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Hello from Kansas!


LadyGunn

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Hello! I've been lurking here for a few months and decided I should probably come out of the shadows.

I've been interested in miniatures since elementary school and Mom and I collected a lot of furniture and fun little fiddly things through my high school years. We never actually got anything put together (never had a place to do it), but we each have a Buttercup kit and I have an Orchid and a RGT Queen Anne II (my dream house!) kit. I started assembling the Orchid to be a ca. 1920's tea room and then decided to make it Charles Rennie Mackintosh-themed. I'm kind of stopped until I can either find or make the wallpaper. Just last week I found an assembled/wired/finished Pierce on craigslist that I got for $95, and the seller threw in a massive amount of furniture plus she's going to mail the rest of the miniatures she has buried in a closet. I think it's a pretty good deal, as does my two-year-old daughter. I told her I'd share the Pierce with her until I was ready to rehab it. ;)

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I have no experience yet, so I'm flying by the seat of my pants. I was hoping to take a class on wiring a few months ago but that's when I learned that the last miniatures store in Kansas had closed its doors. There is a minis club in a town about 30 miles away that is listed on the NAME website, but I haven't yet contacted them to see if they're still getting together. I have enabled a friend to want to try a dollhouse. We need to haul another table into our basement and then Mom, my friend, and I can work on our mini projects together.

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Thank you all for the welcome!

I just watched a youtube video from Dollhouse.tv on electrical and it was so helpful! I have a Pinterest board of miniatures and tutorials, but I don't think I'd heard of that site yet. Thanks!

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Welcome, glad you introduced yourself. I love the picture of your daughter playing in the Pierce, so cute. Just in case you (or anyone else reading this thread) weren't aware, dollshouse.tv is a subscription online tv channel. I resisted joining for a long time because it used to be that you had to pay the years subscription all up front, now you can pay in smaller monthly increments through paypal and that works much better for me. Ive learned tons from watching their videos. Just don't expect any new videos on a regular basis. Im not sure how often they add new episodes, but they are overdue. Youtube videos are great too.

Youre so lucky to have some camaraderie while youre building, have fun :-)

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Hi MJ. I am so glad you decided to come out of the shadows. Is the dollhouse store you are talking about MiniTemptations in the Overland Park area?

Nex week I am taking a road trip to see my friend Babara's nephew's home in Olathe, KS, and I thought I would check to see if there were any dollhouse places in the area. I got excited when I saw Mini Temptations, but I became disappointed to find out the store closed. So please know that someone in NJ feels your pain.

Your Buttercup, Queen Anne, and Pierce should be enough to keep you and your young daughter busy for awhile. I have a feeling your little girl may become the envy of all her friends.

I think you got the Pierce for a great price, and I think it is a wonderful idea to work on minis with a friend. Please keep us posted on your projects.

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Mini Temptations is the store I was talking about. I'm sure you've researched other mini shops you could drop by during the drive. If you like Victorian style, there's a fun warehouse store in Lenexa for the Victorian Trading Company. I've spent more time and money in there than I should ever admit to. :blush:

I was hoping to have some solid time to work on the houses, but all my ministry stuff has suddenly hit harder than expected. I'm scrambling to learn new (less-than-user-friendly) software and maybe help start a new ministry. Y'all won't see much from me in the gallery, but I'll work on it as much as I can. Once the semester starts and we settle into a routine, things should ease up a bit. Thank you all again for the warm welcome!

ETA: Drive safe, Maureen!

Edited by LadyGunn
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Welcome to the forum, MJ!!!

I wouldn't worry so much about the wiring of the dollhouses. I was able to do it with the help and advice of the members here and so can you! Once you get one house done it will be a walk in the park (or not) but no matter what - everyone here will be more than happy to help with questions you might have.

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Thank you, Soapz! I think it's just the nervousness I have when trying something new. I'm sure I'm way over-thinking it. :)

I definitely plan on asking questions, especially when it comes time to rehab the Pierce. There's a piece on the edge where it was either hit really hard or a dog chewed it. A section of about an inch and a half is completely shredded. I'm guessing it'll need to be cut out and patched, but will probably start a thread on that whole project when I get to it.

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MJ, somewhere along the line DH & I invested in a sheet of 1/6" thick plywood from the big box hardware store, and whenever I need a new part or to replace a damaged piece, I gey him to cut me a manageable size on his taable saw and I finish it to size with either his bandsaw or a corkbacked steel ruler and my Stanley utility knife.

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That's a good idea, Holly. Good thing my husband just picked up a little jigsaw, a planer, and a whole bunch of other fun toys tools at an auction. Here's the shredded section:

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Edited by LadyGunn
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