Dilettante’s Dollhouse: Making & Installing My First Window

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using this link I may earn a small commission but it does not cost you any more.

Today I am sharing a quick update on the dollhouse renovation. I have made my first ever window! It was a bit fiddly and far from perfect but I am so happy with how it turned out.

I started out by lining the opening with popsicle sticks (affiliate link) so I had a smooth surface to glue the window to. Then I made two squares from smaller wooden dowels (affiliate link). I tried measuring but in the end I just marked where to cut by holding the wood up to the opening. It’s not precise and required some adjustments but it worked.

I glued a piece of clear acetate between the 2 squares and then used some coffee stirrers to make a cross pattern on the windows. I then dry fitted the window and made lots of trims and adjustments and fiddles and then I glued it into place with my wood glue (affiliate link).

I used more popsicle sticks to make the trim as well and that really finished the window off. I cut the angles using my hand miter tool (affiliate link) and I am so happy with the results it gave. I am going to finish it off by painting the trim white.

I hope you enjoy this quick little update. If you have any questions please let me know!

 

 

 

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

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Video: My Common Place Book

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Hi everyone! Today I am finally sharing what I am using my new embroidered journal for. If you aren’t familiar with this journal you can read about it here and here.

I have decided to keep this journal as a Common Place Book. There are lots of ideas about what a common place book is but I will share with you how I intend to use it. When I was in 7th grade we were given a project to keep a quote journal. It is probably the singularly most excited I had ever been on a school project and if I am being honest-the hardest I ever worked on one.

I filled a whole notebook with quotes and could not wait to turn it in. I still have the notebook today and countless others. Keeping a quote book is just something I have always been doing. A place where I can come to when I am looking to create or write or maybe just need to shift how I am feeling.  Using my handmade journal for this feels perfect!

Today I wrote out a few quotes that I have been collecting and glued them down. Added some washi tape and some stickers and called it done. Of course you don’t have to do any of this. A plain notebook and a pen are perfect but today I wanted to spend some time with my notebook and the quotes I have collected.

If you are interested in the Common Place book I mention in my video you can visit Miranda Mills blog here.  She has a wonder blog and I truly enjoy her Booktube channel as well.

Well that’s all for today. Do you keep a book of inspiration? I would love to hear about it!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Book Club-What I Read in August

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links I may earn a small commission but you do not pay any more.

August is coming to a close and I am so excited to share all I have read with you.

I had a great reading month. Everything I am about to share is a book I would recommend (presuming you enjoy the genre) and in fact, they are all books I plan to find copies of for my bookshelf.

I want to start off by saying that even though all the books I read were fabulous I also DNF’d a lot of books. I think there were around 4 or 5 that I read a few pages and quickly put aside to the “return to the library” pile. I noticed I was feeling like I had to finish one book but then I laughed a little and reminded myself I read for enjoyment and I don’t have to force myself to read anything. It made such a difference and I ended up with some really wonderful reads and a few new series to continue on.

So here goes!

First up is “The Ogress and the Orphans” by Kelly Barnhill. (affiliate link) I absolutely loved this story. For me it feels like a classic book and one that I am sure I will be re-reading down the road. It’s a sweet and sad story of a lonely but kind Ogress who moves to a town that was once very lovely until a series of unfortunate events happen and suddenly the town is no longer lovely.

Next up is “Shady Hollow” by Juneau Black (affiliate link). This is Book #1 of the series and it’s a cozy mystery with a twist-all the characters are animals living in a little woodland town. These animals are very human in civility having a local newspaper, coffee shop and sheriff’s department. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a cozy mystery.

Once Upon a Broken Heart (affiliate link) is the first book in a new Fantasy series by Stephanie Garber. When Evangeline Fox makes a deal with a fate to win back her true love things go, well about how you would expect them to go when you make a deal with a fate. I just loved this story and all the characters and for me there were lots of unexpected twists and turns. I am really looking forward to reading book #2 and will be puchasing these for my bookshelf.

Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (affiliate link) is of course fabulous. I had zero idea “who dunnit” and loved every twist and turn. I listened to this on audiobook while working in the studio and it was just such an interesting story. I am enjoying working my way through the Agatha Christie challenge.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is next up on my list and again-I just loved it! I am looking forward to watching the movie adaptation of it-possibly this weekend to see how it compares. If I am being honest I am thinking about making a Coraline doll (felt or wooden I am not sure) along with recreating Coraline’s house in miniature. It feels like it would be such an awesome project!

And the last book I read in August was “Cold Clay” by Juneau Black (affiliate link) which is Book #2 in the Shady Hollow series. Another wonderful story and I think in some ways I liked it even better than the first which isn’t always the case. This series is going on my purchase wish list for sure!

Well I hope you enjoyed my August update! If you would like to see my BookTube video I have that down below. Have you read anything good in August? I would love to hear!


Until next time….

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

Video: Adding Hardwood Floors to the Dollhouse

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links I may earn a small commission but you don’t pay any more.

I am so excited to share with you the latest updates to the dollhouse!

I have made some really nice progress and things are turning out pretty well. I finished the paneling and touched up the paint. If I were doing it again I would have painted the cardboard the same color as my paneling, in my case white, prior to gluing the paint stirrers. This would have made things easier as you wouldn’t have noticed any gaps that way. It worked out in the end but definitely a tip I will keep in mind for the future.

I then decided to give the floor a coat of white paint to clean it up a bit. I had given it a quick sand first and wiped out any dust with a wet rag. I also glued in the wallboard for the kitchen with the purchased tile board. I added some painters tape to attach it and I was hopeful it wouldn’t pull the paper off but unfortunately it did. I am not too concerned since I plan to put cabinets on the wall as well. The process of purchasing the paper has made me realize that I really want to make as many things as I can for my dollhouse. I was toying with the idea of purchasing stairs and if in the end I can’t make them I will definitely go that route but to start off I am going to give it a shot. There is just something much more satisfying about building the pieces myself-at least for this project.

That being said I am toying around with the idea of taking the wallpaper out of the kitchen and starting over. I am going to think it over a bit and I’ll let you know what I decide.

I have started the flooring in the living room. I am using Popsicle sticks (affiliate link) cutting the ends off with my cutting tool. I purchased this a while ago but as I haven’t used it much it shouldn’t be dull yet. Still I found you can purchase replacement blades but I also found a comparably priced tool with 4 replacements blades that wasn’t much more than just 4 replacement blades. I am going to purchase that and then try out the blades in my current cutter as I think it will be handy to have 2 ready to go. The original I purchased is no longer available but the one I am buying next is here. (affiliate link).  Once I cut off the end of the sticks I adhered them with my wood glue. (affiliate link).

I added weight as I went along using various objects I had in the studio to help hold them flat. I will have to see tomorrow how everything glued down. In the end I am alright with the dollhouse looking loved and lived in so things don’t have to be perfect.

With any luck I will get the floor glued down in my next work session and then I will decide on what my plans are for the kitchen-whether I take out the wallpaper I added or not. I also need to figure out the ceiling (probably should have done that before the other projects) and then the windows I think. Once the windows are done I am going to think about the door way to the kitchen and stairs.

So that is all for today. I hope you are enjoying following along with my dollhouse adventures.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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Bible Journaling Supply Haul: Beginner Bible Stationary Supplies

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links I earn a small commission but you don’t pay any more.

I am new to Bible Journaling.

In fact, this is the first year I have committed to actually making Bible reading a part of my spiritual practice and it seemed only natural to combine my love for art journaling with my Bible time.

I have been watching videos for years and seeing all the really inspiring and fun creations in other people’s Bibles but I wasn’t quite sure how that would translate into my own. It wasn’t until I decided this week to dig in that I found out how much fun it is to incorporate color and sketches into my Bible as I read and study.

A few years back I read a blog post where the author shared notes she had taken for a class and how she sketched drawings into the notes. This was so genius and something I wish I had tried back when I was in school. I always tried so hard to be able to do what others around me seemed to be able to do so easily. Traditional study tools never worked for me and I wish I had hung on to my creativity enough to try it back then.

The nice thing is, life always gives us a chance to try something.

So, I am digging in. I decided to pick up a few little goodies once I was sure I enjoyed the act of creating in my Bible. I’ll list them for you below but remember it’s never about the supplies and only ever what you do with them. I have found that just adding color to a page makes me happy so if I am stressing about what to draw (a sure sign I am not in the moment but rather focusing on the end result) I just grab my favorite colored pencil and start adding color. I take washi tape and add it to the page edges and I have started making tiny washi flags for the tops of the pages I have finished.

In the end I hope to have a colorful chunky Bible.

The other nice thing is that if you aren’t into Bible Journaling you can use these supplies in your junk journals or any type of journal. You could use them in a book you are studying or a sketch pad. So let’s dig into what I purchased.

The first thing I will share is that I purchased a second Bible just for journaling. I have one I use at home and this one is going to stay at my studio. Sometimes I need a reset and having a Bible I can make art in is helpful for those moments. I picked up a translation I haven’t read (and so far really like) and in a small compact size.

The next thing I purchased were some inexpensive highlighters. These were marketed as great for Bibles but they really do bleed through the pages of my journal. I love the colors and the prices was great so I will definitely use them but I wouldn’t recommend them for your Bible.

I also picked up some sticky notes. This was a value pack and based on the size I think it is going to work better in the Bible I have at home but I just love the colors. The page flags that came with it will be great too.

I also picked up this great pack of colored pencils (affiliate link). They are bright and pastel and I have found that I love using colored pencils to highlight passages in my Bible. They don’t bleed through or smudge and they come in so many different colors.

So that is my supply haul! Below is a video if you would like to see the materials but I hope you found this interesting. I always love to see new stationary supplies myself so I thought it would be fun to share one here with you. If you would like to see some more about my beginner’s journey into Bible journaling let me know below and I will try and get some more posts to share.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

August Book Haul Library Edition

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links I earn a small commission but you don’t pay anymore.

I have been making the most of my local library this summer. Combing that with evenings spent watching BookTube and my TBR list has just kept growing. I love that I can make a book request from my library’s app or website including e-books which has been really cool. I know no of this is new but I am just now making use of it all.

Today I am sharing a bunch of books with you-some I have started, some I can’t remember why I picked them up but with any luck there will be something for you to add your own TBR. So without more chit chat let’s dig in!


So that is my full list! If you want to hear a bit more about my thoughts on each book I made a video for my new Book Tube channel. Right now I am almost finished with “Coraline” which I am reading for my library’s summer reading program. I have to read that and a childhood favorite and I have filled my board! I will be sure to keep you updated here on my progress with the books and my thoughts and reviews as well.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante