MORE MINIS AND SOME AMAZING DOLLS!

Let's take a break from wedding stuff for this week and enjoy some adorable minis instead! Here are the results of Baby Cat and Jennifer's final (at least for now) miniature trade! 

I adapted my own sweater pattern from one that Jennifer found. The original was cute but difficult to get on and off because it had no buttons or snaps. The new snaps in the back but looks like a pull on sweater from the front, or it can be worn in reverse as a cardigan!

Doesn't this bear look so cute in her little crochet dress? 

Green is adorable too!

The weather wasn't quite warm enough for dresses when we made this trade, so our little model decided to put her sweater back on.

And here's Strawberry shortcake modeling a sweater of her very own!

Another cute sweater and scarf set for Strawberry Shortcake. 

Unfortunately, the lighting isn't as good for photography in my house as it was in the library (where the previous pictures were taken.) I am going to have to figure out a better setup when I take pictures at home.

In other news, and mostly as a result of trading with Jennifer, my dollhouse is coming together bit by bit!

As part of the last trade, I received this comfy sofa and two chairs. The living room is looking cozy!

Also part of the trade was this nice big bed and end table. I love the detail of the turned spindles on the bed, they look just like they would on a full-sized bed! The little table on the end of the bed looks like it would be perfect for storing knicknacks.

And here is a lovely old-fashioned desk in what might soon become the office.

The final addition to Baby Cat's dollhouse (for now)  is this pretty dresser, made complete by these perfect tiny perfume bottles I found in the sale bin at Collage!

I also got this little wine and cheese plate in the sale bin at Collage! The stem of the wine glass was broken but it was nothing a little tacky glue couldn't fix.

Baby Cat also found this amazing art doll magazine at Collage. Isn't this doll beautiful in a sort of morbid way? 

She is designed to decompose and be used as food for the little sprouts growing on her dress. Although it seems sad to see such a work of art decay, it is wonderful that it will return to the earth and create new life, unlike so many things that end up in landfills when their useful life is ended. (Not that I would ever throw this doll away, I would want to keep it!) 

The magazine includes basic instructions for making similar dolls and I am considering trying to make something similar to it on my own if I ever have the time. Until then, check out the original artist at: http://burymebaubles.tumblr.com/ or https://www.etsy.com/shop/burymebaubles. I know I can't get enough of looking at her dolls!

-Baby Cat

Nesting Table Reinforcements

The nesting tables with their metal tops!

This post has been a long time in the making. As many of you probably remember, I made a set of three nesting tables at school last term. They turned out very well but I was told that since the joints at the top are so thin, it would be a good idea to strengthen them with brackets to keep them from breaking over time.

Corner brackets in three sizes

A box of short little screws

Over winter break, Momma Cat and I made a trip to the hardware store to get the brackets. The people at the True Value store in Sellwood are always super friendly and helpful. They helped me find the kind of brackets that I wanted, and short screws that would hold them to the tables without going all the way through and ruining the look of the table.

Corners without reinforcement

Little hand drill from a garage sale

My trusty screwdriver

After using a pencil to mark where I wanted the brackets to go on the table, I drilled pilot holes with a little hand drill I found at a garage sale over the summer. I don't have an electric drill yet but this one worked fine for my purposes.

Voila!

Then I attached the brackets using the really nice screwdriver that was part of the awesome tool set my equally awesome aunt and uncle gave me for my most recent birthday. Now all of the tables feel extra sturdy. I hope they stand the test of time once I start setting things on them!

-Baby Cat