It Looks Like a House

Eric has been working really hard on the construction of the house.

Teeny Tiny Pieces

I have spent several hours over the past few days painting the trim. I am beginning to regret the Victorian. All the gingerbread trim is finished (purple). The trim for the house itself is done (green) and last and worst -- the railings and spindles are finished (purple and cream). All that is left if the front door and window trim. The porches are in the process of being glued. Pictures to follow.

Buying Spree

We are off for Spring Break (started Friday) so on Friday we took a trip back to the Dolls and Minis store in Wellington. On the way we stopped in Elmore and found the Old Toy Store which had lots of second-hand and buy out toys including miniatures. We were able to get several small kitchen pieces (bowls, copper pieces), a metal wagon, a pair of scissors, a chair, and fireplace. It was really cheap and 50% off that. I also got wind up Pug which is always a win!

Dolls and Minis was fabulous. They are expanding! Eric came along this time and we found our kitchen which had been a big concern. We wanted one but we wanted something just right. We have an ice chest and a old wood type wood stove. It will be perfect. We also found our first light which was exciting. Hopefully this week will allow us some time to get the rest of the shell put together.

Construction - Stage 1

We made some progress over the long weekend!

First -- I have to say that I found a cute and wonderful shop in Wellington, Ohio called Dolls and Minis. The owner was very nice and gave me loads of advice. I picked up quite a few things and hopefully Eric and I will be able to stop back in a few weeks.

We dyed what I thought was all the shingles. Unfortunately, we found a second bag in the box today. Lesson learned -- carefully check all the boxes before throwing out the used dye. We will be getting a second batch next weekend for the other half. Of course I refuse to read the directions carefully, it seemed to come out without too many problems. It helps that the house is supposed to look old.

Eric primed the interior walls. Lesson learned -- do not spray primer in the basement in the winter. After one can, we rolled the rest. Eric did a great job of putting the first stages together. He made sure it was all square and flush and those things I would inevitably screw up. It looks like a house now!

We picked out two of the three trim colors - Pittsburgh Paints' Dill and Ralph Lauren's Riesling. I painted the shutter pieces. We still need a fourth color for the last trim color. Eric is learning towards terra cotta. I have to see the paint chip.

Exterior

We worked on the exterior walls. We chose Ralph Lauren's Pomegranate (tester pot size). For those of you who like Lauren house paint, Home Depot will be getting rid of it and stocking Martha Stewart instead. That woman is everywhere! However, on a happy note the tester pot was only 2.00. This is coat one and as applied with a 1.5 inch foam brush. Eric suggested that since we were going for a run-down" look we leave it at one. We will re-evaluate in a few days.

We also received our "House of Miniatures" Kits from Ebay today (1977). All 6 kits were complete and had never been opened. I am planning on starting with the easiest one first.

Floors

We are going for a distressed look. We started with the floors. I want to thank Tracy Topps who posted this link on her blog. This gave me just the look I wanted. Eric helped mix the color (he has an eye for it)we used Lamp Black, Burnt Sienna, and Chocolate Brown for the color. It went on easily and dried quickly. I found it was best to use a thick craft brush. I provide the right amount of grain and streaking. We let the floors set overnight and gave them a light sanding with steel wool.

Inspiration

Little Spell House was inspired by painting we purchased in Monroe, MI during a short Spring Break trip in 2008.