Friday, May 21, 2010

The finished Shabby Bedroom

  Welcome to the first stop on the Shabby Cottage tour.
I'm going to do the tour in three posts because I took so many photos when the sun was shining the other day.
So here we have the Shabby Bedroom.

Tea anyone?
Cookies made by Kim Saulter.
Delicate teacup from Linda.
Teapot made by me.

Bedside table and pitcher made by Sylvia.
Doily from Debbie.

Roses made by me!

What's in the drawer?

A diary, letters and postcards.

Vintage mail and slippers made by Linda.
Rug made by me.

Wooden doll with moveable arms and legs made by Sabiha.

Robe and bed made by me.

A French chair from Linda which I made shabby.
Table made by me.
Frames on wall made by Sabiha.

  Spectacular buttercream rose cupcake made by Kim.

  Jewelery box made by my friend Anne.
Jewelery made by me.

Glass bottle a gift from Benedetta.

Sewing basket and doll made by me.
Picture from Linda, artwork by Christie Repasy.

Wash stand was made from a kitset sent to me by Sylvia.
Pitcher made by Sylvia.
Urn and containers made by me.
Mirror and baby picture from Sylvia.

Bed and bedding made by me.

Picture from Linda, artwork by Christie Repasy.
Curtain made by me.

Pansies made by Sylvia.

Wardrobe made by me.
Metal container made by Sylvia.

Dresses all made by me.

What's hiding beside the wardrobe?
A palette and painting made by Sabiha.

What's under the bed?

Paints, brushes and tape made by Sabiha.

Hope you've enjoyed the tour.


Check back in a few days to see the rest of the cottage.

I owe a huge thanks to all the wonderful friends who have given me the most beautiful minis to use in the shabby cottage.
Click on their names to be taken to their wonderful blogs.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mercedes

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Garden Gifts

I received some beautiful garden gifts in the mail from Sophia at Small Talk. 
I love all those pots!
This little rose bush is quite spectacular!

And these tiny gardening books even have pages!
Thank you Sophia!

In other news - the Shabby House is finished! Just trying to get some good pictures and should be able to show you all in the next few days!


Mercedes

Monday, May 10, 2010

A little country basket


I made this basket from a tutorial I found here. It's all in French but her tute is full of easy to follow pictures.

As with everything I do I made it in a great hurry...
so it's a bit wonky but I think that just adds to its country charm!
Mercedes

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Surprises from Sylvia!


I was a very lucky girl with the mail last week! A huge package arrived on my doorstep filled with these beautifully wrapped gifts from Sylvia. They were almost too beautiful to open...almost!


Sylvia bought me this tin sign when she was in Paris a few weeks ago...merci!


I had admired a picture of a crown in Sylvia's 1:1 house and she sent me one!!!! Even hubby and the kids love this crown...although the kids do take turns trying to wear it, lol!


How gorgeous is the box Sylvia covered?! And look at those perfect little minis that were inside it.


Then there was this Dutch magazine with a feature on Sylvia's daughter's tiny apartment. I don't read Dutch but pictures of beautiful houses are the same in any language!
There was also a dress up doll for Liberty but she's taken that to show her class at school today...that girl LOVES 'show and tell'!
Thank you Sylvia!
Mercedes

Monday, May 3, 2010

The tale of a little package that got here in the end!

Some time ago Marlies offered to make me some little pitchers for the dollhouse. At the same time she did a tutorial so we could all have fun making pitchers. Marlies said she would also send me some pitchers.

About a month after she mailed them Marlies told me she found out from the lady at the Post Office that the package had been sent by sea. Every now and then I wondered about the package and after a few months gave up all hope of ever seeing it. So imagine my surprise when this squashed little package arrived in my mailbox on Friday!


Look closely at the date stamp on the package.
YES, you read that correctly it says 14-03-09. It was mailed over 1 year and 1 month ago! It took 413 days to get from the Netherlands to New Zealand!!!!
Ususally a package would be here within two weeks or if it came by sea three months.

Inside the squashed package was this squashed plastic box.


Inside the squashed plastic box was another squashed plastic box.


And inside that box were these poor little flattened pitchers and tin.


But to my complete surprise when I took the lid off the squashed 'tin' I found these two tiny, little mugs (also made from cardboard) in perfect condition!

I opened my surgeons bag and set to work reviving everything as best as I could.

And here is the result...they still have a few battle scars but that's all part of their history!

Here are the pitchers in the country bedroom, they look totally at home there, like they were made just for that room.
It's a pity they can't tell us about their adventure. The address label was in perfect condition so it's a complete mystery where they've been all this time.
I'm just so happy that they made it here in the end!
Thank you Marlies!!
Mercedes

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Shabby mini gifts from my country!

I had a wonderful surprise in the mail the other day. Some beautiful shabby minis from a very clever friend here in New Zealand! I meet Carolyn once or twice a year when there are miniature shows on, as she sells miniatures, she hasn't blogged for a very long time but she does have an Etsy shop.

How cute are these?!!!


Strawberry jelly made by Carolyn and a vintage chocolate tin. Aren't I a lucky girl!


And a perfectly shabby picture!

Thank you Carolyn!

That last pic there in the shabby house is just to tease you...the shabby house is almost ready for the big reveal...just waiting for some very special things that are coming in the mail to finish it off!

Mercedes