2018 - end of an era

Like I said in my first post, my grandpa (now chillin' in that donut shop in the sky) built this dollhouse for me when I was about 7, using the outline of my parents' house, a whole lot of Liquid Nail - and according to my dad, a certain kind of wood that apparently CAN'T be sanded. *facepalm* At some point I had figured it was my duty to try to buff out the rough bits on the house, even though I'd long moved past when it would be prudent to do so. I unloaded the furniture and covered the floors, but I still needed to clean up a lot of dust, losing a little bit of the flooring (felt and paper don't really like water no matter how gentle you are.) Then my dad lays the wood trivia on me. ARGH.

So after fixing the slight detour I took, it was time to finish all the furniture, fix the stinkin' doors, and put the finishing touches on the house.

 

Closet doors! I ordered 1 inch window shutters, Dremeled them to size, and painted them.

On the left you'll see the hallway closet and "my bedroom"'s closet.

Here's the secret for the closet doors AND the side and front doors! Tyvek two-sided tape. Flexible enough to hold the doors in place but still open. Strong enough to keep the doors where they're supposed to be. Thin enough to not bulge outside the outlines. No, I'm not being paid, LOL. Just grab some at your local Lowe's or Home Depot (great places for sandpaper, wood filler, tools like scrapers and Dremels, and other items in a pinch. Michael's is fun, but sometimes the creativity exercised in a hardware store is more enjoyable.)

The little plant is from sdk miniatures. The pictures on the wall? Those are the actual framed items that hung when I was a kid. I took a picture of them, edited them down to the right proportion, printed them on sticker paper (available at Meijer and Staples, etc), cut them, and fixed them on the wall. You'll see other pictures/items affixed with the same method. I'm so glad I found a way to reflect my childhood home.

Record player and stereo speakers are TOMY brand, along with the TV in the next picture. I got these from crischarlie on ebay.

I realized, finally, why the living room looked wrong. First, using sticks of wood found at Meijer, I added window frames to the windows. Much more accurate.

Second - I found a macrame hanging plant for the '70s/'80s era I was going for. (Why do you think my parents had shag carpet? Or a record player when I was growing up?) This guy came from HouseofMoss on etsy. With a pushpin, I poked a hole in the wall, then bent off a piece of a paper clip, wrapped the end of the string around it, and stuck it in the hole. Et voila. (Somewhere, my high school French teacher is probably proud.)

My bedroom has two posters that I distinctly remember from childhood. I wanted so badly to get some of the rough lines out of the walls, but according to Dad - that's just not possible. Oh well.

And my brother's room, complete with posters for him, his closet door, and his dresser, which I ended up just biting the bullet and buying as a wood dresser and painting. I believe the dresser came from A Trifle Small again, though her bare wood section has shrunk. I remember ordering and getting an item marked "joujoux.com" at one point, which was awesome, because they don't ship to America! But I think the deal has ended? Which sucks - joujoux's bare wood is GORGEOUS. If you're European, you're in luck. 

So, the dollhouse is finished. It's always good to know when to say stop. Luckily, I've caught the bug, and have begun my second dollhouse - this one from a kit, so essentially from scratch for me. Stay tuned!

Through the end of 2017

More furniture! More decor!

The mirror behind the stairway railing and bannister was from its totally minis on ebay. You've seen the dining set and the cedar chest. The two sinks and the tub came from A Trifle Small. These items were merely painted, not assembled (except for the faucets).

Pretty Small Things on Shapeways had the ottoman and the two-tier, painted brown. DollsDelight threw in the adorable lamp when I ordered from them. It, like the stereo cabinet in the corner, were painted and added to the house. A Trifle Small had the fireplace items next to the fireplace.

White dresser was DollsDelight on etsy - no paint, no assembly. I gave up, ah well. My brother's "bed" was also assembled. Pillows were sewed on one end, filled with sand, and then glued shut.

Bed for the master bedroom was Melissa's mini wereld, and the good ol' dark stain. Bed and pillows were created. A Trifle Small had this lovely dresser with a mirror that fit right in.

Welcome to the bathrooms!

In the kitchen, the cuckoo clock was ordered (I really need to check my records and see if I have this info!) The kitchen table was from Melissa's mini wereld. The fridge, sink, and stove are from the kitchen Greenleaf furniture kit. 

Still in progress - kitchen table chairs, my brother's dresser, and finding a solution for the doors!

Progress through the last half of 2017:

1. Living room - ottoman, two-tier, lamp, mirror, cedar chest, and stereo cabinet purchased and painted. Couch created.

2. Kitchen - cuckoo clock and chairs purchased. Clock attached to the wall. Kitchen set bought, assembled, and painted.

3. Bathrooms - ordered toilets, sinks, and tub. Assembled and painted.

4. Master bedroom - bed assembled and stained, bed parts assembled. Dresser painted.

5. "Kids" bedrooms - bed frames assembled along with beds and pillows. Dresser purchased.

August to October, 2017

Well, it's been awhile. Didn't mean to not keep this up, but life happens. 

Here's "my" bed. I cut some fuzzy stuffing for a bed and had the sheet ready in this picture.

Unfinished furniture! I found a basic outline online for the couch, which I made with the jewelry-making metal, cardboard, glue, and "fuzz". The lighter stained item on the right in the foreground is the cedar chest, with two of its pieces in front of it. The chairs with arms are from Scale Designs, and the table and 4 other chairs are from restless61a on ebay. I stained them with a dark stain from Meijer. 

Table, chairs, and cedar chest finished and drying (glue/stain). Two toilets are painted silver, from Scale Designs again. The pieces of my brother's "dresser" are in the back. Unfortunately, I got the drawers assembled, but the instructions were so complicated, I haven't finished it at this time.

Here's the front door with the hinges. I was correct in suspecting they wouldn't stay well (even with super glue and my scraper to hold it in place). I would later find a better option!

The inside right side of the house.

The inside from the other side. In the blue room, you can just see the piano and its bench  from A Trifle Small, stained with the small color as the dining set.

Look at that reinforcement. Aw yeah. Plus I got some fabric on the couch. Woo hoo!

This is a plant stand, stained with the dark stain, from Melissa's miniwereld on etsy. It seemed to be missing a piece as it was on 3 legs when done, so I put it in the corner to hide the problem.

More to come!

Before Shots: What the House Currently Looks Like

The first picture shows the master bedroom (covered by a piece of wood, not sure how that got there), the two smaller bedrooms, and the bathrooms.
The second shows the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and the other half of the back porch.

Above is an outside view of the house. The big windows are visible, as are some cobwebs. The front door has fallen off and will have to be reattached. The paint is chipping, and of course, there's an overabundance of not-right-sized furniture.

So, I've got a preliminary to-do list:
1. Get supplies.
(This includes paint, wood glue, and a glue gun (which my dad may have in his workshop), felt/fabric/tile for the floors, door hinges, and paint brushes. More to be added if necessary.)
2. Take out the furniture.
3. Take out the astro-turf, wallpaper, and old washcloth that all served to be "floor covering".
4. Clean the entire thing thoroughly.
5. Reglue windows.
6. Repaint outside and inside.
7. Reattach doors.
8. Recarpet and refloor.
9. Possibly get in correct size furniture
(Beds, bathroom bits, fireplace, fridge...not going to go too overboard on that bit.)

Sounds like a plan to me!

Laying the Foundation

My dad and his dad built our house, so it was only fitting that when I was about 7ish, my grandpa built me a replica of our house as a dollhouse to play with. However, it was built at 1/24 scale, and all my dollhouse accoutrement were 1/12. I didn’t play with it as much as I should have, and I didn’t respect it nearly enough.

Grandpa suffered his last stroke almost 11 years ago and passed away. Since then, I’ve graduated high school, my brother and I have both received college degrees, and we’ve both felt the sting of the Michigan economy: we’re both currently unemployed, him so much so that he had to move back in with my parents.

But, that’s an interesting note: we’ve always had our parents, and their home, to fall back on. That same house that Dad and Grandpa built in 1976 is the one we come home to, the same one that inspired the dollhouse that is now dusty and in disrepair.

I figure a good tribute to my grandpa, then, would be to restore it.

I'd like to chronicle this journey as much as I can on this blog. Please join me, and if you have any questions, tips, or whatever, please feel free to comment!

Thanks.