auntiedebbie Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 kathie, lawanda, jodi, mike, nice to hear from every one of you! your so kind! i will learn about the PM. thanks for the hints. i need to learn how to do this forum thing and so many of you have blogs. be patient, let me know what im doing wrong and i will do better. thank you for your advice. hello mike, i looked up your etsy shop and its closed, i was wishfully thinking that maybe, i found someone that could cut me out a real wood house. of course i want to put it together and build it. still on my quest to find the right house. lawanda, we dont have a shop close by that i can find. i live in the dallas, fort worth, texas metroplex and closer to the fort woth side. san antonio is a good five hour trip but, on a positive note, hubby liked the idea of a road trip. dreams and more dreams. im floating back and forth between laser cut kits and plywood kits in my price range (around 200.00 give or take a little). im entertaining the idea of starting with a very small house, just to get my feet wet but, then my heart sinks, very low, when i compare, what i could be doing on my budget. ive been looking at RGT houses bc alot of them are milled plywood verses mdf. i guess thats better or easier to work with for your first house? i like the idea of the greenleaf laser-cut houses too that y'all suggested. all of you have helped influence me. my wish would be to find a one inch scale house in the 200.00 (give or take a few dollars) price range with a step by step instructional video. does this ring any bells to anyone? ive been on you-tube, but, there are so many videos out there, with out labels, that explain what they are doing. i dont know what im clicking on until I've clicked on it only to find out its not helping me for what i really need right now. what im looking for is a step by step instructional video on a one inch scale home. a video that starts with opening the box, showing all the parts in the box all the way through to the very end of the finished house. if, i could find this kind of video about a house i can afford, this would probably cinch the deal and i would buy that house. ok i will shut up. does anyone know of any dollhouse building step by step instructional videos? i do want it to take up alot of my time so i dont want a "quick build" type house. i want it to be a challenge. i want it to be of good quality. i want it to have good instructions. i want it to be several floors with as many details as possible. ive been looking at the RGT princess anne bc all the trim is kinda fancy. they have a mdf model and plywood model. home depot sells the mdf model for 199.00 free shipping. i got a 15% off offer from RGT for their plywood model that sells for 330.00. if i can find what i want cheaper, then, tell me please, how do you trust your purchases on amazon, eBay, etsy, crags list, and the like, espically when sellers dont offer returns and the ones that do offer returns say they wont accept returns if the box has been opened? any advice in that area? ok, my friendly neighbors i will go home for now, dont want to overstay my welcome. lol take care ... debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Dura-Craft included "instructional" videos with some of their kits. I had one for the very first kit I ever built, their San Franciscan SF555 model, and other than the suggestion of strips of masking tape to assemble the little pieces of tongue & groove milled plywood into wall sections and carving the window openings to make things fit, it wasn't a whole lot of help. If you like jigsaw puzzles most dollhouse kits are lots easier. I will gladly post how I go about building a kit, from opening the box, but it would be written words, no video, so I don't know how much it would help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Holly, I still have the tape (vcr), for the linfield. Lol. No VCR player . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 There are a few houses at hobby lobby. With their 40% off one item, i only paid 70.00 for the beachside bungalow. I have also purchased dollhouses from home depot. Online only for HD. There is a great Mexican restaurant in Helotes. I eat there a minimum if once each trip to San Antonio. Fyi, I live in MO, so it's just a 13 hours drive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 ladies, thank you so much for all the information. i spoke with the NAME club ladies in my area. one was not too friendly, (maybe her arthritis was giving her fits) but the other one was super nice and welcoming. so guess which one i will be going to??? they are about a 30 minute drive for me - im guessing? i dont drive much. the lady was so nice, i was asking her as many questions as i could think of. she said san antonio is the place to go. no body is in business in our area any more. the club has about 19 members, they meet e/o thursday at 12:30, so that tells me most of the ladies are going to be my retirement age range. you bring your sack lunch and work on a project you get to take home. she suggested that i not purchase anything yet, bc alot of the ladies might have things to share or they want to get rid... she said they have a couple of very elderly ladies that are charter members but they usually dont attend very often. they dont meet in november and december. lucky me to meet them before they take their holiday break. lawanda, we should try to meet in san antonio and have coffee and cheese cake on the river walk and go to the dollhouse store. how often to you go? i dont have a vcr either other wise i would be bartering with you for the video you have in your stash. but as you say they were not really that helpful. my mom got all our family old reel to reel home movies and later our family videos transferred to cd's so i know thats available but i think its costly. holly, you are a sweety pie for saying you would do a step by step for me! if you have not guessed, i have a learing issue if you want to call it that. i had radiation treatments on my head (lol, it sounds funny and now it is, we laugh about it all the time) and it still affects how i learn and understand. watching a video over and over and over while i have the object in front of me seems to help me the best.. it drives my husband batty to hear me play things over and over and over but he is good about it. i like to read magazines but truth be told its the pictures that i read more than the words. lol i do the same with music too. i can play one album/cd all day long on repeat and it never gets old to me if i like the artist. its strange, but it is what it is, and thats how things roll around here, we all have to learn to adapt to various changes in our life in one way or another. i watched you tube videos all after noon, today. i watched videos where people were building card board houses and tiny little house kits. you know, the houses that dont have english instruction but come with everything you need to get started? they are step by step videos and very helpful, i just want one inch scale i think? after today, i have ruled out the home-made cardboard house idea (i was secretly playing around with that idea). after hours and hours of watching you tube, im exhausted! all the little details, my brain hurts lol. i had to stop and put some music on while we cooked our evening meal. hubby watched with me for about 30 minutes, it brought to his mind, his war stories of model air planes and not being able to complete them out of pure-dee frustration.. they drove him bonkers as a youngster. i was fascinated as a kid and adult with all the furniture building. oh and last but not least i looked up MINI POWER TOOLS and they exist! i could not believe it! do any of you have them and use them? are they worth the investment? i was picturing my self on the lathe making the fancy spindles for the stair cases or porches. or the fancy post on the porch etc.. all the stuff yall do and work with, that, i have dreams of re-creating. is it cheaper if you make your own? ok, im, gonna stop asking you questions. i sincerely, thank each one of you for all your time and information. take care and talk with you next week. after, i go to my first club meeting. im going to try to shut down alittle and take a little break before thursday.. we have a busy week coming up. yall take care, talk to you soon, debbie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Debbie, I used my DH's full-sized lathe to turn the legs for this kitchen table (1:12 scale): The legs on this diningroom table and buffet (1:24 scale) are turned toothpicks I found in a liquor store (I have also seen them at Cracker Barrel gift shops): 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 My trips to San Antonio aren't frequent. My long distance driving by myself are pretty much done. My ticker and I don't get along right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 lawanda, i cant stay true to my own word... lol here i am again, i had hoped, i could let my obsession, addiction rest for a week until after i go to my first N.A.M.E. club meeting. do you have all the mini power tools, which ones do you have, what brand? do you think they save you money in the long run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 lawanda, im sorry to hear about your long distance trips are over, life takes us places we could never imagine. I'm certainly glad it has not taken your love of dollhouses and woodwork crafting away. your work is so detailed and thats what i think i want to do and hope to be able to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 1 hour ago, auntiedebbie said: lawanda, i cant stay true to my own word... lol here i am again, i had hoped, i could let my obsession, addiction rest for a week until after i go to my first N.A.M.E. club meeting. do you have all the mini power tools, which ones do you have, what brand? do you think they save you money in the long run? This isn't Lawanda, but here's my two cents anyway. My suggestion is to not even think about power tools until you come smack up against a situation where one is absolutely necessary. By the way, in more than a decade of mini building, I've not come up against such a situation. Except for a Dremel rotary tool, which I use not very often and mainly for drilling, I don't use any power tools. I like working with hand tools. A utility knife (box cutter) and an eXacto knife (both with lots of new, sharp blades) , an eXacto hand saw and miter box, a pin vice (with tiny drill bits), and various forms of sandpaper pretty much fill out my arsenal of tools. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 I only started using power tools this year. I'm afraid of them for the most part. I use a hand drill when I need to drill something. Found it at hobby lobby. Thanks for the complement. My spouse keeps buying the power tools to make my life easier. He can't understand my fear. Lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewMini Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 I must admit that I'm a power tool junkie. I have some arthritis in my hands so the more help I can get the better. I love my new dremel. Holly I'm jealous of your lathe! I'd love to have a lathe at some point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 thank you kathie and to anyone who wants to share, the more info i get and help the better off i will be. so please anyone and everyone tell me more. i cant get enough! thank you! have a great weekend! debbie, i know whose houses ill be peeking into tonight. lawanda and kathie's for sure, thanks for the links to your blogs and stuff, i still only do one blog (jodi) so far bc its so hard for me to get lost, everytime i click on a picture of a dollhouse and cant believe my eyes, so i need a close up it sends me to another page, i get lost in my car in real life too! lol lol i dont know if my little pea brain can handle two of you in one night. lol lol ... i have to admit im kinda stubborn so i might dream a little bit more about mini power tools, so if any of you use them and you want to share your experience with them and the brand you use please do. i am so curious about them and i can see myself using them. i do love all my gadgets that get me closer to my finished product and i have always had a dream of building furniture, i just thought it would be my size not dollhouse size. funny how life takes us on different jaunts we never expected. i can go to home depot and spend hours in there dreaming and drooling and i love looking at all the power tools. i love to watch channel 13, public television, with ron hazleton "house calls" and all the home improvement tips. all these years ive dreamed about owning a woodworkers work shop and making objects that i could sell to support myself, now, im just dreaming about doing all the stuff i ever wanted to do and doing it in my very own dollhouse creation. how fun! life is fun! dollhouses are fun! it motivates me to think i could give this house to channing, my grand niece, but I'm kinda thinking i will have a house all my own or a little community of houses... I'm being a very selfish auntie... bad debbie, bad debbie, is this the part where im supposed to feel guilty? lol lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 I'm a power tool junkie, too but, not until I took a woodworking class at the local high school's night class program. I learned all about safety and how to use the big boy saws. Then I started purchasing the tools I needed for scratch built houses made from 1/2" plywood. My arsenal includes a Rockwell Versacut to cut the plywood into manageable sizes and a Microlux Tilt Arbor mini table saw from MicroMark. I use it to cut 27 degree mitres for roofs, trim, window and door openings and slate and stone. I also have a Ryobi Jobplus for cutting out windows and doors on prebuilt houses and various Dremels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 so miranda and lawanda and anybody, what power tools do you have and what brands do you have. im so thrilled they exist. in my minds eye, i can really see myself using them. i think thats just perfect that your honey bunny spouse buys them for you, especially with arthritis, thats so sweet! how supportive! your a lucky gal for sure! so, miranda what power tools do you have and have used and do you think they save you money in the long run? this would be part of my need to justify why im spending so much money... hee hee hee ..... im all over the lathe idea and the details... oh the love of details... i have a dremel tool with one speed only, it can go pretty fast on my clay sculptures and they can be too delicate at times to use the dremel. i love all the "hands-on" creating, but i love the use of all the differnt tools out there as well. doll house making and building and creating means i can use every medium out there for my craft. when i was doing clay sculptures i felt i had to stay true to my medium. NOT! now i can do clay, wood and dabble in all the mediums i see other miniaturist use for all the mini stuff they create... im so excited that alot of you make everything for your houses. in my life, i cant clean the way i like to clean without a good vacuum or make a great smoothie without a good blender, so, im all about the tools making life easier when i can afford them. the idea, that i could bring my life long dreams to reality in the dollhouse world is almost too much for my pea brain. so tell me more about mini power tools please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 (edited) sable, wow! thank you! now I'm gonna be going crazy looking all your tools up! thank you! thank you! thank you! i like your idea of going to get the knowledge in a woodworking class with the big-boy saws and stuff! i will give it a looksey to see what kind of classes are out there in the big-boy world! love it! yall are such a great group of people! anybody else wanna chime in and share what your using? i have been playing around with the idea of building my own houses for a while too! have you done dollhouse kits and how would you compare your experience with the kits verses building your own? i know we have talked before but do you have any pics of your houses and creations? i have yet to peep into lawanda's link she sent me and kathie's link. i love all the pic's and just cant stop being a nosey neighbor and a peeper... some times my eyes pop open so big, i just can't believe im looking at a dollhouse creation. i do double takes thinking I'm looking at life size pics. Edited October 8, 2017 by auntiedebbie saying thank you to sable for commenting on the mini power tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 I could have never cut the angles for this roof's trim without my mini table saw and without learning how to do it in the class I took. http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=gallery&module=gallery&controller=view&id=115377 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 (edited) 14 minutes ago, auntiedebbie said: do you think they save you money in the long run? No. They may save time and effort, but not money. You'll be using the same amount of materials, so the cost will be the same whether you use a hand saw or a circular saw. After some thought ... it may be more expensive to use power tools in the long run, as there will be more opportunities to make a cut in error ... oopsies happen faster when the tool has the upper hand. Edited October 8, 2017 by KathieB Thought about it some more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 wow, sable i just clicked on your link! i will spend the next few hours drooling over your stuff all the while knowing you used power tools. wow! thankyou for letting me peek in at your creations! cant wait, so im singing this song - this-is-how-we-go-a-peeping, go-a-peeping, go-a-peeping... so late on saturday night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 oh no! holly i was looking back at todays post to see how many links i can use and i saw your post about your mini power tools and the work you created! the tooth picks-wow! how neat! your so creative and i love the mini power tool thingy... im pretty sure I'm gonna have to go that route... of course i just discovered for the first time in my life they exist and I'm enthralled with the idea of making my life long dreams come to life in minature form. thank you hollly and everyone! y'all are such a wonderful group of people! cant belive i found you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Thank you very much. I'm very proud of that house. Power tools are definitely an investment if you want to bash or build custom houses. I also feel they are more accurate. Measure twice, cut once. They are not necessary for building kits. I find them very useful for real household DIY projects. For example, I just finished cutting laminate wood flooring in my son's condo with the Versacut. I just set the blade to 1/4" and pushed it through the floor. It was a huge time saver. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 lawanda, i just took my second peek at your some of your polymer clay creations, im hungry now, my hubby wants some red velvet cake for sure, i like carrot! lol im guessing all these creations go in your houses? what scale size do you like to work with? im leaning towards one inch scale it seems easier even though, the smaller scales facisnate me to no end! what size dollhouses do you do? what kits have you made? i still have to go to your links and spend some peeping time for sure! thank you bunches! :^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auntiedebbie Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 (edited) sable, wowwewow! all that beautiful detail stone work! i would love to spend some time in your head and learn how to do this kind of expert detail! and mini power tools... yeah! was that pic of the house around the pool a picture of what you were using for your idea? or was that your creation and you made the pool too? please dont laugh if that was a pic you were using for your inspiration. the up close pics of your work is so perfectly detailed. what size scale do you work with? im leaning towards one inch. and..... when you said you just finished a diy wood floor in your sons condo???? did you mean real life condo? and you mentioned bashing dollhouses and how useful power tools are for that. would you say the investment of mini power tools saves you not just time but money on your dollhouses? Edited October 8, 2017 by auntiedebbie spelling edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 15 minutes ago, auntiedebbie said: sable, wowwewow! all that beautiful detail stone work! i would love to spend some time in your head and learn how to do this kind of expert detail! and mini power tools... yeah! was that pic of the house around the pool a picture of what you were using for your idea? or was that your creation and you made the pool too? please dont laugh if that was a pic you were using for your inspiration. the up close pics of your work is so perfectly detailed. what size scale do you work with? im leaning towards one inch. and..... when you said you just finished a diy wood floor in your sons condo???? did you mean real life condo? and you mentioned bashing dollhouses and how useful power tools are for that. would you say the investment of mini power tools saves you not just time but money on your dollhouses? One inch scale. I was ripping up the floor, not installing it. Power tools are an expensive investment. They save me time but not money. I've probably spent about $1,000 in tools, attachments and expensive diamond blades. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Thank you for the compliments, Debbie. No, I do not find that power tools save money. The hubs' bandsaw allows me to cut harder/ thicker wood & plywood than I can cut with my utility knife (like the sides of the 1;12 dining chairs): and I am totally inept with a coping saw. As for the creativity, if you have a local library, see if they have or can get you any of Patricia King's books on making miniatures: The only tools she uses are something to cut cardboard and something to take jewelry apart; EVERYTHING she makes is from found objects that she uses in part or whole, and cobble together with other things. Another brilliant miniaturist who uses lots of found stuff to make miniatures is Helen Ruthberg, whose books are out of print, but can be found in used book stores and libraries: I have (and use) the books I've pictured. While Helen Ruthberg's furniture patterns can be made in wood, the instructions call for using hand tools (like my utility knife) for cutting them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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