Khadi
-
Posts
445 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
13
Content Type
Forums
Gallery
Events
Blogs
Downloads
Articles
Posts posted by Khadi
-
-
I can't recall the specific colors that I've used, but I've found that the Varathane oil-based stains do better for grays than the water-based stains. The darker grays also do better than the lighter grays.
-
I often find myself doing all of the trim, wallpaper, etc. in various rooms in a house instead of finishing a room completely. Consequently, I often have semi-finished rooms until I'm "finished" with a house. I was curious as to whether others finish a room completely before moving on to the next room or if they complete certain features or details for all of the rooms at the same time.
-
I was wondering if anyone else has ever built the Cheltenham. I am currently working on it and would love to see what others have done. I searched it on Google and have found no finished, decorated images. Thanks
-
I don't know about room boxes. Miniatures.com does a contest every year where they have a basic "house" to purchase. It's usually a one room MDF quick build. You can then turn it into whatever you want it to be. They will announce this past year's contest winners in February and then release the new model for sale. The entries are then due the following December.
-
1
-
-
I recommend a Dremel for sanding edges. It will save a lot of time and splinters. A mouse sander comes in handy for flat surfaces. The trick for both is to use a gentle touch, as dollhouse wood is soft and can easily be over-sanded.
-
1
-
-
16 hours ago, Whereforart said:
I have bought a lot of stuff from Christine at Miniature Crush. The quality of her products is really good and shipping is phenomenally fast (seriously - sometimes I've gotten the "shipped" email within an hour of ordering). She's also on Etsy if you prefer that but I like ordering from her website. I've ordered a ton of stuff from her and keep going back.
I agree. I have bought a lot from Miniature Crush. Her prices are good and shipping is fast.
-
1
-
-
I find a lot of good things from sellers on Etsy and Ebay. They're also good places for finding unique pieces.
-
1
-
-
I'm hoping to finish off mine this weekend. I accidentally ordered the wrong-size trim in my last minute order so I'm raiding my wood scraps for pieces to work as trim. My obsession with keeping every wood scrap is finally coming in handy. I wish everyone the best of luck. I love seeing everyone's creativity.
-
2
-
-
Good luck. I wish I had an answer. One of my cats has mastered going up and down the stairs in my Garfield. Plastic sheeting and plexiglass has never been a deterrent. He just finds ways to remove it. I've given up and just take anything breakable or small enough to be eaten out of my houses. I decorate them for special occasions, take a few photos, and then remove stuff.
I do have a saloon where I ended up gluing everything in place because I knew that I wouldn't be using the pieces in any other house.
-
It looks great! Those little kits and the tiny pieces you have to make are no small feat.
-
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I checked out a few of these on Ebay and interestingly they all say 1:12 scale. Perhaps because sellers didn't know what to list it as? I guess I'll list it with the dimensions and see what happens. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!
-
6 hours ago, fov said:
How tall is the headboard? Can you post a picture of it next to a piece of 1:12 furniture?
The headboard is about 2 inches high. It seems like it would be small even for a children's bed. Fancy pet bed perhaps?
-
I recently purchased a dollhouse bed on Ebay that was listed as 1:12 scale. I missed the fine print, however. It's only 3 3/4 inches long and sits low to the ground. I'm planning on reselling it but want to list it as the proper scale. Does anyone have any ideas what scale it might be? Thanks.
-
I just checked mine. I have not yet attached the tower top because it is a bash, and I'm not sure if I want the tower top as it is created. However, mine is also a little taller at this same area so there may be a reason for it that will you will discover when you do the dry fit.
-
6 hours ago, havanaholly said:
Vicki, I'm a visual learner so sometimes the instructions are no help at all, so I do the dry fit until I either understand what the instructions are trying to tell me, or I find another way to get to the same destination. Occasionally I have had to put the entire house into dry fit before it looks right.
I'm with Holly. I can't understand the directions no matter how hard I try. I find the pieces required for a particular section, label them, and then treat them like a puzzle until I get it right. I then tape it together to make sure it is correct before I glue. It's also nice to dry fit the exterior walls, if for no other reason, so that you can see that you are working towards something. It keeps me motivated during those early stages when it seems like no progress is being made.
-
11 minutes ago, Khadi said:
Welcome! I have built two Garfields- one inverted. It's a little tricky starting out, but I have actually found it to be one of the easier dollhouses to build. It is also a house that can be easily bashed or reconfigured by adding or moving walls. I would advise building it in a room where you can easily move it or where it is going to stay. I would also recommend placing it on a sturdy surface and not putting shingles or siding on until you have located it in it's final location- unless you have someone big and strong to help you. It does get quite heavy and awkward to move when it is finished.
The picture you see under my name is one of my Garfields. I changed the door to the side and added the portico. I also used paper stone, because I feared that if I used stone siding, it would be too heavy to budge.
-
Here is the PDF site from Corona Concepts. It opened okay for me.
http://www.corona-concepts.com/instructions/Orchid-Doll-House-Instructions.pdf
This can be a challenging house, especially, that front gable. I have built two and just left it off on the second one. I replaced the front roof with a sheet of thin craft plywood. It made it less cute, but saved me some choice words that I reserve only for dollhouse building.
-
I moved mine in personal vehicles (a friend's SUV) rather than have movers move them. I recommend keeping a supply of spare shingles since they seem to take the most beating. I agree with Kathie. Making minor repairs after houses are moved is just part of owning them. A lot of the wood, especially the trim, is fragile and is just going to get broken from time to time.
-
1
-
-
Welcome! I have built two Garfields- one inverted. It's a little tricky starting out, but I have actually found it to be one of the easier dollhouses to build. It is also a house that can be easily bashed or reconfigured by adding or moving walls. I would advise building it in a room where you can easily move it or where it is going to stay. I would also recommend placing it on a sturdy surface and not putting shingles or siding on until you have located it in it's final location- unless you have someone big and strong to help you. It does get quite heavy and awkward to move when it is finished.
-
I just took a look at mine. You would need to cut the walls as they also serve as exterior walls in the front. You would also need to leave part the left wall for the staircase back or else build your own stair case back. I think you would probably have to also add beams to prevent sagging in the middle. Another option is a post or two to support the floor. All of these are very doable. It just depend how much cutting and altering you want to do.
-
1
-
-
I have a MiniTown Shell Kit (#92021) available for sale. This is the kit for the miniatures.com 2021 contest. They are Out of Stock on the website and don't plan to ship anymore, but I have an extra one that I won't be needing. Please PM me if you are interested. Thanks
-
I agree with what everyone above has said. I also recommend investing in a battery-powered Dremel and several of the rotary sanding heads. Use it to lightly sand the edges of all of the pieces as you punch them out. Not only will it save you time and energy, it will save you a lot of splinters. My Dremel is definitely my favorite dollhouse building tool.
-
If only we could teach them to attach the trim, etc. in those really hard-to-reach spaces...
-
1
-
-
21 hours ago, Khadi said:
I use the vinyl tiles that look like stone that you can get at Home Depot. I bought a vinyl floor cutter and use vinyl tile grout. They look like real stone. (Sorry, no matter how hard I try, I can not get my pictures to be only 10.58 KB.)
Here is the picture of the vinyl tile floor during construction. I usually put a coating of polyurethane on the top to seal it.
-
1
-
I do have a saloon where I ended up gluing everything in place because I knew that I wouldn't be using the pieces in any other house.
Westville Staircase Wall
in Greenleaf Dollhouses
Posted
The Garfield has a similar staircase wall. I painted the it white to go with the staircase but then used chair rail to to make rectangular looking panels.