havanaholly Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 I have finally met a kit that actually smiled at me as soon as I opened the box, the Greenleaf Washington 2.0. I like the way the box was packed and the instructions, which are not overly detailed. I could wish the schematics were better done, though. The layouts are helpful, but not labelling the parts is not helpful. Of course little Washington immediately started in telling me if she's to be a farmhouse she wants working shutters, no window boxes, since she wants herbs in pots in the bay window. We may compromise with one windowbox in the parlor window... She wants her kitchen door to be a Dutch door and she's undecided about the streened in side porch I offered. There's no wall between the stairs and where she want her bathroom to be, so I'll be making one out of my scrap of 1/16" plywood. She doesn't like that her windows have the mullions in the wood and shed some ply while I was punching out the panes. I promised her I'd remove them if she insists; she already wants louvers in the attic window, but since that's going to become the kids' bedroom we'll see about that. All of this is moot when she starts going together. I attempted the dry fit, but all the walls and floors slide together and won't hold still enough to do a proper dry fit to leave her in while we chat about decor. Right now she wants a tile floor in the bathroom, but is undecided about the kitchen. I think linoleum would be pretty as well as authentic, but tile would work if she wants to look older. I shall have to go back and take the windowbox locks off of their sheets and cut them to fill their spaces in the floor pieces. Washington is a sweet little house, but she has very definite opinions about how she wants to look. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rackey Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 It's wonderful that you are able to communicate so well with little Washington. She will look so much better off because of it. I can see you established some guidelines, but are letting her become what she wants to be. In this respect, owning a dollhouse is a bit like parenting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I can not wait to see what you do to your house! In some ways, this house reminds me of the Laurel but I love the roofline more in the Washington. Have you thought of any colors yet? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 So cute......Now I might have to buy ANOTHER house. (he will divorce me soon LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Inquiring minds want to see! I hope you'll post lots of photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyannmo Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 oh it is such an adorable house... I can't wait to see what you do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 It's wonderful that you are able to communicate so well with little Washington... If they won't talk to me I've learned not to bother building them. I can not wait to see what you do to your house! In some ways, this house reminds me of the Laurel but I love the roofline more in the Washington. Have you thought of any colors yet? She wants to be a pre-WWII farrmhouse; She hasn't told me what colors yet, but I'm thinking of offerinig her a pale yellow clapboard for the first two floors with dark green and rust or blue and red-orange trim, and the top floor's wall painted shingles. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlPiper Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I tust you are working in the new shop.. . .tools available, good surface, materials close by. . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 I tust you are working in the new shop.. . .tools available, good surface, materials close by. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GirlPiper Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 "trust'! So happy for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Happy to see you building again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minigrandma10 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Have fun on your build and your new shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Oh, Gail, I am! I had to pitch my can of flat white interior latex paint, but the primer/ wall sizer in the plastic container just needed some shaking and stirring (well, a lot!) to be good as new. The bathroom floor got a light coat of primer first thing this AM and after breakfast and a good sanding the "tile" went down (a sheet of lovely tile-looking wallpaper I found in my stash that Wasington likes) and is now drying on waxed paper under weights. The kitchen floorr got its coat of primer and the linoleum will get its coat of base color when the primer's dry. I'm going to use the iron-on wood veneer strips for the wood floors; I'll probably make templates for those after lunch; the way this gal slides together I'm chicken to apply them directly to the floors. I need to go ahead and prime the interior walls, too, so I'll be slicing painter's tape into 1/4" wide strips to mask the tabs and glued edges. Oh, does it ever feel good to splop the primer and rub the sandpaper! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesp2k Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 ...glad to see you're in your new workshop & making a mess! :thumbup: ...we'll be waiting to see pics of your workshop & the Washington2 progress... :popcorn: ow that rhymes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 ...we'll be waiting to see pics of your workshop & the Washington2 progress... :popcorn: And waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and ... *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 And waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and ... *sigh* Kathie perhaps you could swing by on your road trip and take some pictures of the new workshop and lovely surroundings of our beloved Havanaholly and, with her permission, upload them so we can all drool over what we are missing out on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Kathie perhaps you could swing by on your road trip and take some pictures of the new workshop and lovely surroundings of our beloved Havanaholly and, with her permission, upload them so we can all drool over what we are missing out on. Don't I wish! Our itinerary won't send us quite that far west. We tried to get together before we left New Orleans but it didn't work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Mike, you're a poet (?) Now that all the power tools are in the shop (not necessarily in their final resting places) I need to go back out and take pictures; and it will be messy *sigh*. Besides, I need to start taking pictures of the build, any way (and yes, Kathie, they will probably be cra**y, as usual). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Giving the floors to be wood their background stain I masked off the finished kitchen and bathroom floors and when the stain was dry I removed the painter's tape; it also removed a goodly bit of the bathroom floor, which is no longer finished. It was sealed wallpaper, so it all scraped right off and has since been sanded and reprimed. Meanwhile I built frames for three interior doors and made two of the doors; one for the bedroom and one for the bathroom. I have successfully pinhinged the bedroom door and feel disgustingly proud of myself. I gave the first side of the bedroom door a coat of primer and the panels are drying on the second side of the bathroom door. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welcomehomeminis Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Yay for pinhinging! That's just about next on my list & I am really looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Remembering back to the Houseworks doors I have used was what gave me my "Duh!" moment. I traced my doorways onto 1/4" grid paper and used that as a pattern to make an inner rectangular frame from 1/4" stripwood. I traced the inside of the frame onto 1/4" basswood board for the basic door and I'm using 1/32" basswood for the frames and panels for the interior doors. I'll modify the basic idea to make my horizontal casement windows. The stripwood is a harder wood than the basswood, so I have to drill through the stripwood for the pin; but once I have that I can lightly hammer the pin into the basswood of the door itself. I had to disassemble the first door when I remembered I had to sand the inner edge to a gentle curve so its edges wouldn't "bind" in the frame, so it would open and close. Once the doors are painted I'll go ahead and dry fit them into their openings and do a last dry fit to make sure they will fit when I glue up the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 I finished priming the interior doors and I have started gluing together the pieces of skinny sticks for the exterior kitchen door, which will be a Dutch door. I glued up its frame yesterday. I finished cutting up my paint chips into tiles. I made a pattern of the bathroom floor on a sheet of 1/4" grid paper (I love that stuff for making minis!) and did a rough layout to see how elaborate I wanted to go with my four colors of paint chips (two shades of blue, a darkish gold and a pale, pale yellow that's almost white). Now I have begun to glue them to the bathroom floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 I've been working on windows. There are six windows plus the bay in what will be the kitchen; Washington hasn't said anything about opening panes on the bay, since she wants pots of herbs there or possibly cooling baked goods. To make the working windows, so far I traced around the window openings onto 1/4" grid graph paper; they are all the same size. I cut skinny sticks into sides and ends and glued them up. Then I used my 1/4" X 1/8" stripwood to make the frames for the window panes. The upper panes will be fixed and the lower panes will swing out. The panes for the last window are drying in the gluing jig and tomorrow I can prime all the parts. I used 3/16" stripwood to make frames for the panes for the bathroom windows,since I found a berry container that had ripply sides for the clear panes, but they were a tad on the short side. The rest of the panes are coming from the flat clear top of packaging. I'll pair up half of the pane frames and bevel one edge on thee belt sander for the top of the lower panes, which will move. Once the window pieces are painted I'll glue in the panes and glue the pairs of window frames together and glue the upper panes into place. Then I can pin hinge the lower panes. Then another dry fit to decide if I want to decorate as I go or glue the shell together first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 (puff, puff) the heat and humidity are about the same; I will be SO glad when DH can get an a/c/ heater for the shop! Priming's done and the first coat of paint's on the bathroom window frames. I was on such a roll (and my brains on a simmer) I totally forgot to bevel the tops of the lower pairs of frames, so hopefully I'll remember to do it before the second coat of paint! I also got all the panes cut out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Hopefully the third time is the charm; it's how mini times I've rebuilt the moving panes for the bathroom windows! Paint's drying right now. Oh, and in looking I discovered there is no interior trim for the windows, nor any trim, interior or exterior, for the doorways! The exterior window trim consists of a pediment (which I forsee me doctoring) and the shutters, which have "diamond" decorations the same thickness as the wood of the shutters. *sigh* I may wind up making shutters, too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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