Doll house, finished and ready for Christmas!

    I finally finished the doll house I was making for the kids Christmas.  It is to go along with the play mat, seen here. I also made a stable, but put it away without taking pictures first.  I hate when I do that.   I loved making the doll house, especially the roof.

       A few months ago I saw this Norbert Vereuer doll house.  I fell in love, and just knew I would have to try and make it.  I changed up the design a little bit to better suit our needs, but it has the same feel.  Mine doesn't have a balcony, as I wanted the house to be able to be pushed up against a wall, to save space.  I also like round windows, so I added some.  They look kind of gnome or hobbitish, don't you think?  My stairs are different (I couldn't figure them out) and I have a doorway between the rooms.  All in all, I like mine better, and I love the fact that I made it myself. 

      Here's how the top of the roof looks.   I really had no idea how I was going to work until I started putting the slats in place, and just fiddled with it until I liked the way it looked. 
      These pictures really show how small and messy my shop is.  I really need to get better at cleaning up as I go.  I tend to let everything pile up until my project is finished.  Everything is precariously placed here and there, so when Dave comes in to help me out with something, he's a bit of a bull in a china shop.  I have Susannah sized pathways around every thing, so he can't take a step without knocking into something.
     The doll house, mat, and stable are for all the kids to share, but I think Anna will appreciate the doll house most.  She sets up little doll's houses all the time, and is very creative in using blocks, books, and everything else to make little rooms and furniture.  I did wonder briefly if giving her a doll house would kill the creativity that she shows with these set ups, but then I thought, "No, she would love a doll house.  Stop over thinking." 
     

One of Anna's dollhouse scenes