree
The first step in decorating any holiday tree, no matter the size of the tree, is to string lights within it's branches. I chose skeleton shaped white lights for this tree because the theme is for Halloween of course. I will hide the large battery pack beneath a tree skirt once the rest of the black miniature tree has been decorated.
Left, a small table-top tree in black for a Halloween display. Right, orange and black ornaments and garlands. On the far right, a handmade paper garland. |
Above is an assortment of tiny, handmade ornaments for a doll sized Halloween tree. |
- Cut a pair of tiny bat shaped wings from the black paper.
- Glue a small black pom pom in the center of the wings for the bat's head
- Glue tiny googly eyes in the center of the pom pom. Let dry
- Glue black thread to the back of the bat for a hanger
- Cut a piece of ruffled cup-cake liner and pinch it at one end.
- Using tacky white glue push the pinched end of paper into the center of a white pom pom.
- Glue on googly eyes.
- Draw on a mouth with the permanent ink pen.
- Glue on the thread to make a hanger.
- Cut small circles from the white typing paper and cut them in half.
- Curl the half circles into cone shapes, pasting their over-lapping corners together. Let these cones dry completely.
- Thread a needle and poke it into the tip of each hat pulling it down through the cone. Then poke through a tuft of cotton and string a loop through the interior of the cone up and out the tip again.
- Squeeze a bit of tacky glue inside the cone to dry and hold the thread hanger in place. See photo below.
- Cut more circles from paper for the brims of the hats and glue the cones to the brims. Let dry.
- Paint the witches hats to look just like candy corn. The tips should remain white, the centers will have a dark orange stripe and the bottoms of each candy corn hat will be bright yellow.
See how to assemble the candy corn hats for our tree. |
4.) tiny broom sticks - The supplies needed for the tiny brooms: a chenille stem, decorative paper for ''straw'', brown paint, cotton balls (just a few) and thread for hanger.
- Cut long narrow strips of paper and cut a ruffle running down each strip.
- Cut a piece of chenille stem approximately 1 1/2'' long.
- Squeeze tacky craft glue onto the stem and paper as you twist the paper around the stem to make the broom bottom.
- Use thread to twist around the paper and make it adhere to the stem better.
- Twist a bit of cotton and glue around the stem of each broom to make the handles smooth.
- Paint the handles.
- Tie a narrow ribbon or thread to the end of the broom handle to make hangers for the tiny brooms.
- You can purchase any stickers of your own taste to layer on top of cardboard and paper to make flat ornaments for a tree.
- Paste on hangers to the backs or poke a hole with a threaded needle through the tops of the ornaments so that these can be hung on a miniature Halloween tree.
- Cut a decorative drinking straw into short lengths to thread together with pom poms and beads for a garland. The straw and pom poms are very light weight and are easily hung on the fragile wire branches of a miniature tree!
Left, details of a small owl tree topper, he wears a candy corn party hat and velvet orange ruffled collar. Right, details of miniature ornaments especially made for All Hallows. |
Sunday, October 6, 2024
In The Indian Summer
IN THE INDIAN SUMMER
By Joaquin Miller.
The squirrels chattered in the leaves,
The turkeys call'd from paw-paw wood,
The deer with lifted nostrils stood,
And humming-birds did wind and weave,
Swim round about, dart in and out,
Through fragrant forest edge made red,
Made many colored overhead
By climbing blossoms sweet with bee
And yellow rose of Cherokee.
Then frost came by and touched the leaves;
Then time hung ices on the eaves;
Then cushion-snows possessed the ground,
And so the seasons kept their round.
Yet still old Morgan went and came
From cabin door to forest dim.
Through wold of snows, through wood of flame.
Through golden Indian-Summer days
Hung round in soft September haze;
And no man crossed or questioned him.
How to Craft Baba Yaga's Fairytale Hut
I handcrafted this Baba Yaga hut for my younger child. She has always loved Slavic folktales and collects some unique paraphernalia around themes found in these stories.
Baba Yaga is a common witch caricature associated with these foreign folktales. Sometimes she plays the villain, sometimes the hero, depending upon the author, time of harvest, culture or country where she is found. Her hut is always trying to run from her and any persons who might try to enter it's curious enchanted rooms.
- scrap cardboard, both thick and thin
- one small recycled box for the lower half of the hut
- one large, recycled Quaker Oats paper can or a salt box for the upper tower half of the hut
- white school glue
- hot glue gun and hot glue
- acrylic paints - browns, white, yellows, black, grey and green
- chenille stems (for chain)
- 2 identical blocks of wood for stand
- two identical dowel rods
- masking tape
- faux wooden scrapbook paper
- dismantled pine cone scales for the chicken legs
- giant lotus pod for the roof
- paper mache pulp
- one nail
- one paper, recycled toilet paper tube
- Mod Podge
- wood glue
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Cut two identical wooden blocks for the base of this project. The wood should be heavy.
- Drill holes in the same locations on both blocks, large enough to insert two identical wooden dowels several inches apart.
- Insert the dowels using wood glue and let this stand dry overnight. (see photo below)
- Now tape and glue a small box on top of this platform.
- The top part of this box should have it's upper flaps ''peaked'' using masking tape and glue to form a simple ''V'' shaped roof line.
- Cut the bottom of a large Quaker Oat can to fit snugly over the peaked roof top. This should be in a ''U'' shape.
- Glue an up-side-down, dried lotus pod to the top of the can to assemble a unique roof shape for this old fairytale folk hut.
- Crush masking tape in an eyeball shape for the window attachment to the tower. Stick this on tight and shape/glue a window frame from light weight cardboard to frame around the eyeball.
- Smooth and fill in this window to the soul of the enchanted hut using paper mache pulp. Save the remaining pulp to shape the ''chicken feet'' of the hut at the hut's platform base. Wait for the pulp to harden and dry completely before painting these crazy features of Baba Yaga's home.
- Next cut the window frames and door from scrap cardboard and attach these to the hut with glue.
- Move on to cutting the shingles for the roof and sides of the hut walls and glue these firmly in place.
- Cut a hole into the side of the hut for the chimney flu using the recycled toilet paper tube, masking tape and several types of glue. You can assemble the larger elements of the hut using hot glue but then save the white glue for the finer details excluding the pine cone shingles; these must be applied with hot glue and adult supervision.
- At this point in the project you will need to prepare the work area to use a hot glue gun in order to make the faux stone tower. Apply the hot glue in small random lumps about the tower's surface. Let dry.
- Shape a large bulky chain using the chenille stems. Wrap white glue and paper about the surfaces of the stems to make these smoother and thicker. Make and attach a cuff from cardboard and attach the chain to a large nail hammered into the base of the base and also to one of the chicken legs on the hut.
- Hot glue the pine cone seed scales to form both the small arbor over the door and also the upper feather-like parts of the chicken legs. These scales are torn from the peduncle of the pine cone using pliers and strength.
- Now you may paint the entire cardboard home for Baba Yaga using natural, weathered-looking acrylic paints. I applied thin washes of brown, green and gray on the shingles and roof.
- I painted the hut's eyeball green and also the platform.
- Use warm yellows and orange to paint the chicken legs too.
- Paste faux wooden papers on the window frames and door the make these look more realistic.
- I painted the interior of the window flat black and grey. Later I made a bone shaped handle for the door knob at my daughter's request. However, you don't need to attach one if you wish, Baba's hut is always trying to keep both her and any visitors from entering the house anyway...
- Paint the stonework about the tower grey.
- Mod Podge every surface to seal the finished hut.
Left, the back of the hut. Center, details of the hut's shingled walls. Right, see the rickety stove pipe sticking out from the side of the house. |
Left, see the hut in it's basic parts. Center, the chicken's feathered legs are made using pine cone scales and a hot glue gun. Right, the roof top is an inverted lotus pod! |
Left, the hut's chicken legs are always moving the hut about the fairyland forest, so these must be chained down so that Baba can find her home at least some of the time anyway... Right, Baba's home is done and ready to be gifted to my younger daughter; she is crazy about Slavic folk tales. |
Friday, September 27, 2024
Popping Corn
Popping Corn
Oh, the sparkling eyes,
In a fairy ring!
Ruddy glows the fire,
And the corn we bring;
Tiny lumps of gold,
One by one we drop;
Give the pan a shake;-
Pip! pop! pop!
Pussy on the mat
Wonders at the fun;
Merry little feet
Round the kitchen run;
Smiles and pleasant words
Never, never stop;-
Lift the cover now;-
Pip! pop! pop!
What a pretty change!
Where's the yellow gold?
Here are snowy lambs
Nestling in the fold;
Some are wide awake,
On the floor they hop;
Ring the bell for tea!
Pip! pop! pop!
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Through the mousehole . . .
I will be adding more crafts for mice in late October here, 2024.
How to Craft Mouse Dolls:
- How to make a sock mouse for display...
- How to make a matchbox bed for a mouse... and see a pink country house for a mouse here
- Town Mouse and Country Mouse paper dolls - color these in, both are male versions
- The Mousie Bride Paper Doll - in full color
Read Mouse Stories Online:
- Whitefoot Spends A Happy Winter by Thorton W. Burgess - third grade reading level
- The Cat, the Rooster and the Young Mouse
- Little Mouse Tales and free book children can print
- Read about the mouse named Peanut who cares for a dollhouse family...
- The Mice and The Weasels
- Grasshopper Green and the Medow-Mice at Project Gutenberg
- The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse by Beatrix Potter
- Kindness Is Never Wasted
- Teaching Church Mice About Church
- Raggedy Ann and The Mouse - 4th to 5th grade reading level
- The Christopher Churchmouse Treasury
- The Country Mouse and The Town Mouse Story
- Christmas in a Mouse Hole
- ''There's a Mouse in My House'' read aloud by green grass story
- ''Chrysanthemum'' read aloud by Storytime with Ryan and Craig
- ''If you give a mouse a cookie'' read aloud by 5 minutes with Uncle Ben
- ''Mice'' read aloud by pure star kids
- "Mouse Soup'' read aloud by ReadingAllowed
- ''Fierce Grey Mouse'' read aloud by Hubble & Hattie
- ''Run Home Little Mouse'' read aloud by Meredith Plummer
- ''Welcome Home, Mouse'' read aloud by Storytime with Judy
- ''The Mother's Day Mice'' read aloud by Storytime Magic
- "Mice and Beans'' read aloud by San Joaquin County Office of Education
- "Goodnight Mice!'' read aloud by The Reading Nook
- "A House For A Mouse" read aloud by Bed Time Buddies
- ''A Mouse Called Julian'' read aloud by cawcawbooks
- ''Brave As A Mouse'' read aloud by Doing It Right
- Molly and the Mouse - by Maurine Hathaway - "Five -year-old Mollie Was holding her dollie...''
- Mouse's Tail by Helen Pettes - ''A little Mouse, so clean and neat, Would wash his face and scrub his feet..."
- Mouse Sized Rhymes - "A little white hen, duck and a mouse, Together they lived in a little white house..."
Mice that star in short films:
- ''The Box'' animated short film shown at CGMeetup
- ''Mouse For Sale'' animated short film by Wouter Bongaerts shown at Mickey Mouse Channel
- ''A Fox And A Mouse'' by ESMA shown at The CGBros
- ''Wings'' animated short film SVA Thesis at Gothfrog
- Mouse decorates the Christmas tree by MouseAgility
The Surprise
'Surprises sometimes are so great
You 're tempted to believe in fate. ' Whitefoot.
Back and The End and Back to the Index
Whitefoot Is Hurt
'The hurts that hardest are to bear
Come from those for whom we care. ' Whitefoot
''You can't come in," said she.
''Why can't I?" demanded Whitefoot, in the greatest surprise.
''Never mind why. You can't, and that is all there is to it'' replied Mrs. Whitefoot.
''You mean I can't ever come in anymore?" asked Whitefoot.
''I don't know about that'' replied Mrs. Whitefoot, ''but you can't come in now, nor for sometime. I think the best thing you can do is to go back to your old home in the hollow stub."
''Whitefoot stared at little Mrs. Whitefoot quite as if he thought she had gone crazy. Then he lost his temper. ''I guess I'll come in if I want to," said he. '' This home is quite as much my home as it is yours. You have no right to keep me out of it. Just you get out of my way''
But little Mrs. Whitefoot didn't get out of his way, and do what he would, Whitefoot could not get in. You see she quite filled that little round doorway. Finally, he had to give up trying. Three times he came back and each time he found little Mrs. Whitefoot in the doorway. And each time she drove him away. Finally, for lack of any other place to go to, he returned to his old home in the old stub. Once he had thought this the finest home possible, but now somehow it did not suit him at all. The truth is he missed little Mrs. Whitefoot, and so what had once been a home was now only a place in which to hide and sleep.
Whitefoot's anger did not last long. It was replaced by that hurt feeling. He felt that he must have done something little Mrs. Whitefoot did not like, but though he thought and thought he couldn't remember a single thing. Several times he went back to see if Mrs. Whitefoot felt any differently, but found she didn't. Finally she told him rather sharply to go away and stay away. After that Whitefoot didn't venture over to the new home. He would sometimes sit a short distance away and gaze at it longingly. All the joy had gone out of the beautiful springtime for him. He was quite as unhappy as he had been before he met little Mrs. Whitefoot. You see, he was even more lonely than he had been then. And added to this loneliness was that hurt feeling, which made it ever and ever so much worse. It was very hard to bear.
''If I could understand it, it wouldn't be so bad,'' he kept saying over and over again to himself, ''but I don't understand it. I don't understand why Mrs. Whitefoot doesn't love me anymore."
The Whitefoots Enjoy Their New Home
'No home is ever mean or poor
Where love awaits you at the door. ' Whitefoot.
''It is wonderful'' declared Whitefoot admiringly. ''Wherever did you learn to build such a house as this?"
''From my mother.'' replied Mrs. Whitefoot. "I was born in just such a home. It makes the finest kind of a home for Wood Mouse babies.''
"You don't think there is danger that the wind will blow it down, do you?'' ventured Whitefoot.
"Of course I don't, " retorted little Mrs. Whitefoot scornfully.
''Hasn't this old nest remained right where it is for over a year? Do you suppose that if I had thought there was the least bit of danger that it would blow down, I would have used it? Do credit me with a little sense, my dear."
''Yes'm, I do," replied Whitefoot meekly. ''You are the most sensible person in all the Great World.''
I was not finding fault. You see, I have always lived in a hole in the ground or a hollow stump, or a hole in a tree, and I have not yet become used to a home that moves about and rocks as this one does when the wind blows. But if you say it is all right, why of course it is all right. Probably I will get used to it after awhile.''
Whitefoot did get used to it. After living in it for a few days, it no longer seemed strange, and he no longer minded its swaying when the wind blew. The fact is, he rather enjoyed it. So Whitefoot and Mrs. Whitefoot settled down to enjoy their new home. Now and then they added a bit to it here and there.
Somehow Whitefoot felt unusually safe, safer than he had ever felt in any of his other homes. You see, he had seen several feathered folk alight close to it and not give it a second look. He knew that they had seen that home, but had mistaken it for what it had once been,the deserted home of one of their own number.
Whitefoot had chuckled. He had chuckled long and heartily. "If they make that mistake'' said he to himself, "everybody else is likely to make it. That home of ours is right in plain sight, yet I do believe it is safer than the best hidden home I ever had before. Shadow theWeasel never will think of climbing up this little tree to look at an old nest, and Shadow is the one I am most afraid of.''
It was only a day or two later that Buster Bear happened along that way. Now Buster is very fond of tender Wood Mouse. More than once Whitefoot had had a narrow escape from Buster's big claws as they tore open an old stump or dug into the ground after him. He saw Buster glance up at the new home without the slightest interest in those shrewd little eyes of his. Then Buster shuffled on to roll over an old log and lick up the ants he found under it. Again Whitefoot chuckled. ''Yes, sir'' said he. ''It is the safest home I've ever had.''
So Whitefoot and little Mrs. Whitefoot were very happy in the home which they had built, and for once in his life Whitefoot did very little worrying. Life seemed more beautiful than it had ever been before. And he almost forgot that there was such a thing as a hungry enemy.
Making Over An Old House
'A home is always what you make it.
With love there you will ne'er forsake
it. ' Whitefoot.