Another Dollhouse Room Done-ish!

Before we started to work on Lucky's dollhouse last November, Lucky and I had a little brainstorming session to decide what purpose each of the rooms would serve.  The first room we tackled was a shared bedroom for Lucky and Charm (per Lucky's request).  She wanted bunk beds, and this is what we came up with:

I originally posted about it here.  We added the rocking chair that I picked up at a craft sale for fifty cents.  The pink floor lamp we had in the dollhouse already.  We decided that it was time to complete another room, and the large room at the very top of the dollhouse was next on our list.  Lucky said she wanted it to be a party room!  We headed to Joann's together (with a coupon!!) and gathered everything we needed for the room.  It was one of my favorite shopping trips ever!  Lucky was so agreeable and giggly and just plain fun.

After bringing our goodies home and working for a bit, here's our latest dollhouse room:

We decided we needed a big 10 seat table to allow for big parties:).  Bill and Lucky made the table with some thick dowels and a piece of scrap wood.  Bill did it all with a hand saw.  I'm thinking we might need to invest in a real saw one of these days:).  The chairs are actually Christmas ornaments from CB2 called Igloo Chair Ornaments.  I picked up a bunch of them on clearance for 50 cents each.  The rug was made from fabric I had on hand already.  I just sewed a rectangle, and we had an instant rug.

The 'lounge area' is pretty simple right now.  I found the coffee table from the dollar store.  The chairs were also Christmas ornaments from CB2, but they aren't available currently.  

We decided that if we were going to throw big parties at our dollhouse, we really needed a place where our guests could sleep, so this room also serves as a sleeping quarters once the tables are removed and some extra beds are put in place:

Bill and Lucky made the beds using wooden plaques and dowels, again with a hand saw:).  I sewed the pillows with some duck cloth I had on hand, and the bed spreads were made using fabric that Lucky and I picked out together.  The night stands were from Joann's in the 'wood aisle' and were $1 each, but we had a 'take 25% off your entire purchase coupon', so they were 75 cents each.  The 'Sunshine' sign is a thin wood plaque (from Joann's) painted with chalkboard paint (no surprise:)) and attached with a 3M Command Strip.  

The garland was made with some baker's twine, 3M hooks, mini clothes pins from Joann's and shapes cut from various pieces of scrap book paper we had on hand.  

We still would like to add another rug or two in this space and perhaps some lamps or an overhead light or both.  Perhaps the night stands will get painted too.  Who knows how it will change by the time we're really done:). 

I hope you had a nice weekend!!  Why do they always fly by so quickly?

Love For Lucky!

I can hardly believe my princess is four years old this week!  Seriously, it seems like just yesterday that she arrived and completely shifted my life's focus.  She amazes me on a daily basis with the things she does and the things she says.  She is so polite and so smart.  She loves her little brother so much and looks out for him like nobody else.  She's always asking, "What about 'Charm'?".  She never wants him to be left out.  She has such a kind heart.

Lucky girl is also a take charge kind of girl.  She knows what she wants, and once she warms up to a person or a situation, she's not afraid to demand strongly suggest what needs to happen so she can get what she wants.  We often joke that she's destined to be a teacher or a CEO or somebody who's job is to delegate work.  Lucky is an extremely hard worker herself.  She's determined.  She's independent.  She loves to learn.  I wouldn't be surprised if she starts reading before kindergarten...she is well on her way already and can tell you the sounds most letters make (vowels are tricky).

Lucky is a crafting fanatic.  She could seriously spend an entire day at our kitchen counter drawing, painting, gluing and stickering.  I love that about her, and I love that she is so interested in my crafts.  We often do mini versions of my projects for her.

She's got a fashion sense all her own.  She pulls together outfits that you wouldn't think would work, but on her, they do!  She has no fear because nobody's ever told her what does and doesn't 'match'.  She just goes for it wearing whatever feels good to her.  I so love that about her!  I don't think any adult can compete with the creativity of a child.  Here is a recent outfit:

She questions the world around her, and makes me think about things too.  She adds words to my vocabulary like, "Biggie" and "Mystery Marks".  (Mystery marks is her term for question marks if you're curious.)  She dreams big, for example Lucky announced a few weekends ago that, "For my birthday this year, I'd like a dentist kit AND a hot air balloon ride."  We just love this little medium sized (her words) girl so, so much!

We hope you have an amazing year sweet girl!!

Love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Here are some pictures from Lucky's birthday adventures this week:

And for the record, toy dentist kits do exist:

Thank you Oma and Opa!

And in a stroke of sheer luck, Lucky did get to go on a hot air balloon ride for her birthday this year:

Have a wonderful weekend!

Here Birdie, Birdie, Birdie!

When Charm is napping and Bill and I are painting in the garage, Lucky paints too:

 Here are a few more art projects from the last several months:

Lately, she's been painting birdhouses like this:

I usually buy them for under a dollar with coupons at Michael's or Joann's.  This picture shows my current stock pile.  Bill and I may have a few paint projects on the docket for the next couple months, which means Lucky is going to be very busy with her bird houses.  (Lucky just informed me that she will be taking birdhouse orders for her Grandparents if anyone is interested:).)

Here are her latest two bird homes drying in the garage after a coat of spray gloss:

 And here they are all ready to be hung in a tree with zip ties:

 Tree Proud:

 They join two bird houses we had hanging in the backyard already:

Lucky loves her bird house tree, and so do we.  They are subtle from a distance and bright and cheery up close.  They keep Lucky busy and happy when we are painting, which keeps everyone happy and productive.  Charm will probably get in on the action when he's a little older and nap times are a thing of the past. 

Did anyone notice the landscape difference from a couple weeks back?  Here's a before picture of the same area:

See more before pictures in this landscaping post.  I think it's pretty safe to say that we're calling our landscape work done for the year.  We still have a bit of work to do next year, including purchasing a tree or two and a few more plants, but the really difficult stuff (sod cutting, sod removal, dirt hauling, edging etc.) is behind us.  Thank goodness!  I'll be posting a final 'Backyard Landscaping Reveal' post later this week. 

Lucky's Latest Dress

 I decided to spend a few minutes on the sewing machine last night.  Thirty-four minutes to be exact.  I had picked up some of this fabric at Hancock Fabrics for about $3 on clearance awhile back and I saw it sitting in my fabric pile, waiting to be turned into a dress:

(I forgot to take a true 'before' picture, so there is actually one side seam in the fabric already in this picture.)

Before Lucky went to bed, I took some quick measurements and then I made a side hem and a top and bottom hem in the wrong order.  The next time, I will do the top and bottom hems first, and then the side hem...whoops.  I had a reason for doing the side hem first, but it is too boring to explain.  Anyway, I also made two straps that can either be tied behind Lucky's neck, or I may sew them to the back of the dress for true spaghetti straps.

Here is what was waiting on Lucky's door when she got up in the morning:

And when Lucky me up for the day at 5:48 am, here is what she had already put on

'all by her big girl self':

She even paired the dress with a pair of white capri leggings.  She loves layering clothing!  And I love that she is wearing something I made, even if the fabric is so easy to work with, anyone could make this dress!  I'll be looking for more fabric like this the next time I'm in a fabric store.  Maybe Lucky and I will sport matching dresses someday:)!