The Ballet Studio Opens

Hello. Thank you for stopping by. I am so excited as I put the finishing touches on the Alpine Farmhouse which hence forth will be known as the Ballet Studio. I still have to do the window boxes and the roof, but I just couldn't wait any longer to see the little house on the blog.



We will begin our tour with the exterior front, not yet finished. I made window boxes for the porch, but I need to find dainty little flowers or make some them. The pots also need flowers. I love the little bicycle that I painted lavender. Originally it was red. I used Testers enamel paint. Rather tedious. I blog about it later.



The purpose for building this little house was to practice and learn skills for the large Bellingham Farmhouse that I will build. You can see I had a boo-boo. I had the light installed perfectly and it worked Then when I had a black out, I started at the wrong end of the electrical line to trouble shoot, thinking that the fault was in the installation of the light, which it was not, I reinstalled it, changing the way I had it wired. I thought the connection was bad where I hard wired the light, so I rewired it to plug in. Dumb but a common error for a beginner.

 Twice I did trouble shooting at the wrong end of the wiring system. As it turned out the the cheap 12 volt transformer that came with the kit I used failed. Lesson: before disassembling lighting and fixture, check the transformer.



Aside from the wiring, the upstairs looks nice. I did have a heck of time cutting mitered corners for window trim.





I spent a lot of time making a bed and bedding for the second floor, but then I asked myself why would a dance studio have a bedroom upstairs. I decided that it would, of course, have a workroom, a sewing room where all of the costumes are made. I need to find a seamstress.



I found a pattern for the tutus on line. It was in a foreign language, so I just followed the good photos to make rough little tutus.



I wanted another mannequin for the sewing room, so I decided to make my own. I did find patterns on Pinterest to cut out the body, then just made up the rest.



I am not the best at sewing these tiny pieces, but I will get better. I do know that I need take more time.



Love this little chair that I made. I will make the next one better.



It is hard to see, but there is throw rug in front of the chair in the corner. I printed it directly on a piece of muslin. The color is a bit faded, but on a white carpet it looks pretty.







Downstairs, I need to decide how to attach the mirrors and I need to make the dance bar.



I am still learning how to make the chandeliers, but I like this one, one of my first. I have found smaller lights that will be more delicate and I hope not so bright and overwhelming.




A house needs inspiration for good results. In the beginning, I no idea as to how I wanted to decorate the house. I knew that outside it would be be pink and gray. Since I am pretty much obsessive about pink, I couldn't resist a pink and white interior. Nor did I want to buy more paint.

Now meet the dancers:



Owner and teacher in her work clothes Shey. A hard working taskmaster, she demands perfection from her dances. She pays attention to every little detail, which pays off when it is show time. Carol,  dressed in her fairy costume works hard, dances hard, but loves to read and play with the cats. Krissie will always be late practice. (Don't tell the girls, they don't have long memories, but the were once Happy Meal toys who ended up in plastic bag with an assortment of other little dolls at the Goodwill. They would be heart broken if they knew the truth. Thankfully a kindly grandma rescued them. Alan is the only guy in the little troupe. No one really knows what he looks like because he always comes to class in costume. Silly guy.




Always at the bar Lucy, practices so hard to get her steps perfect, while Ellie dreams of riding her pony after dance class. These girls don't remember their humble beginnings when they were discovered at Hobby Lobby in the Christmas tree ornaments aisle. Here in the dance cottage they dance every day, never knowing the agony of spending 50 weeks of their year in a box in a closet.

The youngest member of the troupe, Sissy works very hard to get her positions perfect so that she can have a place in the recital.

The dance troupe has gathered this afternoon to plan the winter recital,  Alan hopes to do the Nutcracker--again--so he comes dressed the part, hoping to convince Shey that they should do it in pink this year. Little sister Sissy has come for the afternoon. Maybe she will get a part this year. 

Shey rescued the kitty family. They, too, were found in a suffocating plastic bag at the local thrift store ARC. Everyone loves them and hopefully they will keep the mice away. (Do you see the mouse?) 

The Ballet Studio is now open.

The dollhouse tools and material are put away until next year as I get the craft area ready to work on Christmas gifts and decorations, but I have plenty to share on how I did things and where I went for instruction, inspiration, and help, stay tuned. 

Thanks so much for visiting.