Concrete & a Few Final Details

First of all, I grew up with a mom who worked for a construction company and I learned at an early age that concrete consists of cement, sand and gravel with a judicious application of water to get it all stuck together.

It drove her crazy when someone would refer to the foundation of a building was laid in cement.  So, in order to not make my mother crazy at this late date, NOLA House is a brick foundation on top of concrete.

I found a spray on texture that would look like concrete or gravel and got a board cut down for the base.  It took a few hours to dry so while that was going on I did a few other things. 

I got the second picture for the front room framed and matted.

And stuck it to the wall.  I'm pretty happy with how it looks and it fits with the other picture.  I have no idea who painted this one. I found it under a search for watercolors of New Orleans. 

I hunted down one of my flowerpots and got it situated on the balcony table's lower shelf.  It's a little big but I liked how it filled in the space and it's a pop of color that I wanted against the house.  And my pitcher arrived.  I loved the shape and size of it and how it doesn't quite match the glasses. More of that mismatched bargain hunting for our homeowner and also typical of my experience in the South.  Once folks start drinking it's easier to make up a huge pitcher rather than go back to the kitchen a million and one times for refills.

I also didn't like how bare the bedroom corner near the dresser looked so I got a jug and added some flowers.

I like how they fill the space.

And because the bathroom has all that water damage to the ceiling and wall in the sink corner I messed with the insulation in the attic over that corner so it looks like it's been soaked.

I also took a few minutes to get some keys onto a little key ring and put them on the desk, and put the purse and a pair of shoes down near the front door.  I might find a few things to put in the purse so it doesn't look empty and boring.

Once all that was done the concrete texture was dry so I brought it in and got the flowerbeds and house set onto it.
 

And then I had fun turning on all the lights and taking pictures of everything.

 

 

I've got to dust the windows too. 

I figure I'll give it a day or so and then bring it outside to my driveway and take some pictures of it there.  Natural light can only help.  And hopefully I'll have a decent background for the house. 

I'm hoping to get some decent shots and figure out the best way to take pictures of the interior.  Since we're only allowed four pictures I really worry about showing the house in its best light.

Last Weekend & This Weekend

Well as you've all heard, we lost the internet the week before last so I wasn't able to post pictures of what I did last weekend with the house.  This weekend I've spent some time working on the dollhouse and some time out in the front yard.

We finally got some cooler weather. (No Keli, not cold, just cooler, though we did get a freeze Saturday night. Yay us.)  So I could plant the hastas and peony roots.  Which meant a lot of messing around with flowerbeds and cutting down the stupid weed trees that seem to sprout up every freakin' where.  I have a lot of bulbs too but they can wait until after Thanksgiving. 

My back and knees hurt quite a bit today but at least I accomplished something for the yard.  So I don't feel guilty about my Saturday.

But last weekend since I had no internet (Frontier I hate you so much), I worked some more on the dollhouse.  I kept staring at it and not liking how bare the back wall looked.  So I got the rest of my vine stuff and the hot glue gun and proceeded to greenify the rear wall and burn the heck out of my fingertips.

The other thing I did was trim back some of the overlapping vines because my husband kept looking at it and saying it looked very busy.  So we have that overgrown look but not so much that it confuses the eye.  Does that make sense?

I also made a cushion for the wicker chair I bought.  The fabric is grey and doesn't match the cushion on the gift chair from Keli but it's close enough for jazz and reinforces the impression that this is very much a new home owner/thrift store house.  Then I got my balcony set up with a magazine and some treats to go with the mint juleps.

I'm going to find another little plant to go on the table's bottom shelf.  I have some that could work. Just need to fish them out.

I'm wondering if the flowerboxes are still a bit too high up?  I can bend the wire some more and move them lower if I need to.  I'll think about that some more.

I also worked on the steps and flowers a bit.  There was an empty space between the side flowerbed and the front steps that didn't look right.  I didn't want more flowers and it's too small for a bed really.  So I got some cardboard and glued some grass and weed flowers to it to fill in the spot.

Some flowers and some of Brae's shrubs in flowerpots to dress up the back steps.

Today I got the pictures my husband printed out for me and matted and framed one of them.  I ran out of frame so I've ordered some more and I'll do that one over Thanksgiving probably. If it arrives in time.

That's a picture of the light house on Lake Pontchartrain LA.  I loved the contrast of the greyish waves with the red of the roof and the bright blue of the sky.

Alistair is still hanging out on the couch, but Marie decided she'd come down and hang out on the white chair and wait for him to come play with her.

The attic is the last 'room' to really get finished.  I hid the switch for the bathroom sink light fixture in the box that looks a little squished.  When I was gluing the vines on the house I got all these threads of glue as they dried so I draped them over the boxes in the hopes that they'd look like cobwebs.

So that's my progress for the last couple weeks.  Where are we with the list?

Glue in curtains
Roof
Age Roof
Trim (bedroom ceiling and outer walls)
Gutters & downspouts (paint and age first)
Eaves & Age Eaves
Roof of back door
Light for back door
Add flowerbeds & vines.
Add Rust
Add Moss to flower beds & foundation.
Wire living room lamp to battery in table.
Clean up the inside of the opening wall so the raw wood and tape doesn't show,
Finalize furniture arrangement-bedroom
Add bedroom and bathroom accessories.
Finalize furniture-living room
Add living room accessories & stick down.
Add kitchen accessories and cabinet by sink.
Make cushion for purchased balcony chair
Finalize balcony and add accessories.
Get base cut down and add concrete texture.
Glue down landscaping and steps to doors.

The last three aren't done because I need to go to Home Depot and get a wooden base that's the right size.  The hold up with the balcony is the plant for the table and a pitcher to go with the mint juleps and brownies.  And of course the question of the flowerboxes and their height.

But I don't think I'm doing too badly for someone who has less than a month left.

Desk Chair?

Hello everybody!

I'll tell you it is such a relief to have the internet back.  I've been playing with a few things for the house and that's been fun.  But I've got a little dilemma.

I made four of the chairs for the dining room.  I'm only using two of them near the table and I'm really not sure about having extras hanging around.  Keep the front room from looking cluttered.

I'm using one for the desk chair, but I'm not sure if I like it.

I still want the house to have that feel of a new home owner who's been shopping garage sales and thrift stores and matching chairs don't give me that feeling.

I have a House of Miniatures kit for a corner chair.

So I thought of using that for the desk chair, and finishing it in cherry with a black seat.  But I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not.

What do you folks think?

Husband is printing the paintings for me for the front room walls and I'm planning on working on framing tomorrow.  Then it's just hanging them and I'll be nearly done.

I'd love some opinions about the chairs though.  Help!

We Found It!

Yes!  The internet is back.  It took getting an entire new ISP to get it though.   But we've got it.

And we didn't even have to fire a flare out the window and shout that 'we're over here internet people!'.

So I'm hoping to take some pictures tomorrow and post the progress I've made this past weekend.  Thanks for all your support!

Lost the Internet

Hello folks!

This is just a quick note to tell you all that I have not died or been incapacitated by a huge mound of dollhouse paraphernalia falling on top of me.

I've actually gotten quite a bit accomplished.  But I couldn't tell you about it because the Internet.  Since Thursday morning my house has not had internet.

So I could not blog.  I couldn't do just about anything.  Makes me crazy.

But I'll take pictures and show all of you what I did as soon as its back.  Hopefully that will be tonight as we've lost patience and we're switching ISPs.

Until then, cross your fingers for me and I hope all of you had a great weekend and an awesome week.

TTYL

Flowers, Outdoors & In

So the flowerbeds weren't looking quite as weathered as the rest of the house.  I added some moss to the corners and then went after the wood with a craft knife and watered down black paint.

They're drying on the roof because that's the safest place for them. 

So a little bit more in keeping with the rest of the house.

Keli pointed out that the flowers I had on the dining table are a bit too big and she's right.  So I took those off and tried a birthday cake.  Which is cute but still doesn't look quite right.

Although now I am really hungry for cake.  I'm going to put that away.  The cake is from The Miniature Bizaar, one of his grab bags had it.  So cute!

But Keli and I talked about a smaller floral arrangement, like roses in a bowl.  Which led to more research on my part for miniature flower making and an attempt at a white rose.  The paper is coffee filter which I'm told is a good medium when you don't want to waste tissue or origami paper with your attempts.

If I like how this looks I'll paint some of the coffee filter red and see how that works out.

It's not great, and my paper wire is probably too thick but it's a first attempt.  The glue syringes and ball styluses are awesome though.  Can't imagine doing this without them.

So far the Building Inspector is leaving the little rose alone.  But twice this morning I caught Jack (the apprentice inspector) on the table, sticking his nose into the open dollhouse.  Curiosity is going to kill the cat, I swear.

Oh well, back to the flower making I go.

Kitchen & Front Room

 I spent a lot of time this week and weekend messing around with the front room furniture placement.  This is a picture and link heavy post so please bear with me.  You're welcome to skip around. I know I'm hardly the most riveting blogger there is.

First I tried the original layout.  You all remember this right?

It looked so crowded to me. 

So I started to play around.

I'll admit that part of my resistance to changing where the dining area would be was that hanging light.  It was meant to go over the dining area.

I tried to put the dining area near the front window but I still had that crowded look.  So I tried something a little weird.

The desk at the front window, the couch at the dividing wall and the dining area under the stairs.  It works all right for the furniture but under the stairs was really dark.

See what I mean?  Everything works except how dark it is.

So I started to think of how I could put a little light in there.  A battery light won't work because there's no where to hide the battery, even a small one.  But I'd gotten a bunch of old miniature lamps, some of them in brass, and they worked.   So I took the plastic lampshade off a brass floor lamp and glued on the shade from the broken Reutter Porcelain lamp onto the brass.  It's the right height for under the stairs and fits next to a chair under the stairs. 

The only thing I still need are a couple pieces of art for the walls. I have one piece, which I absolutely love.

The artist is very cool, a gentleman by the name of James Mann.  The painting is of the lighthouse on New Canal, LA.  I've got permission to get it printed out and I'm going to put it on the dividing wall, over the couch in its new position.

Then I just need another piece of art for the area next to the front window.  It's not as important but I do want something there just to finish it off.

I got candy for the candy dishes I found on Ebay.  Since I can't be relied on to move things without spillage I glued the candy in.  I got the candy from Kerby Lane Miniatures.

I didn't want to glue the lids on because I want to be able to see the candy now and then.  Then I got the lamp table and desk all set up.

   

Obviously the glue is still wet.  The candy dishes are Chrynsbon as is the white lamp.  The rose and green lamp and picture in the frame are from Reutter Porcelain. The tulips and vase are from HBS Miniatures and I'm afraid I can't remember the seller of the notepad and pencil, but I got them on Ebay.

I made the octagonal table and it's hollow to hide the battery for the light.

Alistair decided he would lounge on the couch for a while and supervise my efforts.

I made the couch from a House of Miniatures kit, the pillows are from Brae's shop on Etsy. Alistair is lounging on a throw I made.

So here's the front room so far.  I plugged in all the lights and I'm pleased that they all work.

I'm debating about the chair for the desk.  I have a kit for another chair and I like the idea of using it so the desk chair isn't the same as the dining chairs.

The dining and desk chairs and the tilt table are all House of Miniatures kits.  The desk I found on Ebay.  The armchairs are from Janet Harvie on Etsy.  And the rug is from Green Gypsies.

The shelf clock on the staircase wall is a kit from Cynthia Howe Miniatures.  The cameos are jewelry findings.  I made the mirror with a woodsy, a small circular mirror I got out of Estee Lauder eyeshadow and some wood scrolls from UOLHKscalefurniture.  I glued them all together and then painted them black and then gold for contrast.

Except for the artwork I'm pretty pleased.  I need to add the one painting and find another.

I also got most everything put into the kitchen.  That took me a little while because I had to think of how I wanted to present everything.  Lots of layers.

My hidden corner coathooks and shoe drying spot.  There's no space for a mudroom but this is a little spot to serve that purpose.  The sweater and hat are from TheShabbyGardener and the flip flops are from Tinytown Miniatures.

My old black fridge blocks most of that view.

I can't remember where I got the wine bottles but the cat dish and treat jar are from Twelve times more teeny.

I had purchased all the Fiestaware type pottery from HBS Miniatures for the shelves over the sink.

The wine glasses are from Bright Delights and I got them on Ebay.  I got the cookbooks from ABCDolls on Ebay.

And here is my sink and cupboard next to it.

The apple cutting board, knife and apple core are from aMusingMiniatures.  The soap, sponge and cleaning supplies in the basket are also from ABCDolls.  The dish towels are from Green Gypsies.  The pot holders are from LugartPetit.  I got the cleaning supplies bin from Shapeways and the bucket from Hobby Lobby.  The dustpan and brush are from DianesMiniatures and the broom is from MarquisMiniatures. 

The totes are from Tinytown Miniatures.  The trivet is from Bright Delights and the pasta jar is from Syreetas Miniatures.  The cookies are from Paris Miniatures.  The canisters are from HBS Miniatures and I got the little jars full of candy on Ebay.  For the life of me I can't figure out where I got the cute little red Dutch oven.

Most of the groceries are from ABCDolls, but the oranges are from aMusingMiniatures. 

The rose is from Diane Paone Miniatures and it fits quite nicely on the windowsill of the kitchen. 

As I was going through my kitchen supplies I found the scrubbing bubbles so I added it to the bathroom.

I also added some cotton balls to the dish on the dresser.

And since the dresser had a drawer missing its knob I pulled it out and added a piece of 'clothing' to hang out over the front to hide the missing knob.

And here are a few shots from the outside with the lights on inside.