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I have added the base to the Arthur house and I added paper clay around the base floor and the back foundation wall.Here is a close up of the back wallThis is the sideThis is the front Shot with a brick and stone walkwayNow I have to add flowers and I'll be done!Complements of My Mini Shop

Okay, I have done the touch up to the shingles and they look MUCH better!!I think I will jazz up the house and add the base sooner than later. I can't picture my houses without the yard so I will start on that next even though for the most part, I am finished!! Okay....are we ever really finished with a house ;) . Here are some more pictures and there will be more to come since I am going to do the base....TODAY!! ;) Charles is the Real Estate agent trying to sell this guy a house with a bedroom with flowers on the wallpaper LOL ;) Complements of My Mini Shop

I am mostly finished with this house. I painted the shingles brown and I started off too dark so I had to finish the rest of the roof the same way because I did not want inconsistencies. When it dried, I took sand paper and rubbed some paint off. All I have to do now it go all over the roof with a wash of Dark burnt umber and that will make it more realistic by adding depth.The only other thing left to do is for me to either paint the back foundation wall or to paperclay it. I finally put the hole in it to feed the power strip wire through so that the house can be lighted. I will add a base to it at a later date because I love flowers and a yard. A base also makes moving the houses MUCH easier. For the most part, I found that building this house was very simple and easy to "Bash" (or change if you don't like the dollhouse term Bash). The only real bashing I did was with the front door and adding the chimney. I also added new window inserts by use of transparency film. All of these things only added a few hours to the normal assembly process and it adds a little more character to this beautiful house kit. Don't be afraid to Change your house and make it your dream house! These ARE budget houses which means they are priced so that no matter what your budget is, you CAN own a dollhouse. I used things such as Gator foam for the chimney because it is less expensive than wood and if you are like me (afraid of power tools that bite) this is another alternative.Don't be afraid to follow the instructions in a way that fits making your dream house a reality. I strayed away from them several times to add or take things away from the original design. Challenge your creative juices and you CAN do it. We are here to help!!Remember, this is your house and it's up to you to make it your Dream house!Complements of My Mini Shop

I finally decided to use the shingles that came with the kit. I was tempted to use paper clay but decided wood would look better on this house. Another BIG thing that made me want to use the kits shingles is the fact that it comes on sheets. What that means is I don't have to add each shingles on one at a time Yeppie!!This is louisa at the front door. She will not live here but is a new doll I just got and so she needed a place to stay until I find her a stable home.I have to paint or stain the shingles next and add some more browns & grays to the stonework. After that, I will be done! (As if we are ever done with a house http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/\html\style_emoticons\/tongue.png' alt=':p'> )This is the inside down stairsThis is the upstairsIt took me another 45 minutes to add the 2 coats of "dirty wash" to the stone and to shingle the roof and patch it in areas.:)Complements of My Mini Shop

Today has been one of those days for me. Some of you may know but I have Graves disease and sometimes I just feel "not so good". Because today just so happen to be one of those days for me, I only did a small thing. I made burning embers for my fireplace.Let's get started!!! First off, you can not burn your self First off, you need 1 Red Straw, 1 small tree branch, a tooth pick, Train ballast, Clear "Liquid Nails" (or clear silicon sealer) and a Smal piece of wax paper.First, take the straw and with your scissors, cut a 1" piece and a 1/2" piece.Second, cut a small circle (or triangle) into the middle of the 1" straw piece.Third, take the small 1/2" sized straw piece and insert it into the bigger 1" sized straw.Fourth, Take your straw and put it on top of the wax paper. Take you clear Silicone (or liquid nails) and put a squirt on top of the straw (be sure none cover the 3 holes (one on each side and one in the back).Fifth, Cut your logs in 1" sizes (varying a little) be sure they will fit inside your fireplace!! Take your logs and position them as they would look in a fireplace. Use your toothpick to shape spikes so it will look like flames licking the logs. Sprinkle some ballast on top of this so some will rest on the logs and under the front of the logs.Let this dry for about 2 - 3 hours Sixth, Add a dry brush of black paint over the logs and ballast to make them look burnt. Insert the back opening over the light bulb in your fireplace.Now turn on your light and enjoy your burning embersComplements of My Mini Shop

I have finally started on the foundation and only have the back part left to complete. I added Creative Paper Clay ( www.paperclay.com ) to the foundation and sculpted stones to give it an authentic look of real stone. The trick comes in with the painting which has not started yet because I must wait for the clay to dry.To add the clay, first I add some wood glue to the object I wish to paper clay. In the pictures, I used my chimney. The second step it to roll the clay to the thickness of pie dough crust. After that, The third step is to apply the clay starting at the edges and cut off any access. The fourth step is to start to sculpt your stone with sculpting tools. You can even use a popscicle stick and cut the round edge off to make it flat. It may even help you to have a picture of the type of stone you wish to use.The fifth step is to reshape some of your stones which may have shifted and you do this by using a stylus or I have heard of some using the edge of a fine paintbrush (the handle end of it).Now, let it dry and then you paint and enjoy the look!!Now I have to complete the back foundation. All together it took me 45 minutes. It WILL take you longer. I have done MANY houses so it does take practice and some getting used to. Be patient and remember, HAVE FUN!! :DComplements of My Mini Shop

Here is the picture of the almost completed porch. I just noticed I have 2 more porch posts to add but for the most part, it is completed. I only have to paper clay the chimney and foundation. I will save the shingles for last.The instructions for putting the porch together seems a little vague to me and MORE pictures would help. I did not assemble mine correct when I look at the picture on the box and compare mine to the picture (and I thought I was following the instruction perfectly till then LOL ).The structure is still very strong so I will not worry about it.Complements of My Mini Shop

Yesterday I mentioned that I painted the trim. I decided to go with the color "Black Cherry" by Delta. After that dried, I began to assemble my windows & shutters. As you can see, I added new window inserts. I bought a book titled "Ready-to-Use Dollhouse Stained Glass Windows" by Ed Sibbett Jr. ( Here is the link to purchase http://store.doverpublications.com/0486237400.html ) I picked the ones I wanted to use for this house. After choosing them and scanning them into my computer, I resized them and created tranparencies of them. I then add clear finger nail polish on the rough side. I color them in by using permenent markers. Because of copyrights, I cannot send these out but, you should really buy this book as there are so many differnt patterns you can use. You can then customize them by coloring them in yourself and then make transparencies of them for your own houses. Complements of My Mini Shop

All right, I now have painted the siding. It took me 2 coats of paint. I painted it Cape Cod blue. The paint is by Delta. I am thinking about painting the trim either all white or burgundy with cream accents. I am VERY pleased at how things are turning out. It took me another 45 minutes to paint the exterior and it is still cold and raining outside so there is nothing better to do on a rainy day but play dollhouses. My girls are both repainting there house with me on the counter (Yeap, I had to clean it up as you may have noticed I am a VERY messy worker LOL ). I am working on my kitchen Island which happens to be a good size, which is why I create such BIG messes. :unsure:Complements of My Mini Shop

Today I finally caught up because it was cold and rainy outside! I got much accomplished. First of all, I added the outdoor chimney and stack. I cut these parts from 1/2" thick foam core. I did not use a pattern, I guess I eyeballed it a bit. I will cover it and the foundation with paper clay later. I glued it to the outside and I added the stack to the top of the roof.I added the Corona siding to the house. This is individual siding strips and I only used 1 1/2 bags because I have the Chimney. I will paint it next then add porch. It took me a total of 1 hour 40 minutes. NOW.... on to the painting!!Complements of My Mini Shop

I actually did most of my work late last night while everyone was asleep. I added outlets in the bedroom and I made a nonworking ceiling light a working one with replaceable bulbs. I finished adding the roof and started putting siding on the frount wall. I will add the porch today after I paint the front first. I will post more later. I spent a total of 2 hours last night on the house. I painted the bathroom added the roof and siding outside.Complements of My Mini Shop

Now because I do not want wire bumps showing through my carpet, I had to create a channel in the floor. Now I would not have had to do it this way if I had Floor boards but hobby lobby is out and I need to go on and finish the inside of my house LOL. I used my dremel tool to do this. Be Very careful!! Don't go in too deep! After that, I added the wire to be sure it fit. Once it did. I taped it down with masking tape and added my carpet. As you can see the wire won't show through!! Now be sure your wire is long enough to fit your power strip. Mine is so I fed the wire back through the hole and seperated them as they were before. I then added the prongs and secured them. Now I tested it to be sure it worked still and it does!! B)Complements of My Mini Shop

I bought some lights to add to the rooms and because I am using a power strip, I think this will make it much easier for those afraid to electrify because they thing it is too complicated or that it will take up too much time. So far, I have spent a total of 2 hours and 43 minutes on this house (Partial assembly, Painting & Wallpapering and staining the floors). The next step of adding the lights took another 37 minutes (I have a stop watch ).The first pictue shows the plug of the light. Because I have drilled a hole in the ceiling to feed the wire through, this plug must come off. You do this by taking your needle nose pliers (I used hubbys) and pull our both prongs. Then gentely pull the wire out of the plug.Now you want to feed that wire through the ceiling (upstairs floor). Then you need to secure your light into place.Complements of My Mini Shop

I will electrify this house too and will start by showing how I added the light bulb to my fireplace. I edit my houses as I go along and this blog will show you the method of my madness LOL .First, I drilled a hole in the floor with my little hand drill (power tools bite. With the hand drill I have more control ;) ).I also used my hand drill to put a hole in the fireplace itself and then I fed the wire from the light bulb in the hole and through the floor to make certain that it is the correct size. I will make glowing embers later and show you all how it's done. I set the fireplace aside till later because I have to add my wallpaper to the walls. This is the one I chose for the fireplace room.Complements of My Mini Shop

You may notice that my door frame is square . It is because I decided to upgrade and add a door that open and closes . This is how I did it. I layed the door flat on the front wall where the doorway is. I traced the door on the front wall piece so that I would know where to cut. I then took my Handy Dandy hobby knife and scored the area 8 times till I felt the blade going to the other side. I popped out the wood parts I did not need and no Power tools were required. I noticed after I had chosen this door that I would have to remove the pediment if I wanted to use the porch (I do this time) so I had scored it and cut it off too. Complements of My Mini Shop

First of all, I had to open up the tabs because they were a bit too small for the slots to fit through ;) . I did this by use of my hobby knief so the problem was not hard to fix. I decided to add hardwood floors on the first level and bought a nice sheet of this flooring at hobby lobby for $4.99 not on sale. It has a paper back and is unfinished so that I can stain it the color of my choice. I glued it down with tacky glued and let it dry as I started assembling the back foundation wall and side walls pictured below. I used Quick Grip Glue (it dries faster) & Probond wood glue (because it works best in the long run).Complements of My Mini Shop

On Friday, my Arthur Kit arrived and Now it is open and I am sitting here trying to figure out how I wish to do this one. Nutti says I should add paperclay. Linda says, I should also electrify this one and I know for sure I want to add a chimney and fireplace. I will not do too much "Kit Bashing" (or kit editing, if the word bash makes your hairs stand up). I am Very excited about this project. I hope to help everyone see that this is a wonderful kit and that it has many possibilities! Join me on this wonderful adventure!! ~ TracyComplements of My Mini Shop