Old print of gentlemen "brook fishing" for native trout.
If tired businessmen could turn back the clock the banks of all the little brooks of the world would be crowded with small boys and their dogs. Of all the days of our youth, the most delightful were those we spent with a dog, a fishhook, and a can of worms along the brook that skirted the farm.
Weekdays were taken up with school and chores, but Saturday was our own and from early spring until late fall we haunted its banks. There was a can of worms under the back porch, the by-product of a job of spading we had done in the kitchen garden.
Calling the dog, we climbed the gate to the pasture and walked down the cow path across the fields to the brook. It was quiet and restful there; dragonflies buzzed about the pools and a rare leaf floated down to the water from the overhanging trees. At a bend a weeping willow leaned far out over the water. Here a deep pool had been washed out and here the biggest shiners and sunfish lay. While the dog investigated the latest messages in the skunk and groundhog holes along the bank, we cut a willow pole, tied on the line, using a ketchup bottle cork for a bobber.
All the long afternoon, as the shadows lengthened across the pole, we sat and watched the bobber, hoping for the big one that we never caught. Chore time came too soon and we reluctantly crossed the meadow again, carrying a half-dozen small fry strung on a piece of packing string. That evening an indulgent mother served them, crisp and brown. We ate them, tails, fins and bones
The huckster wagon, which at one time linked American farms to the crossroads store, has passed into limbo along with the buggy, the buffalo robe, and the bustle. In its heyday, during the century preceding the early 1900's, it was indispensable. While it brought the goods of the general store to isolated farms, and was run for profit by the storekeeper, it was much more than that to the lonely housewife tucked away among the endless fields.
There may be a few tough survivors in the Tennessee hills, or in the Ozarks but most children today would not recognize a huckster wagon if they saw one. There are modern grocery stores on wheels, luxurious vehicles on rubber, stocked with every- thing the inner man can desire. But these effete equipages are not to be confused with the old-time horse-drawn wagon piloted by a rugged, versatile individual who was more than a peddler-he was an institution, a cog in the wheel that brought America from the pioneer's log cabin to greatness. The roads he traveled were either ankle deep in dust or they were knee deep in mud. Through heat and cold and storm he made his appointed rounds. He was resourceful and hardy, and he had hair on his chest.
Such a huckster was Matt Fichter of Fichter Bros. General Store. The Fichter store was, and still is, the hub of the little universe of Reily, a quiet village among the rolling hills of Butler County, Ohio. The Fichter Bros. at one time operated huckster routes six days a week and kept three teams, which they used on alternate days, in their stables.
Matt, the younger of the two Fichter brothers, was the huckster. On huckstering days he'd roll out of bed at three in the morning. The night before he stocked the shelves of his wagon and filled the special orders from the previous trip. The wagon jolted out of Reily before dawn and drove into the first farmhouse before the morning milk pails stopped rattling.
When Matt's wagon turned in at the end of the lane the housewife put on a clean apron, slicked up her hair, and went out to the barnyard to meet it; the children appeared out of nowhere, the dogs barked, and father tied his team to the fence at the end of the corn row and walked up to the house.
Matt knew what was expected of him. He was a talkative and gregarious man, and as he wrapped the reins around the whip and climbed down from his seat, he began a discourse on the state of crops on the other side of the county, the health of the neighbors up and down the line, the arrival of new babies, national and local politics, and what to do in case of sunstroke in the hayfield. He passed along the gossip he had collected along his route. He was in a hurry, for he had to cover a ten-mile circuit before dark, but he knew that if he didn't throw in a bonus of gossip his customers would be disappointed.
He weighed the week's butter, loaded the egg crates, and stuffed a half-dozen culled hens into the crate hung beneath the tail gate. He dived into the dark recess of the wagon and filled the grocery order, drew a gallon of kerosene from a tank beneath the seat, and made a memo of next week's wants. As a parting gesture he gave each of the kids a stick of candy, climbed into the seat, and clucked his ponies into a trot. The wagon disappeared down the road in a cloud of dust.
Matt's morning passed with trading and talking from kitchen to kitchen. He made his noonday stop at a big elm tree beside a creek on a solitary stretch of dusty road. In the deep shade at the side of the road Matt ate the lunch prepared for him at home. He fed his horses, and watered them from a bucket filled at the creek. Then he readied his accounts and set out on the afternoon run.
His bookkeeping was important, for most of his customers paid their bills just twice a year-when the hogs were sold in the spring and when harvesting was over in the fall. The farmer and his hired hand were carried on credit. If a bad year came along, the accounts were carried for the next year. Most people paid as soon as they got the money. Sometimes a ne'er- do-well took his family and skipped the county, but these risks were expected. Honest folk could not be penalized.
The liberality of credit during the huckstering days of the Fichter Bros. is written through the pages of their heavy, leather-bound ledgers. Scarcely anyone was refused if he asked to be "put on the book for a spell." There was no high-pressure collecting. Back in 1929 Jim Wilkes had a bad year, like so many others. His bill mounted to several hundred dollars as one streak of hard luck followed another. Jim made a slow recovery, but Matt continued to stop at his place every week. Finally he was paying his bills regularly again, but nothing was ever said to him about his 1929 debt. Twenty years passed; the 1929 ledger had a thick coating of dust on it, and the paper was already yellowed. Then one day two years ago Jim walked into Fichter Bros. store and put down the money he owed. It was correct to the penny.
Matt Fichter was more than a huckster. He played cupid for a hired girl and a bachelor farmer for several years, and not only carried their love letters but helped compose them. When the wedding day came the groom rode to the bride's house in the huckster wagon.
Matt dosed out simple medicines for the sick, wrote letters for those who had never learned the art, cashed the checks of Civil War veterans, diagnosed the ailments of cows and horses, and settled line fence feuds; he found jobs for workers and workers for jobs. Some folks set butchering day for Matt's visit, because he knew how to sledge a hog between the eyes and when to take off the kettle of lard. He was an expert at seasoning sausage and mixing the sugar cure for hams and bacon.
It was surprising how many of the day-by-day wants Matt's light wagon held within its crowded interior: the staples-sugar, coffee, flour, spices, salt; drugs such as Castoria, Epsom salts, cough syrup, castor oil, camphor, liniment for man and beast; small items of hardware, nails, hinges, buckles, scythe blades, horse collars; dry beans, rice, corn meal, breakfast oats; overalls, candy, bolts of muslin and calico, clothespins, a bucket of salt mackerel, a jug of turpentine, machine oil, straw hats in season, oranges at Christmastime, plug tobacco, cheese.
There was a seasonal variety too. In the spring he loaded up heavy with onion sets, garden seeds, and seed potatoes; in the summer there were big grocery orders for the threshing rings and Mason jars with extra lids and rubbers; in the autumn there were husking pegs, double-thumbed gloves, and sausage seasoning. He was a keen merchandiser. If there was a shelf-worn item at the home store he carried it along on the wagon and moved it as a special; he usually added a sale or two in the luxury class—a hair ribbon for the little girl, a bag of marbles for the small boy, or a bottle of toilet water for the young lady. Father got his Sunday afternoon cigar from Matt, either a Pittsburgh stogic, three for a nickel, or even, when the hogs had been sold, an expensive five- cent panatela.
His books show that fifty years ago he paid 10 and 12 cents a dozen for eggs and 20 cents for an old rooster; fryers were 7 cents a pound; butter was 15. He sold a pound of sugar for 5 cents, salmon for 10 cents a can, and calico for 5 cents a yard. Bologna and salt mackerel were 10 cents a pound.
A great deal of the trade was barter. When the hens were laying well and the cows freshened, the housewife paid for the week's supplies with chickens, eggs, and butter, and had some change left over to drop into an old sugar bowl on the top shelf of the pie cupboard. Then the wagon usually carried more weight on its homeward trip than it carried out, for the huckster was the sole channel through which country produce moved from the farm to the city markets. Refrigeration being what it was fifty years ago and before, city people had only a vague notion what fresh country butter was actually like, and their eggs had often lost the bloom of youth.
The huckster wagon was a light-wheeled rig, either with roll-up canvas sides or with wood sides which supported shelving. It was usually drawn by two horses, light enough to make good speed. The so-called Western ponies were favorites, for they were tough and could trot along all day without tiring.
In the early days of auto trucks the progressive storekeeper sold his horses and bought a Reo or a Mack. This improved his speed and widened his territory, but the farmer no longer could set his clock by the huckster, for the engines in the early trucks were cranky and unreliable.
Fichter Bros. invested in a red Reo, which was known far and wide as "The Red Truck." The Red Truck was retired scarcely twenty years ago, when huckstering finally withered on the vine. About this time Fords, Maxwells, Essexes, and other passenger cars came within the reach of the farmer's pocketbook, roads were improved, and the huckster went into a swift decline. The whole family went to town on Saturday night to do the week's shopping and get an ice cream soda. The days of huckstering were numbered; the tempo of country life quickened, and horizons widened to the modern-day supermarket.
"Although a man's life may be well ordered, there will come moments when the realities are too stern, the business of life too demanding, the daily battle for survival too frustrating. In these moments he looks beyond the horizons, or goes back in memory to a better day when man seemed more free, when the pursuit of food and shelter was uncomplicated and direct, and all had peace and security.
Plagued by cold wars and hot wars, high velocity living and constant fears, we escape to this dream world when we can. And the more our sophistication, the more we yearn for the simple life as it was lived by our rural ancestors.
To our farmer forefathers nature was both an ally and an antagonist; and that's the way he wanted it, for he gloried in the battle with nature. As an ally, the soil and the sun and the rain brought his crops. Nature fed, clothed, and sheltered him. When nature became an antagonist, he met the issue with confidence. His tight barns were built of shaped red oak framing timbers, joined with second growth hickory pegs; his creek stone house had walls a foot thick; he stored his fruit cellars with food for the long winter and piled the firewood high; he fought frost and drought, flood and insect pests. When he won, the victory was sweet; when he lost he kept his dignity, for he had lost to a respected foe. He could always say that he fashioned his own security. He won and lost his own battles and this is why he considered himself an independent and free man.
The old-time farmer was self sufficient; he needed little from anybody or anything outside the limits of his own farmstead. He built his own A frame harrow, and he bred and fed his own horse power. He saved seed from the best of his grain and his livestock supplied the only fertilizer he used. His wife carded and spun the wool from his sheep, made the clothing for the family.
This way of life was good, we believe, but it was not to endure. The revolution in the industrial world set up pressures felt at last on the farm, and these too caused a revolution. The revolution in farming was the most explosive in all history. Almost overnight, as historical time goes, a way of life disappeared. The turn of the twentieth century saw the beginning of the end of farms and farming as they had been known for a thousand years. Twenty years later, when the world was picking up the pieces after World War I, the old-time farmer was in precipitous retreat. Mechanization and science rewrote his text books.
His old barter economy gave way before cash and credit and he lost that singular feeling of responsibility for his own security which had been bred into the poor subsistence farmer. The press and force of great numbers of people all about him, international markets for his crops and livestock, and government controls over his harvests made him aware of his obligations as a member of a world society.
This book describes life on the old-time farm, fading into memory and never to return. It is the history of ordinary people as they once lived in their self-sufficiency and the spurious freedom of isolation. It is well that we think of the good old days as an era of serenity and comfort. There was the warm kitchen, always perfumed with the aroma of newly baked bread; the fruit cellar with its bins of apples and turnips and potatoes; the fields and the barns; the animals and the simple tools of the farmers' trade; the days work with its triumphs and defeats.
Here is a way of life that we may never know again. In retrospect it seems a little bit of heaven; and that is how we should feel about the dead, be they people or just days and years." Edited and compiled by R. J. McGinnis in cooperation with the staff of The Farm Quarterly, 1960. For student use in the classroom or at home.
The Village and Community - "The first settler, like the first man to eat an oyster, was a man of courage, and a gambler too; he took a chance."
The Little Red Schoolhouse - "The little red schoolhouse, like the buffalo and the horse and buggy, is becoming a dim historical memory."
R. F. D. - stands for Rural Free Delivery - "the mail carrier is just another neighbor, willing and glad to help out with little favors."
The Hay Ride - "The hay ride was hot, dusty, and slow; the hayseed got down your neck, the wagon jolted the fillings out of your teeth, and you couldn't get very far out of town, for a yoke of oxen, at high speed, traveled less than five miles an hour."
The Hucksters - "The huckster wagon, which at one time linked American farms to the crossroads store, has passed into limbo along with the buggy, the buffalo robe, and the bustle. In its heyday, during the century preceding the early 1900's, it was indispensable."
Sweet Music - "The old-fashioned brass band has done more, to my way of thinking, than any other one thing to make our country the great nation that it is."
The Church Supper - or Potlucks - "The church mouse did not achieve his legendary reputation for leanness from mere accident."
The Patchwork Quilt - "The patchwork quilt was the product of long winter nights on the farm in the days when bad roads bound the family to the confines of the homestead."
The Spring House - "The pioneer looked for a spring and built his cabin near it, for he had no time nor equipment to dig a well."
The Root Cellar - "Just before the first frost the men of the farm pulled the turnips and cabbage, dug the potatoes and other vegetables and carried them into the root cellar."
Brook Fishing - "If tired businessmen could turn back the clock the banks of all the little brooks of the world would be crowded with small boys and their dogs."
Kids can celebrate all the days of July here by using our family blog posts. I will highlight the days of celebration in the United States/Canada with a pale orange color and the world days of observation with a pale lavender highlight. Sometimes the themes repeat themselves and so I will choose to list a topic under a month that has less content in order to spread things out a bit. I will be covering all of the months of the year. Readers will notice that I make additions to the listings over time and that I also choose content that is age appropriate in order to maintain my certifications.
The completed concessions counter with crafted shelves, foods, baskets, candy etc...
We set up the concession stand counter in our movie theater playset by using a pink bakery counter with transparent shelves found at resale. You can see below among the photos included there, how I altered the shelving to better display all of our doll's movie treats and foods. Shown above are three shelves of snacks: the top shelf is for boxed candy, the second shelf for fries, onion rings, sodas, nachos, hot dogs, pizza slices, sandwiches, and hamburgers. On the third and lowest shelf we included a transparent nail art divider from the local dollar store to display ice cream treats and beside this are two wire baskets for carrying food stuffs into the movie theater and then beside these are more boxes of Little Debbie cakes, Chips Ahoy and other treats crafted from printed grocery fliers and coupons included with mail.
The Our Generation Movie Theater Accessories: working lights on the outside over the ticket booth, inside a place to put a cell phone to show movies, red curtains, enter and exist signs and two red, plastic theater seats with cup holders, and one concession counter.
2 chocolate bars one white with strawberries and the other dark chocolate with caramel filling - our printable chocolate bars
6 drink options: two bottles of fruit drinks, two cups of soda with lids and straws and two small bottled waters, our versions included in photos below
two green, movie snack caddies for carrying treats into the theater - our bent chenille stem versions pictured below
Left, the recycled transparent bakery counter. I clipped photos of credit cards to glue to the inside wall of the counter top where the cash register will be positioned in the future. In the U. S. stickers of credit cards are often displayed on counter glass to show what may be used at the register. Right, are the ice cream treat erasers, doll sized, used inside of nail art caddy for the lowest shelf display.
Left, are boxed candies often sold in movie theaters in the U.S. These were glued directly on the cardboard shelf so that it would appear to be full at all times. Then I made a few loose candy boxes for the dolls to purchase and carry away as seen in the right hand photo. All of this printed candy was cut from grocery fliers and glued to tiny pieces of cardboard. It is legal to craft items like these if they are for personal collections, otherwise not for sale. The logos are owned by private companies and should not be sold or redistributed for profit.
Left, are more food erasers included as props in our movie theater display. Right, are the hand woven baskets for our dolls to carry snacks and food to their theater seats.
Left, I glued together drinking cups with lids and straws using cut cardboard pieces from paper egg cartons. Then I covered these with paper, fancy tissue and glue. Right are the nacho trays made from the same materials. The nachos themselves are sculpted from oven back clay, painted with acrylics and the cheese drizzled over the top is puff paint.
Left and center, is a shelf cut from cardboard and build permanently in the shape of an wedge as is the candy shelf displayed at the top of the page. This wedge shape keeps all of the tiny food items stacked neatly inside of the display. Right, are a few boxes I constructed to display french fries and also soda cups with straws. All of the shelf paper and paper condiments are decoupaged with the same star themed tissue paper.
Left, see the credit card cut-outs I found in a old magazine to tape with transparent packing tape to the inside of the display case. This is often done in real life at many places where credit cards are sold in the United States and Europe. Right, is a close-up of the food as seen through the plastic casing.
A printable clip art page from former 4-H club resources. Learn more about National 4-H clubs here. There may be active programs in your area; these are usually hosted by local State Universities. As always, the clip art is free for student art projects and private journals only folks.
Illustrations of cats, fish, mice, hamsters, dogs, and birds for students.
I have fewer cats and kitten scraps than dogs, but perhaps I will find some more on my next trip the "flee market?" Not real ones though, there are many folks in my home who are allergic to these little beauties. How will you finish dressing them up for your paper doll collection? If you prefer, you could dress them in something like velveteen and hang them on a Christmas tree, just like the Victorian's did.
A tabby with pale green eyes and red ribbon collar.
A blue ribbon collar around this cats' neck.
Here is a little Victorian miss dressed in blue. She carries a basket full of kittens.
The following pet dogs are for students to scrap their own paper dolls. Why not make your own unique collection? I will eventually acquire more than the four depicted below. Perhaps I will find a breed that is just like the pet you have at home.
A Bull dog with toothy grin.
A black labrador holding a duck for dinner.
A black and tan terrier with collar.
A mixed breed looks wears a man's bowler hat.
Victorian die cut of a girl cradling her pet cat and dog in her arms.
Most of the American Girl dolls own their own pets and have a vested interest in giving them the very best care. Some of the dolls even own more than one pet! Check out our listing below to get your own ideas for the kinds of pets your dolls could own and care for. The pet names here are all very imaginative too.
Molly McIntire owns two terriers she calls "Bennett and Yank"
Kaya's horse, "Steps High", and her dog "Tatlo"
Summer McKinny's dog named "Crescent" and her cat named "Fettuccine"
Felicity Merriman's horse, "Penny"
Samantha Parkington's pet dog is "Jip"
Caroline Abbott doll has a cat named "Inkpot"
A dog called "Barksee" belongs to Kanani Akina
Josefina Montoya's doll has a little goat called "Sombrita"
"Bo" is a pet dog belonging to Melody Ellison
Isabelle and Jade Palmer care for a kitten they call "Tutu''
Kavi Sharma's pet dog is "Scamper"
Cecile Rey has a parrot called "Cochon"
Lila Monetti's is friend to a dog named "Mighty Mae''
A French bulldog named "Bonbon" belongs to Grace Thomas
A Himalayan cat called "Rascal" belongs to Marisol Luna
"Cooper"is a lovely goldendoodle owned byMcKenna Brooks
Marie-Grace Gardner has a long-time companion dog named "Argos"
Rebecca Rubin cares for a cat named "Pasta'' along with it's two kittens
Kirsten Larson's cat is named "Missy"
Chrissa Maxwell is the only American Girl Doll to own a llama and it's name is "Starburst''
Addy Walker has a tiny yellow canary she calls "Sunny"
Claudie Wellshas a pet dog"Dizzy Dot''
Kit Kittredgetakes home a hound called "Grace"
One of two American Dollsto own a rabbit is Julie Albright and she names it "Nutmeg"
Isabel Hoffman has a cat she calls "Buffy"
Nicki Hoffman calls her dog "Blossom"
The Maryellen Larkin doll pet is a dog called "Scooter"
Kailey Hopkin's pet is a classic golden retriever named "Sandy"
Corinne Tan and her sister Gwynn own a dog named "Flurry"
"Sprocket'' is the name of Nicki Fleming's dog-in-training and "Jackson" is her horse.
Lanie Holland is another American Girl doll who owns a pet rabbit and she calls it "Lulu"
"Picasso" is Saige Copeland's pet horse and she also has a dog she calls "Sam".
Dogs named "Coconut" and ''Chocolate Chip" and "Honey" and "Meatloaf''' and "Pepper" and "Sugar"and ''Toasty'' plus cats named "Licorice" and "Ginger'' and "Praline'' are mascots for the American Girl Dolls in general. These are not written about in the doll character books but may be purchased for any doll to love and give a home to.
The Kira Bailey dollfosters many kittens for a local shelter before they are given in adoption to their permanent owners.
Tenny Grant owns a dog called "Waylon"
"Maya" is the name of a cat owned by the Gabriela McBride doll.
The Lea Clark doll owns the most exotic pets: a turtle named "Ginger" and a sloth who's name I do not recall.
I think these are all the pets for both the old Pleasant Company Dolls and the 18 inch American Girl Dolls? But, I may have missed a few... If you can remember any others, add them in the comments below so that our readers here will know them all!
Don't like any of the names above for your doll's pet? How about one of these from television History?
''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
''Ricky, a circus boy, with Nicky, his trained terrier. Nicky has been taught to do many tricks such as jumping hurdles, balancing a ball on his nose, shaking hands and walking on his hind legs. He likes to wear a pointed cap and pleated collar like his master.''
''Both the Smooth and Wire-Haired Fox Terriers have been very popular dogs for a great many years. The Fox Terriers cam first to England. The smooth type is slightly older than the wire-haired and, because of its keen scent and eyesight, was once used by hunters in routing out foxes from their hiding places. The coat of both types is white with black and tan markings. Height is about 15 1/2 inches at the withers; weight, about 18 pounds. The Fox Terriers are lively, affectionate, and quick to learn." Cook
"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
"Chihuahuas are tiny dogs of Mexican origin, and it is believed that their history dates back to Toltec or Aztec days. The smallest of all dogs, they may weigh 1 to 6 pounds. Chihuahuas have a saucy expression and are alert and intelligent. The coat may be smooth or long-haired of any color, solid, marked, or splashed.'' Cook
A hostess stand may be used as either a reception desk or a concession stand in a doll playset, depending upon the theme of the toy. It is a counter where doll visitors are greeted often in hotel or restaurant toys or counters where food or other shop merchandise is payed for by dolls while living in their pretend environments.
Just right, you can see that I have constructed a homemade hostess counter that is very tall, 9 inches, because it is designed to suit several of our family's 18 inch doll playsets. It is constructed from a simple box, 8 1/2'' x 11'', and four recycled wooden marble runs. I attached these marble runs with wood glue, groove side facing inward, at each corner of the box. Then I decoupaged the walls of the hostess stand with contrasted faux wooden panel papers. After all of this dried, I then cut a counter and glued it to the top of the stand and then decoupaged another wooden paper pattern to it's surface.
I could have left this doll furnishing alone at this point but I decided to glue in shelving so that it would better serve as a concession stand for the ''Americana Bowling Alley.''
This stand will also be used in both a pizza parlor and a hotel in future displays. It is much more practical to build one of these counters for multiple playset themes than to make many of them. However, some parents/children may prefer to design more than one hostess stand in order to expand play with multiple sets at the same time. I will include a few lower counter tops in future posts that are designed to accompany this one under alternative themes.
As for the color, I chose to keep it a bit modern with clean simple lines and in natural stained wood tones because this is my personal preference, not because it is popular. Your child may wish her hostess stand to be hot pink or purple. Many doll crafters are also still devoted to the grey, neutral color palettes used in early 21rst Century dollhouses and will select white for their doll furniture no matter what the latest furniture craze is about.
In our bowling alley, I use this hostess stand as a counter for the dolls to serve the traditional foods purchased at bowling alleys in the United States. This fare includes things like hot dogs and chips, burgers and fries and also malts and milkshakes.
I wanted to make a more authentic looking commercial grill with glass windows in order to view the food as it cooks. But, I wasn't really sure how to make one until I spied a small, plastic earring box at a garage sale. Apparently, these are often sold at dollar stores according to my adult children who often marvel at my ignorance...
Supply List for The Commercial Grill:
one plastic earring jewelry box
grocery fliers with interesting pictures of grills, hamburgers and hotdogs, flames and charcoal
silver metal tape (This gives the grill a commercial grade feel)
small cardboard tubes (roll these and make alternatively)
extra cardboard (cereal box)
Mod Podge for sealing and applying the decoupage
Sculpey for food (coming soon)
Left, The doll sized commercial grill assembled without food. Right, the grill and it's parts.
To make this commercial grade grill the unique features are necessary. This kind of grill allows hungry dolls to see through the top while the hot dogs are spinning on the warming tubes and the hamburgers are sizzling on the grill. I will post pretend food for the grill and link to it here soon!
Step-by-Step Instructions for The Grill:
Wipe down the plastic jewelry box with something like Windex. This will remove dirt and oil from it's surfaces so that glues will work better. It will also improve the application of the metal tape.
Cut pictures of grilling dogs and burgers from your local grocery store fliers and apply these using Mod Podge on the sides only of the plastic jewelry box. You may also decoupage the lower front half of the box in front using clippings of words like: ''Summer Fun'', ''Sizzling Hot'' and ''Grilling Greats'' Just as long as you leave enough of the transparent lid undisturbed for the viewing of grilling meats.
Cut and shape slender tubes to fit on and over the first plastic earring bar and glue them together.
There are four tubes, the same shape but the second tube from the front has a slip down it's length so that this tube fits over the plastic earring bar and hold the rest of these tubes in place.
Cover the cardboard tubes with metal tape.
Underneath the earring bar is a plastic shelf, cut a piece of cardboard to fit over this shelf and cover it with metal tape. Fit it tightly in place, this is where hamburger patties are grilled.
Inside of the drawer shape vertical, thin walls cut from cardboard and covered with metal tape. I made two inserts to create three sections inside the drawers where condiments may be stored.
The grill shown open, lid up and the grill shown with the extra drawer for assembling the hot dogs and burgers with toppings is seen open and empty.
Above are three signs, print and choose one to decoupage to the front of your grill.
The matching china dogs are attached with museum wax.
The trick to updating an antique fireplace mantle like this one is to make the fire look as though it has always been a part of the toy miniature mantle. This lit fire may be easily removed. I did not paint or shape it directly onto the open hearth.
Supply List
thin scrap cardboard
masking tape
tissue paper
Mod Podge
acrylic paints: red, orange, yellow and black
china dogs (came with the dollhouse furnishings)
museum wax
white school glue
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Cut a piece of thin scrap cardboard to fit neat and tight into the open space under the mantle. If this cardboard is cut right, you should be able to remove it with a dull edged butter knife. There should be no need to insert it permanently.
Remove the cardboard to make the fire on top of it without running the risk of touching the antique mantle with paint or glue.
Now crush a bit of tissue to look like logs and fire flames. Glue these bumpy textures to the cardboard.
Use masking tape to cover the tissue layers.
Decoupage a layer or two of white typing paper on top of the tissue and masking tape layers.
Now you are ready to paint. Using acrylics, carefully matched the edges around your fauve fire to look the same as the overall mantle piece.
Then layer, with a dry brush, a bit of black looking soot color. Let this dry completely.
Next, you can layer in fire colors: orange, red, yellow... around the logs.
Seal the fireplace insert with Mod Podge.
Push the fireplace insert into place under the mantle.
Our china dogs were then attached using museum grade wax. This prevents them from being 'knocked about' during play and insures that they won't be lost over time.
Left, the antique fireplace mantle for one of our doll houses. It is kind-of a strange purple color. Center, the backside of the mantle is painted black. Right, here you can see how I updated it's appearance, keeping it true to the original design, but adding a lit fire and twin china dogs to it's mantle piece, just in front of the mirror.
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