A friend of mine has recently been pushing me to finally get out all the fimo I bought last year, and finally sculpt for Tilly, my baker, and Nettle, who is not specifically food oriented but will definitely need plants, and the occasional Tudor meal.
I will crumble as soon as I find the time. And of course Nettle is in need of that Glencroft.. or rather is in need of it not being in a flat box...
Consider this a warning.
I started right after dinner on Friday evening. By the end of the evening I was feeling high and mighty, certain I could finish the room box with Saturday afternoon to spare.
Sunday afternoon I was still going! LOL, isn't that always the way?
It worked out very well that it was extremely warm here in New England over the weekend. My husband and I, who normally cloister in the bedroom, performed our respective activities downstairs, sharing the dining room table (plus 1
Due to sickness, injury and company, I have not yet begun to construct my friend's roombox.
... Which means I'll be very busy this weekend!
I'll charge the camera batteries so I'm sure to take snapshots as I wait for glue to dry!
Step one: cut the back wall for the window (or find photo for placing behind plexi).
A month ago, nearly, I posted my plans for my friend's Manhattan room box. Unfortunately I've been sick or injured for most of 2009 so far, and haven't gotten anywhere. I have other projects I owe people, and we had company two weeks ago, more company coming this weekend.. it's just been hard to get to the room box!
I hope to get started on it this weekend. My husband ordered me the Glencroft for my birthday, and I had him toss in a magazine rack table with the order because I forgo
Tilly's bakery finally has its name! I admit to Google searching for inspiration (since she probably won't be in direct competition with anyone, LOL).
"Cake & Crumb"
I'm so content with it! Reminds me of the "Fife & Drum" restaurant in a nearby village.
So now I'm working on signs for it, haven't quite hit on the perfect graphic to go above the name. This is the fifth draft but I think it may be a bit busy (plus it's not the same kind of stove as i
I've decided to start posting about a project I'm working on for a friend's birthday. As far as I can tell she doesn't read this blog so I think I'm safe. She's busy enough she probably won't trip over it. ;)
My friend is a writer who currently lives in Florida, but has always intended to move someday to Manhattan. Recently she was lamenting about the area she lives in, so I decided as a combined Holiday/Birthday gift, I'd build a roombox to be her Manhattan apartment until a time w
I'm really surprised at myself! It took me four days to place an order from HBS once my mini buying ban was lifted!
I was just worried that I'd forget something important, like I usually do, and was keeping a list. It was only because that 25% coupon expired last night that I finally ordered!
The bakery is in a bit of a quagmire. There are little things I can do, but I've slumped into vacation mode so I only seem able to tackle items that fill a day (such as the shingli
The house isn't done, but I figured if I didn't take these photos now, they'd be late, as usual!
This is Nettle, decorating with paper chain. Nettle will get the Glencroft in the new year!
As you can see above their heads, the light finally burnt out on me -
the night before the Cir-Kut regulator arrived! Bah!
In the dark corners are the two counters I built for the register and for the
5 days til Christmas eve! This week has evaporated out from under me, but I hope to build another counter and stain the table I bought from DH&M, which came last night, along with the upstairs door frame, which I will also stain and then glue in place. I'll wax in place the side which will cover the hinges so I can get back to that later. That way I can block the draft for Tilly upstairs!
I picked up some fabric the other night at JoAnn. I couldn't find any patterns really tiny
Last night it took me forever to cut out the cabinet from the Michael's basswood. Then I only had my 2000 sandpaper to smooth the edges. I know I've got a sheet of 600 somewhere, but it was hiding from me.
So I cut the pieces out, dry fit, sanded, dry fit, stained, and then waited impatiently for the stain to dry and gave up waiting for absolute dryness before gluing. Hopefully I won't regret it too much. I do intend to make better ones another day, but I needed a surface for my hol
Matt gave me a handful of miniatures on Friday which were Christmas themed, which he didn't want me to only be able to display on Christmas day! I got the little green and red paper chain (love!), a set of working candlesticks for the windows, a gingerbread house and the Reutter Gluhwein set! ;) I can't wait to set it all up!
I know I worked a bunch on the dollhouse but I don't really feel like it looks that different! I mostly worked on the doors. There were some fitting adjustment
I neglected to get any photos of the painting done on the paperclay so far, but that's all right. I can cover that in an exterior post. Mostly I just wanted to paint them so I could install the windows. ;)
So last night I did! I had spent the previous two evenings mitering the baseboard and crown molding, so last night I laid out some newspaper and stained them all. Two coats. Unfortunately the Balsa wood is not taking on the same color as the basswood, but I don't think the result
I'm sad to say I haven't gotten a chance to take any photos so far!
But here's what's been going on:
The baseboard and crown molding for the house have been cut! That baseboard sure was tricky upstairs in the gabled alcove! Whew! Now I just need to stain it. Still not sure what I want to do about the baseboard in the entrance-way, since I am using the door frames in the kit and the baseboard is taller. I figure I'll make up my mind in time to trim either the baseboard o
Over the holiday weekend I was able to work some more on the Buttercup!
My goal was to finish the entire thing before Christmas, but I'm going to focus on the interior just to make sure I can at least take photos of it all decorated for the holidays. I will need to paint the exterior paperclay so I can finish the windows, though.
I'm really irritated with Joann.com right now! They have the paint I need in stock but their server can't handle the cybermonda
Well my DH told me the house looks fine with the two different sizes of stone, so I finished the frame on the upstairs door and added two more corner stacks. I have one more corner and then the back 'corners' of the house and the paperclay will be done! I should be able to finish it tonight.
I need to pick up some Hippo Gray so I can start painting this weekend. ;) I figure I'll stucco after I paint the rocks. Though I may do a test wall to see if I can tint the stucco or if I'll ha
This was my first experience with Paperclay, and of course I love it as much as everyone seems to! It's pretty forgiving, and working with an old credit card and some dental probes, it was happy to oblige me.
I'm not sure I like the scale of the window blocks to the edging blocks. I was trying to simulate a little cottage I saw once, but those window and door frames were rough hewn wood, while I wanted it to be more stone to go with the gingerbread arches of the kit.
S
So I thought maybe I could shave a couple dollars off the cost of this $60 Pink Christmas tree by making it myself. Dollhouse tree kits start at about $36 for a decent one, lights with enough bulbs and a battery pack seem to be about $20, ornaments aren't too bad, but by then you've already spent $56 so it's hard to imagine saving any money in the long run.
So someone on the forums here said that the Michael's Lemax village bulbs are pretty inexpensive. They also have some trees (pr
The wedding was four weeks ago (it was wonderful!), and I'm just about done clearing my doll-painting commissions list so I can get back to Tilly's bakery!
Let's pay no mind to the little voice that says 30% off the Sugarplum sure would be nice... I wanted the Glencroft or the Aster for Tilly's friend Nettle but I have no idea where I'd put it (and it looks like the Aster is discontinued?)...
DH says I need to work on the bakery this weekend. Gosh, really? Sigh. Well, i
Three and a half weeks to go until my wedding. The dress isn't done yet!
Is it bad that all I can think of is the dollhouse I get to work on when it's over?
Of course that's not entirely ALL I'm thinking about, but I do tend to daydream!
Well I was a good girl and put away my mini tools and bits to work on my wedding dress. Before I did, I painted in between the floor boards to turn those white vinyl stripes a nice calm brown.
I also received my HBS items, but completely miscalculated the brick, somehow, and it won't work for the stove alcove, so I'll order sheets of brick texture instead of using actual ceramic brick.
My fiancée gave me the shop door bell and weathervane I wanted for my birthday, too.
I haven't had time to post about my progress!
I've:
- wired the house
- put up the wallpaper on the first floor
- painted the bay pink and glued it in place
- glued down the flooring
- traced a hole in the ceiling paper for the lighting and glued the ceiling treatment in place
- wired the lamp through to the second floor and soldered it to brads set in the tapewire
- put flooring on most of the second floor (except where I need to get
My photos have all been taken with my iPhone, and so I have to email the photos to myself to get them. Earlier this week my email wasn't working! So I couldn't report on my progress from the weekend, and now it's Wednesday and all week I was eager to work on it, but behaved and took both Monday and Tuesday night to finish up our wedding invitations. I almost had time to work on it last night but ended up working on my brother's website instead (it has a real deadline, after all).
So
HBS has that 20% coupon right now, so I'm assembling a list of the things I think I want, while I get started assembling and figuring out what else or how much I need. I'm not allowed to buy the things I'd already circled in my catalog, since my birthday is two weeks from today.
For the Stove Alcove:
Victorian Ceramic Floral Tiles
Solid White Ceramic Tiles
Single Tulip Ceiling light
For the Main Construction:
6pc Waln
Not particularly exciting as photos, but I just wanted to note that Sunday night I sealed all the pieces of the build, and last night began priming the pieces. I'll probably finish tonight or tomorrow night. Then, trim the wallpaper, then, the BUILD!
Last night I finished cutting out the pieces for the alcove! Here it is, standing on its own with no tape, showing the fit for the stove.
I just need to cut roof pieces, and cut the opening in the Buttercup wall! Almost ready for dry fit #3!
