Walls, Doors, and Walls

I have spent the day trying to get the walls for the 2nd floor to work right, but am doing things that are NOT part of the directions. To get to the walls, I had to first make sure the floor fit correctly, which took some whittling and trimming. Finally, after lots of whittling, the floor fit perfectly. On to the walls, which took more and more whittling and trimming. I'm moving a wall and had to trim some of the top of the staircase newel and banister that presses up against the master bedroom wall. Bought a door from Hobby Lobby and it'll have to have the casings trimmed some to fit, but it'll go. The wall to the second bedroom was tougher. It was crooked, tabs WAY too big, the doorway was too small to fit a store bought door and, when I trimmed the wall and attempted to fit it into the stairwell, the doorway and transom window ( both held on by only a small piece of wood ) broke off. Oh, well, I can fit a piece in there, but I don't know now about the transom. Finally, I got the wall to fit perfectly in it's spot and with the master bedroom wall connection. Now, I'm fitting the doors to fit the spaces, removing only enough casing to make it work.

Now all that sounds quick enough, but it took hours, not just the work, but life continued along with it. Tomorrow, I'll have the doors finished and can move on to painting and wallpapering. I'm still days from gluing those wall to the house.

Boy, is it fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We'll Call It The Library For Now

So, here I sit with 2 rooms half finished and they'll be staying that way for a while. The directions are sending me to work on the 3rd floor floorings/2nd floor ceilings...2 different sections that need to be prepared.

The blue flowered room will be the library. The shelves were closets in the plans, but I liked the idea of bookshelves, so there you go. The fireplace is one purchased from Hobby Lobby. It's really the same tan color of the bookshelves, but shows up white. It cries for some decoration and I'm waiting to decide what that will be before I glue it in ( IF I glue it in. ) The trim work will all be the Cabernet stain. I am going to buy the French doors rather than use those provided and there will be casing around the bookshelves.

As you've already seen, the room below is the Dining Room The post is just to keep the floor level until I can install the end wall, which is a long time from now. The fireplace is one that came with the kit, with some modifications. The "marble" is a photograph of rose colored Tennessee marble. ( Appropriate, since I was born in Tennessee. ) There will be wood trim around the base of the hearth.

I have to get those floors done. Since the floors will be for the third floor, ones not very important to the "living areas" of the house, they will be nothing too fancy. I have a lot of sanding to do and I think I'll be marking them with lines for planks and staining/shellacing them. In between waiting for the stain or shellac to dry, I'll work on the baseboards, crown moulding, and steps for those 2 rooms.Once the floors are complete, I'll flip them over and work on the ceilings that will be for the 2nd floor. Kim Hammond sent me some "paintable wallpaper" that I plan on trying, using that which looks like plaster. She couldn't have sent it at a better time and the wood that will be covered is not very nice looking, so the paper is going to cover a multitude of ugly spots. Thanks, Kim!!!!

I'm in the process of carpeting the staircases, but will save that for a later time, just in case I change my mind about what's happening there. I can't seem to commit myself to what I want yet; you know how that goes.

As I've said repeatedly, I am thoroughly enjoying myself building this beauty. I'm spending several hours every day on it, but not all at once. I paint, go do something, glue, go do something, on and on. And, I spend a lot of time thinking about it, not adding paint or glue until I'm positive it's what will work. I've realized that there are many people following the construction of the Garfield and your comments make me very proud. I truly appreciate it and welcome your thoughts and ideas. ( Got any for that fireplace??? )

Thank you for visiting.

My Dining Room Floor...Finally

After false starts, bad moves, poor results, tears, and a bit of swearing, I received some wonderful advice from Larry Marshall of "Woodnbits", whom I "met" through the Miniature Collectors Club, I have a beautiful floor for my Dining Room. It is not glued to the base as yet...much work to do before I make that important step, but I had to show it off and send kudos to Larry.

The floor is a mahogany veneer that I cut to shape, sanded clean, and stained with 3 coats of my favorite stain, Cabernet by Varathane. ( This stain will be prominent all through this house ) The border design and "medallion"are from my scrapbook supply...peel and stick trim. I love it's look..in fact, I used it as crown moulding in my Alison, Jr. house. I had the problem, on the first attempt, of the Bullseye varnish drying with streaks and clots, bubbles and ridges. Pure T ugly and, after complaining about it through MCC, Larry suggested that I dilute the shellac with denatured alcohol in a 50-50 proportion. I mixed up the concoction and practiced on a scrap piece of wood and was delighted !! I was so cautious when I applied it to my already pretty floor, knowing, if it turned out wrong, I'd have a bad behavior. I knew immediately that I had a good thing happening. I quit at 2 coats. I was afraid to press my luck. I think it's perfect!

As you can see, this is another cranky spot in the Garfield Manor and I'll need to decorate the already attached wall around that awkward corner before I erect the outer walls. The small 3" edge leading to the side porch has a door I don't really care for, so I bought the Houseworks door with the 4 pane transom from my local Hobby Lobby and am altering that wall and the trim to the door to make it fit. It's going to take a few days to finagle it all, but I have all the supplies I'll need to get it adapted correctly and decorate the area.

I've also been working on the ceiling to the Dining Room and the floor to the 2nd story room above it.( not shown ) The floor is the store bought plank flooring, stained and beautifully shellaced with the same great results. The ceiling was another pistol. I wanted it to have the rough texture of plaster ( tiny orange peel look ) and bought some stuff at the hardware store that was a total bust. After cleaning off the wood and returning the product, I purchased Rust-oleum's multicolored textured paint...mixed tans...and sprayed on 3 coats. Awesome !!! and, again, I'm happy. Lots of work to do before it's ready for Show and Tell. I (underestimate ) a week before the room is finished.

As I've said several times before, the Garfield Manor has me fascinated and I hold myself captive in my spare room every chance I get, often ignoring chores and garden. The house seems to speak to me and tell me what it hopes I'll do with it. I have file folders full of ideas and hopes to turn this into the fine Victorian home it is meant to be. Many of you have sent me compliments and great words of encouragement and that just spurs me on to do this house justice. I do thank you for all your kind thoughts and, as always, am open to suggestions.

Until later............................

The Walls Are Going Up !!!!!

For me, one of the most exciting parts of building a new dollhouse, other than the actual acquiring the house in the first place, is putting up the first of the walls. Today, I erected 2 walls, the front wall with the main door and, around the corner, the front left wall. I did take a photo, but will post that at a later date; it's just not all that pretty right now, not that that really matters.

I'm going to stop with the walls at this point and decorate the first floor section of these two before I move on...I'm ready to wallpaper here and put on the bead board: it'll be easiest if nothing else is in my way. I have my wallpaper cut..remember the printie I showed earlier?, but have a few more pieces of the bead board to stain and varnish. ( I DID go back to Hobby Lobby to catch the last of the 1/2 off sale, purchasing more trim and bead board. There wasn't much left of anything.)

My sheets of small circle ceiling arrived earlier than I expected, plus Fed Ex made a shipping error and delivered a package from Miniatures.com that belongs to a dollhouse enthusiast in Honolulu...got to get that straightened out ASAP. Kathleen, I promise it'll get there!!!! I need to pick out the paint I'll be using for the ceiling after I get the ceiling glued to the underside of the 2nd story flooring. I don't care for a stark white, but will find an off-white that'll work soon.

I'm so tickled about having the 2 walls up....it just isn't as much fun until I get to that point for me. I like to think I have patience, but not always. From now on, I'll be spending a lot of time just standing there and staring...letting the imagination run wild.

Planning Ahead, Buying Ahead

I just love a good sale and Hobby Lobby is having one on dollhouse miniatures and accessories, all half off !! My local store does not stock very many different things and few of what is available. I was able to stock up on trim pieces...crown molding, baseboard, bead board, and hardware. I, also, picked up 1 small circle ceiling sheet and 3 of the wood flooring. A good solid $50 was spent, providing a savings of a good solid $50. When it comes to building a dollhouse, we all know that it's a pricey hobby and every penny saved helps.

Almost everything was sorted out and stored for later, except for the flooring. I decided to use the wood flooring for the 2nd story. Originally, I was just going to score lines in the floor and, then, stain it. Using the sheet of floor saves me a lot of time and aggravation ( a fact I have learned from the past ). I have cut down the 3 sheets to fit the floor and am about to dry fit to the walls to assure a neat joining. I do know already there will be some trimming/sanding down for the floor and walls to fit precisely.

I will go back to Hobby Lobby in a few days, just in case they restock their shelves, but I'm doubting they will. In the meantime, I will prepare an order for more of the ceiling sheets that I will use for the first floor and work on the flooring to get it ready to stain and glue...something still days away.