What's everyone working on?

[Roxxie2]

Still decorating my Buttercup Christmas house project. I just love this cute little house!!! I keep finding more places in that tiny space to put Christmas items.

I decorated an old bottle brush tree and located the last of my Dollar Tree furniture stash just enough to put a small child's ( mouse child) bed and dresser in the tiny bedroom upstairs next to Santa and Mrs. Mouse's bed on the other side of the partition. I am about down to the end of my once huge stash of dollhouse items but its fun to see how I can use the last items.

[WyckedWood]

Hope you feel better soon Anna. My boys were both sick recently ( back to school colds)I was so glad I didn't end up with it. Swear by Coldeeze.

I've been itching to do Christmas house stuff but I have so much to do with interior details I don't know what to do first, so I'm not doing anything lol.

Cheverly I like to use washes on roof tiles but then my tiles are clay. On the few wooden ones I've done, I've dry brushed white on over the base colors. I think roofs are nice when they aren't all one flat color. You might check out Cinderella Moments blog, if I recall she has some aged roofs and usually describes how she does things.

[nuttiwebgal]

HAZZAH!

tonight I was flippin through e-bay looking for the 3rd Greenleaf Village that is out of stock in the store...SIGH

anywhoodle....I put in Greenleaf Kits and there was the answer to the kitchen stuffs problems I have for the Gingerbread AND the 2 beds I need for the nursery

all in the Greenleaf 56 piece furniture kit!!! which I just so happen to have under my bed!!!!!!...YAYA...

yes I had totally forgotten I had it...the picture just did it....so when I finish the Library and the cupola on the schoolhouse I can start building some pieces for the house.

I have most of the furniture for it but I was not liking my kitchen selection...I have 4 all modern I like the older stoves...

I have very much enjoyed playing with my village and getting it ready for the Holidays!

[Cheverly]

Thanks, Karin! Since I posted I used another wash, darker this time but looks much better than the first attempt. I'll definitely check out her blog too. I love her work!! And the crazy thing is that she lives in my town! I keep hoping I'll run into her at the grocery store. How awesome would that be?!

[L Swearengin]

GARAGE heads to TEXAS tonight. Stop over in Springfield MO to pick up my oldest. AND yes I am delivering this one. Can't miss a chance to visit the grandbabies now can I? Will do finishing touches in TX since I am sure the car will not be nice. Got a bag full of paint and extras. Hope he likes it. I know he will LOVE the car since it is a model of his daddy's car.

[nuttiwebgal]

safe travels! granbabies so worth the delivery!

[fov]

I pulled out a gatorboard scratch built shell I bought last year for $2 and have started turning it into a Spanish revival style artist's cottage. So far I put wood filler "stucco" on the outside, painted, added flooring, stained the door and windows, and re-hinged the door to open the other way. Here are a few progress pics, with more on my blog here.

Since I got the house shell ridiculously cheap and it's handmade, I like the idea of filling it up with cheap and/or handmade odds and ends, but I did splurge on Braxton Payne beehive fireplace to go inside. It arrived today, so cute!

[WyckedWood]

I love beehive fireplaces, that is really cute.

Cheverly that would be awesome, youd have a conversation opener lol

Nutti, that's hilarious, I do things like that too (Forgetting I have stuff)...gets kinda scary

[havanaholly]

Emily, what about some of that Mission furniture you made?

[Cheverly]

Yesterday I took a vacation day and worked on the farmhouse. I expanded the side opening for a French door, added the 2nd floor balcony door, got the front wing glued together, cut another floor for the attic wing (thinking about bashing it into a little sewing nook or something) AND finished painting the windows. I was going to glue them together too, but of course the acetate has yellowed so I'll be picking up more of that. Amazing how much fun you can accomplish at home on a Monday!

[Roxxie2]

I think I have finished my Buttercup Christmas Mouse House!!!! Pictures coming soon and I get some residents!!! :rudolph:

I started to assemble the Michael's Puzzle house that looks like a half scale Tennyson. Tricky devil....I think its going to be a bit Haunted! (covering all my holidays)

[Dalesq]

All of you are doing some awesome stuff.

I've been fighting a bug, so I'm making slow progress on my Tennyson bash, and I started a 1:144 cabin that is a birthday gift for a friend. Pics to follow soon.

[havanaholly]

Our contractor showed up to work up an estimate for adding a screen porch to the back of the house and when he came back with actual numbers (less than 25% of an e$rimate we got at a home show) he also fixed the circuit for one of the sets of shop lights that had stopped working (the one the lights in the storage closet are on).

[Cheverly]

Last night I got the walls of the farmhouse up. It's a much smaller house than Whitebrush, but somehow it was a bigger booger to get to stay together. I finally had to call my sweet husband in to help me hold it up until I could get the twine around. Speaking of my dear man, he was such an angel last night. I'd already changed into my mini clothes (hideous Alf shirt and stained shorts) and didn't want to go back out to get more wood glue, so he went for me! :wub: It was so thoughtful that I didn't have the heart to tell him he didn't get the stainable kind. No biggie... I'll just have to remember not to use it for shingles.

[jbnmini]

I seem to be making only slow progress on the North Park/Ellwanger House rehab.

Papered a few more rooms, but have now changed my mind about the paper for the hallways...I think I want to use the same paper for all three floors and the client didn't have enough of any one pattern to pull that off...so off to look at wallpaper!

During my lunch breaks at work I have been working on the stairs. I've got the first set finished with the white paint, along with the railings for both landings...now to start working on the second set of stairs. The stair treads and hand rails will be stained to match the flooring - which I haven't done yet, so that will have to wait. I think next I will bring in all of the trim work and start working on painting that while on my lunch. I have a LOT of trim work to paint! LOL

[minilover62]

Hi everybody! after my last disappointments with Craiglist, I decided to finish the Lafayette shell that I bought to bash with the Pierce for the Family Dollhouse, (I changed my mind about the Lafayette bashing because of the difference on the thickness of the walls and the roofs) to practice for the first time the electrical part of the building. I primed the shell completely and installed the tapewire, the junction splice, the lead in wire and the transformer. So far the first floor was tested and I have power! It is exciting! After I finish connecting the rest of the house, my problem is that I don't know what to do to mark the tape wire so I can know after I wallpaper all over where is the tape. My husband told me to take pictures of the layout now, and measure the places where I will install my lights to know where they are after I wallpaper. Is there a simpler way to do this? I don't blame to anybody that refuses to light their dollhouses, is nice but Boy oh boy!! takes lots of time, at least to a beginner like me!! Uff!

I will post pictures later of my work, remember is my first!!!hahah!

[havanaholly]

It seem to me that taking pictures before you paper is the way to go. Using removable templates for the wall treatments might be another.

[KathieB]

Are you using the pound in outlets for the lights? If so,

1. pull them out gently (you don't want to enlarge the hole and risk compromising the connection between tape wire and prongs)
2. clip the tip from a thin toothpick about a quarter inch long, and gently insert it into the hole, point out. It should stick out just enough to be felt with your fingertips
3. put up the wallpaper and let it dry. There will be tiny toothpick bumps to mark where the outlets go.
4. prick the wallpaper with the tip of a very sharp eXactor knife and use tweezers or a needle nose pliers to pull out the the toothpicks.
5. Slide the outlets back into the holes, and you're good to go.

[Roxxie2]

Since I finished up my Buttercup ( no photos yet) I cleaned up my work area which took a couple of hours. I was going to build a haunted house but I got side tracked and started decorating and rearranging around the house. It must be the fall going into hibernation mode. Maybe I will get started on the HH tomorrow!

[minilover62]

Thanks Holly and Kathie!

I will take the pictures to be on the safe side.

Kathie, I have eyelets to connect my lights, but if the pound in outlets are better I can get them. Since this is my first time I don't want to do all this job only not to have the lights working after I finish wallpapering, I would DIE! Your trick will work with the eyelets??

[KathieB]

Yes, Carmen. The toothpick trick will work with the eyelets even better than the pound-in receptacles, as there is less chance of enlarging the contact point. I meant to mention eyelets.

Photographing the tape runs can be a lifesaver. The dollhouse friend NJ and I did for charity 8 years ago came back to us to "spruce up" with 80% of the lights not working. Luckily I'd photographed every inch of the tape runs, which enabled our electrician (NJ's husband) to methodically work his way through the maze to make the repairs.

[nuttiwebgal]

I have managed to complete my little Village....the man is here for a few days so stuffs go on hold.

so photos will come soon....although I wish it was old and haunted look I am SUPER happy how it tuned out

after Halloween I will add some snow and glitter to some of the houses and my how it will all sparkle under my grans 1957 silver Christmas Tree

now on to the needed furniture for the Gingerbread house :victory:

[minilover62]

Congrats! I can't wait to see the pictures of your village!

Here some pictures of my Lafayette electrical progress. Today I will try to work on the eyelets and toothpicks, I have been very busy with my son's first performance with his school marching band, he plays the clarinet, and tomorrow there will be a competition in Illinois, I hope they win! I have been helping with the uniforms alterations, so lots of fun!

Here we go, some pictures show the tape with the house upside down, I am doing most of my wiring on the ceilings. I finished last night placing all the brass brads, and tested everywhere, and all tape wires have power.Yes!

[minilover62]

It doesn't let me post more than 1 picture, the sizes of the pictures are correct 80kb average, but it says that I exceeded my allotted disk space for attachments. I don't get it..with only 1 picture?

[Cheverly]

Nutti, I bet that Christmas tree is spectacular to see. Wish I had one. And can't wait to see more pics of your village!

Carmen, half the time I can't even upload one picture to a post... I think mostly it depends on which method I'm using (phone, work or home computer) because each is different. I'm sure high/low tides and lunar cycles play a part too.

I've put Whitebrush on hold because I don't have a Dremel, but the other day I realized I could use my hubby's scroll saw blades. Duh!! So I now have three bashed windows under my balcony, and am carefully planning an attic door into some dead space on the 3rd floor before I make anything permanent. Just having the windows finally done was super exciting. I'll post a pic this weekend, hopefully after I paint and organize my new craft room.