Tess11

Hi Leslie, I feel your pain. I used to love tapewire and then I started having problems like you are describing. When I gave in and went to round wire (hard wire) I was just so much happier. It is so much easier to fix when something goes wrong. I made a house for a 4 year old about 2 years ago and her mom brought it to me last week because one set of lights are not working. To fix it I'm going to have to rip out wallpaper in one room. I decided instead I'm going to rewire it for her in hard wire after Christmas. This doesn't help the situation you are describing, but if you can't figure it out, there at least is another option that isn't nearly as challenging, at least in my opinion. In the meantime, I wish you the best of luck and hope your lighting issues are easily resolved. Mini hugs!

It depends on the hutch, but I took one apart recently by running a flathead screwdriver around the point where I wanted it to break (which was between the top shelved part and the bottom console like part) and then I pulled it apart with my own little hands. I had a little spot on the console part where I had to sand it, but otherwise it came apart beautifully. Here's he blog entry tht shows how the top part came out: Cabinet Good luck- they are pretty easy to bash and for $1, if you mess it up it's not too terrible a mistake. :yes:

Me too (PM). Oh, the possibilities. . . :yes:

Thanks, Holly! The dremel wasn't easy either, but I had to do something. I put the thing together and then decided to bash it. Next time I might plan a bit better (but probably not) and cut the piece with a power tool (jig saw or something!) while it is flat and clamped down on saw horses. That would have been much easier. But I managed to get a semi straight hole and not cut my hand in the process so I say it's a win. Cutting MDF is tough in the best of circumstances! It's nice when I work in plywood and wonderful Greenleaf houses to know several swipes with a sharp utility knife will do the trick.

Barbara, I used a dremel with the drywall attachment to cut holes in my SF. I added an addition (which needed doors cut into it), a bay window on the third floor and a door to go out to a terrace on the third floor and all of those were cut with the dremel. I hate to disagree with Holly because she has a ton of experience and is always so helpful, but any hand held saw was useless on MDF for me because I just didn't have the strength to make it work. Pick hatever method works best for you. Cutting MDF with anything isn't an easy task, but I did it OK with the dremel. It makes a huge mess but it gets the job done. Here's the bay window I added on the third floor. More pictures on my blog on the link below. I've been working on this project for almost 3 years!! :idea:

I agree with Holly. I bought an end table for the San Fran at Good Will and it has curved legs in Queen Anne style that match the style of my house. Oh, and it was all of $12. Can't beat that!

Is this a minature ornament or full size? For full size I just bought 6 clear ball ornaments at Michael's for $2.49. You can fill them with glitter, confetti, potpourri, or anything you can think of and tie a bow on them. Or you can pour paint in them and swirl them around for a marbeled effect, or paint the outside with glass paint or acrylics for a quick and easy ornament. Or even use paint pens on them. There are a lot of possibilities! With this you could paint each child's interest on them, of put the family name. . . You get the idea. We're having a luncheon for my department next week and I'm painting an ornament with each person's name for a placecard. Cheap and easy but always highly appreciated.

Gee, Jo, are you sure you don't want to sell any of those? I mean, who needs five of them. . . I only need one! But seriously, they are really stunning!

Pat, I totally feel your pain. What you are talking about in your last post is a hardwire system. You run the wires to a strip under the house (or hidden somehwere inside the house like a cabinet I made in my San Fran for that purpose) and plug them in. I nearly went crazy trying to tapewire my San Fran and I even had that electrification tool to push in the grommets. I gave up and went with hard wire (also known as round wire) and I'll never go back. I used to be the biggest proponent of tape wire but now I love the hard wire method. Do what works for you, but for me in an MDF house, I'd never attempt tapewire again. :idea:

It does look like it's a Tennyson the more I look at it. I can see where the balcony appears to have been ripped off. Poor little thing. Here's the side. And here's the back. What do you think? It sure looks like a Tennyson to me! A sad, beat up one for sure. I'm hoping it's worth saving, meaning that it won't disintegrate as I start to work on it. And thanks for the welcome back notes. That feels really nice!

Thanks Holly and Corry! Who knows when I'll get to fixing up the poor little thing, but at least it's a smaller house and not as intimidating as my Joseph Angel! I'll post pics tonight.

It's been a while since I've been around here. Life just gets in the way sometimes! A friend at work delivered an abandoned dollhouse to me this morning. It's in pretty sad shape but I think I can rehab it. It looks like the poor thing was left outside. The wood is very weathered and the house is coming off of the foundation, and of couse the shingles are a mess. I think I deteted a bit of mold, so a goold sealing and painting with a Kilz kind of product will be in order. The front door is glued shut and there are no window panes. ANd I only looked at it for a minute when I transferred it from her car to mine! When I first saw it I though "Tennyson!!!" And it definitely looks like it, but there is no balcony. Is there another dollhouse that is the same shape as the Tennyson but does now have an upper balcony? Or do you think I have a Tennyson without a balcony? Sorry no pictures. I have the camera with me but no cable. When I get home I can post a picture of the poor thing.

I think "realtors" is just a marketing ploy, but a cute concept! Well, not so cute if you look at those pices! Good heavens! As much as I love minatures, even if I had that kind of money I'd think I'd find other uses for it.

I tend to agree. Why spend all of this time and effort if the person you are giving it to doesn't take care of it? Just my 2 cents. I'm sensitive to my work not being taken care of well.

Yipee!!! I knew it had to be a fuse with the same symptoms. Can't wait to see photos. BTW, I don't know about in the UK, but here you can get those fuses at an auto supply store or even the gas station. They are so inexpensive I hate to see you buy them on ebay. I'm so glad we figured this out! :groucho: