Wiring & Landscaping

We had a lot of cleaning to do this weekend and so I got a late start on the dollhouse.  The bright side of that is I have a four and a half day weekend and since we don't live near family I won't have to do a lot of cooking or traveling.  My husband is a sweetie who doesn't see the point of me working in the kitchen all day just for the two of us.

So I'll have plenty of time to work on the dollhouse over the Thanksgiving weekend.  And our boss lets us out at 12 on the Wednesday before which is also nice.

I got some wire in the mail for my tree if I get the time to make it.  So I'm hopeful that I'll be able to make an apple tree for my WQ.  Oh, Anna was asking her name, so I've decided upon Cecelia Alyce.

Anna has kindly offered to send me a cloak for WQ Cecelia since sewing is not exactly an enjoyable pastime for me these days.  So that's exciting!

I received my shrink tubes in the mail and was able to get my wiring all set.  That's a nice feeling.  And I tested my lights again.  All of them work.  Also a nice feeling.  Then I turned out the lights and took pictures just for fun.

 I actually like that the lights aren't super bright.  Candles wouldn't be really.

I then labeled all of my switches.

I thought about using a transformer and the plugs for the wires but honestly, I like the batteries and how I can have individual switches for the different lights and rooms.

I added some of the grass I bought to the edges of the base and some rocks around the bottom of the tower.  I'm going to brush them with some glue and some moss, hopefully some weeds to make them look a bit more natural.

It wasn't easy to get them glued to the tower.  But they finally stuck.  I'm really hoping I can figure out some water to go around the tower but until that point I've got the grass.

I made some door plates for my front door handles and got them painted and a keyhole drilled out, then glued the handles to them.

I added a bit more black to them before I glued them to the door, I didn't like how bright they were in comparison to the hinges.  Some metallic black made them look more like bronze or dull brass.

Once the glue is completely dry I'll make sure I get any excess removed.

I made a lean to so I could hide all my wires and switches and put it against the back of the house.

I drilled some shallow holes for my magnets and glued them in then put tape over them to keep them from coming out and clinging to the opposite magnets I have on the inside of the lean-to roof.

I've started the stages of finishing out the back of the house, plastered the lean-to so it'll dry, added stone and then plastered the upper portion of the back wall.  This way I can paint next week and when it's drying get my beams stained.

I've also started working on the shingles for my roof.

I need a lot more, but once I get them all cut out I think getting them on the roof will go fairly quickly.  The link I found says to paint after glue the shingles to the house.  I'm not sure that's a good idea since the house is all finished and pretty on the outside.  So I'm thinking that one over.

I went through my animals and found my WQ two of her cats and the hedgehog that lives in her kitchen.  People used to keep them because they'd eat bugs and slugs.

I think there will be one more cat to live there, but I haven't decided on her yet.

This is Bathsheba.  She's very regal.

Hedgehog doesn't have a name yet.  Still thinking about that one.  But I was considering Arthur.

This is Boadicea.  She's a little mischievous and I worry she'll try to poke at Hedgehog Arthur.

The mantle in the bedroom, with her mirror, brush and the crown her late husband gave her.  I made the cushion and box for it to sit on.

One last picture of the outside of the house so far.

I need to stop at the Hobby Lobby and get some of the rubber latex for the tree.  Once I get my roof done I think I'll have time to do the front garden at least.  I'm reading up on how to do water and I might be able to do that but I'm not sure yet.

But I did knock down my list quite a bit.

Create 'slate' roof
           Put Roof on House
Wiring
Finish back of house and tower
Doves/Pigeons for dovecote - Got need to glue on
Basic landscaping around the minimal base.
Lean to, to hide light switches.
Label Switches
Kitchen
          Hang sausages
          Age Bread paddles
          Cloak - Anna
Create front garden
          Make tree?
          Make stream?
          Make lake/river to go alongside house
          Make stone wall to go around garden
          Iron front gate.