donella lyonesse Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hello all, I have to start my intro....with a WOW, this site is just amazing. I have been to hundreds of sites all over the net looking for instructions to build the Bellingham Farmhouse, that I bought for our grand daughter and this by and far out wows all the others by a million to one. I have spent the entire day looking at the gallery, reading tutorials, taking notes, etc. and will probably be spending many more days in the near future perusing the forum. I'm 56 years young, am married to my best friend, and we have two grown children and two grandchildren (boy and girl). My hubby and I are both disabled/handicapped and on a fixed income but we get by and make do like most others are in this day and age. We live in rural Oklahoma on 7-1/2 acres just close enough to a small town to be convenient for groceries and such. We have a Jack russell terrior, a siamiese cat and a Tennessee Walking horse who "own" us and a multitude of other critters who share our land. We live as sustainably as possible for us and have a couple fruit trees and a square-foot garden (five boxes) that helps to keep us going when the budget gets tight. I have been a crafter for most of my life and love to make things....leatherwork, wood work, bead work, crochet, macrame, knit, quilt etc. etc. Love making things for other people and usually make most, if not all, of our Christmas presents to others. I love trying my hand at making new things and love working with my hands. Even grew gourds this year so I could make mini bird houses for our feathered friends as well as mini fairy houses and a doll house. I got four gourds last year and they are in the process of being painted and such now. We got about sixteen gourds, some large, some small this year so will be busy when they get dried! This is my first attempt at making a dollhouse...for my grand daughter, of course. I bought it when she was born, and she is just now getting to the age that she will love having it, and yet, will still take care of it. Don't you know when I opened the box to get started, there were NO INSTRUCTIONS!!! We have been searching for them everywhere, contacted the company we bought the kit from, tried contacting Dura-craft, bought them two times on e-bay but never actually received them from the sellers. I have since, been perusing sites online, emailing people and trying desperately to find anyone who would be willing to copy and send them to us....even offered to pay for copying and shipping....but no luck so far. We tried, last week, to figure out how to put it together on our own....and I have to admit that it was just not going to happen....I thought surely we could figure it out, but was afraid to make the attempt and then mess it all up...SOOOOO here I am again, searching for any aid we can get. If there is anyone out there who has the plans and would be willing to copy and email them, or copy and send them by email, I will gladly pay for having it done as we are getting desperate. I feel lucky to have found this site, and look forward to sharing ideas and pics with you once we get it going. I have made alot of the furniture and got it either painted and stained already and will be getting started making cushions, bedding, curtains, linens etc as we progress. Again, this site is wonderful and to those of you who have shared ideas and pics...god bless you! Hugs and bright blessings to you and yours, Donella Lyonesse Age is NOT a measure of maturity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi Linda, and welcome to the forum! You are so right - this is a wonderful site - and the members here are equally wonderful! I've seen some very creative things done with dried gourds - I hope you will take pics of yours as you make them. Fairy houses - I was just looking at some yesterday at the Miniature Show in Toronto! (Well, they were about the size of small coconuts and called fairy nests. One fairy in each.) Are you going to make a dollhouse out of one? Or were you referring to the Bellingham Farmhouse? I hope someone here will have the instructions that you need - my goodness, you've been through a real quest for them, haven't you? Be patient - sometimes it takes a while for posts to be seen (there are so many of them everyday!) - but my guess is that one of our members will be able to help you out. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PATBIDLACK Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/i...p;hl=bellingham Try this topic. someone there has the instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynette Smith Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi Donella! ;) Welcome th the neighborhood. My grandparents came from Guymon, Oklahoma! We still have 60 acres of the original family homestead in the family (other cousins a branch or two further along the family tree may have more). I've always thought it would be interesting to see where they came from! Good luck with the build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corwin Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hello and welcome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Welcome to the forum family, Linda. Unfortunately for those of us who took a perverse pleasure in building Dura-Craft kits, the company ceased to exist a while back; however, I'm also sure one of our members who has built the Bellingham will have instructions to send you. Is it the MDF version, or the all-wood version? The all-wooden kits are very intimidating because most of the exterior walls are built up in sections and fit into slotted longframe pieces that sometimes have to be cut to particular lengths and glued together in certain ways, and all that info is in the instruction booklet (I have built a kit or two from Dura-Craft). One of the nice(?) things about miniatures and having lots of craft interests is that sooner or later you find some way to adapt that craft to minis. So far the only craft techniques I haven't yet adapted to minis are tatting and macrame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hello and welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakyshaky Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi and welocme! The Bellingham is a nice house. I can't help with the directions, but I am sure some one else will soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasbuilder Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Good morning. I have the Bellingham instructions on my computer. I just sent you a PM about them. Just send me your private email address in a PM and I will email the instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_the_haunted Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi and to the group! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butlerestates Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hello again, I was able to get the instructions out of the box for you. There are 19 pages to them. Would you mind if I mailed them to you? I am in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma so I think they should get to you quickly since we are in the same state. If you would rather me email it it will be a huge file so I would have to convert it to adobe to send it to you and Im embarrased to say but I dont know how to do that. My husband or 17 year old will do it for me if you prefer when they are not at work but you will need adobe to open it and download it. Let me know which you prefer. Either way I dont mind Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butlerestates Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I noticed that you got a reply from someone that already has them on their computer. I will mail you these anyway so you have a copy but If you contact them you could have them emailed and be able to save them too! Then you dont have to ever worry about not having them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donella lyonesse Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 Good morning everyone and thanks for the great welcomes to the group. Hearty thanks go to texasbuilder and Rebecca for the offers to send me the building instructions. I would greatly appreciate getting them !! Yes, your buddy is adorable....our furry friends add so much love and comfort to our lives, don't they?! I have to say that we were a bit disappointed when we opened the Bellingham box, for a couple of reasons, first and foremost was the fact that the instructions were not included but also because the box said the house was all wood....what they failed to mention was that it was pressed wood! I am not sure how long it will hold up under Cassidy's playing but hopefully she will get a few years of happiness from our efforts. Havanaholly, wow you tat....I have been trying to learn how to tat for three years now. I was traveling to Pennsylvania one year and saw a lady tatting while waiting for our plane. It was so cool to watch as she just whipped one stitch after another out. I got all kinds of books and different tatting needles etc. and just could not figure it out from the instructions in the books. I haven't given up though....everytime I get a project completed I grab those books and tatting supplies and have a go at it again. I think one of my problems with learning to tat is that I have a tendency to make any kind of stitches too tight. Yes, Shy Spirit we do plan to make a couple of them into fairy homes and at least one into a mini doll house, probably more like just a room from a dollhouse, much like the shadow box rooms I have seen made. Will post pics (provided I can figure out how to do that when the time comes) to the site for all to see. I too, have seen some really awesome gourds when painted....not sure I am all that talented, but am definitely going to give it my best shot. Thanks again for all the warm welcomes Hugs and blessings to all, Donella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hello and welcome to the forum Linda! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hello and Welcom Linda to the forum. We have built several of the Dura Craft houses and hace never had a problem with them. Two of them are over 8 yrs old and they are still together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Hello and welcome to the forums! I'm working on a Bellingham at the moment as well. I look forward to seeing yours-- As far as the MDF goes....it's a pretty solid build. I would prefer the thicker MDF if a child would be playing with it. Greenleaf houses are gorgeous...but they just seem so fragile to me..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesterfieldzoo Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Greenleaf houses look good and really aren't so fragile. Welcome to the forum!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Unless several heavy children all deliberately jump on a Greenleaf house the gingerbread trim and the window acetate are the vulnerable parts. When I build a kit for a child to play with I do reinforce the interior corners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueUni47 Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Hello and welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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