The Boring Details...

The next step in working on the New Orleans kit included the boring and repetitive details such as priming, painting and assembling windows. The necessary evil of the dollhousing process. Prime, sand, prime, sand, paint, sand, paint, sand, glue together, wait, seal, buff etc... I find that if I load a bunch of interesting videos to my YouTube Watch Later list, then press Play All, I can go for days repeating the same process on the same pieces, several times and not totally lose my mind. And just when I've reached the end of the Watch Later list, I've hopefully reached the end of the process. And with any luck at all, you get to look and be happy with your work...

A nice payoff for all the tedious work!

I started on the foundation. I knew I wanted brick, but not shiny new red brick. In my mind the house is an old one which has been lovingly updated by the new owner. I thought if I were refurbing an older home I'd want to fix up the old mortar and seal the bricks with a nice long lasting marine grade paint. I'd go white for a fresher look.

After doing so many types of bricks in the Three Little Pigs: Revenge project, I knew that I would not have the patience for the egg carton variety this time around. I used Magic Brik. It takes a while to separate the sticker from the brick waste, and is messy to apply, but there's nothing out there that looks more authentic and goes on so quickly. The nice thing is, if you let the messy dropped bits dry where they landed overnight you can recycle them easily. Just scoop them back into the mixing container (I use a Rubbermaid sandwich container). The next time you need mortar, add warm water and stir. It reconstitutes beautifully! If you'd like more info on the product, read this post.

To finish them off, I primed, painted and sealed them.

After setting the foundation aside to dry, I started to prime all of the first floor walls inside and out. I used a couple coats of primer, then painted the exterior clapboard and trim in the finish colors. The bright white LED fixture over my work table tends to cast a greenish tone on everything. Maybe seeing the paint chips will give a better idea on the two main exterior colors...

All the window frames were painted white.

Turning my attention to the inside, I cut and filled door and window openings, then got the walls primed and ready for wallpaper.

I test fit the new kitchen wall with the arch cut out...

The dining room in the back looks good through this doorway...

And this one... This is where I start to get excited!

I made the chimney breast out of foam core. It will serve also as the framing for the recessed bookcase. I am waiting for the matching arch to the dining room doorway. It will frame the bookcase.

The false wall will conceal the hub for the lighting. I will leave it accessible for future access.

I attempted to start on the stairs today. I am going to make some changes to the opening in the second floor and to the doorway to the bedroom, so I needed a test fit.

In looking at the stairs that came with the kit, they look to be a sort of press board. The kind that pills up when exposed to wet paint or stain.

After trying out a few test spots, I went ahead and ordered the really nice stair kit from HBS. The one with real wood treads. You get such a better result when the treads are separate. Trying not to get stain on the white parts in the all-in-one stairs is difficult for me!

It will be worth the wait to have the right kind of material. I've learned the hard way: don't rush and let a cheap or thrifty now solution cheapen the rest of the project in the long run. If you can wait and can eek something nicer out of the budget on a project like this, do it!

I think the next step is to solidify the lighting plan, then get started on the wallpapers and ceiling treatments. I hope to have a much better experience with the tape wire and MDF this time than I did with the barn. Prayers much appreciated!

Hope you all have an excellent week, a rejuvenating weekend and if you're so inclined - lots of chocolate from the Easter Bunny!

xx oo
Jodi

When You Argue With Yourself, Who Wins?

I have to be completely out of my mind. That's all there is to it. You see, I just finished the garden shed. I have a partially constructed flower shop to finish, not to mention a soap shop that has been sitting idle since November. I have the Creatin' Contest kit just waiting to be started (December: tick, tick, tick) and an advent calendar that kinda needs to be done by December 3rd. Yet instead of working through these projects, I do this...

The kit has been waiting three years
for it's turn...

New parts, new possibilities!

Parts list - so OCD satisfying!

Right now this is exciting but
 at some point I am going to hate painting
pieces.

I know better than to argue with myself. Might as well just save time and go with the creative flow!

I love fresh wood, glue and nails!

Kitchen cabinet mock up.

I have the perfect size plywood for the divider wall.

First floor dry fit. I'm full of ideas...

I can cut this opening...

And cut this one...

And fill this one...

Oh trust me. I have asked myself some tough questions... "What about the space it will need to be displayed properly? Where will you put the garden shed and the flower shop/s? Have you forgotten about poor Alki Point? Are you aware that you have two large builds already in your bedroom?". And to myself I say...

See that computer hutch? Those built in shelves?

You've got plenty of space.
You just need to get creative!

And let's not forget my hunky handy handsome husband. The one who brings home tools and shelving material as early Mother's Day gifts and offers to double my display space.

An automagical nailer!

Purdy melamine wall shelf, brackets and lovely edge molding!
My drawer tops will only be for storage now and the shelf for
displaying completed projects!

See I can argue with myself all day but I always, always win.

Real Good Toys New Orleans dollhouse - let's do this!

Hope you're winning all of the arguments, too!

xxx,

Jodi

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Oh my! Time does fly! I'm not trying to jolt anyone into reality here, but - 2017 is 1/4 over already!!! It's been more than two weeks since my last post and I am literally shocked at how fast the time has gone by! What have I been up to? Well, I'll tell you...

Remember the garden shed I started before vacation? When we got home I thought I'd get it finished up before I proceeded on the flower shop. I was brimming with ideas and enthusiasm and wanted to strike while the iron was hot. It was small, so it would take only a couple days, right? Um, no. Although I have dedicated the better part of each day to it's many, many little side projects, it is still not quite finished. But I am sharing the progress anyway.

This is what I started with - an idea in my head which probably sprang to life after looking at loads of mini gardening photos online surveying for ideas on the flower shop. I drew out a rough idea of the framing and decided I'd figure out all the issues as I went along.

Rough framing and floor. Extra window from the 2013 Creatin' Contest kit.

The above photo is where I had to stop just before we left for vacation. It was a good thing because it gave me lots of "windshield time" to consider how I was going to do the roof.

At first I was going to just add a piece of corrugated cardboard that I had left from the Greenleaf Ashai Teahouse kit (now Alki Point). I figured I'd paint and rust it then glue it on. A little voice told me to wait so that I could more easily reach inside the structure. I'm glad I waited...

While that was marinating I turned my attention to putting together all of the kits and making the printies. I spent several days on that part of the project. It is amazing how much stuff can go into even a little structure!

I did a lot of ageing and rusting to everything using layers of chalk paint and antique wax. I experimented with galvanizing paper, rust techniques, and even added some tiny nails. I wanted the shed to look as though it had seen many, many years. I may have gone overboard, but I just love the way it turned out!

I had a package of these Darice Moon Lights in my electrical drawer. I got to looking at the battery pack, wanting to make it accessible but not take away from the look of the shed. Suddenly, I saw an electric meter box!

Just add rust, a straw for the wires, a cabochon and a meter printy and there you go! The lid snaps open for easy access to the batteries! I carved channels out of the wood beams for the wire to lay through.

The lights themselves were really bright LED's. I toned them down a bit by painting the bulbs with a little yellow Gallery Glass paint. Now the light looks more ambient and airplanes won't try to land on them. I wrapped them around an unfinished metal circus wheel and hung that from the ceiling beam with wire. It's rustic, but purposefully so. You can see I also changed my mind about the corrugated roof and went with the skylight windows instead. I'm glad I did because the extra light and being able to see inside is nice.

Here's what the outside/front side is shaping up to look like. I made some hanging baskets and more planters, and I still need to add moss in the floor cracks. But I'm getting close to Ta-Done!

As many of you are painfully aware, flowers and plants take a looooong time to make. And I made a lot of them. Some were cheater snips from larger "fake" greenery, two of them were kits, and the rest were made from punched paper petals and leaves. Knowing how long it took me to fill up the garden shed, I certainly have my work cut out for me on the flower shop!

Below are some of the interior photos. To make the decor I utilized a number of mediums: a lot of printies for milk carton seedlings, books, galvanized pots, seed packets, artwork for the walls, bulb paper bags and labels. I made a few things like a radio, birdhouses, planters, signs, baskets etc. with wood and precious scraps of what-knots. Every "store bought" piece was lovingly bashed, aged, dirtied up and rusted. It was so much fun to get messy!

See the mouse next to his hole?

If any of you would like the patterns for the milk cartons, galvanized pots, wall art, seed packets or book covers, I am happy to share. I am also happy to spill the beans on how I made the punched flowers and plants, what I used for rust and galvanized metal and any other secrets I know. Just shoot me an email: jodihippler(at)gmail(dot)com.

Now I need to clean up and reorganize my work room. The flower shop is calling, as is the as yet unopened Creatin' Contest kit and the advent calender I'd like to finish this year. Better get a move on - it will be December again before we know it!

Happy Spring!
Jodi