[A little here and there, and a cabin.]

1 hour ago, Sue B said:

Beautifully designed! Thank you for the inspiration to work on mine.

Thank you! I had alot of fun with this one.

[Newberg is done!]

On 2/11/2021 at 11:17 AM, fleabags3 said:

Very nicely done down to the smallest detail! I love the colors both in side and out. Wow!

Thank you! Duracraft is a bit of a pain with the corner posts (I like Greenleaf assemblies better) but I enjoyed this build after I got through those wretched posts!

[Unfortunately, the quilts are finished.]

4 hours ago, Hobbitgirl64 said:

WOW! these are gorgeous! You don't sell your work do you?

Thank you! No, nobody would pay me for the amount of time I actually spend fiddling with them... With the ol' Day Job, I wouldn't have time anyway! But thank you just the same. They're not difficult to make, just rather tedious!

[The Willow is complete!]

13 minutes ago, genemini said:

Your Willow is really great.  I have a question.  I just started the Willow  I am at the stage of gluing the first floor to the front, that’s going fine but the instructions say not to glue the partition to the front wall yet.  In reading ahead I never see where the instructions call for gluing the first and second floors partitions to the front wall.  Why shouldn’t you glue the partitions to the front when you glue the floors in?  Seems like it would be hard to get such a small bead of glue on the partition edge without making a mess.  What did you do?  Thanks

Thanks for your kind comments! This was some years ago, but I think one shouldn't glue the partition to the front until the second floor is glued in place with respect to the side and front walls. It's a matter of not constraining the partition in place too much: the important constraints are with respect to the first and second floors. After those main constraints are in place, then one can glue the other sides. If one glues the partition to the front wall right away, then the second floor probably won't fit nicely. I try to figure out alot of these things by dry-fitting everything together a few times first.

I hear you about getting glue in tight places: something that I have been doing is using an old (small) paint brush to apply the (wood) glue on both sides of the partition, then use a dry cotton cloth (cut-up t-shirt pieces work great for me) to wipe excess glue away (and wipe into the cracks).

Looking forward to seeing your build!

[Unfortunately, the quilts are finished.]

8 hours ago, tranfl said:

Love that crazy quilt!  My tiny patchwork piecing came out all wonky -- maybe because it really wants to be a crazy quilt, but I wasn't listening. 

Thank you! The EPP method works really well for helping me keep straight lines. Would love to see some pics of your piecing!

[Unfortunately, the quilts are finished.]

2 hours ago, Medieval said:

Your work is beautiful. Is there a resource you recommend, especially for the English paper piecing? I've never heard of it before.

Thank you! I don't recall which (many) specific online resources I looked at when I really got into EPP (I finished a La Passacaglia quilt top a few years back-- have yet to finish the quilting yet! ), but this is a pretty decent blog entry for starters. I really enjoy the "fussy-cutting" part, to highlight specific patterns in the cloth.

The La P:

I used hexies for a mini quilt the other year: I think they were 1/4"-sided. That one was fun:

 

[San Fran - finished!]

55 minutes ago, Lani said:

Rbytsdy,  I'm so sorry to hear that.  My house is a Real Good Toys house.  I believe it is made of MDF!  Is that why Greenleaf uses plywood?  The MDF is so strong and accepts paint so easily and beautifully, I thought it would be superior. but I have a lot to learn.  I'd love to hear your thoughts as I'm a beginner and planning to buy another (my second) dollhouse soon.

 

Some of the folks on the forum have alot of experience w/ MDF and could probably tell me where I went wrong, but the glue joints of the floors and walls had come loose with semi-disastrous effect. Perhaps nails or some sort of mechanical affixing would have prevented that.

I like the Greenleaf plywood b/c it's lightweight, and easy to cut and more versatile for bashing (not to mention cheaper, and easier to move around and ship). I reinforce it with trim from the hardware store. I know that it won't be as sturdy as a cabinet-grade build, in that one can't sit on it and expect it to survive. My current build in my blog isn't Greenleaf but it's the same plywood, and old "Artply Allison" off eBay-- it looks nothing like the original kit!

[San Fran - finished!]

12 hours ago, Lani said:

Thank you!  This house is beautiful!

Thank you for looking. Unfortunately it suffered some pretty major structural damage during shipping (cementing my dislike for MDF), and due to various domestic "dissolvings", I don't know where it has ended up by now...

[Finishing out the window dressings.]

4 minutes ago, Mid-life madness said:

This is such a cheery house.

Mr. Mouse wouldn't want to jump onto the commode, especially in certain situations.

What are your plans with the house? Are you keeping it?

Thanks! I am having alot of fun with it.

No, it's for my little niece born this past summer. She won't mind that it's taking me a bit to finish.

[A bit of actual color.]

19 minutes ago, Mid-life madness said:

Maybe the porch posts need some accents in purple. Since they  are in front of the windows and door, the eye would naturally go to it?????? Maybe purple flowers in the window box????

Purple flowers may be the trick. (Special request for purple, is why that color choice.) Thank you for your kind comments-- it makes all the mis-fitting worth it! (This kit has been fighting me!)

[More bits here and there.]

2 minutes ago, GailGW said:

How old are the nieces who are the lucky recipients of your pink Tennysons?

Hmmm... Between a year and several years. The same for all my other houses. Yes, the houses have taken a beating over the years, but it was important to me to make them according to my vision, and if my vision included art deco wall treatments, real light fixtures, tiny handles on the windows, or somewhat fragile staircases, so be it...

[Another pink Tennyson]

4 minutes ago, GailGW said:

I would love to see an update on the "Another Pink Tennyson" house.   :-)

Well, here's the latest--

Doing final trim and paint touchups-- should be ready to box up soon, and on to the next house!

[Shingles.]

1 hour ago, Mid-life madness said:

It has turned out beautiful. I think it's good that you got the beefy shingles. It will add strength to the house. (This is for a child??/) I like the pink color too. I want to do a pink house someday.

Yes, it is for a child-- I guess you're right, this ought to be bully for stout! This is my second pink Tennyson, but pink hasn't gotten old yet-- it's really fun since I'm not usually a pink sort of person.

[Beacon Hill at last]

Nice build! And nice deal. Are you keeping the exterior colors? I love that pale yellow.

[10 days later?]

Love the fishscales! Very nice, with the color variations.

[Willowcrest with an addition]

Saw this in the eBay thread-- I like it too, just have a hard time getting over that siding!

[San Fran porch railing.]

Glad you like-- need to get back inside and finish out the interior now!

[Wallpaper templates - Lundby does it, Greenleaf should think about it]

Hi Elsbeth, thanks for the links. My observation is that my wallpapers tend to expand after I put glue on them, so that a pre-designed template might be off-sized. I use scrapbook paper or cardstock, so maybe that is why. (I also use alot of trim. )

[Coming 'round the bend.]

The cabinets, yes-- modification of Kris' tutorial at http://1inchminisbykris.blogspot.com/2012/01/kitchen-cabinets-how-to-make.html

The cupboard and waste basket were store-bought-- Dejoux miniatures, I think.

[Siding done, and cracking open the San Fran box.]

Thanks Selkie! I haven't been sealing the matboard; I guess it never occurred to me. It does curve a bit, but no outright buckling so far. I have been much more concerned about all the foamboard that I've been using, actually!

[Finally, some light on the subject.]

Thanks for the tip, Selkie. How long had the batteries been installed?

[Spray-painting and wallpaper.]

It's my favorite picture so far, Selkie! It makes me think there's light at the end of the tunnel ;) I really need to figure out the light fixtures though.

[Okay, not-so-little yellow house...]

Thanks, Claire. I'm on to the next build!

[Finishing bits, and the Laurel like you've never seen it before.]

Thanks Selkie! I am having alot of fun with the Laurel bash-- perhaps I will call it the "memory house" instead.

[More curtains, and furniture.]

Thank you ladies! I am gearing up to make the dining table-- lots of matboard cutting-- good thing I have a box full of exacto blades!