stickyfingers Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I have the Country living room, the entry hall, and the kitchen. I know I'll be using most of the pieces of the living room for the next build, so I thought I would just make the whole kit. My only dilemma is what stain color to use. I've been playing around with the Orchid interior today. Now that all of my minis are centrally located, it's easy to actually see what I have and what I don't. Funny, because a lot of the pieces that I bought specifically for that house just aren't working, but a lot of things I've just picked up along the way are. It's nice to have an assortment to choose from... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfingers Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 OK, speaking of assortments...Just placed an order on ebay the other day, and I do have a running list at HBS, who is having a 20% off sale right now. Then stumbled upon another craft site that has a lot of minis that I want. Oh my...Do you buy everything you want while it's on sale, or just buy for the next build? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 8 minutes ago, stickyfingers said: OK, speaking of assortments...Just placed an order on ebay the other day, and I do have a running list at HBS, who is having a 20% off sale right now. Then stumbled upon another craft site that has a lot of minis that I want. Oh my...Do you buy everything you want while it's on sale, or just buy for the next build? I try to keep my purchases down to just the current build. However, I have been known to stock up on wood trim, baseboards, crown moulding if it's on sale. I like having extra inventory of wood around because I also belong to a mini club and need random pieces for our projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfingers Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Sable, thank you for being the voice of reason! I just spent all of that time organizing stuff, so I clearly don't need more. I'll just stick with the current build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soapz Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Linda, my new year's resolution is to buy 'per room' - we'll see how that works.... I'm not that confident - hahahaha! I have so many houses now, several pieces of furniture and not a lot of them work together in a room. So, right now I'm trying to be a grown-up like Deb and find specific pieces that go into one room. Which doesn't mean I will say no to the occasional 'must-have' piece. And as Sable said - if there is a bargain on trim, mouldings or other building accessories - all bets are off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfingers Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Yes! And I need to sell off some things, too. I have pretty good luck finding treasures in ebay lots, but some times, there's just a few pieces in there I know I'll never use. It sure was hard to pass up those sale items, but some of those things are for builds far, far away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 as I have sorted I put stuff in one spot to find a home for them in the queen and I have been filling shelves and added these cute garden plaques from a by-gone swap to my kitchen set...it takes alot of stuff to make a house like that feel homey...lol.... also got out the aster and painted the inside every surface with the kilz....I wanted to do more yesterday but I got called away for grammy duties... I also have my swap idea and have started gathering my supplies to make the prototype... in case anyone is following the tales of the Dolls in my world...Lord and Lady GoodWill Love all the space but really feel it is far too much house for them and would like for me to redo the Mckinley and they would like to live there...Edna has left Dave for another room of the house and poor Dave is just ready to move back to the Arthur which really wasnt that fangled compared to this monstrosity...so please do get on with his new addition so he can leave this place with his wife!!! lol,, Truly... the house maid I recently aquired said she would keep the place fine for the builder of all the wee houses for the attic space.... to call her own... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I ordered a white wall unit to put my miniature glass I have collected over the yrs I have all my glass out and almost have them in a positions that make me happy.... I keep finding new things to put in it! the Queen has been evolving....also found a place for my pink princess phone lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie2 Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Yesterday the woman at the consignment store texted me to come down and look through a box of miniatures!!! They belonged to her mother and there were tons! She told me to take the box home and take what I wanted! A lot of it was tarnished and very old but I did pick out several tiny items that I liked. A funny thing, the furniture was a little too big for 1:12 scale but I am not sure what the scale would actually be. I didn't take any furniture because it was larger and kind of clunky. I am pleased about what I did find though. I am plugging along just started to paint trim. Not my favorite thing to do but a little at a time and soon I will be wondering how the house got itself built so fast! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claireliontamer Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'm still working on the roof tiles for my house. I have about a quarter of the roof done now. It's taking a while as I'm hand making the tiles from clay using a template but then trimming them all individually. I am liking the effect on the roof though so it'll be worth it in the end....... Another thing I'm trying to sort is some new storage units for my recent accumulations. The stuff laying around in boxes is beginning to annoy me. I really wish our house was large enough to have a dedicated craft room. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueirishmoon Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Started stitching a new mini carpet: Felicity Price's spring. You can see a picture of it here: http://www.felicityminiatures.co.uk/index.php?l=kits&t=13&p=0. Tomorrow I hope to get out to my garage glass workspace and grind some stained glass for a commission I've been working on. It's been too cold the last few weeks to work out there comfortably, but tomorrow it's supposed to get into the 60s, which will be great for that. The best range for working out there is between 50-75 degrees. So, autumn and spring, pretty much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 What a pretty pattern. Where will it go when finished? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I finished my roof! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claireliontamer Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Looks great Mike, any tips for the moss on the roof? That's on my list of things to do. I added a few more rows of roof tiles today too but most of the day has been taking up converting a cardboard box into a bakery with my daughter. She seems to have got the bug too! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 2 hours ago, claireliontamer said: Looks great Mike, any tips for the moss on the roof? That's on my list of things to do. I added a few more rows of roof tiles today too but most of the day has been taking up converting a cardboard box into a bakery with my daughter. She seems to have got the bug too! Thanks Claire, I use various pastels (dry) plain watercolours and railway modellers 'scenic grass'...........I start off with a flat (chalk paint) grey and after it dries I use water colours in watery streaks down the roof (nice thing with watercolours is being able to 'feather' and blend) again after drying i brush small areas with pastel and blend in.....lastly with a small brush I paint areas of PVA wood glue and powder with the scenic grass..............cracks between tiles and along tile edges. To fix it I usually use an artist's fixative but in this instance I've used a 'plain liquid polish' brushed on...........The advantage apart from fixing it is that after it dries you can selectively buff a slight sheen on small areas> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathi17 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 It does look wonderful Mike, and the moss looks so real! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 When I put moss on roofs I crumble up bits of florist's moss and mash it into glue globs where I want it. I also first dry brush a darker tone to indicate the moist areas where the moss is likely to grow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueirishmoon Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Thanks, Holly! I'm thinking it will eventually go in the cottage with the other rug I just finished. Maybe the dining area? I have one more rug to stitch up for that group, for the bedroom, since I'm shooting for lots of cream, yellow and blue, with maybe some darker wood in the bedroom and white painted stuff in the living room. I don't have much room to display or build houses right now, as space is at a premium. But, I figure, might as well work on my backlog of needlework since that's easy to store when done, and because it's not too comfortable out in the garage to do my glasswork. Looking good, Mike! Love those Tudors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfingers Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Mike, that house is turning out beautifully! Love the roof! I've been busy with all sorts of projects! Working on a full sized upholstery project, for the Orchid- got a small kitchen table finished and recovered a bunch of books. I found a scrap of fabric to make seat cushions for some HOM chairs in the living room. I did manage to botch my Chrysnbon bathroom kit...was spray painting, and got tired and in a rush, overcoated, and now it's just a sticky mess. It'll have to cure for a good while before I can sand it down and start over. Rats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbnmini Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 On 1/23/2016 8:08:02, stickyfingers said: OK, speaking of assortments...Just placed an order on ebay the other day, and I do have a running list at HBS, who is having a 20% off sale right now. Then stumbled upon another craft site that has a lot of minis that I want. Oh my...Do you buy everything you want while it's on sale, or just buy for the next build? oh dear- when HBS has a sale I can get myself in a lot of trouble! LOL Generally I try to keep my list to my current rehab, but do like to keep a good stash of strip wood, baseboard and crown mouldings on hand. I finally made some progress on my Victorian Farmhouse this past weekend! I thought I would do a lot the weekend of the snowstorm, but instead managed to find a dozen little projects around the house that were begging to get done! So this weekend I stained the roof, put finishing touches on the porch, installed the front door and the second window and window box. The stair treads are stained, varnished and glued on...and the handrail is stained. Just need to varnish it and paint the spindles. I also managed to make a decision on the kitchen wall! I have this habit of stalling when I come up against a difficult situation...had totally finished the kitchen when the client tells me she wants a stairway installed. Ok, but that meant that I had to rip out the wall, move the door opening and re-cut the beadboard and trims for the kitchen. I had no more beadboard or wallpaper so I was a little stumped as to how I was going to handle this change....well, I finally kicked myself in the butt, made a decision and am moving forward with the changes! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie2 Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Painting and painting and painting trim....you know how it goes... Nice job on the whole house Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathi17 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I'm still working on the HOM Broken Bonnet Highboy. I've only had a couple of hours most evenings to work on it, and it has a ton of drawers, so it's taking a while, but it's looking very nice! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I finally got all the glass waxy tacked in place on my unit...HAPPINESS! found a small curio that would hold one of the larger pieces.... I also found copper pots and other items for the kitchen....tomorrow I am turning it around to take the Christmas greens off....not sure what I will add to it before I return it to facing the street but Im sure Ill find something.... my swap prototype got a thumbs up so now to make 10 more....lol....couple things I will change....but in all it turned out how I imagined and I cant wait to have them all completed! how fun! Deb and I had a mini day and had planned spending it shopping at Auntie Em's miniatures unfortunately the city of Glendale was having issues with their power and our store had none...snif! so we had lunch and spent the afternoon making lovely plans for the Queen! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathi17 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 That is so disappointing to plan a trip to a mini shop, and have the power go out, but I'm glad you had fun anyway. I'm so glad you are getting the queen all set up. Decorating dollhouses is so much fun, and she's a beauty! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I'm putting the final touches on the cutting exercise for our mini club, this evening. I had noticed that some of our most creative and talented members can't properly mitre corners. Also, we have new members that are just getting started so this little exercise should be a benefit to many. Millimeters and tenth of inches matter when making perfect cuts. I'm going to explain the importance of properly measuring and making allowances for the 'kerf' of the saw blade. Assuming that always cutting down the middle of your measurement line can lead to extra sanding or worse too short of a piece of trim. I hope my presentation goes well. Wish me luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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