Foundation, Pt. I

Back in my planning stages for this house I knew that I wanted to stone the foundation in some way. 

I had tried previously to use the MagicBrik system, in my first few shots with it I've found that I'm not very good at using it in a number of ways, my textures are always wrong, I peel it up too soon, I never remember to mix it with some glue, and most importantly, even if you do it all the "right" way, it's quite possible to still end up with some mess, and I'm way to meticulous to have that happen when it could easily be prevented...

I had usually ended up going with a textured gray spray paint, like I did with the 1/2scale RGT Bungalow.  I wanted to do something a little more detailed, so I thought to go back to the MagicBrik and try again. 

That was, until the other day that is...
I was reading a fellow "mini-er" blogger who was decorating her 1/2scale house for the Holidays.  She mentioned that her decorations had come from Lemax Christmas Village displays.  I hadn't ever really thought about using them before, but I happened to be in Michael's Craft Store the other day and decided to poke on over to the display... I happened upon this!!!

They are rolls of Brick and Pebbles and are sold in a two-pack, (one roll of each kind).  At the price, (and an extra 40% off!), I really couldn't resist and picked up two packages.  I'm hoping, (as of right now) that the brick will make up my foundation for the Country Farmhouse. 

I also, so as not to waste, intend to use the pebble to help me create a walk-way and also possibly under my outdoor porch area. 

The reasons I'm a little nervous are that I am not quite certain it's correct to scale.  I'm hoping, but I'm not positive.  I'm thinking, even if it's close enough to work, that I can conceal it a bit with strategically placed outdoor plants!!!  The second issue I face is that the foundation is very slim, (as in not very wide).  I believe, that probably the best idea for the foundation would be to create a sand grit and paint combination, but that's too plain for me, so I'm really hoping to conjure up a workable solution with this product.

Some Changes...

Since I last left my half scale farmhouse we were working on the lighting channels.  I showed you how I determined where to cut, and how I did it.  Now that all my lighting channels are cut I only have a few remaining steps before I can work on the assembly of the house.  Before I can think about assembly though, I am working on changing the exterior colors. 

Lately I have had a lot of moments where frustration over this house has set in, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why I have no motivation to do anything with it.  I know that I love almost every aspect of this house, except the exterior color choices I made.  I don't know why, but I cannot get past this color.  So realizing that's where the problem lies I've decided to do something about it.

I honestly feel like the (completely unassembled house) is sitting up yelling at me, saying that "You'd better change the exterior colors for me because I am not happy"... I suppose if other people have dolls that talk to them, the the house can talk to me.  It has been pretty persistant, so I'm going to listen!!!

The original exterior color I chose was Italian Sage by FolkArt with Linen and Wicker White as the accent colors. 

Here's a "reminder"

I've decided to go with a muted yellow color and really give it a "farmhouse" feeling.  The color that I chose is the same yellow used here on the RGT 1/2scale Bungalow dollhouse, (this image taken from their website). 

Being that I already finished a green house, (coincidentally the 1/2scale Bungalow I finished for my mother), I wanted something with a different feel.  Of all colors that I had considered, this yellow, to me anyways, seemed more of the direction I wanted to take. 

The first step at this point, because if you can remember this far back, I had painted the house all blue, then primed over that and painted it the green, is to sand off as much of the paint as I can.  A word to the wise here...PRIME!  I am sanding off the green, and it is coming off very well, but, as I'm sanding, I'm remembering that I did not prime the house before I painted the blue...originally!  So the blue is not coming off as easily as I would like.  I am burning through sandpaper faster than you might even believe!!!

As slow going as it is, it's still going, and I have a great new inspiration for wanting to work on this house...so I'm stoked that as soon as the sanding is finished, you are going to start to see some awesome progress being made!!!

P.S.

Just an update on my "Give-Away", the box was received and I think the "new owner" loved it, (maybe not as much as her dad though!), here is a link to watch the video of her opening it, (with the unexpected help of her dad, which I find ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!)... Check it out if you are interested...and then stick around and watch some of her other videos...

http://www.youtube.com/user/MsMiniLover?feature=g-all-lik

You Never Can Tell...

So you know the other day, when I was telling you about the great dining room auction that I won on Ebay, and how I wished the seller had had more chairs to go with the set? 

Well, I messaged the seller asking the exact question and they informed me that they had posted an auction that for more chairs, (the last of the bunch) and guess what...I won!!!

So, I'm now the proud owner of 4 side chairs, 2 arm chairs, the table and...ta-da-da...

A matching hutch!!!

I needed the hutch like I needed a hole in my head...but it went with the set right?  Because we devoted sick miniature-people do things that make sense only to us...like buy an entire dining room set without really having a dining room to put it in...

P.S. the first set, the two arm chairs and side chairs and table arrived, and I was worried they wouldn't match well, they match perfectly!!!

Update On My "Give-Away"...

So I want to say thank you so much for the wonderful comments and emails that I received...everyone is really nice to tell me that I'm so nice, but trying to get the attention for it is not why I did it...these things from my "give-away" would never be used by me, so I thought they should rightfully find a new home.  Yes, if my mini-friend approves, I will certainly post the link to her video when she receives the box and opens it... :)

Thanks again, everyone, please pay-it-forward...send out some good karma, and good karma will find you!

My Own "Give-Away"

Each year at New Years, like many others, I embrace the resolution idea.  I decide on a motto of the year and this year my motto is all about change, change I want to create.  While I have already made some changes, a big change idea came to me in the form of karma.

I wait until after New Years to put my Christmas decorations away, it's a tradition.  This year, last Monday, while I was putting everything away, and lugging the bins down to my cellar, I noticed a rather large box of discarded miniatures that I've been meaning to go through and either sell or do something with.  I had put the box out of my mind until a day or two later when I watched one of my favorite mini-ers new video she posted to YouTube. 

In the video she remarked about how her dollhouse is so big and she still needs so much to fill it with.  Well, this hit home to me and I put two-and-two together.  I just love her videos and they often provide to me that needed inspiration for mini-ing, mainly the inspiration I needed to get started originally on my Woodstock.  So, in my mind, I owe her a lot!

Well, this was the perfect opportunity for me to pay up!  I contacted her and told her of my plan and she is very excited about it...which is the whole reason for me wanting to do this in the first place. 

I dragged the big box upstairs and began the arduous task of going through it.  I pulled out some things that I knew would bring a price, (to help re-coup what I spent on them) and put the rest into a box just for her...

This is the end result...

This box is F-U-L-L!!!  And I only hope that she loves everything inside!!!

An Early Sign of Something To Come?

First off, a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my followers!!!  Having a toddler in the house around the Holidays makes for difficulty finding time to do anything, let alone mini!!!

I didn't get any mini's for Christmas, but I did get some wonderful things from my husband...he definitely spoiled me this year!!!  I'm very lucky to have him!!!

I guess maybe because I didn't get anything mini for Christmas, I decided to treat myself to something special...

My beloved Woodstock kit might be stuck on an upper shelf in my basement, but it is not even close to being forgotten...

Poking around Ebay for the last few days I found these beautiful armchairs that I had my eye on for a dining room...



I was lucky enough to get the side chairs that match...

And I scored the dining table also...

I'm a little worried, they were all separate auctions and I'm concerned that the table will not match the chairs, but I am being optimistic about it as they look pretty similar...and I just love them!!!  I wish the seller would add two more side chairs...but that's probably too much to hope for.  

So my problem with the Woodstock might be solved a lot sooner than I thought...it will be a while before I can further elaborate, but please stay tuned for some more on this one... ;)