Looking Down From The Second Floor

All three views are looking down from the 2nd floor. The photos looking up were fairly dark and you couldn't see much. The carpet runner is a simple flannel, cut to 1 3/4" wide with a satin ribbon on each edge. The color matches the blues on the 1st floor and the walls in the hallway on the 2nd floor ( but they're not yet painted. ) I did add newel post caps, except on the 2nd floor itself. I'm waiting to add the walls first. I know I'll knock them off if I don't wait. In one of the photos, you can barely see a brass ornament between the stair and the post cap. I'll take better photos of the 2nd floor staircase and hope they'll show up.

One of the 2nd story floors ( the part over the Dining room is done and ready to install. I had some problems with the ceiling of the 1st floor side and had to do it twice. I'm waiting until I get the main floor section done and installed before I show the photos. It won't be long.

I've been pretty busy with other things that indirectly affect the Garfield. I cleaned up my dust bunny covered computer area and installed USB pots so that I can connect both the photo printer and the camera. The dust bunnies were the hard part. Some of them could have carried off my cat! After doing that, I realized I need to be brutal and clear out some spare wood parts and other things around my work area.

I'm also getting out my winter clothes and putting up summer...it's snowed in some parts of Colorado and it's getting down in the 40's at night, so it's time.( How that affects the Garfield is easy. The clothes are in storage boxes under the twin bed in this room and I had to move supplies that are blocking the way to get under the bed.....I told you, it's a small house. )

One day this week, I'm going to a scrapping party at my friend, Angie's, house and my Garfield scrapbook will get caught up. I've printed out many photos and I want to get it up to date or it'll get carried away from me. Plus, I need to print out some pages from this fun blog and keep that up to date too. When I die, whoever gets Garfield will get these books telling it's story. ( While he's way too young right now, I'm secretly hoping my grandson, Mark, will one day have a little girl and it can be hers. )

Something else that I must do, but has nothing to do with Garfield, is to cut down some foliage in the garden and I'd best do it now!!! It's a mess and I need to clean it up so the Autumn plants will look better, so I'm putting the Garfield work aside for a few days. ( I can't play dollhouse ALL the time, though I wish .............................)

Well, off to act like I'm doing all those things.

From All Sides

My work area was a mess, so it was time to clean it up, put everything back in it's place, dust the Garfield, and start fresh. These are shots from each side of the house; exterior doors are NOT glued in place; fabric is hanging, waiting for the back wall; the upstairs fireplace is not stationary, waiting to see if I'll further decorate it. I removed the staircase and partition from the Parlor. I'm carpeting the stairs right now and finally adding the decorative parts to the newel posts.

I'm also working on the ceilings of the second story/floors for the third story.The directions have me installing those when complete and then the walls that separate the stairs/ bedrooms. I've not decided if I'll need to decorate them before I install them, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to, to make it easier reaching inside this baby. This house has such awkward angles that decorating would be so difficult if I completed the building before I painted/papered it. I have not followed the directions to the letter, obviously. It won't let me.

In the photograph that shows the front of the house..the one where you can see both exterior doors... you also see a good 1/4 of this room. It shows how much space I ( don't ) have to work with in this small 2 bedroom house. The Garfield dangles over the twin bed that's in here and to the front of the table it sits on is a card table that I use to work on, with boxes under both tables holding wood, parts, tools, and whatever. In front of that card table is where I am right now, at my desk, typing away. On the wall to the side is a cabinet full of all my crafting supplies and my own personal closet. Thank goodness I'm the only one that uses this room or the chaos would be much greater.

Today, I'll finish the staircases and the ceiling/floors and maybe sort more of the supplies and spare wood. I'm usually an organized person, but I've let that get away from me this past month. (My husband is pretty much recuperated from his accident and I don't need to ignore my own needs as much.) I want the house to sit around and talk to me, too. I need to learn where it wants to go from here, what to make the rooms do, and what they want to look like. I want to think about the lady who lives here-her name is Novella-and how she spends her time. And, of all things, I need to read the directions and do some dry fitting.

Thank you for your visit. I always enjoy it when you stop by.

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.

Dining Room Update...

I'm on hold again...the directions for the house are sending me to the second floor for a while. I did have to get what you see here decorated before I add on the back wall.....I have things to do upstairs before that happens.

The "wallpaper" in the Dining room is a material I found at Wal-Mart, as is the coordinating trim. ( Looking at the photo, I see a crooked spot that I'll correct...can't have that in Ms. Picky's house! ) It's not my original plan. Staring at the room for hours caused me to change my mind several times. I am almost finished with the fireplace that will go on the wall you see here. The doorway on the far right is not the original. I didn't care for that door and have a Houseworks door ready to go in, but that'll be quite some time, after the exterior is finished being painted. I plan on continuing with the Cabernet stain on all the trim and will also be working on that this coming week.

The gold pin is something I found in an antique/whatever store. I'm hoping someone can tell me something about it. There is the word "agnew" in small letters on the back....no other identification. There is a small bolt in the very center. I'm hoping that I can fit a chandelier through the center and it'll hang in the center of the dining room.

Directly overhead on the second floor, I am back to sanding, and preparing pieces. I have to install 2 closets, again cover walls, and prepare the french doors, even if I don't install them yet. I must get into those small spaces before I put on the end wall, so I'm working in many areas at once. I need a bigger table, room, house, world to do all these things at once.

I am having a ball..........the ideas keep popping in my head and I need to write them down as fast as I think of them before they fly out again. As I've said repeatedly, I'm very serious about this construction as never before. I plan on making the features in this house as exquisite as it's would have been 100 years ago.

A Discovery and Some Ponderings

Nope, no photos today, but soon. I'm working in the Dining Room, getting some things done before I have to attach the back wall and won't be able to reach inside, just as I had to do with the Parlor. I'm building the fireplace that will go on the inner wall and I'm actually using the one provided with the Garfield kit, though I'm adapting it to fit my whims. One of those whims was to find a marble printie to match the colors already in the trim on the floor. I found a beautiful Tennessee rose marble and, since I was born in Tennessee on this very day 59 years ago, I thought it would be appropriate. ( Yeah, yeah, it's my birthday, but that's not what this is about. ) I printed out the photo and was not happy with it. Since I just installed the photo printer to my computer, I sent the photo to that and got a picture that looks just like marble should, with the glossy look that is very lifelike. I feel like I just opened a new world for myself. Who knew??!! Anyway, that will be seen very soon here and, believe me, I'm pretty excited about it. Try it!! You'll like it.

The ponderings come from a friend of mine, who found a little chair at the Dollar Store and brought it to me to use. I hated to hurt her feelings, but it was only 2" high...in real life, just 2 ' and not the right scale for my house, since there will be no child things in it. She did understand, but commented on how "picky" I can get about this Garfield. She's right, I AM picky, but I want it to be as close to perfect as it can be. I spend extra time on things like sanding, to assure no splinters; I don't install anything until I've looked at it long and hard; I'm a stickler for proportion; I worry over seams and cracks.

I've watched too many people hurry through building something, even saying it "only took a short time" to finish it. Usually, it shows, because their speed made it look a bit sloppy. Roughness in wood does show, no matter what's used to cover it, paint or stain. Using something not in scale makes the article look unreal and out of place. This marble I found has a vein that I'll have to avoid, as it's too large for 1:12 scale. Crown moulding and I have fights every time at the mitre point and I've wasted plenty a crown by it not looking neat.

Sorry, I don't mean to go off the wall there, but I'm pouring my heart into the Garfield and I am taking my time so that she will look the fine lady she's intended to be....Victorian Grace.

One more thing.........it's raining here, a gentle and soaking rain that is restoring life to many things outdoors. It's literally saving a few lives in my own garden. But, it makes me think of those in the Gulf area and I pray that disaster is escaped with this Hurricane Gustav that threatens the area. I have family in Florida and Alabama and am so thankful they are safe from the horrors, though they will get some rain and wind. The misery of Katrina should never have to be repeated. ( As a side and happier note to that, my grandson, Mark, earned his Boy Scout Eagle Badge at the age of just 14 by helping families rebuild their households from that awful event. ) I hope all will be safe.

Enough........thank you for humoring me today and allowing me to think at you.

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 Garfield Manor's Dining Room

Sorry...no photo today, but there's not much to see at this point. It's still in my mini-brain. After some thought on how to approach the Dining Room and putting a plan of action down on paper, subject to change, I'm sure, I've begun work on the Dining Room. In the plans, Greenleaf labeled this the Kitchen, but I prefer to ignore a Kitchen in this house, placing it in an unseen area, and am making this a Dining Room. It has an odd shape, just as the Parlor did, and will need to be decorated as it is built. There's an angle and small area in a corner that will be tough to get to if I put up all the walls first. I dislike the door provided and have purchased another with a window and transom above it that does not fit in the space provided.....I WAS aware of that at the time of purchase. I'll be playing with that wall to make it work.

But first, I'm tackling the floor. Initially, I sanded and stained the base flooring provided to see what it would look like and I hated it, which I kind of suspected I would, so went out and bought a sheet of 1/8" maghogny veneer. After looking at the grain, I felt it was too large to look real in the house, so I flipped it over to a smaller grain look. I made a pattern of the odd shaped floor, traced it on to the veneer, and cut her out. I've sanded it down to a fine smooth feel, dry fitted to the base and walls and am ready to stain it today. The dry fit caused some trimming to be done, especially at the tower area, needing the slots of the wall it slips into to be enlarged somewhat. It'll work and I am excited all over again!!!!

Tomorrow, probably, after I get the floor stained and glued down, I'll start back with the photos, making sure you can see the odd angles I have to play with in this room. I have so many ideas for this Dining Room and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you.