STILL WORKING ON THE HOUSE

 Yesterday I cut the dark wooden flooring to fit the downstairs rooms.

Photo taken with a flash.

I'll need to do a little touching up with some brown pencil in a few places to blend the sides in. But didn't go to bad.

Today Paul cut out the spaces for the attic windows.

We then had the discussion about could we just leave the windows lay flush to the roof or should we put the surrounds on to make them sit up straight? Leave them flush, less hassle , make the surround fiddly hassle of wife keep saying that's leaning forward/ backwards/short/long and other annoying words!

But really it was never going to be the easy option! So work on the roof progresses.

I may have ordered a bed or three since I fell of the wagon ...

SUNDAY SO SOON!

 Not only Sunday but the last one this month! January has gone by in a flash! Just two more days after this one and it will be February! The last of the winter months. I have to say that so far we have had a proper cold winter, even having several weeks of laying snow  which is not usual for this part of the UK.

Also finally after an eleven month wait Paul's had his op and all has gone well and he now just needs to take things easy for a couple of weeks and it's done. Originally he was told he'd have it within three months, then it dragged on until he finally got a date in November only to get an infection, so have to cancel but finally he was given a can you make this date slot in. But at last it's happened and we thank the NHS for their care.

So while he was off in hospital for all of 24 hours I fell of my no spending aim for January! I know I know, I was sooo close but I saw something on sale that could get sold out, so I decided to buy and not wait another few days. It was under £10 so not a big fall from my aim but still means I didn't quite make it lol

One thing I will say about the dolls house project we are working on at present, it is and will, result in a few things that have been sitting around for a few years getting finally sorted. Like the rug/carpet that's been waiting to be make up since 2019 and also this

a room box that according to it's packaging I bought back in July 2020! Yes another project that was received, looked at, then put to one side in the doll studio! I have however had this back in it's packaging standing in a corner of the house for the last six or so months intending to finally put it together to use. Finally today I have removed it from it's wrapping and Paul will put it together for me.

While I'm in dolls house mode it's time to get these things done! One of the reason's I bought the room box is because I had considered using it as a doll display case by using it on it's side instead of flat and long. Decorating it with a nice patterned dolls house wallpaper and placing a doll inside. So that's something I will be deciding once it's put together, do I use it as it's meant a room setting or as a display case for a doll? If I use a patterned paper the box will only be able to stand in the way the pattern works, if I paint it I can use it either way? But do I want to just paint it? decisions decisions!

One of my favourite rooms in a dolls house is the bedroom.

These are a couple of my favourite photos of bedrooms from one of my many dolls house books. There are some amazing dolls houses out there in the world, that we will never get to see, along with the craftspeople who have painstakingly put them together. 

On the doll front, no dolls have left and none have arrived and the same with their props or clothing, although my small purchase will arrive next week. At present I am trying not to buy things for the dolls house until it's finished! However once February arrives that will probably go out the window!

So I will wish you all a happy healthy week ahead, as I go off to finish the cardigan made up of oddments of yarn for Clara for the autumn and look at starting my dolls house carpet.

PS it will be February in a few days so not long till those dolls photos for doll day will be needed.

MORE TINY TREASURES

 Well I managed to find some of the other items I bought when I loaned the house to my work for their mortgage campaign.

Philippa and Samuel are way past the thoughts of decorating themselves , so are happy to pay others to get the jobs done!

Muffin needs walking and the newspaper needs reading so no time for renovation!

Just a few of the decorators needs

Obviously the fire was something I bought at the same time for the house . lol

I could have used these when showing the work on the dolls house... never mind maybe on the basement extension!! :))

I could not find the other items which may be up in the loft, so it will be a while before I can look for them.

Paul's operation was a success and he is back home resting.

SEARCHING FOR TINY TREASURES

 

Paul finally fitted the portico yesterday , after having to mess about getting it level , which seems to be a constence issue with anything related to a dolls house.

So today i decided to go in search of what was left of my dolls house items, years back when I sold off my beautiful house with shop, I sold all the wonderful ooak artist made dolls and most of the good furniture. I did keep a few things and also when I loaned it to work I bought a few resin type people to stand inside, as it didn't have a front, looking like they were working on the empty place.

It was so interesting find just what I'd kept and stashed away from my original house.

I'd stored some items in a couple of small plastic boxes, this was the first one.

It had my lovely 1930's sofa, along with several food items and an odd cushion which I think belonged to a bed set.

The second box had quite a lot packed into it!

a great assortment of items!

a closer look

The bucket to the mop in the other box, some door furniture along with some cutlery.

This tiny handknitted baby coat.

This tiny handmade sampler 

There was even a little baby I'd totally forgotten about.

These are two of the workmen I bought a few years back for the empty house loan.

Naturally around that time I started looking a doll house items and decided to buy this for if I went with a regency style again!

  along with this fancy bed and

This oriental style display cupboard and

Side table? desk?

and just the one chair? 

I feel that top display cabinet needs a little gold on the fancy parts. I do love the oriental rooms you see in big houses, so whether these will be used in this house I cannot say, but if so I made need some nice oriental wallpaper for that blue room or a room box to make a special setting.

More food items 

A little tea set which may not be suitable for the house.

Also back when I was looking at dolls house items again I also bought this

A rug making kit.

Everything one needs to make a lovely rug for the dolls house! 

and I know exactly when I bought it due to it still being in the box it arrived in! Well I was still working back then and the dolls house was on loan to work, then back in the shed ! 

But now it's getting finished, I've got the kit out and will start it once I finish the cardigan I'm working on.

Now there are some of the resin people missing along with a few items I bought then to make it look like work was being done and I think I kept my daughters dolls house people who were dressed in 1940's 50's style, so I'm just off to search for them!

COMING TOGETHER NICELY

 So yesterday we moved forward quite a bit with the attic room.

The attic front is cut and ready to be worked on for window openings. But of course I decided the ones i'd bought were not quite right so have ordered some more windows.

So I had ordered a door to be placed on the back wall to line up with the hallway below. By adding the section of wall to push it forward meant that the wallpaper fitted the rest of the room. Luckily I had another match pot of F&B blue, which looks fine with the wallpaper.

We also added some wooden flooring and gave it a wax and polish.

I placed this little Meileg metal bed in the room just to get a look at effect.

I'd like to have three or four metal children's beds in the room when time comes to put the furniture in.

I'm going to put wooden flooring into all the rooms and hallways. I only put the fake card flooring in, when I loaned the house to my workplace to use for a mortgage campaign. But now it's time to get the whole house finished.

So far so good. Paul goes in for his operation early tomorrow morning, so naturally this will go on the back burner for a week or so. I'll be looking at all things dolls house in the mean time and maybe the Sashas will finally get some attention!.

LIKE WATCHING PAINT DRY!

 That's what it seems like here at present re the dolls house. I've done some more painting, giving places second or some third coats.

Also gave the ceiling of the new attic room a couple of coats of paint. Paul gave the two columns we've left natural, a coat of sealer yesterday and polished them today, so they will be ready to be fitted along with rest of portico tomorrow once the step has had a coat of dark grey paint. I think the F&B Pelt, a deep purple I have painted the door should not really match the front step! 

The front is now fitted onto the house and also the front door is on. There is a small magnetic catch to hold the front section closed only it doesn't! So we will need to get a better one. Does a magnet lose it's power after 18 plus years?

I looked at Xanadu's suggestion of the second blue paper I had and it looks great in the space but of course there are three pieces of wallpaper which leaves it about 3 inches short! But we have a cunning plan! So keep watching.

Naturally as soon as the plan was made I wanted it done, but Paul said we need to wait for the next order of dolls house fixings that will arrive tomorrow before he can take it forward plus it involved going  into the rapidly freezing outdoors, so wait I must.

But hopefully tomorrow will see us moving forward quite a bit.

I'm constantly having to look at photos on the internet at dolls houses, to check details and I finally found a couple of houses that are almost the same as mine.

It could be a newer version of mine or have been adjusted by the maker. The door area is different, only half columns and a different door style. Also the first floor centre window is in a small recess, mine is not. Plus they seem to have gone for an almost flat roof.

I also found this one where the centre section is the same almost as mine but this one does have an attic floor along with a nice deep basement. Which makes me wonder if an attic section and a basement could have been purchased separately at the time or not long after. If I want a basement I'll have to wait a while because there are other things that need doing first.

But good to see that we appear to have worked it out correctly for how it's meant to look.

So although it does not appear to have moved forward much, it's been a waiting for paint to dry, making decisions about the attic area and placing an order for the fixings. Which reminds me, does me buying the fixings count as having broken my no doll/ dolls props clothes etc vow for January? Or am I safe to say that I am only buying the makings to finish the dolls house so therefore it does not count?

A BOX OF PAPER

 But no sure any will suit!

Dolls house wallpaper to be clear. I knew I had some in the doll studio, so went searching and found the box.

I have no idea why I have so much although it could be I was going to use some as backdrops but as usual not got round to sorting it out.

naturally I'm not sure any of them will suit!

Of course I'm loving this one and there are three pieces so should be enough but I don't think it would fit for an attic children's bedroom.

This could be suitable but I don't have enough, typical

This I have enough of but again would it be right for a children's bedroom. Maybe too boyish?

again I have enough of this but could be too girly?

This maybe could do but very plain.The background is white 

again enough paper but too florally for the attic. So plenty to chose from but should I look online for something else? However I do think I should try and use one of these or they'll all just go back in the box for another five years!

Paul was out all morning so I spent the time painting more of the house, so hopefully he'll put the front back in place tomorrow and add the front door.