We are working on the antique dollhouse that was built for my grandmother in 1898. You can see a photo of the before on the lower left of the blog page. On the bottom is the photo of the real house that is still standing. We have been carefully studying the original milk paint colors in order to reapply the original colors. The goal is for the dollhouse to look as it did for grandmother when she first received it in 1898 for Christmas. You can see here, we have not put the windows back in. They are all working windows. We will post more photos soon. Our second goal is to finish this and have it donated to the museum. Over one hundred years ago, paint was purchased as pigment to be mixed with milk and lyme. There are a few companies that still make the original paint colors. One is called The Old Fashioned Milk Company. We ordered two colors and tried mixing one first with cold water, and as you can see here the paint peeled an dpulled up the bottom layer. See below. Then we mixed it with warm water and painted the lighter trim. It is beautiful. We will post more photos to show the progression. Some areas, like this are around the front door are beautiful with just the scraped areas.

Thinking about Shrewsbury cakes, or tea cakes. In short, I am thinking about cookies. The tea cake was brought to the American colonies by the British in the mid eighteenth century. The tea cake has evolved to what is now basically the American sugar cookie. They were either round or cut into shapes like diamonds, stars, and animals. A tea cake was enjoyed freshly baked with tea in the afternoon or evening, sometimes made with currants or other dried fruits. The British now call the tea cake a 'biscuit'. There is a more complex connection to colonial biscuits or hard tack, a biscuit not as sweet as the tea cake that was made to last the length of a sea voyage, but that is more for another day. Here are some Shrewsbury cakes for Felicity in my Etsy bakery. They are lightly sprinkled with faux cinnamon sugar. Cheers.

This week I am working on bread and surprises for bakery sets including signs. I put together a Hunger Games set and will be posting soon. Here is a little loaf of artisan bread especially baked for Josefina. Contact me on Etsy if you have questions about making your own bread for Josefina. Cheers.

I love truffles and have been making them for dolls for four years. Yum! Here I found a plastic cupcake stand and spray painted it with white plastic spray. It works just fine as a stand for pastries or anything. Cheers.

Looking for a holiday tree for your 18 inch doll? You can find 20 inch miniature trees in craft stores this time of year. You can see part of ours...it is perfect. I have been telling everyone about it, so go share this great idea with your friends. There are great sales on holiday items this time of year! I had a 40% off coupon for this one...a very nice price! 

So many blessings for all of us. 

Happy Holidays!

Imagine this is a holiday table at Felicity's house in 1775. What is wrong here? 

Contact me with the answers on Etsy and you will be entered in a drawing for December 24!

Cheers!

The Real Dollhouse on the Eastern Shore