Kitchen Floor

For the kitchen floor, I decided to use a 12x12 vinyl flooring tile.  I cut the tile (with my x-acto knife and a metal ruler) into 1.5" squares.  I then laid the floor tiles, with some Tacky Glue, onto a piece of poster board that had been cut to fit the floor layout.  I added some guidelines onto the poster board before gluing the tile, which definitely helped.  Let's just say my eye-balling technique had proven to be a failure, and I had a couple of practice sheets before this final one.

Here are the results (note: I have to figure out how to add 'grout'.  I have seen spackle recommended as a good grout substitute; I may try that):

I also put in the bathroom floor. I had tried several different things, including using a vinyl tile that looked like carrera marble. In the end, I end up with the octagon tile sheet.

It's been a while....

Wow, I am a scary-prolific blogger.  Everybody, watch out!

So, in the last few months (okay, well, over 6 months) I had to put aside a lot of work on the dollhouse, with summer vacation, work, kids, etc.  But I was re-inspired when I decided to work on the porch flooring and the roof, and it looks so much more done that I am back on the dollhouse wagon. Here are some crappy pictures, since for some reason I didn't get the focus right and am too lazy re-take.  I even took out my stash of furniture and accessories that I've hoarded and had a little fun seeing how things would look inside.

Above, you can see I'm making progress on shingling the roof. I used the Real Good Toys shingle dye, and, after debate, just a hot glue gun. I may regret that - seems as if most of the 'pros' use other types of adhesives.   I also in the past few months have finished cutting, painting, and gluing the 'floor boards' for the porch. I haven't actually attached the porch(es) yet; hubby wants to make this thing bomb proof and so I am waiting for him to figure out how he wants to attach.  I think we may use some metal or wood dowels, drill into the porch base, and then into the porch posts themselves.  We'll see.

Here's some of my living room furniture.  What was pretty clear to me after putting some of this in was that the wallpaper had to go.  It just looks too much like plain white.  It's from Itsy Bitsy Mini, and is a kind of small coral pattern.  What I've learned is this - if I don't like it when I first see it, I'm not going to like it any better later on.  I removed it, fairly painlessly, using fabric softener and a toothbrush.  I also learned that it's best to spackle the wire tape before putting wallpaper on it.  The wallpaper adhesive doesn't always stick to the covering of the wire tape. 

The sofa is from Kris Compass and the tables are all custom from Bruce Dawson (who has an Etsy Store ( bed Miniatures by Bruce Dawson). Both artisans were just great to work with!

Here's the paper I plan to use for new wallpaper (the tiny print side).  I've already sprayed it and am waiting to get the spackling done over the tapewire before I glue the paper on.

The kitchen cabinets are mostly done.  I just need to glue in the stovetop, sink, and faucets.  The cabinets are Elf Miniatures, and the chairs are also from Kris Compass 1 inch minis.

Here's the bedroom.  Kris also made the bed; the mirror, chest, and side tables are random Ebay finds.  The rug is a fabric sample.

Anyhow, that's where I am for now.  I'm in the process of painting / sanding the trim pieces and will work on putting some of that in soon, in the rooms where the flooring is already done.

It's looking more finished now! I am cheating though, and working on the inside before I finish the outside completely. I will probably shingle the roof when the weather gets warmer, and I can dye them outdoors. I bought the  Real Good Toys shingle dye.   I bought both the grey and red dye, as I wasn't sure which would look best with the dark brown siding on the house.

Here's where we are so far...

Not sure about paint scheme for the trim.  All the windows but the two which are all white, had a clear delineation which allowed me to easily paint the turquoise vs white.  But those two are kind of all-one-piece.  And, I'm thinking maybe there's too much turquoise happening - any thoughts?

Can't figure out what glue to use to get those lights to stick.  Tried liquid nails, but as you can see, not working so well! Also plan to paint the bench and make some more colorful cushions. And of course, the porch is MIA.  I'll get to that soon I hope....

Placed the stairs in to see what they look like.

 Overall shot of interior, without floors.  All the paper which is installed so far is from Itsy Bitsy Mini.  I think I made a mistake with the living room paper.  It has such a tiny pattern, in such a pale color, you can't really see it. I was going for subtle but overshot.  I think that for me, picking a pattern which is louder than what I normally would like in real life, looks good to my human-size eye, when it is created in miniature.

I think I will use some plan cardstock for the bedroom and bathroom (unpapered as of yet). I had bought some toile for the bathroom and another flowered pattern for the bedroom but am thinking it might be too busy.

I also worked on my ELF Miniatures kitchen kit a bit more this weekend.  It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be - just time consuming.  I have finished all the drawers, and started paneling the ends of the cabinets.  I will need to finish off all the paneling and then I can paint the bases.

For the bathroom, I have cut the vinyl tile into tile-size pieces and will lay them and then 'grout' them with some caulk:

The custom vanity above was created by Bruce Dawson, who has a store on Etsy.  I plan on painting it, and then waxing the cherry top.  I need to pick some faucets out.

Finally, some shots of the flooring that took me foreeeever to finish ......

And, that's the update for now! good night! I would be logging out and watching the Oscars, but our Dish is in transition.... so instead I will catch up on all the old tv episodes which are sitting on the DVR.

Dollhouse Update - January

Happy New Year! We took a break from dollhouse building over the holidays, but it's picked back up over the last week or two.  My husband has finished the wiring, and I'm making progress on laying the wood floors.

For the wiring, we used a Cir-Kit kit.  I had to buy more tapewire, and we also decided to purchase a power jack separately.  Lesson learned - we installed the tape, using a suggestion from the internet, but it didn't account for the thickness of the floors we were installing.  As a result, after we install the baseboard, the plugs for any lamps will be a tight squeeze, and we may have to notch out the baseboard (or, put the plug in a little cock-eyed. Oh well, live and learn.

Meanwhile, I laid the flooring for the upstairs hallway. I had already (mostly) finished the living room, and I still have to finish the MBR.  The bathroom and kitchen will have a different kind of flooring.  For the floor, I used cherry wood strips  - they were great, but the store didn't have enough of the 1/2"width that I wanted, so I had to buy some 3/8" as well. I decided to use the thicker width alone on the living room, but I mixed the widths on the hallway.  It definitely looks nicer. I also learned a little about technique, and bought an Easy Cutter, which really helped.

Next, I will finish up the last wood floor before moving on to the other floors. I will also start to spackle the walls to help hide the tapewire a little bit.  I can't wait to put in the wallpaper, that will make it look so much more finished! My next post, I will share the papers I bought, mostly from Itsy Bitsy Minis.

The Dollhouse Odyssey Begins....

I decided to start a blog, since I have so greatly enjoyed seeing other people's miniatures and dollhouses.  This is my first dollhouse - always wanted one since I was a child, and spurred on by the arrival of our daughter, decided to finally make it happen!

After many many late nights on the internet, I finally chose the Lisa Kay Dollhouse, from The House That Jack Built:

After about 6 weeks of sporadic work (hey, three kids and a job don't leave as much time as I'd like for hobbies), I am now here:

I have already picked out the wallpaper, flooring, and am getting set to do the wiring... once that is done, the fun stuff (Decorating!) can begin.  The timing is kind of fun, because out on the internet, a lot of people are participating in the 'I'm a Giant Dollhouse Challenge'... I won't be done in time to be part of that, but it still gives me lots of great ideas... and motivation!!