Progress Update

Things are moving a bit slower after the quick progress of building. I've pretty much finished the attic sans beams and BellaDonna's apothecary is coming along nicely. I have several mushrooms to paint! LOL!

Dear hubby has completed the fireplaces (after several tries, bless him) and they turned out so amazingly well. I'm very pleased with them. He's also printing (yet again) the spiral staircase for the second floor. Hopefully this one will be a keeper. I had to rip off the ceiling on the mansard roof so he could get the drill in to make a hole where the staircase comes up, but all in all it wasn't too bad, although I was biting my nails a bit! LOL!

My wallpapers have arrived and I'm excited to get started on the decorating. I still have to wait for the ceiling paper and then I can move on to lighting and wallpapering.

I'm excited also to be going to the Tom Bishop Miniature Show next April 2027. My tickets are booked and I'm not only looking forward to the classes and show, but to meeting up with a dear friend (who loves miniatures as much as I do!).

I think that's it for now . . .

Edit: What a surprise! The anaglypta wallpaper for my ceilings arrived this morning! (the next day). Color me happy! It's meant to look like popcorn ceilings - popular from the 1950s through the 80s.

A Fireplace for the Bedroom

Printing the fireplace for the bedroom was the easy part. I also need it to be away from the wall enough to place the fireplace in it. So dear hubby created a fireplace wall and then created the brick insert for it! It turned out perfectly. I found a trumeau mirror on the Bamboo Maker site that will sit over the fireplace mantel and other than that, the only other thing I need to do is create a marble hearth.

I'm still waiting on wallpaper, but as soon as it arrives it's full steam ahead!

BellaDonna's Apothecary

BellaDonna's apothecary is coming along nicely. I'm very happy with the wallpaper and flooring. It turned out just as I imagined it. All that's left is some distressing on the floor, baseboards and a door. I'm not sure, it just came to me, but I might brick up the door from the basement side so that no one knows what lies beyond . . . I think it's a cool idea!

I also finished the attic for the most part. The popsicle sticks I ordered should be delivered today so that I can lay the flooring. The beams I stained the other day should be dry now so I can add those to the roof.

I think I'm going to tackle the kitchen next, but we'll see what the house says! In the meantime, dear hubby has printed the table and chairs for the kitchen/dining room. They turned out awesome!

I spent a whole afternoon making boxes for the attic.

Four Steps Forward - Four Steps Back

With a clear vision of how to decorate the attic, I printed some newsprint from Paperish Printables. I printed it in 1:6 scale as I was lazy and didn't want to spend an eternity papering with 1:12 scale. With the paper printed, I cut it out and proceeded to scrunch each sheet to make it look a little used and worn. Then I pasted each piece with Mod Podge and put it in place. As I started I realized what a nightmare it was going to be to paper the insides of the dormer windows, so I asked dear hubby to remove them. It wasn't easy. I glue really, really well! Anyway, he got them off and I was able to easily paper the dormers.

Hence the four steps forward (gluing on the dormers) and four steps back. Then two steps forward and the other two dormers will be glued back in place once the wallpaper for the sewing room arrives. I originally papered them with newsprint as well, but then realized I'm papering the sewing room in a different wallpaper. This is what happens when you're excited to move forward, making mistakes that put you back in your place. I need to slow down and breathe . . .

Anyway, today I'm making boxes for the attic. I got the template for the boxes from Ara at Bentley House Minis. Here's a template and video from Ara. I'll be making oodles of boxes and then I want to find suitcases and such to stack up in the attic as well. Likely they'll be 3D printed.

I ordered popsicle sticks to make the flooring in the attic as I want the flooring to look really old and weathered. I also need to put in the windows (from transparencies) and trim. I also need to stain and insert some ceiling beams. Then I can cross this room off my list . . . for now.

Kitchen Inspiration

Dear hubby is printing a table and chairs for the kitchen as I write this. Originally they were going to be red and white as I'm thinking of a 1950s style. However, I was playing with ChatGPT and didn't really care for the cutesy kitchen and so asked to create it in a Gothic style. Be still my beating heart!

This is more like it! And it will fit in better with my Gothic theme . . .

My kitchen won't look exactly like this, but I definitely like the direction it's going in . . .

While waiting for supplies to arrive, I'm still working on details in the house. I've created a wall between the bathroom and closet, and have pretty much settled on the direction I want to go in. It's finally all coming together!

Stand Still

I'm on a bit of a standstill until supplies arrive in the next few weeks. Even though it's Amazon, things  don't always get delivered the next day. And I've ordered items from the States, Sweden and the UK. Let's just say it's an international hodgepodge of a house! LOL!

So I can't install lights until my anaglypta wallpaper arrives near the end of October (popcorn ceilings are a must in a 50s house). I can't wallpaper until the ceilings are done either. And I'm waiting on wallpaper from the States that will arrive in about a month. So you can see my dilemma  . . . (insert heavy sigh here).

One thing I guess I can do is work on the exterior. I'm creating a false wall on the left side to hide all the electrical wires once they're installed. Dear hubby needs to cut a wall out of plywood and then 3D print a track to attach to the house and the wall that we'll attach magnets too and voila! a false wall. Then I can proceed to paint the window frames, start on the faux stone on the house, and dear hubby can start to print the slate shingles for the roof.

I also noticed someone was haunting the house . . .

 BellaDonna's apothecary is going to be so much fun to create! It's a huge room, so there will be lots going on in here . . .

A Very White Cottage

My least favorite thing is done. That is priming the entire house, inside and out, and the basement too.

With that out of the way I am now moving on to wiring. I'm still not sure how I'm going to accomplish this, but as with all things, once I start it shows the way.

I'm still figuring out paint colors, but I think I've settled on sandstone for the exterior (dear hubby is printing me a stone stencil) and dark brown for the trim. I've been so wishy washy on this, but I think this is the final plan after looking at my inspiration house again. And I think this is the direction the house wants to go in . . . at least I think I'm hearing correctly . . .

Now the Hard Part

The roof and dormers tested my brain, but I got there in the end and I think it looks pretty darn good. Yes, the walls are a bit wonky, but nothing some wallpaper and trim can't handle. I'm going to take the entire house outside and give it a coat of primer. I have a spray gun, so I'm going to give it a whirl. I haven't used it before, so this should be interesting.

Now the hard part . . . selecting interior and exterior finishes and decorating. I'm up for the challenge!

I've found some gothic wallpapers on Etsy that I can download and print, so that's the direction I think I'm going to take. I'll be able to print what I need and if I goof up I can always print more. As for furniture, most of it will be 3D printed. Dear hubby bought me an air sprayer, so that will be a learning curve, but I'm hoping will produce some pretty awesome furniture for the house.

But first, I'm going to sit awhile and admire my hard work up to this point. And cleanup . . . definitely clean up!

Wonky Walls and Dormer Windows

Yesterday dear hubby and I cut all the pieces for the roof sections. Without a table saw, we had to resort to a skill saw and jigsaw, and my trusty miniature table saw for the smaller pieces. Unfortunately, straight lines are just a little bit wonky. Then comes the new sander Brian bought me. In the end Brian managed to get the front and one side section of the right hand roof glued together. I had to walk away . . . it was beyond my patience and pay grade.

This morning I glued some dormer windows together and will start inserting them later today as we have a Pilates class and some errands to run. Then I'll move on to the left side of the roof. And then the fun can begin with exterior finishes. I'm going to finish the outside before moving in, as I never seem to get the outside finished (case in fact, the Beacon Hill which I'm now just finishing the exterior on after almost eight years). Famous last words of course . . . BellaDonna's apothecary is screaming to be done!

The plan . . .

Dryfitting one of the dormer windows . . .

No Brain Cells Were Injured (insert googly eyes here)

Well, I managed to pull it off! It took a lot of thinking and looking and thinking and looking, but I finally figured out how to create the roof pitches. I don't know how I thought of a kneewall . . . must have come from many hours of watching home improvement shows (remember Dean and Joanne from Hometime?). It's not perfect, but it will do!

Anyway, all I have to do now is figure out window placement. That's for another day!

Brain Cells Needed ~ Apply Within

My brain hurts . . . Building the house so far has been pretty straightforward, albeit mistakes were made. I managed to screw up the dimensions for the third floor, floor, and Brian had to cut it out not once, but three times. Yikes! Finally got it in the end.

I'm now working on the roof sections and it's proving to be quite the brain twister. I think I may need to call in reinforcements, or take a nap, not sure which yet . . .

Lots of Progress Today!

I've made quite a bit of progress on the new dollhouse today. On Sunday, Brian built the basement for me which will house the laundry/mechanical room and BellaDonna's apothecary.

Today, I built the first and second floors. My poor husband had to cut the third floor 3 times because I messed up on the measurements of the addition I added to the right side of the house. Good thing he's a patient man!

I hope to work on the roof sections tonight, but it might have to wait until tomorrow as I fear my brain power is waning. The build is going faster than I thought it would so I should have the shell done by the end of the week . . . if I can figure out the roof sections. I might have to call in reinforcements (ie hubby).

The windows are turning out beautifully. I have to say having a 3D printer changes the game. I can alter (or rather hubby can alter) items I find on Bamboo maker to my specifications. It's been fun being able to share in the progress with hubby and he's having fun working out the Bamboo printer!

Once the shell is complete I'll move on to priming the whole house. I'm excited to start working on BellaDonna's apothecary, the first room I'll tackle.

I also played with some of the furniture Brian printed for the parlor. I still have to paint that as well, and there will be so much more to paint in the coming days. Dear hubby bought me an air sprayer of which I'm a little intimidated by, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it with some practice.

That's it for now . . .