dollhouse — Page 71

Baseboards and Zinnias

September 27, 2015 at 9:38 am by Claudia

9-27 zinnia bud

The zinnias are putting on an early autumn show. They just keep blooming. Along with the morning glories, they provide lots of beautiful flowery color even as the leaves turn yellow and the morning temperatures turn very cool.

9-27 red zinnia

They make me smile.

Yesterday, I once again seized on a window of Don-free time to do some work on the Top Secret Project.

Don: You know the drill.

Baseboards in hand, it was time for me to try a mitered corner.

I didn’t use mitered corners in Hummingbird Cottage, though now, after having done it, I wish I had.

9-27 mitre box

I used this aluminum miter box that comes with a blade and handle. I’d ordered it a few months back from HBS/miniatures.com

I admit to getting confused about which angle goes where in a mitered corner, so I googled the whole thing and found this wonderful tutorial, ‘Mitering 101’ from Miniature Designs. It made the whole process easy as pie. Thank you!

By the way, I made a cover for that sharp blade.

9-27 blade cover

I used a cardboard express mail envelope.

9-27 baseboard

Baseboard.

9-27 mitred corner

Mitered corner.

9-27 mitred corner with dog

Baseboard with table and dog.

It looks so nice!

When I put furniture in this room, I realize that it’s quite a big space. That’s why, I’m sure, some of the miniaturists working on the Creatin’ Contest are creating rooms within the space. I thought about doing that; for example, adding a bathroom. But I think I’m going to keep it open and studio-like. If mini Don has to go to the bathroom, he can hike up to the house.

I do have lots of ideas for the space, including a counter-high refrigerator and a counter top with a coffeemaker, a lounging area with the Eames chair, a coffee table and a sofa, a stereo and lots of record albums, an area with recording equipment, speakers, a computer screen, stools, musical instruments, maybe an electronic keyboard and/or an upright piano and a floor microphone. There would be a rug or two on the floor for acoustic purposes. There will be framed posters and artwork.

And a retro fireplace like the ones you see in older A-frame and mid-century modern homes. I’ve found a tutorial for it and that is my next project.

I’ll try to make a floor plan in the next few days, so you can see what I have in mind – though I’m not really sure what will go where.

So far…I’ve got the Eames chair and the baseball cards and record album Barbara sent to me.

Oh, what fun it will be!

I’ve just finished Pop Goes the Weasel by M. J. Arlidge (who wrote Eeny Meeny, a book I reviewed previously) and there is a review on Just Let Me Finish This Page today.

Now I’ve started A Song of Shadows, John Connolly’s newest Charlie Parker mystery, which is being published on Tuesday. He’s a wonderful writer and I’ve now read every book in the series, except for this one.

I’ve read nine books this month. My new early morning reading regimen is paying off!

Happy Sunday.

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Top Secret Project: Hardwood Floor

September 26, 2015 at 8:44 am by Claudia

Don: It must be obvious, but I’ll say it anyway. Don’t read this post!!

Finding time to work on the Top Secret Project when Don isn’t around makes me feel like I’m a character in one of the mysteries I love to read. It’s rather like spying, or watching and waiting like a detective on a stake-out. Waiting until he goes out door, then a spurt of activity: running up the steps, uncovering the house, quickly spiriting it downstairs to the kitchen. Running up and down the steps gathering paint brushes, sandpaper, paints, varnishes. Keeping an eye on the clock.

I’ve resorted to asking him to call me when he’s on his way home. I need a heads up so I can put everything back in place before he pulls in the driveway. The other day I was talking on the phone to Judy while I was working on the house and I somehow sensed that I needed to get it out of the kitchen. Right away. I carried it up the stairs, holding the phone between my head and my shoulder, still talking away to Judy. Suddenly, the phone slipped out and dropped to the floor and I had to shout out “Hang on Judy! I’ve dropped the phone!” while I put the house back in place and covered it up again.

Yikes. And wouldn’t you know it, Don came through on call waiting and said he was on his way home – not only that, he was just down the road! I wouldn’t have had time to get everything stashed if I hadn’t listened to that little voice in my head.

Needless to say, Don has been informed that ‘on my way home’ means something a bit different than ‘just down the street.’

Anyway, I finished the wood floor.

9-26 floor 3

I tested a stain on a scrap piece of the flooring, but it looked too dark for what I was going for. I don’t want the floors to look like the floors in Hummingbird Cottage. I want it light and airy and studio-like. Instead of stain, I lightly sanded the floor with extra fine sandpaper and then applied two coats of Delta Ceramcoat Satin Finish Varnish. It really brought out the grain of the wood.

If you remember, it originally looked like this:

9-24 flooring

Of course, the lighting at any given moment will change the way the floor looks from photo to photo, but I think you can see that the varnish really made a wonderful difference.

I followed the instructions and used a cement glue, rather than a white glue, to attach it to the floor. Then I pressed and pressed until it was firmly in place. Then I placed several heavy books on top of the floor and left them in place overnight.

That did the trick.

9-26 floor1

Had to bring in the Eames chair.

9-26 floor 4

Sometimes the egg cups just want to get in on the action. After all, this one lives on the mantel shelf just above my workspace.

She looks surprised, doesn’t she?

9-26 floor 5

I love that this floor looks different depending on the light.

I’m very happy with it. Now, on to the baseboards.

The flooring I used is by Houseworks and is made of “genuine wood veneers which have been laminated to a special paper to ensure easy staining, varnishing, and installation.” It comes in a 11″ by 17″ sheet. I used two sheets for this project. You can probably buy it at a variety of online sites, but I got mine at HBS/miniatures.com. This was Random Plank, which I chose because I love that look.

Oh, for a lottery win. Money for miniatures and books and the mortgage. That’s not too much to ask, right?

Happy Saturday.

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Re-Emerging (and the TSP)

September 24, 2015 at 9:07 am by Claudia

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Excuse me while I shake off the world of Three Pines and do my best to re-emerge into the world of blogging.

I just finished The Nature of the Beast and I am stunned by how good it is. Louise Penny is brilliant. I’ll write a review tomorrow for Just Let Me Finish This Page, but I need to let it percolate a bit in my brain before I put my feelings into words.

Oh my goodness.

I finished it this morning in the lamplit den. The sun had yet to make its presence known. A shawl around my shoulders, coffee mug in hand, I couldn’t do anything but read straight through to the end.

And now, I have to wait a year for another Three Pines mystery. I feel Penny is at her best when the action takes place in and around Three Pines. Last year’s book, The Long Way Home, took place elsewhere and, though good, I thought it lost its way.

This has been a week for excellent reads: Jan Karon’s Come Rain or Come Shine, and Penny’s The Nature of the Beast. How can I keep from smiling at the sheer pleasure of being allowed to read their words?

Don: Do Not Read Any Further!!

I did a little work on the Top Secret Project yesterday. Excuse the darkish photo, but I took it late yesterday afternoon.

9-24 flooring

I finished painting the walls. No wallpaper this time. I envision this as a bright, sunny space. So I used Wicker White by Folk Art. After trying a brush for a couple of coats, I bought a foam roller. Much better! I have to do some patching and spackling, but I’ll get to that later.

That flooring is Random Plank Flooring made of wood veneer. No popsicle stick flooring this time. Now I’m trying to decide whether I should use it ‘as is’ in this lighter color, or whether I should stain it a darker color. I have some stain left over from the bookshelves in the den.

Hmmm.

Then I’ll add the baseboard. Wish me luck, I’m going to be making some mitered cuts.

This project is going to take longer than I had planned. Budget is a big issue. I can only do so much at a time. Yesterday, I made a list of the items I would like to see in the room. Some of them will have to be handmade. Some of them I will buy.

In either case, it will take time.

Happy Thursday.

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Baseboards and Zinnias

Top Secret Project: Hardwood Floor

Re-Emerging (and the TSP)

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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