Fay in FLA

Hey, HavanaHolly! I've already posted in Renea's thread & also emailed her. It's nice to be back here! ~Fay in FLA

Renea, I emailed you about the spare parts you might be needing. I have abandoned my rescue project due to just being too over-whelmed with the whole thing. I'll build something from scratch with all the replacement parts & left-overs....... someday. Let me know what you need -- I have some extra windows with panes that have "etching" on them. I'm not sure if that part can be safely removed from the sadly-painted frames, but you're welcome to them. I have your window sill, too, I think. (See my email about that.) I also have the hexagonal floor/ceiling piece that you're looking for & will be glad to trace it for you if you still need it. Good luck with your project! Fay in FLA

Peggi, please check your forum inbox -- I've sent you an email. It's about the Brimbles kit, which is why I'm posting in this thread. Hi to everybody! You probably don't remember me since I haven't been here in nearly a year. I was posting about a San Franciscan that I had rescued for $10 & also a Winston house kit that I intended to build. Life got in my way & my minis have been waiting for me for nearly a year now. I hear them crying each time I walk past my work area. I've been keeping up with the Greenleaf newsletter -- very nice! -- and I hope to get back into minis soon. Hugs to all! Fay in FLA

Hi, Sarah. Welcome! Wow, this is really crazy. I heard a couple weeks ago that Charles was taking all the kits off the market for "a few years". Now he's selling them with notes that say "1 of the last 5 in the world" with prices so high they're giving me a nose-bleed! The prices he's got listed are unreal. Two weeks ago he was selling (I'm sorry, I get these 2 house kits mixed up) either the Ashley or the Chelsea on eBay for $18 with free shipping. His eBay name is "estatesinminiature". I'm glad I got the 2 kits I wanted & escaped, just in time, it seems. I think I know somebody who recently built a Bayberry. I'll check & let you know. Maybe you can work something out with them for the instructions. ~Fay in FLA

Holly, do you have any suggestions on where I could see something similar to what you're describing? I know I read something about fake-aging copper with paint. I'm not sure what you mean about the seams & the trim, so a picture would help a lot! Thanks! ~Fay in FLA

Last night I took both the tower bay & the other bay completely apart. I now have...... nothing but the first floor & the spindly base supports underneath. My windows still haven't shipped from DeJoux - it's been less than 48 hours, but I'm so eager to get started! :o I'm going to rebuild the framing under the floor with 1"x3" lumber. It'll be heavier, but I think it's worth it for the sturdiness it will provide. My husband is working on the tower roof. The shingles were a real mess, so he stripped those off, took the pieces apart, and now he's putting copper sheeting over each piece. A copper roof probably isn't the correct thing for the San Franciscan, but if this works I'm going with it. My story is that the house has been moved to a new location & is being remodeled by the young couple who purchased it. (I think they must have won the lottery!!) Rather than a restoration, they are going for an eclectic style which will end up being a very unique house. Their parents were all "flower children" in San Francisco (ahhhhhh, the wonderful carefree 60's), so they grew up with "out there" ideas. I'm researching color schemes & it turns out that Victorian houses were originally quite drab, done mostly in earth tones, like the color of dirt. I saw in another thread (maybe on the old forum) that there are many phases of the Victorian era, which must explain the "painted ladies" that we have today. No new pictures yet -- just imagine a plain base with wood flooring and LOTS of broken pieces of trim laying around my work table. I hope I can put it all back together! ~Fay in FLA

Thank you all for your encouragement! I'm still waiting on the new windows. I found a guy who sells the grooved angle pieces that the tower parts slide down into! I'm really excited about that because I want to do the whole tower & the other bay over from scratch. There actually is a sad story to this house & I'm looking forward to giving it a happy home where it can shine. The lady I got it from bought it to build for her grand-daughter. While the house was being built the child's mother took off with the little girl & hasn't been heard from in over a year. Because there were no papers filed for a divorce or custody --- and they can't be filed now because they can't find her -- no authorities are willing to search for her. And as the grandmother, she has absolutely no rights. I guess her son (the father) can't do anything either because there's no proof that the mother or daughter is in danger, and there's no legal custody arrangement. What a mess! My own son hasn't spoken to us in 6 years & we've heard that he's gotten married & now has a little girl. Maybe some day we'll get to meet her & show her the house. In the meantime, I'm going to fix this house & fill it with little girl dolls who will live happily ever after! ~Fay in FLA