What's everyone working on?

[kathi17]

That really looks beautiful Emily!

[kathi17]

The slate floor looks beautiful too.

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[Deb]

Here's what I've been up to today:

 

It still has a ways to go like adding the braided trim around the edges and the feet but it's upholstered and put back together with no parts left over.  LOL!  The couch is upholstered but still in pieces so I'll try to get it reassembled tomorrow.  I just had to share the sunshine and happy coz this chair is the happiest piece of furniture I've done so far.  Seriously, it has me cranking up my 60s San Francisco play list and singing along.  Tommy James and the Shondells seem to be required while working on this one!  

[Sable]

4 hours ago, denkyem said:

Ok, here we go! Here's the slate floor in progress, and to the left you can see the back of one of the sample tiles I was cutting down to make these tiles.  towards the bottom of the image you can see i'd started to grout them with white spackle. 

 

 

And here's the finished floor positioned in the far-from-finished bathroom.

You can see here I'd gone over the grout with grey paint, but it's chipping a little. 

Sorry these pictures are so massive! I wanted to upload them to my gallery at full size, but wish there was a way to then add them from my gallery to a post at a smaller size -- is there? 

I went through a Formica phase for slate roofing. I spent about $40 for a 4'x8' piece of it and cut them into individual roof tiles. The look was perfect. But then I went to England and purchased real slate. I ripped off the entire formica roof and started from scratch. The look is exactly the same but my house really wanted real slate, so that's what it got.

[KathieB]

1 hour ago, ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding said:

Perhaps Emily hasn't had the opportunity to go to England to buy 'real slate'!..............I think it looks great Emily and a worthwhile tip for anyone else who may be unable to get to England..............I'm still in the 'cedar shingle phase' on my builds............how archaic is that!

"Vintage" has a kinder ring than "archaic". Good to see you posting, Elvis.  

[Dalesq]

20 hours ago, denkyem said:

Ok, here we go! Here's the slate floor in progress, and to the left you can see the back of one of the sample tiles I was cutting down to make these tiles.  towards the bottom of the image you can see i'd started to grout them with white spackle. 

 

 

And here's the finished floor positioned in the far-from-finished bathroom.

You can see here I'd gone over the grout with grey paint, but it's chipping a little. 

Sorry these pictures are so massive! I wanted to upload them to my gallery at full size, but wish there was a way to then add them from my gallery to a post at a smaller size -- is there? 

Emily, I use my iPhone and iPad for photographs. I resize each one by cropping before I upload. The cropping makes the file smaller and more compressed.

[denkyem]

1 hour ago, Dalesq said:

Emily, I use my iPhone and iPad for photographs. I resize each one by cropping before I upload. The cropping makes the file smaller and more compressed.

Thanks for that suggestion.  The real issue is that I think there's sometimes value in having full quality images in the gallery (so people can see details) but I don't want that full size showing up when i link gallery images in to a post!  In any case, I don't think anything would have been missed if these had been at a lower resolution in the gallery, so I guess I'll do what you do going forward :). 

[denkyem]

17 hours ago, Sable said:

I went through a Formica phase for slate roofing. I spent about $40 for a 4'x8' piece of it and cut them into individual roof tiles. The look was perfect. But then I went to England and purchased real slate. I ripped off the entire formica roof and started from scratch. The look is exactly the same but my house really wanted real slate, so that's what it got.

Wow, so much work to go through and then discard... then again, I recently did the same thing on all my hardwood floors after a MASSIVE amount of effort (gave up on the iron-on veneers, which weren't looking right for me after I'd been working on them for over a month, and redid everything in dollhouse oak floors) so I totally get that sometimes it doesn't matter how much work you've put in -- you just HAVE to redo it to get it right! The real slate is so gorgeous, and must look amazing on the roof.  Was this on your poolhouse? That's an all-time favourite of mine! 

9 hours ago, ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding said:

Perhaps Emily hasn't had the opportunity to go to England to buy 'real slate'!..............I think it looks great Emily and a worthwhile tip for anyone else who may be unable to get to England..............I'm still in the 'cedar shingle phase' on my builds............how archaic is that!

Haha, Mike/Elvis... I am actually over in England a couple times most years, plus have a great friend in London who visits Toronto frequently and is prepared to be my UK ebay shipping address and minis mule (she's bringing me scrapbook paper next week that seemed to have vanished from north america).  I thought pretty seriously about the real slate, but in this case frugality won out. It was just a bathroom floor after all, and you can't beat free!  I also wondered about how easy it would be to cut the real slate. Sable, what was your experience there? 

Online shopping from Canada is kind of a pain -- lots of things don't ship here or shipping/border fees are exorbitant, so we have to get crafty.  My partner just got a new consulting gig that is taking him down to NJ for most of the week over the next couple of months, and approximately my third question after getting this news was "so i can ship shoes and miniature stuff to your hotel, right?"

[KathieB]

I'm in a flurry to get our studio better organized so I can get back to work on the sadly neglected Beacon Hill. I did get a bed for the master bedroom that is a better fit than most double beds (that overpowered the space). The building superintendent has apparently given up on me getting back to work. Soon, I promise, soon! 

 

[Jo Med]

Deb I love that chair.

 

[Sable]

4 hours ago, denkyem said:

Wow, so much work to go through and then discard... then again, I recently did the same thing on all my hardwood floors after a MASSIVE amount of effort (gave up on the iron-on veneers, which weren't looking right for me after I'd been working on them for over a month, and redid everything in dollhouse oak floors) so I totally get that sometimes it doesn't matter how much work you've put in -- you just HAVE to redo it to get it right! The real slate is so gorgeous, and must look amazing on the roof.  Was this on your poolhouse? That's an all-time favourite of mine! 

Haha, Mike/Elvis... I am actually over in England a couple times most years, plus have a great friend in London who visits Toronto frequently and is prepared to be my UK ebay shipping address and minis mule (she's bringing me scrapbook paper next week that seemed to have vanished from north america).  I thought pretty seriously about the real slate, but in this case frugality won out. It was just a bathroom floor after all, and you can't beat free!  I also wondered about how easy it would be to cut the real slate. Sable, what was your experience there? 

Online shopping from Canada is kind of a pain -- lots of things don't ship here or shipping/border fees are exorbitant, so we have to get crafty.  My partner just got a new consulting gig that is taking him down to NJ for most of the week over the next couple of months, and approximately my third question after getting this news was "so i can ship shoes and miniature stuff to your hotel, right?"

I love the look of the Formica, you really can't tell the difference. I think it works great for flooring but as a material for roof tiles i had one small issue.  All the edges of every tile had to be colored over with a black Sharpie in order for the edges to look realistic.  But for flooring you don't have to worry about it cause the edges are covered by grout.

You also reminded me that my sister is coming to the States next month and I need to put in my request for the wide planked oak floors that I cant seem to get here. She has a dollshouse store across from her grocery so it's convenient for her to get them for me. 

The slate is very easy to cut with a utility knife or small mitre saw and fine tune with sandpaper for very clean edges. Yes, the poolhouse has the slate on it.

[denkyem]

1 minute ago, Sable said:

I love the look of the Formica, you really can't tell the difference. I think it works great for flooring but as a material for roof tiles i had one small issue.  All the edges of every tile had to be colored over with a black Sharpie in order for the edges to look realistic.  But for flooring you don't have to worry about it cause the edges are covered by grout.

You also reminded me that my sister is coming to the States next month and I need to put in my request for the wide planked oak floors that I cant seem to get here. She has a dollshouse store across from her grocery so it's convenient for her to get them for me. 

That's a great point about the edges.  Actually, a lot of my edges were a bit rough where the back side of the formica had splintered a little along the line, so I would have had to really sand them and black them if the edges were going to be visible.  With the grouting, no issue! I did dribble a little grey paint in to a couple of scratches I'd made accidentally in the surfaces.

[Sable]

Please note I edited my previous post to answer more of your questions.

[Deb]

Yesterday I finished reassembling the sofa and pulled out all the yummy fabrics for the pillows.  That paisley *sings* with every color of the rainbow! so it's gonna be hard to choose which one gets to be the primary accent color.  However, Nutti is coming to play at my house today so she can pick which one she likes best.   <happy dancing>  It's always so much fun when we get together and today we're going to make a split ottoman for her soon-to-be-built Taft.   It's been years since I made one but surprisingly I remember how.  I was dressing Corwin's Garf and he asked if I could do an oversized, two-piece, split ottoman to match the rest of the furniture in the game room.....something casual that could be pulled around the room to game tables or in front of the fireplace.  Since nothing like that was available in mini furniture, I ended up making my own with florist foam and upholstering it.  It's hard to describe (well, it's hard for me to describe since my brain can't seem to locate half of my vocabulary today) so here's a picture of what I'm talking about:  

 

  

It's really pretty easy once the foam is cut and I did that part last night so Nutti and I are ready to have a fabulous and fun mini day together!

[kathi17]

That set is beautiful Deb. I'm so glad you girls are getting together, it sounds like a really fun day!

[suej]

34 minutes ago, Deb said:

Yesterday I finished reassembling the sofa and pulled out all the yummy fabrics for the pillows.  That paisley *sings* with every color of the rainbow! so it's gonna be hard to choose which one gets to be the primary accent color.  However, Nutti is coming to play at my house today so she can pick which one she likes best.   <happy dancing>  It's always so much fun when we get together and today we're going to make a split ottoman for her soon-to-be-built Taft.   It's been years since I made one but surprisingly I remember how.  I was dressing Corwin's Garf and he asked if I could do an oversized, two-piece, split ottoman to match the rest of the furniture in the game room.....something casual that could be pulled around the room to game tables or in front of the fireplace.  Since nothing like that was available in mini furniture, I ended up making my own with florist foam and upholstering it.  It's hard to describe (well, it's hard for me to describe since my brain can't seem to locate half of my vocabulary today) so here's a picture of what I'm talking about:  

 

It's really pretty easy once the foam is cut and I did that part last night so Nutti and I are ready to have a fabulous and fun mini day together!

How great to have a miniature buddy close enough to play with! Deb, I love the piping on the ottoman..if I may ask, what do you use?

[Deb]

30 minutes ago, suej said:

 I love the piping on the ottoman..if I may ask, what do you use?

I use crewel embroidery thread.  It's just the right size to be in scale and the texture of crewel thread looks like braiding on furniture.  It took awhile for me to figure out the best way to put it on because using a toothpick to put glue on the furniture or pillow just doesn't work well....it's not neat enough for my OCD.  LOL!  So I cut a piece to fit whatever it is plus about half an inch to hold onto, grip the end between my left finger and thumb, then put a drop of tacky glue on my right index finger.  Pinch the thread at the top between the right index finger and thumb so it squishes in the glue and then draw the thread thru it while rubbing my finger and thumb back and forth just a little to coat it on all sides.  After that it's a rush to get it on the furniture before the glue dries without it sticking to my arm or anywhere else on the furniture but the results are usually pretty good.  I keep a wet washcloth on the table to wipe away any glue that gets out of hand (pun intended).  After it's on, trim the ends and use a little glue on a toothpick to push the ends down neatly and that's it.  It takes a bit of practice but it's the method that works best for me.  I like the way it finishes the edges of upholstery and pillows.  If you look closely at the chairs, you can see ivory piping around the back, seat and arms.  I use the same thing to make the drapery pulls and lay them on a piece of waxed paper to dry so that when they're on the drapes, they hold a straight line as if gravity really works.  <grinning>  I get fussy about window treatments that don't hang properly and apparently that extends to the pull cords too.  My life motto is "OCD works for me" .   hehehehe

[L Swearengin]

Well..... my retirement home is finished.  on to the little house for a grand niece.  there are bunch more pictures on my Pinterest page

[havanaholly]

What a charming house, and what a great job you did with it!

[suej]

3 hours ago, Deb said:

I use crewel embroidery thread.  It's just the right size to be in scale and the texture of crewel thread looks like braiding on furniture.  It took awhile for me to figure out the best way to put it on because using a toothpick to put glue on the furniture or pillow just doesn't work well....it's not neat enough for my OCD.  LOL!  So I cut a piece to fit whatever it is plus about half an inch to hold onto, grip the end between my left finger and thumb, then put a drop of tacky glue on my right index finger.  Pinch the thread at the top between the right index finger and thumb so it squishes in the glue and then draw the thread thru it while rubbing my finger and thumb back and forth just a little to coat it on all sides.  After that it's a rush to get it on the furniture before the glue dries without it sticking to my arm or anywhere else on the furniture but the results are usually pretty good.  I keep a wet washcloth on the table to wipe away any glue that gets out of hand (pun intended).  After it's on, trim the ends and use a little glue on a toothpick to push the ends down neatly and that's it.  It takes a bit of practice but it's the method that works best for me.  I like the way it finishes the edges of upholstery and pillows.  If you look closely at the chairs, you can see ivory piping around the back, seat and arms.  I use the same thing to make the drapery pulls and lay them on a piece of waxed paper to dry so that when they're on the drapes, they hold a straight line as if gravity really works.  <grinning>  I get fussy about window treatments that don't hang properly and apparently that extends to the pull cords too.  My life motto is "OCD works for me" .   hehehehe

Thank you!!! I just printed this out for my "how to" file.

[grazhina]

Deb, I just love that colorful swirly fabric chair.

Today my cottage has a dirt floor in the cellar. Of course the wood was slightly warped, and warped a teensy bit more when I painted it "dirt", even though I'd sprayed sealer on the backside. Right now my house is sitting, glue drying, a heavy can of drywall compound sitting in the middle of the floor. I'd planned on glueing the house to a landscaped base later, I just want the floor board not to go sprung, and loosen the walls. Maybe I should do a little work on the outside now and then glue the house to a base?  I had wanted to work on the upper floor some more first.  Oh, what's a mother to do?

[havanaholly]

With a dirt floor in the cellar, is there any way to work with the warp so it looks like it's supposed to be there?  Knowing you & your work you will figure it out and it will be fantastic.

[nuttiwebgal]

had a wonderful day with Deb...we made the split ottoman and it turned out CUUUte!....it is going to look so good with the new furniture...its all so Bohemian

working on getting the taft into the dry fit...have several modifications to think out and materials list to begin... Dave is doing the happy dance while Edna taps her foot with inpatients to get started on the decorating of the VIP room...with sooo many ideas beboppin around its sure to be a fun build!

[denkyem]

I pin-hinged my first cabinet door las night! Just part of a simple floor-to-ceiling narrow bathroom cabinet that's filling in a precise space next to the tub.  It's nothing fancy (and not done yet) but it feels like an important accomplishment in my mini-ing pursuits!  

I don't have a pin vise or any special supplies, but I did find a couple teeny drill bits I bought for a halloween project several years ago and twisted them in to the basswood by hand.  They fortuitously made holes just the right size for the jewelry head pins I have lying around from my beading days.  

Many thanks to those who have posted tips and tutorials on pin-hinging in the past. I can't pinpoint specific posters anymore, but I know I definitely learned how to do this and developed confidence that it was possible by reading this forum! 

[kathi17]

I'm anxious to watch your Taft build Nutti. When I built it for my grandson for Christmas, I was surprised to see that there wasn't a lot of information on the Taft. There are tons of Brimbles builds, and it's a beautiful store, (I've built two), but the Taft really is a great store too!