havanaholly Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 imitated slate with colored construction paper; after the suns UV rays bleached them out I painted them slate color. Granted they aren't the real thing, but they look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Well, I decided to watch 2 episodes of Live PD last night on Youtube. For those who aren't following this show, without commercials, that's 4 1/2 hours of a show that I can listen to but not necessarily have to watch. So I figured I could work on the Arthur a little. First I tried putting pink wallpaper over the Greenleaf tiles for the kitchen. That didn't work so well. Then I thought I might just lay out all the tiles in the kitchen first, fill in the mortar and then cover them with pink wallpaper. That didn't work either, because the tiles do not stay stuck to the floor. So until I get some Quik Grab, that idea is out. Then I tried wallpapering the kitchen of the shadowbox. Now mind, this room is 18" long (two 5 1/2" sides + a 7" back) by 6 1/2" high. I wanted to buy ONE sheet of wallpaper for this room and was grumbling about having to buy THREE from HBS. I needed all three. The first piece I cut for the first wall was too short heightwise. Then I cut it too short widthwise. Then I measured from the back and when I turned over the third piece (perfect size, by the way), I had cut into the white edge of the side that gives the name and manufacturer of the wallpaper. That killed one sheet. Started over. Cut the next piece perfect and glued it in. Cut the back, then realized it needed to match the pattern of the adjacent side. Recut the back and that was the rest of the second sheet. Went to cut the second wall (it's times like this that I am so grateful most dollhouses only have 3 walls). Cut the first piece too short. Cut the second piece and couldn't match the pattern to the back piece. Cut the third piece just right. Glued it in. Glued in the back. Found out the back is too short widthwise. WTH?!? So now I have a sort of misalignment of pattern in the back right corner. I figured I'd put the fridge back there and when I went to make it, I'd make it 6 1/2" tall. Problem solved. Yarrgh! So for the rest of the 2 hours, I just played card games on my computer while watching Live PD. And to make things even more annoying, I looked at the wood floor I'd put in the living room and wondered why the edge hung over in the front so much. So.......I trimmed it back. Naturally, AFTER I'd done that, I realized I'd cut the floor to fit the bedroom, not the living room, and now the wood was too short for the bedroom. Could I use it in the living room under the rug? Of course not. When I trimmed it, I'd still trimmed it too much. This keeps up, I'm going to start raising bumblebees as a hobby. How much more frustrating than miniatures can that possibly bee? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thresadep Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Since my porches are done, I have been piddling around . Deciding on wallpapers and paints. Messing with little fixes. Checking what I have in stock I can use. The front of my house comes off so I'm thinking of working on that for now. I need to redo those walls and add window trim. I may just make the window trim for all the windows and doors. Depends on my mood. Still not getting into anything too big until I can move back in garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Hi yall Ive had my gran this week on Spring break and they helped me unload what is to be my niche...there was a carfunkle in the move and most of my niche stuff ended upstairs...someone forgot that the last word was downstairs in the den/office....and they filled that room with all manor of boxes...most of which has been wrangled upstairs...and the son moved the Queens Buffet and an etagere out of there...so when hubby arrives tomorrow he and I can decide the placement of furniture that will be in the niche...and what furniture I will take from the selection of undecided...as we know all furniture is up for grabs in a move...lol... and then we have to bring everything for the niche down to the space and set up shop...I had thought of a dollhouse loft but I have very few full complete builds of my own....so my houses will now go around the house...or I will have a wall of houses in my bedroom...no solid decision yet...the grans leave tomorrow and I will start the 2 little roomboxes I got for the new grandaughter and her brother......hopefully they will go quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 I watched another two episodes of Live PD and tried the tiles, one more time. This time in the shadowbox kitchen. E-YUK! So they all came out and I decided to toss them all out. They just weren't doing anything for me. So since I have the Wild Strawberry paper in the kitchen and I also have that pink sheet of wallpaper, and since the little strawberry flowers actually look pink, I finally cut a piece off the pink wallpaper and threw it in the shadowbox. Yes, it's the same paper that's going in as the kitchen floor in the Arthur, but I don't care. So I got these pics tonight: Considering this is a 5 1/2" x 7" (actually, I think it's closer to 8" than 7") space and I plan to fit in a fridge, sink, stove, and kitchen table with two chairs, I doubt anyone is going to look too close at the floor. What anyone will be able to see of it, anyway. And the pink floor does sort of pull the pink of the strawberry blossoms out of the wallpaper. That's going to be good enough for me for right now. It's almost 5am and I think it's time to finally go to bed. Night all! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Miniature Madness Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Oh Kelly! Isn't it about time something mini related go perfectly for you? I like your punt - the flooring and papers compliment each other nicely and make the rooms look inviting. Are you going to score the kitchen paper to look like tiles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Miniature Madness Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 9 hours ago, nuttiwebgal said: and then we have to bring everything for the niche down to the space and set up shop...I had thought of a dollhouse loft but I have very few full complete builds of my own....so my houses will now go around the house...or I will have a wall of houses in my bedroom...no solid decision yet...the grans leave tomorrow and I will start the 2 little roomboxes I got for the new grandaughter and her brother......hopefully they will go quickly. Good luck getting it all settled and into the right and functional spaces! Soon this will all be behind you and you'll get to get back to all the fun again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 4 hours ago, Its_a_sm_world_after_all said: Oh Kelly! Isn't it about time something mini related go perfectly for you? I like your punt - the flooring and papers compliment each other nicely and make the rooms look inviting. Are you going to score the kitchen paper to look like tiles? I have to say - it isn't always as bad as I make it sound. I think the lack of a decent work space and my own impatience leads to a high frustration level. Hmm - scoring the paper. I hadn't thought of that and it's tempting. I'll turn that one over for a while, especially as that's the same paper that's going in for flooring in the Arthur, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madtex1967 Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 The Cape May roof is ready to shingle! I spent the evening trimming out the dormers, painting them, and placing the copper flashing around. Whew! The last thing to do to start the shingling. But first, I am waiting on my dye. I am doing the Pat & Noel Thomas technique of steel wool in vinegar. It's been a day and it is not quite ready. Next may be the copper roof on the flat roof of the extension! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 6 hours ago, madtex1967 said: The Cape May roof is ready to shingle! I spent the evening trimming out the dormers, painting them, and placing the copper flashing around. Whew! The last thing to do to start the shingling. But first, I am waiting on my dye. I am doing the Pat & Noel Thomas technique of steel wool in vinegar. It's been a day and it is not quite ready. Next may be the copper roof on the flat roof of the extension! Looking good, Matt. Are you using copper foil on the roof? The copper roofing I'm doing on the Beacon Hill tower has been at a standstill for several weeks. My friend NJ from Missouri arrived yesterday for a couple of weeks. She's going to help me reorganize the studio from a shared space to a miniature workshop. Right now it's in an uproar. Will be happy to get it into shape. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyGunn Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 I just emailed my mom and three local friends about starting a 1:12 mini club in my house. Some of us are in a club 30 miles away that's primarily 1:48 scale, but others can't get there due to work and some just don't enjoy 1:48 as much as 1:12 (although they still do it because, hey - minis!). One friend has already sent a very, VERY emphatic 'YES!'. I have several project ideas in mind, including a room corner on a tile snitched from Casey's blog and my LOVE wall shelves and wind chimes. Those would give us a good start for a few months and give them a nice little completed something to enjoy and to display other little projects in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Miniature Madness Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 13 hours ago, madtex1967 said: The Cape May roof is ready to shingle! I spent the evening trimming out the dormers, painting them, and placing the copper flashing around. Whew! The last thing to do to start the shingling. But first, I am waiting on my dye. I am doing the Pat & Noel Thomas technique of steel wool in vinegar. It's been a day and it is not quite ready. Next may be the copper roof on the flat roof of the extension! Love the St, Patty's Day hat! The build is looking great and the weathered roof is going to complement the siding wonderfully! 6 hours ago, KathieB said: My friend NJ from Missouri arrived yesterday for a couple of weeks. She's going to help me reorganize the studio from a shared space to a miniature workshop. Right now it's in an uproar. Will be happy to get it into shape. What a fun way to spend time with a friend! Be sure to post some pics of the new space. I am sure with more and organized room it will be more tempting to work on the BH! 1 hour ago, LadyGunn said: I just emailed my mom and three local friends about starting a 1:12 mini club in my house. What a great solution to getting the close folks together! I am sure Casey will be thrilled to have to share her idea! I started on a little garden shed idea just before we left for our three week vacation. We got home Sunday afternoon, and I am on fire with finishing the thing. I love when that happens! Here is a photo of the framing before I had gotten all of the wood distressed. It is finished now but I haven't taken photos because I got distracted making the kits up for the inside. Below is the photo of the finished stuff. I am still working on the flower shops - one for me and a surprise one for my mom for Mother's Day. This one is for my Mother-In-Law and is also a surprise so I have to be sneaky when I am posting on the blog.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbnmini Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Kelly- sorry for giggling, but your wallpaper problems sounded WAY too familiar! It's times like those that make me glad someone had the common sense to require us to purchase 3 sheets of wallpaper- even though we think we only need 1! Matt- I am really enjoying the pics of your copper flashing! The roof is going to look great! Marla- hope your mini club works out! It is always nice to be able to sit around and chat with folks that "speak the same language". As for me- my stairs are ready to install in the Colonial rehab house. Now working on fixing my painting goofs of the walkway bricks. Used the Magic Brick stencil to create the brick walkway since it was the same scale as the painted brick foundation. I had first painted the area white for the grout color. After my first attempt at painting (using acrylics) I removed the stencil . . . only to realize that the stencil hadn't adhered fully to the white base paint: the brick colored paint had bled underneath into the "grout lines", plus in other spots the stencil actually ripped up bits of the paint. blargh. So last nite was Brick Painting Take 2. First I lightly wiped off areas with Goof Off and scraped blurred grout lines. This time I painted using my regular go-to house paint samples: a coat of primary red first, then I dabbed on an orange-red paint I had and then blotted a bit with a cloth. The resulting color was a pretty darn close match, I thought! Score 1 for me! This morning I carefully removed the stencil.....still had some bleed thru, but def a better result than the first go round! Cleaned up some brick edges....and now maybe with a little white touch-up paint and maybe a whole lotta moss it will look how I imagined it should. I'll take some pics tonite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid-life madness Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 I'm painting my kitchen cabinets and other furniture for the room box. I am anxious to start The Laurel. I made the island butcher block out of Popsicle sticks and purchased the legs from Hobby Lobby pre-made stock. The cabinets are from a Realife miniatures kit that I modified.(Now I know why they recommended staining). The paint job is turning out awful, I mean rustic! I am having a blast and learning so much though!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Carrie, I still love the wallpaper! and your little butcher block island turned out very well! I'm looking forward to the "finished" kitchen (as much as any mini is ever done). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Mel Mel Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Hello!, I just have to comment! I am so very new...at everything! I see these "My First House" and they look UNBELIEVABLE ! I am pretty intimidated right now. I am doing the beacon hill and am learning sooo much but I think I'm missing something, because it seems like I mess up quite a bit. I am confused often about something that in retrospect seems quite obvious. Well you are really awesome at this and I look forward to learning much from you all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madtex1967 Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 10 hours ago, KathieB said: Looking good, Matt. Are you using copper foil on the roof? The copper roofing I'm doing on the Beacon Hill tower has been at a standstill for several weeks. My friend NJ from Missouri arrived yesterday for a couple of weeks. She's going to help me reorganize the studio from a shared space to a miniature workshop. Right now it's in an uproar. Will be happy to get it into shape. I am using soft copper sheeting. .005 thick 36. It is stiff enough to shape easily, but still have the smooth look. I am going to use it on my flat roofs as well. 3 hours ago, Its_a_sm_world_after_all said: Love the St, Patty's Day hat! The build is looking great and the weathered roof is going to complement the siding wonderfully! Thanks! That was me last Saturday (11th) at one of our four St. Patrick's Day Parades! My beard is also dyed red! I am anxious to see the weathered shingles with the color scheme I have for the house. Getting excited as it seems to be coming together quickly at this point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 Melody, I must have missed your intro in the Newcomers' Forum. One of the secrets to building kits as nicely designed & unique as Greenleaf's is to dry fit first; use masking tape or blue painter's tape to "build" the house before you even think about glue. In addition to giving you the chance to trim your tabs & slots to fit more perfectly and to sand roughness smooth you can noodle through any problems you're having with the instructions. Once the shell is together with tape you can study the layout to see which areas will be impossible to get to for decorating once its glued up (like stairwells and hallways). The 1/8" luan plywood is easy to cut if the house wants any changes (bashing). Don't be afraid to make mistakes, they are learning opportunities. Do use a good carpenters' wood glue to assemble your dollhouse, NOT hot glue ( I like to use clear-drying tacky glue for the clear plastic window & door inserts). I think you will surprise yourself when you get it built & decorated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 OMG - everyone's work looks so gorgeous! I love the little garden shed and the kitchen. I can't wait for those to be done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid-life madness Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 4 hours ago, havanaholly said: Carrie, I still love the wallpaper! and your little butcher block island turned out very well! I'm looking forward to the "finished" kitchen (as much as any mini is ever done). Thank you Holly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaJane Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Instead of spending $22 on an adorable cloche I saw on Etsy I spent $874 on craft supplies to make my own, not quite as adorable one. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debsrand56 Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 9 minutes ago, AndreaJane said: Instead of spending $22 on an adorable cloche I saw on Etsy I spent $874 on craft supplies to make my own, not quite as adorable one. Too funny! And I don't know; it look pretty adorable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Love it, Andrea. And I know exactly what you're talking about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Miniature Madness Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 4 hours ago, AndreaJane said: Instead of spending $22 on an adorable cloche I saw on Etsy I spent $874 on craft supplies to make my own, not quite as adorable one. That sounds familiar! I think it's fantastic! And learning and making stuff yourself is so much more fun sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Miniature Madness Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 11 hours ago, Mid-life madness said: I'm painting my kitchen cabinets and other furniture for the room box. I am anxious to start The Laurel. I made the island butcher block out of Popsicle sticks and purchased the legs from Hobby Lobby pre-made stock. The cabinets are from a Realife miniatures kit that I modified.(Now I know why they recommended staining). The paint job is turning out awful, I mean rustic! I am having a blast and learning so much though!! Carrie I think they look very charming! The Reallife kits can be fussy but it is worth it for the $$. My badge photo are Reallife cabinets that I modified to make fit into my barn kitchen. I had a lot of fun with them, too! It gets very addicting, huh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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