Dollhouse Project – Plastered Walls and Ceiling

No, they’re not drunk 🙂

Plaster was a regular wall covering back in the day, and it was a useful thing since it helped fill in chinks in brick and stone as well as making the walls and ceiling look nice. The plaster was covered in a lime wall to help it look white, and I’m guessing to help protect the plaster as well. I’ll have to do some more research and get back to you.

I’m using joint compound and a craft trowel which is very small and not that easy to use to make a ceiling and walls that look like they’ve been plastered.

I now have a proper ruler and exacto knife to go with my other tools. I’m using a lot of what I have on hand as I have other things I need my money for….

The first thing I did was measure out the first room’s walls and ceiling, the wine cellar, and cut out thin pieces of cardboard to fit over them.

The piece with the white smeared on it is the back wall. I had thought about painting them before plastering, but I decided not to.

These three need to be sanded down to get rid of the lines from the trowel – hopefully – and I have one more wall to do before moving on to the painting. I’m going to do a wash of white acrylic paint and mod podge before I put them all into the dollhouse.

It’s not a lot of progress from the last time I talked about this project, and I will be doing more as the year progresses. This is a long term project as I’m learning and I go along. I plan to make as much as I can by hand too so there will be plenty to share with you as time goes on.

I hope you will continue with me on this journey and feel free to make comments, suggestions and give me ideas for things. It’s not going to be completely realistic, but I’m doing my best.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Dollhouse Project: Exterior Walls are Done!

I know my camera skills are not the best, but I think you can still see the progress I’ve made on the exterior walls of the house. I need to put up some fireplace stacks and chimney tops eventually but for now, this is where I’m at.

I plan to move indoors and start putting in flooring on the Ground Floor. I want to do stone in the basement and wine cellar, wooden floors in the back entrance and walk in pantry and tile in the kitchen and washroom. I’m not sure how I’m going to do the tile yet, but the other two I have seen a great many videos on how to do all of it so it’s just a matter of giving it a try myself.

Sorry about the mess. I have a small part of a room for my crafting so things get a bit cluttered and messy at times.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Free Pattern Friday: Tablecloth Pt. 5

I finally got the crocodile stitches done, and I’ve begun the next section which will be done in shades of green.

Here is what it looked like last time I posted:

I’d just begun the crocodile stitch part. This section was done with all of the frames being made first and the stitches made going down afterwards. Typically, the frame is made and then the stitch one at a time. Confused yet?? There are a lot of great YouTube videos showing how the crocodile stitch is made if you’re interested.

Here is what it looks like now:

The top row didn’t sit flat until I put the green row on.

This picture was taken at an angle, and I didn’t flatten out the green edges. Still, it’s looking good! I measured it at almost 2 feet across, and I still have another 60 – 62 rows to go!

I’m not sure what stitch I’ll be doing next. The green is all double crochets just to help flatten out the crocodile stitches and set up for the next fun stitch I’m sure.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Free Pattern Friday: Tablecloth Pt 3

This tablecloth is an adaptation of a pattern written by Frank O’Randle and sold on Ravelry under the name Rings of Change. He has a free pattern called Mini Rings of Change which is the first 42 rows of the main pattern. The full pattern is around 112 rows. The original pattern is for an afghan as well.

I am using crochet thread and a size 1.0mm crochet hook. I’m not sure if that’s a steel hook size or not since I was given a hook with a blue plastic handle with 1.0mm on it, and I’m using it. I’m also using what thread I have on hand that was given to me over the years. None of them have labels on them, and they’re of various sizes. This makes the tablecloth curl in places, but I’m okay with that. This project is for me.

The last time I posted, it looked like this:

I believe I’d finished the Mini Rings of Change at this point and had decided to buy the full pattern when I could. I bought the full pattern this past week, and now, it looks like this:

The tablecloth is now at row 50. The next 4 rows create the foundation for the Crocodile Stitch. This is one I have been avoiding trying since it was first developed many many years ago. I just didn’t see the point in doing that much work for something with limited use. I can’t avoid it now, not if I want to continue with the pattern. So, I’ll tough it out and go on knowing I at least tried it once.

Overall, this project has been a lot of fun, and I’m going to have something pretty and colorful to use when it’s done.

What projects are you working on?? Share them in the comments as I’d love to know what creative things everyone is into these days.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!

Dollhouse Project: Ground Floor

My dollhouse I’m building from scratch has four floors to it, the ground floor is the first. The story for this house is it’s a French Chateau renovated into a modern home, but this is subject to change. Most houses I’ve seen are either some variation of Victorian or Modern. There’s not much else. I welcome all suggestions.

The house will have a ground floor, three floors above and an attic space. I just added the ground floor interior walls and the floor/ceiling.

The rooms are, from left to right: cellar, wine cellar, mudroom/trade entrance, pantry, kitchen and washroom. The angle for the washroom is a bad one, and I do apologize. The ceilings are 4inches tall in 1:24 scale and 8 feet tall in normal scale. 1 inch equals 2 feet. The depth of the walls is 6 inches or 12 feet.

I’m waiting on the next floor to dry else I’d have the rest of the room measurements for you. I’ll give them to you next time.

None of the rooms will perfectly line up with the walls below. Normal houses don’t do that, so my dollhouse rooms won’t either.

I noticed, belatedly, the house is not properly centered on the base, and I left no room on the back for chimneys so they will have to go on the sides of the house. I’d rather not have them hanging off the back of the base.

This is definitely a learning experience for me, and I’m looking forward to doing more to this piece. I am going to be making as much as I can by hand from inexpensive materials. Considering the size, I don’t think it needs more expensive stuff.

Once the frame of the house is done, the front of the house will be held on by magnets. They are really small ones that I will be embedding in the wood and covering up so they’re not pulled out. I had originally thought of hinges, but the correct size ones are too weak to hold much weight. Once the front has all its windows, doors and staircase added, it will a great deal heavier than it it now. Plus, the magnets won’t be seen.

Next week, I should have more floors in. I won’t be putting up the left wall until all the floors are in. The mansard roof will be going on last.

Feel free to leave comments and/or suggestions below. I’d love to hear from you, especially those who have some experience with this sort of thing.

Dungeons and Dragons Inspired Twitch Streaming Prop – Health Potion

I took a Hartley Peach Brandy bottle – emptied by myself and my special gentleman friend – and I turned it into a Health Potion ala Dungeons and Dragons. My son asked me to make him a prop for his Twitch stream : Grim Commando 95, and we both chose the potion bottle.

I watched Darkest Raven Designs make her potion bottles, and I copied it only on a large scale. I also didn’t age or label the bottle because my son wanted something simple and basic. For the potion itself, I used:

Glycerin

Red Mica Powder

Water

For the bottle, I used

Push Button light

Foam

Cardboard

Mod Podge

Glue

Acrylic Paint in Brown and Black

Tissue Paper

The end results:

I know these aren’t the greatest pictures, and I really wish I had a decent way to make a video of it because the potion swirls inside and looks really cool with the light shining on it from below.

This is my first time ever doing something like this, and my son was pleased with the result so, I’m happy with how it came out. I’ll be doing more projects with bottles including making a Mana Potion prop for his stream. That will be a while because I want to get a few things to try out with it first.

More great projects are in the works, and I’ll be sharing them with you as I get them done just because I can!! LOL

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

YouTube Tuesday: Bentley House Minis

Ara is the creative spirit behind this channel, and she’s Amazing!! She makes lots of stuff, and I couldn’t decide on just one video so, I am linking to a playlist. This playlist is about a dollhouse in 1:12 scale that is made out of cardboard! Ara also made furniture for the dollhouse out of cardboard, and she was nice enough to share all of the blueprints and patterns for this project.

I am definitely going to try something like this when I’m done with my book end project!

Be sure to Subscribe to Ara’s channel as well as Like/Dislike and comment!! Feedback is always welcome, good or bad!

Personally, I think you’ll like her channel. She’s easy to listen to, explains things very well and goes slow when she’s demonstrating so following along is a breeze.

Don’t take my word for it, go check her out!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Raffle is at Halfway!

This means you only have one week left before the raffle is done, and the winner is both chosen and announced!! For those of you who are new here, I am holding a raffle to help me pay off Mimi’s vet bills. She is recovering from a severe bout of bronchitis. I am having trouble paying the bills for her so, we’re trying to raise funds by holding a raffle.

So, what are we raffling off?? It’s a handmade crocheted accent/throw pillow in bright colors:

This lovely can be machine washed, but if you have an agitator(as most people still do), it’s best to put inside a pillow case or a lingerie bag so the fringe doesn’t get caught. It can also be dried in the dryer. It won’t shrink, fade or bleed on your clothes! The yarn is mostly acrylic, but it’s still very soft.

Tickets are 50 cents American, and if you want to be less than $5 American, you can use the custom button below to buy less. I haven’t figured out how to change things on the donation form yet so please, forgive me this time!

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Your contribution is appreciated.

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Your help is greatly appreciated I assure you!! This time next Monday, I will be choosing and announcing the winner of the raffle. It could be you!

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has entered so far!! I wish I could say so in person but considered yourselves HUGGED!! Mimi means a great deal to me especially since she is my constant companion!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!

Cute Vanity Tray – Project #6

I have realized I don’t take very good photos. Please forgive me as this isn’t really a field that holds much interest for me except for sharing. I’ll try to do better.

This little tray is something I made myself without a pattern. It turned out better than expected even though it was off the cuff. I made it using Red Heart Super Saver yarn in white and some cardboard I cut to size and covered with some fabric remnants I had leftover after lining a purse I made some time ago.

I hope you enjoy this! I know it’s made a welcome addition to my bathroom!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Newest Etsy Addition

Below is my newest addition to my Etsy shop. It’s a stroller blanket. 🙂 I am working on a second large project even after I told myself I wouldn’t do another after finishing the peacock. Still, the new project is proving to be fun to make so I’ll continue with it.

Please, visit my shop and tell your friends about it too. I do take some commissions so it doesn’t hurt to ask, either here or at the shop. I’m using the money to save up for a car so I can move out of the motel I’m currently living in and get into a place more secure. I also can’t have my furbaby Oliver with me, and I miss her a lot!

The shop’s name is Griffin’s Market. Yes, I realize it’s not a terribly creative name, but I wasn’t looking for creative when I started the shop. My wares are my creation.

With that I bid you all adieu. I’ll catch you on the flipside and as always, don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!