Sleeping Dreams Do Awaken...

Around five years ago I became obsessed with ideas for doing a beach house. If you've been doing minis for any length of time, I am sure a beach-y style house has made it onto your bucket list, too. At that time, I purchased the Real Good Toys Beachside Bungalow kit from Hobby Lobby, on sale, and then used the 40% off coupon. I began making elaborate plans. I made renderings in my design program, designed a complete kitchen and then ordered it in kit form from Elf Miniatures. I began collecting beach themed minis, designed and had my own fabrics and wallpaper printed from Spoonflower, and then like a lot of my "on fire" plans, it got circumvented by another idea. In 2019 I ended up using the Elf kitchen cabinet kits and appliances in the New Orleans kitchen. The Beachside Bungalow kit, still new in the box, sat on my shelf waiting for it's turn.

Kit photo, front.

I had no plans to begin on it any time soon. In fact, many times I wondered if I should just sell the kit to make room for newer dreams. And then, it happened. As I was reaching the end of Tasha's kitchen I began to get a little itchy. What was I going to do after that project? I have Pound Cake and the Storybook Cottage in process, but neither of those projects was speaking to me. Suddenly, I came across a photo of a completed Beachside Bungalow and my mind exploded with ideas. None of them involved the old fabrics, wallpaper, color scheme or layout that I had planned for the first time. In fact, my new ideas were a radical departure from any of those plans. As usually happens when I become obsessed with a new idea, I gave my craft rooms a deep clean, got Tasha's Kitchen tidied up and safely stowed, and then cracked open the Beachside Bungalow kit.

Kit photo, inside.

There are so many finished Beachside Bungalows - I think it must be one of the most popular dollhouses among miniaturists at all skill levels. It is so much fun to look at photos and see the wildly diverse visions people have had for the kit. And it seemed like a huge (and fun) challenge to come up with ways to make it singularly unique. That is what I have set out to do - incorporate innovative ideas while keeping to the original footprint of the kit and while trying to use all it's components in creative ways. I am also going to try to use the majority of supplies, furnishings and accessories from my own stash. It could get very funky! I'm going to chronicle the progress here, but in keeping with my usual weird order of operations, will deviate from the instructions here and there. I'm not trying to be a rebel, I am just always thinking of how to make things easier on myself!

Original kitchen cabinet design.

Enough with the long winded justifications. Let me tell you where I started...

I cracked open the kit, read the instructions, checked off all the components, and then kind of stuck to the instructions for the first couple pages. That involved gluing the foundation, assembling the porch posts and attaching the porch floor to the foundation. 

I scribed boards into the porch floor using my poor metal file set. Did you know that metal files were meant only to be used to file in one direction? Me neither. Until I wondered why mine were so dull. Then I did a Google search of how long cheap metal files are supposed to last. The answer was a long time, apparently, as long as you use them correctly. Which I have neglected to do, resulting in them being pretty dull. So this old Harbor Freight set is now dedicated to tasks where they will be abused. The new set will be saved for metal and will be used properly. I swear!

I taped a 1/2" board to the porch floor to use as my scribing guide. Once I had a pretty good line scribed in with a pointy file, I removed the board and then deepened/widened the gouge with a triangular and rounded file. The I cleaned it up further with sandpaper. The ending depth is about 1/16". I followed this procedure all the way across the board. Then I added in the vertical lines every 6".

Then I primed, sanded, painted light blue (a couple coats) and sanded again.

Speaking of colors, here are the color chips I think I have settled on for the project. They compliment the scrapbook stack I'd like to use for wallpaper and patterns in the project.

For the porch posts, I thought it would be fun to try making stack stone with cork. I've seen some great examples of this method - in fact, Kristine from Paper Doll Miniatures has a great tutorial. Below was my inspiration photo, and here is the cork I purchased. It is about 1/8" thick and worked really nicely. I cut 1/4" strips, using a piece of basswood as a guide. Then, I just cut the lengths and gouged and roughed the individual stones up as I applied them. I attached with hot glue because I did not want to wait for glue to dry. Or babysit to make sure the stone stayed where I put it while the glue dried. I think hot glue gets a bad rap but I love it in the right circumstance!

Here I have painted the stones. At this stage they look a little cartoon-y and one dimensional.

Here, the first wash has been added to the post on the left. It tones down the paint, adds dimension and begins to look more like real stone.

Here are the colors and glazing medium I used. I wet a sponge with water, squeeze most of the water out, dip in a couple light paint colors on various spots on the sponge, then pick up some of the glazing medium on the sponge. Then I just pounce it on the stones until I like the look. I kept going with this process a few times until they looked "finished".

Here they are on the porch foundation. Not attached yet. Just in place so that I could get the lattice and trim attached. The lattice was something I had originally planned for the first time I planned for this project. This time I decided to stain it rather than paint. I am seriously rethinking the blue porch floor, though. Maybe a light gray would be a more cohesive look with the stone? I'll live with it while I get the walls in dry fit, and then decide.

Anyway, I hope this will be an interesting project for you to follow along with. I may post some progress over on Instagram and Facebook, too. It'll be weird after Tasha's Kitchen to not keep my project secret this time!

xo xo,

Jodi

P.S. Our final Pfizer shots went well, so far. A little tired, a sore arm and a bit of a headache but nothing too serious. Good times, here we come! :O)

Amazing April!

It's hard to believe that I'm working on my third dollhouse roof in 2021 - the one on Tasha's kitchen. And it's still only April!!! For someone who puts a good deal of effort into avoiding mini roofing, it's surprising! And because roofs tend to take me a long time (and because poor Russ hurt his back last week requiring lots of attention), I don't have anything interesting or substantive to share about Tasha's Kitchen this week. Instead, I thought we could all take a look back over the last six years of blogging to see what other projects have captivated me in Amazing April. 

It stirs up so much gratitude to reminisce about where all of the ideas and inspirations have taken me throughout the years. When I started this journey to chronicle my creativity, it was in March of 2015. I began by sharing the potting shed that I was building to give to my Aunt Jackie for her 70th birthday taking place in June that year. It was such a labor of love, and included so much creative fun! The best part was that she loved it, and was so touched to be thought of that way. I finished it about halfway through April, and posted 24 times that month! 

See Auntie Jackie's Potting Shed Posts Here They go in order from newest to oldest by clicking back through the Older Posts link at the end of the comments.

In the second half of that April, I was working on making a kitchen for the Real Good Toys Barn kitbash. I used the parts from a Realife Miniatures kitchen kit, reworking and customizing the cabinets and appliances. That was challenging, and a lot of fun!

See all of the April 2015 posts here.

And of course, the best thing that happened in April of 2015 was that my beloved, sweet, incredibly loving and heart stealing Rusty came into our lives! It was a total surprise! What an incredible blessing he is to me and Russ (and Woodson) every single day!

The following year, in April of 2016, I found myself working on a project that I called the Shabby Chic Soap Shop. It was a Greenleaf Sugarplum Cottage kit and I continued my education in bashing on it.

We were also working on creating a more functional craft room for me. Formerly known as the dining room, we actually only ate in there a couple times a year. Now, it gets used nearly every single day and being in there makes me so happy! In spite of painting it four times, I still haven't achieved the blue/green color I am longing for in my mind. Maybe I'll try again next April!

See all the April 2016 posts here.

April of 2017 had me building the Real Good Toys New Orleans dollhouse kit. I took my bashing to a whole new level with this kit, adding height to walls and having to figure out how to make angles for a mansard roof. I found myself way out of my comfort zone and skill level, and it took until July of 2019, with lots of mental breaks, to call it "finished".  I learned a lot, risked a lot, but absolutely love this dollhouse!

See all the April 2017 posts here.

April of 2018 was such a creative time for me! I was just beginning to bash the Storybook Cottage dollhouse, my favorite build, so far. The ideas for creating more space, quirky features and solving problems seemed to pour out of my veins! What a magical time!

I am honored to have had the Storybook Cottage project's potting bench chosen for the cover of American Miniaturist (AM215), and also to have had other exterior aspects featured in this month's issue. I hate to admit it, but this dollhouse still needs a couple rooms to be finished inside. Once Tasha's Kitchen project is done, I am leaning toward doing just that.

See all the April 2018 posts here.

In April of 2019 I had found my inspiration again to continue the work on the New Orleans dollhouse. This time, on the upstairs hallway, bathroom, closet and bedroom. It's so comforting to know that even after you've lost enthusiasm for a project for a time, you can find it again and finish it!

You can see all the posts from April 2019 here.

April 2020 was a challenging time for so many of us. The idea that we had to stop doing so many of the things we'd always taken for granted was a huge adjustment. For me, the hardest sacrifice was giving up time with family. I felt so fortunate that Tasha and I got to be with my mom in Arizona for her 70th birthday in February. Just two weeks after we got back home, the lockdown began. She was on my mind daily, and with Mother's Day approaching, I wanted to make her a little project that included some of the things she loves in her new retired life.

You can read about Mom's Mother's Day project starting here.

I was also working on Pound Cake, the bakery project's exterior. True to my usual M.O., my enthusiasm for this project has waned and I await it's return. Someday, it's going to be awesome, and I have faith that I'll become enamored with it once again!!!

I used to fear April's arrival, standing by the narrative that only bad stuff happened in this month. I pointed to things like the historical births of many of the world's monsters, anniversaries of many disasters and massacres, the assassinations and deaths of some of the world's most incredible leaders, and of course, our dreaded tax returns were due. But now, in my broader wisdom, I see that was just a story I told myself. April, like any other month., is full of life, whatever label we assign to it. Looking back at the incredible blessings that occur in this month gives me a new perspective. April is Amazing, and our stories are just what we choose to believe about them. Thoughts really do become things... Now I'm choosing the good ones.

Thanks for walking down memory lane with me!

xo xo,

Jodi

Sugarplum (aka The Soap Shop) Added To The Purge

In my continuing efforts to clean and organize, I listed another item on eBay. The poor little soap shop (made from a Greenleaf Sugarplum kit) has been sitting up on the shelf collecting dust for nearly two years. I just can't seem to find renewed inspiration for it, so I am hoping someone will get it and do something awesome with it!

I added a dormer with a rounded window to the roof, then added two more on either end of the gables. The gables are clad with 1/2" scale hexagonal shingles to give them some nice detail.

I extended the front porch and roof to make way for lots of display, letting the shoppers have a peek at what they can expect inside the shop. The door is made by Alessio and features arched mullions. I really like it!

The foundation and chimney are done in egg carton "stone".

I kept the interior very whitewashed so that the minis would be the star of the show.

I made all of the displays, shelving, baskets and window seats custom for the space, so they are included, too.

The fireplace is by Jim Coates...

As are the frames on the lover level windows.

I eliminated the second floor to give way to vaulted ceilings. A battery powered chandelier would be awesome in here! There's a built in shelf where the second floor would have been for more display space. The ceilings have a patterned textured ceiling paper by Jackson Miniatures.

Theres lots of display space for bottles of hair care products, shampoos, soaps, candles, jars of bath salts and potpourri and anything else you'd find in a soap shop. There's even a window seat where you could put some adorable pillows for sale.

The displays on either end were designed to hold wrapping paper rolls, ribbon spools and gift cards.

I started the bidding again at $.99 because I have no idea what to value something like this at. I'll let the buyer decide, and I will be happy knowing it is going to someone who feels inspired.

Here's the link to the auction:

Sugarplum Soap Shop Dollhouse

I am still going through boxes, repairing and sprucing up unused furniture and miscellaneous minis, so there may be more stuff to purge soon!

Have a great week!

xo xo

Jodi