Nursery work

Slowly but surely working in the stone farmhouse attic. The slanted ceilings are a challenge, but wallpaper and painting is finished. Need to work on trim and a stained glass window still, but I am so excited to see it coming together!

PS I am NOT a fan of blogging via smartphone!

KDF!!!!

So, a miracle happens and I live my dream!

New Shelves....

Woo hoo on sale!!! 

Hoping I can get this crap organized and get back to creating! If I can just get them out of the car and up three flights of stairs...and get rid of the old ones.

Time and Pride

Time. It's been on my mind lately. I need to make some time, for me, for my new space. I moved in October and then life happened. Crafting supplies are still in boxes and I have no idea where my sewing machine is...it's in there somewhere, I personally supervised the movers!!!!!!!!
The one thing I did accomplish since moving, the one thing I am really, REALLY proud of is my $2000.00 haircut (my 40th birthday present to myself). I raised that money through the donations of my wonderful family and friends for my favourite charity, Little Warriors. for sexual abuse prevention for children. The reason they are my favourite, I am a survivor too! I was 7, a family member molested me until I was 10. I am fighting back!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas in Calgary

I am thankful for what turned out to be a fantastic year, I was fortunate to go to exciting places (Kona, Hawaii and Palm Springs, California) I met new people and reconnected with old friends. I have a new place that is all mine and it's wonderful!

New Year approaches and I am looking forward to my personal opportunities. To be Stronger, To be Faster, To be Smarter and to Create Amazing Things!

Packing Up and Moving Out!

Wow, I am a lazy blogger. It has been nearly a year since I posted anything. A year of many, many changes. I find myself single, happy and being kicked out of my home of 10 years! What a great opportunity for me to get a bigger better place, a place with a master bedroom that will become a dream craft room!

Packing has been on going since April, but so much to do and how do you classify dollhouses when you are hiring movers? As furniture?

I hate moving, but this move, I am so excited about. October 1st is coming faster than I could imagine and in a way not fast enough!

It's been too long!

Welcome new followers! I haven't been all that inspired lately, and a busy summer and no dolls house stuff done. *sigh*
I was lucky enough today to visit The Cut; Costumes and Cinema exhibit @ my local museum I took loads of pictures, here are some of my favourites, hopefully they will help inspire me. The detail on these dresses was astounding! Considering the purple dress from The Duchess was only seen briefly in the film!

Installation complete!

Hurrah! Floors are all installed, wood filler added, stain goes on today and tomorrow, VARNISH! Woo hoo! It took forever, partly because I was uninspired near the end and was sick of looking at wood sticks!

Attic Nursery

Next will be selecting wallpaper and paint, my mini family is getting excited that the renovation is drawing to a close!

Today was a GREAT day!

I am exhausted due to very little sleep the night before (Darn Mom and her planting good books to read in my "visit" room)
Today, I was so fortunate to see a childhood friend inducted on to the Wall of Fame at our elementary/junior high school. Caprice and I have been friends since we were five years old, she has always been one of the most positive and inspiring influences in my life. Even though we lost touch for a few years, she is still the same lovely and amazing lady she always was. She was added to the wall of fame for her AMAZING ART and it was so wonderful to see her and her mom, Elizabeth, that I was very close to tears.
I was also fortunate to meet up with two of my old teachers, Mrs Lawlor and Mrs Sheen.
Mrs Lawlor, my grade 3 & 7 teacher, is still the splendidly tough, "Find a chair and park it!" that she always was (she had said this to me in the past and again today!) It was surreal to actually be taller than her!
Mrs Sheen, my grade 2 teacher, always read to us in the afternoons "The Baby Whale, Sharp Ears" and, one of the contributing factors to my Miniature Obsession "The Littles" She has also become an Artist after being a teacher!

From left to right: Angie Lawlor, Caprice Hogg and Janet Sheen

Caprice and me, She is just a wonderful Artist and an even more amazing person!

New little bits!

This internet shopping thing is great, if not slightly dangerous ;o)
I purchased these two lovely items from two fantastic artisans, the elegant Oriental rug from Dales Dreams and the adorable Kitty from Bridget McCarty.

Dales Dreams Oriental rug carpet, beautiful, elegant for the dressing room.

Bridget McCarty, Adorable little kitten, such mischief, she will run circles around the basset hound I am sure.

It really helps to inspire and makes me want to finish the large house faster so these beautiful items have a place to live!

Sticks and Stones and Glue

Finally, over 3 months later, I am working on the very last room for the hard wood! (Yippee!) It's quite pathetic, now when I go to Starbucks, I don't want to add anything to my coffee that I have to mix in, as I get stir stick envy....why are theirs so much straighter, flatter....etc. Oh! The "stones" reference in the title, that is what the tin can is full of, it helps weigh down the wonky-doolally sticks when I glue them in.

I ended up taking off the flip up roof to finish the floors as no lock hinge would work and it kept banging me on the noodle. 

Flooring ....will it never end LOL!

As I used wooden stir sticks for the floor (easy to cut with scissors) they are not always straight or even, there were a lot of gaps in the floor that needed wood filler to make it look "real". First I applied 3 coats of natural stain as I wanted the variations of colour to really show. Then I filled with wood filler and put on a heavy coat of stain. Now it's ready for one final sanding and varnish!

 

Floor installed! Woo Hoo!

I still need to complete the attic area, but that can wait. Actually it has to wait as I need a lock hinge to keep it propped open and avoid being concussed! I still need to power sand, stain and varnish, but the tedious part is over!

Before

After

After floors are done, I will need to paint the rooms and add baseboards and window frames. I can't wait to get the furnishings etc. in, right now it reminds me of a collage apartment!

On my Birthday I partied like a Four Year old.

My Dad built me this doll house for my 4th birthday and my Mom made the soft furnishings and decorated it for my Sunshine Family dolls. I think they had fun doing it and I still have it! On my 38th birthday, I played with my other dollhouse, putting in wood flooring.

Progress on Flooring

Welcome to my New Followers!
Well, three rooms finished, five rooms to go with the hardwood installation. Then sanding, oh so much sanding, staining and varnish. The other two rooms (kitchen and bath) will be tile floors and I am still trying to find just the right medium to use for those rooms. I put the kibosh on the stairs, not enough square footage (or is that "inchage") so there will be imaginary stairs in this house.

There will be paper crate tile in the bay window nook as the lady of the house will have her plants there and we don't want water damaging the hardwood.

The flooring team.

Hard working and dapper dresser!

A not so enthusiastic assistant, but he can fetch and carry, my new addition to my collection Edgar Basil (that's BAH-zil not BAY-sil) Winchester, the Basset.

A Warm Welcome!

Holy Smokes, I slack off for a month and I now have 75 wonderful followers. Thank you so much and welcome!
I will post more progress soon, I promise!

How much wood would a Woodchuck chuck...

Bag fulls! I am getting ready to install the hardwood floors in the "Stone" 3 story I have been working on. I have loads of regular popsicle sticks, but they just don't seem to be the right width and thickness. So off to the Dollar Giant I went and came home with 16 bags of coffee stir sticks to be on the safe side. I will be starting on the ground floor and working my way up.....but before I move to the second floor and attic, I have "THE STAIRS" (dramatic dun-dun-dun!)

I do have to figure out HOW oh HOW to put in the darn two staircases. That will be a tricky feat, as the stairs I have from main floor to 2nd are not tall enough and the existing opening to the second floor is too small. There is NO opening from 2nd to attic level and I haven't got a clue how to position them...they are also too short.

But.... I shall worry about the stairs later. Floors first.

1/8th of Room 1 is Done.....9 more rooms to go!

Welcome to the Renos!

I wanted to post some other pictures of the inside and entry. After the stone work is finished on the side and before I begin on the front porch, I need to cut around the door so the pre-fab door will fit. THAT might be a little bit of a nightmare. I would love to electrify this, but it seems strange to have lights on in the whole house all the time. I would love to have battery lights for each room but I already bought some marvelous lamps at a great discount. I do have 4 electricians in the family, I am thinking it's time to call in some favours!

Entrance on the front porch

Attic Nursery (eventually)

Upstairs bedroom or landing (haven't yet decided)