New bargain sofa for Seaview and the Beach hut is off to a new home!

Not really done anything in Dollyland for a few days so just thought I would show you my new sofa for Seaview cottage. I just placed one bid and then thought afterwards I think it will be too big and was really hoping someone would outbid me, I was convinced they would lol  Anyway they didn't (always do on the things you do want though!!) and I made the bid in good faith and I would never mess a seller about so I paid up immediately.

When it arrived I really liked it! I didn't want anything too fussy in Seaview. I wanted quite a modern looking but not too modern one to avoid it looking too chintzy. As its plain it gets away with being a bit bigger and it actually fits really well. Very happy I didn't get outbid now or I would have missed out on it! It must have fate I won and as always it was a bit of a bargain at £3.99 including the P & P :-) Just needs some nice cushions now will have to raid the fabric box!

Also decided to sell my Beach hut today as its been sitting on the bookcase in the hallway being very unloved. It never fitted into Quayside as I changed the room around and had no space for it as I bought a couple more houses instead! It sold straight away to another JULIE fan and I am sure it will be very happy in its new home! The funds will be going straight back to Julie for the next little project! Just need to sell O'ROURKES now and that will be more pennies to spend on Quayside :-)

Making babies and buying pretty little Easter bunnies!

I am always looking at the wonderful handmade babies on Ebay but they always go for such a lot of money sometimes as much as I pay for a whole house! so when I was in Hobbycraft at the weekend I decided to pick up some flesh coloured Fimo and have a bash at making one. Figured if it was a complete disaster it was only £2.19 wasted!

Well its taken me all night I got seriously fussy with it lol the 1st attempt ended up scrunched up in a ball after about 3 hours work on it cos it just wasn't right (it reminded me of a cross between an alien and Gollum!!) I could of cried ha ha but decided not to give up and to have another go at it and it didn't take me nearly as long the 2nd time and he turned out much better than the 1st one. I have to say baking a baby in the oven was just a little unverving to say the least! The dummy is a Sylvanian one I had in the baby shop I gave up trying to make one that looked ok!

I went shopping in the nursery shop and found a little cape and pants set that were knitted by my lovely friend DEB and they were just perfect for him. He looks all cosy in his pram and although hes prob not the most beautiful baby in the world hes all mine and I love him :-)

 Thought I would show you a few little Easter items I bought from Ebay recently as they really are fab! I got a few things to decorate the flower shop window and loved them so much I asked the seller if she would make me a bunny for my dresser and a little teapot. I wasn't expecting the little bunny attached and I adore it! They really are such lovely things. The seller is so nice she asked me for some ideas of what to make as and has taken on board every suggestion I made and has made them all so really hope you take a look at her items and maybe buy something I know you will love it too. I so want the ruby slippers lol!!!

 Lovely little things on Ebay

Painted shutters and paper flowers

I got my matching paint yesterday and the shutters are all painted and fixed up. Although I did have a complete blonde 5 minutes and put the downstairs ones on the wrong way round, not just once but 3 times duh!!! I handpainted on the little flowers on just to add a bit of interest and tie them in with the flowers in the window boxes.

I managed to get a few bits from Hobbycraft nothing too much saving up for the fair in April! I did get some tiny flower punches and made my 1st attempt at using them today! Have to say in the close up pics they look a bit pants lol but in the flesh they really do look ok honestly! I like them and I had great fun all afternoon making them! The flower pots were 99p from Hobbycraft too for the pack of 8 in barewood so I painted them white and added a bit of dirt on the tops to make them look a little more realistic. Filled the boxes with shells just to stick with the Seashell theme

Elf and safety visit Quayside!

Quayside had its first visit from Elf and Safely yesterday in preparation for the summer season. They were not happy about the stairs outside Barnacle Cottage they were classed as very dangerous! Denzil took time off from his boatyard and quickly knocked up a stair rail made from lolly sticks and knotted string. I didn't want anything too solid as it would spoil the look of the cottage but they were deemed safe so thats all that counts! no risk of anyone falling off the stairs after one to many 'shandys' in Lugis Bistro :-)

Lolly stick shutters and window boxes

Was thinking what I could do to dress the outside of Seashell cottage and came up with the idea of some decorative shutters. There are some on my O'Rourkes and they really add to its appearance. I had a look at how they were done. I then thought I would have a go and I made them from lolly sticks and good old tacky glue.

They still look very much like lolly sticks at the mo as I need to get some matching blue paint but heres how they are going to look. I think when painted up they will give the desired effect.

 I 'borrowed' the window boxes from Lavender to see if they would be the right kind of thing and I think they go well. I just need to either make some or find some with nice yellow and blue flowers, and nice climbing plant or ivy maybe at the side of the door I think :-)

Swapping and yapping! and happy Birthday MUM

Its my MUM'S Birthday today and just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM I love you loads and miss you so much can't wait til July when you are back up :-) XXXXXX
(p.s. she will kill me when she sees this pic ha ha it was taken on New Years Eve when they were up to stay and she was a princess kissing her frog lol!!)

I had a great day yesterday started with an 8.40am doctors appointment but everything went well, blood pressure was back to normal so no tests or meds needed thank goodness! Back in a month just to make sure but the lady was so nice its spurred me on to be good on my diet as I want her to be pleased with me lol  In the afternoon my lovely friend SCARLETT came round and ended up staying the rest of the day! Time seems to fly when we get together lol Her Mum has kindly offered to look after the baby and I think she began to wonder if his Mum was coming back for him!!

We had both sorted out some of our spare stuff and swapped a few things which was a great way to get some new DH items without any expense. I got a lovely fireplace and a pretty green upholstered chair and lots of other little things and Scarlett got some bunkbeds and a cot and a few other little bits. We spend hours just chatting DH's and I am sure time in Dollyland goes twice the speed of normal time!

I was so lucky to find her as we met purely by chance when I listed some DH stuff on Ebay and she replied to my ad. We just get on so well and its lovely to have Dolls houses in common and that chance meeting has turned into a really good friendship :-)

Haven't done much today just updated my photos and spent some time on the forum. I really do get carried away with photos so it took me ages to sort them all out! Heres a few updated ones of Seashell I love this Cottage sooooo much I want to live there!! Did make one naughty purchase of some gorgeous CUSHIONS on Etsy they will look lovely and I can't wait for them to arrive!

Clocks, mannequins, pictures and clothes!

Todays efforts are small but time consuming none the less!! I decided to have a go at decoupage on a plain pine mannequin I got from  the DH shop last week. I first gave it a couple of coats of white paint then added the paper which I got for 45p from the haberdashery shop. It wasn't quite the right colour its a tad on the bright side and there were lots of turquoise flowers in the pattern so it was a little fiddly cutting out all the bits I didn't want. The end result is not bad for a first attempt and its at the back so the slightly bright colour is a little less obvious.

Next I painted one of the mini photo frames from Poundland. I distressed it a little then added a pretty rose picture from Google images (not sure what I would do without them!!)

I then decided to add a little clock again from Google images and stuck it onto a metal button that just happened to be the perfect size!

Lastly I paid a visit to Babs Boutique and purchased a few items to fill the rail. I covered all the hangers in the same paper as the shelves and dressing table as I just think it looks prettier than the bare wood.

Heres a pic of them all in situ. I do think the little details are the things that bring a room to life :-)

A 50p make-up bag transformed!

Today I have been busy dressing the bed for Seashell Cottage. Its taken most of the day but its been cold and snowy outside so its been a good way to spend a day indoors in the warm!

I started out with the white painted bed and the first job was to give it a mattress. I found a little cushion in a charity shop for 75p that was almost the right size it just needed the width reducing slightly. After stitching it to the right size I added some tiny buttons just to make it look a little more like a mattress rather than a cushion! Funny how the tiniest detail suddenly made it look so different! I wish my mattress looked that comfy!!

Next I made some crisp white sheets courtesy of a pack of cotton placemats from poundland. You get 4 in a pack so I managed the bottom sheet, top sheet and pillow cases and still have a spare!

Then it was onto the make-up bag that I found in a charity shop for 50p. When I spotted it I had thought it would be just perfect for this job! I had already taken it all apart and there was plenty of fabric to make the eiderdown and some matching pillows. It was quite an easy job the only thing I had to really do was use some on the trim to finish of the edge of the eiderdown.

I am so pleased at the end result its perfect in this cottage and what an inexpensive project. All together the bed cost me £5.50 bunny excluded! (although she was only 99p anyway!)

I dressed the shelves with some pretty rose patterned paper and added some folded fabric and a few other items I had to hand. I will add nice bits and pieces as I find them.

I also added some of the paper to the dressing table and its drawers as I just thought it was pretty.

The room  has a lovely cosy feel to it just what you would expect from a seaside cottage wish I could shrink myself down and get into that bed!!! I need to add lots more things to the rail but for now theres just one dress on a pretty hanger. I really need lots of hangers its the one thing I always seem to be short of!

I do love to take a few photos without the flash I think it makes everything look so real like you could just step into it. And I just had to add a peeping Tom pic they always make me smile! :-) 

Changing my mind about Seashell Cottage bedroom and having a good tidy up!

I decided to take the cream and black toile bedroom out of Seashell cottage and put it back into Seaview. Although I did like it in there I just felt it was a little out of sync with the rest of the house. I found a shabby chic bed on Ebay and bought a toilet bag for 50p from a charity shop with a rose pattern on and that was the beginnings of an idea for the new decor.

So far I have resprayed the bed white as it was pink when it arrived and stank of smoke so now its much fresher! I added some fabric around the base and decided to chuck out the foam mattress it came with as it smelled! Luckily yesterday I found a little cushion in another charity shop for 75p that is the perfect size for a mattress. I will add some buttons to it tomorrow and I will make also all the bedding. It already looks and smells much better and will be lovely a cosy when its all done!

Next I painted and distressed a dressing table I paid £1.50 from the DH shop as it was broken. I found a little white stool I had and added the fabric to match the bedding. It now looks the part and tomorrow I will add some shelves to the room for lots of storage. I have decided not to go with a wardrobe and just have a clothes rail with a few pretty bits and some pretty hangers on instead.

I decided I didn't like the chairs that came with the table in the kitchen so I found some others I had with little hearts that fitted in much better. They were also resprayed white and look so sweet, I just need to make some cushions for them tomorrow.

 My friend Karen headed home today before the snow hit! hasn't been too bad so far but its very cold and snowy outside! I spent the day catching up on housework as its been a bit neglected as I have been having too much fun to clean lol. I also decided to give my craft corner a good sort out. I am very lucky that in addition to the spare room where Quayside is I have a nice little area outside it at the top of the stairs. I had some plastic drawers that were bought to go under the table Seashell cottage is on but they were very slightly too high and I never got round to returning them. Just as well as they now have a new home and have been put to good use for all my spare bits of wood etc. Notice the wonderful embroidered throw on the bannister? My Mum bought it me from Florida as a holiday gift years ago and its so big its the only place I can display it! Even then you can only see half of it but its so fab I love it!!