Kabrina Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Fov I actually added the same window on mine. I love bays and plan to make it a Christmas house with a large tree in front of it. That was the only place my staircase would fit but it blocks the window. I guess I like bay windows even more than staircases. :wub: LOL Oh well. Next time I'm at Michaels I will definitly be on the lookout for more of these little houses and then maybe I will come up with a solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 I left the stairs out of the one with the porch. It gave me more room to decorate. My poor little house is in a shoebox in the closet. I hear it whimpering at me to take it back out and finish! Poor little house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daylily Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 My dollhouse and I are not the best of friends right now! Frankly, I can understand why it isn't pleased with me. Excerpts from today's dry-building session: Me: "House! Stop being a pansy!" House: Stony silence. Me: "HOUSE! Behave yourself!" House: *Makes a face.* Me: "HOUSE!" House: *Tries to ignore me* Maybe Hugh Laurie's House wants to live there, LOL! If so, I hope he has earthquake insurance. LOL! This place does not look structurally sound! I can't seem to get the pieces to square up. Advice, anyone? I know it's a hot mess, but it is my first try. :yay: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 From experience with this house (I've built 3) 1-trim the tabs on each end, they're too wide to fit well in the slots. 2-leave off the little pinwheel things on the porch. They get in the way on the inside of the house and don't fit right. On one house, I cut them in half and glued the outside halves under the roof. On the two others I just used good glue and glued the two tabs and the edge of the roof straight to the house. 3- make sure you have the divider on the second floor with the correct end pointing out. One end is too high and makes the roof bow in the middle if you glue it facing the wrong direction. 4-the little dormer over the front porch does not fit right. Cut the tabs down and adjust it to the correct angle. 5-if all this fails, put it on the floor and stomp on it. Won't help the house, but it will make you feel better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daylily Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 Thanks so much, Sherry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted September 26, 2010 Share Posted September 26, 2010 I guess I belong over here again. I pulled out a Michaels Puzzle House last year's model that I squirreled away and started making it into a gingerbread house. The Buttercup was suppose to be that but I got so frustrated with the splinters and warping I 86'd it and this is going a whole lot better thank goodness. Ms Daylily, I totally cut those tabs off the porch roof and did not use those swirly things that are suppose to hold it on. I glued the roof directly to the house and put shims underneath just in case. It hasn't budged. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daylily Posted September 27, 2010 Share Posted September 27, 2010 Good luck with your gingerbread house! It sounds darling. ;) I guess this means that I should start glueing - ack! The permanence of it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted September 27, 2010 Share Posted September 27, 2010 I have all day to work on mine but its so damp outside I can't put the paper out there to seal with spray. I also managed to run out of my tacky glue stick that I use to put paper up with. I can't find anything else that works as smoothly without bubbles and wrinkles. I glue everything down in the puzzle houses because I get tired of picking up all those tiny pieces and putting them back where they belong. Also the cat loves to put his paws inside and take things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerriMagic Posted September 27, 2010 Share Posted September 27, 2010 Aww splinters are NOT FUN. I hope GL reads this and takes a hint. They've spoiled us with the lasercut kits. Even though I love GL's house designs, I'll think twice about buying a kit that isn't at the very least, lasercut. I can hardly wait to see your new little Christmas Mousehouse, Roxxie! Keep up the good work, and don't think twice about ol Buttercup..she bit the hand that builds her..I don't blame you for tc'ing it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 Having more fun with the puzzle that I should. Its a nice little break from the bigger houses. Maybe I will feel ready to go on a bigger project after I play a while. Like a wise woman reminded me on the forum, if its not fun don't do it! ( I quote Sherry). :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I'm too lazy to poke around in the other thread, so I'm not sure if we've already talked about this (I know I mentioned it to someone!), but check out the Lemax Sugar 'n Spice collection for your gingerbread house. Should be to scale and they have a lot of really cute "candy" pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 OOOO thanks! I did see some Lemax in Michaels but I don't remember if I saw any candy. I found some scrapbook embellishments that are candy canes and peppermints. I need more! I LOVE gingerbread houses and have made so many real ones. This one won't go stale on me! lol Thanks I am having too much fun here. I have glitter paint all over the place. I decided to just paint the snow and add crystal glitter paint. The spackle would be too heavy was my thought. I want to add real smell to the house so I was thinking I could make some of those applesause and cinnamon ornaments for the residents. I made them for my artificial christmas tree and it gave the whole room a lovely smell. Now if I could find the recipe....:groucho: PS your puzzle house is just elegant! I can't believe what you did with it! Mine looks like a kid went crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 You can make mini of the candy decorations out of polymer clay. Eventually I want to build a mini gingerbread house (permanent, not edible). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 The puzzle house is just right for it although I have to say that little 1/2 scale buttercup would make a really cute gingerbread house I am thinking! Years ago when I was teaching piano I made whole villages of real gb houses complete with trees and people. So much work that isn't permenant! I had this brain fart to make one of the miniature Greenleaf villages and make all the buildings look like gingerbread. I keep some of my gingerbread decorations up all year in my kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklepuppies Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I had this brain fart to make one of the miniature Greenleaf villages and make all the buildings look like gingerbread. Funny, I had that same thought! I've got 2 villages, thought of doing 1 gingerbread for Christmas decoration, and 1 "normal" to be little bitty houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I always had HO trains around the christmas tree when my kids were little. I thought that village might be the right size for it but I am not sure what the actual scale might be. I wonder if you can light those little houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 My grandparents had the glitter-covered cardboard village houses, church, etc they put under their tree, that all had small holes in the back for the treelight bulbs to fit through, so I don't see why you couldn't drill small holes into the backs of the houses and to that, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Roxxie, check the mini Christmas ornaments aisle at HL. They have tons of little fake candy ornaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklepuppies Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Yes, that's where I got all the stuff for my GB house last year. They have a lot of cute stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 :groucho: Don't have HL here. I looked online but not much there. I will try The $ Tree and Michaels this week. I have a couple of short Christmas light strings I am going to try and use in my houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 PS your puzzle house is just elegant! I can't believe what you did with it! Mine looks like a kid went crazy! :groucho: Thanks! I think the Sugar n Spice line might be discontinued, so you probably won't see it at Michael's. There's lots on eBay though. Here's a link to the collection: http://www.lemax.org/index.asp?id_cat=33 I haven't been to Michael's or the Dollar Tree in a while. I imagine they're getting their Christmas stuff in (unbelievable!) so I'll probably take a look soon. Last year I got some great little trees at Dollar Tree that I ended up using in my Fairfield landscaping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 I was in $ Tree today but didn't find anything small enough for a half scale Christmas. Thats the only problem with half scale is finding things small enough. I like half scale so much I would rather do everything in that size but its tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 I'm down to only one puzzle house in my stash now. It's the fantasy villa, and I hope to get it made into a Christmas decoration, but probably not this year! They are fun to mess around with, but I still prefer the larger scale. It's sure been fun to see what everyone does with them, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxxie Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 One reason I like them is they are light and easy for me to work on, no heavy lifting and struggling to turn them. I like the wood also, its so nice and smooth and it never warps. Oh, and they are budget friendly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Yeah, it's fun to work on a house that I can sit on top of the washer to keep Abby away from it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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