A Running List of Unconventional Dollhouse Tools

1. Wax paper is amazing.  I use it to paint on and glue on.  (Works much better than the time I glued the foundation to the dining table.)  Things lift off easily and it folds up neat and tidy for re-use.
2. White Distilled Vinegar, the dollhouse maker's magic eraser.  It's true it will unglue the glue.
3. Post-Its are a great way to label everything.  I busted them out after an epic failure to label in the first place.
4. Valspar color samples provide the perfect amount of paint for the project without major cost.  The screw-top lids are great for paint you're using over several days (weeks, months).
5. Traditional unsharpened pencils are a great nudge tool.  Right before the glue sets, you can use the eraser end to nudge the pieces into alignment.
6. I've found that a small paint roller works to create a great finish.  I didn't buy one special, but found one we had used to paint some baseboards around the house.  It worked great.

Pollen: A Dollhouse Maker's Most Natural Enemy

You may recall that I put off the massive shingle staining project.  The fumes from the stain was enough to give you a double whammy headache.  I was satisfied with putting it off.  It seemed tedious and quite boring.  The weather at the start of the project was unpredictable and moving the project outside wasn't feasible.  Now the weather is warm and sunny (well not at this exact moment--there is currently a tornado warning), it would seem like an apt time to restart staining the shingles and also to stain the flooring of the attic.  However, now, the entire city is a nice neon green.  The pollen count is astronomical.  There is no way to stain and dry these projects outside without everything being nice hue of pollen rather than it's planned Valspar "tranquility".  Plan B (or maybe C or D) is to take the staining project to the shed in the backyard.

Grab Your Second Coat and Stay a Bit

Valspar Tranquility432957

It looked as thought I had made a swift and direct evacuation from the dollhouse project.  After learning the magical properties of vinegar and spending some time away from the one million little labels I added to everything as an afterthought, a storm rolled in this evening and it seemed as good as night as ever to get back to it.

I gathered up the unglued pieces and carefully read the instructions, followed by newly implemented labeling system and reassembled, this time correctly, the porch posts.  It was time to add a second coat of paint to the foundation and porch floor and time for the first coat on the exterior of the dollhouse.  I'm pleased with the color, a nice minty green, named tranquility.  I'm always in search of more tranquility.

I'm quite nervous about the next steps, the assembly of the frame.  It appears to have several opportunities for misalignment.

That Failure Was Epic (or why does everything smell of vinegar)

Once the weekend hit and I got back into the construction of the wabi sabi dollhouse, trouble hit. As I began to assemble parts to continue building porch posts, I realized I didn't have enough parts...BECAUSE I INCORRECTLY ASSEMBLED the first one. Flashback to those darn "instruction's instructions"--label parts before assembling. Okay, okay, I had read that earlier, but ignored. (In my head I can hear my dad saying "measure twice cut once".) After ungluing the incorrect piece, I have since labeled all the porch pieces and so I begin again.(AFTER the now wet and stinky pieces dry out a bit today on the porch).

Google Search: "Unglue Glue"

Epic Failure Today

Nutzo for Stucco

Stucco Grit, produced by realgoodtoys.com

Did you know that you could purchase stucco for a dollhouse foundation?  It's true.  You can really purchase just about anything in miniature, I found.  I could make this dollhouse nicer than most people's real-life houses (note I said nicer, not as accurate as).  In reading ahead, an important tip I accrued when I freaked out when half the floor was missing, I noticed that it was an option to add stucco grit to the foundation for a more realistic finish.  If adding stucco is anything like staining/dying shingles, I will pass and simply paint the foundation white.

Glue as Repellant

The sun has been warm and the days have been long and while I should be staining the snot out of some shingles, I've found myself working on my real-life house more than may wabi sabi house.  However, I'm picking up where I left off--the front porch (or lack thereof).  The assembly of the porch posts seems to be as challenging as getting all of the railings straight in my earlier porch work.  (If you remember, readers, straight railings were but a dream that was not actualized.)  Each post is comprised of four pieces.  I have found that maintaining some sense of accuracy is possible until I apply the last portion.  That's the moment the glue decides to act more less like an adhesive and more like repellant.  Everything exact goes out the window (or off the porch) and in that moment when everything is slightly off the glue finds a permanent bond.

Follow the Instruction's Instructions

Once the foundation was separated from the dining room table, I placed the recently stained floor on top to ensure everything was still square.  That's when I noticed that I had a significant issue.  There was a huge gap where there was no floor at all.  What had I done?  It's entirely possible that I had used incorrect pieces in building the foundation.  I certainly chose the pieces that looked most like the diagram and even measured one or two of them (but not all, I mean really, if 2 of the four are correct, we're golden.)  You can tell by the picture that we've gone way past wabi-sabi on this one.


Then in a moment of clarity, I recalled the lengthy set of warnings/before you begin section of the

instruction manual.  There it was, "Plan ahead so you know where you are going.  Read ahead so you know how to get there."  Flipping ahead, I was relieved to see that the porch has a separate floor.  I guess that makes sense.  How many of us have hardwood porches? Unfortunately, in re-reading the warnings, I saw many things I hadn't done:

• Large uncluttered workspace?  Non-existent
• Label all the parts before beginning?  If I took all these things out of the boxes, my already small cluttered workspace would only be more so
• Check off the parts to ensure that you have everything.  Does fingers-crossed work?
• Don't be stingy with the glue.  FINALLY, that's one I've mastered.

Don't Mess with Aileen...She Means Business

In working on the foundation, the first actual part of the project that actually feels like I'm building a house, I learned another valuable lesson.  The glue I've been using works great (and I had tons left over from a Theater Arts lesson, so it wasn't an added expense).  It works so great that the foundation was glued to my glass dining room table due to an over zealous application of the glue.

Foundation (after removal from dining room table)

Maybe I should back up...

The dollhouse I'm building is probably rivaling the square footage to my actual (small) home.  This makes a large work space and work surface hard to secure.  I'm currently building in the guest room on a console table, a nearby shoe organizer and a chest of drawers.  (I can reach all 3 of each of these pieces of furniture from the stool on which I perch.)  Sometimes, the project moves to the kitchen, but that not a good dedicated workspace.  When I put the actual foundation together, I realized that there wasn't adequate space in the guest room and the kitchen was in use, so off to the dining room table I went.

Back to the over zealous glue...

So, I glued and glued.  I mean this is important--the FOUNDATION!  So, of course it needed an extra squirt of Aileen's Tacky Glue.  I taped it and clamped it and let it set over night.  The next morning it was nice and firmly attached...to the dining room table.  With a lot of not so glamorous yanking, it was removed with minimal damage.  Nothing that more glue couldn't fix.  From the earlier dining room table incident, I learned that Aileen is one tough cookie who means business.

Straight & Square: That's a Suggestion, Right?

I've been busy today working on the railing assembly for the porches.  There's a simple template to use (although it is printed on the back of the last page of instructions and cutting it up leaves those complex instructions in pieces--a problem for another day.).

Paint, sand, and glue.

I started the project in the morning and then the idea of a snack popped in my head and I didn't return to the railing assembly for several hours and lots of 50% off Easter candy later.  This was a big mistake.  It made it nearly impossible to affix the top rail because there was no give in the lower rail's glue.  The result was a very wabi sabi porch railing.  If you look closely at the pictures, you'll see that the spacing is slightly off (I'm being generous.) Determined to avoid a similar mistake with the shorter railings I completed the task in one sitting without any Easter candy.  Like most things, it wasn't the glue or drying time contributing to the off-ness of the first set, it was operator error, as the shorter sets are also slightly askew.  Lesson learned?  Always take time for snacks.

Trouble Sleeping? Count Shingles.

I'm guessing there are about 500 shingles.

The first undertaking (after assembling a strange array of products from the home improvement store and the craft store that has probably secured my name on some sort of government watch list) is to treat/dye the shingles.  You can buy a dye that's made by the dollhouse company or use a finish like minwax.  Either way you're picking the shingles apart post-dye or arranging them pre-dye.  I went for the minwax approach.

When my grandmother heard about my undertaking, she was excited and then suddenly became serious.  "How long will this take?", she asked apprehensively.  Her concern was that she wouldn't live to see the house completed.  After spending some time with the shingles, I can see this project taking decades.

No worries.  After treating about 30 shingles, I aborted the mission.  The fumes were too strong for in the house and it's been too windy to head outside with the project.  I hope the wind keeps up.  This is not something I'm looking forward to getting involved with again.

Some Assembly Required

Shortly after Valentines Day, I received a dollhouse kit in the mail.  Much to the surprise of my husband, I hadn't ordered it for myself (even though I had been coveting it for quite some time).  It was a gift from my mother.  I found myself both ecstatic and slightly overwhelmed.

I had received the Beachside Bungalow Dollhouse Kit created by Real Good Toys.  I opened the box immediately and found lots of parts and pieces.  Then the box rested and lie dormant for many weeks (okay, perhaps several months).

If you follow along you'll read about my adventures in wabi sabi dollhouse building   Wabi sabi was a phrase I was introduced to while my mother was exploring fung shei and I was re-learning how to use a sewing machine about dozen years ago.  In short wabi sabi means an acceptance of life's imperfections.  The term fit every sewing project that I completed.  I am certain my dollhouse will not let the wabi sabi fan club down either.

The Real Good Toys Beachside Bungalow Dollhouse Kit