magnolia Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Hello everyone, I'm a new member and first time to build my garfield dollhouse. I might have lots of question so please be patient with me :lol: When I received my dollhouse yesterday and open it I freak out right away and told to myself 'gee this looks hard to build' luckly I got couple friends (including my hubby) to help me out to build the dollhouse. But then I don't know where to start, should I paint it first, do I need to put the siding first and what kind of glue to use to put them together? Those kind of question and I'm starting to get frustrated even though I haven't started yet. So please could someone help me out where to start before I go crazy My husband and my friends knows that I'm very inpatient person and they all telling me that this won't take a week to build it, it's a project that it might take at least a year or so. Thank you very much!! Magnolia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Welcome to the Community Magnolia!! There are several people building the Garfield and there a LOTS of pictures of there process. At the top of the screen on the right hand side, you can click the search link and type in garfield and I am sure youll get lots of pictures (If you like eye candy like the rest of us you'll love using that search button ) Do you have pictures of yours? We would love to see them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa_F Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Hi Magnolia, The Garfield - what a wonderful house to be building! This one is definitely on my "wish list" for houses I'll eventually own & put together! As Tracy already pointed out - there are several people on this forum that are either in the process of building this house or have already finished building it. If you look through the gallery & read through old posts you will find a ton of information & help on this house. But then I don't know where to start, should I paint it first, do I need to put the siding first and what kind of glue to use to put them together? Those kind of question and I'm starting to get frustrated even though I haven't started yet. So please could someone help me out where to start before I go crazy For my dollhouse kits, I like Aileen's Tacky Glue - and I always have a few rolls of masking tape handy to help hold the glued pieces together until the glue dries. Wax paper is another good supply to have on hand - you can set freshly painted trim or glued items on it until they dry and they won't usually stick to the wax paper. As far as where to start first with your house, the best advice I recieved on this subject was to read all of the instructions and then read them a second time before starting the house. The first time through the instructions - they can feel a little intimidating and leave you feeling overwhelmed. By the second reading, more of the instructions start making sense and as you flip back and forth between the instructions and the schematics of the pieces, everything starts to make more sense. Once you've familiarized yourself with the instructions, then, going by the instruction sheets, start with step #1 and proceed from there. I only mention this (starting with step #1 of the directions) because sometimes if you start with one of the other steps that seem to be easy enough - it can be difficult to later go back and do the steps that were skipped. Often times, the sequence of the steps is very important - especially if it's your first dollhouse. Good luck & ask questions as you go along - before you know it you'll be amazed at what you have accomplished with your house! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnolia Posted June 15, 2006 Author Share Posted June 15, 2006 Hi Lisa, Thank you thank you very much for the advice it helps a lot! It was kind of scary when I open the box and start reading the intructions. It was confusing when I first read the intructions, but you are right I have to read it more than ones. :0) Again thank you! Magnolia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnolia Posted June 15, 2006 Author Share Posted June 15, 2006 Welcome to the Community Magnolia!! There are several people building the Garfield and there a LOTS of pictures of there process. At the top of the screen on the right hand side, you can click the search link and type in garfield and I am sure youll get lots of pictures (If you like eye candy like the rest of us you'll love using that search button ) Do you have pictures of yours? We would love to see them!! :lol: Hi, No I haven't had a chance to take it out in the box yet. I got scared when I open the box coz it looks hard to build. I'll take a pictures when I start building it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Welcome to the family, Maggie We're so glad you're here! I, too, hope one day to build a Garfield. It's easier for me to decorate the exterior after the rest of the building is done. If I'm going to side or shingle the outside I may or may not slap a coat of sanding sealer on the wood before I remove it from the sheets, but lately I've quit doing even that. I will prime it in whatever color I want the grout if I'm going for faux brick or stone. Sometimes I decorate first, sometimes I do it as I go along, and sometimes after it's built. Do read the posts, a lot of the questions overwhelming you now may have been answered already, and may even answer questions you haven't thought of yet. On the other hand, ask away, sometimes we've figured out another way to do something. a project that it might take at least a year or so. :lol: My first kit was the Dura-Craft San Franciscan and it took over 3 1/2 years to build. The Coventry Cottage took me nearly three months because I had to build & then do surgery on the screened porch four times. I probably have over three dozen books on making minis I use for ideas, plus notebooks I clip & save the projects from all the mini magazines I've gotten (excpet my AMs, they stay in one piece!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Welcome to the forum Magnolia. I've not built the Garfield, but to help you familarize with the instructions, you may want to label each piece (some write directly on the wood with pencil, some write on masking tape and put it on the part) before you start punching it out. This will help you as you go along, just in case a piece gets dropped. Since, I've not done the Garfield, I'm not sure if the next suggestion would help, but with the Coventry Cottage, after I labeled each piece, I then punched them out and grouped steps together and put in plastic bags. But the Coventry is small especially compared to the Garfield. But I found this to be helpful as I went thru the steps--all the pieces for that step was together--as opposed to being on different sheets. Good luck, patience is needed, it took me 9 months to complete the Lily and somewhere around 4 months for the Coventry. You will find many opinions about the type of glue to use, everyone seems to have a favorite--the one thing just about everyone agrees on though is not to use hot glue for putting it together. The prevailing opinion is that hot glue may be ok for shingles and possibly siding but not for the joints. Please do a search on the Garfield, I do believe I've read several state that even if you wait to wallpaper or paint after the build there is one or two spots that need to be done as you build do to small access when completed. Hope I haven't added to your confusion--I remember when I got the Lily--it was quite overwhelming. But I sure did have a lot of fun sorting it out and the help from folks on the forum was invaluable. Peggi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Hi and welcome Magnolia, I also have a garfield so I know how intimidating it can be. My mom and dad bought it for me a long time ago (almost 20 yrs). I was finally able to 'rescue' it from my dad's and now I'm cleaning it up fixing whatever needs fixed and adding and addition. The best thing I can tell you is just to take it slow and you'll be fine. If you run into any problems just ask there are many people building the garfield just as Tracy said someone should be able to help. :lol: Can't wait to see pics when you get started. Annette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakyshaky Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hi and welcome! I use wood glue and usually decorate the inside and outside after it is built. Do watch out for hard to reach spaces like behind stairs, you may need to do them first. The other thing I would add is to save the windows for last. That is the only thing I do out of order. It will save you alot of touch ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnolia Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Hi and welcome! I use wood glue and usually decorate the inside and outside after it is built. Do watch out for hard to reach spaces like behind stairs, you may need to do them first. The other thing I would add is to save the windows for last. That is the only thing I do out of order. It will save you alot of touch ups. Hi shakshaky Is wood glue is better than hot glue? I called Greenleaf and spoke to someone she advance to use the hot glue to put it together. Thanks for the advice and I will keep that in mind. Oh by the I love the Elf bakery very cool oh one more thing how did you put the bricks floor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Is wood glue is better than hot glue? Hot glue isn't absorbed by the wood, and over time can react with the environment and soften or become brittle and it's a nuisance when some store's model starts to sag at the seams; for a handbuilt, labor-of-love behemoth like the Garfield it could become a tragedy of Sophoclean proportions. Carpenter's wood glue, on the other hand, is partially absorbed into the wood and bonds it together pretty well. The only reason I reinforce my little houses with staples is because I sell them to people with small children to play with, supervised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakyshaky Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 I am glad you liked the elf bakery! The floor I just painted gray and sponged on a little bit of white. I then took a paint pen and drew in stones. It was really very easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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