Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Getting the Itch Back

As you know, I've taken the Holidays off and concentrated on my big house. Now that Christmas is over, I'm wanting to get back into my Garfield and work/play with it, but I have to put up Christmas and that'll take another week or so.

Hobby ( Lobby ) wise, I made out like a bandit with over $100 in gift cards from family and friends that I plan to use only for the Garfield, though, if something comes up, I'll use it for non-dollhouse purchases. Many mini thanks to Sue, Angie, Cindy, Sean, and my darling hubby, Ed for making my Christmas merry for my miniature world. And, my friend, Lexie, gave me several pots and pans for a kitchen, though none of my houses have one. It's fine, though, and just confirms my thoughts of building the now unseen part of the Garfield in the future......my mind has it all planned, in fact, and there will be plenty of room in the future addition.

I have used one gift card already, but for my Alison, Jr. and not the Garfield. I needed a better diningroom set and found a nice one at HL that has made me smile more than the one I had made for it in the beginning. The chairs are what made me buy it....gold upholstered with the regal curl on the back. They'll tuck up very neatly under the trestle table. There is a tallboy cabinet to go with it.

The past few days, I've been just sitting next to Garfield, trying to decide what I want to do next. I should be putting on the roof, according to directions, but since I want to place siding on the exterior and make the tower have a fieldstone look, I need to do that first, so I guess a mail order is in order ( snicker ).

I hope you've all had a Merry Christmas and I wish you a Happy New year, full of all the many good things everyone deserves. I'll let you know when I've actually returned to work on Garfield. For right now, I'm just babbling.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Back to Hobby Lobby

I made a second run on minis at Hobby Lobby on Thursday. It seemed like no one else had been there since my first visit on Monday. I bought all the little books, with intentions of changing their jackets to become "classics", grabbed some more baseboard and crown mouldings, and the last of the candle sticks.

Today, being Saturday, is the last day of their minis on sale and I'll make one more stop and grab everything left that striles my fancy. I'm hoping that last pack of wood floor planking is still there and some of the wall sconces.

Where are the mini people in my area?? Certainly not at Hobby Lobby. Today, when I make my final sweep through the minis, I will be greedy. I can't pass up such a good deal. Hobby Lobby doesn't offer sales on minis all that often, so, while everyone else is buying Christmas items, I'll be in the mini section cleaning them out. I'm ruthless............

Monday, November 24, 2008

Fun At Hobby Lobby

Hobby Lobby is having 50% off dollhouse miniatures this week and I was at the door at 0900 ready to get as much as I could. There were no other customers in the miniatures department or I might have shared, but, since I was alone, I went nuts.

I bought several different light fixtures, some trim pieces, spindles, candles, wall sconces, books, the white china ( I'll paint designs on those ), floor planking, cakes, mirrors, and I can't remember it all. Total was $75 at the discounted price.

But, since I'm not working on the house right now and all my toys and tools are put up, I had to just leave them in the bag and will open after New Year's.

So, today, instead of working in the dollhouse, I'm making pumpkin bread...working on loaves 5 and 6 right now.

I may go back later in the week and see if they restocked....hope so.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Tons ? of Trim!!!

























































I've spent the last few weeks on trim, trim, and trim. I had to wait a couple of weeks for Hobby Lobby to restock their baseboard and all they stocked were 2 packs, which I scarfed up.
There is so much work to do still, plus some fixes of things gone wrong. Somehow, water dripped down the Parlor wall, a "printie" which now I have to remove and repaper. Lots of those nasty words said there. It's hard to believe that with all that's been done on The Garfield, I am only halfway there. I plan on a stone look on the exterior tower with siding everywhere else. There is, of course, roofing and porch to do. I want plank flooring for the porch and stone look around the foundation.
Most of the crown moulding has to wait until the roof is added and fills in those gaps. I need to add trim around the ceiling of the staircase openings to give a cleaner look. I want, I want, I want.
But it's all going to have to wait now until after Christmas. That's right...I'm packing it up so that I can have some room to work during the holidays. I have all those things everyone has at Christmas to do and the dollhouse hours would eat that away. I'll be throwing a light sheet over the house to keep out the dust. I do have a small box of wood that I can work on if I like..sanding, mostly. I also have a list of "quick fix me" things that won't take a lot of time or attention if the bug hits me.Everything else is sorted out, reorganized and packed up until I finish with the Holiday.
I am loving this house so very much and every day is a new adventure. I have pages and pages of want to do's that grows and grows whenever I look at it. I still count my lucky stars for finding this jewel at Goodwill for only $40.
I doubt there'll be much to talk about while the house is "on Holiday", but I will add to the blog if something pops up. I'll let you know if there's anything worthy of being said and, of course, when I get back to work on it in January.
Until then, enjoy the Holidays with all your hearts. Act like a kid again and play with your toys and read Holiday stories.










Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The 2nd Bedroom


This door leads into the 2nd bedroom and the trim in the hallway is not done yet, as you can plainly see. I just wanted to show some progress here, though I feel like I've worked and worked and gotten nowhere.
I added a small piece of wood over the door where a transom window would have been. As I've said, the Houseworks door is taller and it leaves little room for a window.
The bay is removable and, while you can't tell from the inside, you sure can from the outside, but I think a decorative trim piece will fix that. We'll see later on down the line. I have only this piece of trim in the hall and will be finishing that up in the next few days. I'm on hold as Hobby Lobby ran out of baseboard and I need to wait for them to restock and they're not too quick about those things.
Give me a few days and I'll have more to show. There is MUCH to do in this hallway!!!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Little things

Nope..no photos. Nothing looks any different in the house; all the work has been on the work table, except for a little painting in the Master bedroom.

I started on what was to be the transom windows and had to change the plan. The Houseworks doors are bigger/taller than the original doors. Allowing for the higher size and the frame of transom windows, I would have been left with too small an area for a window, so it's becoming just wall. I've finished the painting of the blue side and, today, will work on the other sides' colors, maybe get them fitted into the space.

Yesterday, I bought the last pack of baseboard at Hobby Lobby; will go back today for either the fireplace or crown moulding. Clear vellum was 1/2 off and that's what I'm going to use for "stained glass" in the French doors and oval windows. I need fresh ink cartridges for the printer, which is fine. I have plenty of time and I'll need it still for researching. Someone told me about doing this and I am spending a lot of time looking for the right look.

I'm dragging in the Garfield, working more in other areas of my big house, but I am getting piles of trim pieces stained, varnished, and ready to install. I like to let it pile up and then just have a day with installing.

While it's still in the future, I'm thinking about this tower that is in the front of this house. I think I want it to have a fieldstone look on the entire outside of the tower and in the interior of the third floor, so I'm cruising the supplies needed for that. If I'm going to do it, I need to before I work inside it, which is not all that far away, plus I should do it before I add the siding, which IS a while away.

To be continued........................

Monday, October 27, 2008

Optical Illusions











It is NOT crooked!! Okay, I admit that I cut it a bit crooked, but I have 1/2" trim pieces, top and bottom, that will cover that and it'll work. I have checked with one of those trims and the little gold medallion like thingie on the paper lines up perfectly!! It just LOOKS crooked. However, on Saturday, it really was crooked and I had to pull off the piece of wallpaper from the both walls and replace it. Lucky for me, since this was a printie, I had printed out extra paper, just in case, so I had enough to replace what I removed.( If I'd needed to reprint, I'd have had to install new ink cartridges. )
There I was, one arm through the hallway bay window, the other arm though the French doors, wetting and removing the printie wallpaper. I had used "Zinsser" border adhesive to get them up there and they were a piece of cake to remove them. ( I love Zinsser products. ) Got the wall cleaned up and started over. I measured all the way through the process and realized it's the printie that is crooked....sorry, Jennifer's printables. Once I realized it was not me, I felt so much better and quit cussing.
Because of this little snafu, I had to change my plans of putting up the trim in the hallway and, instead, started painting in the bedrooms. I papered the 2nd bedroom first. This paintable wallpaper dries quicker than the printie wallpaper and I was able to paint almost right away. I had only the inner wall to do and the paint went on easily....True Value's 4oz jar of tester paint. I'm glad I chose this happy yellow, Bee Pollen, as it really does brighten up the room. See where the opening is? Where the room light shines through? That's where part of the roof goes and I'll have to wait until the roof is done to do the crown work. In this room, I have to install the door, transom window ( which I'm working on ), the fireplace, baseboard, and, lastly, the crown moulding. FYI, the door to the very right leads into the library.
Next, I worked on the Master bedroom. This has a 1/2 wall of the paintable wallpaper ( Thanks always, Kim ) The paper takes less paint than the wood, but it's all done now and I can move on to the trim. This paint is also True Value's tester paint, "Nana". The order for this is the door and transom window, the window seat in the tower area, the fireplace..which I'm going to buy instead of build...the baseboard, the chair rail, and the crown moulding. Again, in some places, I'll have to get the roof on first.
I am delighted to be this far and, for the next few days, will be staining, varnishing, and gluing. I have a lot of shopping to do, as I have only small pieces of trim and need the new fireplace. I'm going to attempt the stained glass look in the transom windows and the little oval window in the 2nd bedroom and have some research to do. I'm making the windows from scratch, because of my kit bashing. While I fumble my way though a stained glass look, I'll work on the other trim too.
It's coupon week at Hobby Lobby!! YEAH!!!!!!!!! I'll go get something each morning and send Ed each afternoon. I need a LOT of trim. I'm slow, installing trim, making it as right as I can, especially the crown moulding, but I think this is where being precise really counts and most of what makes the room look so real.
And, while I work on this floor, making it look like a home, I'll be thinking about the 3rd floor, the attic, and trying to figure out how to make it work. I also have to accept that soon, because of the holidays approaching, I'll have to clean and put up for a while, as this little spare room is the only place I have to work with for Christmas boxes. BooHoo.....but I'm a Christmas freak, so the reason is okay with me. I'll use that time down for sanding the millions of trim pieces and roofing that will go on the house.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Suddenly, It Looks Like a House












What a difference a floor makes! It looks like a house now. Note that when I edit the photos and change the balance, the colors change a bit. The Master bedroom is coral, not orange, and the second bedroom is a true yellow.
There are a million things to do here, as expected. I need to spackle some rough edges, fill in some gaps, add another small wall between the 2 bedrooms, and lots of trim. I'm letting it sit glued as you see it until tomorrow to insure the the glue holds fast, then to work I go.
Oh, I think it look so beautiful and, again, I find myself just sitting there looking and writing down chores and notes so I won't forget my ideas.
I will first complete the hallway. I need to finish the wallpaper, install the French doors, the bay window, 2 doors and transoms, and add the crown and baseboard.There will be "L" trim pieces at the base of the center walls that will overlap onto the ceiling below. It'll clean up the transition look.
In the Master, add the partition between it and the other bedroom, more papering and painting, the window seat, the fireplace, and the crown and baseboard. There's also a small spot on the floor that needs satin......I'd removed the wall there and haven't filled it in yet. And, in the second bedroom, there is more papering and painting, the fireplace, and the crown, and baseboard.
As I've said all along, I've felt like I've build this from the inside out. There have been so many tricky spots, corners, nooks, curves, and hidden places that building the whole house as designed and then decorating would have been terribly frustrating. Those of you who've built ahead of me know what I mean and those behind me, be warned. It's a puzzle to say it lightly.
I'm leaving the blog until Monday when I'm sure I'll have had tons of things completed by then. There's a pile of trim on my worktable I'm sanding and about to stain and a long list of "to do's". So, I'll turn this chair around 180 degrees and get to work.



Thursday, October 23, 2008

Second Floor Progress

The "progress" is v-e-r-y slow. All I've done today is paint the walls, paint the walls, and, then, paint the walls. That's it, except......

I found all the pieces needed to make the window seat, the 3 tower windows, 1 wide window,a fireplace for the Master Bedroom, and the small oval window. The window seat is supposed to have little pieces with decorative tabs punched out. All I can find is one piece so I'll use leftover beadboard for the sides of the window seats. I lucked out, found one already stained and varnished, just have to cut it to size and touch it up. I already have a fireplace that I bought from a friend of mine (Thanks, Mary Jo ) . It's the one we can buy with the green marble. I love the marble and I'm going to clean up/rough up and repaint the mantle and sides and do something different with it.

Tomorrow, once the paint and painted wallpaper are all dry, I'll add the ceiling/3rd story floor and the inner walls to the bedrooms. THAT'S the part that excites me.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Just a Mess on the Second Floor


Oh, everything is all a mess and looks confusing. On the right is the number 2 bedroom with stripe embossed paper on in, floor to ceiling, with 2 coats of "Bee Pollen" paint. On the left is the master bedroom with only one coat of paint in the tower area..it will all be paint in the tower...and the white paper is embossed fleur de lis with no paint papered just to chair rail line. The entire wall, paper and wood will be painted "Nana" and then the chair rail in between. The chair rail will be decorative, but I haven't picked it out. In the middle, is the hallway. See where "Peanuts" in the funny paper is? That's where the inner walls will be. This'll take me another few days to finish up, but I wanted to show you something. Sorry, it's a mess, but...well, you know.
Everything is drying off right now..sticking or the paint drying and I'll just leave it until tomorrow. I have nothing planned for my day, so I should get a lot accomplished. Until later.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

2nd Floor Interior Work

It's not exciting to look at spackle and paint, so I'll save you that here. I have the wall corners spackled and sanded and wiped down on all junctions of the 2nd floor interior. All is smooth and ready for paint or wallpaper.
The ceiling was divided into the 3 areas..hallway, Master bedroom, and second bedroom and are all painted. The hallway is painted a very lightened coordinating blue "Expressionist", the Master bedroom is painted a lightened shade of "Nana", and the second bedroom, a lightened shade of "Bee Pollen". All of these paints are from True Value's collection of "Color Made Simple" which are actually test colors...4 oz jars of paint to use to see if you like a color before you buy a gallon or so for a larger space. They are perfect for the miniature house. They go on easily, dry quickly, and are enough for the 2-3 coats that are usually required. I lightened them with white paint and then, thinned them a bit with water, so not to make them too thick and you really can tell the difference.

Coming up next will be to paper the walls with the paintable wallpaper that Kim Hammond sent me ( Thanks, again, Kimi!!) The second bedroom will go first using a textured striped paper. I have more than enough of this and will get it on the walls, allow for drying time, and then paint the paper. I'm going to hit a snag here and will have to be careful with a gap that is made by the slope of the not yet installed roofing. The bizarre construction areas of the Garfield will strike again. This is a photo of ANOTHER house and you can see the odd area at the top of the wall that I'll have to fill in the wallpaper to match. How fun will that be?
On the far right of this room, right where the photo ends, is the door into the library. On the far left, where the photo ends, is supposed to be a door leading into the Master bedroom. I have filled that doorway in and there will be no door at all. Doing so will give me added wall space. A fireplace will go in this room, also.
The Master bedroom will have another paintable paper with fleur de lis on it. I need to fix up the window seat for the tower and either make or buy a fireplace for it.
Each Houseworks doorway has been adapted to fit into the altered doorway ( they were way too small) and I have the basic transom windows ready, but both will need some tweaking. I also have French doors for the hallway to stain on the inside and paint on the outside, not to mention the windows and their trim, some stained, some painted.
All this work should keep me busy for several days...through the weekend, I'm guessing. I don't want to show any of the spaces until I'm done...call me odd ( my sister does ) but I prefer not to show off the ugly, only the completed pretty.
This is an area that I am thoroughly enjoying, in spite of the cat and the problems with the ceiling. And it seems, considering how I'm going to go about it all, that everything will fall into place at the same time. I love it when that happens.
I have looked at just about every photo of the Garfield there is online-many of them your's, dear reader, and have scrutinized each room and technique, some of which I've borrowed. Every one is different, really no two the same, which has made building this so interesting. Once I get this floor done, my move to the third floor will, again, prove to have many quirks, which will take some heavy thinking about how to approach it. I know of a few of the pitfalls, but if you'd be so kind as to warn me of what's to come, I'd appreciate it. No need to tell me how to fix it, just what to look out for. Forewarned is forearmed.
Thank you for being here. I so enjoy your visits and comments. Your advice always gives me courage.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

2nd Floor This and That Construction

There's no need for photos here..nothing exciting or pretty.

There's always something to do before I can do what I want to do. In this case, I want to do the Hallway, but there are things that MUST be done in the 2 bedrooms first, doggone it. I figured that out when I was having one of those moments where I just sit and stare at the house, at what I've done, at what I want to do, and, then, at what I need to do. They are good moments, but often become frustrating when I find all kinds of things that MUST be done.

I've decided the color of the bedroom next to the library will be yellow. There's only a small oval window in the room, so it'll need brighter colors. While I haven't picked out the paint yet, I have found some scrapbooking trims that I want to use in there. They'll give the room a touch of daisies, always a cheerful thing. This room needs some patchwork...tabs sticking out need sanding down and spackled, slots need spackle and there's a few rough edges that need sanding and spackling, all to be done before I paint. One of the hallway walls backs into this room and I need to paint that too, before I can put it up.

I still have no idea what to do with the master bedroom and since another of the hallway walls backs into it, I need to paint that also before I put it up. I'll be thinking on that while I work on the 2nd bedroom. The master bedroom also needs some cleanup, patching, and sanding, so there's plenty of time.

Both rooms will get a fireplace...in fact, EVERY room on the 1st and 2nd floors will have a fireplace and I hope to have some on 3rd floor, though they could end up being wood burning stoves.

While I'm working on the 2nd floor, I have to think ahead to the 3rd floor. I hear there's lots of "iffie's" and confusing concerns up there and I need to keep them in mind while I'm in the floor below.

All the above work will take several days and I don't know if I'll write about them or not on a daily basis. "We'll see" ( I hate those words ). Until I know more...............................

Saturday, October 18, 2008

The 2nd Floor Hallway


This is a shot of the bay window in the 2nd floor hallway. It's not finished, no trim or anything, and it's just sitting there, not glued it. It's supposed to be left removable; I'm considering making it permanent. That decision is down the road.
The inside of the bay is painted the same "Expressions" blue as the walls. The wooden trim pieces on the bottom are punched out pieces from the railing and will carry the design in the staircase through the hall. There will be a cushion there for comfort.
I did have the ceiling/3rd story floor ready, but my cat, Aimee, used it as a scratching post and ruined the ceiling. Yes, she's still alive, but I haven't seen her close to me for a while. She knows she's in trouble. I've decided, instead of trying the paintable paper again that I'd just spray it with a textured paint and that's complete. In doing do, some of the paint got underneath and damaged the completed 3rd story floor. BIG SIGH HERE. So, I cleaned it off with denatured alcohol, added another coat of the Cabernet stain, and 2 more coats of the varnish mix..50/50 denatured alcohol/Bullseye shellac. So, keep laughing, some of the stain seeped through to the ceiling side and I'll have to touch that up...actually, that doesn't bother me, since I'm going to section the ceiling into the room sizes, each having a complimentary color ceiling for that particular room. Flip, Flop, what a lot of work.
That's where I sit and will stay until tomorrow or maybe even until Monday to be positive the varnish is dried solid and nothing else nasty happens. I think I'd break down and cry if one more thing happens to the piece of wood.
It gives me time to come up with color ideas for the 2 bedrooms off this hallway...I have no idea what I want and I should decide soon, if I'm going to do the ceiling. I hate painting upside down.
Until my mind's made up, the door to the room will be kept closed...no cats allowed.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Done In The Dining Room...Finally








Oh, this room took so very long..I am glad it's done!!!! The window trim in the bay was near impossible to attach and I'm not all that happy with the job. I hope draperies will cover what makes me mad. I had to use a mirror to get the trim in and that can be so confusing. Left is right and right was tough. I will be putting either a cushion there to sit on or using it for plants.
The back door is not glued in yet. There's work to be done on the exterior around there, plus I want to put in a stained glass instead of just plain glass. The fireplace is one that came with the kit with a few additions to it.
After all the time spent in here, I'm at a loss of words to say now. Just tired, I guess. I should have more to say, but am ending this here for today.
Next, the hallway on the second floor, but it'll be a few days before I pick up where I left off. I have other things to do and, honestly, just need to get out of the house for a while. I'll go back in on the weekend.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Dining Room recap

I know, I said there'd be photos, but the paint's not dry on the trim and I can't glue it wet. I'm working on the trim in the Dining room...baseboard and windows. I'm also diddling around with the stupid back door.

You know, I didn't like the original door, so I bashed the wall to allow for a Houseworks door, which does fit, but the door drags. I'd also added the thin mahogony veneer on that beautiful floor and I need to sand the bottom of the door until it stops dragging. Sand a little, place it in the spot, open the door, say something rude, take it out, sand a little, put it in, open the door, say something rude, on and on. I haven't got it right yet, but it'll be done before bedtime.

I also have a snafu with the "crown moulding". I used a 1" fabric trim, which overlaps where the top of the window trim and bay window trim are and I have to whittle them down to fit in and look nice. It'll work, it'll just take some fussing.

This is the aggravating part of building this beauty...having to tweak things until it works, whether it's bashed or not. You can't get too aggressive with it or it'll be all wrong; it just takes time and....I begin to hate this word...patience.... a virtue not very high up on my ladder. It's such a good feeling when a thing works, but getting there is not always the fun part. Yeah, yeah, memories are made of this, I know, but it just is so time consuming.

The tweaking is where people who don't "mini" don't get it. Too many think that you just glue it on and there you go, but it's more often than not a long process until it's right. So, until tomorrow, when I can just glue it on and there you go..............................

Sunday, October 12, 2008

After The Punch and a Touch of Excitement

The many, many pieces of parts that I punched yesterday are now sorted in plastic baggies, waiting for their turn in the house. Would you believe I have 4 more pieces of plywood to punch and will work on those later this evening. ( There are 39 total, plus the 4 acrylic pages) I ran out of patience and baggies yesterday and had to go buy more. Found the baggies, but couldn't find what aisle the patience was on.

I did buy one of those cabinets from Michael's at the garage sale. I don't know what I'll do with it. It's more appropriate for a kitchen, so I may just bash it for parts to something. And I bought a few knick knacks with plans to send them to some friends, but nothing more in the mini line.

But, EXCITEMENT happened. When I asked the lady having the garage sale about the dollhouse, I was disappointed that the house had gone to an "early bird". She told me about another lady who was interested in having a show of miniatures. Oh, I was thrilled, since I have looked and looked for someone in town that does miniatures and have found no one. She gave me the lady's name and I called her when I got home. She told me there IS a group of ladies in some semblance of a miniaturist's club here in Grand Junction and will get one of the ladies to call me. And, she was serious about a show and I offered to help...a place to have it is the problem. I know nothing about organizing one, but I know of a small shopping center with empty stalls that may allow such an event. Tomorrow, I'm going to try and find some places that would be practical. I'm so excited about it, I could pop!!!

I have no one to talk mini to except for you wonderful people on line, but we all know that face to face can have more to it and I look forward to having "play dates" with people here in Grand Junction. I feel like I may be walking into a new world.

Today on my Garfield, I haven't done very much. I painted the window cutout section and glued on the acrylic to the windows in the Dining room. After the Denver/Jacksonville football game, I'll work on the trim pieces for the windows and baseboard. I'm not sure if I'll paint them or use the Cabernet stain. I'm leaning towards the paint, but will hold up examples of each and ponder about it before I take a glue brush to it.

It's getting colder ( freeze warning for tonight ) and the arthritis is digging in...I can only work short times at the Garfield before it starts to bother me, my back and right sided joints especially. This condition will never go away, darn it, and I never did find what aisle the patience was on...could be a long winter.

Tomorrow, I promise some photos...it's been a while and it's time to show and not just tell.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

One More Session of Punch

Would you believe I STILL have some pieces to punch out??? Well, they're going to get it today...I need the room. These final pieces are of the roof, the porch, and the millions of trim pieces for the porch and roof. I am keeping count of the pieces...at the end of the building, I'll tell you how many pieces...I'm thinking close to 7oo. Anyone else out there know? Mine will have many not used..remember I had to order extra plywood sheets since some were missing, so there'll be some pieces floating around that'll end up in my scrap wood bucket. Once I get them punched, I'll do a simple sand, just to rid them of the nasty splinters, and then put them in labeled bags.

Besides doing the punch, I'm painting the interior/exterior of the 2nd floor hall bay. I've changed my mind about leaving the bay removable. I don't like the look of the seams where it meets the house, so I'll end up gluing it to the house and use the French doors at the balcony for access. It's not like I'm moving big pieces of furniture in the hallway. I will want to get whatever window treatment I choose in place before I do the final gluing. I'm also following the plans and having a window seat there for my lady and the cat to sit and read a book.

There is, of course, a little roof that goes on this bay window, but I'm going to wait until it's attached to the house and the final coat of paint before I install it. My hopes are to have siding on the house, but I've not made that final decision yet, so those pieces will go in a bag labeled "Still to do".

Sometimes, I make great plans of what I'm going to do on a day...I even write it down do I'll have the right order. I get started, do a little, and end up just sitting there looking at the house or room and make new plans, move things around, try out a piece of furniture, or, lazily, just stare at it, doing nothing. I've had a lot of those days lately, sitting there, fantasizing what I'm wanting, or even making up a little story about it.( I keep saying I'm going to write that little story down, but I never do. My friend, Kim, has done that and she's inspired me some, but not to the point where I've put it to paper.) Other days, I can just rip it out and get more work done than I ever imagined.

I found another dollhouse ad in "garage sales" today and am going there...NOT for another house, but in hopes of neat stuff to put in the Garfield. A couple other errands and then it's punching time!!!

See ya later, alligator

Friday, October 10, 2008

Bits and Pieces plus the Bay

I went to the new Habitat For Humanity store here in Grand Junction. It's a big improvement from the dive they used to have. I found an old bottle of stinky perfume that I threw away, but kept the cap. It'll make a great ceiling lamp fixture for someplece. I haven't decided yet, just put it in the box of things I'm going to use sometime.

I had ordered the laser cut room dividers from Miniatures.com. Oh, I loved them so!!! but could find no place to put them, so I returned them in exchange for some more French doors, some doorknobs...the Opryland knobs...and a few other things.

I've got the bay for the 2nd floor hall complete and sanded the edges well and spackled the seams so they won't show. Oh, how I love spackling stuff!!!! It should be dry in the morning and I'll sand and paint the inside and out.

My other time spent with the house today was housekeeping. It gets so dusty and I'm trying to keep it and me neat. Easier said than done. That's it for today.

My garden looks good, but I still have good planting time, so I divided some more plants and plan on doing more. It's hard to devide my time between all the things I love to do.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

The Hallway Bay

I'm putting the puzzle of the bay window piece by piece in the hallway.This is supposed to be a removable assembly, in order to easily access the hall area. We'll see if that proves practical or not when it's finished.



I had previously sanded all the parts to this-10 not counting the windows. I had to square up the tabs some to assure a tight fit; no big deal. Then I started gluing the pieces to their designated spots and used masking tape for keeping them together. And, so I wait, and wait, and wait. ( In the meantime, I'm writing this and printing off some of the photos on my camera's disc to put into my scrapbook, then deleting from the disc. I still have then saved in my Kodak program online. )

This is a photo of the hallway so far..it's a little dark, but I think it's just the lighting in the room and I didn't use a flash.I think it's going to be real nice when it's all done. Lots to go, but making headway with great excitement. Building this house makes me so happy.


Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Still In The Hallway

I'll have some photos tomorrow of what I've done today, but I need to get new batteries first. Sorry. I have the 4 walls painted the blue...so nice and clean looking...and I cleaned up the corners at the tabs to make sure everything fit snugly. I measured and cut the wallpaper and got it up on 2 of the walls. I can't do anything more on the walls until I get the ceiling put in, as it holds up the 2 inner walls.

The doors and trim have been stained and, tomorrow, I'll work on the transom windows. That's about it for the day. I had several things to keep me away from the work on the house today, darn it. I'm loving the ideas I have in my head and can't wait to see them working.

Sorry there's not much more to entertain you today. I should be able to get more done later.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The Second Floor Hallway

This hallway really started several "chapters" ago with "Walls, Doors, and Walls"..parts 1 and 2. I fought with trimming the ceiling, the doors, the walls, and even the staircase getting everything to fit. It's all been in the dry fit stage while I did the library. Today, I took all the doors, walls, and ceiling out and what you see here is the area with a newspaper drop cloth, taped to the floors.

I'm sure you remember me sweating over my paint and ( printie ) wallpaper and I've made my choices with the wallpaper I showed you and the darker blue paint. I've sealed the wood with a light coat of Bullseye spray shellac and applied the first coat of paint to the 4 walls. It did bring out the grain of the wood some, so I sanded it smooth, painted again, and sanded one more time. I've since done 2 more coats, a total of 4 coats of paint and it looks good enough to move on to putting on the wallpaper. ( I'll start that tomorrow.)

The walls are about 8 1/2" high, so I'll put the paper on the bottom of the wall going up about 4 1/2" high. Where the walls and paper meet, I'm adding a 1/2" stained flat strip of wood. Nothing fancy. Where the opening of the stairwell is......1st floor ceiling meeting the 2nd story floor, I'll add stained corner guard, which will cover up the confused look of the 2 surfaces, giving it a nice clean cut look.

Once I'm finished with all that, I'll stain the doors and make the transom windows that will go over each door, then I'll work on the ceiling. ( I'm waiting on an angel friend to send me some paintable wallpaper to be able to finish the ceiling ) I want to add some sort of design to each of the transom windows for a crafted look.

This hallway has both a balcony with French doors and a bay window, which can be made to be removable for easier access. I'm going to leave it removable, unless it looks badly and will then glue it. I need to see how it'll look.

I've been looking forward to doing this area. I think it'll have a delightful effect on the center of the house since I'm carrying the same blue ( but with different shades ) up the center of the house.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Back To Work On The Garfield







Before I tell you about my work on the house, I want to tell you about 2 yard sales I went to on Saturday. The first advertised dollhouses and there were 3...1 was like a fort for the backyard, the second for a Barbie, and the 3rd, made from plans by the child's Daddy, was a huge 8? room house with stairs and balconies, hallways and doors. "Daddy" did a great job, but it stopped there. No decorations were done except for one room done in life size wallpaper, overwhelming the room with huge polka dots. They were asking only $30 and, if I'd have had the room in the birdhouse I live in, I'd have scarfed it up in a heartbeat. It could have become a true beauty. It reminded me of my very first house built 30 years ago from plans, The Dogwood Plantation. Miss Scarlet would have been happy there. I bought some of it's furniture, well beaten, colored on with crayons, hardware missing, and some without legs. They can all be easily fixed according to my imagination. For $5, I got a high head/foot board brass bed, 2 upholstered sofas, 4 upholstered chairs, 2 chests of drawers, 1 dresser with mirror, and an end table. With my purchase, a little girl gave me a free cup of hot chocolate, too. The second yard sale provided another interesting piece for a ceiling medallion...an old brass belt buckle in a circle with flowers and leaves on it. Since flowers and leaves are on the library walls, I'm thinking the medallion will go in there.

Well, I told you about what I did in the garden and I won't repeat myself, though I do have that habit. I didn't completely ignore the garden, working in little bits in the library. When we last were together in the library, I'd had the walls covered with blue rosed fabric ( tan background ). I'd turned the closets into bookcases on both sides of the French doors, and was creating a small staircase and landing. The plans called for 2 dinky steps to come from the room in front of the library down into the room. It seemed rather meek and ugly, not to mention unsafe with no railing. ( No offense, Greenleaf ) I wanted something with more style so I built a small landing, 2 1/2' X 3 1/2", with 2 steps down on the side. The wall to the landing and the spindles are painted the same linen color with the floor, banister, and steps stained in Cabernet. I was wanting a fireplace on that wall to share the chimney, but it was too crowed, so I put the chimney across the room and will just create a new chimney. These houses were built oddly with chimneys everywhere anyway.

I get all confused with placing the pictures. I wish Sumaiya would come to Colorado and teach me. Anyway, the 2 black and white photos are what Greenleaf wanted the room to look like..see the dinky steps. The other photo is what I've made it look like. The other photos came out too dark, but at least I got one good one in there. There green/white curtains are NOT in the dollhouse, but on my windows in my room. I don't know where the purplish glow comes from; perhaps a poltergeist is in there. To the left of the French doors is where the niche is that's so very difficult to get my hand into and decorate. It's about 2" wide in there. Can't even turn my hand over. Holding molding was a pickle. Check out that belt buckle ceiling medallion!!!

Trimming this room was a real pain in it, especially in the far deep corner. I'm afraid the pieces don't fit perfectly, but they were installed using no eyes, just hands. No way could I put the trim piece in there and look at the same time. The only way I can see them is if I peek into the window across the room from them AFTER I did the work. ( Another Greenleaf design quirk )

Note to Greenleaf-please don't consider these things I call "quirks" as bad things. These old Victorians were full of quirks, so, none of them do I consider bad quirks, except for the fireplace on the stairwell. I'll never understand where you thought the smoke would go.

The crown moulding was another awkward piece to do. I used plain flat trim instead of actual moulding, because the door casing took up some of the crown room and I couldn't figure out anything else that would work. Too small for a transom, a decorative panel would have looked silly, so I just used what would work. Even using the easiest piece of wood, with no need for proper edges, just flat against each other, it was hard to do since I couldn't watch what I was doing, even with a mirror. I was in more positions than a magician.

I think the room has turned out beautifully, with the feeling hat I wanted. I bought some cheap books for the heck of it to test the look, but plan on making some in the future with highbrow literary tastes. I am so doggoned proud of this room and am fighting off the urges to rummage around in my boxes of furniture and put some in there. No, now, don't even try to talk me in to it. I'm going to wait a long time till it's done. I don't want it to be in the way and maybe mess something up.
I will try to get better photos to you though.
























Sunday, October 5, 2008

The Past Week Off

My week off from the dollhouse and working in the garden has come to an end. Tomorrow, I get back into high gear in the Garfield. It's been pretty good timing, too. We're starting to get rain and that would keep me inside anyway.

I've got a lot of work done out there..lots of daffodils planted, some pentstemon, a butterfly bush, transplanted some things, cleaned out the garden shed, threw down dirt into the stepping stone path, cleaned all the hummer feeders, scrubbed the garden ornaments, cleaned and oiled my tools, blah,blah, blah.

I haven't been completely idle with the dollhouse and have some nice things to show you tomorrow when I start back "officially". I'm rather proud of myself.

My sincerest sympathies to Wanna, who lost her sister, and Judy, who lost her Zebadiah, her 13 yr old friendly? feline. Both losses are tremendous to your hearts and I know the pain you must feel. I will not tell you how it will get easier, but I will say I know they still love you and they never go away. Bless your hearts.

The aspens are yellow yellow against the dark green of the pines. Colorado is beautiful this time of year and I'm going out for a drive in it, even in the sprinkling rain. Cedarfest is up the mountain and I plan on buying some apples.

Tomorrow, I'll be back at home in The Garfield.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Gardening Vs. Dollhouse

Yes, I really have been spending a lot of time in the garden and it does show. I've cut back those plants that will do no more and are showing signs of nighty-night. I've transplanted a good many plants and planted bulbs, especially on my poor lost kitty, Tweedles, grave, who died last year ago Monday of a heart attack while she was at the vet's getting a haircut. Tweedles got new daffodils.

I've taken down the humming bird feeders and sterilized them and put them away, as the hummers have left for their winter vacation in Buenos Aires, lucky birds. I've cleaned out the garden shed and prepared the tools for next year's use.

My husband, Ed, and I have put out an Autumn display of straw, pumpkins, scarecrows, witches, and black cats. The neighborhood children love to see what's new and we add something everyday for them to find.

There is still much to do, including restocking soil on the stepping stones so they won't stick up so much we'll trip over them.

But, of course, you know, I've not ignored the Garfield completely. My new French doors for the 2nd floor balcony has arrived and I've prepped that and it's ready to paint. I need to cut it's interior trim myself. I've been working on a landing for the library. Initially, you'd enter from the bedroom in front of it and walk down 2 dinky steps. I'm still using the steps, but am fashioning a small landing with rails and banisters to look a bit grander. Right now, I have spindles stuck in some florist foam to hold them straight and am painting them. I have the newel posts stained and varnished. Once I finish the spindles, I will cut the banisters and stain them and put them all together.

The door that comes from the bedroom into the library is a standard Houseworks door, but was too tall to fit the spot. I had to take 3/4 inch off the door and the trimwork That was pretty tricky, having to cut a bit off the top and the bottom because of the panels inside the door, but it made it. Then, I stained one side and painted the other...the line that separates the paint and varnish was tricky to keep straight, but was managed with a lot of work.

I am trying to sell my little 4 room farmhouse and The Alison, Jr, so I am cleaning them, packing up the furniture and making them ready for Open House. The ad came out in today's paper. I hate to see them go, but, since I live in a birdhouse, I have no room for them all.

I'll get back to you again later this week to tell you of my progress. In the meantime, may you have a happy day.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

A Week Off

This will be a tough one, but I've decided I need to take a week off from the Garfield Manor to do some work around the house and garden. This is the perfect time for me to cut back some plants, divide and transplant, and to purchase and plant new things. I need to amend the soil from the good compost pile and remove completely some things that just don't work. The garden centers are having sales and good deals are everywhere, plus, my buddy, Melissa, has a bundle of things to pass on to me. I can't play house and happy gardener at the same time....either one, I'll get carried away and will ignore the other. I don't understand or practice "moderation". As Annie Oakley says, " With me, it's all or nuttin' ".

Oh, I know, I'll sneak in here at night and diddle around with something about the dollhouse, but, it won't be worth discussing. I won't say that I'll avoid posting anything here either, but don't expect too much.

It's going to be difficult for me, I know, as I so love working on this beauty and don't want her to feel neglected. But, I love my garden and it DOES feel neglected, so I need to make up for that.

Bear with me, please, it won't be long.

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Steps in the Library

Wow, I forgot to post yesterday. Oh, well, there wasn't much done anyway.

Today, I'm working on another adaption to the original plans. In the library, there are to be two steps coming from the room in front of it...two dinky little things that don't have much class and don't look all that pretty or safe. I want to change that. What I'd like to do is to have you come through that door to a platform with railing on two sides of it and then step down the two steps into the library. I've drawn a picture of what I want it to look like and I'm pretty sure I understand what it is I'm going to do, but there's going to be some playing around with it. I haven't decided if I want it to be a straight walk down the stairs into the room, or if I want to turn left on the platform to go down the stairs. If I turn it, I'll need to reposition a fireplace that I wanted on the inner wall to across the room to the outer wall. That is probably what I'll end up doing. I like the fireplace on the inner wall best, but I like the turn of the platform better. Confused yet? Maybe by tomorrow, I can show you.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Nothing Done, But I Bought a Few Things

I had a dentist appointment this morning, first thing. UGH!!! They're prepping for a crown and it ruined my whole morning. All I managed to get done was clean up my worktable, so I can mess it up again.

This afternoon, I spent some time at my friend, Mary Jo's. She has an old Beacon Hill for sale. She started building it many years ago and life made her stop. It sits in her garage half finished, has all the pieces neatly stored in bags, and she doesn't want to continue with it. If you seriously would like to discuss it, I'll have her get in touch with you.

She had a trunk full of furniture and accessories too. I picked out a lot of them and bought some really nice things...a bed, lamps, chandeliers, knick knack and vases, tons of picture frames, carpet, fireplace accessories, and I can't remember what all.

It was a lovely afternoon, productive for my collection, and I got some great cookies to munch on. Tomorrow, I'll get back to the Garfield.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

I've Been Lazy Today

I've not spent much time with Garfield today. Just taking a small break. I was able to install the window seat with no trouble and I did get on the third side to the Dining Room bay window and spackled inside and out at the joints. The spackling has been sanded and painted and it all looks great. I still have the fabric trim to put on the crown area...will probably do that tonight. It was even more difficult getting my hand inside to spackle, sand, and paint. Again, I was doing tricks with mirrors backwards.

I read a hint from Larry Marshall about diluting wood filler with denatured alcohol, so I practiced that, making it into a paintable substance and using it to fill in those tiny holes and notches that are left from punching pieces out of plywood. What a wonderful trick!!! and I plan on going all around Garfield and cleaning up those window edges and repainting. Thanks, again, Larry.

That's where I've stopped. I'm tired, the back is hurting, the meds aren't working, and there's no sense working on it if I'm not up to par, so I'm watching old movies and living in the past. Back to life tomorrow.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Tons of Garfield Fun and Photos















































































Wow, how 'bout some pictures, folks ! I'm trying to cover 3 subjects here..
First is working on the Dining Room Bay Window. I have 2 of the walls to the bay up, spackled, and sanded. I'm going to paint them in a little while. After the paint is dried, I'll start the crown moulding trim, which is fabric, and leave extra just hanging there for when I get that last wall up . Talk about a pain sanding, I had to do the interior sanding with a mirror sitting in the middle of the room, reflecting backwards and my hand stuck in the empty wall space. NOT fun, but, certainly entertaining. I have the window seat ready to install. I used the seat platform intended for the tower window seat and trimmed it down some to fit this bay. It's painted green, the same as the walls in the bay. Instead of using the same side wall panels provided, I just made some new ones, plain wood, nothing fancy, painted green. It dry fits like a glove. I've made a pattern of it's shape and, later, I'll put a cushion on it...or, leave it to "grow" plants inside. I think a hanging fern in the window would be pretty. It's not time to worry about that right now.
The next few photos are by request of the different sides of the house. I repeated one photo, but can't figure out how to delete it, so am just leaving it. Looking at these photos, I am overwhelmed by what a big baby this house really is!!!
And the last 2 photos are of the color project board for the 2nd story hallway. I misled some people with the blue color, making it sound like a lighter blue than it is. I'd thought I'd tested more colors, but ????? So, what's here is a darker, richer ( complimentary ) tint of the blue downstairs in the Parlor on the far left. Next is a tan, then terra cotta, and last, on the far right, bronze. I'm still leaning towards the blue. In real life, I think it looks much better than the other choices used. Te terra cotta's not bad, but the carpet is where the baby blue will be, so blue it will probably be.
I thank every one of you for answering and caring about helping me. Bless your hearts, the response to my cry for help was tremendous and so very useful. Ideas galore and none taken lightly, I assure you. It humbles me that you are following the progress of my Garfield. Proud? That too, I confess. ( It also made me realize that, if I were ill, you'd have sent a casserole too. ;) )
It's early yet and I don't know what I'm getting into today yet. I will try to finish up the Dining Room bay and then move back upstairs to the hallway. It's time to stop talking about it and getting to work. Thanks, ya'll.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Dining Room Bay Plus Stuff

This is the printie wallpaper I am tossing around in my head to use for the 2nd floor hallway. I'm considering having it cover the bottom half of the wall with the fairly dark tone of the baby blue used in the Parlor tower on the top half of the wall. There would be a 1/2 " wide chair rail between it and the paint line. Remember that I have a baby blue carpet runner on the staircase and it will run the 2nd floor hallway, too. PLEASE tell me what you think. I want it, I really, really do, but I have still not convinced myself that it'll work. You won't make me mad if you don't like it.


No need for other photos...nothing exciting to see. I have one side and the center of the bay window glued in and spackled. I'll sand and paint those after the spackle dries well, inside and out, and will start a bit of the fabric trim. I'm working on the pieces for the window seat that I'll install and then add the final side piece to the bay. Not putting that last side in until last will give me some room to maneuver around in there. The space is smaller than my hand and, as I've said before, quite awkward.





While I had the spackling out, I also filled in the holes where the floors meet the walls on the exterior to assure a smooth outside wall. It's not necessary inside, as the trim pieces will cover those gaps. And, while I am waiting for the spackle to dry...I wait longer than I think necessary sometimes to be sure... I'm working on those never ending pieces of trim in the Dining Room and Library.





The library has 2 steps down from the room before it. In the company's master plan, they are simple steps. Since I've not let anything be simple up to this point and am always changing something, I've decided that these steps need to be a bit more elaborate that provided. I'm going to fashion a small landing with railing and banister, so when you come from that front room, you'll take 1 small step down onto the landing, hang a short left and come down another step. I think it'll add a bit of grace to the entrance into the room and won't look as hazardous as the simple steps appear.

Not much else going on in there. I have some new plants I must get it that I bought on my day with Melissa and some bulbs to plant on a kitty grave. There are some other outdoor chores that must!!! be done now. Autumn is moving in and there's no time left to procrastinate. Today is "Color Sunday" in the mountains of Colorado. While not in full color yet, the aspens are turning their golden yellow and it's something to be marveled over, even if by only a photo.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Dining Room Bay Window




Today, I begin what I believe will be a battle with The Dining Room Bay. It will be painted with the Wedgewood green paint and the crown moulding will be the same fabric trim that I used in the room. There will be a window seat in the bay, also. The parts are being painted inside and out....several coats have already been done on the interior side with a couple of sandings in between to insure smoothness....the grain tends to rise at first. I'm doing a couple of coats on the exterior, but the final painting will really happen before exterior trims and maybe even the roof...we'll see.
The battle will be because of accessing the bay from the inside for the final painting, crown moulding, and window seat. There is limited space to get in there and work on it. After I get the parts glued on to the house, I'll need to spackle at the joints ( inside and out ), sand that spackling, and then paint over it. It's gonna be tough getting to it and doing the best job I can and it'll probably be a blind application of the fabric trim. I'm actually looking forward to tackling it, just to see if I can.
I will be able to reach in only from the open back side and from the window on the side of the house, but that's not going to make the area easy to see and do at the same time. This is where we all wish we were Munchkins to get some of the work done.
I'll keep you posted.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Not Much Here

Oh, I've only been sanding, painting, and staining. How many times can one make that sound interesting? I've got a big pile of parts, I'm cleaning them up, sticking them in their spots to see how it'll look and either staining or painting the part, and placing it in a little tray until it's time to glue them in...there you go. It'll stay that way until tomorrow.

Today, my good friend, Melissa, is taking me on a birthday adventure. My day was August 31st and our schedules haven't worked together until today. I have no idea where we're going, how long I'll be gone, what we'll be doing, or anything else. I was told to wear comfortable shoes and nothing else. I am so very curious about what's to happen. The best I can say is that any time I am with Melissa and anything she has ever done for me has always been fun and heartfelt. She's a special lady to me and it's gonna be good. I'll let you know.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Scrapping and Journaling

I spent the better part of yesterday at my friend, Angie's, house, working on my scrapbook for the Garfield. I got four pages done, with journaling, and am almost current with my progress in building the house.



In my idle time before and after going there, I sanded and sanded trim pieces that will go into the Dining Room and Library...44 all total. Each window has 4 pieces, each door 3, and there are 2 doors that need sanding. Even though the store bought doors come pretty clean, there are always some rough spots, especially on the inset panels. There are also kitchen bay pieces and tower pieces.



The kitchen bay is to be assembled directly on the house and it'll be at such an angle that getting into it to decorate will be terribly awkward, both reaching and seeing. I had wanted to cover the walls with the same fabric, but realize that will be harder than I want to mess with, so I've found a matching paint and will get her done that way, needing only touch up once it's assembled. Even that will be a pain. I've chosen an acrylic called "Wedgewood Green" and have started the painting of the section that'll need it on the body of the house and the bay sides pieces.



Today, I'll do more staining and then varnishing. I hope to have a nice pile of trim ready and spend a day just installing it.

Back to the journaling part...a member of one of the online forums had asked if anyone kept a journal. I have the scrapbook, which I do "wallpaper" the pages, but I don't do any fancy details. I use the little journaling cards and document the photos. I've also been keeping a notebook that has pages of this blog that I print out every so often. I need to kind of catch up on that actually. And I have a notebook/inventory of each house I have built with a running cost of the construction and then the furniture and accessories. My very first house, 30 years ago, the journaling was started in an already bound book. I ended up with 3 volumes of books..."The Dogwood Plantation" trilogy. HA.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The End Wall




I have not committed to the wall coverings in the 2nd story hallway, though I have printed out the "wallpaper". Since it takes so much ink, I'm pretty sure that I'll use it, but am waiting for me to think more positively about it. In the meantime, I'm doing other things that can be done.
I've added the end wall to The Garfield....it closes up the Dining Room and the Library..and I finished covering the walls to both rooms. I'll root around and find the trim pieces or use whatever trim components that will be extra and get them cut, stained, varnished, and installed.
We all know how many mini things there are that often get overlooked or need re-doing, how many thoughts of something we'd like to try, and how many ideas pop up while we're doing something else. Like many people, I keep a running list of "things to do" on my work table, a 8x10 legal pad, and it is full of those thoughts. At this point, there are 3 pages of "things to do" and I guess it's time to do some of them, while I'm waiting for my mind to make itself up about the walls in the hall. I could probably fill up a month's time doing the little things.
Yesterday, my husband started on his annual Autumn yard display. He gets some hay bales and decorates around them for Halloween/Thanksgiving/Autumn. The neighborhood kids and cats love them. While he was doing that, I got out the "around the house" decorations and started putting them out. It involves packing up knick knacks out right now that'll be in the way and too cluttered. They won't be seen again until after Christmas. CHRISTMAS!!!! Not all that far away and it's all made me realize that I'm going to have to completely put up things in this spare room to make room for Christmas boxes of decorations, presents, supplies...you know how it is. It means that I'll have to put away most of my dollhouse tools and supplies because they'll just be in my way. Like I said...tiny house...and, for me, Christmas takes priority over anything.
Well, I certainly can't put away Garfield...I couldn't even get it out of this room without major pains, so it'll remain on it's 4 ft. long table and I'll pack up it's supplies and toys and store them under that table. I'll have to move The Alison, Jr. out of the dining area and into the spare room to make room around the diningroom table. I have another 2 months before it's absolutely necessary. I now have a card table up. I use that for my working space, spreading out parts for staining and painting, cutting and assembly. Once it's put up, my working on the house will be limited until January, when everything Christmas gets packed up and stored for another year.
So, back to Garfield, the next few days will be small chores and nothing very exciting, but, I'm sure, will have lovely effects on the house. I'm going to ty my hand a plaster casting, using the pin I found in the antique store. As Holly has pointed out, the dining room will look good with 2 of those and the casts will be easier to work with, but I do need to learn a few things about it first.
Today's a scrapbooking day...I'll be updating my Garfield book with photos and journaling. Isn't it amazing how many things we have to learn to "play house"? Wish I could get paid for all this knowledge and expertise.