Pamela's Victorian Cottage Fixer Upper Update #3

Welcome to the third episode of Pamela's Victorian Cottage Fixer Upper!  If you missed the first two episodes you can watch the reruns HERE and Here.  

As you can see above, our cottage is getting a more "welcoming look", and hopefully more curb appeal as we make new improvements every day.

I know I said I was going to try and do all of the furnishings and restoration without having to go out and purchase items.  However, I was stumped on how to create a realistic kitchen for such a tiny space.  The other day we were in Walmart, and I discovered this cute little "Calico Critters" kitchen for their dollhouse.  It appeared to be close enough to the size I needed, with all the little extra pots and pans, food, utensils...so I decided to go ahead and get it.

However, when I tried to put it all together and make it fit my very limited tiny kitchen space, it was a bit of a challenge.  Let me say one thing, do NOT buy this little kitchen for children 3 or 4 years of age. I cannot imagine them being able to maneuver the tiny items included in this set...my first thought was "choking hazard"...so I would not recommend for children that age. And it definitely needs adult assembly skills...although maybe someone younger than me would have been better. LOL. But, that being said, with a few minor adjustments to accommodate my little kitchen, I am now pleased with the results.  It's just too bad that the kitchen is so tiny that you really can't get into it to see everything.  That is why I put the little stove and sink on a small piece of wood and glued them on it, so I can slide it in and out to move the utensils around, etc.  The refrigerator is well stocked with food, but it is too hard to get to it to open it and show you...however, if you look at the picture on the box above, that is how it does look.  It really is cute...just too small for tiny children to play with without destroying it...

Since my kitchen is so tiny, and I really can't put anything on the wall that divides it from the living room, I decided to "add on" to the kitchen.    Basically, I took a picture from an old calendar, (one of John Sloane's "Country Seasons" beautifully illustrated calendars), and I re-worked and decoupaged the picture to a piece of cardboard to make it look like a kitchen/dining room wall in an old house.  This gave our room the desired wood stove, "window", china cabinet, etc., to make our house more homey.  I attached it into a little "shadow box", which right now is all made of cardboard, but eventually if I can get some help, it might become a little more stabilized with wood. I just love the more realistic look this gives our kitchen area...and it makes me smile...

Here's another view of the "added room", which does not have a roof...it is just an addition to brighten the kitchen corner...

Of course, I needed to cover the back side of that addition with something, so I took another page from the calendar and added this lovely back porch.   Wouldn't you just love to be sitting there on that porch with that darling little girl and her basket of lilacs?    I hope Mr. John Sloane doesn't mind me using my old calendars this way.  I always save these calendars because they have such beautiful pictures, and I figure this is a better way to use it than to just have it taking up space in my cupboard...

Okay, so back inside the house I've been pretty busy this week.  I just added this beautiful old crochet doily that looks like a patchwork quilt to become the carpet in the upstairs bedroom.  It is predominately blues and pinks and some greens and yellows, and makes that room look more warm and homey, don't you think?  All the children are playing upstairs today...but that little boy is still praying.  I think he's praying for a little brother.  At least he has a toy train and red tractor and a stuffed duck to play with.

Mother is downstairs wondering where all the children are. It must be time for supper.  You might notice some added furnishings here too.  We went to the Dollar Tree and I couldn't believe the cute little furnishings they had for a dollar!  The little green chairs came in a set with another little table, but they were bright pink and bright purple.  I decided to paint them this pretty apple green, which goes better in this room, don't you think?  Also, you will see a bench under the window in the back. It was actually a taller table, but I shortened the legs, made a cushion for the top, and now it is a bench for seating.  The little chest of drawers is really cute, and it is made out of wood. I need to paint it but haven't decided yet what color.  I also added a fireplace around the ceramic tiles. It is made from a Kleenex box.  Amazing what you can do with a little ingenuity, scissors, and Elmer's Glue!  I also "framed" a picture above the fireplace. The frame is made from the same cardboard as the fireplace.

The clock on the wall is the face of an old watch that no longer works...

Let's go back upstairs and check on the children.  These two little girls are playing in the garret...

And the other little girls are watching their bigger sister trying on her hat and makeup.
I love to see the imaginations of children at play, don't you?

Speaking of which...Here's yours truly, using her imagination and trying to figure out how to put something else together. Hubby took this picture without my knowledge...

But here he got my attention. I don't really like this picture of me, but it does show you the real me hard at work...and you can see that our dining room table has become a "craft table".  I have to figure out how to get it all cleaned off before Sunday, as our kids will all be here for dinner after church to celebrate our youngest son's 42nd birthday! 

So, I'm trying to get as much done now before I have to move this off the table. I do have a plan for where to put it, but it won't be quite as convenient to work on it when I have to move it ...This program now reminds me of another of my favorite DIY shows, "Texas Flip and Move"...where the "flippers" purchase an old house at an auction and have to move it to their lot to renovate it, and then buyers come to an auction to purchase it, and they have to move it again to their own lot.  Wow! That's a lot of flipping and moving...but that is exactly what I am doing...except...there will not be an auction to sell this house when I am finished with all the work of restoring and renovating it.  At least not in my lifetime as far as I am concerned...

Thank you for visiting today!  Please stay tuned for more home improvement tips on the next episode of "Pamela's Victorian Cottage Fixer Upper".   Until then...why not get in touch with your "inner child" and enjoy doing something fun and creative?  I am finding this to be a wonderful challenge to my brain.  I'm trying hard not to become too obsessed with this "hobby", but I am having fun in the process.

"Then Jesus called a little child to Him and said, 

'Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted 

and become as little children, 

you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child 

is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:2-4

Oh, I almost forgot!
Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!
I should have decorated this house with some shamrocks and everyone should be wearing green...
so let's just pretend they are, okay?
Maybe next year they will be ready to celebrate the day.
I just put my corned beef brisket into the crock pot to cook.
Tomorrow we will be also having a pot roast with potatoes and carrots to add to the corned beef and cabbage.
We will be celebrating our youngest son's 42nd birthday after church, and he requested the pot roast...so that's what will be cooking! 
Hope your day is filled with much joy,
and may you find that lovely pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow!

(If you find it, you have to share it with me! LOL)