Project Updates - PROGRESS!

[Kells]

Well, my museum project has turned into quite a bear so that's going back to the end of the line for a while. The rooms must be larger to handle displays, so essentially the whole danged thing is going to have to be dismantled and re-built. I ain't up for that right now. It'll happen, just not now. With that out of the way, I dragged out a couple others and have made some encouraging progress.

The first is an old Dutch gambrel. I think it's a Batrie from the 70s but I've never seen another like it. Someone gave this to me and I thought, "Whee, I can re-create Gran-Gran's house!" That would be my great-grandmother. I've been thinking of her a lot lately. Lovely, lovely woman. Funny, encouraging, full of life, always humming or singing. She taught me the joys of simple things like a beautiful sunset or snapping green beans from her garden; a simplicity of life my mother and grandmother cast off early and were none the happier for doing. Gran-gran was really the last full-on practicing Quaker in a long line stretching back to their emigration from the Netherlands to Newport in 1750.

If you'd like a peaceful Quaker interlude, here are a couple of her favorites that I've been singing all day while scraping and sanding, with her singing harmony in my head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M5WuDfwuC4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkNu0oM1HZY

Anyway, this dollhouse is sorta-kinda similar. Enough to pass anyway. But oy, what a disaster this thing is. Painted multiple times over the decades, it's globbed up so badly that sanding my arms off didn't make one ounce of difference.

Enter paint stripper. Tested that out today and yikes, what a dummy I didn't just go that route first! That stuff is coming off effortlessly. I'm finally getting a usable blank slate to work with.

Problem number two is that the window and door openings won't take standard-sized components. I am NOT building windows and doors from scratch! The wood is not only hard, it is 3/4" thick. Sandpaper? Dremel grinder? Nope, they didn't work. Rasping by hand, however, does. Right now my wrists are colluding with my blisters to commit mutiny, but by god I got a door and window to fit! Now on to all the rest.

I've been back and forth on this one. Alternately going to town on it one minute and the next thinking, "WHERE'S THE NEAREST DUMPSTER?!!" I'll try to post pictures as I go along. The exterior won't be exact, such as the dollhouse has a center door instead of on the side. Gotta work with what I got but I think it's going to end up pretty close! Below is my inspiration pic.

Second post coming up, my concurrent project and one you might find more interesting. I really, really risked ruining quite a nice house this afternoon. Stay tuned to find out what happened when I decided to jump in feet first and finally just go for it.

[Kells]

SECOND PROJECT!

In another thread about the weight of paperclay and bricking an entire house, I ended up wondering aloud if one could cover up milled-in siding and then do paperclay bricking. I decided to just go for it and find out for myself. Well, I think it's gonna work!

I knew the sharp edges of the clapboarding had to be softened before I attempted to spackle. A sanding block or a palm sander weren't going to work, so it was off to Harbor Freight for me. "Merry Christmas to me," I said when I got home and handed a belt sander to the hubs. Like a kid with a new toy, his eyes lit up and I could swear I heard him shout, "GIGGITY!" as he ran off to give it a try.

With almost no effort and in the span of less than an hour, the shell of that house is smooth as glass. The clapboard be gone! Tomorrow or the next day, I'll hit it with the spackle. Let that cure, sand smooth, see if it needs another coat . . . then let the fun begin!

You'll likely be familiar with the house. First pic is what it's supposed to look like. Beautiful, but it's been done.

Second pic is what I am going to do it. HEE! I'm giddy. Springfield turns into the French Quarter. We'll see if I can pull this off.

 

[havanaholly]

In a fit of realism the hubs located his belt sander next to my workbench in the workshop.  I have been a fan for many years!.

[NellBell]

 Merry Christmas to me," I said when I got home and handed a belt sander

Thanks Kelly  so much for sharing. I have this house already built. I bought it a few weeks ago and want to make it more French . So siding has to go . Now I know what to do. Also I'm change that to small front door.

I so love your French Quarter house too.

[Kells]

27 minutes ago, NellBell said:

 Merry Christmas to me," I said when I got home and handed a belt sander

Thanks Kelly  so much for sharing. I have this house already built. I bought it a few weeks ago and want to make it more French . So siding has to go . Now I know what to do. Also I'm change that to small front door.

I so love your French Quarter house too.

Can you remove the windows and doors? I don't think a belt sander could work its way around those. You are going to be thrilled with how simple this was, and how effective. There are a few minor areas of (very slight!) waviness left on mine from sanding down the clapboarding. Honestly, I think one could simply paint this and no one would see them. Not that I plan on doing that, and I'm sure you're not either. I was concerned with over-sanding so I told hubby to stop and not go after the minor variations. Stucco'd, bricked, whatever, they'll never show and won't interfere with any finishing techniques.

I remember you saying you didn't like the front door on your Lincoln house. I had seen mine when examining the kit but never really analyzed it. You are so right. It's just odd. Pretty, but the size is just wrong. I'm contemplating using the fanlight doors from my Rosedawn, since I have other plans for that house.

The Hermann-Grima house in the Quarter has very similar doors on the first and second floors to the ones off the Rosedawn. And look at those windows! Could they be any more like the ones that come with the Lincoln house?? They are going to work so well with the style I'm going for, I can't wait.

How are you planning to do yours up in French style? I look forward to seeing it. You do such great work.

[Kells]

1 hour ago, havanaholly said:

In a fit of realism the hubs located his belt sander next to my workbench in the workshop.  I have been a fan for many years!.

I have a question for you, Queen of Spackle. I have never spackled an entire house before. The wood I've worked with has always been pretty smooth, so all I had to do was seal it with a primer coat of paint.

Do I need to paint/prime the spackle before I begin the next steps, or do you think the paperclay might adhere better to that rather than to paint?

[havanaholly]

I would prime the wood and paper clay directly over it.  I only spackle when I'm going for stucco or stone look.  Tracy/ Minis on the Edge is the one to ask about paper clay.

[KatFord]

Kelly, I'm so excited to see the progress with both these projects! I love what you have planned for the 2nd one, French Quarter. I love that Idea! Makes me want to get another house and start working on one of my own! 

Kim

[havanaholly]

It's certainly a nice variation on Lincoln's Springfield house!

[NellBell]

12 hours ago, KellyA said:

Can you remove the windows and doors? -Yes they are popping out so easy whoever made the house only used spots of glue and its and old house .

Front door - I have attached a picture of the inside there not a lot of space to go so be careful and plan it out. I think I will do something to extend it forward.

How are you planning to do yours up in French style? I look forward to seeing it. You do such great work. - Thank you so much

I'm debating between French Country and English Country. here's my inspiration picks no shutters English with shutters French. 

I also pulled out my Pic Pierce Techniques book he doesn't prime he puts wood glue directly on the wood and the paper clay on top of that. That is the technique I have been using. He also paints with acrylic paint washes. 

12 hours ago, KellyA said:

 

 

[Kells]

Thank you Nell! I can see this house done up in either of those ways. I'm personally partial to the French one because that stone would look so awesome.

I'm sure you're aware of Sue Cook. She has some door casings that would work well if you went for the English look.

http://www.suecookminiatures.com/shop/index.php

I just found out I can't use my Rosedawn doors. That house has 11" high ceilings and this one is only 9". Not enough room. I should have known that already. I may stick with the door that comes with this kit after all. The door inset into the house like that is accurate to what I'm going for so we'll see.

I don't know if you'd want to do this, but I'm going to. Abraham Lincoln had a clever trick on that house that it seems few people know about. On the parlor side of the house, those ground floor windows are fake. The framing on the exterior is only to keep the house looking symmetrical. It appears the shutters are closed, but actually they're just mounted inside the window casing and onto the house.

RGT's shutters fit perfectly inside the window casing. I'm going to use some 3/16" foam board that I have, cut to fit inside the opening to block the windows on the inside (only in the parlor). I want that wall space! Finding spots to put taller furniture such as breakfronts, bookcases, etc, can be difficult when a room is all doors and windows and open to the rear.

Below is a pic of RGT's Lincoln window with the shutters inside the frame. Perfect fit. Below that is a pic I did up quickly that shows what I'm talking about on the actual Lincoln house. Windows outside. No windows inside.

[Kells]

Oh, and I'm also doing it in the bedroom above the parlor. There's only one wall where a tall four-poster can go unless you set it in front of windows, which I hate. And then good luck finding any spot where you can put a highboy. All the chests of drawers would have to be low to fit under the windows, or narrow to fit between them. No thank you. From the outside, it'll just appear the shutters are closed. On the inside, well, millions of people have toured the Lincoln house and few have noticed that the windows are missing in the parlor. I doubt anyone will in a dollhouse either!

[havanaholly]

1 hour ago, KellyA said:

...On the inside, well, millions of people have toured the Lincoln house and few have noticed that the windows are missing in the parlor. I doubt anyone will in a dollhouse either!

I bet that trick wasn't unique to Lincoln, either, and for the reasons you mention; and lots of doll houses had fake exterior windows for just that same reason.

[KathieB]

I'm doing this in the Beacon Hill dining room, too, closing off the window that opens onto the front porch. Not sure if I'll do a faux exterior window or just make it a solid wall. If I hang a porch swing where the window ought to be, I doubt that anyone will wonder why there isn't a window there. Too many windows for such a small room. (It's the dining room  for my house, the kitchen in the original configuration)

[Mid-life madness]

I just watched an episode of Bargain Mansions and Tamara Day does this by painting the drywall black. (the part facing the window). She said it looks like the light is out in the room, but keeps the symmetry. I filed that away for future builds...hopefully I will be able to find it when I need it someday.

[NellBell]

Thanks all for the window suggestion. I will be trying the fake window idea for sure. I was thinking of taking them out altogether on the side of the house. I love this idea much better. 

 

[Kells]

I put fake windows into the back of a roombox. Made simple casing and mullions and then mounted it over a product similar to mirrored mylar but not quite as shiny. It was just some cheap sheet of stuff I got at a craft store. I'd thought of mounting over a mirror, but then it would have been obvious you were looking at a reflection of the room (and seeing yourself!). The mylar-like material was just reflective enough to give the impression that you were looking beyond the room, out a window. I thought it very effective.

But that was a roombox, so getting back to fake windows on the exterior, Carrie's mention of black drywall works well in miniature. When I was looking for ideas to do an exterior for my museum, I found this picture. I must have looked at it a dozen times before I realized those windows are fake, LOL. They're just stripwood, exactly how I made mine for the roombox, and the area inside the casing is painted black. Those window openings aren't cut out. I enlarged it at the bottom so you could see.

[Kells]

GAH! I always have a P.S.

I was going to say I think the mylar-like material might work even better in a fake exterior window than just painting it black. Glass is reflective, so is mylar. I've not tried it on an exterior but I think it might do a better job of fooling the eye.

[havanaholly]

If you're using actual windows with inserts, why not stick pictures of room interiors behind them, so the illusion is looking through the window into a room?

[Mid-life madness]

Or some nondescript curtains?

[Kells]

Good lord, I can't believe I didn't think of the curtains, considering that I've done that in our real home, LOL!

I had no place for a china cabinet, so I just closed the drapes and stuck it in front of a window that looks out onto a neighbor's side yard. The cabinet is large enough that you can't even tell there's a window behind it.

My husband asked, "How are you going to get back there to clean the drapes?"

Me: "The people next door are the only ones who can see them. If they complain, they're welcome to come over to clean them."

[Mid-life madness]

1 minute ago, KellyA said:

My husband asked, "How are you going to get back there to clean the drapes?

How about, " I don't know, how are YOU going to get back there?"

[Kells]

4 minutes ago, Mid-life madness said:

How about, " I don't know, how are YOU going to get back there?"

LOL!!! You and Holly are a pair. He told me I couldn't sell my car to buy a Lawbre chateau (as if I actually would). She told me no, I'm going to sell HIS car. You two, HAHAHAHA!

 

[havanaholly]

You probably haven't been married as long as I have.

[KathieB]

It's a bit hard to see, but the windows in this café are a combination of effects. The larger windows left and right are cloth. The adjacent windows that appear to be in a recessed entryway are painted, as is the door itself. The shutters are non-opening, glued in place. Look at sidewalk level to see that the entire back wall of the set is one flat plane.

The groups of people are silhouettes painted. They, too are flat. But when the entire layout is viewed, they are quite believable. I'll say it again, folks: smoke and mirrors  

Mardi Gras Float