Jump to content

Beginner - 1st dollhouse - Tennyson


jkortidis

Recommended Posts

Greetings, I bought the Tennyson kit in a garage sale. I have 2 young great granddaughters that I am planning to make very happy with this project. Also, my husband has been open to helping me learn how to build with wood. So this will be my first project and I'm excited!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome, Julie. What fun you'll have! If you have any questions, feel comfortable in asking. There is a wealth of experience available among forum members and it is freely shared. When you have made 5 posts, you can start an album with photos. Be sure to take lots of photos during the building/decorating process for your own reference as well as our edification.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome Julie...

My first piece of advice is to put the hot glue gun back in the cupboard...assemble bonding wood glue and my fav Quick Grip (3.97 at Walmart) - Clamps and tape are your friend and there is a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips within these forum... do take advantage of it, as a newbie, I certainly have. 

Good luck ...Have fun

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome Julie, and good luck with your Tennyson!

It's a great house with lots of possibilities; I've built one in 1:12 scale, bashed two in 1:24 scale, and have plans for another bash in 1:24. :)

the difficulty with the roof is that it doesn't have a lot of adhesion points, but if your hubby is experienced working with wood, he will be able to help (if only to lend those extra two hands Tracy is talking about!)

Have fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Boca1212 said:

Welcome Julie...

My first piece of advice is to put the hot glue gun back in the cupboard...assemble bonding wood glue and my fav Quick Grip (3.97 at Walmart) - Clamps and tape are your friend and there is a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips within these forum... do take advantage of it, as a newbie, I certainly have. 

Good luck ...Have fun

 

I think this advice should be part of the GLF banner!

Welcome Julie!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome Julie, you will have so much fun with this house. How old are the girls? My grandsons like the house I built for their sister so much, I had to build houses for them too. It's wonderful building for the grandchildren, and as they get older, they want to work right along with you!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the posts. I do not see the icon to  reply to each post individually. Maybe someone could help on that?

I started this project by reading a blog or two, checking out the forum and reading the instructions.

The instructions suggested taping it together first before using glue and I planned to do that. But, thanks for the reminder.

I'm currently punching out the pieces and it appears that a cutting instrument would be helpful for places where the cuts need a little assistance. I plan to investigate some craft stores and perhaps an x-acto knife? Any suggestions would be helpful here.

Also, I see (for the next step) cutting out furniture a Dremel Moto saw was used. I checked amazon and they have a $76 dollar model and a $400 one. Recommendations?

My granddaughters are 4 years and 3 months old. I think furnishings will be great for birthdays and holidays to come. Unfortunately they are in Oklahoma and I'm in Michigan so I plan to take the house with me (in pieces) on the train and assemble when I get there. Of course it could be so much fun that I never make it back to Michigan, lol.

All feedback is welcome!

Julie

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, jkortidis said:

Thanks for all the posts. I do not see the icon to  reply to each post individually. Maybe someone could help on that?

I started this project by reading a blog or two, checking out the forum and reading the instructions.

The instructions suggested taping it together first before using glue and I planned to do that. But, thanks for the reminder.

I'm currently punching out the pieces and it appears that a cutting instrument would be helpful for places where the cuts need a little assistance. I plan to investigate some craft stores and perhaps an x-acto knife? Any suggestions would be helpful here.

Also, I see (for the next step) cutting out furniture a Dremel Moto saw was used. I checked amazon and they have a $76 dollar model and a $400 one. Recommendations?

My granddaughters are 4 years and 3 months old. I think furnishings will be great for birthdays and holidays to come. Unfortunately they are in Oklahoma and I'm in Michigan so I plan to take the house with me (in pieces) on the train and assemble when I get there. Of course it could be so much fun that I never make it back to Michigan, lol.

All feedback is welcome!

Julie

We used to have a quote icon so I could reply to each of your queries individually, but I see that it has vanished somewhere in the last forum update or so, along with some of my albums.  To answer your first question, at the bottom left of the dialog box there are three buttons:  + (to quote multiple posts), Quote and Go to top^.  If you click on the + in each box you want to cite you will get a button to click on that will put all the quotes into your reply box where you can address each one.

I found my X-acto knife to be somewhat flimsy, especially the blades, for any heavy cutting of plywood.  I get much better results with my Stanley utility knife; plus the blades are sturdier and dirt cheap, relatively speaking.  I also use the utility knife for cutting out furniture parts I build from scratch.  When I do cut things with a saw I used DH's bandsaw or my little el cheapo mini table saw we got at Harbor Freight.

If you're going to Oklahoma from Michigan on the train you may wish to put all the kit pieces back into their box, tape it up, and wait until you get to OK to purchase your supplies for building it.  Then momma or daddy (or both) can help you build the kit (and possibly get them hooked) and whatever supplies you have left at home will be there for the houses you build for yourself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Julie, my grandchildren are 15 hours from me, so I know how it is to be a long way from the grandchildren.

When my granddaughter was little, (under four), I used to just buy those Disney Princess things for her house The furniture and dolls fit quite well, and it was made for little fingers. She was also into Tinkerbell, so I bought some of that for her too.

As she got older, (four and older), I bought some lots of not very good used furniture off of ebay, and fixed what needed fixing. That kept her busy for a few years, and if things got broken, it didn't matter. (Her younger brothers had access to her room, so she couldn't have nice things until recently).

Now that she is 11, I'm making HOM kits for her house, and when I was out there over Christmas, she and I along with the 6 and 9 year old boys were all making Fimo food and painting cheap furniture for the boys houses.

The grandchildren grow up really fast, and the four year old will probably want to help you decorate!

I really think I would make this house for the four year old though, and another one for the 3 month old later on. The four year old is getting old enough so she will be more careful with her house. She really is ready for some real, (fairly sturdy), furniture, but not if her younger sister is going to play with it too in a year or so, because a child who is around one, won't be ready for things a child who is around five is ready for, and it will be a problem if the younger one starts breaking things!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...