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I took this final photo of the "front" of the Mckinley all windows are now in and drawers and lattice finished. as I am typing I am waiting for the glue to dry on the porch and than I will be finished with that as well. I have not put in all of the door trims as I havent finished the decorating. I will make this an on going Christmas time project. see what I will add next yr! I loved building this house. if you leave out the bathroom built in and the false wall in the large bedroom than the rooms are a really nice size! if I hadnt of liked the fireplace and stairwell as much as I do I would have left them out for more room as well. this kit is very versitile in this way. I would recomend this kit to a first time builder! one reason is the hanging on the wall. its a total fab idea for displaying those miniatures we wish no one to touch! and because of the small front porch area...the builder can spend more time on the inside than the outside. a plus for those who would rather decorate the insides than the out. The kit gives some choices about room design and the placement of some walls again making the kit versitile for many styles of decorating. the directions are easily followed but for the visual person like myself MORE PHOTOS would be great. but than thats why we have these bloggs. I will edit this post when I add the porch photo. for now TTFN nutti B)

I finally took the house off the Entertainment center where I have been enjoying the view. it is now back on the work bench. I spent 2 hours staining all of the inside trim....windows and door trim.while waiting for it to dry I put the drawers together.I have all of the outside window trim finished and I only have the master bedroom windows to install. no photos as of yet.next I will have to paint all of the lattice install it and I will be done. now that the Holidays are over and I am almost reorganised...maybe I can get some things done. nutti B)

I have not made much progress from last time due to the Holidays but we did manage to decorate for Christmas night. I am not finished but as for the build Im not far from it. the porch roof is on. it is also painted now but I havent taken those photos. the front of the house as it looked before painting the the roof. I had the poor empty house pushed against the wall before our party Christmas eve. but as I had lots of good help from daughter and neice we were ready 2 hours before time. so they took it upon them selves to decorated the house. said I had worked on it to hard not to decorate it and show it off. so with out all the window trim and inside trim or the drawers it was displayed and it was a BIG hit! Thanks to Catriona and RubyFay! this is not the final vision but it is real close. I have alot more stuff to go in here but for now this is what it looks like. I will put it back on my workbench after the New Years eve party. got lots of goodies for in here. but displayed are some wonderful swaps and the stove and dry sink I made. still more to put in here but the decorating is finished unless I put in base boards. ooohhhh I love how this room is coming together. there will be a vanity(is waiting for me to make) not sure what the bay will have in it but this is how it is now. this room is the one that has more work to be done. I have red fringe for the top. wrapping paper is not for wallpaper! it really wrinkles. in the attic it was not so bad but in this room it is very noticable...but we wont tell the owners...dont want to hurt their feelings. also note the tree it is a fiber optic battery run tree and the battery's were still going strong after 2 days. this was a gift from a friend of mine who just recently got into miniatures. this was how I wanted the tower room to look! I used my silver glitter paint on the windows giving them a frosted look. I like the effect! I didnt take a photo of the larger attic areas...not much to see at the time. it has since become the home to my M&M guys and their train. out of scale but very cute. we have come to the end of the Christmas photos. I hope to finish sometime this next week. or the week after. who knows what will happen B) there are 3 dolls displayed in the house given to me by Kathy(friend) and Ruby(SIL) just in case they come in here and read! hiya girls! I hope you enjoy the photos. nutti ;)

I am making some progress in the windows.today I put the porch on and textured it and painted it. looks good to me!! B) I also used wrapping paper for the attic wallpaper....wooooweeeeeeso much wrinkling B) but than I said hey that actaully works for me.so I left it ;) like Catie said "its just the attic!" and how right she is. I guess there is to be no roof change. Im ready to do more decorating and get this finished before my son gets home....wonder what the chance of that is?I have taken photos of the porch and it is good. will post more laterTTFNnutti B)

uuggggg I was putting off doin the trim...it is so tedious! very necessary but uggggggg and to top it all of these windows are all peices. except for the round ones. so that is where I have started. to make my job seem easier and seem to go faster I am breaking up the window trim installation. first the round windows than onwards. I also finished the tower roof. I started it 3 different times. it went from silver to textured paint before I decided to do something a little extra. I added bamboo skewers to the seams and I like how it just gives that little extra. and than of course it got slathered in my never ending supply of textured paint. I also have it painted but Im not showing it yet. That is what I did today....not much. its been an off day. no one feeling llike doing much. TTFN nutti B)

oooooyyyy vey! Ima tellin you well it decided I knew how to use my tape and glue and now it is a proper roof for a tower! make a cone with the tape first. tape untill all peices are supported when you turn it upside down and push the roof peice into place. now I have to wait for the glue to dry and than I can do the decorating to it.... ohhhh cant tell you...shhhhhhh but that is how I did my tower.

I have gotten to the roof issue. it is assembled and now I have to decide how to proceed. as I really want a flat roof for the reindeer. B) I also attempted the tower roof. I have to admit..it got me. I am waiting it out.trying to make it understand that it is a good thing to be a tower roof. ;) all the peices marked and ready to go. this held promise that it would work but after adding 2 more peices it all collapsed. I know I used tape for the Victorianna tower but I cant seem to remember how I did it. so I wait patiently for someone...ANYONE to post some wonderful hint as to how to get that thing together...."Ill uses hot glue!" do ya hear me? HOT glue! well Im not sure that would be a bad idea it should hold with all the textured paint and wood fill it will have on it. I have also been working on furniture kits for this house. I have made the Chrysnbon cook stove! first time with this type of kit. loved it! went together nicely. good instructional diagrams. than I put together 2 House of Miniature kits...dry sink and the canopy bed. the sink needs to have its hardware installed and it looks nice. these kits are so wonderful. I would buy more to have around. wish they were still in buisness. the bed was dressed tonight. and it has turned out sooooo smile worthy! My SIL came down tonight for some mini time. and we created this bed! and we both had big smiles. hahahaha I am such a tease. coz Im not showing it yet!! TTFN nutti

well I have had some ups and downs and it was a wild ride! I finally got up the nerve to Wallpaper all of my remaining walls and the ceilings in bedroom and livingroom. happy dane!!!when Hubby came home he was eager to start on the Chandelier he was going to make from a Christmas Ornament....which was Originally bought for Catriona to make earrings from.we made 1 chandelier, 3 pairs of earings and was left with fancy plant hanger for a porch. ohhh and it was soooo beautiful when he lit it up the first time. we had created Light and it was good! ;) next to install the light. so we plug the house in to see all the pretty I had done when hey!! wazzup no light in the 2nd floor tower? B) my worst nightmare had come true....I wallpapered over the tape wire and now I was doomed to no lights! oh I was sooo upset.long story short...Darrell came in chat with Melissa and he was askin me bout it try to help when I decided best plug it so I might have a clue to figure out what he was talkin about.....when yup all the dern lights came on!!! ;) B) everyone in chatroom so excited for me.so now my new light is installedhe also put my attic tower light in. I LOVE Electricity!as long as Im not resposible for it....its way to stressful to me.he is hard at work installing the hall light behind false wall. so before bed that wall will be up also!! and than I must take a break and finish some Christmas Presents.I should be back on it in less than a week.TTTTnutti B) ohhhh and I also made my first Chrysnbon kit tonight. was a stove.lots of peices. and the glue wasnt that hard to work with. I have avoided using it because I didnt want it alll over my fingers...ooopppsss there's that nutti B)

tonight I have taken some photos of the outside of the house to show the kitchen bay is complete and already has the textured paint on it. also I have completed the tower minus the peak but it is textured as well and a photo of the front of the house ready for the trimming ....kind of like a cake or a Christmas trees. as I am still having some issues with the colors. I am settled on one but will it be too much? I have decided for 2 reasons to leave out the false wall in the bedroom. takes up to much room...and I just dont wanna B) since my bathroom is a bedroom I am not putting in the built in shelf...there is some thought as to adding it to the larger bedroom. I wanted to use gold or brass sheeting on the peak but I think I will just paint it gold. Has anyone detected a theme yet....Im trying to hide it as well as I can and still post photos. ;) I am now in the wait on hubby mode he is going to help me make a chandilier from a Christmas ornament we found at HL. and install the light in the tower ,attic and hallway. did I mention that I hate the paper I put in? now I know I should rip it all out but I cant score it and wet it as there are wires behind the paper. B) so I have made templates and am gluing the paper to cardstock and will glue that in. hope a plug will go thru all that thickness for the lamp(s). TTFN nutti B)

why is there slow progress because I of course have to many things going on at one time....as always.but I have made a small bit of progress on the wallpapering on the first floor.I had named it the candycane cottage but it looks more like the snowflake Inn to me. I dont think it knows what it wants yet. so all outside painting is on hold...well just the color the textured paint is already on the front and now the kitchen side is ready to be textured as well. I am very sick of using textured paint...although I do love the look. its starting to bore me. and I was going to adjust the roof I now am wavering. I want it done for Christmas...and the 18th coz my son will be home than and I dont want to be in the middle of any major projects. at this point Im not sure I want to show any photos.I will say this....the instructions are straightforward and this house is going together very well. I had warping of the attic floor and the tower side roof seems to want to be wonkybut I think a dab of hot glue will hold it in place. not that I use hot glue but there are those moments when it comes in handy. My kitchen bay window did give me some issueswhen I put the seat in it pushed the walls apart.the gaps to large for juts wood fill so I took my handy dandy bamboo skewers and put them in the cracks...insert a little jig....loved the way it turned out.you will note that on the wall is a big blob of paint...this is normal for me and how ALL of my painting goes.Im not done with the floor...first stage of something I have in mind.TTFNnutti B)

Today was a good day.I went to the Dollar Tree today. and found the funnyest peoples to occupy my house. We will call them Denby and Mindy Bendy(say that fast 3 times) I dont think they will always live here but for now they will.also my order form HBS arrived with my lights. tonight Hubby put the gromets in to have the lights on for placement when I have all the decorating done I will add the lights more permantly. and than I got my American Minaturist Magazine. I also got my tree supplies for the silver Christmas tree.Now I can wall paper!TTFNnutti B)

well I finally inlisted DH help. I wanted to install lights in my towers and was eager to try Darrells methodproblem...the fixture cost 5$ and for 3 lights well you do the math. DH did and gave me the look.he says what ya doin ya need that kind of lightI showed him he says " think I saw bulbs at radio shack will give you same effect for 1.50$ I said ok go get them and show me. so he did and now I have lights in my towers. I am very happy nuttigal!!! B) after much fussing and tossing of the pliers DH has agreed to put the dern brads in place for me and get me one of them brad holder things Darrell was talkin about. I have zero patients for itty bitty things that move around when ya trying to do somethin with them.now I think Im ready to move on to Wallpaper and other things.TTFNnuttiCompliments of Nuttiwebgal

well tonight I didnt make to much progress. but some was made.I managed to get the first part of the porch on and the towerbut not untill after I took it apart because I forgot to paint the inside...and part of it will not be accessable after in permantly. the middle tower wall has a flaw and that was fun fixing but glue and wood fill and its as strong as its gonna get until its alltogetherI have ordered some lights but not here yet.Im trying to decide weather or not to add lights to the tower areasI painted the inside white coz itll go with anything I put on the walls. and yes I have it picked out and bought....waiting for the lights.TTFNnutti :blink:Compliments of Nuttiwebgal

well as per usual things happen to keep nutti on her toes.1st I decide I must wire my Mckinley2nd I cannot find my wiring kit I have already bought.3rd won an e-bay auction for electrical...get it and the stuff is probably 20 yr old. ok some of it will work for hubby so not too bummed.4th take my 40% off HL coupon buy new wiring kit after looking everywhere driving hubby and kid nutz in making them help me.(2 days)5th today I started wiring and hubby finds missing supplies ;) of course B) so this is my journey into wiring I have started by purchasing a small wiring kit than I followed Darrells diagram and instructions with a couple of adjustments. adjustment one was not being able to put the wire 1inch from the floor on the first floor. there were slots in the way.2nd adjustment was making my down the house tape longer to enable the install the junction splice on a continuous tape....this was hubby idea after hearing where I thought was best place for the splice.but before I would put the wall on with glue we had to make sure so far so good. the next thing I did was start putting the house together.step C with fireplace I did while I was waiting...oh and which I ruined while putting house together. remember my problem with dirty hands? well I usually keep a wet wipe handy for quick fixes to the fingers while working. well I layed the dern thing right on the printie of the hearth....even being sprayed with sealer didnt help. so with the basic shell done it is time to attach the junction splicewoot woot! WORKS!and although Hubby was here I made him the stoopidviser and did all of it myself!!! my main worry at this point is trying to remember where the wire is when wallpapering....lol the brads are a bit small and tedious but I think the results will be worth it!TTFNnutti :blink:Compliments of Nuttiwebgal

while I wait for my electrical supplies to arrive I have been doing small things so I will be ready. I have primed the walls and stained the floors. the attic floor is still warped.this is my first warped board...well one fresh out of the box. so not sure how I will fix it. I have started the fireplace and will put it together tonight. the next step will be the staircase. I think it can be preassembled also. the house is having a fight with itself. it cant decide if it wants to be a christmas house or a winter house. I keep finding myself thinking in bluesI havent told my daughter yet because she thinks I have to many blue houses already. I had thought it would be fun to do a red house. I also plan on one more time to use the textured paint for the outside.someone plzzzzz find me another way to paint a house that covers soo many flaws. so easily and quickly...plus look good. B) but I figure...gonna be on the wall and you really wont be able to see the front on the wall Im hanging it on coz itll be facing a wall.so whats one more stuccoed house B) ;) I will add some photos the next time I post.TTFNnutti :blink:Compliments of Nuttiwebgal

well last night I opened the box and made sure all was there....looks like it.than I took out all the main peices...floors and back wall.my attic floor is warped slightly at this point. Im hoping that during the construction that will take care of its self. Im trying to listen to this house but Im not sure just yet what it wants to be.I would like a Christmas house to display during the holidays above my entertainment center. so tonight I will so the dry run and see what happens.TTFNnutti :blink:Compliments of Nuttiwebgal