third_hand

Wow! This looks wonderful! I'm terribly impressed with that faux staircase. Looks real to me ;)

It's sad to hear of another mini lover's passing. I am glad that you are giving me an opportunity to get acquainted with her work! Thanks for sharing this, Karin P.s. It looks like we live in the same town! I also reside in Eugene, OR. I came here for grad school a few years ago. Nice to know there are others who make/love minis in the Emerald City!

Matt, this is superb (though I'm entirely without surprise, since everything I've seen of yours on here is truly lovely). I love the added interest of the stair steps. It's a truly convincing illusion, indeed! Thank you very much for sharing.

Hahaha, Kathie I suppose that's true. I hope that we can keep it up! I'm sure that there are lots of us who have plenty of tricks up our sleeves, after all!

Kathie, Holly, and Carrie, you've been so encouraging~~~ I think you're all very right; smoke and mirrors! I will definitely be attempting this and I appreciate you all sharing your work and experiments for inspiration! I find the peak-a-boo faux stairs especially compelling (though I already chose the 'attic trapdoor' solution to those finicky stairs!). I would love to see more examples of how folks do this and other 'fool the eye' techniques. Can anyone recommend a thread on here about these sorts of tricks? Thanks again! ~E

Hi everyone, Long time no see (or, read, rather). I have been steadily, if slowly, working on my kit bash (the discontinued Laurel + the discontinued Adams, with a few scratch additions--see a theme here?). I think all of the kits that I'm working with are very...um...well sort of flat, in the sense that the walls, ceilings, etc. don't have any angles to add visual interest. This was one advantage of building an Orchid, the attic has all those lovely angles and recesses. This got me thinking: some of the rooms are relatively deep and I wonder whether using, say, a corner or a side wall of the existing shell for a false wall or to give the illusion of another room by placing material in front of the actual walls could add a lot of visual interest. Do any of you wonderful folks have any suggestions for this potential false wall or 'depth enhancement'? I think I will probably work it out of foam (Ara Bentley style, though I don't usually stray from basswood for construction), but I would love to see if/how you've tried to achieve an effect like this and what you learned along the way! I believe I also saw it, years ago, in a relatively popular book (maybe it was one of Helen Ruthberg's?--the illusion produced a sliver of staircase in a small pub themed room box) so if you can point me to places on here, the web, or in the book world of where you've seen someone attempt or tutorial this, please do let me know! P.S. I also saw something similar to what I had in mind at Jenn's Mini World: https://jennsminis.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/halloween-room/ Also in another post of hers: https://jennsminis.wordpress.com/the-big-house-remodel/utilities-room-second-floor/ P.S. P.S. - I think this technique probably comes up a lot in 'book nook' miniatures, as there's usually quite a bit of depth but not much width to work with. Feel free to suggest places where I can see some examples you think might be handy! https://www.messynessychic.com/2020/02/19/theres-a-major-hole-in-the-market-for-book-nooks-waiting-to-be-filled/

It looks like there's a case of 'great minds.' This looks like a very handy gadget! Thanks for the suggestion!

This looks amazing! I think this will most definitely do the trick! I think this is similar to what Carrie was suggesting in the last post?

Hi again everyone! I was wondering: do any of you have tips for cutting scale wood (or bamboo coffee stirrers, for that matter) in large quantity? I know that lots of folks use the EasyCutter or other miter cutter tools to get those lovely mitered corners, cut trim of various kinds, etc. Does this help with speeding things along too? I sometimes strap pieces together and throw them in my miter box, but cutting floor boards is getting very tedious! Every time I sit down to do some cutting, I think, 'There has to be a better way to do this!' I'm not looking to invest in anything too expensive, but I would consider the EasyCutter if I knew it would actually speed things up. I'd love to hear about your experiences/advice cutting in quantity! Hope you're all safe and well

Thanks for all of your input everyone! I have decided I have the emotional fortitude to cannibalize this one, in the interest of space. I did, however, discover that the attic bedroom--though it doesn't go well with any other mini projects I am working on--would make for a wonderful room box! Weirdly enough, I've never built anything smaller than a house, so it will be an entirely new experience for me. Wish me lots of luck!

Hi everyone! I hope you're all keeping safe and healthy I was wondering: how do you all feel about letting go of your first dollhouse? Do you find you are so attached to it that it's hard to see it go? Has anyone comfortably 'cannibalized' (or developed a better metaphor for this) the contents of their first house and moved on bravely? My first house (of which there are only a few photos uploaded on here because I am both bad with a camera and bad with the internet!) feels like it's 'done.' It's not full to the brim and it doesn't have that full 'lived in' look, but it feels like I don't have much more to put in on this one. It wasn't well-planned and it was definitely a 'learner house,' a safe project (the modestly sized Orchid) to make all my mistakes, learn to fix them, and learn when a certain task was worth it for me. I have since started a new project (a Laurel + Adams bash) and it is much more planned; I have even been writing a lot of the backstory and am taken the assembly much slower and doing things more deliberately this time. So...this also means I am running short on space! I may or may not also be moving next year and so the prospect of keeping two houses (even one as small as the Orchid), when the new build is large-is (for me, anyway) seems a bit unreasonable. I could easily repurpose lots of things from the first house and, moreover, find a home for my shabby first-try, where it could be appreciated by someone else who is in the mood to refurbish or remodel (not hot glue gun here, scout's honor!). I'd love to hear what y'all think!

Hooray for new mini blogs! Thank you for sharing

So very very glad we're up and running again! I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have been up to I'm teaching from home, online and that's left me with lots and lots of mini time. I started a new project, a Laurel + Adams bash (well, I started the egg carton brick for my exterior anyway!). Even though I am terribly at taking photos (as evidence by the lack of photos from my first build), I solemnly swear to get better at sharing photos for others to enjoy Again, so very excited to be reconnected with you all!

I like Holly's foam idea (you're so very thrifty!) but I'd like to at least give wood a try. Does anyone have a preferred kind/brand of siding planks to recommend? Thanks for the advice everyone!

This sounds like a good idea, Kathie! I think I might take your advice. I found that guide lines were indispensable for shingles so it makes sense they would help here too!

I had imagined used the clipboard siding sheets, but now that I think about it invidual planks (though more time consuming) will probably be easier yo work with in this case! I'm not entirely confident that I can safely pry my casings up though. With the strips it may be easier to work around them.

Hi everyone! I've had a long quiet period on here, but I've been steadily working away and going to shows/shops (I was at Good Sam in San Jose and was fortunate to visit Dollhouses, Trains, and More in Novato, CA for their closing sale). I will, finally, post a batch of haul and progress photos in the first week of November, when I get settled back into my home in Eugene. I really am terrible with a camera and it bugs everyone I know! In the meantime, I have a question: Has anyone ever tried adding siding after their build's exterior was complete? Still being a novice, when I finished my first build (the Orchid; the interior is still a work-in-progress) I stepped back and thought 'I think I should have done siding.' Especially with the shingles on, the level of detail on the exterior just varies too much; it's been irritating me for a couple of months now. I'm a bit of a stickler it seems (though I didn't know it at the time)! My window/door casings, dormers, gingerbread, and my custom porch/railings are all already in place. I realize it may be very difficult, but the question is: is it even possible? If so, do you have any tips on how to do this? Any and all possible mini wisdom is welcome! P.S. I have the opportunity to snag a very affordable Laurel kit secondhand so I'm trying to decide where I should just start the next building with siding and call it 'lesson learned' or go back and add to the Orchid (and stash the Laurel until after the New Year, space is a very important consideration here). P.S. P.S.: I'm not a Cher fan, but I took a page out of Elizabeth's book (Studio E miniatures) since I'm always charmed by her ability to make musical jokes in her posts/titles!

These are incredible! I don't think my kit sofa looks 1/2 as good as these, but this is certainly very inspiring. Thanks very much for sharing these :)

Probably not impossible, but the piece feels pretty 'overworked' and I think that (for the amount of work it would take) it may just be preferable to either build or buy some armchairs instead. The HoM couch takes up too much room in a house like the Orchid, in my opinion. I'd rather use the space to showcase my other skills (upholstery isn't really one of them, unfortunately!). Plus, I got this Queen Anne curio cabinet at the Miniature Museum of St. Louis (it was truly lovely, by the way!) and it's bulking up the living room now. Maybe the sofa just wasn't meant to be?

Funniest thing, I just had this thought today as well! I modified and upholstered the House of Miniature Chippendale Sofa kit and, for whatever reason, I can't stand the way it looks in my little living room. It was too bulky (in the Orchid, anyway) and the decor a tad too modern for my (mostly) 19th century style home. The latter is my own fault for choosing a heavier fabric with a herringbone pattern (which normally I like!). I don't know exactly what the box will be for, but I decided it was time to set it aside if it was making me unhappy So, if folks have ideas for a room box focused around a full-bodied, gilded couch, I'd love to hear them (I kid). I wonder: do these little bit and bob boxes make for good gifts perhaps?

Oh my, Lita, this is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind. Thanks very much for sharing! :D

Good point, Holly! We have one (which doubles as a hobby shop, thankfully) here in Eugene. I forget how scarce they've become!

I thought about this too! That would really keep things in order. Toy stores still stock them, don't they?