Ninja

I love power tools - couldn't live without my Dremel or my Unimat Basic (jigsaw, sander & lathe all in one), and I love my bandsaw too! I have a scrollsaw but I need to start building my confidence & skill with it yet.

Thank you :-) Havanaholly, unfortunately I didn't stitch the stair runners - they are all bought ones. I am hoping one day to get time to stitch some, but that's probably a long ways off! The stair rods are painted florists wire, with a bead glued on each end & then the whole thing glued to the stair tread. Pleased you all like the rocking horse - he was one of those jobs where you get so far in that you just can't quit!

This is the upper hall. The rocking horse started life as a Schleich pony. Hope you are not squeamish...I sawed his legs off, wired them & filled with milliput to get the rocking horse stance. He got painted with acrylics & his plastic mane & tail also got the butcher treatment & were replaced with dolls hair. I made the rockers from bass wood, and the hardest bit of all was attaching horse to rockers - ended up drilling his feet & rockers in matching places, then inserting cocktail sticks covered in epoxy glue to join them. Has never come adrift since, thank goodness! His tack is made from felt & ribbons, with the stirrups made from paperclips.

Still can't seem to create an album, even a 35kb pic won't save to it! So decided to post some more here. These are the hallways, starting with lower & middle

If anyone likes reading about vintage dolls houses, try Mirror Grange - The Book of The Daily Mirror's House for Pip, Squeak & Wilfred. It's from the 1920s but is oftenavailable on Amazon, Abebooks etc. It has some wonderful info in it about how they made various pieces & the challenges etc. The house went to a children's school, but sadly seems to have ended up in a private collection & has never been heard of again.

The yellow frogtape is low tack & meant for delicate surfaces but if you look at reviews online it's a very mixed bag. Have used it before for various jobs on motorcycles, but that's glossy varnished surface, I will say it is absolutely the best on the market for preventing paint bleed under the tape. If anyone has used it in DH setting I would love to hear your experience, as the reviews always put me off trying!

Thanks everyone ;-) mks - I guess I was just in the right place at the right time! Only one was off Ebay, and that was almost unrecognisable. Three were from antique/vintage shops in a town nearby where my dad is in a care home. Having a browse clears my head when it's been a difficult visit! I did have to wait 6 months to finally get the Lines 74 as they were asking way to much for it, so I just kept offering my price periodically & they finally gave in! The small Handicrafts house was at a local auction. I left a bid at my top price & was lucky enough to get it. Elsbeth I would love to see the 1920s furnishings! I have a collection of antique furniture & bits too - I have had to restore quite a few as they seem to be getting exceptionally dear now. Re the wallpapers, the ones in the first & last two houses are original. The Lines 71 off Ebay didn't have any original papers but it did have a large heron on the back wall of the kitchen which I left, & I printed wallpapers with a bird theme to use in the rest of the house. The Lines 74 doesn't have any original papers in & the jury is still out on which way to go with it...!

Thanks for the lovely comment Jo. The rocker washer was built from bass wood & aged with steel wool soaked in vinegar. I love finding out about all the quirky things they uused to have in days gone by :-) It's lovely to see you on here - I remember you from another place a few years back, & love your work. Looking forward to catching up with your builds (can't remember my username from the other one but I'm Cath from Cumbria!)