Inquiring minds want to know....

A new dollhouse builder named Debbie had some good questions for me so I thought I would share the answers here in case there is someone else wondering about the same things. But first of all, I would like to thank her for her kind comments and I am glad she is enjoying the blog! Welcome! One of the questions was whether she would like a dark room with no view. My new shop has a double window, but they look out onto the porch so actually have less light coming in. I use a combination of a small fluorescent fixture over my bench which was secondhand and gifted, and a brushed nickel task light I found in a thrift shop with a Reveal bulb in it.

This combination of lighting seems to work the best for me so colors are more realistic. I only have a view of the front yard and the neighbors house, but I am usually too absorbed in what I am doing  to notice. And that dust factor....keep in mind that for the most part, you are sanding tiny pieces that create tiny amounts of dust. It does float around in the air though, so if you would rather not breathe it, you can wear a dust mask....like my custom one here...:D

If I have to sand big things, I wait for a nice day and take it outside. My husband says the next thing I need is a very small shop vac so he can set it up to suck up the dust from each power tool. But this is something you can do down the road, it's not a necessary item. These are the tools I started with and what I built most of my first dollhouse with back in the 80's.

Also add masking tape...very handy for dry fitting and for holding your house together while the glue dries.  I chose the Greenleaf Glencroft because I liked the look of it...no one told me it had a bazillion pieces to it...each of which would have to be sanded. I always thought it was the funniest thing in the world that Greenleaf would give you one piece of sandpaper packed in with the dollhouse kit! The laser house Debbie is looking at sounds fantastic...not nearly the amount of sanding required as the regular punch out kits...a lot less slivers too. As I continued to make more things, I exchanged my clothespin clamps for real ones and the folded bits of sandpaper for my favorite little sander...lots easier on the hands. The cork-backed ruler I have had for at least 30 years, so you can see that these things stand the test of time.

It doesn't slip when I am trying to cut something with my Exacto knife and is a whole lot safer for the old fingers. As you continue to work on more projects, you might find this tiny chop saw will come in mighty handy for cutting lengths of molding and narrow strip wood.

It was only about $35 at Harbor Freight, and I of course used my 20% off coupon. The newest power tool from them is a small table saw.

I was trying to use it the other day to cut the wood strips for the fabric bolts but had a problem getting a nice straight cut. I think some modifications are in order for this one...don't go jumping on it just yet. And, what about books. These are all my dollhouse books right now.

Some were gifts, some were old copies libraries were getting rid of and others were purchased over time. But my hands down favorite is one by Caroline Hamilton.

It was printed awhile back, but if you can get a copy, I think you will enjoy it. Her writing is down-to-earth and she has great ideas and inspiration. My favorite reference books are these...especially if you are doing a Victorian style dollhouse.

These were used books I bought online and they are especially great for exterior painting ideas. A good suggestion about books is to see if you can borrow them from your local library or inter-library lending program before you buy. You might find one that you enjoy more than the ones I've recommended....and that's fine too. Each person in this hobby has their own favorite tools and methods and you will find you will too. Oh, I just remembered, you will need glue too! LOL! Don't use hot glue, the new stuff doesn't last and you can burn yourself on it too. Good old yellow wood glue works great for wooden things and tacky glue for most of the rest of it. Hope this answered your questions....you can ask anytime. Have a great day!

Improving the fabric selection at the Quilt Shop!

Now that my shop is all nice and organized, I have been itching to get to work in there! It was a hard decision, shall I clean up the kitchen....

or work in the shop....guess which one won! LOL! It is the weekend after all...So I put on my work apron and decided to make more fabric bolts for the quilt shop. One day last spring, I was over at my sister-in-law's house and she let me go through her scraps to find fabrics. I knew the approximate size of the finished bolt, so happily snipped away while she worked on one of her beautiful quilts. I came home with pieces enough to make at least 100 fabric bolts!

I can't remember if I showed you how to do this before, so made sure I took pictures of the process. Earlier, I had purchased some 3/4" wide stock that was 1/8" thick. These came in long pieces so all I had to do was cut 1 7/8" pieces to start the bolts. I sanded the ends smooth with my favorite sander

and got them ready to paint.

Speaking of my sander, I know I promised I'd let you know where I found it and what the packaging looked like. I have been looking for quite awhile and finally found it at Lowes. They must have been out of stock as I have looked there multiple times. So here it is!

                                      
It was available in a couple of different grits and comes with a generous amount of hook and plush strips. I was wondering what I would use after the strips ran out as Lowes didn't appear to stock them. Well, Bill received a catalog the other day

and while I was looking through it, I found that you could buy this type of sandpaper by the roll.

So when I run out, I know where I can find more. Just a short rabbit trail...now back to the fabric bolts! While the first coat of paint was drying, I went through my pile of fabric pieces and picked out enough for the bolts that I had cut. I starched and ironed each piece

 and then folded them in half and ironed them again.

I took a brief break to add a second coat of paint to the ends of the bolts and then trimmed each fabric piece to measurements I had taken

and started gluing and wrapping.

I put some lively music on for this part and before I knew it, I had a small pile all finished...

                                      
and I had to try them out in the second hutch.

I have one more hutch and then I want to make more fabric bolts to scatter around the shop, add to the cutting table, etc. I hope this has been helpful to you and that you are inspired to build a fabric shop or quilt shop for someone you care about. Have a great day!

May as well put a sleepless night to good use!

As Bill softly snored, I still felt wired last night so decided to poke around in the shop for a bit. It was about 10:30 when I got up still wide awake. I started putzing and before I knew it, I was up to my elbows in organization! Some of it went into the trash can and the rest found drawers, cubbies, and shelves for their resting places. The ladies from the quilt shop even found a comfy place to sit while they wait for me to get their shop done.

Then I cleaned up the sawdust, rearranged a couple of the lamps and by 2 am, I was done! Here's one work area,

and here is the second one.

I moved the sewing machine over in front of the window where there is even an outlet!

The sewing machine cover was made from a pillowcase that just fit around the bottom of the machine. A couple of old buttons to hold down the corners and my machine is safe from sawdust.

A couple of games of Gummy Drop and I was finally ready to sleep. When I woke up, I was thinking about the treadle sewing machine base that I used to have my Greenleaf Glencroft dollhouse on. Now that the house is on the large display rack, I wasn't sure what to use the base for. There were hundreds of them on Ebay and about a dozen on the local Craigslist, so selling it didn't look like it would work. We've had this since before our daughter was born so it has become one of the family....but, what could I use it for? I checked out projects online that people had used them in and found quite a variety. Everything from sink bases to vanities to all types of tables. I have a very comfortable chair in my living room with no table next to it so I schlepped it out to the living room to see how it would look. What do you think?

With the right top, there will be a place for a reading lamp and a mug of tea. Fits with my quirky style too. Tomorrow I will be cutting more pieces of wood to use for fabric bolts for the quilt shop. I am eager to get started on it again and all this time indoors away from the ragweed will give me time to work on it. Have a great day!

And the work goes on....

Another day dawns, another project begins...organization project that is. So this is what we're trying to clear up today.

I started by cleaning up the dust from all the hole drilling the other day when Bill put the support up for me.

Next, all the bins were put into place.

I don't remember what order they were in, so I just put them back in an order that made sense. These contain everything from cotton from vitamin bottles to springs from ballpoint pens...I just might need that stuff one day! LOL! The workbench was cleared off but the wall above it looked blank to me so I hung a row of pictures over it. These are a few of the times I was published in Nutshell News over the years and I guess I'm tooting my own horn...well, it is my shop after all...;) I laid on the floor and plugged in the power strip and then plugged in all the power tools and my light on the bench. We are ready to rumble!

The Minion Village was moved into the shop too so they don't feel left out.

I then turned my attention to the two other benches.

Since there's quite a bit of small stuff here, these are going to take another day at least. I put up pictures that inspire me

and sorted and straightened until I was ready to sit down for awhile. Tomorrow is another day, the work goes on. Have a great day.

Finishing out my new digs...

Remember all those boxes in my dining room?

Well they traveled into the new craft room and I was determined to empty them today. It's amazing how quickly you forget what you have put in what box. I thought all six boxes were full of books....well, I was in for a surprise. So before I started organizing books, I had to come up with spots for all of this....

cans of paint, spray paint and assorted raw material. Good thing I bought that display rack for all the projects because that made space on the white shelves for most of this stuff. After two boxes of supplies were put away or just placed on the bench for future organization, I could finally get to the books. Here is the bookcase before most of the books have been placed.

As I unpacked them, I decided to separate them into categories. One shelf has books specifically about dollhouses, one shelf is for reference books, and a third shelf is for personal books that have meaning to me. Some of these I hadn't looked at in a long while and it was nice to see them again. After the six boxes were empty, I decided to unpack the other three over by the dining room table. These contained dollhouse people and furniture that are waiting for their houses to be finished. Since so many of the supplies are now over the benches, I had room in the bookcase for all of these too. There were a few things that needed small repairs, so those were placed on the bench but I was able to empty those threes boxes too! Ahh! What a sense of accomplishment! LOL! So here is how the bookcase looks right now:

Don't I just look so super organized? Well, then I turned around and this is what the rest of the shop looks like....

As you can see, there is still plenty of work to do! So I had to take a breather after all that so took a picture of the cool thing that Bill brought home for me....a burned out lightbulb! LOL!

Not just any lightbulb though, one that looks like it has a whole steampunk contraption inside of it! I can't wait to come up with something for the Steampunk Summerhouse with it. It has been a very productive day....hope yours has been wonderful!

The office is squared away....

After Bill applied the second coat of drywall mud to all the holes and grooves in the walls, he sanded lightly

and I took it from there. Fortunately, I had a small jar of the paint we used in this room and it was still good. I really like this color...it's called "Coastlight". These small rollers work great for touch-ups like this.

So this morning was spent with my hammer, nails, measuring tape, and pencil as I wanted to get all the pictures up in the office today. Between climbing all over the furniture and the measuring and hammering, I was working up a sweat! I hung the pictures over my desk and in the corner. Here's the before:

and the after:

I just noticed I don't have a good shot of the wall over the futon before I hung the pictures...but here they are all done.

By the time I started the pictures over the desk, I was getting tired. I actually knocked one off the nail and it fell behind the desk! Fortunately, the glass didn't break, but I did have to glue one of the corners of the frame back together. So here is the before:

and the after of that wall:

You probably noticed the curtain at the window; that is a beautiful quilted wall hanging that my sister-in-law made for Bill for his birthday. She does beautiful work and her seams are always perfect. She is an incredible lady. I think I will see if she has any pieces of the star fabric so I can make a small valance for the top of the window. Bill also put up the bin rack support in my shop for me.

Now I just need to put all the bins back in place. So tomorrow, I have six boxes of books I need to get back into the bookcase, so I will see you then! Have a great day!