LadyAlways Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hi....... I'm LadyAlways aka Julie. I live on the gulf coast of Mississippi. 42 yrs old medically retired mom of two. I decided to build the dollhouse Dad always promised to build me. Hopefully with his help from above my Orchid will appear finished one morning from the mini elves. ( One can hope huh? LOL ) I dabble in alot of hobbies, needlework, polymer clay, beading (jewelry and french), and of course my online adventures. One of my hopes in between the Orchid would to be able to build my Mom a mini-miniature village. She has Alzheimers, and is stuck on the thought of me building her a dollhouse. So I am looking for ideas on what I could create mainly out of things I have on hand (Which according to my husband is everything under the sun ... Okay I'm a pack rat ) And also how to size them. Future adventures in dollhouses...... my ten yr old daughter has already picked out at least a half dozen for me to build for her But time will tell for those LOL I have no doubt I will learn alot from the groups here. I have alot of reading to do :thumb: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hello Julie - welcome to the forum! You have just joined a wonderful group of people - staff and members alike. Sorry to hear about your Mum - but how great that you can fulfill her mini desires! All of your other hobbies can be put to work as you explore the miniature world. You will find all kinds of terrific info here (check out all the topics, galleries and blogs), and also at your local library. There are DIY links in a pinned topic here that should give you plenty of ideas! The most common scale (size) is 1:12. In other words, one inch equals one foot - a 6' man would become a 6" doll. There is also 1:24, or half-scale. A half-inch equals one foot. That six foot man would become a three inch doll. Some people like to work with 1:48 quarter-scale. A quarter inch = one foot. 6' man, one and a half inch doll. If you wanted to build a dollhouse for the dollhouse, that would be 1:144 scale. The Orchid is a great first choice - such a pretty dollhouse! Please remember that all questions are valid here - if you're wondering about something, chances are good that others are wondering the same thing. We all learn when a question is asked - the answers given are often quite varied - and always helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Welcome, Julie. Where on the MS Gulf coast? Y'all took a terrible beating from Katrina! The Orchid is such an easy-peasy house to build that you'll only need the elves to hand you things and your dad for inspiration & a cheering section! There are two sets of building blogs for the Orchid to help you along. That was the second kit I built in an RV camper. There's a lot of other information scattered amongst the different subforums. Happy reading! And ask lots of questions. Also, it's OK to make mistakes and to mess up, you can always use them as opportunites to bash the kit into something even more wonderful. Do listen to the kit, often these little houses have very specific preferences for what they want to become & how they want to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokkie Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Welcome Julie, it is nice to meet you :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bea Killion Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 HI JULIE..WECLOME TO THE FORUM AND YOUR NEW HOBBY. BUT BE CAREFUL IT'S VERY HABIT-FORMING :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Actually it's addicting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakyshaky Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 HI and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Welcome to the Neighborhood!! Dollhouses is a Very addictive hobby & it's great you have a daughter to share it with :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conny v/den Dungen Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Welcome. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hello Julie and :lol: Glad yo have you with us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallowell Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 :lol: Welcome :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hello and welcome Julie! This is the place to be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hello and welcome to the forum. This is a happy place to be and also when you're not happy. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovecats Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hello and welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_the_haunted Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Hi and to the group! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Day Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Welcome Julie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamie Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Hi and :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Hi and welcome. So DD has picked out 10--not an unreasonable number as you will see once you start reading. LOL Greenleaf sells a miniature village, might want to look at it for possible solution to your Mom's ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAlways Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 Thank you all for the warm welcome. I'm really looking forward to getting started on the Orchid. I'll have to look online for the village. I was thinking of maybe doing them in a foam board, but have no ideas on patterns. Time to get inventive .... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Welcome to the forum! the Orchid is a great starter house! I built and decorated mine in 7 days....the paint and stuff have to dry between the steps LOL of course how fast it can be done...doesnt mean you have to do that...but just to show you that it is a good build and if you have an idea of what you want on the inside it will go even faster for you! I do hope you will share your progress with us! Happy Building! nutti :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAlways Posted February 4, 2008 Author Share Posted February 4, 2008 This is Great !!!!! Addicting....... I think I already am. Having to rearrange things in my building area so I have room. To start my Orchid..... We may have to do take out this week So I have more mini time LOL :tomato: Yes, we did take a direct hit from Katrina here in Biloxi. It was a nightmare, hopefully will never have to do that again. But we were one of the lucky ones, even with nine hours of 165 + winds. Houses down the street from us were flooded. And the one large tree fell the opposite direction from the house. So we feel very lucky. The idea for a village for my mom, I'm still wondering about. I've heard mention in a post that there is a Greenleaf Village. What I'm wanting to build I would like to fit on like a serving tray. So I'm thinking will need to be very small... I've not been able to find the Village locally...... does anyone know if it is available online...... and what size the buildings would be? I've considered just doing freehand foam board...... but I want them to look somewhat real. My mind is just going in so many directions as to what to do. LOL This place has gotten addicting already.....I love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 heard mention in a post that there is a Greenleaf Village.I think at one time there were three different sets of 1:48 houses available, plus one or more two-house sets. I have The Greenleaf Town. I also have three 1:48 scale kits for Chinese houses from http://www.woodcraft-puzzles.com . HBS has The Greenleaf Village: and Santa's Village: (which I may get for the April Fool's sale). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAlways Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 Oh those are great...... I'll probably have to get both for myself. But I think they are still a bit bigger than I had in mind for my mom's tray. She'll be goin to a nursing home at some point. And would be very limited space for display. The picture in my mind are several lil houses and maybe a store and bakery and a church I have the feeling that I'll just have to find some dollhouse instructions/plans and just kinda wing it :thumbup: with maybe foamboard or lightweight wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Um, Julie, I don't know how your math is, but a 1:24 scale dollhouse is 1/8 the total size of a 1:12 scale dollhouse, so a 1:48 scale house is 1/64 the total size of a 1:12 scale house, and I'll bet you could fit two or three of them onto a good-size tray. Foam core is also a perfectly good structural material if you want to design your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyJudi Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Hi and welcome. It is a wonderful thing that you want to do for your mom. Also, the Orchid is a great first build. It was mine too. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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