Kassandra's big renovation part 2 - Study

The second room in Kassandra's home is finished!  It took me a couple of days to do it, and it posed a little challenge for me.

I started stripping the walls of everything they had attached: paintings, portraits and shelves.  See the dreaded Blue Tack stains.  I decided to let the curtains hang until it was really necessary to remove them.

Following with the same wallpaper I had used for the bedroom's ceiling I took measurements for the walls of Kassandra's study.  This time I chose the complete design with all the details showing.  I adjusted the design to my measurements and printed 3 sheets.  It was very easy to do the front and left side walls.

The right wall had a little difficulty: the space for the door, which I have covered wth the courtains.  I took them out very carefully (thank goodness no damage came onto them!), and then I used scrap paper to make a pattern, so I would not make any mistakes in cutting the printed wallpaper.

Well, guess what?  I made a mistake, and so I had to reprint one of the sheets (two were necessary to cover the whole wall).  But once the mistake was corrected, the whole room looks very nice and regal.

It reminds me of an antique library, or one of those Catholic choirs from where the monks used to sing.  Maybe it is a tad dark, but Kassandra loves it.  She says she finds wood very soothing to study and read.

Kassandra says now that the room has been redone, she is thinking of getting rid of the fireplace and putting instead a little table to hold more of her books and artifacts.  She is still thinking about it and window shopping for ideas. 

And finally with the curtains in their place

 Next stop, the shop!

Solstice decorations

December is here, and the holidays are around the corner!  Surely most of you are already getting your house ready with your preferred decorations.  

Yesterday, I found out that Kassandra also is, which was quite shocking.  I asked her if she would be celebrating Christmas or some other tradition.  She said that it is the use of her family to celebrate the December Solstice.  She specified that the longest night of the year was something worth celebrating for a vampire - unlike the Summer Solstice.

She has set up a lovely and tiny Winter tree in her parlor; but the most intriguing thing for me were the gift packages under it:

I found them very curious-looking, and asked if they also had the tradition, like humans, to exchange gifts.  "Of course!", she responded.  "It is the only moment in the year we get presents.  We do not celebrate human holidays, such as Valentine's Day, or birthdays.  Most vampires tend to forget what day of the year they were born.  I cerntainly do not know what day I was born.  I only know that it was Summer."

And then I asked about the original boxes she had used to wrap her presents.  "Oh, are they not delightful?  A very talented designer made them.  I do not like the overuse of shiny red, green and gold humans tend to use this time of year.  It all looks very fashion and stylish, but people have forgotten about the elegance and good taste we used in past times to wrap presents."

She proceeded to ask me to sit down to enjoy some spirits, and was talking about how difficult it would be for her to keep her daughter Perséfone from munching on the decorations.

Introducing Kassandra, my vampire tenant

The long wait is finally over.  May I intruduce Kassandra, my lovely tenant?

Here she is, in her dollhouse parlor

Isn't she the most beautiful creature ever?  She finally allowed me to share some pics of her, so please enjoy:

Working in the study

Attending her witches' shop

Taking care of her daughter Perséfone.  Notice Perséfone's tiny teeth.

You can see some professionally taken pictures of her here.

I am very happy to finally introduce her to all of you.  I hope you find her as delightful as I do.

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Fantasy apart, she is the magnificient creation of Terri's Dolls.  I contacted her with some ideas in mind, and she has brought her to life just as I dreamed her.  It has been a looooong wait until my country's Customs has let her go (more than a month!), and I have been very anxious not only to have her safely at home, but also to enjoy her.  She is an absolute treasure that will be cherished forever. 

Titanic plates and great news

Today my lovely tenant informed me that the holders for the Titanic plates arrived, and the plates are already in their final setting.

They are so unusual and pretty!

She had thought about putting them on the wall, following up the stairs, but she decided that they were not really visible from there.  So instead she decided to place them on top of the parlor library:

She is very happy about how well they look, and she hopes that you all like them as well.

She then told me that after thinking long and hard about it, she has decided to let me take some pictures of her so I can share them with my readers.  I was surprised, because she is a very private creature, but she winked and said surely people would like to finally meet her.

As soon as she is ready, I will share her photographs.

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Fantasy apart, the thing is I finally was able to comission the lady vampire doll I have always dreamt about.  It is already paid for, and I am currently waiting for it to be delivered.  I am so excited, I can't wait to have her here.  The doll is a beauty, and the amazing artist that made it has created it as if she could have taken a look inside my head and produce what she saw.  I am counting the days...

Dollhouse FIRST EVER occupant

She arrived in the mail yestarday, and she is utterly adorable!  May I present Perséfone, the daugther of my vampire tenant?

She is a creation of María Narbón, custom made for me.  She has white hair, little fangs peeking on her lips and she is dressed in white with teeny tiny red bows in her dress and her bonnet.  María even made her a red cloak with a leather bat!

She now rests comfortably in her cradle, waiting for the sun to set to get up and play, and drive her mother nuts with her habit of biting everything she puts her tiny hands on.

Go take a look at María's blog and be amazed by her talent!