LisaN

If you use that shingle dye, Holly's post is really helpful. This is how I dyed my shingles for my elfin cottage I sold awhile back. I laid my shingles outside on lots of newspaper to dry in the hot sun, so they aged quicker! Oh, and be sure to wear REALLY old clothes. This stuff is like the Paris Mud.

Yes, bring on the furbabies. Henry, our indoor cat, insisted when I found him on the front porch of coming into the house. I think he had been dropped in the neighborhood, because he was very accustomed & aclimmated to house living. So he made himself at home. Junebug I encountered when I worked for a security firm at one of our contracts. He was almost feral, but I was amazed at how he made himself at home! I thought of getting him accustomed to inside living, but he likes outside too much! He actually will roll in the dirt and the snow. Definitely a weird cat. Sweetie Pie is just that---a sweetie pie. Talks to you , couldn't have better company. She was a neighbor's cat who wasn't being fed, I fed her, and she decided to stay. I can understand why you want a kitten Tracey. We are cramped here and Henry is constantly underfoot, but they are so lovable you just can't resist. Whenever one of us is sick, we call him Dr. Henry because he curls up next to you, and just snuggles and purrs. Cats are good for calming folks down with high blood pressure, or so I've read, and I believe it's true.

I would have to say C. All of our pets are family. I think they thing like Deb's cat Napoleon, they aren't pets but they have them--us! Dee Dee is my greyhound, adopted from Greyhound Pets of America. She lives with my dad because he's the best spoiler, and my dad loves her to death. She likes Henry, but prefers my parent's house because she gets her own bed!(a toddler bed revamped with a small mattress and blanket) JuneBug is my big guy who lives outside. Talks to me and walks me to the studio, and generally patrols the yard. He is...BIG! I have never seen a cat that big, and well, weird. He loves laying in the sun, and is basically more lazy than Sweetie Pie. Sweetie Pie or Little Girl, as my hubby calls her, is a stray that decided to stay because the food is good. Now Junebug gets swatted by her--she tells him when he can eat!It's funny to see those two get along--and Sweetie Pie doesn't leave the yard or the deck--those are her territories. I once had a cat named Cynthia Jane who was diabetic and needed insulin too--she was 13 when she contracted the diabetes. It was heartrending to have to give her insulin every day--I still have her collar with bells she wore, if I didn't hear the bells, I knew to go looking for her. I feel for you Susanne, they are our babies even when we don't or do have kids.

Heidi, I certainly feel for you. I thank goodness every day my husband works with boiler systems, he immediately knows when something is wrong with ours. Once we had to call the service guy, the furnace had really gone patootie on us.....poor guy had to drag it out and put a new one in, needed help.....still didn't start when he left, and the guy helping fiddled with the buttons and said it worked. Husband came home, checked behind him(one of the reasons I had to call the service company was because hubby was working on other boilers all day at work himself and didn't have time! go figure! ) and said, call them back--they didn't finish the job. called the company, same little guy came back out, ( he didn't need any help at all, just needed parts) and finished up. I would also get a signed certification or statement from the person who came out and cleaned up behind the folks who were supposed to be doing the maintenance. This is one of my husband's biggest beefs with companies--their maintenance departments won't keep basic upkeep on their boiler systems. You could probably recoup your money for the service cleanings that they didn't do if it was proven they were charging you to breathe. Add it up, and that's an awful lot of money lost that could fix your current system.

Glen, I posted a couple of pics in one of my webshots albums. The house is till in use today. Forgive the mess in it--it belongs to a 10 year old who re-arranges quite often!lol! Look in the album marked Amanda's dollhouses. http://community.webshots.com/user/lisan204 The two pics are on the end of the one my dad made me, and is now hers. The other larger house is a Rutherford that my mother gave her.

It is really looking beautiful. What talent you have. I love the door.

That's ok. I rarely have time to look at pics either here in the gallery, but Tracey asked specifically to see the teacup scenes.

Thanks so much Marg! I really love the floors, and might re-do them. But for right now, that how to was a godsend. I like taking everyday items and creating something great with them. The teacup project was fun. Our project coordinator Peggy got the directions from NAME, I believe, because I asked her this past club meeting. We had alot of fun, this last session was just applying grass. Some of the members had little workdays amongst themselves and got alot more done, hence some of my tablemates had arbors, lamps, little folks on benches, etc. I posted the updated pics here on the teacup because Tracey wanted to see the teacup photos. Now, I am just painting doors & windows, and choosing chandeliers for Queen's Row.

I have uploaded photos of my mini club project, our little landscaped teacup. This was a fun project, and we completed it in three meetings. they are in the club projects album of webshots. http://community.webshots.com/user/lisan204 Our current project with Chris & I is his design, Queen's Row. I am currently working on the floors, with a little help from a how to of Rik Pierce's in the Dec. issue of DHM. This is a really great how to, and easy to do, just time consuming. Look in Queen's Row album in: http://community.webshots.com/user/lisaneault I have not fixed the floors in the house, but until I decide on the lighting, and wallpaper, I would like to have the floors finished. Enjoy the eye candy! :lol:

Glen, if I have time today I will post some pictures of the dollhouse that was made for me by my dad, and that Amanda plays with today. Though it is a little crude(windows too big, door too tall, --they are just 'holes' cut into the front--) this house is STURDY. I defy anyone, including Henry, who is the fourth cat to play or sit in it, to destroy it. It is rather large, and was built for me when I was nine, so the house is about 31 years old. I repainted it about a few years ago, and reshingled it, but Amanda chose the colors. It might get a refurbish again. Anyhow, the house was also put on caster wheels by my dad so I could roll it from my room, to the den, or where ever I wished to play, so I wouldn't be stuck in my room all of the time. I will take some pics of it and tell you which webshots album they are in. This house also has a closet and a set of stairs, it has been re-furbished about four times now.

:lol: Oh, that is too funny! Actually, though Henry is the full time tyrant inside, I don't have much probably with him shedding, he keeps himself so clean. But definitely playing or sitting on the minis is one of his favorite occupations. He loves Amanda's room because she has so many little plastic items, like those Pocket Polly dolls, beads, shoes, doll furniture, etc. If you hear a bap, bap, bap, in the wee hours of the morning, that's Henry--he is playing. I found one of her American girl doll shoes in the hallway--Henry likes to carry doll shoes about in his mouth. :lol: My two outside are totally different. Our next door neighbor is in his 70's, and owns four motorcycles. Junebug & Sweetie Pie race over to his garage(he feeds them treats) when they hear him during the day playing with his 'bikes' and tinkering with them. :lol: (Yes, I have biker cats who love the sound of a hog revving up! ) Even the neighbor's dog lets them come over. Cats. go figure.

Probably service attendant. Many times the bath room attendant is also there for security reasons. Some of the bathrooms where I have seen attendants you definitely do not want someone writing on the bathroom stall door, like you see in alot of resturants.

Glen, have a double on that...come to think of it, Deb, you might want to make that bourbon into a mint julep! My goodness, TWO 2 yr old birthday parties! :lol: What fortitude! I remember Amanda's 6th--and her little cousin who was the 'same' age screamed the entire time! :lol: You were alot more patient than I..and I agree with Nutti. You have to work with children from the time they are very, very young. I make no bones about it--hands off! When you grow up, you can have one! ;) :lol: Congrats on passing your exams! I remember going through classes and after being in class all night, coming home to about 4-5 hours more of homework~ (I had a sadistic instructor! :lol: ) Take a long rest and go play with the dollhouses! You've earned it! :lol:

Sally, that sounds like my daughter Amanda. She has made a wedding gown on a mannequin in a workshop, and made her own items for her own dollhouses. She has also used polymer clay for her science projects in school, when she made a plant cell using a picture from a book. I love model magic for things like bread and cake--I could make those all day!LOL! Creative paperclay is a little more trickier to make cakes with, I used paperclay to make a wedding cake(scale was a little larger) with yellow flowers and leaves. It was a heck of a time getting the petals and leaves thin enough. Another one you might want to try is Heart clay, this has a porcelain quality and is great for flowers.

Nutti, am so glad you all had fun. Ladybug is a hoot, isn't she? I have conversed with Alice via chat & the internet, and she is funny too. Really talented ladies, both of them. Helen has a sense of humor that doesn't stop. Your projects look wonderful, it sounds like a great class.

Carol, it is a modification on the builder's part, I own the bay window shop--Mr. Bannister's doll emporium. It is visible through the top, which is the access. I love these little shops. One tip when putting these together: do not let these kits sit about for any length of time, do your wiring, etc. and wallpaper, and decorating and get them together, they slide right together. Very easy. I had to drill holes in the window for the candles, (hubby has grand ideas of how to wire them!lol!) But they do fit together nicely and I imagine it would take little modifications to hinge them from the back so they open.

Melissa, I love what you've done--especially with the casket! I like the windows you settled on too--they will look quite nice. Believe it or not, I have always wanted to do this little church kit, simply because it looks like the church down the road from us where Chris & I were married. The only difference in the kit and the real church is our church has a wing on the left side, and a small hall from the door, sort of an anteroom of sorts, very small, like a closet, really. My secret longing is to replicate our wedding, and the church itself. Chris & I were talking about it--but a wedding would be beautiful! Marg, you could change it with the season--why not have a Christmas wedding with poinsettas? I have always thought weddings at Christmas were so festive, and beautiful because of the colors!

Thank goodness the taxes are behind us! Well, tomorrow I start to clean off those shelves. Books, and more books and magazines. Back the car up to the garage for a major donation day--I've promised one of my close friends she gets the historical romance novels~ Thanks for the link. I generally don't eat very much fast food--I usually eat lunch at home, and like you, we're spoiled by all of the little local Italian resturants and little diners about the country where we live. I confess to a weakness for Wendy's & Taco Bell, but rarely. That's interesting from a financial standpoint how much the fast food resturant industry has grown--I'd be curious to check out their stock quotes. I've begun work on painting windows and doors on that house of Chris'--I've got three doors down, started on one window--and I have about and nine more windows to go! :o

I usually tip them, if a place has a bathroom attendant, they are providing a service. That attendant probably is relying on those tips. Most of the resturants or such who provide those attendants sometimes already figure in your gratuity into your bill.

I have tons on my to-do list for this weekend. I did most of it this morning, like organizing and arranging my books, catalogs, address books & calendars, and mini magazines. If this doesn't sound like much, you haven't seen my reference library! :o One I would like to get done is go out to the garage studio and go through those books. Some are books, some are magazines, that I would love to toss and decide what to keep. That too, is a job for another day... Did someone say 'clean' that's a good one to put on my list of stuff to do...Clean the dollhouses! :o I try to multi-task too--do the laundry and dishes while I'm working on the computer. Thank goodness for dishwashers, washing machines and dryers! One of the peskiest things I have to clean and dust about the house is the china and silver. I used to be real good about scheduling a time every so often to polish it, at least once a month. It's sometimes more than I can keep up with. I know this is going to sound strange, but why would you update your website to track ownership of fast food chains? Sorry to ask, but I guess I'm missing the reason. ;)

This is a great house. Was it easy to assemble?

It's adorable! I saw that on ebay and thought about bidding, but couldn't justify a place to put it! It looks so cute in front of your house! That seller's page is alot of fun to explore.

Deb, he will look perfect in your glencroft. Mine is on the backburner right now...but I have seen that dragon on a website before, he is so cool! Your glencroft will be spiffy with these two!

Well what am I working on? I 'perfected' my mini carrots (they look like they are freshly pulled from the garden --roots and all. So proud of myself. Also perfected the peeled bananas, now the fruit or center of the banana when cut, looks like a 'real' banana. Look in my webshots album in mini food. ) http://community.webshots.com/user/lisan204 I bought two small bonsai, and some mini mud men to put underneath of them when potted--I went to Williamsburg with my mother for minis--road trip! So I bought mini trees. One is a pomegranate? and the other is a small japanese rose tree of some sort, pretty little blooms on it. Am toying with an idea to finish off the Olde Shelby cottage, but will have to forgo the traditional English garden on the parlor side I wanted. So still working out the kinks in that..... ;) Next on my to do list is to paper and shingle, and decorate Chris' house he built--Queen's Row. Still picking out the wallpaper and plasterwork, which is great fun. We were talking about how to wire it for some chandeliers this evening, but haven't found any that really appeal to me as of yet. Also, a couple of swaps and such...but that's all for the moment.

I prefer the person in places like Walmart, target, and home depot or lowe's. Mainly because their self checkouts are kind of lousy. Grocery store--if I have less then 20 items--yes, I am a self checker. Mainly because the bagger piles the oranges and lemons on top of my bread. And I can take my time checking out, without people bumping into me with their cart. Also, if I'm in a hurry, I don't have to stand behind the person quibbling about 'it's ten cents less down the street at Food Lion" ( and they have over fifty items they are buying.. Either bring your coupons or go to the other store.. ;) ) I like to save a buck as much as the next person, but not when I have ice cream and perishables in my basket. I have limited time when shopping, so that's why I like the self checkout system. Never really had that many problems with it. I also pick and choose my times to shop. I love to shop for groceries in the early morning--between 7 & 9 am, when virtually no one is in the store.