A Doll Post Office

Quite awhile ago I showed you photos, Dear Reader, of a doll Post Office Quinn and I had made for my mother-in-law Melissa as a Valentine's Day present. I had planned to share with you all the particulars of making said Post Office but we were busy and I never got around to it. Until today that is!

Melissa has been enchanted by dolls since she was very young: She was gifted her first Madame Alexander doll as a Christmas present from the local drug store when her presents had not arrived in time by the post. Since then she has been collecting and putting together her own delightful doll house which now resides in a big wardrobe upstairs in her room.

She introduced me to Tasha Tudor and her amazing world of miniature shortly after we first met, and we have been fawning over her dolls ever since!

Tasha made what she called "Sparrow Post" with her young children, where they would send minuscule letters back and forth with the dolls that lived with them. In one of her books, "A Time To Keep" you can see a painting of what one such post office looked like:

The Tasha Tudor website has a tutorial for making a mini post box, but I wanted to make mom something on a bit of a grander scale, and something more similar to another Post Office pictured in a different book of Tasha's:

(Image taken from Tasha's website)

This Post Office was large enough to fit the dolls, which is exactly what I hoped to accomplish! With Quinn helping, we set about to make a pattern and a list of materials. I kidnapped one of the dolls from mom's wardrobe (for size reference) and started work!

I had scoured over Pinterest looking for easy and inexpensive ideas for the Post Office, and had come up with quite a few. I wanted the building to be light and easy to carry, but strong enough to stand the test of time and playing. We chose thick cardboard for the walls and floor and doubled it up with hot glue. I would wallpaper the inside with high-quality wrapping paper with a wainscoting of balsa wood painted white. The floor I was most proud of: large popsicle sticks with the rounded ends cut off stained to look like floor boards. They turned out perfectly!

I wanted the windows to look pretty so I drafted some designs and then went crazy and wanted to have one wall sort of stick out  like a gazebo style window. This was hard to figure out but I love how it turned out in the end! And doesn't the floor look marvelous?!

I made a tall cabinet for the back wall for the dolls to sort mail. I made this out of cardboard and masking tape and then covered it with spackle and paint to give it more wood-like texture. Quinn made the front desk for the Post Office out of extra balsa wood and a little bit of cardboard. Greta of course, was always a big help... 

The project took longer than we thought, and our hope of giving it as a Valentine's Day present turned to hoping to give it as an early Mother's Day present (which we did). 

Wallpapering the walls was rather difficult because the paper was so finicky, but patience prevailed! The last things to do were to spackle the outside of the cardboard walls, paint them, and then install some stonework along the bottom, thanks to Quinn! He likes to make miniature terrain for games he plays with his friends, so he was already an expert at carving rock walls out of foam, lucky me!

Decorating the Post Office was of course the most fun. I made lots of tiny packages and parcels, and found a template online for printing off tiny envelopes! This Post Office would need some mail after all...

By the time we gave mom her belated-Valentine's present, I think the cat had gotten out of the bag about what it was, but I think she was still thrilled. All in all it took us several weeks to finish, but we were by no means working on it every evening so I certainly think we could have made it sooner if we had been less busy. But tell me Dear Reader, what do you think of how it turned out?

To make the front edges look cleaner, I hot-glued some lace to the cardboard (as you could see the edges of the wood paneling and the floor boards and they weren't the prettiest). And let me show you a photo of the lovely rock wall Quinn carved!

He painted it and everything - didn't he do a marvelous job? The trellis idea I got off of Pinterest, and there's also a larger one on the opposite wall:

I think the dolls really love their new Post Office. It must be so nice for them to be able to send packages and presents to all their friends far away, wouldn't you agree?

The Post Master for Tasha's Office was named Augustus Sparrow, a very robust name indeed. In Juneau, ravens are more abundant than sparrows so Melissa has a Postmistress named Miss Minerva Raven. She does a very good job of helping customers and no letter is lost under her watchful eye. 

A large number of pretty stamps, as well as envelopes and greetings cards are available for purchase at the Post Office.  Mail delivery isn't yet available (Miss Raven is currently looking for a quick young robin to take the job, but as of yet none have applied), but the walk is quite short from the doll wardrobe to the Post Office. 

Quinn and I had a grand time making this present for mom, and I hope you are inspired to create something on a smaller scale as well today! I don't yet have a large doll collection of my own, as Melissa does, but I am lucky in the fact that she lets me play with hers whenever I like! 

May you have a wonderful day!

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Travel Journal - Vladivostok Russia

Oh how wonderful it is to be home in Blueberry Barn once again. Our trip to Russia was a whirlwind, and now that we're back it seems like it was a dream and didn't really happen at all. Isn't it funny how things work out like that?

As I write this - two days after we've gotten home - Quinn and I are both sick, probably from the combined 33 hours of travel to get home and the fact that we sang six days in a row with hardly a break in between. But what an experience, I know I wouldn't trade it for anything.

The week prior to leaving was filled with last-minute practices and packing. Lupin and Greta knew what was up since they are very smart dogs, and Lupin did not want to see us leave. She even climbed into the big truck once we started putting suitcases in as if to say "I know you're going and you have to take me with you!" Poor thing, if only we could tell her we wouldn't be away for long...

We flew from Juneau to Seattle, and then from Seattle to Seoul that first day. I have never been out of North America and I was so thrilled to be seeing more of this wide world!

We didn't make it into the city of Seoul because of time constraints, but we did enjoy walking around the airport and around our hotel (my goodness was it hot and muggy there for us Alaskans!).

The next morning we flew into Vladivostok, Russia, where we were picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel and then we were off to our first show. We would only be in Russia for six days, and each day was filled with two or three shows (though more usually three) which had us quite busy as I'm sure you can imagine.

We played at a collection of children's camps, English schools, Veteran hospitals, restaurants, and even a church! I have never been to a country where English was not the main language, and it was both hard and fun to try to speak to people and kids at the places we went.

After most of our concerts everyone would want to come up and take photos with us. How wonderful to know that even though we couldn't speak to each other with words, music cut through the language barrier!

Because we were so busy with our performances each day there was very little time to look around and explore. That made little trips out of our way to things such as this glass beach all the more special!

It was an entire beach made out of beach glass! Even when you dug down it was all lovely beach glass in a rainbow of colors. I would have liked to bring some home but it was against the rules. Oh well, the beach was lovely and I got some very pretty pictures while we were there!

It rained about the whole time we were in Vladivostok, and the locals told us their summer is usually in August and that we would just have to come back then, haha! We told everyone that the rain made us feel right at home (though back at home in Juneau it was sunny and over 70 degrees!).

Vladivostok itself is a lovely city, but I think the best thing about it is its friendly people. Every place we went we were always greeted with smiles, and everyone always cheered for us whenever we played.

I brought home a Russian shawl as a souvenir, but I think the best souvenir is the many friendships I made with the lovely people I met everyday. That I will treasure for a lifetime.

So tell me, Dear Reader, have you ever been to Russia? I do hope to go back someday and spend more time seeing the sights. I hope you enjoyed seeing a little glimpse into my time over the ocean in the Far East!

P.S. - To my mermaid loving friends - there are mermaids in Russia! Abigail and I were so happy to see a mermaid sister while we were there!

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A Wave of Windswept Roses

One of my favorite stories that I've ever shared with you, Dear Reader, was the Roses blog post posted two years ago. This blog functions almost like a scrapbook for me - its so fun and interesting to look back through the last couple of years and see the changes that have taken place, and the things that still remain the same. One thing that will always stand the test of time is my love for wildflowers, and this last week the Sitka roses were in bloom...

Oh, but to tell the story that happened just several days ago I must start all the way back in January. Yes: Cold, miserable, dark and snowy January - when there's nothing better to do (for Christmas is now past) than to sit inside and wait for Spring to come...and maybe do some sewing. 

A new pattern had come out that I was very excited to try, an apron pattern with big, cozy pockets. Several years before hand I had found an old, stained table cloth for a bargain at a second-hand store and this would be the perfect project to let that amazing floral pattern shine! There was only one problem...Greta didn't like the idea of me being on the floor and not giving her attention (the attention she so rightly deserves - I might add!). 

 ...So of course the most appropriate spot for her was to sit on the nice linen fabric that was so taking all my attention! Oh well, perhaps I could do both? Love on Greta and pin those pockets down at the same time?

That would be a definite no!

(Small note: My goodness! I am so happy I don't have to wear layers and hats like that right now! Oh summer, you have been so terribly missed!)

By some miracle I was eventually able to get the apron all sewed up - despite Greta's 'help'. What do you think of the floral tablecloth pockets? Didn't they turn out fantastic! Well, back to the present day, and it seems like the perfect occasion to wear my treasured apron! Before we traveled off to Russia I wanted to make Rose Water from my favorite wild roses for baking. One of my favorite recipes calls for it, and it's so easy to make!

With my trusty trug in hand, and Greta (now a bit bigger than she was in January) quick on my heels, we went for a walk in the summer sunshine. Over our heads, a bald eagle watched us as we skipped on by, with the calls of the salmon fisherman echoing off of the trees.

Here in this photo you can see the back of the apron. It can tie in the back or in the front - if you don't have need of the pockets. 

This is the same spot we picked rose petals two years ago, and Greta's favorite place to take long walks. Unfortunately for us, the Indian Rhubarb has really taken off this year - making it quite perilous to walk the trails. Indian Rhubarb causes burns on your skin if the juices from the plant get on you and then are exposed to sunlight. I had never experienced it till last week, when Quinn and I went on one of our normal trails only to find it overrun with the stuff! We both got several small burns on our legs, not fun at all! We didn't want a similar experience, so we stayed as far away from the plants as we could, making it even harder to harvest the rose petals.

The wind off of the summer sea whipped about us, and my hair (which I had worn down that day) was flying everywhere! The only one who seemed unbothered by the mighty gusts was Greta, who was often hidden among the dense foliage, no doubt finding fairies and gnomes!

The wind may have been howling, but the sun felt nice on our skin and the view simply took our breath away...

Dodging the windblown Indian Rhubarb and rose thorns, Quinn and I gathered as many rose petals as we could reach.

I had grabbed a dish towel for the bottom of the basket before leaving the Barn and I'm so glad I did! It helped to keep the rose petals in the trug while the wind was blowing - wanting to send all my hard work to hither and yon! 

Thankfully we didn't need too many rose petals for the recipe I was hoping to make, which left time for picking other flowers as well! After all, you can never have too many bouquets in your home, right? 

The lupin is almost all bloomed out now, and because of the harsh gails had been mostly blown away. I was still able to find a few flowers still holding on to all their buds, though. They would make the perfect centerpiece for my bouquet! Irises, sweet pea, and yarrow also made it in, and a pocket full of buttercups should never be passed by.

 The deep blues and purples made this the loveliest bouquet of the summer in my book. I now have it sitting upstairs in the Barn, perfectly placed in my Blue Willow tea pot.

It was time to hurry home, but not before the wind caused more laughter with hair flying all over the place! Quinn can now sympathize with me for he has been growing out his hair as well, and he's now able to put in into a bun (you've heard of 'man buns' right? Haha!).  As I'm sure you can imagine, he is very proud of this (the only unfortunate occurrence so far has been a friend's young child asking him why his voice was so low and then remarking that they thought he was a girl! We were all rather surprised...).

Sorry for the bunny trail - lets move forward!

Upon arriving home I spent quite a long time on the porch sorting through the petals and getting rid of bugs (there were so many!) and other bits that weren't supposed to be there. Then after a quick rinse, I put the petals in a pot, covered them with water and set it on the stove to bubble away.

After the pot had been boiling for a bit (and the petals had turned from bright pink to a very light shade of peach) I turned off the heat and let the water cool for a while. Once it was only slightly warm I lined a sieve with paper towels and poured the rose water through, squeezing every last drop out of the paper towel once that had been done.

What was left was a lovely pink rose water, ready to be used in baking! Since we'll be leaving for Russia, I wanted to make sure it lasted, so I tried something I hadn't done before: freezing! I poured a teaspoon of the rose water into ice cube trays and put them in the freezer for an hour. What came out were perfect little pink colored rose water ice cubes! I put them all in a baggie and now I'll have rose water whenever I want to use it! Do you have any favorite recipes using rose water? Let me know down in the comments! I would love to have other recipes to try!

But of course I couldn't make fresh rose water without making one of my favorite recipes, Earl Gray Scones with Rose Water Icing! I found this particular recipe while searching through Pinterest for something unrelated (isn't that how searching through Pinterest always works?), but I am so happy I found it! I'll share the recipe with you here - and please do tell me if you try it out!

Earl Gray Scones

Adapted from Pinch Me I'm Eating

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
3 bags of earl gray tea (or about 1 tbsp)

1.) Set oven to 400 degrees F.

2.) Open tea bags and empty them into a food processor (or mortar and pestle if you're old school) and crush them till the tea leaves are a powder.

3.) In a medium sized bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

4.) Add diced butter to dry ingredients, using a pastry cutter to incorporate butter until the mixture resembles sand.

5.) Beat together the egg, heavy cream and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and mix only until combined.

6.) Pat dough into a ball, flattening it out on counter to be a 9-inch circle, using extra flour for dusting if necessary. Cut into 8 triangles, arrange on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

7.) Bake for 12-17 minutes, or until scones start to turn a golden brown.

Rose Water Icing

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1tsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp rose water
1-2 drops red food coloring

1.) Mix all ingredients till smooth, be careful to add a little food coloring at a time to achieve the desired shade of pink.

2.) While scones are still warm from the oven, carefully dip tops into bowl of icing - let excess drip off - and place them on to parchment paper to set.

3.) Once completely cool, store in air tight container. Do not stack scones on top of each other. 

I simply can't tell you how much I love these scones. I usually make a double batch and have them with tea once or twice (or three or four times...) a day. As I'm sure you can imagine, they don't last very long! The scones have such a delicate earl gray flavor, it simply pairs so nicely with the floral taste of the rose water icing. And yes, I promise they taste just as amazing as they look in these photos!

I hope you've enjoyed this walk with me, as well as a peak inside my kitchen! Please let me know if you're in the area and you can stop on by for a scone - or two - and some tea. Until next time Dear Reader! I hope you have a wonderful week!

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