Spooky Squirrel Posted April 21, 2021 Author Share Posted April 21, 2021 3 hours ago, KathieB said: I've never had good luck with wood filler in miniature projects. I lean toward joint compound/drywall mud or paintable caulk if there are voids to fill. Thank you for the tip! The wood filler has just been a freaking nightmare to use LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 I even tried the so-called "stainable" wood filler before I gave up. I also use joint compound or my personal favorite, SPACKLE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 Kitchen is the first room that has all walls, ceiling, and floor done!! This is my second floor, and I love it After creating it I felt as though it looked too "good" or "new" so i used a darker stain and went around the 'blocks', then lightly sanded and applied two coats of varnish. This worked out great and I am so excited to do the next floor (which will be the living room). While I still see where I could have done better, I am really pleased with how much I have improved just between the two floors Sorry about the wonky angle - this was the best photo of the ceiling that I got - all I did was put a light coat of spackle on the chipboard, allowed it to dry throughly, and then used watered down acrylics to make gross water stains. While I love how everything in the room turned out, I am really realizing how awkward this space is for a kitchen. Since the goal of this house is actually to try as many techniques and play around as much as possible I am not too bothered by it, but I won't be doing a traditional kitchen in this space (which I knew going in but still a little disappointed) Next up: creating a brick oven/area in the kitchen, coffered ceiling for the living room, and a really fun living room floor that I am dreaming up in my head LOL Struggling to figure out what I will be doing with one of the bathroom walls.... it is holding up the progress on the rest of the second floor but I am stuck creatively at the moment ... oh well! I feel as though my house is approximately 50% coffee stir sticks and spackle at this point - and I have no intention of changing :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 What a great idea to build a practice house! Over the top and perfect! With those gross water stains, perhaps some flaking plaster bits on that lovely floor? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 15 minutes ago, havanaholly said: What a great idea to build a practice house! Over the top and perfect! With those gross water stains, perhaps some flaking plaster bits on that lovely floor? Oh that is a lovely idea!! I bet I could figure out how to make chucks of plaster look like they are just crumbling .... thank you so much for the thought! Yes - I have BIG dreams for a Beacon Hill but wanted to play around with all the ideas in my head first, the Orchid seemed to be a good starter one and I am pleased with it as it is detailed and I have to figure out assembly and I get to test out methods and ideas. My husband is so cute, he has been taking pictures of my work and sharing it with his mom because he is enjoying the house coming together so much - and all I can think is "wait until you see what is coming babe" I may not have told him *how* much bigger the Beacon Hill will be LMAO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 I have a Garfield NIB waiting its turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muriel Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 6 hours ago, Spooky Squirrel said: My husband is so cute, he has been taking pictures of my work and sharing it with his mom because he is enjoying the house coming together so much - and all I can think is "wait until you see what is coming babe" I may not have told him *how* much bigger the Beacon Hill will be LMAO Hehe, great that he's taking such interest in it! He'll see soon enough with the Beacon Hill, no need to warn him now ;) 5 hours ago, havanaholly said: I have a Garfield NIB waiting its turn. Ooh, lucky you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 18 hours ago, Muriel said: Hehe, great that he's taking such interest in it! He'll see soon enough with the Beacon Hill, no need to warn him now ;) Ooh, lucky you! hehehehe - if I am being honest I don't think he could care less, he sees how much enjoyment I have been getting out of this and how much it has helped my anxiety and depression...not to mention decorating a dollhouse is waaaaaaay cheaper than redecorating our full-size home! Just started doing some exterior work, eek!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 23 hours ago, havanaholly said: I have a Garfield NIB waiting its turn. oh that is a lovely house!! Do you know what its story will be yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 The owners will be the Smalls: Mr Samuel Small, PhD is a Professor of Oriental Studies at Howard University; his hobbies include playing Scott Joplin rags on the family piano and travel (think African American Indiana Jones) to collect Oriental objets d'art. His wife, Susannah, teaches Sumi-e painting to select students and joins her spouse on most of his adventures. Sam, Jr, Sally and Baby Sara are precocious, of course. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 2 hours ago, havanaholly said: The owners will be the Smalls: Mr Samuel Small, PhD is a Professor of Oriental Studies at Howard University; his hobbies include playing Scott Joplin rags on the family piano and travel (think African American Indiana Jones) to collect Oriental objets d'art. His wife, Susannah, teaches Sumi-e painting to select students and joins her spouse on most of his adventures. Sam, Jr, Sally and Baby Sara are precocious, of course. They are so sweet! I love them! What’s the dog’s name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 The "dog"is Sally's panda teddy bear; I had one as a child, named (of course!) Andy. Since pandas are indigenous to China, it seemed appropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 Holly, I've forgotten where the Smalls are living now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 After the caatastrophe of the Pierce they are presently residing in suspended animation on a shelf in the workshop with some of the other little people. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted April 30, 2021 Author Share Posted April 30, 2021 2 hours ago, havanaholly said: After the caatastrophe of the Pierce they are presently residing in suspended animation on a shelf in the workshop with some of the other little people. ... I want the backstory of the catastrophe!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted April 30, 2021 Author Share Posted April 30, 2021 finally have started some work on the exterior of the cottage Used egg cartons to create cobblestone facing, with spackle as grout I am so pleased with how it turned out!! The rest of the exterior will be basic brick that I will paint over - thank goodness hubby and I eat a lot of eggs because wow does this eat up egg cartons LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 7 hours ago, Spooky Squirrel said: ... I want the backstory of the catastrophe!! When we lived in Havana, FL, I had a Pierce that had been built with hot glue and no stairs, so I took the hub's heat gun in hand and took the poor baby all apart. I used my Dremel Trio to cut whacking great double doors in the blank right wall (looking from the back) with the idea of adding a conservatory off the downstairs and making it a rooftop garden off the master bedroom. I slowly started the rebuild and had finished the first floor with new doors and windows, a cork floor in the dining room and a set of stairs I made using the tracings of the punched out stair parts one of our sweet members was kind enough to make and send me. I had started on the second floor when we found our present house in Seminole, AL At that time we had a 30' RV with an ATV garage we had turned into a bike and guest room for our youngest son, so since we were moving ourselves we put a lot of our smaller furniture items and all of our household stuff into the RV and were on our first trip over, planning to spend the night at Blackwater River State Park so we could deal with unloading in the AM. To get to the state park from US90 one crosses some railroad tracks. I had begged and begged my hubs please NOT to put anything on the unfinished second floor of the Pierce and I think he had put a box of tools on top of stacks of books; the railroad crossing at Deaton Road is VERY rough and when we got to the campground and our site and I was able to enter the RV and saw what was left of my Pierce I'm afraid the air in that room turned a very dark indigo with my selection of *magic* words I normally reserve for building dollhouses. I put the poor baby in the garage of our present house until the hubs had us built a back screen porch and me a workshop out in back, where it sat another couple of years until I sadly accepted the fact that it was too far gone to repair, and its remains slowly went into the garbage can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 On 4/30/2021 at 5:05 PM, havanaholly said: .... I'm afraid the air in that room turned a very dark indigo with my selection of *magic* words I normally reserve for building dollhouses. Magic words do tend to make things better So sorry about the catastrophe! But it sounds like the Smalls are getting a gorgeous home!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) So this weekend saw progress, but not on the house itself. First off - I scoured local thrift stores to find items to organize the ridiculous mess that my work area was becoming. I hate disorganization and oh my goodness there is a lot for dollhouses! I also scored a container to start storing all the little things for inside the house that I have begun collecting. I was also able to score almost everything for needlepointing the carpets second hand - but had to buy the fabric new as there just wasn't any anywhere (never mind I have seen it a million times when I was not in need of it). I was so excited!!! So I plopped down, threw a podcast on, and promptly was reminded that I have almost zero experience in needlepoint This is the result of my third learning attempt. There are a lot of mistakes, and I will be trying a new pattern for my first carpet as picking one of the most complicated may not be the most productive idea. But it is really fun and relaxing, and I *almost* have the tension figured out so I am certain that I will get the hang of it eventually. Another item of progress that happened this weekend - I FINALLY figured out what type of thread everyone has been freaking talking about for crocheting dollhouse stuff. I know it is silly but when I read 'thread' at first I thought it was basic embroidery thread .... which was an absolute nightmare to work with. Then I thought it was sewing thread ... which also was a nightmare. But then, when I was picking up the canvas (fabric?) for the carpets I spied a specific type of embroidery thread and just KNEW that thread could work. Behold - I figured something out! LOL I am excited to make a granny ripple afghan for the cottage! https://thelazyhobbyhopper.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-crochet-granny-ripple.html Even though I have so much work yet on the house, I really want to start making some of the items for inside the house. I am thinking that I will bounce back and forth to keep things interesting .... this practice house will take much longer than anticipated and I am completely alright with that. I am loving all the learning and experimenting!!! Edited May 3, 2021 by Spooky Squirrel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Christina, as I commented on your rug picture, check frequently that all your stitches are oriented the same way throughout your needlepoint. My maternal grandmother drummed that into my head along with NOT pulling the thread tight, just enough to cover the thread crossing on the fabric; and I still have to frog stitches occasionally because I do all my mini needlecrafts in front of the TV. Single strand embroidery floss is close in scale to 4-ply worsted, so it works really well for crocheting mini afghans, etc, and knitting; I made a union suit/ set of longhandles for my farmer. Warning, knitting in mini is a b****h. Sewing thread is also a bear to crochet with, but better than trying to knit with it! I don't ever knot my crewel or needlepoint, so stitching in mini works well, when it all needs to lie flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 36 minutes ago, havanaholly said: Christina, as I commented on your rug picture, check frequently that all your stitches are oriented the same way throughout your needlepoint. My maternal grandmother drummed that into my head along with NOT pulling the thread tight, just enough to cover the thread crossing on the fabric; and I still have to frog stitches occasionally because I do all my mini needlecrafts in front of the TV. Single strand embroidery floss is close in scale to 4-ply worsted, so it works really well for crocheting mini afghans, etc, and knitting; I made a union suit/ set of longhandles for my farmer. Warning, knitting in mini is a b****h. Sewing thread is also a bear to crochet with, but better than trying to knit with it! I don't ever knot my crewel or needlepoint, so stitching in mini works well, when it all needs to lie flat. Thank you so much for all the helpful tips!! I must admit that I have to keep psyching myself up when I don't get something right immediately - and holy buckets does tension matter!!! Question - if you don't knot you needlepoint, does it just hold itself together? do you put a fine layer of glue on the back when you are done? Being able to needlepoint in front of the TV is now a goal of mine - I am still struggling to manage it with just listening to a podcast hahahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 26 minutes ago, Spooky Squirrel said: Question - if you don't knot you needlepoint, does it just hold itself together? do you put a fine layer of glue on the back when you are done? Start the color by holding the end of the thread in place while stitching over it for 2-4 stiches. Run the end of a thread under 2-4 stitches on the backside to stabilize it. Run a line of fabric glue around the underside edge when it comes time to cut it from the main piece of cloth so the edge stitches don't come loose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 1 hour ago, KathieB said: Start the color by holding the end of the thread in place while stitching over it for 2-4 stiches. Run the end of a thread under 2-4 stitches on the backside to stabilize it. Run a line of fabric glue around the underside edge when it comes time to cut it from the main piece of cloth so the edge stitches don't come loose. Thank you Kathie! That makes a lot of sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Kathie is spot on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooky Squirrel Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 Thank you both to @havanahollyand @KathieB- I am still learning how to have consistent tension and read where I should put the needle but your suggestions have really helped! I really appreciate it!! Fingers crossed that I will eventually figure it out LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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