Noelle's Cottage

"Victoria's Cottage Jr" Dollhouse

This small cottage was my very first attempt at making a dollhouse. When I began the project, I had no idea it would take so long to complete - nearly 6 months. It was intended as a gift for my young niece but became a keepsake and not a toy. Noelle did receive a dollhouse that year, a four-story play scale house into which she immediately moved her dolls.

I learned a lot completing this house. FIRST - this can be a very expensive hobby. Although I attempted to purchase  the least expensive items (the dollhouse kit was less than $50), completing it totaled more than 5 times the initial cost. Only a few of the pictures and a couple of the picture frames were hand made. As a" newbe", I just didn't know any better.

The next big realization came when I realized that many of the items I was purchasing could be made from found bits and pieces in my home. You just have to change the way you look at things. Now when eating breakfast in a restaurant and I have jelly in a square tub, I don't see garbage, I see a miniature kitchen sink (round margarine tub - miniature vanity sink.).  As I dig through my projects and figure out this computer program, I will share the money saving and artistically fulfilling techniques I have learned.