Thursday, January 3, 2013

Happy New Year! Check out these cute miniature houses!

Happy New Year! Here is my Christmas project, finally completed. I got the pattern for this crochet gingerbread house a couple of years ago from my grandma. I did all of the crocheting a long time ago but didn't completely finish putting it together. This year, I decided to finally finish it and turn it into a cute centerpiece instead of a bunch of little crocheted pieces taking up space in Momma Cat's house.

Front View
The crocheted walls and roof of the house have a backing of plastic canvas to stiffen them. Even so, the house was pretty wobbly once I sewed it all together. I consulted my favorite engineer, who suggested making a structural frame out of wire hangers to strengthen the walls against wobbling. I bent a few wire hangers and sewed them along the edges and corners of the inside of the house, and it worked very well!

Side View
The base is a foam disk that I crocheted around with white sparkly yarn. Then I sewed the house and all of the little candy decorations to the base. The little peppermints are my favorite, but the gumdrops, lollipops, and gingerbread men were all fun too!

Back View
The smoke billowing from the chimney is just some polyester stuffing I arranged to give it  a cozy feel, along with the warm glow from the yellow crocheted windows.

Side View
And now, for my next house project...

I bought this beautiful dollhouse kit from my friend Jennifer of plushpussycat.com. If you haven't seen Jennifer's blog she makes amazing dollhouses, miniatures, and adorable needle-felted animals! She even gave me a bag full of wonderful miniature treasures to put in my house when it is done. 

I have heard that when making a dollhouse it is best to do the painting and wallpaper before you put the house together. For me, the wall finishes are among the hardest decisions to make because they have such a huge impact on the overall look of the house, even after the rest of the design work is done. For this reason I might have to do a lot of thinking and looking at different color combinations before this house will be finished. Right now, I am thinking of trying to make the exterior look like stone. I am going to research this and see if it looks like something I can do. 

I can't wait to see what my finished house will look like and who will live in it. I guess I better get to work!

-Baby Cat


2 comments:

  1. Really nice post, Baby Cat! Your gingerbread house is super adorable (I even got to see it in real life!), and I can't wait to see what you do with the dollhouse kit. I predict you're going to have masses of fun with it! :-) xo Jennifer

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  2. I enjoy dollhouses, in any medium. Your crochet cottage is adorable, and enjoy the journey with your dollhouse kit. Will be fun to see who gets to live there :-)

    Beth

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