Glencroft redecorating and finishing

Well...have I been making some progress. I am in the midst of job searching and hoping I get one very soon, but in the meantime, I have been keeping myself busy (and sane) with the Glencroft. I finally decorated the Glencroft bedroom (including dressing the bed, my first one ever!). I also painted the living room walls and added the moulding to the front kitchen wall, between the ceiling beams. For the interior, all I have left are some minor touchups with paint and wood filler (the latter has become my best friend in this process) and adding the front door.

Before I get to the pics, I want to say a word about shingles...I went shopping for shingles on Tuesday, first at Ben Franklin, because I had remembered that they had bags of shingles for a reasonable price. Well when I got there and looked at them, I noted a) their selection was a bit limited and the price wasn't as good as I had thought and b) some of the shingles were in pretty bad shape in the bag. So I grabbed some of the other things that I needed and moved on to the local A.C. Moore, which sells dollhouses and components. Oh boy. They had shingles all right. But for 46.99 for a BAG of 1000. 0______0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously I did not buy shingles there, and I have made a decision to buy them from Tom's Mill/Earth and Tree which is much cheaper and local. Plus they make their own, which makes me happy. I like to give my local miniature shop business when I can anyway. I am going to wait until I am employed to purchase the shingles, and hopefully that will be soon!!

Anyway, here are some pics:

This is the whole bedroom. I papered the sloped ceiling with some awesome scrapbook paper I found at Ben Franklin's...one side was a solid color and the other was textured and you could sand it.

A close-up of the bed... I made the comforter myself. ;) Super easy.

Here, you can kinda see the window seat I made. I LOVE the ribbon I used to cover it. Super-cute. I found it at A.C. Moore for a dollar or so.

The comforter is reversible, but the same pattern on both sides. Underneath, I placed a little flannel blanket. The sheets were made from a satiny handkerchief I had in my stash.

I used ribbon as trim for the sloping walls...this room turned out very "springy."

 Just a close-up of the window seat.

I built this shelf above the bed because the wall is a little "wonky" right there. It also adds more storage space.

Now for the downstairs:

In the living room, I painted the walls an off-white color. I also made this tiny bulletin board to go next to, or above, the rolltop desk.

More living room. The window seat downstairs is much simpler than the one upstairs. Just silk-covered padding embellished with some ribbon.

Last, but not least, here are the mouldings I made for the kitchen...it looks a lot better than before. 

Thanks for reading! I have a few goodies from the RGT Outliet Store in Barre, VT and a find in a Montpelier bookstore to post about next time! Cheers!

Manor House Minis order + some good local mini finds

Hello everyone!  I recently ordered some great stuff from Manorhouseminis.com and decided to make a video slide show to show you instead a long list of pics. I had a lot of fun doing this and may do more in the future!



Seriously, I have no need for the doll or the pediments as neither of them work with any of the projects I am currently working or plan to work on in the near future. The doll's hat is glued on her head, but the dress may be removable...maybe. If you want them, let me know. I wouldn't mind swapping the doll or the pediments for some mini books or whatever you may have and not need...leave a comment. :)

I have also made some great local mini finds. The first is from Bo-Mar Antiques in Wells, ME (where I found my general store!). There were several pieces of dollhouse furniture, all very cute. I restricted myself to buying just one piece, which cost less than 5 dollars: a little handmade rocking chair with a woven seat.

I love handmade stuff so this was perfect. There were also some corner chairs there and a few table and chair sets. So if anyone is nearby, it may be worth visiting. The variety of items at Bo-Mar changes frequently so I  recommend that if you like something, grab it while you can.

My local used bookstore sometimes has miniature books, but not very often. I happened to find The Complete Guide to Remodeling & Expanding Your Dollhouse by Nola Theiss in the "woodworking" section of the store. They do have a craft section which occasionally has books on the hobby as well. But again, the selection of books varies as the store has a lot of turnover.
Here's a picture of the book:

There is some good stuff in here, and a few color pictures. I haven't yet read the whole thing, but so far I like it.

Jay and I are going to Vermont this weekend and I am really excited about the Real Good Toys Factory Outlet Store! I just learned about it - on CraigsList of all places. But here is the website: http://www.realgoodtoys.com/about-our-company/dollhouse-factory-outlet-store/

Even though RGT is shutting down their factory and shipping departments for a long vacation starting on the 28th, the store will remain open. I look forward to checking them out and seeing what is there. I'll probably post what I find when we get back. :)

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

Glencroft Updates

Hello everyone. I am so sorry I haven't been very vocal on my blog, but so much has been going on lately in other parts of my life that I haven't been able to keep up on working on my hobby too much. However, I have been lurking on other blogs and checking out everyone's wonderful mini creations and, as always, I enjoy them.

As I am writing this, AC/DC's "Back in Black" just came on, which is funny, because I was just about ready to type "I'm back!" :) LOL

In other news, I have successfully completed my dissertation and will be graduating this Saturday! My parents just arrived from PA and will be stopping by the house soon. It will be good to see them again.

Anyway, I have pictures to share with you. I finally put the windows in my Glencroft, and I have been playing a little bit with furniture placement. As for the windows...oh boy, I had a lot of wood shavings and sawdust from trimming down the window frames and sanding. Some still don't fit as well as I'd like, but this is a learning process for me. I may also opt for a laser-cut kit next time. ;)

Okay, picture time!

As you can see, there's still work to be done. I need to do a lot of paint touch-ups and add the front door, which I think I may actually hinge. After that, I have an idea for that large opening next to the stairs in the bedroom, and I still need to shingle the roof and finish the chimney. I still don't know if I should stain or paint the bedroom ceiling...hmmm.

By the way, if you're wondering, I did make the screen in the bathroom. That was my first try. I plan to make more and offer a tutorial here (or via youtube, but still posted here).

Okay, my folks should be here soon! So I should get ready! :) Cheers!

Contest Entry Complete...now moving on...

Well, I am happy to say I have completed my HBS Creatin' Contest entry, and that I can move on to something else. I enjoyed doing it, though there were so many things I wanted to add to it, but didn't have the time. It's okay, though. I like how it turned out and I am very pleased I could participate in my first miniatures contest! I can't wait to see what next year's contest is!

Here's a picture:

Or two, lol:

 

 

It's a meditation temple, and I designed it to go with my herb shop. I imagine that when visiting the shop, one could find a well-worn path into the woods leading to the temple where they could meditate and enjoy nature.

I look forward to seeing all the winners of this contest! This was a tricky kit to play with (not in the building, but in the creativity department!) and it will be fun to see what others have done.

My partner made an awesome tiki bar with his entry....you can see it on his blog.

Happy December!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long. My dissertation and post-school job search have been taking over my life, so my time for minis has been short. Unfortunately! However, I plan on making time tomorrow to complete my entry for the HBS Creatin' Contest. I am not set on winning, but the piece I am making fits perfectly in with another of my mini creations. :) I promise pictures after it's finished.

There's not much new in the mini world over here, unless you count that I just bought myself a little something on eBay last night: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=300376276394
I am not sure where it's going to go, but I think it may be a nice chest of drawers for my Glencroft bedroom.

Anywho, hmmm, what else has happened recently? Oh yeah....I very recently turned 30. And so my wonderful partner has been bestowing me with many a lovely gift, one of which was Doll's House Inspirations by Jean Nisbett. Love that little book! So many great ideas and tips!

I am planning on a total renovation of the Glencroft bathroom again, I am going to keep the Japanese style but it will be very simplified...hopefully, I will make time to work on that during the Winter Break from school. I am also looking for ideas for the "Wine Country" kitchen in the Glencroft. I found a few possible appliance sets I like, and a few dining tables and chairs I thought I liked. Then I found this: Harvest Table. If anyone has experience with Daisy House kits, I would be happy to hear it. I was thinking of having the table pushed against a wall, with a bench and two chairs. What's cool is I can paint the table and bench to match my decor!

Well, I believe that is all for now, but I am really looking forward to finishing up some projects soon! After the Glencroft I am going to tackle that General Store! I have a great idea for it!

Shop updates.

First, here are two of the three statues I got from MiniKitz as mentioned in my previous post.

Zooming farther back, you can see a new OM sign I added to the right of the statues, made simply with a design I found online and cut out, then glued to a painted wooden circle. Simple enough.

Next, I made a display for gemstones that one could use for a collection or for more mystical purposes. I also clipped out a handy chart of stone properties and pasted it behind the display. The display itself was made from a Michael's cabinet door that I glued to a thin piece of balsa wood. I painted them then glued the tiny gem chips in each section made by the door's panes.

 Lastly, as part of my ancestry is Pennsylvania Dutch, I decided to add a cute hex sign to the outside of the store. It livens up that bare wall nicely.

I just wanted to drop in and mention how pleased I am with Minikitz! I ordered a few things over the weekend and my package came today - so quick! The following were part of my order: Hindu God #12 (Tara), Hindu God #18 (another Tara), and Hindu God #20 (Buddha), and the Medieval Book kit. The little statues were very detailed and look very realistic. One Tara is going in my meditation temple, and the other two statues will be in the shop. The Medieval Book (which comes with a free herbal) will also go in the shop.

I plan on ordering from this shop again - I am attracted to one of the dolls, which are inexpensive but very pretty. :) I just need to learn how to make an outfit for it when I do purchase it. I am thinking crunchy, earthy shopkeeper, so I would go with a long skirt, tank top, and long sweater (that's what I typically wear anyway). The doll I like has boots painted on, but I could cover them in material to look like little Uggs. Hehe. And she'd also probably have dreads, too. Gotta have dreads. :)

Anyway, going to go through my fabric as I am working on the temple...I am trying to find something that will look acceptable as an altar cloth. :)