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Dollhouse Update: Sinks, Stoves & Stairs

October 30, 2026 Leave a Comment

Hello everyone! I hope your week has been lovely and that maybe you were able to get in some creative time.

I am having one of those weeks where everything I try to do, doesn’t! If you read my post on Monday you know I am trying to make some Coraline inspired dolls for my kids and they are just not working out. I decided instead to just put them aside and try again next week. I did want them for Halloween but I remind myself that I make them for enjoyment and if I am stressing and getting frustrated that’s the opposite of enjoyment.

Since it is Friday however I wanted to share a little dollhouse update with you. I am making some nice progress on my childhood dollhouse. I finished 3 pieces of furniture. A bathroom sink which was my first furniture piece made from scratch. While it is quite wonky and unique I really loved making it and that is the most important thing.

Next I made the kitchen sink and some curtains for the kitchen and I just love the fabric! It works so well against the wallpaper. The curtain rod is one my mom used when she first decorated my dollhouse when I was probably around 5 or 6 years old. It’s nice having that little nod to the past hidden amidst all the new.

I also made a little cupboard that I planned to put in the kitchen but instead decided to add to the upstairs hall and it looks so cute! I am already imagining a small vase of flowers sitting on it.

Lastly I am working on a stove and brick surround. It is so sweet and I think I have finalized it’s location but I would love to hear your ideas.

In addition to the dollhouse makes I am so excited about my new serial I am making based on the dollhouse! It’s going to be a fantasy mystery style story that I will share in installments each week here on my blog and my Substack. I have already started chapter 1 and I am having so much fun!

So that is my update for the dollhouse! I hope you enjoy hearing about the project and if you would like you can see the video about the update below. Be sure to comment and let me know what you are working on I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Junk Journal MashUp

October 26, 2026 Leave a Comment

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. The weather here in the North East was absolutely beautiful and we were very excited to celebrate my youngest Baptism on Saturday. It was a small, private ceremony and dear friends acted as godparents. After we went to my daughter’s favorite restaurant. The entire celebration was perfect!

I also was able to get in some more dollhouse time and I am working on a brick wall which should be really fun! I cannot wait to share that update. I may need to sit it aside however since my kids have requested Coraline dolls for Halloween.

If you have been visiting my little corner of the web for a while you may know that I like to make little gifts for my kids on the holidays. I purchased this Coraline-style doll pattern last year thinking I would make them for Christmas but ended up doing other gifts for the. Now that Halloween is only 6 days away it makes sense that I try and tackle 3 fabric dolls between now and then right?

We shall see how they get on and I will even try to film some of it for you. It will however require a massive desk clean as I have been in the midst of 2 projects right now so I think today I will start with a good clean up and then try my hand at making the dolls. I had to order some fabric (it would seem everything I chose to pack up is now required) which came in Friday and I picked up some felt sheets at the craft store for the clothing. I think they will go together pretty quickly so I am happy to get started.

For today however I am sharing a fun little junk journal mash up. As we were going through our attic, basement and barn we found lots of papers and things that were saved. The certificate from when I purchased my love bird back in the late 90’s, some cards and even some items much more recent. I am trying to keep my “junk journal” supplies to one small box and when it starts to overflow that’s when I sit down and do a few pages. It was so much fun. I absolutely love this journal I made and I think the pages are coming out nicely as well.

If you have some crafts to work on, why not hit play below and join me for about 15 minutes of creative time? I would love to hear what you are working on!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Dollhouse Day: Haul Video & New Items

October 23, 2026 Leave a Comment

Happy Friday!

I wanted to come on here to share some new items I picked up for my dollhouse as well as some items I received for my birthday.

The video is a little choppy and I am sorry for that. I filmed it in different sections and it wasn’t until I was going to edit that I decided I wanted them to be a video all on their own. Still I think you will enjoy seeing what I got.

The first things were items from Miniature Crush. This was my first time ordering from them and I am really happy with my purchase.

In the video below you can see my purchases but I ordered a 3 pack of adorable guinea pigs which I really just love! They are so sweet! I was going to also make them a little C&C cage like we had for my real life guinea pigs but my son suggested just having them placed randomly in the house and I kind of love that idea!

I also purchased these pretty door knobs for the interior doors of the bedroom and bathroom. I am building my own doors so these are going to work out really well.

While I was shopping around I saw they had these little light switches and I loved the idea of adding this detail to the rooms. I am considering decorating them first but we will have to see how ambitious I get.

I had originally started my order because I needed to get these faucets for the upstairs bathroom and these railings for the bottom of the staircase. I am happy with these as well and think that the spindles may need to be trimmed a bit but that they will look great once they are all painted.

I also was kindly gifted some lovely dollhouse items for my birthday. The first was this book on building a garden shed by Julie Warren. If you haven’t visited Julie’s channel I always recommend it. She is such a talented miniaturist and an amazing teacher. I also received another of her books on building furniture and there are some really wonderful projects. The last item is the puzzle dollhouse and furniture. I had mentioned in the video I thought it might be 1/24th scale but it’s actually half scale from what I was able to research. I am still thinking of putting this together soon I have so many ideas! I was also realizing that I haven’t added anything to the Alice’s Dreamy Bedroom room box since the first video and I was wondering if you would like to see more on that? I also have a Christmas room box kit I would love to get done for the holidays!

The last items were from The House of Miniatures and I was able to pick up 3 kits on Ebay. I am going to use the Chippendale Desk Kit (Kit #40042) to make new pieces for my old childhood kit I had put together in 1988. It’s missing a drawer and the drop down so I am going to use this kit as a template to remake those parts and then use the new kit to make furniture for another project.

As part of this purchase I also received the Chippendale Low Boy (Kit #40024) which I may put in the living room right next to the front door. Lastly I received the Chippendale chest on chest (Kit #40009) that I think might go in the bedroom along with the desk.

So there you have it! Lots of fun dollhouse ideas. What do you think, should add to the Alice Dreamy Bedroom or start up the puzzle house? Please let me know if the comments.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

You can watch the video by clicking here.

I Finished It!

October 19, 2026 Leave a Comment

I am so excited to share that I finished the final edit of my first Cozy Mystery called Houseplant Homocides! I cannot wait for it to be available for you to read but I still need to find an editor and send it off for them to review.

I have spoken with one editor who is going to do a sample edit so we can see how we work together but I would also like to try and find a few others before committing. This is all brand new to me so I am just taking it one step at a time. For now, that step is just enjoying this accomplishment!

I also started work this week on my first ever serial based on my dollhouse renovation. I am really excited about the concept and I will be sharing it both here and over on my Substack. I am still working out the logistics of that but I also need to get one chapter under my belt before I need to worry too much about that. If you would like to write your own serial I found this awesome creator who talks about it on Substack.

I have also been making some great steps on the dollhouse renovation project. If you haven’t already you can check out my channel where I share the progress. I am up to 21 videos over there and I upload every Friday.

In addition to the dollhouse video I am sharing a fun create with me video on a Five Below ceramic bookshop I picked up that is Halloween themed. It is so cute and I had a lot of fun painting it. I’ll link the video below and if you want leave me a comment and I can also make a video for the two other Halloween houses I picked up.

We went pumpkin picking on Sunday and it was such a lovely day for it! Not too hot and not too cold. DH and the kids got the last of the Halloween decorations up so we are all ready for some times. My youngest is being Baptized this coming week which is really exciting and we are looking forward to celebrating with her godparents and lunch at her favorite place.

There isn’t much new to report on the move. We have done some house shopping but have pretty much decided to stay where we are at least through the year end most likely through the winter. It’s not the best time to relocate across country and with all the travel DH is doing at the moment it’s not really ideal to add a major move on top. Still we are open to what comes our way and I’ll keep you all updated. I am still thinking of blogging the process and the trip across the country. I do love watching people’s vlogs so let me know if you would like to see more from me. I am giving some thought about taking part in Vlogmas again this year so let me know if that sounds interesting.

That’s all I have for you this Monday. I hope you have been able to get some creative time in this past week. If so let me know in the comments below I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

You can watch the video I mentioned by clicking below

Fall Journal DIY

October 12, 2026 Leave a Comment

Happy Monday!

I am excited to share this quick little journal video with you. I decided I wanted to make a journal for fall where I could memory keep all the fun fall activities we do. Fall is my favorite season. I love the changing leaves and my birthday is at the beginning of October and I just love the decorations that go with the season.

Today I am using a fall paper pad I found during our moving clean out and I really enjoyed using it. I thought I purchased it online but I couldn’t seem to find it. The set is caused Celebrate Autumn and I have had it for a few years now. I am really trying to use what I have on hand for my craft projects unless I really need to purchase something and it’s a fun challenge to work on. If you have been around here for a bit you know I love a good Use What You’ve Got Art Challenge and this is one of those times 🙂

I am also finding that I love making journals right now. As I write this I have a perfect little box sitting beside me on my desk that I think will be perfect for a tiny journal. I think this one will be an art journal so let me know if you would like to watch me make that one. I am trying to find the content that people like to see here so I don’t want to overwhelm with journal making tutorials. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

The journal went together easily with a simple pamphlet stitch and I used different size pages to give it some interest. I would love to hear if you have any fall crafts planned and what are your favorite fall activities?

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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