Dolls house makeover: The kitchen

So the dolls house makeover is finally complete...well there is always room for more but at a certain point you have to stop so your poor children actually get to play with it before they are teenagers!

I thought it would be easier to show one room per blog post and today it's the kitchen.....

I started with a bit of a cactus theme in the kitchen and papered the walls with some fun digital papers from Light Breeze Boutique on Etsy. The amazing bird feature rug is actually a decorative paper that came in a Mollie Makes magazine. Fridge, units, stove, dining table, white chairs and tiny food items are from Lundby.

Kitchen sink, pots, plate and boy are from Lundby. Giant bread on the table and retro clock over the sink are vintage finds from the local market. The stunning weaving on the wall is made by me using a tiny loom made by The Creative Muster . I will post a tutorial soon on how you can make your own.

 Plastic greenery in the window box is courtesy of the local $2 shop!


Next up is the bathroom...

Dolls house makeover: The Bathroom

Next up in the Dolls House Makeover reveal is the Bathroom....

First up I started with this amazing Pink Flamingo wallpaper which I downloaded for free from Jennifers Printables. If you have the time and patience to wade through all the advertising and navigate yourself around there are so many wonderful patterns to choose from on this site.

The pink polka dot curtains are actually strips of washi tapes that I overlapped on slight angles onto light card and then cut out to look like curtain shapes. The pink and white checkered floor is from Alice Apple on Etsy. The donut detail on the floor is a free decorative paper that came from a Mollie Makes magazine.

The toilet and vanity are from Lundby. The flamingo picture is a vintage paint by number which I found on Pinterest and I made a hama bead frame for it. The tiny pink toilet roll holder which you can just see is from Tiny Things are Cute which is one of my favourite shops as it is full of tiny gorgeous things that you never knew you needed. The wee vase and flowers on the vanity is a vintage op shop find.

The wardrobe and wee blue seat are a vintage find from the local market. The shower and the bath (with rubber ducky) and little bottles are from Lundby. My daugther has broken 2 pieces of the bath already which I have taped back on with sellotape!

Don't you just love the light switches you can see through the window!!!

The felt zebra and donut cushions I made as well as the enormous Zebra rug which is an adaption of my Zebra faux taxidermy pattern.

Next up on the dolls house tour is the cloud room...

Dolls House Makeover: The 'Yellow Room' revealed

So here it is the first room of the Dolls House makeover is ready to make its debut. I won't bother with any words because I am sure you just want to see photos......ENJOY!

I think my fav is the micro macrame closely followed by the tiny faux taxidermy. I promise to write up a tutorial for the macrame, the washi tape curtains and share the pattern for the rug. The taxidermy however is a one off I don't think I will be repeating....it was definitely a labour of love.

Hope you are feeling inspired now to dust off your own dolls houses and start decorating.

I would love you to share photos of your dolls house makeovers on my FB page....CupcakeCutieNZ

I think the 'Cloud Room' is the next room to be revealed so stay tuned.

#dolls house makeover: miniature felt cloud rug {free pattern}

Everyone needs a cloud rug for their dolls house and this one is adorable and easy to make.

You will need:

Light blue felt (or colour of your choice)
White felt
Black felt
Pink felt
Assorted embroidery floss colours
Scissors + needle
Template which you can DOWNLOAD HERE

Gather all your bits and pieces together and cut out all your felt as per instructions on the TEMPLATE.

ONE:
Position the eyes and cheeks on the biggest cloud to get an idea of where they sit. Refer the template for layout.

TWO:
Using 1 strand of black embroidery floss whip stitch the eyes on. With the same thread add the eyelashes, eyebrows and mouth using back stitch.

THREE:
Using 2 strands of pink embroidery floss secure the cheeks on with 1 cross stitch in each.
Using 2 strands of white embroidery floss add the flecks in the eyes.

FOUR:
Pin the cloud onto one of the blue pieces, refer to template for positioning,
Five:
Using 1 strand of white embroidery floss whip stitch the clouds on.

NB: At this point I decided to give my rug rounded corners.

FINALLY:
Using 2 strands of blue embroidery thread place the two blue pieces together and blanket (or whip) stitch around the whole rug.

********************************************************************

MINI CLOUD CUSHION
You can also make the cloud into a mini cushion for your dolls house. Just cut out two of the larger cloud pieces, sew on the face details as above then blanket (or whip) stitch the two pieces together. Remember to leave a gap to for stuffing and then sew closed.

CLOUD BROOCH
Repeat as per the cushion and sew a brooch back on the back.

I would love to see photos of your felt cloud creations using my pattern.
Please feel free to upload them to my facebook page....https://www.facebook.com/CupcakeCutieNZ

Happy Sewing!

#dolls house makeover: front door mat (free patterns)

Dolls House Makeover...

So I haven't painted the outside of the house and I don't even have a front door yet but now I do have a door mat....

...well I had to start somewhere!

The mat isn't particularly to any scale I just made it to fit the existing stairs!

Here is how I made it...

I dug into my supplies and found some 14 count plastic canvas, floss and felt than I whipped up a cross stitch design...

I cross stitched the mat using 3 threads of floss (DMC colours 743 and 318 to be exact) and then trimmed the plastic canvas around the design.

I cut a piece of felt the same size, placed the canvas on top and blanket stitched the pieces together around the entire edge...

Here is the back...

Feel free to stitch up the design for your own dolls house. You could easily substitute aida or tapestry canvas if you don't have plastic canvas and glue the felt (or other backing) on to hide the stitching.

Here are a few more cute designs to choose from.......

....they would look cute in any combination of colours.

I would love to see a photo of any mats you make with these designs, feel free to post them to my facebook page.

2014 project: dolls house makeover

I am very excited to share my major project of the year.....the Dolls House Makeover.

I have been searching for a while to find the ideal makeover candidate and this one caught my eye....

Handmade of solid wood, not too big and a manageable amount of rooms to decorate.  It came complete with broken furniture, cobwebs and a fair amount of mouse poo...

....and a close up of the poo because I am sure you needed to see it!

Here is the front of the house...

I have great plans for my little house and I can't wait to share them with you. I am not planning on spending much money on the makeover, I really want to make use of all the bits and pieces I already have and op shop finds with maybe the odd splurge here and there!

If you would like to follow my dolls house makeover journey I will be posting quick updates on instagram @cupcakecutieone (#dollshousemakeover) and my facebook page and will also have a dedicated pinterest page.

I will of course have lots of photos and tutorials here on my blog to inspire you.

I will be sharing all the tricks and tips (and links) I can find and learn along the way and will be delving into my general dolls house pinterest page for inspiration.

I hope you can join me on my dolls house makeover journey, I can't wait to hear your feedback and advice....time to get started!