Niggly Bits

I didn't have much time to work on the manor yesterday, so I decided to work on some of those niggly bits that have been keeping me up at night (not really, but it sounds good doesn't it?!).  Ha ha, anyway, I was able to finish up some wiring - the little elephant lamp my mom bought me for my birthday (which is residing in the study for now), a light fixture in the second floor hall that I had to replace because the old one kept giving me grief, and the fireplace in the study.  To my great relief, all the lights are working, at least for now.

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!

Chocolate Dollhouse Pieces

My darling husband took some time today to cut out the pieces I need for my bath/dining room extension and breakfast room extension.  Unfortunately, I will have to wait until later tonight or tomorrow before I can put them together as I have appointments this afternoon (it really sucks having to go for a massage!).  I just hope I planned and measured everything right!

The extensions are cut from 1/8 inch hardboard with a jigsaw on fast!  He even cut out the notches starting with a drill and finishing with the jigsaw.  I have to say this was way nicer than trying to cut that board with a utility knife.  Can anyone say ouch?!  

I'm eager to put this together!!

Breakfast room extension.

Bath and dining room extensions.

It's Here!

Well color me happy!  My Beacon Hill dollhouse kit has arrived!

Basement Build

With the Beacon Hill dollhouse kit well on it's way (looks like Monday it is) I was anxious to get started on the basement.  We spent a good part of the day figuring out plans and cutting pieces.  As we were thinking about how to secure the walls, Brian had a brain child and decided to route out grooves on the floor and ceiling for the walls to be glued and set into.  He's a genius!

This is the base of what will be the basement floor.  It's measurements are 24" X 48".  Brian built framing on the underside for added support.

Cutting walls and dry fitting . . .

After all the pieces were cut, I primed and sealed both sides of the interior and exterior walls as well as the floor and ceiling pieces.  Tomorrow we will assemble everything.

Because I had so much space, I did decide to go ahead and create a sewing/laundry room off the kitchen.  The basement measurements are . . .

Wine cellar - 7" x 17"
Butler's pantry - 10" x 17"
Kitchen - 24" x 17"
Sewing/Laundry - 7" X 17"

There is going to be so much space to play around in!

Note to self:  Cut openings for doors!

This & That

I'm still waiting on my Beacon Hill dollhouse kit.  After a full week of waiting, I was informed that the kit is not available from the online store where I purchased it from.  Apparently, it ships directly from Greenleaf Dollhouses and they informed him that it wasn't available.  Heavy exaggerated sigh . . .

After a full refund I went to the Greenleaf website and was able to order it from there on Wednesday evening.  It was shipped Thursday morning!  Yahoo!  I'm tracking that baby and as of this moment it is in East Syracuse, New York.  Expected delivery date is Monday.  I was hoping for Saturday, but at this break neck speed it will likely be Monday.

Brian and I are going to build the basement this weekend in preparation of the house build to come.  We've purchased all the supplies and he's promised me a full day of his undivided attention.  We should be able to get the basement built in a day.  It's pretty simple . . . a box with walls.

A friend and I met up for the day this past Tuesday and after a long lunch we headed to the local Hobby Lobby.  I was able to find some scrapbook paper that I think will work well for ceilings.  My plan is to make a pattern of the ceiling out of card stock and then apply the scrapbook paper to that before attaching it to the ceiling.

Some of these papers are sparkly . . . can you see?  Victorians liked a lot of embellishment and detail.

I'm also prepared with lots of glue and I found a utility knife with titanium blades.  Hopefully this will cut real nice and not end up in dear hubby's tool box.  I'll be hiding it when it's not in use.

And I found these pretty baroque picture frames.  I found some pictures I like on the internet and will be printing them to put in the frames.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you a marvelous and wonderful website I found by Kris Compas entitled 1 Inch Minis by Kris.  She does some a-m-a-z-i-n-g miniature tutorials, some of which you can find on my side bar under Projects List.  I'm going to try and tackle the kitchen build all by myself using her tutorials.  I just hope they turn out as nice!  I also ordered her Estate Chair Kit from miniatures.com.  These chairs will go in the dining room at the ends of the table.  All I have to do is find fabric that goes well with the wallpaper that's going into the room.

I have so many ideas swirling around in my head . . . I can't wait to get started!

Taking Inventory

Yesterday I felt the urge to bring up my miniatures from the basement and take inventory.  I was pleasantly surprised by some of the things I unwrapped as I had forgotten I had them.  I'm in somewhat of a conundrum though because I could not find the sink that goes with my bathroom set.  Very odd indeed.  No matter though because following the inspiration for the new bathroom, I purchased a new sink from Reuter Porcelain that will go nicely with the bath tub and toilet I have.

Here are my miniatures at a glance . . .

The Kitchen - will be located in the basement.  I'll be changing out the table for a larger Victorian style table and will add two arm chairs.  This room will evolve over time.

Main Floor Hall - I'll be following my inspiration picture here.  It used to be the Music Room.

The Parlor - I have most of what I need for this room except for all the littles that make a home.  I also want to remake those lamps.  I made the roses from a Bonnie Lavish kit.

The Water Closet - this room will be larger in the new house and again, I'll be following my inspiration picture.  This is where that new sink will find it's home.  I'm still baffled as to where the matching sink to this set went.

Second Floor Hall - this furniture lived on the second floor hall along with a painting on an easel and a couple other chairs and side table.  I'll likely be changing this up somewhat.

The Boudoir - I purchased the matching bedroom set from Ruth Ellen's Dollhouse Miniatures.  The little lights on the vanity light up.  I purchased the Bespaq armoire from a now defunct miniature shop in Milwaukee.  Unfortunately, one of the little spindles at the top broke off (insert sad face here).  It's still a beautiful piece though.

Reginauld's Room (the Butler) - this tiny little space on the third floor used to be the sewing room, but Reginauld must have a room of his own.  I'm going to try and fit a sewing room into the basement since I had forgotten I had this pretty little set purchased at the Chicago International Miniatures Show some years ago.

Third Floor Hall - this is a small space and will be made even smaller as I plan on making Reginauld's room bigger and adding a door.  One must have his privacy.  This may be a space for a cozy little corner.  This furniture is what I had in the space before.

The Study - Mr. Pennethorne spends a good deal of time in this room enjoying gentlemanly pursuits.  There's a table with his pipes and tobacco beside the leather chair and a mini bar for making his favorite drink, an Apple Toddy (see recipe below from a passage in Captain J.E Alexander's, an English tourist in America in 1833, Transatlantic Travels).

The Conservatory - I'm not quite sure how the Pennethorne's will use this space in the new house.  This is what was there before - gorgeous wicker made by the very talented Wenlaine.  I'm leaning towards a breakfast room . . .

I also have a myriad of garden decor and miscellaneous pieces I'm sure will find a home somewhere.

And finally, I introduce you to heiress, Adelaide Gray-Pennethorne, and her new husband from across the Atlantic, Sterling Pennethorne.  Along with them are Thaddeus (a Himalayan), Merlin (a Siamese) and Phineus (a Papillon) all purchased at the Chicago International Miniature Show from Karl Blindheim.  Adelaide was purchased from the very talented Lisa Johnson-Richards.  Sterling was purchased from a lady who came from Spain (I'm sorry I don't recall her name) at the Chicago International Miniatures Show a number of years ago.

And lastly, I introduce to you, Reginauld Wright, Sterling Pennethorne's longstanding butler who came with him from England.  Reginauld learned his craft at a young age from the very prestigious International Butler Academy.  Here, he's very embarrassed to be caught without his jacket.  Unfortunately, I can't remember who I purchased him from (Marcia Backstrom perhaps?).

After inventory, I carefully wrapped everything back into tissue paper and placed them back into the plastic tub until such a time when they can come out to rest permanently in their new home at Pennethorne Manor II.