Time for a hot shower

The bathroom was obviously high on the list for remodeling for the young couple who live in the Willowcrest. They put in a very modern shower. (The base is part of an instant coffee lid and the "glass" surround is cut from overhead transparencies. The hardware was made from miscellaneous bits and bobs from my stash.) The handpainted rug and the towel butler were painted by my friend Gary in New Hampshire. I really need to make a door for this room.
The beautiful vanity was put together by Gaye of My Small Obsession. I changed the clear sink basin to this orange bowl made by our blogger friend, Katie. It's perfect and pulls out the orange in the wallpaper. The toilet was made from a broken 1:16 scale Renwal. I built up a graduated platform to raise it up and then repainted it. I didn't think the pink would look too good with the orange, lol. The hamper in the photo above was part of the same set. The woven trash can next to the vanity was made by Brenda.
Here's a little reminder of what the house looked like when I bought it. I'd almost forgotten how bad it looked. ;)

Time got away from me

...and I was up until 2:30 am working on the Willowcrest. But I accomplished a lot yesterday. The bedroom is wallpapered and I finished the dresser I've been working on. I also made a bed. The dresser was made from the bottom half of two different Michael's hutches with some additional trim pieces added. The bottom of the dresser was the 2 door with an open center style hutch. I removed the doors, added craft stick drawer dividers and made non opening drawers from some wood trim. I added crown molding at the joint of the two pieces and a carved back piece at the top. The drawer/door pulls are made with beads and pins. I really like this piece.

I also added baseboard to the lower level and the master bedroom last night. I used my favorite discovery for the baseboard. The plastic guards that come with new windshield wiper blades look like two pieces of baseboard joined at the top. Cut them apart with scissors, paint the inside and glue into place. I'll show a picture later.

My last big project for yesterday was the bathroom. I altered a broken 1:16 scale toilet and made a shower from scratch. They weren't dry enough for pics last night so I will post photos later.

Off to clean up and start my day. Hope yours is wonderful, wherever you are!

I really need to work on the exterior

...but working on the interior is so much fun!This room will be the bathroom. The beautiful vanity cabinet was made by Gaye of My Small Obsession. I think it will be on the opposite wall and the toilet and a small shower will be on the left wall.
I couldn't get the window plastic in the bay to pop out so I went ahead and installed the interior trim after wallpapering.
The living room is papered with an authentic Victorian print. It's supposed to be ferns and flowers but the 5 leaves on the ferns make me think of marijuana everytime I see it, lol. The red and greens look good with my furniture, though.
I love the way the wallpaper looks in the panels in the foyer.
I've spent a lot of time over the past two days working on the kitchen. The wall cabinet is part of a Michael's hutch but everything else was made from recycled containers. The sink is a sauce container from McDonald's with a paper clip faucet and earring back knobs. The sink cabinet was made from the wash stand that used to be in the Victorian Cottage. The sink is supposed to look original to the house when the current owners purchased it. The deep farmhouse sink is lightly rust stained. Looks like it's time to get the cleanser out again. ;)The corner cabinet, range and fridge are all hard plastic containers. I used real metal sheeting to cover the refrigerator and range. The fridge door handles are Sharpie marker pocket clips and the range handles are made from strips of balsa wood. The food was made by several mini friends - Brenda and Rosie made the baked potoatoes and Gaye made the strawberry shortcake. The wall cabinet is filled with a mix of dinnerware and food.

Walnut and Cream

Walnut and cream were the colors my hands were when I finished working on the Willowcrest today. I stained the living room, kitchen and master bedroom floors. The larger rooms will have rugs covering large areas of the floors so I'm not worrying about laying floors or scribing planks.
I finished painting window frames and both sets of stairs. The main staircase was an interesting challenge. I did not completely tear the house apart as some areas are very securely glued. The main staircase is one of those areas. I modified a paint brush so it would fit better in small area and turned the house sideways and pretty much every way but upside down. Removing two windows gave me better access so I got it painted. I want the feel of an old, well-loved house so some imperfections are fine. I'm going to put wallpaper into the panels in the foyer. Two walls will also be papered to break up the sea of antique white and I'm using a real sized wallpaper that resembles tile for the floor in the foyer and on the landing.

I'm excited about doing some interior work. I am really trying to pace myself and make this a beautiful house. There will be a bit of a shabby feel to the finished house. Not so much purposeful shabby chic but more of a well-loved and well-used old house that's comfortably worn. A house that looks lived in. That way the rough around the edges exterior will make sense, too. :)

Brackets and wood putty

I am quickly going through my bottle of glue as I repair joints and cracks. I've also used a fair amount of wood putty. I don't have any extra money in the budget for anything but the siding and shingles so I'm making replacement parts from what I have on hand. Pieces that can be salvaged are. While I was cutting the pieces for the balcony rail I noticed that my scraps looked a bit like corner brackets - and the ones on the house are either crumbling or gone. So I made new brackets for the roof and the porch and got them all glued in place.

I found a scrap piece left from another house that's large enough to make the missing roof piece. I need to make half a roof for one of the small dormers and replace the missing front of the porch foundation. There are also a few broken trim strips to replace. I've already made new windowsills for all that needed them.

Inside I'm working on painting the trim that won't come off and I've added bits and bobs to the rather boring fireplace surrounds. I also made an interesting handrail and surround for the stairs in the second floor bedroom.

My Willowcrest will definitely be unique. The builder had made some modifications to the kit - like moving the upper staircase - and I'm happy with them.

I hope to get some more time on the house today. Have a great weekend everyone!

It's a start!

I used my heat gun to remove one set of stairs and most of the trim from the kitchen and living room in the lower level of the Willowcrest last night. None of the trim had been sanded before being hotglued in place. The wood is so dry that it just soaked up the paint. These pieces have been repaired if needed, sanded and painted and are ready to put in place some day. ;) There's a lot more trim to be melted off and properly finished.
I also sorted through my wallpaper stash last night. I'm using some Victorian and Early American patterns but the house will be set in modern times. It has let me know that it wants to be an actual house so that's what it's gonna be. I experimented with some furniture from my zibbet shop when choosing the wallpaper. I don't think the new living room set is going to be in my shop for much longer, lol.

There is so much to do on this house that it's a bit overwhelming. It's definitely not going to be finished at my usual pace. It's much more work to undo something that's been done incorrectly than it is to just do it right in the first place.

Keep watching here for progress!

Just checking in

Hi everyone - real life has been keeping me busy...and the internet usage level has contributed to keeping me off line. The vegetable garden is nearly cleared and planted, though. I am hoping to finish it today. Then it will be on to cleaning up the flower beds around the house. We didn't get much garden work done last year so this year the beds definitely need some help. :)

Another reason I haven't gotten any mini time is that my work room is currently jam packed with garage sale purchases for my daughters' apartments. I rented a storage unit yesterday so one of today's projects is moving furniture.

When I can get back to the work room, I have to get some more earrings photographed and listed and then I think the $7 dollhouse will be the next project. Fingers crossed on that one!

I hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are!