eskimodog4 Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Hi everyone! I'm Lauren, from around San Diego, CA, and I'm just another mini fanatic, but happy to see that I'm not alone. I think I was born w/ an obsession w/ miniatures- my grandmother got me started and gave me a nursery roombox when I was a baby (family tradition). My first miniature house is the Lilliput Peaches 'n' Cream that my grandparents gave me for Christmas when I was 9 (boy, was that a suprise), and when I was 16 I built my first house- the Diana from Greenleaf (very modest starter's cottage). About 2 months later I found a solitary Greenleaf Annabelle/Pierce kit hiding in the corner of a local craft store... on sale!! It just so happened that that had been my favorite mini house for years and years so I scooped it up, lugged it home, and it's turned into a 4 yr. project (the huge time scale is probably due to my horrendous pickiness in furnishings and frequent spurts of inactivity- you know when you get to the point when you go downstairs to do a good day's work of shingling and wind up sitting and staring at your house for a half an hour?) that's just about finished- just some ceiling moulding, shingling, and paperclay magic left to do. Speaking of shingling, I ran out of the blasted stuff and called Greenleaf for more, but they only produce the yellowish-white ones vs. the cedar, orangish ones I had- anyone know how I can get out of this mess? Anyway, on to happier thoughts (really, the shingling predicament I'm in has been bugging me)- I really love seeing everyone's homes and ongoing projects; I was so excited when I found this forum! I can't wait to start sharing photos of my houses and looking at more of your amazing pictures! Unfortunately, school's starting again and shingling sessions are now delegated to the sporadic weekends for which I go home- what a bummer. I'll have to spend the down time scavenging through the miniatures section of Ebay looking for another "great deal" (and then 5 more people bid on it and it's not such a "great deal" anymore!). -Lauren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Welcome to the forum, Lauren, I'm very glad you're here. What lovely work you do! I look forward to seeing more & also what good info you can share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Welcome to the Community Lauren! I love your house and I can't wait to see pictures of your Pierce! How many of the old shingles you need? Drop me an email and I will see what I can find. I have some but not sure if it would be enough for your project. Again Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judithfa Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Welcome to the forum, Lauren, I'm so glad you found us . I like your house and I can't wait to see more of your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCullen Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Welcome Lauren! And I thought I was the only one who would sit and stare at the dollhouse for a while when I am supposed to be working on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 I loved the photo of your house! Im so glad you found the forum! Welcome! nutti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Hi Lauren! It sounds like minis are a part of your heritage. I love the concept of the traditional nursery room box to greet a new arrival to the family. What a wonderful way of welcoming a baby! Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wenlaine Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Welcome Lauren, your dollhouse is lovely, looking forward to lots more pictures. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishMist Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Hi Lauren, Welcome to the bunch! Your house looks wonderful! Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Welcome Lauren! Love your little house (especially the color)! <_< Can't wait to see more of your lovely work! I too spend too much time "looking and daydreaming" rather than working! Oh well, that's part of it! To be able to sit and enjoy it with a nice cup of tea! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishMist Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Hi again Lauren, Just thought of something that might help with your shingles. I ran out on my Columbian and couldn't match them either. I got the plain whitish ones from Minatures.com and stained them as close as I could to match the original ones. Then I took a slightly darker stain and stained the whole completed roof, I used a paper towel to wipe the stain on - didn't want perfect coverage. Now they look weathered and tremendously more realistic. A very happy mistake that I will repeat on future shingle jobs. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Staining & restaining the shingles is an excellent suggestion. You could also paint your roof after the shingling job is done & use dry-brush techniques to get a wood grain or cedar shake effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Nice to meet you Lauren and welcome to the forum! Your house looks sooo lovely! Can't wait to see more pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Hi Lauren! Welcome to the board. :lol: Are there any good mini shops in San Diego? I will be there in a few weeks, just for a day. I'm going to be on a cruise and I'm wondering if there are any good shops (close to where the cruise ships dock) that I should check out. I know it's probably a long shot, but I'd kick myself if I didn't ask and missed out on something! <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shutterbugkc Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Welcome, Lauren! Your house looks lovely! Good luck on your shingles, I think you got a lot of good advice! <_< The nursery roombox is a really sweet idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eskimodog4 Posted October 1, 2005 Author Share Posted October 1, 2005 Hi everyone- thanks so much for all your great posts!! I had to move back up to school last Sunday so I've been detached from my mini-house, but reading all your nice notes has been lowering my bummer level all week! Carol- I'm completely on board w/ your shingling breakthrough. That must add a lot of texture- I'm in the process of installing (for lack of a better word) stonework on some segments of the house w/ paperclay and will paint it towards an aged, varied look. The simultaneously varying shingles will probably look even better versus the brand spanking new "perfect" effect. I am admittedly not experienced w/ staining things, but there's a first time for everything! Hey Fov- unfortunately, there aren't many miniature shops around here- they're sort of going extinct, but there's one called "Ms. Peggy's Place" on 5063 Cass St., San Diego 92109. I haven't been there in years and can't remember how close it is to the docks- it's sort of near La Jolla, I think, but if you have free time, it's worth looking into. -Lauren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debra Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Hi Luaren, your house looks gorgeous, I hope mine is half as good as that when it is finished lol. Deb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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