Hitty Art Gallery Has Art

Here is my little art gallery with some original art from my friends displayed. I've left space to add some of my own photography, too. Soon it will be done.

I still need to decide what furniture I want to put upstairs, make Beatrix some underwear, and finish the two Hitty's dresses, not to mention a coat of sealer for both of dolls.
I'm itching to begin carving a cedar Hitty from some scraps my DBIL gave me, but I can't do that until this project is finished.

Hitty Anna Now Has UNDERWEAR!!!

And she's very happy to HAVE it, too!!! I've made a decent little lady of her! Now I need to make some for her sister Beatrix, but since I'm working on their little art gallery, she might have to wait, but not TOO long.

Hittys' Art Gallery is Coming Along

I have decided that this structure is going to be a little Art Gallery after the fashion of our REAL art gallery, which also has an apartment upstairs. I used scrapbook paper for the floor downstairs and for the wallpaper and floor upstairs. The shingles are made from the cardboard back of an old desk calendar I'd saved (of COURSE!!!). I painted the whole thing black on one side and let it dry; then I marked the backside into two inch strips, and cut them out; after that, I cut into the strips, about 2/3 of the width, alternating 2 narrow shingles and then one wide one across. That way, the shingles don't line up, because I didn't want them to.

Hitty's Room Grew

Now it's got an attic. I don't think it will get any bigger now. I hope it won't be too heavy to hang in the gallery. I don't really want to set it on a table.

I think I will leave the sides as they are, so people can see what forms the base of the house.

A Room Box for the Hittys

Hitty Anna and Hitty Beatrix are going to be in the Fall Show at our local co-op art gallery (Six Rivers Gallery, http://www.harborartguild.com/ ), and so I needed to make some sort of a display vehicle for them. They are small dolls, about 6.5" tall and can't be just set on a table like you can do with a larger doll.

So I am constructing them a room box, that can be hung on the wall. I bought a wooden box at a garage sale (putting up with DH's scowl and, "Why do you want THAT?!?!!?") and I've "lined" it with foamcore board. Now I get to decorate it, and furnish it for them. I have a lot of Hitty furniture, so the only hard part is deciding what KIND of a room it will be. Maybe an art gallery?!?

Cute Little Table for My Sewing Room

The little red table is my reward for all the work I've put in on my sewing room. I've been working on this room several hours a day, most days, for the last three weeks. Because it was a bedroom for several of our children ( one at a time: it was our daughter's room when we moved in here 33 years ago, because it was the smallest bedroom; it was a least three of her brothers' rooms, too), I had to fill NUMEROUS pinholes in the wall, remove a lot of tape, etc, etc. What a pain!! It really slowed me down. I also had to fill some dents in the floor and sand them,too, and paint a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf--I did that first.

I am now to the point where most of the floor has two coats of chocolate colored paint (Yuck! It doesn't SMELL like chocolate--it stinks!! It's porch paint), the walls and trim are all done, and the little red table , the other little table (think it was my parents'), and most of a chest of drawers are painted, too. I still need to paint another side of the chest of drawers and also a desk for the Janome to sit on. Then once everything is dry, I can bring the machines in. DH's Grandma Jennie's 1923 Singer "Red Eye" treadle will be in there to; hope everything fits!! If not, I'll have some rethinking to do.

I have some little shelves that go on the wall that I've painted the same cream color as the big shelf and the trim. Those will go up AFTER I decide where everything else will go. It has really taken me a long time to get this room done, but there was a lot to do. I am so BAD at estimating how long something will take to do; you'd think I'd be better at that since I'm a retired teacher, but I had the same trouble when I was planning lessons: I always thought I could get more done in a given amount of time than I actually could. But I'm getting closer and closer to finishing this room and looking forward to actually SEWING in there. My stash will NOT be moving to this room; it is large and gets to stay in the old sewing room--the one that is too crowded to sew in! This one will stay pristine.

I Am Retired and a Global Financier!!

Think you have to be RICH to help other deserving people have a better life? Well, guess what? You don't!! All it takes is an initial investment of $25. If you don't have $25 extra right now, just start dropping coins in a jar until you have that amount, or set aside a small amount each month.
Today I made my 26th loan to Kiva; I've been doing this for a couple of years. I think I have spent around $100 for these 26 loans. I started with a $25 loan, and then made a couple other $25 loans, plus a few $3.75 donations to KIVA for operating expenses. All the rest of the loans were made from money repaid by folks who received the loans--the repayment rate is close to 100%.
KIVA lets me know when I have twenty-plus dollars in my account, and then I can decide to put a couple more bucks in to make another $25 loan or wait until the balance gets to $25. It's truly a gift that keeps on giving, and it makes me feel really good to know that my money is helping someone for whom a small loan makes a BIG difference.