Farewell 2016

Well last night I hung trim in the mini mansion.   It is pretty much the last of the construction style work to the house.  Well...except for the lights which will be installed when I have the money to purchase them.  (Christmas and car repairs sucked me dry!).    

This morning I was rushing around getting ready for work but I just had to take a moment to remove the tape that was holding the trim and wainscoting in place while the glue dried. I was like a kid at Christmas, giddy with excitement!  I couldn't resist...I pulled down the box of furniture that I do have for the mini mansion.   I'm so excited!!!   I didn't have time for the books and smaller things that I do have...but it's an idea!!

Bedroom

Sewing/quilting room

Living room

Kitchen 

I was carefully pulling the tape off of the trim and one piece came up unexpectedly...tearing the wallpaper in the living room.  Aaaarrrgggggggg!!!  You can't see it in the pictures because the chair hides it....it's right by the doorway leading to the kitchen. I could probably leave it unfixed but I know it's there and it bothers me...so I will have to fix that!  Good thing I have extra paper!!!

Theoretically the mini mansion can now be moved to its resting place and I can focus on the interior fun stuff...the knick knacks and furniture and things that make it look like a real life home!  And what's better?   The workspace is now free for the construction of the McKinley!!!  Bring it on 2017!!!

Addiction

Work is steadily progressing....on everything!!!  I usually spend an hour or two in the evenings working on my 'dollhouses'.  It is so relaxing and satisfying to see things come to life!

First of all let me include a picture of the rope bed that I FINALLY finished!

And beside the rope bed is the cradle with the wee itty bitty afghan that I crocheted with embroidery floss.

Yes I have sheets and a quilt for the bed but it's too darn cute to not show off the rope part!!

With those two things done I haven't done much else on the log cabin...other than think about little things that I want to do.  I still want to put in a fireplace crane or a gridiron at the fireplace. 

And I want to have some dough being rolled out with the rolling pin....little things like that!). 

Work has been moving along on the mini mansion.  The living room received its floor and then commenced the slow polyeurthane...dry... sand....clean..polyeurthabe...sand..dry...clean...repetition!  As soon as I was happy with the 'waxed floor look' I finished up the living room with the trim and other than the lighting (I am working on a budget, the fixtures are going to have to wait a few weeks/months!). The room was/ready for furniture.

It will need all the fun little touches...stuff like a foot stool...a knitting basket....pictures...etc.  but it's fun to see it look 'kinda real.'

Speaking of pictures...this dollhouse was my boyfriend's sister's when she was a child.  I found some of her artwork on the walls.  I kept one (I wish I would have kept them all but I wasn't thinking until it was too late).   This morning I made a wee little frame.....

and painted the frame gold!   

Well, the curtain rods I made are gold...which were not hung yet in the previous picture!).  

So next up was the kitchen....I decided on green walls with a white wainscoting, a white tin style ceiling, and the same light pine flooring.  The walls were covered and the floor was laid tonight.  Lots of clamps and weights!!

Once again I was at a standstill....

So on to the McKinley!!!

After being overwhelmed the other night I knew I had to tackle it.  Otherwise it would gain big ugly horns and I would never do it!  So the next morning I started pulling out the pieces for the first steps.   

It was just time consuming...flipping through the large awkward panels and getting parts without the other pieces popping free from the panels.

   So I gave up...and went and purchased a whole raft of ziplock bags.  I spent a few hours labeling all of the pieces and bagging them in ziplock bags according to the panel number from which they came.   Much more manageable!!!

Tonight the real work began!!!   Window and window trim!!!!!  

All of the windows have their outside trim!!!

My workspace is way too small!!!  

I think I need to finish the mini mansion....at least the walls, floors and ceilings so I can rest those baby back on the piano while I dream and plot about the furniture for upstairs and the little fun things that make it seem real!  

Then I'll be focused on stuff like...

Spice boxes

And rug beaters

But the addiction grows!   I finished my work tonight and picked up the flyer that was in the box that my dollhouse came in and I think I know my next dollhouse...it will be a quickie though!!!!  

The Storybook cottage by greenleaf.   

Why that?  I've always said I wanted to do a quilt shop!  Wouldn't that make the cutest quilt shop!!!!  (The Coventry cottage would work too...but the smaller one is the think I'm going to go with...when that day comes!!)

Overwhelmed

Wow...I am so overwhelmed right now I can't even think straight!!!

First of all let me say that all major construction on the mini mansion has been completed.   She is fully painted and she has a nice brick foundation and a nice brick front porch!   The outside simply needs the chimney attached (way down the line) and some flower put in the window box!    

The inside is coming along nicely.  The living room is wall papered, the ceiling is covered and I have laid hardwood floors.  The living room floor has received their first coat of polyurethane to make them a little glossy.  I have cut the trim for the room (both floorboards and cornice!) and have that all painted a nice crisp white.   Why yes...I'm rocking the living room!!!

I'v sat and stared into the kitchen trying to come up with a plan for that room.  I know that the three main pieces of 'furniture' in that room will be a table and chairs (just two chairs). A cabinet and a cookstove.     I found some wallpaper that I liked but it just seems a bit too fancy for my purposes.  I do like the idea of a wainscoting!!!   But really?   What color scheme?   What floors?  Hardwood to carry it through?   Tile in a 1900 turn of the century house???  Decisions decisions!

So after I stared a while and came up with no answer...I turned my attention to.......(drum roll please)....the McKinley!!!!   

I have been putting off the McKinley because I wanted to have the log cabin completed (well mostly, is any dollhouse really ever completed).   I finished that with the rope bed being done.  And I wanted to have the major construction and remodeling work done on the mini mansion.   Check and check!!

Yes I didn't just look.  I cracked the box!!!

Immediately fear welled up within me!!!   How was I to do this?????

I read the first page and I knew that I wasn't the first person to feel overwhelmed when I saw this!  

I read the instructions started pulling aside the panels that I would need to start!   Apparently I start on Windows! 

It was getting late and I need a few things.....so I sat everything aside and went to bed!

They recommend hot glue gun as my adhesive...but I read somewhere that hot glue guns are no longer the way to go...so I'm wondering if I shouldn't do the secondary method that they gave....wood glue?   I would just need to clamp and secure everything for drying.....so either way I need a hot glue gun or some clamps and tape (they actually said masking tape works well!)

I think it's going to take me a long time to build this!!!

Jack of all trades

I had always wanted to work on dollhouses.  I remember when I was young...like earlier than 10 years old and going to a hobby shop (they sold model trains so we went frequently for my brother).  This hobby shop sold amazing (ok to a 10 year old maybe) dollhouse furniture and accouterments!  I know that as a kid I drooled and I know that as a kid, what was sold there was not 'toys' and therefore I didn't get more than a single piece or two from that store.

For years as an adult I dreamt about what I wanted to do with the log cabin that I was given as a child.  I never took more than the first preliminary steps to start....

In the meantime I was hopping from one craft to the next.   Literally!!  I would work on quilting and be hung ho on that.   Then I would get bored and decide that crochet was my thing.  I would crochet like a crazy women until I got bored.  Then....counted cross stitch!!!!  Yes I love counted cross stitch, count me in!   But yeah, that bored me after a bit too.   Scrap booking?  Yup..been there done that.  Rug hooking?  Absolutely!  Painting?  Yeah I dabbled!  Cake decorating?  Uh hu!!!   You name it, I have probably tried it!   (I should work at a craft store...I've dabbled in almost everything!). Jack of all trades, master of none!!!   Eventually in my travel through the circuit of all things craft I would make my way back to quilts...or back to cross stitch...or sewing...or whatever.  Until the wild hair struck and I was off on the next thing.  I cycled through crafts!

So last year when I actually got serious about dollhousing (Is that a word???  I like it as verb.) it came as no surprise to anyone.   What comes as a surprise to me is how well it is adaptable to someone like me that had had extensive 'training' in all manner of crafts.  I'm not a master at anything but I'm proficient  enough at a Lot of things to be able to work on my dollhouses!  My jumping from craft to craft taught my invaluable skills for dollhousing! 

Furthermore dollhousing is perfect because I can change direction and never get bored!

For example.....My last 24-48 hours?

I made bookshelves and worked on the railings....woodworking

I made books...paper crafting

Today I reupholstered chairs....

The red is the old one the gray the new!

Worked on a quilt for the log cabin rope bed and trundle bed.....

Stained the rope bed and trundle bed

Painted the mini mansion

Before...

After...with one coat of paint...

I also started fiddling with concepts to make a front door (there is none) and worked on crocheting a wee tiny Afghan!  

Wow...talk about going from one craft to another!   And guess what??  I love it!!!!

Books books books!

I moved the steps in the mini mansion and loved it.  The only thing I didn't like was the space under the steps.  Finally I decided on building a bookshelf for under the steps.   

I was nervous about it for sure!  But then I kept reading about people using foam board for building and decided to give it a whirl.  I am sooooo glad that I did!!!

I traced the space and cut a piece the shape of the under steps space.  It cut like butter with my exacto knife!  I dry fitted the shape and it fit perfectly.    I would like to say that I worked off of a pattern but I didn't.  I  knew a book would be about 9-10 inches tall...so I figured my shelves should have around a one inch (one foot ) opening.  I literally just cut and thought about each step and before I knew it I had a bookshelf that fit into the space perfectly!

I was charmed!  I was in love!!!

I am still leaning to no rail/banister on the steps as the room is so small.  But I knew I needed/wanted a rail around the steps  on the second floor.  So I started that.  The pieces I have were too big so off to the workshop I went.

Oops!!! I learned to take it very slow!!!

And I pieced the rails together (yeah I probably should have painted first!   And you can see how much I cut off in the picture!!

So the railing, steps and bookshelves need a nice coat of white paint and they will be ready for installation and books.

BOOKS!!!  I need books!!!

My supplies:

File folders (card stock)

White paper

Colored pencils

Glue

Scissors 

List of books (printed and shrunk as far as will fit on books)

I knew the rough size of a book to be about 3/4 of an inch so I cut a long strip of 3/4 inch wide cars stock.

I then cut the long strip into the width of the cover of the book.  Honestly I eyeballed it....but it is about 1.5 inches.  (And further down the assembly line I used a previous cut book cover as my template). I also marked the rough spots to fold the cover.

I colored the cover.  Since my house is set in the 1900's I didn't want fancy pictures....

I then folded the cover into a book shape.

I took the white paper and cut it in long strips (the width of a piece of paper) in 3/4 inch strips.

This strip of white paper I folded into an accordion shape.   Once again I eyeballed it and checked to make sure it would fit into the cover of the book I was working without overlapping.   I trimmed the top and bottom of the 'accordion' to make it nice and neat.

I then glued the inside binding of the cover and attached one of the 'accordion' pieces of paper. I held this with my fingers for a few seconds.

My first few attempts I wrote with a find pen the name of the book...and while it was cute I didn't like it.  

I decided to print up the names....so at this point I then took my printed list and cut one title out.

  I colored it the same color as the cover and glued it to the outside of the binding. Center and hold for a few seconds to make sure it adheres.

Set to dry and begin the next book!!!

Notes:

I chose titles that were historically  accurate.

The chairs will be reupholstered soon

The wallpaper is destined to go bye bye soon too!!

A New Name

So I was calling the house that my boyfriend and his family passed along to me the 'little blue house'.   But one day shortly after I wrote the last post I decided to name it the (Insert his last name) Mini Mansion.  S.M.M  or simply  The Mini Mansion.   Is this really anywhere near a mansion?  NO!   But that is what makes it even more fun!   And besides, who wants to call it a little blue house?  What if I repaint it a different color other than blue? Theoretically in a few years I could be calling a white house the 'little blue house'.  That would be ridiculous!  So it has been dubbed a new name!

So much has happened, with the Mini Mansion in terms of planning, thoughts and ideas!  And yes, the work has just recently commenced.

When I wrote last I was contemplating a bathroom.  I really loved the idea of a closed off room with an open door looking into a 'hint' of a bathroom.  I thought of different ways to accomplish it, but then......

I threw a cook stove into the kitchen and a cabinet.   I loved it! 

 I knew it would need a little table under the window and when I found a more 'farm like' table I quickly swapped out the smaller table from the log cabin.  The original log cabin table works PERFECTLY (sorry no picture).  I am toying with doing a wainscoting in the kitchen.  The cabinet, stove and table really take up the whole room so I knew that this was going to be a primitive kitchen. (No running water sink as there just wasn't room!)  I was ok with this. 

I settled on 'turn of the century' for this house.  Right around 1900!

The primitive kitchen threw me for a loop though.  You see, I don't mind having a house that isn't exactly historically accurate but having a 20-40's bathroom with running water but no running water in the kitchen bothered me too much.  So I nixed the idea for the bathroom and started to contemplate the upstairs rooms?   A bedroom and a nursery?  Yes that is what I was leaning toward.  

And then I threw some furniture in the living room.  

The picture is old, I believe I am going to turn the steps around the other way...and the chair and sideboard closest to the back are going to be swapped with each other.  Minor changes.  But the room really can't hold much more than those three pieces of furniture (And yes, they will be 'reupholstered' because that pattern is so not working!)   So how would I have an extra bedroom and person living there when there wasn't room?  (the kitchen table really only has room for two of the chairs...so it's small all around)   Well shucks!  Back do the drawing board.

A few days later......Ahhhhhh a sewing room for the lady of the house!   Fabulous!   I have nothing for it!  In fact, I can make this the house of a spinster or widow!  WOO HOO

I looked at color schemes for the outside and settled upon this color scheme

I actually have picked up some really cool features (paper for the walls in two rooms, a tea set, etc) for the Mini Mansion.   I can't wait! 

The 1900's timeframe only presented one difficulty.  I wanted to dabble in electricity in the Mini Mansion.  Why  not?  What better time than now to experiment, and something small would be perfect!  But seriously, 1900's would be a bit early for electricity.   I started scanning lights and saw that I could buy 'powered' oil lamps and lanterns.  Great!  I was back on track.  The plans were made!   I just needed to get the wiring kit and get started.   I asked for it for my birthday!

My parents lived up to the birthday expectations and I got the wiring kit.  I chose the tape wire as the option that I wanted to attempt.  Last night I went to work on the electricity.

I ran my first few inches of tape and hooked in the junction box and transformer.  After a bit of figuring things out I got the test probe to light up!  I was in business!  I ran my whole line of uncut/un-spliced tape throughout the house.  There were no splices so I didn't test it until the end.   There was NO POWER!   ARRRGGGHHH  There was no power anywhere.  Not even where I had first tested it!  I fiddled.  I moved things.  I became frustrated.

I stepped back and with the help of some Ben and Jerry's Ice cream calmed down.  I went to bed.  And in the middle of the night I had an epiphany.   There was a screw on the junction box....if that screw had popped into one of those copper conductors in the tape, it could be messing me up.

I woke up in the morning and checked...the screw had definitely pierced the tape in a bad location.  I fixed that and pulled out the test probe.  Sadly, it still didn't work.  But I was undaunted.  I had one other idea. 

The Mini Mansion has very thin walls.  The prongs/probes go almost the whole way through the wall.  I checked the opposing side of the junction box.  Sure enough, the prongs were piercing that piece of tape.  In essence I was short circuiting my electricity!  I added a bend on the outside of the house so that the junction box would be somewhere else and ran my test probe.    

VICTORY!   I checked and I had electricity the whole way to the end of my laid tape!

 I will be  making a splice and running another line of tape off of the first line!  

 I have the lights picked out, I just need to buy them!  But that will come.  I have to completely run the electricity lines first...then attaché wall paper, wainscoting,  siding, paint and position those steps (and put up the new rails on the steps!).  I have some time and quite a bit of work to do before I need those lights!

Meanwhile, the log cabin still does not have a bed finished........

AND the big news?  For my birthday my boyfriend bought my the Greenleaf McKinley!!!!!