where do I start? first dollhouse!

[soaring]

Hi everyone, my name is Amie. I just bought the Orchid dollhouse and am not sure how to begin. I know I need to sand and paint, but I'm unsure about the floor. I'd like to make it a hardwood floor, but I'm not sure which order I should do things. Should I sand it, then draw the boards on, and then stain it? Or stain it and then draw on it? It's such a large project and I'm overwhelmed and need a kick in the butt to get going!

thanks!

[uppitycats]

FIRST thing you need to do is RELAX! This is supposed to be a fun hobby. There are no deadlines, no need to rush, no need to hurry with anything.

The Orchid is a great little house and should be a fun build. First read the directions and the warm-up sheet carefully. Then set them aside, and read them again tomorrow. And maybe the next day. Once you feel pretty sure you know what they're saying, then open the box and take out those first sheets! ;)

Basically you'll want to sand all the edges, and the flat surfaces if they're particularly rough. I know some folks here don't sand much of anything, but I find that wallpaper and paint adhere better to a smooth surface.

Then you need to figure out which pieces you might want to stain (like you've already worked out that you want to stain the floor...what about staircases, woodwork, all that? Doors? Window frames?) You'll prime the stuff you'll end up painting, or covering with wallpaper. (Prime: put on a coat of primer paint, usually white, as a "base coat". Again, I find that the finishing paint or wallpaper adhere better when the surface has been primed, and it's important to seal the wood with the primer so it doesn't ruin your wallpaper, years down the road).

Then I score the floor...then stain it...then sand it lightly and stain again if necessary..then varnish it..then sand lightly again, then put on a finishing coat of varnish. Same with woodwork -- sand, stain, varnish, in that order (you may not want to bother with all the extra coats! )

"Dry fit" everything together, though, before you touch that glue bottle. That is, piece the house together (or at least piece together major parts, like flooring and walls) to be sure you know exactly how they go together (there have been instances where I've gotten a piece upside-down-and-backwards, and wondered for a long time why nothing else seemed to fit! ). This will also give you a chance to better see just how the house will go together and whether there will be corners or areas where you won't be able to reach once the house is constructed, so you'd need to decorate before gluing.

I love the blue carpenter's tape to do the dry-fitting. Masking tape works, too -- just something that won't leave a residue behind.

Then once you're sure you've got the "right" pieces fitting with the "right" pieces, grab the glue bottle.

Notice I said glue bottle, NOT a hot-glue gun! Yes, I know the directions talk about a hot-glue gun. That's really a bad idea! Over time, especially in dry climates, or if your house is exposed to the sun, hot-glue (at least the modern formulations) have been known to crack, and the house can fall apart. Not a good thing!

What kind of glue? There are lots of options -- like Elmer's White Glue, Elmer's Wood Glue, Aleen's white glue, variations of those.... And again, tape and clamps to hold it together until the glue dries.

Probably enough to get you started. One last thing -- don't hesitate at all to come back with questions. Folks here LOVE to help with builds, and can offer you all kinds of suggestions and assistance. Have fun!

[Wolfie]

Ditto to Anne's note which was beautifully put! Most important RELAX. This is a FUN thing to do! And creative as all get out!

You will have a lovely house when finished......just relax and as they say, one day at a time please!

[chesterfieldzoo]

Oh no, you must hurry so you can get to the other 3 houses you will soon be buying once you start and find out how fun and easy it is. LOL!! Just kidding. Ann covered everything well so I had to add something.

[soaring]

thanks guys! I guess I should chill a bit...I'm just so excited and I want it to be perfect! I've never had a hobby before and this one just appealed to me so much.

Guess I'll start sanding first!

[miss_maya]

Hello and welcome! I'm pretty new myself and very slowly working on my first house as well. I would for sure suggest sanding first. I hated it, and it's better to just get it over with so you can start enjoying the building and such, lol. As for what order to do things, do whatever makes sense to you. Personally, I sanded everything, primed everything and then dry fitted.. I marked everything off and have installed the floor and painted the main floor fully. And then I hit a wall and haven't worked on it much since

But, honestly, it's you first house. HAVE FUN!!! You only ever learn things properly by experimenting and getting started, so just enjoy yourself. Like everyone else said, relax, and find a system that works for you. I, personally, hated sanding with a passion, so I just sucked it up and got it done with quickly, lol.

[havanaholly]

thanks guys! I guess I should chill a bit...I'm just so excited and I want it to be perfect! I've never had a hobby before and this one just appealed to me so much.

Guess I'll start sanding first!

There are no deadlines, no need to rush, no need to hurry with anything.

And there is NO rule that it has to be PERFECT (if it's perfect, then you are not a newbie and have nothing to learn). Building your first dollhouse is a learning experience, and there's no rule that if you don't like how it's turning out that you can't take it apart and start over again (that's part of the purpose of the dry fit Ann mentioned).

I also score the floorboards directly into the plywood, but there are others who draw them. I have also cut down siding strips and used the GL self-adhesive vinyl flooring. Some members use wooden coffee stirrers, craftsticks or the Houseworks flooring.

The only thing I can think of to add to what Ann said is that when you find yourself stressing (which it sounds like you're prone to do), put down your tools and mark your place in the instructions and walk away from the kit; go into another room and our yourself a stiff drink or get some dark chocolate and a trashy novel and forget about it. Eventually the kit will start speaking to you to tell you what it wants.

Do share pictures of your build and do ask any and all questions you may have, because all questions are welcome and none are "stupid" (I have a very bad reputation on that subject, you don't want me to read the words "dumb" or "stupid" and "question" in the same post...).

[whitneydsmith]

I'm working on the Orchid right now too. One thing that I can add is there is a set of directions on the "downloads" page that someone put together with pictures of how each step should look.

Here's a link:

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/i...amp;showfile=51

This has been invaluable, I don't know what I would do without it! As a first time builder everything was overwhelming, and this really calmed me down. I think next time I might be ready to tackle a house without picture instructions, but for now, I wouldn't give them up for the world.

And thank you to whoever put them together!