Morjem911

Wow! That's so pretty! It does look real! I'm just nervous, because my first house went so smoothly and this one seems like everything I touch goes wrong or looks awful and I end up redoing!

Happy Easter! So, I finished my first dollhouse refurb a little over a year ago and everyone here was such a big help! I planned on moving straight into another one I picked up for $10, then life got in the way. But I've finally got back in the groove and I'm working on it again. I bought some of the MDF lap siding and yesterday I cut out the windows and doors, but I really wasn't feeling it. Then while I was sitting here last night, I kept looking at the house and it hit me that stone would be really cute with the shape of the house. I watched the tutorials on the egg crate version, but I am the world's worst painter so I already know that would be a disaster lol! So I kept looking and I found these "stones" that you can actually cut, but they were $20 for 72 sq inches, and I've got 405 sq inches just on one side alone. So that was a no go. Then I found these embossed stone sheets on eBay. I read the feedback and the people that bought them all seem to have left positive, so I ordered them. http://m.ebay.com/itm/391749868274 I really just wanted to get the opinions of those far more knowledgeable than I on using the sheets. Since I have no experience with anything like this, my fear is they'll look cheap and super fake. Also, how are they applied? Are seams a problem? And finally, I ran my electric cords out the walls, figuring they'd be covered by the siding, so will these show with the sheets? Thanks so much!

Yay!! Thank you!!

Thanks Sable! I really think I got a bad can of Kilz. It's sputtering and flicking the primer on with spots, and I shook it really good. Thanks for the link too. But I forgot to say I needed fishscale. I really like how rustic the shingles on it right now look and just the ones around the eaves of the house were broken. So, I was/am hoping to just have to replace those. Plus, I could have molded a life-size sculpture of myself just with the hot glue i scraped off removing the few broken ones. I can't mentally process the idea of removing all of them lol!!

Thanks!! Bare wood is exactly what i need! I tried spraying with Kilz, but I obviously did something horribly wrong lol! On another note, I thought I'd solved my replacement shingles problem on this new house, but I was sadly disappointed when I opened my mail today. Wrong shingles again... Any ideas where I can buy cedar shingles that are 1-1/2" tall x 3/4" wide? I can just find birch that size, or 1-1/8" tall cedar. Thanks again!!

Thanks!! I'll try that this morning!

Well, I'm back at it... I drove about 4 hours to buy an unfinished dollhouse listed on Craigslist, and to my surprise, I think I got a heck of a deal! It was a beautiful house, about 36" wide * 30" tall * 20" deep. The woman selling it had bought everything for it and built the structure, but that's it. For $50, I got the house, the sheets of shingles, all the windows and doors, still in the original packages, something like 2000 shingles still in the packages, a completed gazebo (I saw the gazebo kit online for $100), and a box full of furniture, still in the original boxes. I couldn't help myself and stopped at a thrift store since I was up there, and bought another one, in HORRIBLE shape, but with good bones, I'd seen online, because it was only $20. I talked them down to $10. It's 24*30*15. I thought I'd start working on the smaller one first. One, because it was just a rip out the gross stuff and replace it with pretty stuff. And 2, to get some more practice before I started on the big one, which I plan to go all out on. However, the smaller one has proven to be a bugger... The walls were too close to the doors, the windows and doors were weird sizes, I can't find shingles that match to replace the broken ones, and it needed a balcony and to either be raised up, or have a porch added. I've finally fixed all that. Very proud of the base I built and attached and the little feet I added. So anyway, now I'm looking to furnish it. I've already spent so much more on it than I thought I was going to, I decided to use some of the furniture that came with the big house, since I'm going with a different style for it. But this furniture is U.G.L.Y. paint will help for sure, but it's a really slick finish. I practiced on a piece. Sanded it and painted a light coat on it, but even then the paint looked thick and like I just globed paint into old furniture. Is there a trick to painting this stuff? I just can't put cabinets with mustered yellow countertops in this kitchen lol!

Y'all are so sweet! Thank you so much!! I'm off work for the next few days, so I think I'm going to start my next one tonight!

Thank you all so much! I'm so happy with how it turned out and I can't believe I actually did it! I feel so good for giving this house a new lease on life! Yes, it is very addictive! I drove over 4 hours yesterday (one way) to pick up a new one to start on! I know it could be better, but for my first time, and for the first project I've ever actually finished, I'm really proud of how it turned out. Here is my final inside pic. I haven't really dressed it, just the basic furniture so far.

Well, I don't know if I'm happy or sad. I finished my first house last night! I'm so in love, I couldn't stop looking at it! I just wanted to thank everyone here for all the help I got along the way! You've all been so patient and given such wonderful advice! I've got two more houses waiting in the wings, a total refurb, and another that's just the shell. So I'm sure I'll be asking a lot more questions!

Lol! Posey Kitten thinks the entire house is hers! When I work on it she sits on the top and watches. When I put the furniture in to see how it would look, she knocked it all out to make room for herself!

That's a great idea! Thank you! The little girl next door lost her dad back in April. Small world, I went to HS with her mom in a different city, so I might ask her if she'd like one!

See, glad I asked! I liked the 2nd one more, because it looked more messed up and needed more love! lol! Took me a minute to get it resized, but here is the last picture I took of the inside of my house. I've put in the wainscoting in the living room, and crown molding in all the rooms since I took this pic. I've also got tables and other furniture for the living room and still need to hang my bathroom mirror and all my other wall hangings for the other rooms, and put my lights in. Since I'd never done it before, I just went with the cell battery lights, instead of 12v. I might try 12v as I get more experience!

Thanks everyone!! I hadn't thought about taking a class! I'm so surprised that I've been able to do something like this. I normally mess up and/or just quit every project I start, but I can't wait to get home from work every day to work on this. I think what I like most, is seeing something that was unloved and unwanted turning into something so pretty! So, I think that's what I want to start doing. I really don't feel like I have an interest in building a kit from the ground up, but I love the idea of taking old, unwanted and uncared for houses and fixing them up. I've found a couple on CL that I'm looking at and one on Ebay, all in the somewhat local area. I wanted to get your opinions on if you thought they'd be worth it or not? I of course can't keep a dozen doll houses, but I'm so enjoying working on them, I thought I could fix them up and then sell them? I'm not concerned with making a profit, since I like doing it so much, but I wouldn't mind it lol! The first house I found is on Ebay, it's a horrible, tiny little pic of one side of the inside, and the seller has no feedback, but it's a local pick-up and with PayPal I think you're covered on purchases. Anyway, I asked if they had any more pics and they said they don't have a camera on their phone.... But, it's listed as a 6 room Victorian that needs some work on the outside for $65 or best offer. I was about to write it off, but then I discovered it's actually The Pierce, which I think is gorgeous. So, is that a good deal? Here are the other two I'm looking at driving up to get: http://tulsa.craigslist.org/art/5247675011.html http://tulsa.craigslist.org/art/5264279311.html

Has anyone ever told you you're an angel?! I mean other than confirming I am in fact going senile! Lol! Thank you so much!!! Great idea about making a reference pattern, considering I just did it and already forgot how!