randy Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi all.. We are noobies (Randy & Waverli) at mini-anything. Purchased the Beacon Hill for my daughter with the idea that we will build it together since she claims she wants to be an architect when she grows. We have began our first major project together and during our initial organization of reading through everything and making sure we have all the pieces identified, we found two sheets broken in the kit. Can anyone direct us on where to purchase individual sheets ?? Also, this forum seems wonderfully in depth on all subjects at first glance. We have identified which rooms will get paint and/or wall paper. Where is the best place to purchase wallpaper and flooring for these homes? Also, I've noticed that many items such as wallpaper, furniture are 1" scale or 1/2" scale.. which scale is best suited for the Beacon Hill? Sanding? Are dremels good for this type of work or would they take off too much material too quickly? Thanks all... . Randy & Waverli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi all.. We are noobies (Randy & Waverli) at mini-anything. Purchased the Beacon Hill for my daughter with the idea that we will build it together since she claims she wants to be an architect when she grows. You go, girl! We have began our first major project together and during our initial organization of reading through everything and making sure we have all the pieces identified, we found two sheets broken in the kit. Can anyone direct us on where to purchase individual sheets ?? Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page. In the small print on the right, click on the Greenleaf Dollhouses link where it says Licensed to: That will take you to the Greenleaf homepage, where you'll find contact information. Give them a call with the numbers of the broken sheets and they can get replacements to you. Also, this forum seems wonderfully in depth on all subjects at first glance. We have identified which rooms will get paint and/or wall paper. Where is the best place to purchase wallpaper and flooring for these homes? Many of us order from Hobby Builders Supply (HBS) at http://miniatures.com . There are many places on line where you can download wallpaper and print it out yourself. Scrapbooking paper is another wallpaper option. Some have successfully "wallpapered" with fabric. There's no right way to do it. The same goes for flooring. You can buy wooden flooring or make it out of stirrer sticks or popsicle sticks or mark the boards right on the kit floor and score them with the back of a utility knife blade and then stain and use polyacrylic to finish. You can also print out flooring and seal it. For tile or stone, you can use a waterbased clay and then use paint and chalk to add color or cut real tiles or buy tiles made for miniatures. Again, there's no right way to do it. Also, I've noticed that many items such as wallpaper, furniture are 1" scale or 1/2" scale.. which scale is best suited for the Beacon Hill? The Beacon Hill is 1"scale. One inch in the dollhouse equals one foot in real life. You'll see that the ground floor is 10", which equals 10 feet in real life. The middle floor is 9 inches, which equals 9 feet; and the top floor is 8 feet. This mimics the heights found in real Victorian houses. Sanding? Are dremels good for this type of work or would they take off too much material too quickly? This depends on the wood in your particular kit. Some wood is softer, harder, or drier than in other kits depending on how it was stored. You'll have to play it by ear until you get the feel. Many of us use Dremels for sanding, but if the wood is particularly soft, you may want to use emery boards (buy them in big packs for cheap at a dollar store). The boards can be cut lengthwise to fit into tiny curves. On the walls that are to be painted, you may want to apply a skim coat of Spackle or wallboard mud or gesso to fill in the tiny indentations in the wood grain that are hard to sand to a glassy smoothness. And do apply a primer of some kind to walls that will be wallpapered to prevent the acids in the wood from leaching into the paper and turning it brown over time. Plain old latex housepaint works fine, or use gesso. Thanks all... . Randy & Waverli You're welcome! Feel free to ask any question that comes to mind. And did you notice the refrain: There's no right way to do it? That applies to nearly every phase of the hobby. You'll get all kinds of opinions on how something could be done, and none of them will be wrong. The most right one will be the one that feels comfortable to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madtex1967 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi Randy & Waverli! Welcome to the forum! What a great house to get started with! Everything Kathie said was perfect just a note on HBS - Many of us order from Hobby Builders Supply (HBS) at http://miniatures.com . They are running 26% off everything in one order placed from now until Wednesday, December 28th at 11:59pm Eastern time. Use coupon code WPC3151 Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Welcome to the little family, Randy & Waverli. http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/about-us/greenleaf_dollhouse.html is a direct link to the page with contact info to order your replacement sheets. In addition to the emeryboards I also use a sanding block. I have covered walls with dh wallpaper, 1:1 wallpaper with tiny designs, shelf paper, scrapbook paper, fabric in small prints, giftwrap, giftbags (cut apart and flattened out), mylar, 1:1 walllpaper borders (they make nice wall murals) and siding strips (for beadboard), wallpaper printed from the computer and in my Fairfield I painted designs directly onto the wall. The joy of building and decorating dollhouses is that you can try out any idea that takes your fancy. I amass old copies of Architectural Digest and American Bungalow for inspiration. Lately I have begun to make my own furniture along with everything else, and again, I turn my imagination loose. I recommend making a test sample of any idea you try, to test for flaws in execution and potential messes, and then to GO FOR IT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparklepuppies Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Hi Randy and Waverli! You will have so much fun with your Beacon Hill, it is a beautiful house! I am currently working on one as well. I would very highly recommend doing a dry-fit of this house first before gluing it. Here you will see the-hard-to-get-to places. And you will definitely want to paper/paint the walls where the staircase go before putting in the staircase. Probably also the front wall, as it will be hard to get to it one the staircase is in. The builder at my local dollhouse store gave me this wonderful tip, and I am so grateful: Cut the bottom and side tabs off your first floor staircase. It fits plenty tight enough without them, especially if you add a little glue. This way you can take them in and out while you are building and decorating. This made my life so much easier!! For sanding, I use a mouse/detail sander. That, emery boards, and plain sandpaper has been plenty to sand with for me. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 All of you are wonderful. Thank you for the welcome and tips. Currently we are looking for paint, wallpaper, etc.. and have done an initial dry test fit of the main walls. Yes, we have decided that we want to paint/ wallpaper prior to putting up the walls. We are going to check out the sites mentioned from you guys.. thanks everyone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little House fan Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 All of you are wonderful. Thank you for the welcome and tips. Currently we are looking for paint, wallpaper, etc.. and have done an initial dry test fit of the main walls. Yes, we have decided that we want to paint/ wallpaper prior to putting up the walls. We are going to check out the sites mentioned from you guys.. thanks everyone... Randy, the Beacon Hill is a wonderful house! Fantastic choice. Mine was a Christmas gift from my grandmother when I was just a girl and I am renovating mine now. It's a great house to grow into. A couple more thoughts came to me for you: - The scrapbooking section of your local craft store is a great resource; I've only used scrapbook paper for my wallpaper and even "tile" flooring. They also have mini frames and even scale clothing that are perfect for dollhouses. I even found cork paper sheets that make perfect bricks when cut. - You've already discovered this forum which is fantastic and there are so many blogs out there for inspiration and advice. - Manchester wood works is a great resource for the amount of trim and moulding needed for a big house like the Beacon Hill. Keep us posted on your progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 If you check out my little hacienda, you can use paint sample chips or crumpled, painted paper for tiles; I'm also fond of the Greenleaf floor tiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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