Doll house for Ceilidh

I have been finishing all kinds of projects I had left on the way-side this week. I bought this doll house a year ago from Michaels (before they had the various different styles of house kits) with the intention of making it for Ceilidh's Christmas present. (Ceilidh is my would-be step daughter.) Now it will finally be given to her as a belated birthday gift when I see her this weekend! I can't wait to see her and Sage!

I had gotten overwhelmed with painting all the furniture and pieces (only a fraction of which are shown in these photos). If I could change anything about this project I would have paid more attention to the assembly before hand. There's no working door with the house but before I realized this I punched out the tab where it's supposed to stand propped open, but then your doll can't get out of the house!

I also would have chosen done more coats before putting the house together. I ended up using Folkart craft paints and I sealed it with a semi-gloss finish to protect it from scratches. Ceilidh and Sage aren't the typical kids who trash their toys with markers and stuff, but I am worried about the tiny pieces getting crushed under people's feet, so I made a little box to hold the stuff when not in use. (Not shown, I'm angry at the amount of dust that managed to get into the sealer but oh well.)

I haven't been able to get a good shot inside the bowls but my best friend, Chrissy painted an entire set of coordinating dishes and bowls with intricate designs inside and little rose buds on the outside of each dish. The adults don't fit into the chairs well but the older kids do.

The figures are called Calico Critters and I got them from Toys R Us. They have all kinds of animal families, sooo cute! I'm having fun planning extras like rugs, blankets, an outdoor scene and such for the future. I know Sage will play with this too so I'll probably buy another family of critters. So many options!