Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Ohh shiny...not anymore


This weekend I pulled out some furniture I had and went to town on dulling and darkening it. Originally you can see the bedroom furniture was very red and shiny but I want it to look old. So after I pulled the fabric off and the mattress I sanded pretty much the whole thing down and then gave it a wash of dark layers. I also did the same with the night stand and dresser.
The fabric I think I may darken with a tea soaking since it looks old already. I’ll try to take a closer picture to show you.
The lamp is one of those LED ones that you can swap out the battery (watch battery). I bought the one you see, a Tiffany lamp and a few ceiling ones that I thought would work well in the house and could be changed out since this house is not electrified. The table in the other photo will go into the kitchen and the other cabinet either the sitting room or one of the rooms on the 3rd floor.
That’s it for now, I have to go find a few kits I have evidently safely tucked away somewhere in case gnomes invaded and decided they needed them more than I.

Thanks for following my blog and hello to my new followers.  

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Nothing but flooring..in the pictures that is.

Do you ever get that little voice in your head that says nope that’s not quite right? Well I did so this weekend I mixed brown & black paint with that stuff that turns acrylic paint into stain and with a paint brush and rag I went to town on the floors. I’d glop some paint/stain on the floors and smush it around. I even made sure to get it on the base boards and in the corners. Then with the cloth I’d wipe it back down. I did this several times so it brought a more worn look to the floors. Between each layer I would let the floor dry; this was easier than I thought considering I have 4 rooms with wood floors.
By Saturday afternoon I had the house flipped upside down and attached the base which then had to stay that way overnight to make sure the glue was good and dry. Sunday I added the front framework on the first and second floor – the 3rd floor framing will have to wait till I get the roofing done. I’m torn between lead roofing, slate or shingles. The shingles I already have because they came with the kit but for where the house would be I think mainly the roofing is either lead or slate.  Slate I can do in either paper egg cartons or paper clay. The lead would be trickier but again I think I can create that too. I wonder if I can fake lead roofing with sticks and layers of aluminum foil or tissue paper and paint?  I think I need a play date with a mini roofer! lol 
 Have a great week everyone.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Busy, Busy, Busy...

In case anyone wanted to know the size of the kit it's
32"W x 10 1/2"D x 33"H I still don't have the base on to the full height
Biggest I have built yet! One of the best things I liked about the kit is its open in the front and not too deep. The table it will permanently stay on is in the living room and not much deeper than the kit itself. But long enough I could put a greenhouse at one end. /wink  The table is also tall enough that you will not have to bend way down to see into any of the rooms. Once it’s all set up I’ll take a picture of the area to give you a better idea.I have not completely decided on what each room will be aside from:
1st floor kitchen/hall/sitting room
2nd floor bathroom/bedroom/study
3rd floor bedroom/bedroom/storage space
The rooms in bold are still iffy and up for grabs as I go.

I also was able to install flooring, ceiling and baseboards in most rooms and even got the outside walls painted and washed in a dark dingy color to show age. This week I will be staining the wood framework that the acrylic panels sit in and put the base on.
Here is a question for everyone… Do you attached felt to the bottoms of your kits that you place out on tables so they don’t scratch the furniture and can easily be slid? The base is MDF, and I was not sure if I could glue some heavy duty felt to the bottom frame and if so what would be the best glue.  I have actual wood glue, gorilla glue and the standard Arlene’s tacky glue.