Some Pictures and Rambling!

Hey, Peeps!

Well, I wasn't sure I'd make it back to the blog this weekend, but here I am! Here's a suggestion for you all-- do not catch the flu! At least in the US, there's a really nasty strain that's hitting super hard. Apparently it's because flu season hit early, so everyone was all germy while they did their holiday traveling and mingling with relatives & smooching at holiday parties. Whammo, flu everywhere. Festive, right? ;P When we were traveling, it seemed like everyone we passed was sick. And hello, super busy & important tech generation? How about taking one hand off your phone to cover your mouth when you cough. That would be way cool.

Aaaaanyway. So, while I'm not exactly feeling super awesome yet, I'm pretty sure I've moved on to that flu-hangover portion of the show, where I'm just wiped out and still drugged up on meds, and basically working at about 50% power, lol. So, forgive the typos that I'm sure I'm throwing everywhere. ;)

Oh, and howdy to all the new blog followers! I'm not sure where you all came from, but welcome! Seems like a lot of people joined our little group while I was gone, so maybe i should shut up more often, lol!

So, since I still haven't had the oomph to snap any new pics, I thought this was a good time to work on some of those blogs I have pics for, but haven't actually written yet. Smart, right? You betcha. So, looking back through last months posts, I realized  I never actually posted pics of the last batch of furniture I mixed up. (Still in Christmas cookie mode, lol.) Since I actually ended up with some of my favorite pics to date, I thought we could look at a few of those pics today, and I could ramble a little about them. :)

We can start with this pic:

Okay, so first off, I'm a little obsessed with blues and greys these days. Just am. No explanation, really. Can't get enough navy, or teal, or rich charcoal greys, or wispy pale greys... I go through these color moods sometimes, and usually (like this time) I don't even realize it until I collect all the stuff I've been working on for photos, lol.

Also, It's no secret that I'm in love with reclaimed wood/pallet style/chunky tables. If you hang out on pinterest, you know I'm hardly alone in that, lol. But, I like to think I put things together in an original way, even if I'm not the first person to fall in love with it, you know?

The navy sofa in the pic above is one of my favorite sofa styles-- just chunky and modern, and simple. I'll confess that it irks me a little that my stuff gets labeled Mid Century Modern all the time. While that's definitely an influence for me, I don't feel like I work out of a tiny pigeon hole like that. But, oh well. MC Modern is a big buzz word these days, and sometimes people don't really know what it is they mean when they say it. So, whatev. ;) At any rate, in general, I'm personally a fan of mixing big chunky pieces like the sofa & the table with curvier pieces like the chairs. Like all our HGTV pals like to say, it doesn't have to "match," it just has to "go."

Here's a closer look at what I'm calling the Bachelor Armchair:

 It mixes the feminine & masculine qualities a little, since it's a little on the chunky/solid side, but has a nice curvy swoop (that's a technical term) to the arms, and a bit of a curve on the back. When I made up the template for this chair on the computer, I was a little iffy about it, to be honest. I thought maybe it was a little too beefy. But once I actually cut out the pieces and fit the foam prototype together, I was pretty psyched. The size and shape was actually great, especially for guys, who tend to get super dwarfed by furniture that's underscaled. They need a bit more room to move around. And, play the guitar, natch.

I know this would be a terrific scale for a Homme guy too, but sadly I don't have one. :P I might have to sell off some dolls & get one this year, I really want to have one to use as a model. Still kicking myself for not snatching up a Radiant Child Remi when he first came out. sigh. Well, I guess I'll find one one day if it's meant to be, right?

I have a few more of these chairs in the works right now, since they were so popular. (I have the uncanny knack of only making one of something that people end up liking, lol) Hoping to have those in the shop next week.

In the pic above, you might recognize the Miley Cyrus doll with the crazy asymmetrical haircut I scored at the thrift store back here.  I didn't do much to her, aside from trim up her hair & move her to another body. She has such a happy smile, I wanted to keep her. Her name is Chive now. I'm not really sure why, but I'm sure she'll tell me one of these days. And she has a wicked crush on Ben, even though she's too young for him. ;)

Behind her is the little red typewriter I scored on ebay a while back for $2.95 and am madly in love with and totally overusing in all my photos, but whatever, lol. Love it too much not to stick in there. Plus, you'd be surprised how much one little pop of red can open up a room! And there's another one of my last minute lamps on the table behind her.

There's always something I'm doing at the very last minute for photo shoots. Sometimes it's artwork, or books, this time it was lamps. A couple people have asked if I'm going to put them in the shop, but I'm not really sure. While they look pretty good in the photos, I haven't fully landed on a version that has me shouting Eureka! yet, as far as design & materials, and I'd also have to come up with a safe way to package them too, so we'll see. I do see the need though, since Barbie/Gloria lamps are so cheesy/outdated, and most of the ooak stuff is dollhouse size and/or really traditional. So, yeah, I don't know, lol. Maybe.

Here's a closer look at the big bad Peacock Wingback Chair from the first photo:

Sigh. Maybe my new favorite chair. I know it's not actually peacock feathers or anything, but it definitely made me think of a peacock, so there you go, lol. This fabric was from the Too Precious To Use Pile. (Which is almost entirely gone, btw! My fabric stash is almost at zero!) I reeeeeally loved this fabric, but I wasn't even sure there was enough to make a chair, so I cut a few pieces of it off and made throw pillows, but that was all. Finally thought, what the hell, I had this really great wingback chair I wanted to make (At least the mock up looked good, lol) and I thought this fabric would be a great match, so I fiddled with the pieces until I found a way to make it work. I think I got one throw pillow from the scraps, and that was all, lol. I got so many emails about this chair, and I really wish I had more of this fabric, but that was it. I'm planning to make some more this this though, once I can stock up on supplies (and go fabric shopping! I've been on the "Not until you use what you have" fabric diet for so long, I can't believe I'm actually going to get to fabric shop again, lol!)

Okay, maybe one more pic:

 I really love this picture, and I'm sure part of it is that's she's kind of living my fantasy parallel life where I'm single with my own trendy apartment with badass brick wall and stocked bar, and I just sit around looking fabulous & surfing the web all day, lol.

So, this is my Mary Kate/Ashley head on one of the big bust volks bodies I blogged about a little while back. Not sure why, but I really dig her. I finally rinsed her hair in some boiling water & straightened her pigtails a bit when I was prepping for this photoshoot. I tried leaving it down, but aside from the big bald spot it left in the back, it just didn't suit her. She just has this kind of sweet, stoned expression that appeals to me, I guess, lol.

Now would be a good time to give a shoutout to Matty over at FashionDollFoto, who, very generously & kindly, sent me an amazing package full of doll clothes way back when I was repainting the apt. If you pay much attention to my pics, you probably notice my dolls just swap the same few outfits back & forth, lol  So, this package not only made my day when it arrived, but also practically doubled my dolly wardrobe! Thanks again, Matty! This awesome dress (which totally flatters her big bust body, lol) was one of them, and also Bailey's gorgeous blue dress in the very first pic. (And lots more!)

So, the teal sofa she's sitting on is definitely a fave of mine, I loooooove the deep dark color. I paired it up with some throw pillows made from the Peacock fabric. This is one of the only new pieces still available, if anyone wants to check it out.

Oh, and the laptop she's using! The best laptop ever. It's the Justin Beiber laptop that I've wanted ever since Muff did a laptop rundown over on her blog a year ago, lol. I managed to win a pretty decent Justin Beiber lot on ebay for really cheap a few months ago. The doll is in the ebay pile, along with all the pants, which are dorky & don't fit anyone, but the shirts, shoes & laptop were well worth what I paid, which I think was $13 and some change. The laptop is really good looking, I'll get a nice shot of it soon, when I put something better on the screen.

Okay, one more picture, lol.

Here's a closer look at the pallet/reclaimed wood style coffee table. Like I said earlier, I'm loving this style of table/bench/etc these days. I think rustic/reclaimed/rough stuff can look totally sleek & modern if it's done in the right colors, or paired with the right furniture. You know what I mean. I love the pairing of white with dark wood, so I think this table was my favorite. I made two, you can see the other one in this one last pic:

This blue one was my boyfriends favorite, and I think he was a little miffed when I listed it in the shop, lol. The person who bought it left some lovely feedback though, which he read (he keeps up on his Smidge House news!) and said, Well, at least it went to someone who loves it. I might have to make him one of his own, I guess. He has a little collection of things I've made, every now and then, he just snatches something & claims it for himself, lol.

I'm making a few more of these tables too, since I got a lot of requests for them. They'll probably be in the shop next week, too. 

Okay! Well. I think that'll be it for now. That was much longer & more rambly than I intended, but you can blame the cough syrup, lol. I know it was a little more design focused than doll focused -- okay, maybe it wasn't all that focused at all, lol-- but hope you had fun anyway. ;)

It's been a couple of weeks since I listed this stuff, so a lot of it is gone, but you can always check out what I have available by checking out the etsy shop.

This week I'll be taking it a little easier than usual, to make sure I don't have a flu relapse, lol. I do have a ton of pics to take of Christmas gifts & other things, so I'll be back as soon as I can to share more.

Everyone have a great weekend, and try to stay healthy! If it's too late, get well soon!

Love ya!
smidge girl