PROGRESS!

We have liftoff. The first step has been completed (thanks to the help of my mister) of putting the dollhouse kit together. I also stained the first, second, and attic floor before we installed them with some stain we had at the house just to see if I'd like to use any of them as-is. It's not as dark as I'd have liked it to be so I may just add flooring on top anyway or re-stain them now that they are in, but I was trying to make use since we have 3 wood stains sitting on a shelf in our garage not being used. I also put all the treads and risers on the staircase and have painted the risers white. I am indecisive about whether they'll stay white, but I do love the look of stairways with white risers and black or dark-stained treads and railing like so:

via

The other option I'm considering is painting the staircase completely black so that the lettering I've decided to put on the risers will really stand out.

Even though the stair case in my dollhouse will not be visible from the back opening, I still wanted to do something special. So I've decided to stamp one of my favorite quotes since childhood onto the risers:

The

future

belongs

to 

those

who

believe

in

the

beauty

of

their

dreams.

Ain't it the truth? The quote is by Eleanor Roosevelt, whom Ella-bugs name is partially inspired by.

Lucky for me, I found an awesome tiny alphabet stamp set the day before yesterday for $1. Bargain of the month, for sure. At the time I had no idea if I'd even use it, but at $1 I was tempted to purchase more than just one as they had several lovely fonts.

Even though I am totally enjoying myself and making this how I want it, this doll house is really for Ella. Although she is too young to help or imaginatively play with it, I know I will not care if she breaks, stains, or rips apart something in it. Maybe by the time she's able to truly enjoy it she'll want to redecorate it how she likes and then the fun will begin all over again ;).