NOW FOR A TOUR OF THE HOUSE

       
    
I used marble contact paper for the floor. 
There are potted plants on the bay window shelf. 
Tiny dried flowers in beads,
both wooden and plastic made the arrangments. 

    The close-up shows the valances I used. 
 It was ruffling accented with lace
through which a ribbon was threaded. 
When purchased by the yard it is very inexpensive. 
Silk flowers added a touch to the corners. 
 I usually glue my fabric to a thin piece of balsa wood
or left over scraps from baseboards etc. 
They are glued directly to the window frame. 
       The chairs are dressed up a little by painting the back
and upholstering the seat.  Gold paint accents are added
 to the chair top and gold rick-rack accents the seat. 
I find just these little touches add so much
 to the overall effect.

 

      The kitchen rugs are cut from a wash cloth. 
The edges are pinked to give them a finished look. 
I have found various prints and textures in wash clothes
which make wonderful throw rugs. 
One of these days I will get around to adding
more details to the kitchen, tablecloth, dishes and other accessories. 

         
ENTRY WAY

     The entry way has a broom closet under the stairway. 
The rug is a piece of upholstery fabric
on which I painted a border. 
I find upholstery fabric has the correct nap for a rug. 
To make the fringe I sewed a piece of extended ivory cotton
to the back side and then simply
pulled out the threads until I had a fringe. 
The table is from (where else) Dollar Tree. 
I did a little painting that made it look like tole. 
The lamp is actually a wooden oil lamp to which
I glued a bead for height. 
The shade is a toothpaste cap with a
bit of trim glued to the bottom. 
See tips for the little shelves on the wall. 
The wall decoration is a piece of jewelry. 
(Valerie's Mom had a terrific selection of costume jewelry)

       
LIVING ROOM

       All the wooden pieces in this room are
(you guessed it) Dollar Tree. 
 I always remove the knobs and
add my own beads for the knobs. 
 It gives the piece a better look. 
 I cut some of the little patterns
out of a piece of lace for the doilies,
both on the chairs and the tables. 
The lamps are all made from beads
with creamer container shades,
to which trim has been added. 
I add a fancy sequin to the top. 
A tiny bead on top finishes the shade. 
The rugs are cut from upholstery fabric
 with a pattern painted on them. 
 Granny and Grandpa were found at a flea market. 
I cleaned them up with a mild solution of bleach and water. 
I repainted the heads and then garbed them. 
The little girl sitting in the chair is a Christmas tree ornament. 
The animal on the desk and the duck on the shelf beneath the window
were found in a dollar store. (Not Dollar Tree)
They were actually tiny mobiles. 
I just removed them from the strings. 
The large picture above Grandpa is a small picture
taken from the back of a calendar. 
I simply glued it to a little larger piece of wood
and it appears to be framed. 
The little pictures above the desk are
the ends of address labels. 
I covered small squares of wood
with scraps of marble contact. 
When I glued the self adhesive picture
they looked quite good. 
The dried flower arrangement above the mirror
was just something I worked up.
I used a little scrap of wood for a base to work on.         

     This is the bay window area. 
It gives a good shot of the construction
of the lamps, doilies etc. 
The little flower arrangement on the table is
an earring with cluster of flowers. 
 The curtains are ruffled lace yardage. 
Notice the ruffling also extends above the window. 
 I thought it gave it a unique look. 
Little beads serve as curtain rod ends.

 
TEEN ROOM

       This was a fun room to do. 
I accented the Dollar Tree furniture with cuttings
from the same fabric as the bedspread. 
Pink beads became distinct knobs. 
The carousel horse is from you know where! 
The ottoman is a top of a jewelry box. 
The legs came from a living room set that I refurbished. 
The motif on top is an appliqué.
The mobile was made with a bead cap. 
I added chains and then glued tiny seashells to them. 
The bedside lamps are beads with a bead cap shade.
 No room is complete without a picture of Mr. Presley. 
The bottles on the dresser are various beads on a brass tray.
  I upholstered the  shelves in the bay windows
 to make them look like benches. 
The wall to wall carpeting is again
upholstery fabric glued to the floor.

    
       The pictures above the bed are self adhesive pictures that
I think came in a mailing of some sort. 
I made the bed from scraps of wood that were left over
after the used pieces were punched out.
The dust ruffle, spread, and pillows
were very simple to make. 
For the most part they are just straight pieces of fabric
that was pinked to prevent raveling.

  
MASTER BEDROOM

     There are still touches I want to add to this room,
but I will describe where it is at for now. 
There were several pieces in this room that were created.
  The bed was made from scratch,
but the other pieces are from our favorite store. 
The lamp above the night stand was created
from beads and a piece of wire. 
The cross on the wall was something
that arrived in some junk mail. 
The pictures above the bed are cut from the
 back of an old calendar. 
To accent the mirror on the wall,
I glued gold metallic trim around the edges. 
The vanity and stool are dressed up with a bit of ruffled lace.
  The rug is upholstery fabric which I stitched on
my sewing machine with a fancy stitch.
     The sitting area in the alcove has a design
painted into the floor. 
I did that while the floor was still not added to the house. 
 After staining the floor, I drew a design with a
permanent fine tip pen and then simply painted
in the shapes with various shade of brown craft paint. 
I imagine stain could work just as well. 
The floor lamp is a dowel and wooden beads
 with a creamer lamp shade. 
I marbleized a candle stick for the pedestal
 and topped it with a small figurine. 
A large wooden bead made the vase for the greenery. 
A tiny framed picture of my Mom and me sits on the table. 

   

      On the chest above there is a dish for jewelry on the left. 
 I use a large filigree bead cap for the container. 
I strung some beads for necklaces. 
Large "O" rings can become bracelets with
or without beads added. 
Two or more seed beads glued together make earrings. 
 Perfume bottles are simply made by using
a large bead for the bottle and a little one for the topper. 
 Pony beads with a flat bead glued to the top
becomes a cold cream jar. 
     To make the bed a used two pieces of left over rail trim. 
I just glued woodsies between them and it gave me
the headboard and footboard. 
The four posters are large spindles. 
 Ruffling became the bed ruffle and
a lovely piece of appliqué became the coverlet
over the satin bed covering. 
The pillow is simply a stuffed tube with a lace trim.

    
SECRET ROOM

     Behind the bathroom off the rec room
there is a secret room. 
It opens through the French doors onto the balcony. 
The chair seat is upholstered with the same fabric
as I used to cover the bed and pillows. 
The lion on the wall is an earring. 
I'm sure many of the gals will remember
when they were all the rage.

 
REC-GAME ROOM

     This was a fun room.  The ceiling light is a large crystal
 bead with brass bead accents. 
 All the wicker chairs and the computer are
Christmas tree ornaments. 
I upholstered seats for the chairs as well as the little stools. 
 The game table and round stools were pieces of shapes glued together. 
The planters are wooden flower pots glued atop lanterns.
 Wooden shapes found in craft stores
lend to a variety of combinations and
create wonderful accessories. 
Next to the computer is a jar of pencil. 
The pencils can be made from the tips of
thin toothpicks and colored for accent. 
The last picture shows the entry to the secret room. 
The chest against the wall is a small unfinished
 wooden one picked up in a craft store. 
I had some ribbon which depicted travel memorabilia
so I just cut and glued.  It gave a nice effect. 
The dog in the bed is another find at Dollar Tree.
                 
                           
      I made the checkerboard table
using red and black beads.  On the table is a Chinese
 checkerboard and several game boxes. 
These were all made from downloads from
Jim Collins home page http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1832 
Check this out.  You will find many downloads that you can
 use in your decorating. 

Thanks for allowing me to take you on this tour.
I hope you found some hints to spark your imagination.  
 
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