New Lifestyle Blog

Hi guys!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year.

I'm just letting you all know about a new lifestyle blog which I've started, simply called 'Jessiemapooh' (long story). You can find it here. 

This doesn't mean I've abandoned this blog, of course. It's simply another outlet for all the other things I do besides from trying to build a dolls house! :) It will also be updated a lot more than this one, simply because the dolls house is so time consuming and expensive- well, you all know!

I'd love to see some familiar faces over on the new blog :)

Thank you,

Tiles Are Nearly Finished!

Ta-Daaaa!

What do you think? I'm definitely getting there! I need to cut the tiles to fit around the edges but in order to do that, I'm going to need to find someone who has a Stanley knife so that I can do it safely haha.

I did have a job getting the tiles to stick over the wire which feeds into the light in the room below (which will one day become the kitchen!). I'd scoured a track in the wood for the wire to lay in so it was flat and secured it with a bit of cellotape but the tiles still didn't like that. I got them to stick eventually by placing a heavy book in the room whilst they dried but unfortunately they don't lie as flat as the rest of them.

You'll know my style by now. I'm a 24 year old female with next to no DIY skills so I did what I thought best- and that was to put the bath there to cover them up! In other areas of my life, I'm a perfectionist but when it comes to dolls house and DIY skills, I simply accept that I'm not perfect but I think it makes for a more personalised house and I feel proud of myself when I finish a room.

Next jobs:

• cut tiles to size
• skirting
• coving 

Have a lovely, fantastic Christmas!

Progress in the Bathroom

The Bathroom Begins!

Good evening, everybody. As you can see, I have continued with the bathroom!

 

The wallpaper I used was from The Dolls House Emporium and it comfortably covered this little room, plus the wall that lifts up which you can just about see in the picture. As you can see on the back wall, there is a small air bubble which is annoying but it happens! There's practically no avoiding it. You can usually get bubbles out by gently sponging the wall or, if all else fails, hide it with furniture!! You can find a lot of brilliant wallpapers from The Dolls House Emporium or download free printables here. 

I use real wallpaper paste on my dolls house and I also used it to secure the floor tiles. I didn't think it would work but it did- brilliantly, so! I found the tiles on Ebay but unfortunately it was just a normal seller getting rid of them as opposed to a shop so I can't give you the details.

I don't plan to have any lights in this room with it being a bathroom. I think I'm going to accessorise with little candle holders when the time comes to fill it!

I'm not looking forward to attempting the skirting without the watchful eye of my grandad, but hey! I will give it my best shot. Any tips will be greatly received! I get all my wood from The Little Green Workshop, which can be found on Ebay here. 

Until next time,

2012

Hello to all my lovely followers!

I have made it a goal of 2013 to blog more often and make a huge effort to complete my Curiosity Shop. I actually struggled to believe that my last post on here was in February- a whole ten months ago. I would like to thank you all for not leaving and continuing to follow the blog despite it being like tumbleweed. 

2012 has proved to be a difficult year. I nearly broke myself completing the final year of my degree but I am proud to say the effort has paid off and I was awarded First Class Honours in Youth Work and Youth Studies. 

Furthermore, in June, my beautiful Grandad (the one who helped finish the first room) sadly passed away. The thought of soldiering on with the house without his enthusiasm, expertise and general positivity seemed like such an enormous and daunting task. 

However, they do say time heals and although the pain is by no means over, I am ready to tackle this project head on!

Please stick around for definite developments in the New Year! 

Naughty blogger!

Hey guys!

Am I a naughty blogger, or what?

I have been ultra busy. Not just a bit busy- ultra busy.

I've recently started a new job (still homeless young people but a different project) which I love but it's taking up so much time. Also, still doing my dissertation which is fun (not). Oh, and throw planning a wedding in to the mix and you've just about got it!

Thank you so much for sticking by all this time- and a massive welcome to my new followers!

I'm starting on a new room at the weekend so be sure to call back soon! (I really am- I have the stuff! :D)

Jess x

Christmas goodies!

Hello everyone!

I hope you're having a lovely, relaxed Christmas. I just thought I'd share with you all what miniatures I received yesterday.

Everything above is from the Dolls House Emporium. The above items (in case you fancy them, too) are:

1. Letter box (non opening)

2. Door Plates and Knobs x2

3. Blue and White Jardiniere

4. Granny's Washtub

5. Angel Shelf Sitter

6. Queen Victoria Figurine Teapot

7. Sculptured Bust of Queen Victoria

8. Decorative Coal Shuttle

9. Hinges and Pins, 4 pieces

10. Bride and Groom Picture

11. Twelve larder packets

Here are some close ups of my favourite items:

The items are going to be spread between Wentworth Court and The Curiosity Shop. I'm glad I got the details for the shop front door because now I have no excuse to crack on and get it fixed! I'm also particularly glad I received new hinges as I'm afraid to admit I through the original fixtures away in a flash of bad temper! If anyone can recommend an easier way to do the hinges- please do!

I also received some wallpapers which I shall use in the bathroom and bedroom of the Curiosity Shop. For some reason, on the photos they appear textured- I can state that they are not. The wallpapers are 'Pink Victorian Cameo Wallpaper' and 'Blue Rose Pattern Wallpaper'. I have a huge affinity to the Victorian era for reasons unknown so I simply had to include nods to that era in the Curiosity Shop since Wentworth Court (Georgian era) couldn't possibly allow me to indulge!

Finally, I received a print out sheet of pretty things like boxes, Christmas cards, shop signs etc.

This is called 'Victoriana Cut-Out Sheet'.

Did any of you receive anything nice?

Have a lovely new year!

I'm branching out with technology!

Hey guys!

Welcome to my newest follower, Patricia :D

There's this thing called 'Pinterest' which is like an amalgamation between facebook/twitter and a regular blog. Basically, you can 'pin' things that interest you and I decided to set one up for miniatures on my wish list!

If you fancy joining, there is a short waiting list (I think I applied a week ago and I'm set up now).

Anyway, if you fancy having a peep- follow me at:

I have no idea if that link works- please tell me if it doesn't!

:D

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my lovely followers!

The picture above is the dining room from Wentworth Court. It was my first adult dollshouse and the decoration was rather rushed due to my impatience (we've all been there) but hey! The first house is always a special one.

The little vases on the fire place actually belonged to my mother-in-law's great grandma who had them in her dolls house all those years ago! The cake you can see on the table was made myself with polmer clay and the basset hound on the floor pays homage to my mother-in-law's own basset hounds- Boo and Larry. I'm actually a cat person and Wentworth Court is full of cats so I decided to get a dog to even things out!

I've seen some gorgeous felt animals which I'd love:

This is simply fabulous and think it would look great in the Curiosity Shop! This pussy cat can be bought from http://literatureinminiature.co.uk/Animals/siamese_cat.htm for a bargain £30! I also have my eye on the taxidermy stuff which, again, would look FAB in the shop. I'm a vegetarian in real life and would rather run over hot coals than have a stuffed moose head on my wall but for some reason- I really want it in my dolls house!

After Xmas, it's full steam ahead! Expect more posts and more progress!

Finally, I hope you all have a super Christmas and NY!

See you soon!

Jess

Bathroom!

Hey guys!

So sorry for the length of times between posts. You know how it is with these things-sometimes it can be slow process.

ALSO, massive hello to my new followers!

Just to let you know where I am now with the Curiosity Shop. I've started on the bathroom! I purchased these lovely floor tiles from an ebay seller (called 'gugbug') a while back and over the Xmas holidays I'm going to start looking at laying them.





This is how it will look :) ^^

I think it creates a gorgeous effect. The tiles themselves are hardy enough, especially since they're plastic, not actual tile.

Anyway, I shall update you on my progess! Santa is also bringing me a few goodies for both the Curiosity Shop and Wentworth Court so I will show you those things too!

Actually, since it's nearly Xmas- I may post some pictures of my Wentworth Court as it's Xmas in there, too :P Although you will have to forgive my sloppiness- it was my first house and I rushed the decorating because I was so excited!

Post soon!

Jess

P.S I've already painted the ceiling in this room! Result!

I haven't left you!

Hey guys!

I'm still here, believe it or not!

Sorry I haven't posted anything DH related in such a long time! I'm back at uni- final year- which means the dreaded dissertation. Money has been tight in the lead up to Xmas, as ever, so less money available to spend on DH stuff! :( Bad time!

Here is what I have been up to:

Lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream icing





Twilight cupcakes (chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream icing)



Post soon! Thanks for sticking around! :D

X

Drum Roll Please....

....

It's finished!! The flooring has been put in (although still needs sticking down and sanding at the front) but here we go!!

I am so, so pleased with the result! I got the flooring sheet from my favourite ebay shop 'Little Green Workshop' for a bargain price of £6.99. (Their website is: http://www.littlegreenworkshop.co.uk/) It came with the promise of ease of use and I can totally pass the promise on- it really does.


I didn't need anyone's assistance in this which goes to show that anyone can use it! Hahah. It cut very easily and sanded well. You can see from the picture below that once you've started to cut the wood, it just breaks off very easily.

The backing is just thick paper and I think it might be sticky back stuff but it's not peeling off well so I'm going to attempt to glue it straight down.

So you've got an idea of size, I took this photo with a 1p piece on:

It would fit most standard rooms I think.

Finally, I'm not really sure what it is, but Little Green Workshop sent me a freebie, which is always lovely! I think it's meant to be a pot for a tree or something but I will put it in the shop once it's decorated :)

Next project: BATHROOM!

Jess x

One (almost) down, four (ish) to go!

Hey guys! It's almost done! I only need to do the flooring and that room is 100% complete. We've tweaked bits here and there so here's a quick run-down:

Stairs

In my last post, I said that my grandad was going to cut a bit of the dado rail away to allow the stairs to sit perfectly against the wall- well, taaaadaaaa!

A word of warning

I honestly don't know where I'd be without my grandad (in life, as well as DIY). I thought it seemed odd that he hadn't measured the dado and skirting right up to the edge until he explained that if he had done, we wouldn't be able to shut the door! It had totally not occurred to me! Anyway, here's a photo so you can see what I mean:

Many apologies for the picture quality; I'm still using my phone!

Skirting

Ah, the chicken and egg scenario. What comes first- the flooring or the skirting? I posed that very question to the Dolls House Emporium message boards but went ahead and did my own thing before remembering to see what everyone had put. Naturally, 100% of replies stated flooring and what had I chosen to do? Yup, you guessed it. Skirting. Oh well, some things never change!

Almost Completed!

Yey!

50 FOLLOWERS!

Yey! I've hit 50 followers! Thank you so much for sticking around guys, and for the few that have joined since my last post! I'm so glad so many of you are enjoying what you're reading.


Since my last post, I transported my dolls house down to my grandparents as my Grandad is very interested in the house. I've been so busy at work (and I didn't think my DIY skills could stretch to it..) so Grandad very kindly did my coving and dado rail for me. And what an excellent job he has done!




He's left a gap at the top which will allow the stairs to slot in nicely:



As you can see, the close up has two little bits that have had to be cut from another piece as, rather typically, one piece wasn't quite long enough. It's hardly noticed when the stairs are in, though.

The dado rail needs to be amended to allow the stairs to sit flat against the wall- we (like that- 'we' haha) decided it would be easier to cut a little bit away once the stairs were put in properly.

Something I've also done in this house which I didn't in my Wentworth Court was to continue the wallpaper and details on to the door. I saw someone's dolls house done in this way once before and I thought it was a beautiful touch- it literally looked as though you'd opened the side of a real house.



As you can see, I'm still yet to add the skirting. I haven't actually stuck the skirting down yet as still working on the flooring. My fiance's dad works away a lot on business and every time he stops for coffee he grabs me a handful of stirers so I can create a wooden floor. Very nice of him :)

Almost finished one room! So excited to work on the next!

Jess x

Curtains!

Welcome to my newest followers, Andy and Raspberry! So glad you stopped by!

As you can see, today I made some curtains! It's my second attempt following the same instructions from Sue Heaser's book 'Dolls House Do-It-Yourself: Curtains' as the first time I used cotton fabric and it simply didn't fall right.

This time, I used beautiful dupion silk *apologies if it's spelt incorrectly* and they have hung perfectly. Don't you just love the green rod? haha. I didn't have any plain wood ones so my grandad kindly donated this one to me from his greenhouse supplies!

I'm going to make a matching pair for the other upstairs window and am planning to leave the bottom windows without curtains or blinds as most shops windows are bare (I think- please correct me otherwise!). I think for the top attic windows I shall make little curtains that just pull to the side rather than meet in the middle. I have tiny hoops left over from jewellery making which should come in useful for that! According to Sue Heaser's book, curtains in the Edwardian times were very plain (in style and print) so I thought this fabric would be perfect.

To make your own curtains:

Note...this will make curtains like mine :)

1. Measure the window and cut two pieces of fabric each as wide as the length of the window and the length of the drop required, plus 25mm (1inch). Ensure the fabric won't fray by running some PVA glue mixed with water along the material where you've cut it. Sew or glue a hem (I sewed) of 3mm along the sides of each curtain and a 13mm hem along the bottom edges.

2. Press down a 13mm hem at the top of each curtain. Sew a line of fine stitching 1.5mm from the raw edge of the hem. Place a skewer or dowelling in the resulting casing and push it against the stitching with the side of a ruler. Mark a line between the ruler and the skewer with the pencil. Remove the skewer and sew along the line to make a snug casing that fits the skewer.

3. Thread both curtains on to the skewer and push the sides of each together to gather them up to about one third of their original width.

4. The final stage involves starching the curtains and adding the finishing touches such as tiny little fimo clay knobs on both ends of the rod. I haven't done this section yet but I will.

^^ The above is taken from Sue Heaser's book as mentioned at the start of the post :)

I haven't done that little bit at the top of the curtains because I'd measured the drop incorrectly (typical of me, naturally) but I think they look ok like this!

Jess x


P.S The glue on the ivy did not work! Back to the drawing board!

A different kind of miniature!

Hello again!

Has anybody seen Angie Dudley's 'Cake Pops' book? I got mine at Christmas from Amazon.co.uk and it's fab!



The book is full of amazing things to bake and all very miniature, of course! Here's some examples of things I've made. (I didn't follow a project for these although were inspired by similar ones).



I made these ones for father's day and my dad loved them! The second cakes (below) were made for a birthday party:



Basically, you bake a standard cake and then once it's cooled, you crumble it into tiny pieces, like breadcrumbs. Then, it gets mixed with a frosting of your choice and it allows you to form little balls. They go in the freezer for 20 minutes to harden and then get dunked into melted chocolate. For the little cupcakes, I used a silicone mold with melted choccy (white, but dyed pink) and then once set, I peeled it away to leave a chocolate cake case! So everything you see is edible!

Sooo much fun! I can't recommend it enough (and I don't like cake!!!)

XXX

Made a start on the ivy!

Good afternoon, everyone! What a horrible, wet day it is here. To think, it's July!! Where's our summer?!

I made a start on the ivy and I'm pleased with the results. The lady from Templewood Miniatures sent me too different style ivys as she only had one pack of the original style and I ordered three. Although both are lovely, I think the newer style is more effective as ivy- the first looks more like a fern. This doesn't matter to me- my crumbling old house will have god knows what growing up the front so the more variation, the better I say!

Original Ivy:

For this ivy, you simply popped the whole piece out of the paper and glued the wire to it's back. I like it because you can't see the wire but the join where the second sheet of ivy meets is a little odd. I think I'm actually going to use some little leaves off the new ivy to disguise the join. Instead of using PVA glue, I used the glue spray left over from when I did the stencilling. I have no idea if it will work long term- but I will let you know!



New Ivy:

The newer type of ivy is very fiddly, as you can imagine! I do like the way you can do your own thing with it, though. It definitely allows for more freedom with how you wish your ivy to look.

You have to leave them to dry flat which they're currently doing (fingers crossed the glue works!)

Jess x

So very busy!

Hello to all my new followers!

I've been sooo busy lately, I haven't had a moment to do anything moderately miniature related or to blog!

I just wanted to keep you up to date with the progress of the dolls that were going to be made by the lovely Julie of Bellabelle dolls. I'd been on the waiting list since about November 2009 and only paid my deposit. She emailed me this month to ask if I'd still like to go ahead but unfortunately, due to my approaching wedding, I decided that I really couldn't bring myself to spend £130 on two dolls. *My other half would be proud!* Julie was so lovely about it and since I'd been on the waiting list for so long, she assured me I could go to the front of the line if I'd like them done in the future (which no doubt I would 'cause she's amazing!).

I've had a lot of work on with the homeless young people I work with which is good because it keeps me busy until I start my third and final year of uni in October. More miniatures soon though, promise!

Ivy from Templewood Miniatures

I recently ordered some lovely little ivy DIY kits from Templewood Miniatures. It's the first time I've ordered from there and I must say, I was more than pleased with the service. The lady emailed me and said she was away so there would be a slight delay on my order (that was fine, and if I'm honest I don't think I'd have noticed because it came pretty soon anyway!). Unfortunately, the type of ivy I'd ordered wasn't available in two quantities so she sent me one type I'd ordered and two new ones (including a free one). This was totally fine by me- I don't mind if my ivy doesn't match! In fact, I think it adds to the authenticity of the whole thing! I will show you when I finally get a move on and do it...it looks fiddly but I've been assured it leaves fantastic results! The shop also stocks an ivy cutter which is definitely useful!

Until next time!

Miniature Skirting and a Celebration!

Taa-daa! Here's the skirting. I haven't stuck it down yet but you can get a good idea of what it will look like. Sorry about the picture quality- I will make sure a better one follows soon. Also, I managed to paint the ceiling without any bother! Luckily, this is the only room I've started to decorate so I painted all the other ceilings a bit more haphazardly.

There's a celebration in order! Myself and my other half have booked our wedding!! It's not until 2013 but it's on our 8th year anniversary so it will be super special :)

Jess x

Mouldings

Good morning curiosity shoppers!


I have just received some gorgeous mouldings in the post from a lovely ebay seller called littlegreenworkshop. They have excellent feedback and I must say that their prices are a lot cheaper than other leading dolls house suppliers. They also have a website where you can buy miniatures from which is www.littlegreenworkshop.co.uk. It's worth taking a look :)


I am going to post the pictures that they have used on Ebay because I couldn't do the mouldings justice on my little camera phone!


For the living room as pictured in the previous post, I have bought:



> Coving. Real wood, 18inches, £1.25 (!!)



> Dado rail. Real wood, 18inches, £1.20. Did you know that dado rails were invented to stop the backs of chairs from scuffing the wallpaper?





> And finally, skirting boards! Real wood, 18inches, £1.25!



Excellent prices and great delivery rates- I would recommend this seller! (I haven't been asked to, by the way! All opinions on here are totally mine! :D)

The 18inches of wood does mean, I'm afraid, that I'm going to be let loose with a hack saw....


More on this later!

Until next time,

Jess x