Let There be Light

I had a wonderful weekend with my dear friend Tracy who came up to install lights in the manor.  She is a true light master!  I learned a lot and feel confident enough to move forward installing the rest of the lights and the chandeliers when they arrive.

We only encountered a few hiccups which were easily resolved.  I am in awe of how detailed Tracy does her wiring . . . look at this.  Braided wires!  How pretty is that?

Tracy hard at work . . .

Window Woes

So I completed the bay windows only to discover that I painted them wrong!  After looking longingly at my inspiration picture, I realized I didn't paint the exterior window sashes in the right color.  Only the inner exterior trim.  Whaaaaa . . . .  I gently pried the windows apart and repainted them in the gold they should have been painted in the first place.  Satisfied that I got it right, I set about gluing and reinserting them.  Then I discovered another faux paus!  I painted the interior sashes cream instead of staining them!  Sigh . . . I feel defeated.  My only recourse now is to paint them as close to the stain color as I can.  As a sometime perfectionist, this irks me, but I'll have to live with it.  Needless to say, I was much more careful with the remaining windows.

I'm loving this little breakfast room addition!

Yesterday, I sanded, painted and stained the double bedroom window, the third floor hall window and the two dining room windows.  They turned out well, but I noticed this morning that one of the dining room windows is crooked.  EEEgads!!  I tried to pry it off, but I glued it on so well it isn't budging and rather than create a real mess, I decided to leave well enough alone.  This window will be covered by the screened porch, so I'm hoping it won't detract from the overall appearance of the manor.

However, if I loose sleep over it tonight, it might be coming off anyway . . .  Question:  Why is it that when you dry fit everything fits perfectly, and then when you glue it things turn out wonky?  Enquiring minds want to know!

I also cut out the opening for a single French door from the bedroom to the deck over the breakfast room.  I had originally ordered a full glass door, but then I thought "why'd I do that?" when clearly it should be a single French door!  Ah well, all's well that end's well.

I centered the door over the breakfast room's bay windows.  I had to pull out hubby's big saw to cut through the plywood and then finished the little bits with my utility knife.

Then I found a piece of scrap wood to fill in the space left by the original window opening.  And voila!  An opening for a French door (to be installed upon arrival).

I'm working on the ceilings now getting ready for lighting this weekend when my friend arrives to help me out.  I'm not only looking forward to lighting the manor, but spending time with my friend whom I haven't seen in several years.  It will be fun catching up!

Staying Inspired

Sometimes when you're in the middle of a build and things aren't going right, it's easy to throw in the towel and move on to something less frustrating.  It's at those times I really appreciate the people and blogs out there in miniature land that keep me inspired and motivated to keep going.  These are just a few that really stand out for me.  For a full list, visit my sidebar.

Elizabeth's Studio E - her miniature scenes are to die for.  She has left no detail untouched and her rooms look like they're right out of the pages of a design magazine.  She also has a sense of humor so it's fun to read her blog posts.  She shares her miniature trials and tribulations which give you the motivation to keep moving forward.  I could sit and read her blog for hours while enjoying the beautiful pictures she shares.

Morning Room Villa Leone ~ Photo Credit Elizabeth's Studio E

Giac's Late Victorian English Manor - Giac's manor is i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e!  He has built most of his manor by hand!  The manor is absolutely stunning with the rooms having the most incredible detail.  When you read some of his posts you'll appreciate that Giac must have the patience of a saint.  His warm personality shines through in all of his posts.  You'll need a cup of tea with you (and don't forget to raise your pinky finger!).

The Countess's Study ~ Photo Credit Giac's Late Victorian English Manor

Jodi's My Miniature Madness - Jodi's Storybook Cottage will transport you into a well-loved fairytale.  From wallpaper to stucco, there's a delight around every corner.  Jodi shows you her progress in beautiful pictures and tutorials.  She's currently working on a cottage garden making gorgeous flowers of all kinds.  She makes me want to stop building and start gardening!

Storybook Cottage ~ Photo Credit Jodi's My Miniature Madness

I hope you'll visit these wonderful blogs and peek into their miniature worlds.  And don't forget to leave a comment . . . we love and appreciate comments!

Hugs,
Teresa

Chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee

A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-oo

Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you

Or blow me a kiss

And that's lucky too

Now as the ladder of life as been strung

You may think a sweep's on the bottommost rung

Though I spends me time in the ashes and smoke

In this 'ole wide world there's no 'appier bloke

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee

A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-oo

Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee

A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-oo

Good luck will rub off when I shakes 'ands with you

I choose me bristles with pride

Yes, I do

A broom for the shaft and a brush for the flume

Up where the smoke is all billered and curled

'Tween pavement and stars is the chimney sweep world

When the's 'ardly no day

Nor 'ardly no night

There's things 'alf in shadow

And 'alf way in light

On the roof tops of London

Cool, what a sight

Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee

When you're with a sweep, you're in glad company

No where is there are more 'appier crew

Than them wot sings, chim chim cher-ee, chim cher-oo

Chim chiminey, chim chim

Cher-ee chim cher-oo

I didn't realize this song was so long!  Did you?  I started singing it today whilst working on the manor chimney.  I'm starting to lose my mind.  I have over 20 hours invested in this little chimney!  I was almost at the finish line when I noticed that the top two sides were crooked and the spaces were so large you could fit a small elephant between them!  That will teach me for applying bricks from the front and while the house sat on the floor.

Today, I put the manor on a table and turned it so I was facing the sides.  Needless to say, I got a much better result.  I've applied the paint and will let that dry before applying matte Mod Podge to seal the egg carton bricks and then apply the grout once that's dry.  This method of brick laying is not for the faint of heart!

That being said I still have the foundation to do and Brian thinks I should brick the balcony coming off the bedroom.  That will definitely be for another day!

So here she is in all her glory . . . mostly.  I still have those finishing things to do.

I'd like to send a shout out to Brae at otterine's miniatures for her awesome brick tutorial!  Thanks Brae!

Let There be Light

The light fixtures for the manor arrived yesterday.  Most of them came, but some of them are on backorder.  Sigh . . .  I hate it when that happens.  At least we'll still be able to move forward with the lighting.  My friend, Tracy, is coming next weekend to help me out.  I'm attempting round wire and Tracy is an expert having built many, many houses.

I ordered my supplies from Oakridge Hobbies.  They had the best selection and best prices.

Front entry light . . .

There are two sets of French doors on the exterior.  One at the front and one at the breakfast room.  I'll also need to order another exterior light for the door that will lead to the deck from the bedroom (it sits on top of the breakfast room).

These are the ceiling lights for the wine cellar, butler's pantry, sewing room, bathroom, second floor hall, bedroom, Reg's room, third floor hall, study, and attic.

There will be four sconces on either side of bureaus in the two upper halls.

Two sets of these lights for the kitchen.

Lights for the breakfast room.

Over the next week I'll be installing the ceiling paper.  I bought anaglypta paper with a textured pattern.  I see most people flip their houses over to paper the ceilings, so I might give that a try.  Although I feel kind of woozy just thinking about it!

I'm hoping to finish the chimney today and will post about that later today or tomorrow depending how far along I get.

Rooms with Views

In the morning the sun comes in through an east kitchen window streaming sunlight onto Pennethorne Manor.  It's a magical time of day . . .

I've been plodding away at the manor in what seems like endless trim work.  I finally got all the trim on the house and got the bay window sashes and trim painted and installed.  In real life, I'd rather be a builder than a carpenter.  Give me the big guns!

I had to install extra trim at the corners of the bays where the middle window meets the side windows because there was about a 1/4 of an inch dead space.  This is one of those serendipitous moments where a fuddle becomes a welcome detail.  Once the trim was glued on, I set about painting everything with cream paint.  I painted the inner part of the exterior trim with gold paint.  I painted the undersides of the top trim cream and will be painting the end and top with the garnet paint.  I'm thinking there's a little too much white, but when the siding goes on with the green I selected it shouldn't stand out quite so much.

I finally finished the main hall flooring and after two coats of super gloss Mod Podge, I set it in place.  It looks pretty nice!  I'll set it in permanently once the wiring is done.

I'm still trying to decide how to finish the foundation.  Brick or stone?  I'm thinking brick because that's how I want to finish the fire place.

Next order of business . . . painting more trim, completing the fireplace and installing the dining room windows.

Debating with Myself

I'm debating whether to put a door in the master bedroom with access to a balcony above the breakfast room.  What do you think?  If so, do you think it should be centered on the bay window?

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas . . .

Not really, but there is a lot of house trimming going on here.  It seems like I've spent days gluing trim to the manor and cutting new pieces to fit onto the breakfast and bath/dining extensions.  It's been a lot of work, but I've also had a lot of fun and am rather proud of myself.  All of the trim is in place and the next step is to paint it all before the shingles and siding go on.

This is what I started with . . .

I discovered later that some of this is door trim, which I don't need because I bought prehung doors.

There is one piece of trim that has me baffled.  Because of the bath/dining extension, the corner trim piece that is supposed to go on this side of the wall, I put at the far right of the wall.  That left no corner trim where trim was supposed to go.  I cut a new piece to fit, but it doesn't look right.  It throws off the balance and I'd have to move the right window over a few inches to center it on the trim, which means I'd have to move the dining room window over a few inches as well.  Eeegads!  I hope with siding in place it will help to visually connect this space.

No corner trim . . . actually it's center trim!  LOL!

Center trim . . . see how it throws off the balance of the right window?

I'm happy with the trim on the breakfast room.  It carries the same lines as the porch and dining room extension.

The mansard roof trim was difficult to get just right, but I think I nailed it.

Now that the trim is in place I can move on to more exciting things, like installing the screened porch.  Here is my inspiration picture . . .

This is where it's going.  It's a small porch measuring just 5 x 5 inches.  Just enough room for a chair, a side table with some iced tea and a few plants.

I bought the materials today so I'm off to create!  Anyone know where I can buy some miniature screen material?

Easy Does It

Well I'm nearing the end of the major part of the build on the manor.  Next up is trim, siding, and painting on the exterior.  On the interior, I'm set to do the wiring and lighting with a friend of mine near the end of the month.  All the lights have been ordered except for the chandeliers.  They may have to wait while I save my pennies.

I spent some time yesterday inserting 1/4 inch foam board on walls where there are doors and purchased windows.  Since the dollhouse walls are only 1/8 inch thick and the doors are 3/8 I had to make up the difference so that the door molding will sit right on the door.  The foam board will be glued in place once the wiring is done.  After that I can finish the wallpapering.

Speaking of wallpapering, the breakfast room has taken on a life of its own.  As I was working on getting the doors in, it told me it wanted to be yellow.  Yellow is not one of my favorite colors, but who am I to argue when a room tells me what it wants to be?  I found some pretty yellow paper with a lovely ceiling medallion to match.  The only problem is the medallion is larger than my small room, so I'll be cutting it to fit hoping the cuts won't be too noticeable.  I also found some sweet little yellow brocade chairs and a painting with spots of yellow in it.  This room is coming together all on its own!

I'm making progress on the main hall flooring, but I ran out of border so Brian has to print more pages for me.  I should be able to finish that up in an hour or so.  It took me awhile to figure out how to cut the angles (and there are plenty of them!) but once I figured it out it took no time at all to put it together.  I'll finish it up with a coat or two of super gloss Mod Podge.

The basement has been in limbo since I'm waiting on the door for between the kitchen and the butler's pantry.  I also don't want to wallpaper these rooms until the wiring is in for the lighting.  I did get the staircase stained though.  I also had to add a little block of wood at the bottom of the newel post at the bottom of the staircase because it was just a little short.  Sometimes these little annoyances can work out well because I like the added detail!  I'm still bothered by that staircase to nowhere, so I might create a faux opening . . .

And speaking of annoyances . . . the turet at the top of the tower is supposed to be held in place by 8 little tabs, none of which line up.  I trimmed until I was blue in the face and still didn't get it to line up.  Also that turet sits pretty precariously on that tower so I came up with another solution.  I cut (or rather Brian cut because I couldn't for the life of me get the crown molding to line up at the corners properly) four pieces of 1 1/2 inch crown molding to make a square under the turet, glued them in place and slipped the turet over the tower walls.  It's perfect!  No more worrying about that turet falling on my head.

Today I start on the windows.  If you don't hear from me for a while, send the paramedics.  I'm likely buried under heaps of sanding dust!