How to Light a Front Opening Dollhouse using Roundwire
INTRODUCTION
If you have a front-opening dollhouse and want to learn how to add lights to the front panel, this tutorial is for you! I'm sure you're thinking that it may be difficult if you wanted to add a porch light or lights to the outside of the house. You're probably wondering how you attach the wires to the main wire, right? The answer lies in the hinges!
Think of the hinges acting as a bridge, carryin
Step 2 - Connecting the Front Light to the Main Wire
In this step, we will attach the front light to the main wire to provide power to the light.
Measure out a length of extra wire
Take your roll of extra wire and measure out a length that will be long enough to reach from the hinges to the main wire. In the picture below, we applied tapewire to the back of the house and soldered the wires to the tapewire. If you are using a socket strip make sure the wire with the plug
Make a miniature raincoat from a household rubber glove.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever needed a mini raincoat for your lighthouse scene, firehouse scene, or any other nautical scene but haven't been able to find one? Well now you can make one in a matter of a few hours with supplies you probably have on hand!
This tutorial will show you how to make a miniature raincoat from an ordinary household rubber glove. The supplies you need are:
Household rubber g
Making a Miniature Raincoat - Continued
Step 2: Glue the seams together
Fold the seam under the pinky finger and tape with masking tape (do not glue yet). Repeat with the other side (thumb side). Make sure to tuck the "hole" where the pinky finger was into the seam to make a nice flat edge.
Now if you have a doll who will be wearing the raincoat, get him (or her) out now and fit the raincoat on them. You want to make sure the raincoat isn't too wide
Make a Mini Raincoat - Step 4
Step 4: Embellish the raincoat with pockets and buttons
That's all there is to it! You're just about finished! Fold up the edges of the sleeves to form cuffs. You can glue them if you like, but they will stay without glue. Embellish the coat with pockets made from scraps and add the buttons to the front.
At this point, you may have to do a little finagling with the cuffs to get them to your desired look, depending if you like w
How to lengthen wires on dollhouse lights.
If you have a light where the wire is too short to reach to the tapewire or socket/power strip, you can extend the wire by splicing extra wire onto the existing wire. Splicing wire together is easy with the proper tools and a bit of patience.
Step 1 - Gather the Materials you Need
The following is a list of items with pictures to help identify each item that you will need. All of the items can be easily purchased from a loca
Step 2 Remove plug and strip insulation from wire
Plug your soldering iron in so it can heat up while you do the next step.
Remove the plug from the light
The plug needs to be removed to expose the bare wires to be spliced together. To do this, take your tweezers and gently pull off the brass points that are on the end of the plug. Push the bare wire through the plug head and pull the plug head off the wires.
Measure the length of wire
Take the spool
Step 3. Prepare the wires for soldering
To prepare the wires for soldering, we are going to use a technique called "tinning" the wires. What this does is apply solder to each end of the wire to make it easier for them to be soldered together and reduces the amount of solder you have to apply when soldering the ends together.. Take one wire (it doesn't matter what one) and put it between a clamp. This will hold the wire while you solder it together. You need both hands to hold the s
Step 4. Apply Electrical Tape to Secure the Solder
Once the solder has set on all four strands, take your liquid electrical tape and dab a bit on each of the soldered joints. Let that dry (about 5-10 minutes). This provides an added layer of insulation to the soldered joints. Step 5. Test the Lights. If you are using the socket/powerstrip method to light your dollhouse, thread the wires through the room out the side of the dollhouse by the socket/powerstrip. Reattach the pl
INTRODUCTION
This tutorial provides step by step directions on how to light a dollhouse using the Roundwire Hybrid method. I personally find this method to be the most reliable and durable method that allows the wires to be completely hidden.
This tutorial for lighting a dollhouse is for houses that are either not assembled or completely assembled but do not have wallpaper, final coats of paint, flooring, etc. The steps are the same regardless if the dollhouse is assembled or n
Step 1 - Plan where the tape wire, junction splice, and lights will go
While the house is being "dry fit" (where you assemble the house holding it together with masking tape instead of glue), determine where the lights will go. If your dollhouse is already permanently built, this step would be done before adding wallpaper, flooring or the final coat of paint on the walls.
Determine where on the dollhouse you want to put the junction splice.
The junction splice should be
Step 2 - Gather the Materials you Need
The following is a list of items with a picture to help identify each item that you will need. All of the items can be easily purchased from a local hardware store and/or your local miniature dealer or miniature website shops on the internet.
Special Items Needed - Can purchase at hardware store or through miniature/dollhouse dealers.
Transformer
This connects the power between the dollhouse and the outlet.
Step 3 - Placing the Tape Wire and Junction Splice on the Dollhouse
In this step, we will place the tape wire and junction splice on the dollhouse and test it to make sure power is going to the tape wire.
Measure out a length of tapewire.
Take your roll of tape wire and measure out a length that will give you enough room to attach the wires from all the lights. It's easier to make the tape wire longer then you think you will need then to have to add more later on. Pee
Step 4 - Making the Grooves and Drilling Holes to run the Wires
Dry fit the light and wire
Look at the room where you are installing the light. You should see the lines you drew in Step 1 where you plan to run the wires. Take the light and "dry fit" the light along the lines to make sure it is acceptable. Now is the time to see if you have to lengthen the wire coming from the light or if it is long enough to reach the tapewire. If you have to lengthen the wire from the light, fol
Plug in your soldering iron so it heats up while you are doing the next few preparations. While your soldering iron is heating, make sure the area around it is clear so it does not burn the work surface or anything nearby. Use the stand that came with the soldering iron to protect the work surface.
Test light to be installed - OPTIONAL
Even though this step is optional step, it's a good idea to test the lights so you if they don't work after installation, you know the light was w
Step 6 - Soldering the wires
NOTE: Before beginning with this step, make sure your work area is well ventilated! Soldering will create fumes that are not advisable to inhale.
Note: Soldering is a skill that may take some practice to learn. Do not be discouraged if you don't get it on the first attempt. It is recommended that you try splicing wires together to get practice soldering.
Soldering also occurs rather quickly so it is recommended that you read the next few s
Step 7. Testing the newly soldered connection
MAKE SURE the ends of the wires are NOT touching each other BEFORE turning the electricity on to the dollhouse
Provide electricity to the dollhouse
Attach the lead in wire to the junction splice, plug in the transformer and turn on the power. The light you just installed should now be lit. If it is, CONGRATULATIONS! You are nearly finished. Troubleshooting non-working lights
If the light
