phyllis menno

looks like you didn't use the kit windows but put in differnt ones. Why and how much did they cost? I like the color of the woodstain. lovely.

I've managed to put my photos into the Greenleaf subcategory, but how do i get them into a gallery posting? In other words, how do I opena gallery in members' galleries? Thanks

here's my powerpoint effort. This is my first (and last because I may not live long enough to start another at the rate I am going!). Quite a bit of it is now- "well, good enough"- for example the rug covers some minor mismatches in the flooring, the siding is far from perfect, etc. Hope this works. oops, forgot attachmentdollhouse.ppt

well, i am trying to post,but I thinkthis wil be far too difficult and time consuming. Althoughthe photos are save as jpegs, they are huge. I am sure they canbe compressed further for web viewing but that isbeyond my capability. I'm going to try to put togethr a powerpoint and then seehow big that it is. Any other suggestions would be welcomed.

Your floors are beautiful. What did you use? I've used coffee stirrers and from far away the floors look great, but close up it's clear they're not true parquet.

To Jaimie MArvon: what are you using for the decking on the porch? Looks great.

re flooring- I used square end coffee stirrers (bought a box of 1,000 5 1/2" long squared end coffee stirrers from Cash and carry grocers for about $3), stained them, cut mitred corners with scissors easily and then glued to posterboard template of kitchen floor, sprayed with polyacrylic, laid down and glued quarter round to hold it in place. I used two different color stains to simulate a typical Craftsman floor pattern. i have enough sticks to last the rest of my life. I think the scale is better than that given by popsicle sticks and you don't have to cut off round ends. The sticks themselves are often not perfect, but you can make the floor look good enough for mother-in-law inspection. I would look very carefully at the house and paper any spaces that will be almost impossible to get to after assembly (e.g. the kitchen entranceway and the breakfast nook). I am a repository of wisdom for which errors not to make- for example, DO NOT paint all the trim before punching out ( a brilliant idea to save time and make it easy), because you will be calling Greenleaf (and they are very very nice!) for replacement sheets as the pieces will swell and you will not be able to remove them from the sheets without shredding and destroying them. people at this site have been very helpful on fixing errors and I thank them!

I am also building a Garfield. I'm interested in how you plan to wall paper and finish staircase and outside, having already installed the windows, the staircase and the porch railings. I carpeted and stained the staircase before putting it in because my hands could never ever fit into the tiny spaces to do it after placement, and felt that it would be impossible to put siding on having to reach over the porch railings. Similarly, I've held off on putting on the roof so I can reach attic rooms more readily for decorating. As this is also my first house I was obsessive about following directions until I realized that putting all the windows in first made it almost impossible to cut siding and wallpaper accurately. Also, I needed to be able to get my hands in through those windows and doors to lay wiring and flooring. I'd love to see more pictures as you progress and how you approach these problems (or, better, how you avoid them so i can copy you!). Love the hinges on the doors. Phyllis Menno

Donnalee, i am blown away by your parquet floor and staircase. Did you design and build it from scratch? I had thought about using the single piece siding rather than the 3 1/2" wide sheets, but I thought it would be too difficult to do evenly. Yours looks great.

re amount of siding for garfield- i used 2 packages of the long siding (24"?) 3.5 " high and one package of 12". But i wasted a lot becasue I had great difficulty fitting around window frames glued on tightly enough to resist any method of removal- and lots of touble with fitting angles. next time i'll side the house before the windows, roof, doors, everything! I'm sure someone with a better sense of 3-D could piece better and use less.

I am new to this site and have enjoyed reading someof the helpful hints. I am also new to dollhousing and desperately need help. Having followed the directions (and I never follow directions- so now I am being punishd) in the Greenleaf Garfield kit, I put on all the windows before approaching the siding. I have been able to get the interior windows off to facilitate wallpapering, but the outside window frames are on too firmly to remove. Now I am having a heck of a time trying to cut the siding to fit around the window moldings, and a heck of an expensive time too as the siding is too fragile to bear much of my manipulation. I've tried cutting out tracing paper templates but they're just not exact enough with the bulk of the windows. What can I do? 1. give up the idea of clapboard siding (I am using 3/8" Houseworks 3 1/2' high siding) ? 2. Order and use Greenleaf's single strips and cut each one? (This seems asking for tedious disaster and poorly aligned strips) 3. rip off all the windows, throw the broken pieces out and put in new ones? Better ideas would be warmly welcomed. And while you are in helping mode- directions suggest staining or painting after applying siding. is this correct? Thank you all in advance for your time and help. PM