More About Dollhouses

I wrote in a recent post that I would like my dollhouses to have nicer craftsmanship, so I have been forcing myself to work on their exteriors more. I have always enjoyed working on the interiors more, but the outside appearance does count for alot, as does the landscaping, so I have been trying some new techniques and experimenting a bit to see how I can improve my skills in this hobby.

I am currently installing siding to the Beetlejuice house, and for my first try at it, it doesn't look too bad:

This house was painted white when I got it for $1 from Goodwill. I then painted it gray and crackled it because I was going to turn it into an old abandoned house, but then when that wasn't really progressing, I decided to make it a Beetlejuice house. So now it's going back to white, and it has to have alot of New England charm. I love the way it looks on the inside, but I have alot more work to do on its outside.

I felt bad for my little geisha because I thought she might be getting lonely. I had been looking for a little companion for her for quite a while, but I couldn't find a little doll like her that was the right size and the right price.  .  .until a couple weeks ago, when I scored one for $3 on Ebay:

The doll on the left is the new arrival

And speaking of new friends, I went to a party a couple weeks ago that had a Yankee Swap. I walked away with this little guy (I thought it was a llama originally, but someone told me it looks more like an alpaca). I thought he'd be a perfect new animal friend for my little gypsy, who already has a kitten and a black sheep to keep her company:

Lastly, I was looking at my Christmas Mouse House the other day and decided it looked kind of blah, so I put some wallpaper in there to make it look cozier.

I think it still needs a fire going in the fireplace, and of course a Christmas tree.

I always wish I had more time to work on this hobby, but lately I've done some decent work.