I really enjoyed doing this little cottage.
  I donated this house to be raffled off for a Red Hat Event. 
This is a Red Hatters home. 
A Red Hatter is a woman over 50, who is a member
of a group of sisters whose sole purpose it is to have fun. 
They dress in a purple outfit with a Red Hat.  Anything goes. 
There is no such thing as too much flamboyance! 
For a special touch on this "Ivy Cottage" I used rub-ons
to decorate the front door and the shutters. 
 I loved the detail these gave with little effort. 
 The little accent on the front door was a ceramic pin. 
 I just removed the back and glued in place.

     I won't go into all the details of the landscaping
since I used basically the same general ideas in all that I do. 
However, below is a section that shows the cottage name
 and several pieces of coal.  I incorporate this theme into all my landscapes
as a tribute to my Dad, who was a coal miner. 
 It has become my trademark!

                            Now for a tour of the interior of the house.

     The kitchen is quite simple.  Red lace ruffling makes the valance. 
 Pictures from the ends of address labels made the pictures on the wall. 
These were of birds and were just adhered to small painted woodsies. 
 The cookie jar on top of the refrigerator is a pumpkin.
  I just drew a black line to indicate a lid. 
The plates stacked on the utility table are buttons. 
The rug was cut from a patterned piece of upholstery fabric
with a woven texture look. 
 The red hat platter was added after I received it as a gift from a friend.

     The living room furniture was a make over from a Dollar Tree purchase. 
 I used the same theme in the ruffle around the rocker
and added a padded seat.  The stair treads were cut from the same fabric
as the kitchen rug and glued in place. 
The picture above the couch is from the back of a calendar. 
 It was mounted on a piece of wood and
 a gold braid trim gives it a gilded looking frame.

   The shelf above the window is a tongue depressor
mounted on two punch out scraps. 
The angels were little tree ornaments. 
The collector plates on the shelf are pictures of Eddie Miles,
 our favorite Elvis Tribute Artist. www.eddiemileseta.com 
I apologize that they aren't clearer. 
 I took photos, cut them into circles,
and shrunk them (all in Paint Shop Pro). 
 I then printed them, glued them to buttons,
and coated them with clear nail polish for a glossy look. 
They are glued to a flat bead for support and then glued to the shelf.

     The first view of the bathroom shows a rack with spare towels. 
The towels are cut from thin pieces of terry cloth. 
 Little seashells grace the top of the rack. 
The seashells on the wall are buttons. 
 As you may have noticed we find lots of uses for buttons. 
 The window shade is made from textured
wall paper that looks like it was woven.
 It gives a very nice effect for a shade. 
The pull is half of a fancy sequin.  
The eave is papered with a contrasting paper to add a splash of color.
The second view shows a rack in the corner
and a tissue box and several rolls of toilet paper. 
The tissue box is a painted cube to which a bit of tissue has been glued. 
The toilet tissue rolls are small pieces of cut dowel
 with a brown circle of paint to indicate a hole. 
 Thin strips of tissue were glued and wound around the dowel. 
There are also an assortment of bead bottles on the rack. 
 A tiny turtle is used as an accent. 
 On the wall above the stairs is a picture of a lighthouse. 
It was cut from a piece of wall paper and I used it as a mural.

     The bedroom would make any Red Hatter proud. 
Her boa hangs from the bed post;
a red hat rug graces the floor;
 red hats add a touch above the bed and
extra red hats hang from the dresser corners. 
The bed was trimmed with a lace dust ruffle.
  The same lace trimmed the pillow case. 
Stripes cut from the bed fabric were used to accent the trunk
at the foot of the bed. 

     All the furniture pieces are from the Dollar Tree. 
 All the knobs were removed and replaced with gold beads. 
 A gold trim was also added for accent around the tops of the furniture.
  The wardrobe has a large floral arrangement on the top. 
 The dresser has a purse, an assortment
of jars and bottles and a jewelry container. 
I made the hats from felt. 
The laptop computer was made from a molding cutting. 
 Little black beads made the keys
and a calendar picture became the screen saver. 
A small glass of pencils, actually toothpick tips colored on the ends,
a clock and lamp finish the accessories.

     I hope I have given you food for thought
in some of your own creations. 
 Remember you have no one to please but you. 
Let your imagination soar. 
It's a wonderful freedom!

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