princesshanh Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 (edited) I purchased a Sweetheart Dollhouse Kit off of ebay! I saw someone else's version and it looked really great! Picture of Her Completed House It's been a long time since I've attempted to build a dollhouse! I was wondering what ideas you guys had on how I could spruce up the kit so that it wasn't so plain and looked exactly like the model on the box? Also, her walls and other walls look thicker than the walls on the box that I bought. Is there something you guys add to your houses to make them sturdier? Also, where do you guys buy your extras for the exterior of the house? I've looked on hobby lobby's website but there aren't really many options I could use to customize. I was thinking of siding or something on the outside walls, and different shutters. I'm not able to make my own and I have no idea where to start looking for some online? Oh! And should I use Aleene's Tacky Glue or should I use wood glue for assembly? I know most directions say tacky glue, but I've used wood glue on the three houses I've made. I was wondering what works best?! Edited September 13, 2020 by princesshanh asked about glue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 1 hour ago, princesshanh said: ...I'm not able to make my own... Why not? Don't you own a ruler and a pencil and a pair of scissors or (better still) a utility knife with replaceable blades? You don't have any cardboard boxes or chipboard backs of tablets of paper? That's for the simplest of shutters/ siding made of strips, like the ones in the photo you shared. Craft sticks are better for the shutters, being wood, but you'd need something stronger to cut them, like https://www.micromark.com/Miter-Master?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhvf6BRCkARIsAGl1GGg9kz3bR_SqfpfAzUx90Ok9ViMzgL7ZyxZ13rAgi3l5CJa1UkgP51caAm7kEALw_wcB. And I use Titebond wood glue to assemble wood to wood in all my dollhouses. Greenleaf sells clapboard siding strips (I have also split them in half lengthwise & used them to make flooring). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princesshanh Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 59 minutes ago, havanaholly said: Why not? Don't you own a ruler and a pencil and a pair of scissors or (better still) a utility knife with replaceable blades? You don't have any cardboard boxes or chipboard backs of tablets of paper? That's for the simplest of shutters/ siding made of strips, like the ones in the photo you shared. Craft sticks are better for the shutters, being wood, but you'd need something stronger to cut them, like https://www.micromark.com/Miter-Master?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhvf6BRCkARIsAGl1GGg9kz3bR_SqfpfAzUx90Ok9ViMzgL7ZyxZ13rAgi3l5CJa1UkgP51caAm7kEALw_wcB. And I use Titebond wood glue to assemble wood to wood in all my dollhouses. Greenleaf sells clapboard siding strips (I have also split them in half lengthwise & used them to make flooring). Is the siding easy to cut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Check out Miniatures.com for supplies, they have a good selection: http://www.miniatures.com Here are more pictures of that Sweetheart on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/867398641/completely-furnished-assembled-modern?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details I don't think she made her walls thicker, she just added strip wood to the edges to give them a more finished look. You can buy strip wood from Miniatures.com. The shutters in the picture are the same shutters that came with the house, I think she just scored them and added wood strips to make them look like they were made out of planks. This thread has a lot of good ideas for budget upgrades: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 14 hours ago, princesshanh said: Is the siding easy to cut? Invest in a self-healing cutting mat; I found one at Jo-Ann's for about half what I paid for a smaller one from Hobby Builder's Supply. You can probably pick up a cork-backed steel ruler there, or at the hardware store. So long as you change the blade in your utility knife as soon as it begins to drag (because it's getting dull) you are good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwallowingLightbeams Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 I also have a Duracraft Sweetheart and I've been using craft sticks from my local railroad model store to do half timbering along with "stucco" from wood filler. It's my first build and the exterior so far has cost less that $10. It took a lot of googling and searching through pinterest but I'm sure you can do something amazing! My gf was really concerned when I brought home the Sweetheart, the pink model on the box looks so tacky. But it's turning out to be really versatile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Any dollhouse kit can be bashed into something wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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