No progress, but......

I did purchase another book, from the book depository (thank you Mum!!) which arrived today!!  I don't know how much of a library I will end up with but when I embark on things, I like to do lots of research.  Also bought an ebook LOL
  Anyway - here's the book I got - of course only skimmed through it so far and have already got a few ideas out of it..

 
Something else that has me excited is my Mum.  Mum is great at doing 'small' work.  Currently she is tatting (something I've been tempted to try!), and Mum would love to make me some things for my house.  It'd be awesome to have her work in the house!! I know she shares my enthusiasm as she has already expressed an interest several times over the years in doll houses, and wow she has a beautiful collection of dolls too! This will be a lovely way to share my interest from afar with her :)

Work has been busy so haven't been able to get outside and work because I get out too late - and the weather is going to be awful for the next few days - wishing I had a garage so badly.. hmmm do I dare use the car port - maybe I should ;-)

Oh.. also bought on ebay some door handles and doorknocker - and the wiring stuff for my house so I can install wires before covering walls etc.. and.. purchased a doll house tool kit SOOO cheap from the UK.. but somehow doubting it will arrive :(( Fingers crossed!!!

Todays achievements :)

Oh sensational day here today.  Started off really cold and damp outside, so couldn't really 'do' anything till about midday - but have spent all afternoon out there.  Looking back, I couldn't figure out why it took so long!!
Firstly, I finished sanding between slats on the deck - then stained it - and went over the outter walls again...

My son thought it would be nice to add some nails to the decking - so I got a permanent marker and put dots where you might put nails - have to say - it does look nice!!
 Have varnished the front door (which is not supposed to look perfect..) and the decking - so it's looking nice :) Happy with the outcome. 

My windows and baloustrades are plastic, and thanks the the fabby group I have joined (link to the right) I decided to prime them and will paint them up.  My aim there is imperfection - which, to me, will look more authentic in the end.  My ex hubby and I weren't the best at renovations and building - nothing looked perfect - we tried hard, but in the end - the *I did it myself* look, I reallllly love!!  So.. going with that on here too ;-)

Not sure If I'll use shutters or not yet, but primed them as well.

It's still really cold here at night :( Nothing is perfectly dry so had to bring them in, room is a problem here, so brought them all in and have stacked them in order of dryness and priority.. between sheets of plastic protective sheets, hoping it wont' ruin anything!!!

 As you can see, my work bench 'inside' is tiny - it's right in front of the kitchen bench in our living room/dining area for now - I don't have a garage or shed to work in, sadly!! The bonus? The table sits over a heating vent! Will check everything tomorrow for progress - for some reason I don't want to go to work hahaha.. would much rather build my house.

Tomorrow things will slow down a little as I have some late days coming at work due to training.  Sad really - but, hoping to get some more priming done.  Bring on pay day - to get the paints for the trimmings etc so the house will really start to have a bit of character! I realised today, I need DOORKNOBS!! hahaha!! Oh and wiring for the lights.. have bought the power supply and such, but didn't deal with wiring to lights - must get onto that!

So far, this is the most fun I've had in years!! Loving the project!!! If there are no girls in my family who appreciate my work, it'll go to (eventually) my dear friend's daughter when I'm gone ;-)  Would be sad to do all this work for nothing!

I GOT THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!

Wow!! This book is SOOOO hard to buy!!! I borrowed it from the library and SOOO wanted it!! Prices ranged from about $21US on Amazon to about $600AUD anywhere else ... thought I'd never get one of my own! It's gold!

Anyway - here tis.. and I now own one thanks to Alibris UK - yes I paid a fortune for it but .. it's MINE LOL - I paid $60AUD for it (including postage).. which is still cheap in comparison to a ton of sites.. thank you Alibris!! Mwah!!

Why didn't I get it cheaper from Amazon? They wouldn't ship to Australia - have searched for 2 weeks!! (can you tell I'm happy?)

Had to add to it...

Sitting here idle - waiting for tomorrow so I can do some more work on my new home.  Hey... I can't afford to buy a house to LIVE in - therefore this will get a lot of love and imagination!
Wallpapers are hard to choose from - have scoured sites and not yet found something 'just right' even for my first room!! I do know I'd like to dado one room.  Anyway on impulse I did buy a couple of cheap items from eBay...

 I doubt I'll actually use them.. the tiny things are plastic and not very attractive but if I decide on a girls room could be handy - plus they could be painted I guess?  The dresser.. does show it's not the best quality IRL - looks good if you don't look too closely - although not perfect - or as intricate as i would like.  You get what you pay for ;-)  Cute all the same!!

I also looked at clays and the likes today - wouldn't mind making my own characters down the track! Small steps... didn't indulge!

My house STINKS right now - we're getting high on fumes !

It's a start :)

Ok here we go.. just moved here from another blog so will condense the start of it a bit.

I was searching for a miniature bottle - because I wanted to dress up a frame I had bought to put my brother and son in - that search led me to a new beginning - kind of...

When I was tiny - our neighbour built me the most exquiste doll house - I loved it and used it for years!!! Once I was too old for dolls, it was passed down to the girls next door - who decided it might be good for firewood - my house disintegrated, and I was devastated!!

Over the years I have collected various miniatures and my mum has always given me something tiny in my Christmas stocking - little things for me are just devine!!

So - in the search for this little bottle - I ended up spending over $400!!!

I bought this:
It's called 'homestead' and is made by Craftworks in Australia. Just a small beginning - but enough to keep me busy for a while to come. My house arrived last week and I procrastinated for a few days, fearing perhaps that I couldnt' do it LOL.

Today I headed to the hardware store to buy some stuff.. decided my home will be western red cedar, and haven't quite decided on roof colour or trimmings yet - possibly maroon and green.

Beautiful day so started staining!!


All outer walls have been stained, and the front door.. which I want to darken at some stage - not quite sure how to do that yet ;-)