Wishful Thinking...

Well, I will say I had very wishful thinking this year... I really had intended to have at least some of the structure of this house up before Christmas came this year in hopes of decorating for the season...I think as a mini-lover that it is often a big goal to decorate for the seasons.

If you remember I even got some Christmas decorations!!!  I had picked out a tree from the Dollar Tree Store with the intention of being able to put it up in the house for the Holidays, I had even go so far as to pick up some wrapped presents from Michaels Craft Store, (well, the little ornament ones anyways). 

Unfortunately for me I realized the other day that it just isn't going to happen this year. :(  Which is a real shame because as I was going through my mini-stash working on my lights I had found these little trees in my stash! 

They are miniature evergreen trees and are sold in Hobby Lobby with the trains as part of the landscaping items.  They come four to a pack and would have made perfect Christmas trees!!!  I had used these also in the landscaping of the 1/2scale Bungalow I did for my mom last year...

They are very realistic and well made.  I just love them!  I'm really bummed now that I wouldn't be able to add one to my house this year, but there is always next year!!!



Channel-ing…(the devil maybe?)

Lighting it all up, Pt.I

I was FINALLY able to sit down, (even if it was only for a little while) and do some work on the much neglected farmhouse.  While I only worked for a short time, I feel like I got a lot accomplished!!!

The pieces that I will use to create the front door finally arrived, so the first thing I did was to measure out the frame to make sure of the fit.  Once that was (temporarily) in place, I measured out where the exterior light will go, and using my dremel tool(with a small drill attachment) I cut through a hole from front to back. 

Once that was done, I flipped it over and cut the channel that I will use to hide the wire, again using my dremel.  Remember from a previous post that I am round-wiring so cutting channels is a necessity in order to hide the wires. 

The front exterior light cord will go through this hole I pre-drilled, and then the wire will lay hidden in the channel shown below, I will wallpaper over this so you won't be able to see the wire. 

My dremel attachment tool, while deep, is also small enough to cut a perfect channel, and the 1/2scale wire is thin enough that I don’t have to keep drilling and drilling, one pass made short work of it.  This channel will hide the wire perfectly down to the floor, I will notch out the floor so it will sit flush, and then it's final resting place will be in the powerstrip that will be housed under the foundation, the rest of the interior lights will follow in suit.

I will detail more on the powerstrip at later time as the foundation intended for this house is a large thick solid block of MDF.  As a result of this, unlike most other dollhouses, there is no area underneath the foundation in which to use to hide the powerstrip.  While I do have a place in mind, it's better saved for a later post. 

I took to heart a tip from one of the miniature books I read early on, which said that you should create a back panel behind the exterior lights you choose to use.  I always liked that idea and think it adds a finished and more realistic look.  I had a 1/2scale stair tread left over from the Bungalow and as it had a pre-drilled hole in it already, I thought that it worked perfectly.  I cut it to size and painted it my contrasting trim color, (Linen by FolkArt).   

I will then mount it to the front of the wall, I need to first touch up and put a final coat of the green paint on before this is glued in place, (until then here is an image so you can get the general idea)…

The exterior coach light will sit right on top of this backer plate. 

 
I then moved on to the interior lights.  Going based on my plan and pre-drawn out sketches I was quickly able to cut all the channels that I will need for my lighting plan.  I have everything labeled so I don’t get confused…

This is the bedroom light channel,

(to one side of the french door)…

  

This is the desk light channel,

(to the other side of the french door).

Channel for the desk light plug,

(on the third floor)…

This channel I cut a little deeper on the first floor,

(it will house the bathroom and kitchen wires)…

Bathroom light…

Kitchen light…

The images of the bathroom and kitchen lights that you are looking at are of the ceilings of these two rooms.  The X's are drawn on the ceilings are to help me find the center of the rooms. 

They are based on where the wall meets the ceiling, and not on the entire floor.  RGT houses, esp. have exterior walls that are thick, and they can take up a little bit of width into your floor, so your ceiling is not necessarily on the edge of the floor...(does that make sense?).  So during a dry-fit, I make pencil lines showing where this difference is, and then make the X's based on those lines. 

Now that this part is finished, I can start moving on to the next step in the lighting phase…

Before I end this post, I must say "HI!" to my new follower... Jennifer!!!  I love new followers, and I'm super happy she joined us!  Check out her space at http://www.plushpussycat.com/

"The best laid plans..."

"of mice and men often go awry..."

I should never start a process with a plan and an intention.  It never really works out that way.  It's better when I have no idea and fly by the seat of pants!  I had every intention of starting my wiring on the farmhouse this week, and then my real-life and my miniature life got in the way. 

I am waiting on that final electrical part in order to get going.  I told you previously that I worked out a detailed electrical plan and I'm worried that if I begin the process without the missing piece, I might get confused.   

There are about a x1000 things going on in my RL right now, mostly because it's the Holiday season, and that's probably a fact for a lot of others as well.  So I don't feel too badly that I've been almost too busy, (even if the part had arrived) to work on the house. 

On top of all of this, can you believe that I am debating (at least) x2 other houses!?!  I wonder if it's a sickness... it seems to be going around, at least in my mini-areas!!! 

We will have to see what transpires...

Finally I will end this week by saying a big "Hello!!!" to my new follower Cote... :)  Thanks for joining... :)

Finally...a blog post worth reading ;)

Yes...finally, a blog post of mine worth reading... ;)

Yes, I am fully aware that every post is worth reading, (even if it's just my mom reading them ;), but this one we are finally getting down to actual work/assembly...no more fiddle-faddle.

I had told you previously that I would be lighting this house, it's now a done deal.  I am waiting for the one electrical supply that I didn't already have in my stock, (1/2scale electrical outlets), and I will be starting!

I have decided to do the round wire method for this house, (my other option being tape-wire).  I chose round because it seemed much easier on a house this size.  The brads and soldering wires just seemed like it might be more difficult in 1/2scale, add to that it would really only be my 2nd time with tape-wire and it made for a bad equation, (at least for me!).   

While I am wiring the house, I'm not going too crazy with lots of lights. 

The first floor lights will consist of an exterior light on the front porch, a light in the living room, and one in the kitchen.  The second floor will have a light in the bedroom and the bathroom.  And finally the third floor will have a light where the office will be.  It seems like it's more than it really is, after writing it down that is, but I really just wanted one light per floor.  It worked out that I had some extras to add a little bit.  I can't wait to reveal my choices, but that will come a little later. 

I can't wait to start the process!!!  I will begin with the exterior porch light, so stay tuned... ;)

Christmas Trimmings...

Just when I said I wasn't mini-ing much this week... ;)

Although I'm not mini-ing, (literally sitting down at my desk to work on minis), my mind is not far from the hobby at any given point during the day...

I headed over to my local dollar tree store today(for things unrelated to minis) and ended up picking up a couple of things that look like they will be perfect for the farmhouse...

A tree w/snow, maybe for outside?

 x2 trees w/o snow, maybe for inside?

I'm quite hoping this kicks me with enough inspiration to get some of the house ready so I can do some decorating for Christmas...I don't quite yet know if these are going to work in the house or not...they may be a little large, but I'm hoping for the best... :)

Turkey Time = No Mini Time

I'm still here...I haven't defected... ;)

With the Thanksgiving holiday, and my husbands birthday, and Black Friday, I've been soo super busy lately!!!  Things are luckily starting to calm down a bit, so I have a quick minute to write to you, so you know I haven't jumped off the face of the earth!!!

I didn't do Thanksgiving dinner at my house, however I did have to clean and prepare a dinner for my husband's family for his birthday plus bake for the house we did attend for dinner, so last week was kind of crazy in that respect.

I was a crazy person and got up at 3am to go to the Black Friday sales.  It was not the first time I've done it, but it has been quite a few years since I've gone.  This year was more necessary because as my daughter gets older and money gets tighter, finding a good deal on toys is almost a necessity...

I ended up going to Target, Toys R Us, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Home Depot, Michaels, & K-Mart.  Target was the easiest...I got there after the "crazy-ies" and just before the crowds.  I got 3 things, (two more than I expected to get) and was in an out in 15mins. 

Then I headed to Toys R Us, where most of the things I wanted were priced right just at 5am.  I was early, so I pretty much loaded my cart w/my deals and wandered around.  I should have wandered over to the line.  I could have spent between 4:15 and 5am in that line!  It was the worst line, but it did move quickly. 

I then headed over to Home Depot, got my holiday plants and wreaths, then to Jo-Anns.  I wanted just one scrapbook and wanted to look at the Butterick patterns, (as they were only $1)...they didn't have x1 available that I wanted!!! :(  I did pick up a Ott Lite...a pretty good deal come to find out, (under $15!).  It's not the exact one I had wanted, but I still like it a lot!

Lastly was Michaels and K-Mart.  First off, I HATE K-Mart, (almost as much as I hate Wal-Mart!), but they had a good deal on something I wanted.  I picked up my one thing...waited in line for 45mins, was next to pay and their registers crashed.  I threw the item on the counter and walked out!  I ended up coming home, purchasing online and I'll pick up in store later today...much easier!!!

Micheals experience was almost just as bad!!!  I bought three things that weren't on sale until Saturday!  They loaded up my cart w/my bags, then someone else got me a new cart, transferred my bags and left a bag of stuff behind, (that they've since mis-placed)... and their register didn't accept their own coupons...needless to say, I will not be venturing back there anytime soon!!! :P

Well, after all that, we are finally settled from the Holiday!!!  Except that now I've got to start the decorating... :)   So I'm not sure how much more mini-ing you are going to see at least this week.  Hopefully things will be calmed down enough for me to mini next week... :)

Bay Window... Pt. I

A big feature that drew me to this particular house was the bay window.  I'm a huge fan of natural light in real-life and always wanted a bay window in my own house, having it in miniature is pretty close to the next best thing. 

After priming I had cleaned it up a bit with some stucco to help make the seams less notice-able.  The middle interior frames, (the areas with the grids) are removeable, (I assume for ease of painting), but thus made horrible seams.  I wanted them covered up...  

I sanded and repainted, and then worked a bit on the interior side.  This photo below shows the two gaps where the interior frames meet the main frame.   

I presently have them filled them with some spare strip wood cut to size.  This may not be the final outcome for this part of the window, I wish to also fill the middle area of each frame with a piece of strip wood also.  I'm working out a better solution though, something more smooth-looking, but it works fine for right now. 

You will notice above that the strip wood does not come all the way down to the base of the window.  That is because before I had started the above process, and while the frames were still detached from the main window, I had taken a Foamie and made a template for a window seat.  I will end up re-doing this later with another foamie added and then cover it with some decorative fabric.  These two mid-pieces I created will sit on top of the window seat that will eventually be there...

I still have to cut interior trim for around the bay as it was not provided, but that's the easy part! :)