Annual Swap

Well it's that time of year again!  Time for the annual swap with my miniatures Yahoo group.  Once again, I spent weeks racking my brain and searching Pinterest for an idea.  Then I spent the past several months making them.  I finally got them done and sent out yesterday!  You are going to have to wait to see what they are though.  The swaps aren't being mailed back out to us until March and I don't want to ruin anyone's surprise!  The theme this year is "home accessories." I see I never posted a photo of what I made last year, so I can show you that.  Last year the theme was "kitchens."

Kitty Fashions

Lolly learned how to knit this past week.  I had tried to teach her to knit several years ago but it didn't really take.  This time, I showed her how to do two stitches and she took right over.  She picked it up way faster than I did.  She's made several cowls for her cat, Callie, and a patchwork blanket.  She's got a line of hats in mind, and a ballerina outfit I believe.  Fortunately, Callie is fairly tolerant.

The Front Is (Mostly) Done

All the siding, windows, and trim are on the front of the house!  The front door was tricky and took me awhile to decide what to do.  Why is that, you ask?  Well, the door openings on the plans use Bauder Pine doors.  The house pieces were all cut ages ago to match the plans.  However,now Bauder Pine no longer exists. Houseworks doors are too narrow.  In fact, I looked up every 1/2" scale door I could find on the internet and couldn't find any wide enough. I considered redoing the whole front wall with an opening to fit a Houseworks door but I had already put a Bauder Pine door on the back.  I didn't think it would look right for the back door to be wider than the front door, even though you don't ever see them at the same time. In the end, I decided to make the door from scratch. How does it look?

The removable walls were also tricky.  The plans don't explain how to do the corner trim.  At this point, the corner trim is glued to the front wall with a space on the sides so when the wall is put in place the trim will cover the sides too.  In order to allow for a big enough gap to cover the side walls the only about 1/8' of the trim could to be glued to the front.  I don't know how well that is going to hold but I didn't want to use a wider trim.  I could have glued the corner trim to the front and then cut another piece to cover the sides but that would have left a seam.  If I had to do this over again I would try making the removable walls a little wider so the corner trim could be glued on flush and would cover the sides.  It might be hard to tell from the photo, but I used 1/2' corner trim.  I cut the part glued to the front wall to 1/4" to match all the others corners of the house.  I left the sides at 1/2" so it would be wide enough to cover the sides.  I might have to go back and redo this at some point if this doesn't work.

There is a gap between the trim and the walls so the side walls can fit in there.

A Porch with a Horrible Window

I have decided that choosing the Puritan for my first miniature house project was a REALLY BIG MISTAKE.  I should have started with, oh I don't know, a one room cottage.  Or at least a small kit house that came with all the components.

Over the past week or so I have been working on the porch.  I got all the siding on and painted.  Today I started working on the windows.  One of the things that makes this plan complicated is the fact that there is a triple window on the sunroom.  Since there aren't any triple windows to buy, I had to bash it.  I had a double window and a single window.  I cut one side off each.  The wood splintered when I cut it and the pieces did not fit together well.  Also, my double window was a smidge shorter than the single.  It looked terrible!

After some thought, I decided to cut off the top layer of trim on each piece.  I cut a new piece to replace what I cut off and to cover the gap.  Then I cut the pieces that went under the window off and replaced them with one solid piece.

There was a big gap on the inside that I had to fill with wood filler.  Hopefully once it's all painted it won't look too bad.

Painting and Flooring

The neighbor painted the outside of his house today.   He was pretty excited to get it done and eager to start building furniture.

My house is coming along.  All the rest of the exterior pieces have been cut.  They just need to be sanded, primed and  attached to the house with hinges.  I make it sound so easy, right?

I cut out a piece of hex tile for the bathroom floor.  When I bought it (on-line because there is not much available in 1/2" scale locally) the website did not state the tile measurements.  I was hoping for penny tile but they work out to be about 3".  I guess it will have to do.  I spread spackle mixed with gray paint over the whole thing to look like grout and then wiped it off.  It came out really grungy looking.  It would be perfect if that's the look I was going for!   However, none of the rest of the house has been aged or grunged.....

Bedcover

So today hubby but was wearing this shirt with this awesome teensy houndstooth-like print.

It's a relatively new shirt and I'm like nice shirt.  But I look closer, at the print.  I love houndstooth! So I say "Hey, when that shirt shrinks or gets stained or something, can I have it?"

Of course he wonders why.  I fess up.  " Because it would make an awesome print for my dollhouse!"  

And Lolly says "What would you do with it?  Make a table cloth out of it?"

"No," I replied.  "It would make an awesome bedcover!"

Hubby is all " It's not a bedcover!"

" Yes it is," I replied.  "With pink sheets."

And he says "It's a shirt!"

"Okay," I say. "well the next time you wear that to work, remember, it's a bedcover.  With pink sheets."

I mean really - can't you just PICTURE it?  So I offered to do his laundry for him next week.  I don't know why he said no....

Knitty Griity Hat

The ladies at my local yarn store showed me how to seam my hat from Knitty Gritty.  I followed the  directions to knit a hat for an infant, but I guess my stitches are big because it came out child-sized.

I took a short Knitty Gritty break to crochet a toy for the cat.  I think he liked it.

Big Changes in Little Houses

Well, the house next door went up for sale.  I was told that Lolly decided she doesn't want to own a house.  And if she decides she wants one, it will be a modern one. Her little brother was eager to take over and has already painted all the rooms.

The Puritan has been in the shop since last weekend waiting for the rest of the roof and the dormers.  I had placed an order with Superior Dollhouse for windows and another door and it was all wrong!  I don't know what I was thinking.  I ordered 3 single windows instead of 1 and no doubles. Which may be okay because it turns out I may need more doubles than I thought.  I was thinking the house only has a dormer on the front but it might have one on the back too.  Also, the door doesn't fit the door opening.  I'm not sure why.  I believe the door I already have, and the one I just received are both Houseworks doors but one is narrower than the other.  By the time I finish this house, I will have enough extra windows and doors for another house!  Unfortunately, I don't think Hubby will have time to build another one any time soon!

 

I did do one little project when Lolly had the air-dry clay out yesterday.  I made a little fairy tree sculpture.  It is 5/8" tall, which is teeny but actually probably too big for the house.  That would be the equivalent of 1 1/2 feet tall!

 

 

Another mini room done!

I finally got the wallpaper sized correctly and printed out.  I had used Modge Podge before and it yellowed the paper so this time I used a spray Krylon sealer.  The wallpaper was printed on a thicker paper so I used Aleene's Tacky Glue to glue it in.  I cut all the trim, painted and installed it.  Another room done!

I also got the door trim for two of the hallway doors done.

And painted the bathroom a pale pink.

 

Window Mullions

It was another early morning yesterday, but thankfully not a 4:00 am morning!
I worked on window mullions.  Working with those tiny pieces was a challenge!  I got three windows done.

That is the dining room window but they all look the same.

Inside view.

While I was doing that, Lolly started painting the interior of her house.  I liked the color she chose for her living room!

After that I made the mistake of trying to fix the wallpaper in one of the upstairs bedrooms.  I had put it down with double-sided tape and it wasn't sticking in one section.  I tried to pull it up to glue it down instead and ended up tearing the paper from 3 different walls!  So then I went to reprint it only to realize I had never saved the file when I did it the first time.  I don't have a good program for resizing and editing pictures, or maybe I just don't know how to use what I have.  So I spent a good hour resizing and printing and still never came up with the right size.  

 

Dollhouse Trim

I woke up at 4:00 am yesterday morning.  It may or may not have had something to do with our  kitten, Mickey.  As soon as I stirred, he was in my face nudging me with his nose, begging to be caressed.
Since I couldn't get back to sleep, I decided to make use of the solitude and work on my dollhouse.  I cut all the baseboards and door trim for the two rooms I have been working on.  I painted them and glued it all  in.  Wow!  Two more rooms done!

Door trim and floors

This morning I used my flooring scraps to piece together the hallway floor.  Since none of my scraps were long enough, I cut a piece of paper to fit the hallway floor. 

I cut all the strips apart

 

glued them to the piece of paper,

 

 trimmed the ends and glued it in! 

 

While I was doing that, Lolly was staining her floors.  It would have been easier to do that beforehand but I didn't think of it.

 

After that, I glued the floors down in the master bedroom and tiny room.  I cut and painted the door trim.  I got a lot done today!

 

 

 

 



 

A New Neighbor

Well I didn't accomplish a lot on my house today because Lolly is moving in next door and needed help building her house.  I figured since she is in my craft room with me all the time playing with my dollhouse maybe she should have her own.   We bought the Creatology puzzle house from Michaels and dry fit it yesterday.  Today we glued it together and she started painting it.  See that bit of blue peeking out from the side?  That's the color she picked for the exterior of her house.  She got the two sides painted today.

As far as my house goes, I was going to glue the door knobs on the doors and then glue the doors in -and wouldn't you know?  I didn't have enough doorknobs!  Pooh.  I thought I did.  I went to Joann's to see if I could find anything to make my own but I didn't.  I do not want to order them on-line, pay for shipping, wait for them to get here.... But I guess I will have to.

Knitty Gritty 2 and doors

I finished the second Knitty Gritty project a few days ago.  It was a pair of baby booties.  I used some left over Berrocco Vintage pink yarn from my stash. 

I have also been lucky enough to have some chunks of time to work on my dollhouse.  I finally figured out how to cut my last sheet of flooring to fit the two remaining upstairs rooms.  I've been mulling it over for several weeks.  When I figured it out I exhaled and did a little happy brain dance.  This in spite of the fact that the hardwood strips keep popping up.  I don't know if that is just the nature of this kind of flooring or if it has something to do with the fact that it has been sitting in a box for more than a decade.  I ironed them down but they just keep popping up.  So I am just going to label it character.  This house has character.

Small upstairs room

After all that, I decided I should glue the doors in before the flooring. I got some help assembling the doors tonight.  They are held in the doorframes by pins. Ideally the doors would open all the way.  But to get them to do that I would need more space on the sides of the door.  I wasn't sure how much of a gap to leave and thought if it was too big it wouldn't look realistic.  So now the doors can only be opened a crack.  More character.  I hear old houses have a lot of that.  I painted one door and set it in place, along with the flooring, to get a preview of what the room will look like.  It's exciting to see it coming together!

Master bedroom

 

A Miniature Hiatus

Somewhere around, say three months ago, Lolly and I were out shopping.   We started talking about this blog and crafts.  
She said to me "I give you two months."  
"Two months!  What are you talking about?" I said.
She went on to explain that every two months, I switch crafts.  Because she has been keeping track apparently.  Well, of course I protested.  Because maybe I do cycle through crafts but it's not like every other month I am taking up a new hobby.  However, it did give me a lot to think about. Like for one thing, is that true?  And if so, why?  And is the fact that, after about two months, I took a break from miniatures and started knitting, an indicator of her being spot-on?  Or is it more like a self-fulfilling prophesy? 
It has been sitting in the back of my brain, bubbling and every now and again letting out a little hiss.  I suppose it is true, and there are probably many very good reasons for that.  For instance, part of the reason I haven't done miniatures in several months comes down to practicality.  We had family visit from out of town, and then we went out of town to visit family.  It wasn't really possible to do miniatures, but I could knit. One day I looked at all my craft books and realized I never really do anything with them.  So I decided to try to knit my way through Knitty Gritty.  I have crocheted for awhile but am only starting to learn to knit.  What I like about the book, is that each project really only adds one thing to learn so it's not so overwhelming.
The first project was to make a chunky knit scarf.  It used only one stitch and big needles so it went fast.  I pulled this yarn from my stash.  I wasn't crazy about the color, but actually now that it is knitted up, I think it's okay.

What about you?  Do you find yourself cycling through crafts, or have you found just one thing you love to do?

Paint and Windows

I have been busy with paint and glue lately.  I painted the house, a few windows and two doors  (the back door and the French doors).  I also started adding siding to the porch.

While I was doing that, the kids were busy making a dog house.

 

House and dog house.  Must belong to Clifford the Big Red Dog.

 

Bricks and Siding

I haven't posted in a few days because we were getting ready to go camping (and then were actually camping).

So let's see, what have I done since my last post?  I cut some scrapbook paper to wallpaper another bedroom and taped it to the wall.  I am having a hard time committing to wallpaper.  It feels so permanent.  What if a year from now I decide I hate it?  I will have to pull off all the moldings and the paper, which may or may not want to come off!  Or what if I decide it's really dated?  Of course, this whole house is going to be really dated at some point.  Hopefully, that will be part of it's charm.  Anyway, here is what I have.

I'm not sure if I will make that room into a bedroom actually.  I looked at the original house plans and then at the NN plans and it seems a good scale foot or so has been omitted from the width.  This makes an already small room pretty teeny.  It is only 7' wide if you don't count the alcove.  What else could it be?  A laundry room?  A play room?  A craft room?  A cat room?

Additionally, I have been gluing siding on.  I finished one whole wall of the house and bricked the porch foundation.  WooHoo!  Let me tell you, I was terrified to start cutting that siding for fear I would screw up again.  I finally made it to the dollhouse store last week to get more siding and it is not cheap.  Trying to cut the siding around where the porch was supposed to go made it worse.  I finally decided the porch was added on later and so that whole wall could be sided.  In looking through the plan to find out what they put on the porch roof I realized we had overlooked something major.  The porch was supposed to be glued to the house and the front wall was supposed to be removable and pressure fit. Oh well.  We made the whole porch removable!  I also realized the plans don't tell you how to make the front and back steps.  I saw that someone had sold this same dollhouse on ebay and theirs didn't have any steps, just a door hanging off the wall.  This just might be why.

Lolly helped me brick the foundation and she painted the interior porch walls.

Wallpaper, Flooring, and a Table

Over the past week I've been working on several things.  I had a rectangular piece of hardwood flooring leftover from the downstairs.  It was too short for any of the upstairs rooms, but seemed to actually be enough to cover a small floor.  I pulled it all off the paper backing and rearranged it onto a piece of paper cut to match the floor.  Then I wallpapered that same room.   It took me forever to decide on wallpaper!  I didn't like any of the commercially made wallpaper. I looked at scrapbook paper but the patterns were too large.  I looked at free digital scrapbook paper and found a few but couldn't figure out how to download them.  I found this floral from jennifersprintables.  I feel it has that vintage/cottage feeling I was going for and is the right colors, so there you go!

I also made a farmhouse table for the dining room.  What do you think?



1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

This past week has been a very frustrating week in dollhouse world, what with walls coming apart and siding going on upside down.  I feel like every time I take one step forward, I am set back by two.  I cut the siding for the back wall and glued it on this past weekend.  I was so excited to have another part done!

 

Then I looked at it from the side and realized the wood had warped! NOOO!  So do I redo the whole wall, or plant a tree there?  Hmm.

While I have been working on all of that, I have been trying to figure out the wall colors for the second floor and whether to paint or wallpaper.  I am also trying to figure out the flooring.  Apparently, there was a miscalculation  that resulted in a hardwood flooring shortage. I had one sheet I bought ages ago.  I had no idea who made it or what the stain was so I could order more.  Unfortunately, the new flooring I ordered and installed in the downstairs doesn't quite match, but it might be ok.  However, even if I use that I will not have enough for the hallway and one of the bedrooms.

Painting and a surprise

Yesterday, I painted the hallway even though I am not sure how much of it will be visible.  In case you are curious about my color choice, it was cream!  I have been a little stuck for the past several weeks trying to decide how to decorate the second floor. After painting the hallway and spending oodles of time on Pinterest, I came up with a little clearer idea.  What is it, you ask?  Well you will just have to wait and see....  What I will tell you now is that I painted the master bedroom cream.  I know, there's a whole lot of cream going on in this house right now.  I still am not sure what to do with the room next to the master bedroom.  After putting in the walls I realized how tiny it is!  It was going to be a bedroom, but now I'm not so sure.  And to think, this minature house is based on the dimensions of a true life-sized house that people built and lived in!  And that room was a bedroom!

While I was off trying to figure all that out, some little sweetheart left me a surprise.