Great news!

The French Country dollhouse is going to be featured in the May issue of American Miniaturist! There will also be a tutorial on how to do the barrel tiles. I've had a few previous feature articles but it's been several years. I'm very excited, especially since I'm so happy with how this house came out.

In the meantime, I've been researching Carpenter Gothic houses. That's the style the Westville kit is intended to be and I love what I've been seeing. Stay tuned for updates on that project.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

The roof is finished!

I have minor details to add - a lower porch bench, a lamp in the master bedroom, more family photos, etc. - but the house is essentially complete. Even though the roof seemed like it took forever, it was definitely worth doing. It didn't cost me anything but time to do and gives the house just the look I'd hoped for.

Here's a reminder of what the house would look like if I'd followed the directions. I'm so glad that I didn't. ;-) Now that I see the chimney, though, I'm reminded that I really need to put one on, and on the other half of the roof. More on that later, I guess.

Progress, change, and a long week

 I've been making slow progress on the tile work. I finished the back a couple of days ago. Tonight I started on the last roof section. I've been alternating from side to side this time because it hasn't gone as smoothly as the other sides. Daughter #1 thinks maybe I just have selective memory and choose not to remember how frustrated I got on the other parts. Hmm. There may be some value in that theory, LOL.

 The change is in the porch post. I wasn't really happy with the square support I'd used but I do like this shortened and dressed up version.

And, finally, the long week: I had strep throat this week and even with antibiotics my voice disappeared. Trying to keep 1st graders interested in social studies when your voice is alternating between Mickey Mouse and Darth Vader's is a bit challenging. Just tonight, I'm able to speak without cracking. It's still not my normal voice but it's a huge improvement. Plus I feel better today. I'm really hoping to finish the French Country house this weekend. I've been researching ideas for the Westville. It's such a pretty house that I'm leaning toward something other than a home for Santa's elves (my original thought.) I haven't made any decisions yet but I'm leaning toward a period home - maybe in the 30s. Thoughts, anyone?

All in a day's work

The corrugated cardboard is in place for the whole roof and I have two adjoining sections of the roof tiled. That's all I got done in between church, making dinner, doing laundry, gathering eggs, making "granola" bars (nuts and seeds rather than granola), and a custard. That's still several hours of work - just the large area alone has 235+ tiles. The smaller area went pretty quickly. There's one more large chunk but it's much smaller than the front. Hopefully, I can finish the roof this week. Then I have a few more interior details and it will be finished. Well, as finished as a dollhouse ever is. ;-)

Have a wonderful, blessing filled week, my friends.

The iron and I both got a little older

 First, the iron - I added patina to the wrought iron on the French country railings and trim. I found a great close up photo on the internet, dug out bottles of sterling silver and burnt sienna paints, and a couple of stiff bristled paint brushes and slowly added minute amounts of paint dry brushed on. In this situation a little paint goes a long way. Fortunately, it was easy to stipple on some black to blend any areas that I got paint happy with. :-)

 I didn't have to add much paint to give the railings a much more realistic look that adds so much to the look of the whole house.

 I also added beams at each end of the bedroom ceiling. There was a significant gap at the back right roof joint. I'm pretty confident that Joe and Joy don't want holes in the ceiling. The new beams cured the gap problem and made the ceiling look more polished at the same time. Win, win.

I spent a couple more hours on the roof tonight, too. The finished roof is going to be perfect...but it won't be finished any time soon. Roofing is one of my least favorite parts of a build anyway and there are a few more steps involved with this roof. It's going to be worth it, though, based on the progress photos.

Oh, and I got a little older on Monday. I had a wonderful day with my family. Daughter #1 made dinner, Son made a surprise trip home, Daughter #2 and family sent a fun card and called - complete with a Happy Birthday serenade from my granddaughters. DH was home for the day after a few days in the hospital for a bronchial infection that just didn't want to clear up. He's on the mend and back at work. Two of my classes at the elementary school where I work sang to me, too. Year 52 is off to a great start.

Hubby and I get a weekend alone which doesn't happen all that often even with all the kids living on their own. We'll enjoy a dinner date tomorrow to celebrate Valentine's Day - our 37th one together. We started dating when I was fourteen and he was sixteen. I was blessed then and I still am.

Wishing all of you a Happy Valentine's Day and a wonderful weekend!

Terra Cotta Barrel Tiles Tutorial - the Trash to Treasure Way

I used two shades of orange, light buttermilk, burnt umber, and honey brown paints. I just mixed the colors on the brush and randomly painted the toilet paper tubes and the valleys of the corrugated cardboard. The valleys act as the upside down tiles on a real barrel tile roof. The tubes are cut into roughly half inch by one inch tiles. Each tile is glued over two of the cardboard ridges. In the third photo, I am using chopsticks to hold the edges of the tiles down until the glue sets. This is an experiment that's going to work! That always makes me smile. :-)

Edited: Here's today's work. I've decided that painting the corrugated cardboard is not necessary. You really can't see the valleys but they help so much with spacing and shaping the tiles. Just painting the tubes, cutting into tiles and gluing them on takes a lot of time. I spent several hours working today. I filled in the corrugated board on the angled left side and finished the three bottom rows, then added two more full ones. I also added a couple more colors of paint in the brown family. I like the variation - really makes it look like aged tile. This is going to take some time but I am very happy with the way it looks.