Saturday 2 January 2010

Day Four.....just fiddling !


Day four was spent mostly fiddling, doing a bit more preparation and trying tofigure out the best working order for me.
According to my trusty instruction manual I should now have my front and side opening panels hinged on and be attaching my finishing trims to the building.
Instead I fiddled..........................
Here you can see my living quarters above the shop. These two walls both slide out easily for decoration. I had to try them out for size and they do indeed come in and out with ease which will make the eventual decoration of the house a whole lot easier.


The back wall of the shop also slips in and out for decoration and is only permanently attached once the back wall and stairs are decorated. This wall was a bit tricky so I rigged up a makeshift "jig" of some books to ensure my walls were square while the glue dried.
This worked very well and resulted in a lovely back wall which fits like a dream.




Here you can see the attic space which I love so much complete with the dividing wall underneath.
This is a removeable wall too and can be placed pretty much anywhere giving choice as to the size of the upper rooms.
I have four rooms above the shop to play with and havent decided yet what they are going to be. The only room that is really essential will be a work shop where the toys are made so I am giving this a lot of thought.
I have stories to tell in this house and I need to think things out carefully before making my final decision and decorating the inside of the house accordingly.
I did some more work to the shop front, fitting the supports and then the shelves for the shop windows. I know I definitely want curtains
on the inside of the shop windows to act as a back drop to the wondrous toys displayed there !
The window surrounds and shelves will be simply painted cream.








I then began the prep for the windows and trims.
First I sorted out which trim went where, which
took ages. There are no pictures of the actual trim in the instructions, just sketches of the finished house indicating where each piece goes .
It took a little time to identify each piece and of course I had one piece missing !
I also found the long side pieces of trim to the upper part of the house were more damaged than they seemed at first glance.
I have contacted the suppliers to ask if they can replace these parts . I should be able to improvise if there are any problems but hopefully I wont have to ......... I haveto figure out a door step for the short door too !















I then gave the windows and window trim their first coat of enamel paint. I'm using antique white which looks lovely. Then I put the chimney together which you can see was a simple case of glueing together the parts provided and leaving to dry over night.

More coats of paint were added to the windows as the day went on and I am now ready to attach them to the house and put the whole thing together !
The instructions say not to attach the chimney until the roof is decorated but as I am using real slates on the roof and brick slips on the chimney I think it will be better to attach the chimney first.

As you can see from the last picture with the opening panels simply standing in place, its looking pretty good so far !

















julie xxx

14 comments:

Kayjay said...

It's looking really good so far, and I'm enjoying your step by step posts - thanks so much for taking the time to blog

Kathryn x

Julia and Hywel said...

It's looking good, I love this stage of a new house, deciding on colours and wallpapers :0)I remember all those fiddly bits, I think I ended up throwing them a couple of times LOL.
I have found some old photos of my Coxswold bank and have just popped them on for you.
Have a great day,
Julia xx

Whittaker's Miniatures said...

Oh woow its looking fab Julie! I decorated my walls first and am planning to glue and pin the house together this month ( thats if I dont decide on doing all the outside walls again first!!!) Whats the best glue to use, proper wood glue or is PVA ok? I found the trims tricky! Im sure all the trim aboove and under my doors and windows are incorrect as i had no plans and when I took them off to paint and brick the outside , silly me forgot to label them all, doh! are you papering or painting the interior walls?
Kate xx

Michelle said...

You've done a grand job so far! I really like the aubergine colour you have chosen too, it looks most impressive! The manufacturer should have given details of where trims should go as there are so many!! It looks quite a task. I am starting work on Sid Cooks conservatory and the instructions are very sketchy for the roof, which the trickiest part! They also state paint after construction, the kit is too fiddly to do that well, so I am painting before and will give one final coat upon completion.

I have liked this shop kit for years…I am deciding whether to get this one and git rid of my old shop since I‘ve had (and made) as a youngish girl. ;o)) Love this blog!
Michelle xxx

julie campbell said...

Thanks Kathryn, blogging is helping me not to bodge LOL I am trying to make sure I takre each step at a time and so far its turning out great :0)

julie campbell said...

Hello Julia,
I love your Coxwold bank, so glad you posted those pictures on your blog,I really enjoyed looking at them this morning :0)
julie xxx

julie campbell said...

Hi kate :0)
I started using the wood glue provided but when it ran out I changed to pva. I think wood glue actually IS pva ! its certainly strong enough for the job though.
I will be papering my walls and ceilings.I cant decide exactly how I want it , I need to have the outside decorated first and then take my time with ideas for the inside :0)
it would be good though if I can decorate the passage first so I can get the stairs in place,
julie xxx

julie campbell said...

Hello Michelle,
You are doing it my way :0) I will be touching up paint once I have everything assembled but its definitely easier doing the paintwork first if possible.
I'm painting the shop front trim in antique white to contrast with the aubergine and give a "toy shop" look to it. I'm very happy with the colour,almost chose a very dark red but this is softer and think it will look lovely with the brick.
I'm glad your enjoying the blog :0)
julie xxx

Kim said...

Julie- it is looking so wonderful so far. I try to learn as much as I can from watching more experienced miniaturists- I am really loving watching you work on this house :)

Sandra Morris said...

Good grief....you quite put me to shame. The basement of my own toy shop, which is to eventually house the dollmaker's and toymaker's workrooms is still in kit form after two years.

YES TWO YEARS!

The project has been stalled mainly because I need to do so many alterations to the basic kit to get it to look the way I want. However you've given me the impetus to get it out and have a good look at it again.

Good luck with your shop... I look forward to following your progress.

julie campbell said...

Hello Kim, glad you're enjoying the blog :0)
I think we all learn such a lot from each other and the blogs are a great way of sharing !
julie xxx

julie campbell said...

LOL Sandra.........two years !!! why is it we're never quite happy with kits the way they are ?
Hope you've got the itch now to get on with it.
I'm already thinking I might have to extend sideways to fit in the work room I want..........
julie xxx

Anonymous said...

It is going to look fantastic and I can't wait to see it when you start putting the toys in.

I love the little attic. Mainly Minis in USA do a loft ladder which might be fun.

http://www.dollhouseminiatures.net/product_info.php?products_id=3001

Joyce

julie campbell said...

~Ooh Joyce these are great ! havent seen anything like these before .Thanks for that link :0)
julie xxx