New to dollhouses and blogging

[Dollhouse Novice]

I bought a Greenleaf Harrison in 2009 and spent 3 months building the shell. I got really stuck when it came to the roof and it got put away in a spare room. Well, my kids are grown and I have more time, energy, and money to indulge my newly discovered hobby. When my son returned from his time in the military he asked about the house and I explained why I never finished it. His response was that he would help with the roof but we had to add electricity. Well the idea took off and now has a mind of it's own!. I pulled out the dollhouse, set up my work area and started cruising dollhouse sites for wallpaper and lights and flooring and trim and about a million other items. I started looking for building guides and I stumbled onto a blog and this led to here. I have never been on a blog and am a little unsure of what to do but I am looking forward to learning about blogging along with building my dollhouse.

I am in the process of learning to wire and choosing wallpaper and along the way I decided to buy another dollhouse for my granddaughter (she is 6 and does not have the patience to wait years for me to finish mine!). So, now I am in the process of building 2 houses-hers is going much quicker because it is much smaller and not as elaborate. I bought her a Real Good Toys (The Orchid) and she is helping me with building it.

Looking forward to getting ideas and guidance...

Dollhouse Novice

[rodentraiser]

Welcome to the forum, Cheryl!

If you have any questions at all, never hesitate to ask. People here are very knowledgeable and will help you in any way they can.

 

[havanaholly]

Welcome to the little family, Cheryl.  How wonderful so mini of your family are interested din helping you!  I didn't know that Real Good Toys Also made an Orchid kit.  Corona Concepts, which is owned by Greenleaf, makes an Orchid kit that I have built twice (so far).  This site is a forum, not "a blog", so navigating may or may not be easier; there are blogs on the forum, as well as galleries, and when you have made five posts you can share pictures of your Harrison and the Orchid.

[armymom166]

Welcome, Cheryl! I look forward to seeing pictures of your houses.

[Dollhouse Novice]

Ooops! The Orchid dollhouse kit I bought is a Corona. I am so sorry!!! The addition I bought to add on to the Harrison is from Real Good Toys. 

I know it seems overly ambitious to put an addition on my first attempt at building a dollhouse but I wanted more rooms and I wanted to keep the large Harrison rooms as they are for their size. So, I have added a 2 story addition to the right side (when looking from the back) so that I can have an really, really large kitchen and a library next to my dining room.

I am in the process of planning the electrical tape. I was having real problems drawing what I want to do on paper so I am taking pictures instead. I was also having problems with the pencil marks so I have started using cotton thread (the kind you use to make doilies) as it stretches less than yarn. I cut lengths of the thread and taped it to the bare walls. I am using a green thread and it shows up nicely. So far, it is working and it allows me to make plans, think on them for a day or two and then change as I need to.

[havanaholly]

Cheryl, Greenleaf also makes the Corona Concepts kits.

[amyole]

Welcome, Cheryl. Your granddaughter will love the Orchid, it is an enchanting house - and how fun that she will be able to see it as it is built. I have a Harrison that needs to be put together... I bought it a few years ago and it was mostly put together with hot glue, so I dismantled it & someday will get to it. Keep us posted on your builds!

[AlliBerry]

Hi y'all

My first dollhouse is the The Orchid, Im still stuck in the beginning, putting the door together.   I feel not so smart.   The parts im supposed to punch out just don't look like they'll end up like the picture.   Anyone perfectionists out there scared to mess up like me? Any clearer instructions ? 

Thanks! 

 

[mesp2k]

Hi Alexis!  

Do you have the newer instructions (.pdf)? click here

[havanaholly]

Alexis, it's OK to post your own intro.  Why do you feel it necessary to be a perfectionist?  It stifles creativity.  Forge ahead, make whatever mistakes you're going to make anyway and fix them; thereby learning all sorts of useful stuff.

[L Swearengin]

3 hours ago, havanaholly said:

Alexis, it's OK to post your own intro.  Why do you feel it necessary to be a perfectionist?  It stifles creativity.  Forge ahead, make whatever mistakes you're going to make anyway and fix them; thereby learning all sorts of useful stuff.

I'm so glad to know it's ok to make mistakes.    I think there is one one every house I've built.

[KathieB]

4 hours ago, L Swearengin said:

I'm so glad to know it's ok to make mistakes.    I think there is one one every house I've built.

Just one?  Or are you like me and call the little bloopers challenges instead of mistakes?  

[havanaholly]

2 hours ago, KathieB said:

Just one?  Or are you like me and call the little bloopers challenges instead of mistakes?  

I call them learning opportunities :D

[Mimajo]

 

5 hours ago, KathieB said:

Just one?  Or are you like me and call the little bloopers challenges instead of mistakes?  

Hey, I just say, that's the way I wanted it to look, lol.

[AlliBerry]

Thank you all!   Havanaholly im not sure what you mean by posting my own intro, my apologies.   

In most of the utube videos I've watched, the house was set up first and then they did the windows, doors, etc.   Is that an easier way? 

[havanaholly]

1 hour ago, AlliBerry said:

Thank you all!   Havanaholly im not sure what you mean by posting my own intro, my apologies.   

In most of the utube videos I've watched, the house was set up first and then they did the windows, doors, etc.   Is that an easier way? 

You can click on the "Start New Topic" button to post your own introduction, rather than hitching onto someone else's intro.

I always read through the instructions a couple of times, and then begin by putting the pieces together with masking tape or painters' tape first (called "dry fitting", because no glue is used), to see how the house goes together, and whether that way will work for me, or if another way might work better for me.  I usually wait to install the doors and windows, but when I'm going to make my own working doors and windows, as I did on my farmhouse build (click on my username to go to my profile page, click on "Albums" and the farmhouse build is the first album in the list) I go ahead and trace around the openings on the wall pieces before gluing them together.  If there are places I won't be able to fit my hands into to decorate after the house is glued together, I can see that during the dry fit, and mask off any areas I will want to glue; I never use hot glue, in spite of the instructions; I use Probond, Titebond, or some other brand of good carpenter's wood glue to glue bare wood to bare wood.  I use flat white interior latex paint or gesso to prime with, and if the wood won't sand smooth I spread a very thin coat of spackle over the wood first and sand that and let it dry thoroughly before painting or hanging wall coverings.  I trace around the door & window openings and mask them with tape, prime, remove the tape and do wall treatments, then trim away any excess where I'm going to glue on trims.  For me it's easier to install windows and doors after I've decorated; other people hang their doors and windows first.  There are no hard, fast, rules per se; it's whatever works for the person doing the building.

It is OK to make mistakes.  Wood is a very forgiving medium.

[Dollhouse Novice]

Holly,

Thank you so much for the great advice to Alexis about how you approach building. Your comments were enlightening. It is hard for me to break tradition and not follow the directions, however, you comments are so sensible. I put the windows on the Orchid and then had to take off the interior ones as I wanted to try wallpapering the upper floors before putting the shell together.

On my Harrison I am wallpapering after putting in the electrical tape wire and I wanted to try a different method with the Orchid. I love that I am putting 2 houses together as it lets me try different methods to see what works for me. Also, I can make more mistakes on the Orchid because it will be a play house and my Granddaughter is enchanted with everything we do.

More later on my electrical project.

[havanaholly]

Thanks, Cheryl. I've been doing this for nearly 25 years, and since I believe we learn from our mistakes you may correctly assume I have made my share (and probably a few other people's share, too).  I "discovered" dry fitting because I didn't understand the instructions on a kit, even after the third reading.  Now I don't wait until the third time reading them, I just start in with the tape roll after I've read them once.

[Dollhouse Novice]

I have been working on the electrical tape and I discovered a big boo-boo. I read somewhere that you should put enough tape wire in the house so you can add extra lights or sockets in the future, so I put in a lot! Well...no one ever said "Make sure the tape is not on both sides of the wall in the same spot!" Why? Because, when you put in the eyelets on one side of the wall you break the connection on the other side of the wall! Luckily I only did this on one wall where my addition is attached and I ran tape on the inside of the house and the outside of the house to reach the addition wall which is not flush with the back of the dollhouse. Then I had to order more tape and wait for it to arrive. Now, I am working on fixing my mistake. Luckily, it is not hard to remove the eyelets.

I have found it is easy to make holes for the eyelets using the bit from Cir-Kit in my Dremel to drill holes. Im areas that are just a wee bit too small for my Dremel I have been able to angle the Dremel slightly, the eyelets still go in fairly easy and the test lights let's me know the connection is good.

I have crossed the fingers on both hands and toes on both feet in the hope that all works when I am done!

[Simon Williams]

Hi Everyone

I'm new to this website and really struggling to navigate around it (image sizes required are smaller than I can make them; confusing layout etc). Can anyone help point me in the direction of a guide or "how to" please?

thanks

Simon

[havanaholly]

Simon, it's quite acceptable to post your own introduction.  In addition to the Newcomers' forum this section ("The Front Office") contains the forums "" and "Technical Support", where if you can't find the answers to your questions, the tech folks are likelier to see and answer them directly.

[rodentraiser]

Simon, just go to the top left hand corner of this page and under 'Browse', you'll see 'Forums'. Click that and you should find a page that gives you all the sections of this forum. There you'll see New Member Introductions and if you scroll a little further down, you'll see 'General Mini Talk'.

Here is a link that will take you to a site where you can resize your pictures:

http://www.online-image-editor.com/

If you have problems using that, you can PM me for help. To PM me, just hover over my username on the upper left hand side of this post and you'll see a box come up. At the bottom of the box is the 'Message' icon. You can click that to send me a message.

 

[Dollhouse Novice]

Ok, I have been plugging along as best as I can, making mistakes (ur..challenging situations) and for the most part figuring them out through trial and error. However, I have questions and am not sure where to post them. I have some building questions that are not specific to one house. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Do I go to a specific area (another spot on this blog site) or can I post them here? If I post them here how do people see them and respond? Do I need to check in (in a specific spot) on a regular basis. I am not so good with browsing on social sites and would really like some advice. Should I just keep posting on the newbie site? I am a rule follower and really hesitate to do something if it is not done the "correct" way. Can I show my ignorance and state that I don't really understand how a blog works? Any help would be greatly appreciated?

Just sign me on as,

Eagerly wanting to participate but not sure what to do

[Sable]

Go ahead and post your questions here. Then your questions and answers will all be in one thread.

 

[KathieB]

2 hours ago, Dollhouse Novice said:

Hi Cheryl, and welcome to the forum!

Ok, I have been plugging along as best as I can, making mistakes (ur..challenging situations) and for the most part figuring them out through trial and error. However, I have questions and am not sure where to post them. I have some building questions that are not specific to one house. Can anyone point me in the right direction?  Do I go to a specific area (another spot on this blog site) or can I post them here?

Questions not relating to a specific house or brand should be posted in the General Mini Talk Forum. Look at the list of Topics to get an idea of what goes where. When you start a new topic, be as specific as you can in the title, so others will have an idea of the content, like "Help needed with shingling" or "What kind of paint is best?", etc. If you post them here, some members who don't check the newcomers thread regularly (like me, sorry to admit) may not see them.

If I post them here how do people see them and respond? Do I need to check in (in a specific spot) on a regular basis. I am not so good with browsing on social sites and would really like some advice. Should I just keep posting on the newbie site? I am a rule follower and really hesitate to do something if it is not done the "correct" way.

You might want to add some information in this thread, like where you live, what house you're working on, how you got interested in miniatures, etc.  In general, the threads can be described as an on-going conversation among members. We try to keep on topic, but sometimes we get a bit off  the path. We're an easy-going bunch and don't get too hung up about it.

Also, keep in mind three things --

1.  everyone here was a novice at one time. It won't be long until you're offering advice based on what you've learned dealing with your challenges. 
2.  there is no right way to do something; One of the beauties of sharing information in a forum like this is that members share how they've approached a challenge. Of the variety of suggestions offered, the right way is the way that feels right to you.
3. there's no "mistake" that can't be fixed -- none. Keep in mind that. like a magician, we work with smoke and mirrors. If it LOOKS good, it is good. 

Can I show my ignorance and state that I don't really understand how a blog works? Any help would be greatly appreciated?

A blog is different from a forum. This is a forum, where there are many participants who interact with one another. A blog is a website written by one person. A blog can have a comments section, but it is more like a monolog than a conversation. If you click on my signature line below, you'll go to my personal blog as as example. 

Just sign me on as,

Eagerly wanting to participate but not sure what to do

Poke around the website, try out the Search feature for past information on specific questions, feel free to ask anything.  (See #1 above  ) It won't be long until you feel comfortable here.