The Duracraft Columbian - Sweet Christmas Cottage

Last fall I became aware of the existence of a great little arts and crafts supplier called AlphaStamps. Oh doggy! It spurred on many ideas for projects, including the two chipboard secret book projects I made during December and January. One was for my daughter, a retro kitchen baking scene, and was labeled Super Secret Mini because it was a surprise thank you gift for all her help with Thanksgiving. I just had to make one for myself, but the style was very different.

One of the chipboard kits that Alpha Stamps sold was for an advent calendar. I thought it would be great fun to fill the drawers up with mini Christmas ornaments, each day adding one to a mini tree displayed in the center, until finally the star (or gingerbread man in my case) was placed at the tree top the final day of advent. Soon I started collecting not just ornaments, but candy. Then I thought a little fireplace with stockings would be great, and then I picked up some lights to light the whole thing. Then I thought "if I could just make the display space a little larger"...Well, thanks to my miniature madness, I soon had too many ideas and too many over-the-top adorable Christmas themed minis and no good plan to increase the space of the advent calendar any larger. What now?

Enter the Dura-Craft Columbian. With it's adorable arched leaded glass windows and heart punched shutters it was a perfect Sweet Christmas Cottage! And large enough to accommodate a decent sized scene set up inside, and small enough to justify carving out some valuable real estate in the RL house. But best of all, after only a few months of daily emails as a result of very specific search criteria, I found a massive bargain for an unopened kit on eBay!

Now I realize that it is only July, but with all the things I want to make and include in this project, it feels like I better get a move on! I'd love to have it finished by Thanksgiving. Plus, I'm just so excited about doing my first ever Dura-Craft kit, and my first ever Christmas project! I have found inspiration for so many great ideas from the pool of incredibly talented and creative bloggers in our community. I just know this will be a blast to create! Now that the first floor lighting of The New Orleans is finished, and while I come to terms with the fact that I need to completely re-think the staircase, I'm going to start on the The Columbian!

I told myself again and again to keep it simple. No complicated bashing, no fancy trims and moldings. Essentially, just create a nice and basic shell and let all the amazing mini details inside be the star. Of course, I had to do some space planning and start with a basic layout in mind. To that end, I started spending time just looking at photos and imagining (and measuring) all of the larger furnishings and fixtures I want to include. If I left the kit as is, this would create some space and display issues. So after much thought, these are the only things I'm going to change about the kit itself:

1. Cover over the double front windows on the left (kitchen) side - interior only. They'll still be installed and visible from the outside - I'll just add curtains and other camouflage methods.
2. Utilize the interior trim from the covered up window to cut a new window into the left side wall, above where the sink will be.
3. Decrease the width of the stairs by aprox. 1". I am leaving them as open tread and though I'll finish them as nicely as I can, they will not be a major feature.
4. Use the space gained from the stairs to move the kitchen wall to the right to gain about 1".
5. Fill in the excess stairwell opening.
6. Move the upstairs interior wall to the right, on the opposite side of the stairwell opening. This will create the new smaller bathroom on the right, and a larger bedroom space on the left.

Sound reasonable? I thought so too!

Wallpapers

The first thing that has to happen is that I need to get my work space thoroughly cleaned and organized. I can't remember ever working on two full projects at a time, so finding space and functionality will be a challenge. One nice benefit will be the ability to move back and forth between pieces of each project as boredom, frustration or lack of inspiration rear their ugly heads.

Fabrics

I hope it will be interesting enough for all of you follow along, even if Christmas is not your thing. It is your thoughtful encouragement and comments that make me feel connected and truly adds to the excitement of each new mini dream. I love your like minds, excellent ideas, and hope you know that each one of you is so very much appreciated!

Jodi

The Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home

I've learned a few things about dollhouse lighting... It's a process, and it's better if you expect it to take however long it takes...

As some of you may remember, I decided to go with a round wire and plug system on this structure because of my past frustrations with tapewire systems and MDF. I am glad I did. Like tapewire, you have to plan ahead of time so you'll know where your lights will be. Unlike tapewire, you need to plan for how you'll conceal the wires and where you'll run them to the hub. At least you won't be ripping into your pretty wallpaper trying to isolate a bad connection. On the RGT barn, I'd test, move forward and then things would just stop working. Seems the MDF does not like brads or eyelets and pushes them right back out when you're not looking.

To avoid having to deal with hiding wires behind wallpaper, I decided early on to avoid wall lighting. Instead, I opted for "can" lights and lamps. One exception are the fireplace sconces. They are mounted on the chimney breast which is removable and also serves to conceal the hub for all the wiring in the entire house.

The other exception is the porch light. I drilled through the wall, then fed the wire inside right behind one of the wall frames. I did my best to conceal the wire running down the wall by painting it to match the wall color. There will be an entry table there, so that should help. The wire was then fed through a tiny access hole in the floor, along with the lamp wire, then runs through the joists and up through the floor to the hub.

I plan on adding one or two more living room lamps, and those wires will also be run through "outlets" in the floor and lead back up through the access hole to the hub. I have to decide on furniture placement before I can tackle those.

For the "can" lights, I decided on placement, drilled holes, then made channels in the plywood leading to the hub. Once the lights were installed, I secured the wires into place in the channels using really good masking tape.

Here is the kitchen. The drop fixture is over where the future sink will be. I'll also add another light under the stove hood, but that will be easy. It's just the other side of the wall from the hub, so a little hole drilled into the wall and it's right there.

This is looking through the living room into the dining room.

Looking through the kitchen into the dining room.

Buffet lamp currently taped securely to the floor. Wiring also runs under the house to meet up with the hub.

And a couple shots of the dining room ceiling. Sadly, hardly any of this can be seen unless you are a tiny person and can walk into the room, or you have a small camera. Oh well, I know it's there.

The warm white lighting gives the house a nice homey feel, like peering in through the windows at night. I like the mood they create, and can't wait to see them when all of the furniture is in. But first:

Finishing the stairs

Keep the column bookshelf?

Oh yeah, and an Entire Kitchen which has to be built! Then there's the little matter of a Christmas project that I'd like to have finished by Christmas. Oh goodie! Looks like I'll have two projects going at once!

Hope you all have a wonderful and productive mini weekend!

Jodi

Encounters Gifts & Grub

My first project back in the mini world was a replica tourist store and campground that my husband and I had dreamed of owning for years. Since we live in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, our dream business is called Encounters Gifts & Grub. It's a place for tourists on their way to Mt. Rainier National Park to camp, eat, and learn about all things Bigfoot!

Any fun campground has to have spooky campfire stories, and around here, that means bigfoot stories! And because bigfoots are so curious, this one is eavesdropping from behind the trees!

Inside the shop you'll find books, dvd's, t-shirts, cameras, tent and sleeping bag rentals, bumper stickers, tarps, fire logs, flashlights, 

There's also a habituation center where you can pick up some apples, peanut butter, glow sticks, wood knockers and bigfoot sighting maps.

And of course if you're hungry, there's lots of delicious grub!

And the friendly carved bigfood greets you at the front door.

This project was the precipice for so many more! I think I am making up for lost time!