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Sugarplum exterior help needed


MLI Designs

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Hi y'all, was hoping you could give me some advice.

I'm working on the Sugarplum and would like to create a stone and brick exterior facade. Been researching trying to see what would be the best way to go about this. I've used sculpey in the past to created a stone fireplace but this is rather large scale for sculpey. 

Ive read several methods, one being cardboard egg boxes. 

I extended the front overhang a bit by the door so I could build out a starburst in wood beams. 

Can anyone recommend or give advice on how to achieve a realistic stone exterior?

also another quick questions. Has anyone added a small kitchenette in this model?

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The best way to answer your question is to link you to our own Tracy Topps' (aka Minis on the Edge) album:  http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=gallery&module=gallery&controller=browse&album=197 and let you study our own Queen of Paperclay's stonework on her Sugarplums.  I have built this kit twice and used spackle for the "stucco" infill.  I only used the chipboard "timbering" once; the net time I went with strip wood and basswood and I was much happier with the results.  It is possible to add anything you want to any kit.

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Hi Michelle, I've never done any stonework either, other than stone and brick with stencils for DuraCraft dollhouse foundations.

Any day now, my Japanese dollhouse should get here, and I'm definitely going to try some stone on that, so I will be learning right along with you!

It's a little bit scary when we try a new technique, but it will be exciting!

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@havanaholly okay,  I can't take all the fantabulous work. Just incredible. So this is paper lay they are working with? Is it like sculpey and needs to be baked? Do you know how the paper clay attaches to wood structure?

@kathi17 yes, we can learn together. I've been researching a lot about this and there are so many ways to achieve this look. I just watched a video of a guy who uses foam board to build out stone walls. It looks fantastic and is light weight. I'm going to hobby lobby today to get some foam boards and paper lay to experiment. I'll share my observations too.

 

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The paper clay doesn't have to be baked, so it would be much better to use than Sculpey. It also weighs almost nothing, and is fun to work with!

I'm still trying to decide whether to use that, egg cartons, or some other method. I'm going to have to decide really soon though, because my house could be here any day now and I'm going to use stone in one of the first rooms I make! (The dollhouse I'm getting is built modularly, one room at a time).

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Just now, havanaholly said:

I seems to me that omewhere in her blog Tracy explains ll sorts of tech-type info about working with paper clay.

I need to go to her blog, because I think she does too.

In the meantime, I found a good Pinterest board:

https://www.pinterest.com/vandaecv/dollhouse-floors-tiles-stone-and-brick/

With lots of links.

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@bluebear excellent. Thank you for the link.

can you tell me...do you all decrease the size of your photos so you can upload? Or do you use storage elsewhere? 

I had some fun foam board in the house so did a quick experiment. Want to share it. Not bad at all. Although for my stone work I think I'm going to use the paperclay

 

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Here we go. Pictures uploaded.

I found this guy on YouTube that dos stone work with foam board. I had some in my Craftroom so I figured let me play. Of course once it's all shaded it will look better but honestly it's easy peasy.

not too shabby. I can see a lot of possibilities for other miniatures with foam board. 

 

Im still going with the paperclay though. Think that will give me more creativity and a realistic stone facade. 

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

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That's looking excellent already Michelle!  The Sugarplum is a sweet little house and a lot of fun to build.  In one of your earlier posts you asked if anyone had installed a kitchen into this house.  Because it's a cottage, the room dimensions inside are a little smaller than the bigger dollhouses so larger pieces of 1:12 furniture tend to overwhelm it.   I think that most dollhouse kitchen pieces would be a teeny bit too large for it, however, Hobby Lobby has small, unfinished cabinets and chests of drawers that are on the small side of the 1:12 scale for furniture.  I've discovered that they are perfect for converting into kitchen cabinets, stoves, and sinks when one needs to customize a kitchen for a smaller room.  That might be helpful to you as you start to decorate your Sugarplum.  

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I think adding the spackle mixed with the paint color you want the grout to be on your Chimney breast can give you a wonderful effect too! I wish I had pictures of it now, but I did this on a Primrose and had photos in my webshots albums before they closed. It came out really nice! I then used a thin paint wash color on the stones. It was a year before I took a class with Rik. 

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