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Next time someone questions you for making dollhouses, refer them to this story.....I love this lady! I agree with her about having people in her houses. https://news.wttw.com/2019/07/31/lifelong-dollhouse-maker-dreams-creating-museum

Just took a picture of what I've been working on today. The color in the photo isn't quite right, too washed out, the lamplight made it too yellow, and the flash would have made it worse. Anyhow, this is how it's coming along. I used 1:24 scale brick paper by World Model, and will be adding it to the left of the window between the timbers. When I'm all finished with the ground floor front I'll probaby adjust the color of the timbers, not completely happy with them, some are ok, though. I plan on getting the ground floor front done, then turn it over and do the wood around the doors and windows. After that I need to recut the end walls, I cut them wrong the first time, didn't realize it till later, then glue the ground floor front, end walls and base together.

Started Dura-Craft FH 505 Farmhouse in 1999 for my daughter, but didn’t finish it until 2020 for her daughter (my granddaughter). Thanks to Greenleaf as I searched around the forum for tips to complete it (something I was not able to do in 1999).

The easiest way is to use two aluminum foil baking pans. Punch holes in the bottom of one. Put that one with the holes inside the undamaged one. Add shingles, but not too many; depending on the number of shingles and size of pans, it may take more than one session. Pour in stain. Agitate the pans a bit to get the stain between shingles that may stick together. Check periodically for color. When the shingles are the shade you want, then gently lift the inner pan so the stain remains in the bottom pan. Spread the shingles out on newspaper or cardboard to dry. The stain can be poured carefully back into its can for use another time.

Miniature designs sells the leaded tape. This is much easier to cut for some reason than the golf stuff I bought. You want your cuts to be about 1/32 of an inch. It takes a lot of practice to cut, but it looks so nice. https://miniaturedesigns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_76_275&products_id=34679

the basic couch frame and then with a coat of alkanet linseed oil - the oil is soaking in I hadn't wiped it off yet - I love the look of alkanet oil on cherry

You have done a fantastic job on this house!!! Thank you for the inspiration. Ironically, I pulled my incomplete one out yesterday and said I was going to attempt to complete it. Dura-Craft are not easy to put together; you have made this look SO easy. So, know that I am doing a bow to you. And welcome to the group! You have definitely started out in here with a BANG!! :-)

Kathleen, you can measure one or two of the pieces you do have and when your schematics sheets arrive, measure the same pieces on the schematics sheet and use your computer's calculator to get the % you'll need to set a printer to get the correct sizes to cut your missing pieces.

Kathleen, when you have made five posts you can make an album in the Gallery here for your pictures.

Started 1999, completed 2020.

So, after a year plus of a "quick build", it is finally finished. Since being furloughed because of Covid, I had the time to finish up the cottage. It was a fun build and I am proud of the way it turned out. My sister was visiting last week from Missouri, and when she saw it, she fell in love with it. She is not one for miniatures, but all she could do was stare at it and look at all the details. I knew then she had to bring it home with her. I really had no place for it. It was a labor of love, so who better to give it to!

Well said.

Welcome! Well done! What are you building next? I assume you caught the mini-virus.....it is very contagious and hard to get rid of. Usually it becomes a chronic wellness (not illness) and leads to much joy.

Welcome to the little family, Wm. What's next?

Loosely based on a Music Cabinet in the Gustav Stickley catalog Cherry with Walnut inserts

I was a member and attended a national house party in Kansas City some years ago. As a newbie, I was totally embarrassed. Nowhere in the info did it say that it was customary to bring small items to exchange with the other 7 members at your table at the big dinner. I was caught empty-handed and was not made to feel welcome. I never bothered renewing my membership.

I work in IT and I'm WAY too entertained by the fact that I can now make it appear as though I am holding all of my work meetings/conference calls from within any room of my dollhouse that I choose thanks to a recent software upgrade.

Today I took my wife out for her first outing since she broke her arm, which led to 4 visits to the ER, 2 surgeries, a week in hospital, and ongoing IV antibiotic infusions and physical therapy. We went to an antiques mall "just to look around" and because the weather is in the 90s and our air con is down. Well - - - I think I found a great bargain. House of Miniatures kits - a Chippendale wing chair, desk and sofa for $4.80 each!!! Now I am kicking myself for not snapping up the other 3 or 4 kits as well.

Carrie, your link worked just peachy; mega thanks! Arianna, that is one wowser house!

After you remove all the glue lumps/ sand/ whatever you have scores of options for roof treatments. I'm partial to coarse grit sandpaper cut into strips of shingles, simulates asphalt shingle without the weight. Peeling one of the flat layers off of a sheet of corrugated cardboard and cleaning off any residue yields the ripply innards which paint up nicely for a metal roof or cut into strips for a barrel-tile roof; and I have also used doubled layers of construction paper for shingles.

Sounds like a hot glue hot mess. Use a wood glue for the rehab to prevent this happening again down the road.

Ruth Stewart Convinced me join. She was very helpful in dicussing the house party that you are speaking of. You said this perfectly. The one thing they do do is encourage the hobby in children. The best way to improve NAME is to participate and make things better. I appreciate what the organization does. It is trying to keep the hobby alive.

Thank you for that link. Lesley. It sure explains a lot!

When we lived in Havana, FL, I remember seeing someone's porch rockers' cushions were that exact same fabric!

Easy peasy, Jess. We split the squash in half and I scoop out all the seeds whilst preheating the oven to 450 degrees F. I lightly salt the cut surfaces and sprinkle them with a bit of cinnamon and lay them cut side down in a 6" X 10" biscuit pan coated with either melted butter or olive oil (I use because both the hubs & I have high cholesterol) and bake it for half an hour, then let it cool and prepare the filling, which for me is just shrimp, seasoning mix (diced onions, sweet peppers and celery; what Cajuns refer to as "the trinity") and bread crumbs and a hefty dash of Tony Cachere. How much of each I have to sort of eyeball, because it depends on the size of the acorn squash, but I pack those halved just as full as they'll hold so I sometimes whisk and egg and mix that into the filling. It's the way I fix eggplant pireaux, only if the eggplants are much bigger I add a few petit peas to the filling. To stuff the squash I turn them cut side up and gently compress the halves and scoop filling into the halves more or less evenly whilst the oven preheats again, this time to 350 degrees F. I sprinkle a few more breadcrumbs over the tops and pop the pan into the oven for a half hour, until the shrimps are done and the breadcrumbs and nice and crunchy, Let them rest a few minutes if y'all can stand it (the smell will drive everyone nuts). Serve with rice and a light salad and mange tout!