Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mini Tramp Art and Work Outside

2026-05-16T12:34:31Z

Lots of work was done outside yesterday. I dug up a big outcropping of some wild plant that was taking over the area right in front of the big garden bed. I pruned, as best I could and there’s more to be done today, as well as mowing. Mowing has popped up on the to do list because I looked at the forecast and after today – it will be in the high 80s to the mid 90s for about 4 days. Not the kind of weather for mowing. No rain for a while, so that’s good. I was so tired after yesterday’s work, but needs must!

It is a lovely, beautifully sunny day, so that will help.

My teeny little budget is keeping me from ordering more mini wallpaper at the moment, so I’m in an in-between stage in the renovation. Just dreaming up ideas at the moment. And I’m still determined to figure out how to tackle the wallpapering of the bedroom. What a glutton for punishment I am!

Here’s a little something that arrived in yesterday’s mail.

A painting (real) surrounded by a wooden mat and tramp art/victorian frame. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on my Instagram mini feed. She has a few more tramp art frames and I covet them. Re-hanging our tramp art framed angel a few months back reminded me of how much I love this form of creative expression.

Also, sheep!!

Isn’t this exquisite?

It will most likely go in the Beacon Hill living room, but I’m holding off on hanging anything until the room is closer to being finished.

It took a long, long time, but my love of dollhouse miniatures has come back and for that I am grateful.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Wildflowers and Frustration

2026-05-15T12:31:54Z

Wildflowers are popping up everywhere on the property.

Fleabane with its pale pink buds that turn into delicate little flowers.

Wild phlox or Dame’s Rocket is just starting to bloom.

I have to do some major garden clean up starting today. With all the rain, things have become out of control. Today, I’m going to dig out a bunch of what I think is comfrey that has popped up just outside the big garden bed. I used google lens to identify the leaves. There’s quite a lot of it and it has to go.

Bushes need to be pruned, weeds need to be pulled, and poison ivy has to be yanked, as well.

I’ll work on all of this throughout the weekend. It’s actually not going to rain for several days, so we can do some chores outside, including mowing the front lawn.

The Beacon Hill. I had a very frustrating two days trying to wallpaper the bedroom. I just couldn’t get it right and I had to rip it out – twice. I finally figured out why. Usually when you wallpaper a dollhouse room, there is either a basic window in place with no trim as yet, or no windows at all. Hummingbird Cottage had the windows, but I eventually added the trim after I wallpapered. Dove Cottage was in such bad shape that I removed whatever trim was there before I wallpapered. In the case of the Beacon Hill, all the windows have the trim attached and it is rather ornate. So wallpapering is a challenge. I usually build a paper template with marks where the window and trim are and eventually transfer that to the wallpaper. I did that yesterday but I could never get it right. One wallpaper design was on paper that was way too thick and hard to manipulate. The other design on thinner paper was also a fail. I was so damn frustrated that I ended up painting the wall a pale yellow. There’s nothing wrong with just painting a wall instead of wallpapering. But I find I miss the wallpaper because it gives the room such personality.

If I’d removed all of the windows first this wouldn’t be an issue but trying to do that with an already built house is tricky. I’m not going to paint all of the rooms. I think the bedroom windows were a specific challenge. The others I think (hope) I can handle.

But, what is telling is the fact that I immediately thought, “Am I too old for this???”

I’m not, of course, and after reasoning out why I was having problems, I was let that idea go.

Anyway, this ‘buttermilk’ yellow is nice, but not necessarily what I would have chosen. I simply had more of it on hand than any other paint color and it took several coats to cover up the original brown walls. Let’s see if I can eventually make it work.

Sigh.

Okay. I’m off to make a second cup of coffee and head outside.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

What are the Mini Owners Collecting?

2026-05-13T12:38:41Z

I stayed in yesterday (except to water the zinnia seeds.) I mowed the lilac side of the lawn on Monday and, even wearing a mask and the goggles that I use for spraying the sealer I use on the dolls, I ended up feeling sick yesterday.

Yes, my friends, imagine how lovely I looked in that get up!

So, until the worst of the pollen is over, I’m going to have to limit my time outside. But that’s okay, I have my Beacon Hill project to work on. I’m about to start in on the bedroom wallpaper. I just finished painting the formerly brown ceiling in that room white.

I ordered a few more mini Roseville vases and they arrived on Monday. And then I had an idea: what if the ‘collection’ that I’m planning on displaying in the green cabinet was Roseville pottery? So I stole some of the Roseville from Hummingbird Cottage, and added the newer pieces that I had just received. The cubbies themselves are narrow, so any pottery that is rounder and wider than the opening won’t fit. Some of those pieces of mini Roseville went back to Hummingbird Cottage.

Anyway, this is what I ended up with. (You can still see some of the tacky stuff I use in mini world to attach pieces to various surfaces. I’ll clean that up today.)

I need at least 2 more pieces of narrower Roseville, which I’ll attend to in the next couple of weeks.

What do you think?

By the way, this is a closeup of the cabinet and at the top you can see the diagonal lines from the 3D printing process. That’s okay with me because in real life, you really can’t see them when it’s in place in the dollhouse. But I thought you’d find that interesting.

Gosh, I took so many shots of this cabinet trying to get its actual color. I’ve never seen a color change so much depending on the light. It’s maddening! I finally had to place it on Don’s desk.

So. Wallpapering today. Flooring starting tomorrow or Friday.

Still pondering this, but it’s quite pricey. I’d have to sell some things first.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Phileas, Rain, Miniatures

2026-05-11T12:24:37Z

Late in the afternoon on Saturday, I wandered down to the mailbox, umbrella in hand, to get the mail. I then wandered over to the area of the culvert we call Frog Pond and called out for Phileas. I sang a bit. Suddenly, on the periphery of my vision, something on the left leapt into the water, landing with a plop. I couldn’t see him under the water but our Phileas is still around! We were greatly relieved. Don looked for him yesterday and there was no response. We are accepting the fact that Phileas has his own life and is entitled to privacy and will not answer our questions as to where he goes. He is his own frog.

Rain all day long on Saturday, then Sunday started out as a sunny day, but turned gloomy later.

Taken yesterday morning, right after I watched a male and female wild turkey walk through our woods.

What else? I spent a few hours working on another project for the Beacon Hill. My friend Gwen sent me a 1:12 3D printed miniature cubby/cabinet a few months back. It’s the first 3D miniature I’ve modified. It came in basic white and I guess it’s made of some sort of plastic. I probably should have sanded it a bit, but I didn’t. I stained it in that walnut color and then painted and aged it. I wanted it to look like an old piece of painted furniture. I’m pretty happy with it.

Ir’s very hard to capture the color as it changes with the light.

Here it looks more green with less blue tones. I’ll try to get a good photo of it later today. That’s the wall it’s going on and it will be directly opposite the table and chairs. I didn’t want the living room to be too matchy, so I deliberately chose this color. I may play with it a bit more, but I’m pretty happy with it.

I’m not sure what I’ll choose to fill those cubbies. It won’t be books – more likely, some pottery. I had a vision of small rustic crocks, but these cubbies are rather small. I’d like whatever I display to look like a curated collection as the owners are collectors. We’ll see what I can come up with.

Last night, we watched Remarkably Bright Creatures starring my pal Sally Field. It’s on Netflix. It’s a beautiful, powerful story and she is superb. Our friend Beth Grant is in it, as well. I cannot recommend it highly enough. You will be inspired and touched and moved to tears by the story. It’s based on a novel which I haven’t read, but I suspect some of you have.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.