After having not worked on my clothespin doll and ages I finally got back to it and have it almost finished. I had intended it to look like a Marie Antoinette era doll but instead it looks more like a fairy tale figure. I do need to style the hair yet.
One of my favorite exhibits at the 2010 Seattle Miniature Show. You can see more photos of other exhibits by going to my Flickr site, here. It took place over the weekend. My sister-in-law, Michelle and I both exhibited our recent projects. Michelle made a very charming quilt shop, her first time showing her work! She enjoyed the experience and may want to do it again!
I entered my 1/24th scale house that I have been working on for about 3 years now. I was very amazed to return on Sunday afternoon and discover I had won 1st place in the smaller scale category! Wow! I had to scramble to spend my $25 prize winnings!!! Happy dancing going on here!
Until recently I have been working on my 3/4″ scale house but have put it away for the moment. I haven’t decided what my next project will be.
I thought it would be fun to see a side-by-side comparison of my 1/24th scale house and my 3/4 inch scale house.
Today I finally found some wallpaper for the bedroom for the Gothic house. I usually find scrapbook paper for my houses but this time I couldn’t find anything that had the look I was after. What I did discover was a kit for a scrapbook page that had some paper I loved. So I bought the kit even though there wasn’t anything else in the kit I wanted. It also cost more then just buying some sheets of paper. Fortunately I had a 50% coupon so it didn’t cost as much as it might have but then again I probably wouldn’t have purchased it in that case. But I did buy it and glued the paper in this afternoon. I love the look and think it will look great once curtains and furnishings are in!
I also made a fireplace for the living room. I had a picture of a fireplace I clipped from a catalog. So I reproduced it using balsa wood and doing a bunch of sanding! I like the way it turned out as well! I haven’t decided what color it should be painted….either the same creamy white as the rest of the woodwork or a light gray to look like stone….
(My comments are turned off…visit my Flickr page if you want to contact me)!
The living room is coming along. I am working with the existing windows instead of cutting new openings and installing nicer windows. Doing so is a bit of a challenge to make them look nice. Curtains will cover some of the window trim anyway.
The fireplace wall is still unfinished. I would love to make a stone fireplace but don’t have a clue how to go about making one. One idea is to make a frame of wood, cover it with an egg carton and then paint it. I will have to try a few things to see what works best.
I am almost done with the dining room. I had to finish the entryway before I could glue in the wall between the entry and dining room. All the details on both sides of the wall had to be done as well. So now the wall is glued in and the chandelier is in place as well. I was afraid the lights would be too big but I think they will work. I shortened the chandelier that will hang in the lounge and now it will work as well. The embers I ordered for the fireplace are too big but I am going to turn them on the side and it will be less obvious. I will need to be more careful when buying 1/12th scale items as they really are too big!
I have no pictures to post today. I did work on my Gothic house but nothing to really photograph. I glued the walls and floors together and painted some trim. Tomorrow is the Superbowl so I doubt I will get much done.
The lights I ordered from Miniatures.com arrived on Friday. They are a bit big for the house. One will work fine but the other I am not sure about. I may make it work. And then the fireplace embers seem really too large. But once I build the fireplace, I could disguise the size. So I am thinking about this…I have 30 days in which to return or exchange them but I really want to make them work.
I need to call my Gothic house something else. The look will definitely not be Gothic.
I spent some time this morning building a kitchen wall with a door and interior windows. And then a more simple wall for the bathroom upstairs. I know this makes a smaller kitchen and bathroom but the look is more important to me. There will be no room for a tub so there will just be a sink and WC. Maybe I will have a table with a bowl and pitcher for bathing! The kitchen will be a simple country kitchen. I am using ideas that I have seen from other peoples projects that I have been inspired by.
My daughter is trying her hand at selling cards on her Etsy site. Sadly no one seems to be even finding her store. I know it is a competitive area. But if anyone reads my blog, take a look at her work!!
That is it for today!
My Gothic house is coming along. I spent part of today glueing balsa wood and purchased flooring onto the sub floors of the house. I ran out of wood so have to get more tomorrow.
Back to my 1/24th scale house:
To finish off the entry way, I made an umbrella from paper. I wanted to use thin paper and didn’t have any so I used some printer paper and colored it with a black sharpie. I cut out a circle and also cut out a wedge so there wouldn’t be as much bulk when the umbrella is folded up. To make the paper pliable, I applied some neutral shoe but left a narrow strip un-waxed so that I could glue the cut ends together to make the umbrella shape. I had some heavier gauge wire that I curved one end of to form the handle and then glued the other end into the bottom of the umbrella. I then super-glued the brads at intervals along the inside so that the heads were just above the paper edge. When dry, I carefully folded the paper at each brad and wrapped it around the wire handle. I had to add some extra folds so that the umbrella looks nicely closed! So that is my tutorial for a 1/24th scale umbrella!
First off, I am nearly finished with my 1/24 scale dollhouse. I am adding some final touches and then it will be ready for the show. I did notice this morning that there are no door handles for the front door! How will anyone be able to get into the house?! (Other then to walk around to the open back…). So I am ordering those today. I also made some plants for the kitchen window sill and a shopping bag for the front entry bench. I have some more things I will make during February.
While browsing the web, I came across this Gothic house that I thought would be good for a french style house. I ordered it from Amazon and it arrived within a few days! I thought it would be closer to 1/24th scale but instead it is 3/4 scale. Not a problem but you cannot buy anything in that scale (except for some vintage items). I can make the furniture and will give a go at bathroom fixtures. I can probably get by with some small versions of 1″ scale things.
I couldn’t wait to assemble the house. There are no instructions except for the parts numbered in assembly order. I really had no problem figuring it out and it went together quickly. I am not using all the parts as they won’t fit the picture of the house I want. My inspiration is from a french blog, Un jour a la campagne. Her site so lovely!
The rooms will be pretty small but then it won’t take much to fill them!
