The roof garden. What would the surface look like?
I’ve long had the idea percolating in my brain of using some sort of crushed stone, rather like pea gravel. My first thought was to use aquarium gravel and I bought some, thinking I would put it in a bag and crush it into tiny pieces with a hammer.
It wouldn’t crush. Entirely uncrushable.
Then, on a dollhouse site, I came across Ballast which came packaged in a little bag. I bookmarked the site and finally ordered some while I was in Chautauqua. But the mix of grey colors I preferred was out of stock, so I tried a medium gray. When it arrived the other day, I realized it wouldn’t work. It was all the same color. At the same time, I remembered that ballast was exactly what my dad used along the tracks of his model railroad. (FYI: He had an extensive model railroad at one time that extended throughout the basement. I guess the miniaturist apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.)
Bingo. I googled model trains and ballast. And there was the mix of gray I wanted – in a shaker, no less! I ordered it and it arrived a day later. I got it from Train Sets Only – great customer service, very fast shipping.
There’s more here than I’ll ever need. Unless we build a model railroad.
Yesterday, I cut some heavy duty paper to fit the open space on the roof and covered it with glue. Then I started shaking. The ballast, that is.
Oh man. What a pain it was. I started this project in the kitchen and, after inadvertently shaking a lot of it on the floor, I decided I’d better take it outside. When I was finally finished, I glued the ballast-covered paper to the roof of the dollhouse. Then I set it with hair spray. (I have to re-glue one area today as I see some of the paper didn’t stick.) I read a tutorial on all of this last year and I remember bookmarking it, but danged if I can find it! But I do remember the tutorial said it was better to glue the crushed rock onto a piece of paper, rather than directly onto the wood.
There it is.
You know, sometimes when I’m doing this sort of thing, I panic a little. Am I ruining what I’ve already created? What if I don’t like it?
I experienced that feeling several times last night. Is it going to be too busy up there on the roof? Is it going to draw attention away from the dollhouse itself?
Then I remind myself that I can remove everything if I don’t like it.
A sneak peek.
I don’t want all that furniture visible when looking at the front of the house, so I’m going to add some hedges along the wrought iron trim. They’ll be here in a couple of days.
Still a wee bit on the fence, but I think it’s going to work.
Some real flower photos for you:
The hydrangeas are huge this year. Big, fat, lush blossoms.
I’m about 2 weeks late on this, but the winner of a copy of Ruthless is Linda! Congratulations!
Happy Friday.
Love your (well, Caroline’s) rooftop garden spot. The ballast looks perfect! How about a chaise lounge or a tiny hammock strung between two points…with a book resting in it ready to be picked up? Have a great weekend Claudia.
Well, I’ve already got the green wicker chair and ottoman, plus the blue table and chairs. Those things, along with plants, will take up most of the space.
Very clever using the ballast! I love the sneak peek! Cute! My son in law and tiger love trains and have a model train they work on. It’s pretty great with little trees and such things.
That last photo makes me want to just sit down near those blooms and dream!
hugs,
Linda
Me too, Linda! That’s right next to the porch and the glider.
Love what’s happening on the rooftop!
The gravel idea is inspired – it looks really good. I am using templates in my latest project. I find them helpful in that I can keep pressing the wood flooring between about a thousand layers of painting and sanding while I obsess about achieving that perfect patina for worn floorboards. My daughter thinks it’s all slightly mad, but even she likes the results.
It IS all slightly mad, Barbara, but so worth it!
As I started reading this, I immediately started thinking of ballast, although I didn’t know the name for it. My dad is a model railroad buff, too! We grew up with trains running through our basement, and I just loved sitting down there with him in the evenings while he worked on his layout. It was the only time I had him all to myself:) He still has a layout today.
I love, LOVE the rooftop garden. You are an artist:)
I don’t think I really appreciated all the work my dad put into the train until later in life. He eventually sold it all when my parents moved to Florida. Makes me sad, now.
Thank you for your kind words, Karen!
Love, love, love the look! How satisfying it is to find a solution, whether you invent/create it yourself, or locate options others have previously paved the way of. Oh, and that second guessing has served me well on occasion. There are those one or two projects that came very close to going or so very wrong…………………….nothing a little trim and a hot glue gun couldn’t hide.
You inspire me and remind me of the many times I fudged and slurred my way in creating miniature additions that amped up the fun factor when playing w/ my Skipper doll and Barbie’s cousin, Stacey, doll. (I never did have a Barbie doll) From blackboards and books (Skipper was the teacher to a couple of “Little Kiddles”) to a loaf of bread in its own plastic wrapper to sit on the cardboard table that came with the cardboard house Stacey lived in.
Once again, thanks for sharing as well as jogging memories of many enjoyable hours spent in childhood play. I managed to hand mow the entire near acre yesterday and think that entitles me to a little playtime today. What do think?
Absolutely – have fun playing!
I decorated my Barbie case with wallpaper and hanging lamps. And I decorated many a shoebox! I guess I was destined for dollhouses, though I didn’t know it at the time.
It looks great, and after all, it is your house, so you can do what you like – well, as long as Caroline agrees of course!! xx
Yes, of course! I have to make sure Caroline is on board with all of this. I thought I heard her mention something about ‘tanning’ on the roof, the other day.
Our hydrangea are still just green leafed with nary a sign of a blossom. Waiting impatiently here as I see how lovely yours are.
My limelight hydrangea is still in the green blossom stage but the Annabelle (in the photo) has taken off, as has the one I showed the other day with the pink blossoms.
Great idea using ballast…it looks fantastic! I’m excited to see the finished rooftop garden. Your hydrangea is beautiful…I’ve got one that is giving me huge blossoms…the best in the 5-6 years I’ve had it. And my lime lights…that I bought because yours were so gorgeous…are starting to blossom as well. Enjoy your day! ;)
My limelights are also blossoming – but the blossoms are still green. Are yours?
I have three lime lights…one has white blooms. One is just starting to bud…and the third one is recovering from being devoured by a deer. I saw the hoof prints in the dirt! This is a learning process for me…but, such fun! ;)
How cute that roof top is going to be. Love the gravel. Perfect!!
Judy
Thanks, my friend! How’s your Real House Re-do going?
What a wonderful spot for Caroline to relax and read..I wish I could visit with her up there..lol..the ballast looks just right to me..Love the coneflowers among those huge hydrangea blooms!
The hydrangeas are bigger than I’ve ever seen them!
Well now isn’t that just clever?! I like the look. It is a sneak peak indeed. A tiny view. I did catch a glimpse of the rod-iron fence and chair! I can’t wait for the BIG reveal.
See? I’m teasing you!
Flashback! I remember ballast from my grandfather’s model trains. He had a big table in his basement, about the size of a very large pool table, all set up with trains and a little model community. Six-year old Me was fascinated by every little detail of it. There was a small town and surrounding farmlands. A train depot obviously, a carwash and filling station, a barber shop, a diner [you could see the counter and a row of stools inside] , a movie theater, churches, a library, a grocery, a school and playground, a Rexall pharmacy, a bridge over a river, a water tower, a feed store, streets and houses “in town,” barns and farmhouses “out in the country.” Even tiny people, animals, trees and shrubbery too. I can completely understand how much fun it is for you to work on your dollhouse when I think about Grandpa’s train set. Have a great weekend!
Dad named the little towns after us. Mine was ‘Claudville’
The dollhouse roof reminds me of the roof on the house where I grew up…tar and gravel. Very authentic looking. Can’t wait for the “reveal” too!
Well, I’m trying to make it look more like pea gravel in a garden. And I think it does – you’ll see when I show you the whole thing. Any rain?
Boohoo…not a lot of rain, unless you count the teeny bit that left about two tablespoons of rainwater in my collection buckets. I will still refrain from watering the lawn until tomorrow or Monday. I’m only allowed to outside water twice a week.
Great sneak peek, can’t wait to see the rest of it. Your hydrangea is gorgeous!
Thanks, Debbie. All of the rain we’ve had sure makes for a lush garden. Everything is bigger this year.
Oh, I can’t wait!! And I bet Caroline can’t wait, either!! Fun!
Such fun that you will be able to have hydrangeas in the house with so many blooming in the garden! Those McCoy pieces will come in handy!! Mine are just blooming out now. There are quite a few buds so that makes me happy.
Happy weekend!
Happy Weekend to you, Chris!
Claudia, apparently your readers are living vicariously through Caroline’s home. Everyone is so excited (myself included) to see the rooftop garden, which can’t be much more than a square foot. Miniature worlds hold such fascination, don’t they?