Redoing the Firehouse

Front of firehouse

I'm still not sure the posts are going through and I think I may have to find another blogspot.  Others have used it successfully -- this is not good for me.  Anyway, hope you can read this okay.  I'd appreciate any feedback that is positive in that you can read the blog and see the pix.  Thx.

New flooring

The top picture is the front of the firehouse and here's it is with the back off.  I decided to put wood planking on the floor.  It will have a little fire truck in it.  I think the flooring came out so great. Exactly the look I wanted.

I have the second floor finished and ready to put up. I kept a few pieces of thin styrofoam from a package I received in the mail.  I'm covering it and it will be perfect.  It adds no weight, either.  However, I want to do something with the walls first.

Paper egg cartons

I'm going to do stone siding on most of the buildings, if I can get enough paper egg cartons.  My poor husband thinks he'll be eating a lot of eggs!  Anyway, I tore them in little pieces and will be using them for bricks.  If you have never done this, it's great.  Again, it doesn't provide weight to the little buildings and is so authentic.  Of course, it will look better when it has some coloring.  There are a number of videos on the process, too.



I am going to put in a fireman's pole, too.  And the upstairs will be so cute!  I'm excited.  Call me crazy, but I'm excited. 

Pat

Contact me, please

Hi there.  I am getting into the blog now and don't know how I did it.  I just typed in petitemoonbems.com and it came up.

Would anyone who gets through try this and see if it works for you?

Thanks.

Pat

Where are you Google?

This has been most distressing.  People cannot find me.  I may have to close the blog.  Not even Google responds.

Quarter Scale Houses - Phase One

I am still having trouble with my blog.  I guess even after these few days, I might have to change.  I've tried contacting Google but they have tons of people whose blogs are messed up.  I will give them until the end of this week and if not, I'll switch over.  I'll let all of my followers know.  Thanks!

I'm not sure I'll be working tomorrow since it's only the 4th day of school but I search anyway.  If I don't work, I have so much to do here at home.

I unearthed the quarter scale houses from the storage cabinet.  Here they are pictured, all 6 of them.  Several have signs of what they originally were.  I'm deciding whether to keep them that way or change them.  Left to right: library, firehouse, gazebo, red house, general store and sweet shop.  These are the original colors as suggested and I was too busy working full time and attending college and teaching at night so I never thought of these as anything but a Christmas village.  Not any more!

I thought I would have a difficult time removing the backs, since they are meant to be closed houses for show and not use.  But since they are so old, the backs came off relatively easy.  I would like to add walls and a floor on those with a second story.  I'm anticipating this with great joy.  I'll show you each house over the next week and my plans for it.

And instead of waiting until these are completely finished, I plan to begin the new 6 buildings.  I would like to have them finished by the holidays.  I doubt Halloween but perhaps Christmas!

I ordered a furniture book to make quarter scale furniture so I'm hoping we can square the deal soon.  Paypal is giving the seller a difficult time (she's in England).  I'll keep you posted.

Pat

Plans for the Hot Tub

First of all, let me apologize for the inconvenience of finding the blog.  For some reason, Google Blogger picked up my store URL instead of the blog address.  I'm trying to fix it now.  I tried to change it in my settings but it keeps reverting back to the store.  So bear with me.  I have let them know.  But stay with me!!!!

I have this idea for a hot tub for Rowena's side patio section.  This is one side of a take-out container.  It's the perfect size and Rowena fits in it very well. 

First I plan to paint it -- probably a pretty blue.  I will make several seats for it, too.  Then I have to make a platform for it to sit in.  That will be a challenge for me but I'll let you see how it goes.

I'm also designing a cabana so she can change out of her swimsuit before she goes back into the house. 

I won't put the hot tub down permanently on the rooftop patio.  May want to change it down the road.

I am going to begin on the 1:48 scale houses soon -- maybe even tomorrow.  I'm the type of person who needs several projects at one time.  Are any of you like that?  I'll show you the houses as I remove them from their storage containers.  Some will need refurbishing, I'm sure.

And then I'll start the new houses at the same time.  This will be a fun project!!!

Talk to you soon.  Remember -- stay with me!

Pat

Coffins and Throw Rugs

Two finished coffins

Hi there.  Today was a busy one.  I finished painting the coffins.  I decided on the black cherry and dark olive.  As you can see, they turned out wonderful.  I only need to put a few coats of polyurethane on them and they are ready.  I have a scene in mind and as it gets closer to Halloween, I'll bring them back to show you.

Went to Michael's tonight after dinner.  Oh my, I could have bought everything Halloween.  Cute stuff.  I must admit I don't like spiders or crows.  I do love everything else, though.

I promised to show you how I make my throw rugs.  For this particular rug, I cut out a square from a dish towel someone gave me for Valentine's Day, which makes it free.  I like Valentine's Day in miniature but not in real life.  LOL  It was red and white squares.  I cut out the red square.

Start removing threads

I then put it on the table, took a seam ripper and started to remove the threads until I got the exact size of fringe I wanted.  Turn it around and do the same thing on the other side.  Don't worry if it's not perfect at this time. 








Keep pulling, doing both sides

Using some type of fray check, run a thin line of it at the end of the fringe to keep it from continuing to unravel.  When it dries, look at both sides and trim carefully to true the sides up
. 





 

For the sides that aren't fringed, if the fabric is soft and thin like the one in my picture, just fold it over and use Fabric Fusion (Aleene's).  If it's a thick rug, use either fray check or Fusible Stretchable glue (Aleene's).  Just keep glue from gunking up and let it dry before you touch the rug.

Rug in front of sink

As you can see, I should have pressed mine before I put it in front of the kitchen sink.  However, I think it looks so great.  I'd love to see some of your rugs!







We have a garage sale tomorrow and I have a birthday party.  For tomorrow's blog, I'll probably be talking about the hot tub idea that I have.

Pat

Halloween Start

Hi there!  Today was a busy day for me.  We are having a garage sale Saturday so I've been busy cleaning out things to sell.  And I also worked on a doll jumper because I made a mistake on it.  I wondered why it didn't fit the doll.  Turns out, I forgot part of the strap.  Oops.  Well, there is a saying, "As ye sew, so shall ye rip."  And I ripped it all out and started over on one spot.  I'm thankful to say I don't do it often but when it happens, it sure is annoying.

I bought 2 basswood coffins last year in Michael's.  I thought I'd work on them this year.  I don't know exactly what I want to do with them.  If I line them, I can never use them again for anything else. I've seen someone make a mini cabinet with them. I decided to paint them and decide.  One will be a cherry brown and one is a dark olive green. One is decorated already and one needs decorating.  I'll show you what I've done on one and I'm a little farther along on the other.

I'm hopeful that I'll know tomorrow what I'll be using these for. 

I was asked to show how to do the rugs for dollhouses or roomboxes.  I plan to do a short tutorial on Saturday.  So, if you want to do it, you'll need a needle or seam ripper, a piece of fabric that will be your carpet runner or throw rug and something to work on that won't be scratched. You will also need some type of fray check.  Some even used nail polish or even clear glue. 

 I'm going to be printing some quarter-scale printies on cardstock tomorrow so I can be ready for my house decorating.  I'm sure it will be interesting folding these little guys. 

Pat