rodentraiser Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Problem for me is, when I do my happy dance, it's usually on the grave of a house that was being recalcitrant. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minikelli Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 Have to say Kathi and Nutti, you both voiced how I approach my builds so well! I've gotten so lucky to befriend and see so many artisans in miniature on facebook -- and admittedly, getting to see the results of their work just makes me strive to reach that level I can be truly happy with in my own. I know it's a hobby, but it's also now allowing me to make minis and get requests to make more that people want to buy. Sooo, basically I will always try for the absolute best result I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minikelli Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Well so far for the night I've got the majority of brick stencil applied to all the parts of the Brownstone that needed it. Currently waiting on some Gesso to dry on the front door to even out where there were a few spots of the original plastic coating missing -- then am thinking it will be getting a distinct glossy black to it. Hoping it will turn out as sharply as I have it pictured in my mind. Other news in regards to mini-ing tonight, I pulled out a Beechwood Cottage that had been gotten pretty cheaply at a yard sale a couple of years ago. It was already put together and papered... but tonight I've every intention to get before pics(which will show how dusty and neglected the poor thing is) and then go after it with a heat gun to take off the shingles and really get it gutted to start over on it! Not sure why it is I seem to do better when I've multiple projects going, but I do believe in the sincere power of being able to bounce from one project to the next while waiting for different parts and pieces of one to dry! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 You might be happier with a satin black, rather than a gloss, for your door. It has been my experience that gloss doesn't look good in mini. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minikelli Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Typically I would completely agree with that Holly. In this case though where the rest of the front facade has the brick and stone look to it, I really want to draw the viewer in... I find if used in moderation, a gloss finish can actually work really well in miniature, and do just what I'm hoping for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 3 hours ago, minikelli said: Typically I would completely agree with that Holly. In this case though where the rest of the front facade has the brick and stone look to it, I really want to draw the viewer in... I find if used in moderation, a gloss finish can actually work really well in miniature, and do just what I'm hoping for. I tend to agree. While satin finish is better for larger areas (walls, both inside and outside, floors, roofs, etc.), a gloss finish can really pop when used as detail. In small areas, the surface irregularities aren't as noticeable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 I ill be ery interested to see the finished results. I think a small bit of dark gloss might prove an exception to the rule, and I'd love to see the effect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfingers Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 I have progress to report!! I spent the entire morning scraping and sanding and fiddling with ONE SECTION of the exterior of the yellow house. Hours. Still not nearly done with that, got frustrated, and decided to do something that I actually could finish. So...two of the four sides of the exterior are completely cleaned, repaired, and ready for primer!!! It was the two "easy" sides that needed the least amount of work, but still. I only had to repair a few splits and cracks on those sections, and the Testors glue worked great for that. I am amazed at the sloppy finishing that was done on the house. It really didn't look that bad at first glance, but wow, is there ever a lot of glue blobs, paint runs, and smears of who knows what. I hope to get the other semi-easy side done tomorrow, then all that will be left is the front, which is a hot mess. I haven't done anything else to the interior. I really do think that fireplace wall will have to come out and be redone, because the angle for the stairs is off, and it will probably be easier to just start from scratch. The interior needs a few more pieces of new poster board, and then I think I might be ready to prime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 I went up to Lisa's today for the first time in a while so we could work on the Glencrofts and we got.........absolutely nothing done. Neither of us really felt up to doing anything. Lisa isn't feeling well and I was just feeling totally unenergetic. About the only thing I did was make a final decision on the Glencroft staircase. I still haven't decided the style of my Glencroft, but I'm putting in two center halls, upstairs and down, putting a tiny little staircase in the center hall downstairs, and making the bathroom into two rooms: a small bedroom and a smaller bathroom. The area where the original staircase went will now be part of the living room and I'll be taking out that inside wall past the fireplace. That means finangling some beams across the ceiling to keep the floor above from sagging in that far corner. I also have to shift the front door over a quarter inch and cut another doorway into the upstairs divider wall, now that it's glued securely in, of course. So my little Glencroft is going to be home for a family of 4, parents and two boys, and I haven't yet decided whether or not I want to put a crib in the parents room. And I'm considering making the Glencroft into a Tuscan house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 23 hours ago, stickyfingers said: I have progress to report!! I spent the entire morning scraping and sanding and fiddling with ONE SECTION of the exterior of the yellow house. Hours. Still not nearly done with that, got frustrated, and decided to do something that I actually could finish. So...two of the four sides of the exterior are completely cleaned, repaired, and ready for primer!!! It was the two "easy" sides that needed the least amount of work, but still. I only had to repair a few splits and cracks on those sections, and the Testors glue worked great for that. I am amazed at the sloppy finishing that was done on the house. It really didn't look that bad at first glance, but wow, is there ever a lot of glue blobs, paint runs, and smears of who knows what. I hope to get the other semi-easy side done tomorrow, then all that will be left is the front, which is a hot mess. I haven't done anything else to the interior. I really do think that fireplace wall will have to come out and be redone, because the angle for the stairs is off, and it will probably be easier to just start from scratch. The interior needs a few more pieces of new poster board, and then I think I might be ready to prime. Linda, I think that's the reason I've decided not to do any more rehab on dollhouses. I don't mind getting a kit and working on it, but I just don't have the patience anymore for fixing someone else's mistakes. Of course, I say that now, but........ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thresadep Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 What's everyone working on? While playing an online game, i got 3 strips of stone work done. ( picture on my san fran blog) I made a template on poster board then glues the stones to it. Then I can glue the entire strip to my foundation. That is the plan. (first time doing this.) Hopefully it works. *fingers crossed* Rest of my morning was spent tweaking the tower. Checking and fixing any gaps, cutting wallpaper, checking paint and gluing bits together. Off tomorrow. Just need to get groceries then plan on spending the day working on dollhouse. Its getting near finished, So excited!! Not looking forward to the shingles. That's going to be a bit tedious. Plan on doing some then break off to something else. Figure too with some good tunes on, it will be a breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 If it makes you feel better, Thresa, I saw a picture of a seaside shingled house in one of the old magazines I got. The caption said there were over 5000 shingles on that house. Can you imagine not only having to shingle the roof but shingle the outside walls as well? And over 5000 of them? That's when I decided my someday beach house would be board and batten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thresadep Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 7 minutes ago, rodentraiser said: If it makes you feel better, Thresa, I saw a picture of a seaside shingled house in one of the old magazines I got. The caption said there were over 5000 shingles on that house. Can you imagine not only having to shingle the roof but shingle the outside walls as well? And over 5000 of them? That's when I decided my someday beach house would be board and batten. Count my blessings...Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Today we got our weekend tickets for the upcoming Miniatura show in NEC, Birmingham, Phew!!! Last piece needed to get all of the necessary bookings and reservations confirmed hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minikelli Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Haven't done a whole lot today, as very simply I'm running on empty. Managed a night with no sleep and am ready to drop at this point! Enough whining about that though, as I've had coffee in hand most of the day. lol I did manage to get my first coat of paint on my shutters and exterior door -- and all I can say is wow does it ever make a difference! I've got three of my five windows done, and taped one in to see how it would look with the black of the shutters to frame it. I LOVE it! I also finally got my resin on my third floor to look how I was wanting, a lot more level and shiny now as well. Last but not least removed some of the quoin stones I had applied on the sides of the front panel, and decided to just have them on the front of the facade. Main reason for this they would interfere with the opening and closing(most specifically the latch)... soo off they came, and decided to do something else on the sides. That's all it's getting from me today though, as I don't want to work on it while I'm yawning every other moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickyfingers Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 I don't know, Kelly. I kind of see it as six of one, half a dozen of the other. If I was building from a kit, I'd spend hours sanding and dry fitting and fiddling anyway, so...Besides, it's an unusual house. If it were small and common, I don't know if I would bother. I got some sad news last Friday, so it was kind of nice and meditative to spend all of those hours alone and picking at it. I started repairing some of the missing plastic mouldings, and so far, so good. For the rounded mouldings, I cut a piece of dowel the right width, glued it in and let that dry, then used layers of wood filler to build up the profile. Looks pretty good so far! Only 5 more to go! For small bits that are missing, I'm using the Testor's contour putty, thin layers with sanding in between coats. It's slow going, but I think I can restore all of the details. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 I guess I don't have to tell you how impatient I get with sanding and dry fitting, too, do I? I'm too impatient to even try reading the instructions. When it came to the Glencroft, I just grabbed it and started gluing it together. Sanding? Dry fitting? What's that? LOL Well, the aforementioned Glencroft came home with me on Sunday and the Arthur is going with me to Lisa's this week. For some reason I am just dragging, not wanting to work on the Glencroft. I really want to work on the Arthur, so bringing that to Lisa's may jump start my enthusiasm again. It's now decided the Glencroft will be a little French cottage and I'm putting a center hallway on both floors. Lisa offered me a staircase from her 333 Franklin Street house (she has two of them). It's only 1 1/2" wide, perfect for that narrow center hall. So my homework this week is to put together the staircase, cut out the new stairwell for it, and make the second dividing wall for the Glencroft, Actually, now that I think about it, I have to make two new dividing walls and then glue all three of them in. Joy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Miniature Madness Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Kelly remember that this is supposed to be fun! If you're not having fun, do something else until your excitement comes back. I have paused work on the Creatin' Conyest build for a few days to make a couple photo walls and some kit furniture for general use. I just needed a little break, and that is okay! Good luck with the stair opening and dividing walls! I hope they go so well that you get inspired again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Thanks, I think. LOL Lisa and I have decided the only way we want to have fun with the dollhouses is when we go to put the furniture in to play with them. For everything else, we'd like to hire someone else to have all the other fun, like putting the house together, wiring it, decorating it..... Anyhoo, I got the stairs finished finally, all except the top step. The last step is too short, which means I'm going to have to cut the back of the staircase stringers down a bit. I'll do that when I've had some sleep and something to eat. Did I have fun doing this? Yes, because I was watching our maintenance guy balance on my window sill three stories up to put in some new blinds. I'm glad I didn't have the excitement of seeing him fall. That would have finished me off for good. My nerves are still on edge. But the blinds are beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minikelli Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Glad to hear the blinds went up without much issue for you and the maintenance man! For myself today, I've still been working on applying the Magic Brik stencil on my Brownstone project. When I was getting tired of that task, I went out and did another coat of lacquer on my MacKenzie Childs decoupaged house. Another house done with techniques I've not tried before -- but truly having fun with it so far! Not to mention, it's probably never going to have the issue of coming apart with my putting it together with both glue and nails. lol Going to pull out my Paper clay here in a few moments and go out with my pup to the shop and see about finishing up the brick on the back of the Brownstone where I ran out of my sheets of plastic bricks... hoping I do as well as I have pictured in my mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 still painting the Queen....I have the right side completed...and I am loving it!! I think I have finally decided what to do with the tower room....it is going to be a time capsule... I am going to print and put on USB all the photos I took of her when I got her and as she evolves into something to be passed down...my daughter who doesnt LOVE dollhouses has already stated I should sell the unloved MHM....and that she and/or her own daughter would be keeping the Queen...so fill it up with wonderful goodies mom.... and what better goodie then some house/family history... my hubby is very excited about the idea has already suggested a 3d version of myself hanging out in the attic...lol...he is funny but I did like the idea.... Wedding fun is starting on Sunday...I hope to get a big push to done or real close to it on the Queens paint job before then.... if you dont see me...you know why! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 OK, I had a brain fart. Which one is the MHM? I am not feeling too hot, but because I always feel better in the morning than I do in the evening when I'm sick, I'm going to make hay while the sun shines. First thing I have to do is go pick up those book from the library. Then I want to work on the Glencroft and get a stairwell put in the second floor. I might even get pictures if all goes well, but as I am an eternal pessimist, let's not count on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 26 minutes ago, rodentraiser said: OK, I had a brain fart. Which one is the MHM?... Dura-Craft's Marquam Hill Mansion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I slapped a coat of satin-finish polyacrylic on the roof of the pottery shop, stained the bits of the Halloween swap that needed staining and have some polyclay softening in my bra for the swap items. Feels good to have some miniatures in hand again. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Miniature Madness Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 48 minutes ago, KathieB said: I slapped a coat of satin-finish polyacrylic on the roof of the pottery shop, stained the bits of the Halloween swap that needed staining and have some polyclay softening in my bra for the swap items. Feels good to have some miniatures in hand again. Or in boobs, right? LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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