Our Created Dollhouse: The Long Bench

I'll never forget when I was little, we read a book entitled: The Borrowers.
I remember being fascinated with the idea of little people who use thimbles for stew pots, and pin cushions for furniture.

My remembrance of that book was ignited recently when one of our family's favorite movie producers/writers/animators released a movie called Arietty.

Studio Gibly releases some of the most beautifully drawn, written and family-friendly movies out there.My Neighbor Totoro, and Whisper of The Heart are two of my favorites.
 Arietty is no exception.

The story tells about Arietty, her mother, and father....a "borrowing" family.

They live underneath the Bean household, and "borrow" only things the Bean family won't miss, such as a cube of sugar that will last Arietty and her family for weeks. They go on borrowing expeditions in the evening when the Bean household is asleep.
Double-stick tape allows for spiderman-like capabilities down walls and curtains, as the borrowers travel throughout the house to find the things they need.
The tale gets exciting when a young boy living in the house discovers them.

In the story, there is a dollhouse.

This house was built lomg ago by the boy's grandfather who believed in borrowers. They never use this house, but it is equipped with a mini working stove, antique furniture and dishes.

We've slowly been making progress on our dollhouse furniture, most recently finishing the long bench. We have several other pieces in progress, but I have to go slowly since my 3 year old is a busy bee! Also, she got burned out on projects for a few days, and I never want to force her to do projects.

Luckily, when this furniture arrived in the mail, she begged me to paint it! I let her paint the base colors, and then after she went to bed, I added a few extras.

(Sorry for the poor picture...it was at night)

 and these were taken with the camera held above my head :)