a bit of this & a bit of that
This was a set of two chairs in the lounge of Leah’s doll’s house. I’ve been playing. The one on the left has been revamped for the bedroom. I’ll keep the other one in the lounge but not as it is. Haven’t decided what to do with the lounge! I’m hoping to get the refurb done in time for the Poole’s coming back from Australia in about a week. They went on boxing day. I’ve really missed them. I’m counting the days….
One week to go in my job. I leave a week today. Strange. I’ve been tying up loose ends, making sure client files are up to date, archiving files of people who’ve drifted away from the service, a bit of the usual fire-fighting when things kick off. I’ve arranged my leaving do next week. Ordered food. Sent out invites. We decided to make it a nice afternoon for people who use the service. They’ve made my job what it is and have been the main reason for enjoying it. So some good grub and a natter will be kind of how it goes. I’m looking forward to it - except for the bit about having to make sure no-one feels I’ve ignored them. I hope I have time to sit with people for a few minutes each and show them they mattered. We’ll see.
Today I’m clobbered up in my best gear to sit on the interview panel for my replacement. From the shortlisting, I have a definate favourite. It was hilarious adding up the scores. There were some VERY different opinions.
Out of work, I’ve been doing stuff like this:
I made this set last night. I scanned in the books ages ago. A hardback set of board books. Then I tiffled around with fonts and readability at very small sizes. The pages are perfect. Two problems though - the box holds five of the six books - I rectified that in paint shop pro ready for the next time I print a set. It will comfortable hold the six. And the covers for the books need to be either on photo glossy card or covered with ultraclear tape before being attached. The wording is grubby on the spines from the folding process and taking them in and out of the box with it being such a tight fit. I think I’ll try the tape first.
If they look good enough, I’ll ebay some or stockpile sets for craft fairs or something. Next week, I get my last pay cheque for three years. Any extra pennies will be a bonus!
I designed the house on paper. Me and Emma bought the wood and all the materials. Emma cut the wood and magically made it into a house shape. I bought basic ELC furniture and painted it all. Then added an ELC family, including grandparents, aqnd lots of bits and pieces.
Back then, me and Emma lived in a tiny two-up, two-down house with next to no garden. We had a 2 seater and a 3 seater sofa which literally filled the lounge. Everything was done in the back room. Emma did DIY. I did crafts.
It was a pretty depressing place to live. Not like now. I’ve got a big bedroom and a craft room. Emma’s got a small bedroom, a loft room and a huge garage for DIY. We do know we’re lucky 
Anyway, Leah’s dollhouse is getting a bit wobbly so it’s at in my craft room for a bit of intensive care. Emma’s going to strengthen up the joints, especially the hinges on the roof. Me and Leah are going to redecorate it. Yesterday we stripped it all out, sanded bits of it and painted the rest in PVA to give the new paper a surface to bond to. We’re going to add lights. It’ll look fab in her new room. Which her dad is currently redecorating in lovely pink Linda Barker paper.
Watch this space 
Since I got back off holiday, I’ve made a concerted effort to keep going with the dolls house. When I start Uni, it will be nice to make little bits and pieces for it. I’m figuring I won’t have much spare cash and it’ll entertain me for hours! But before the niceties of putting the rooms together and adding finishing touches (which I think never actually stops), I’ve got to get the thing papered and ‘windowed’. I think I’ll get there in a week or two. I’ve got three (I start Uni on 24th September).
Emma won’t come to B&Q with me now. She has this idea that samples are for people who want to try the paper out before they buy a few rolls?!!! Strange how some people’s minds work.
The top floor is split into two (not visible on the pic above but it is on the one below - click them to view larger images). The left is the bathroom. I’ve got the papers ready. The right side is lounge/bedroom/kitchen all in one. It’s a rented apartment type affair. I’ve papered the right hand room but it’s wrong. I’m going to do it again tomorrow. It’s not right. She’s going to be an artist/seamstress/crafter person and the papers have to be ‘louder’. I’m using papers for the floor aswell. It works fine.
The next floor down has the master bedroom, the girls bedroom and a bathroom. They’re all completely papered. I treated myself to a couple of bits of furniture from the dolls house shop in Spon End yesterday. If I race there, it takes 7 minutes from work. If I go in my lunch break, I get approx. 16 minutes in there. I knew what I wanted. I think the master bedroom has all the main furniture now. I get the ‘paint it yourself’ stuff. I love the bathroom.
The next floor down isn’t as far along. The left room is for a lodger (big house: lots of bills - needs the income!) I really like the paper but it’s really dark for a small room. I might redo it. I don’t think I will but I might. Next to that is the boys bedtroom. I tried out using two papers with the intention of adding a picture rail. I used the ceiling paper - white waffle texture - for the top section of the walls. I like it. The room on the right was meant to be a study but I’m not sure it doesn’t need another bathroom?
The next floor down is a lounge to the left and a kitchen diner to the right. The walls and ceilings are all done except for one kitchen wall; I got bored half way through.
The bottom two floors are untouched. The very bottom floor might have a study and another bedroom. Or a bedroom and a luxury bathroom. If I do that I’ll leave the room further up as a study? Who can say?
The second floor up is my favourite - the nursery. I don’t mean the children’s room. I mean nursery as in creche, day nursery, pre-school. I think that will be the mum’s job. Not sure. Anyway, there’s no family yet. One day I’ll make one 
I found the bookcase in an ex-catalogue shop about three years ago. Discontinued line? Seconds? Returned? It was, if I remember correctly £26. It sat in the corner of the lounge for approximately 18 months. Occasionally I threw in scraps of fabric and wallpaper samples with the intention of turning it into a giant dollhouse.
Eventually it moved upstairs to the craft room and I started buying and making bits and pieces of furniture and accessories. Very very gradually.
Finally, about three weeks ago, me and Emma (mostly Emma!) got the lights working. I’m surprised they did actually work: they lived in the garage for over a year! The bottom level is to be left unlit. At the moment, it will be a handy shelf for storing extra bits. Later, it might be a basement.
I just put all the bits and pieces in the places where the rooms will be (it needs dividing walls). I like it. I feel inspired and eager to carry on making and decorating now. Hopefully it won’t be another 18 months before I touch it again!
I was browsing the net and found this site. I was there for hours - couldn’t get away! The sizes are all wrong for 1:12 scale so I had to reduce this tissue box to roughly 40%. The site’s all in Japanese so I had to just click on everything that looked like it might be a link!
I’m really chuffed with how it turned out. Only took ten minutes. The tissue inside is charmin and it’s a bit thick. Cheaper would be better I’m sure. I did the whole folding the sheets into each other thing so when you pull one out, the next one comes out
Very very impressed. Makes me want to make up my own range of miniature printies!
I finally got round to digging out the people from my ebay/ELC dollhouse. When I got the house, the family looked something like this. About two year ago, I pulled off the hair, cut off the clothes and, as if that wasn’t humiliating enough, I got out the sander and file and removed all traces of glue and paint. The fact that I found this activity deeply satisfying may well have had more to do with where I was with my therapy than my natural tendencies and desires!
Over the last couple of years, I’ve gradually painted, varnished, clothed them and given them interesting hairstyles. As you can see, I haven’t finished. Some only have underwear to protect their dignity. Others are quite bald.
One of these days, I’ll do a bit more and have them all dressed and spruced up. Ideally, they’ll all have pyjamas aswell. I made some for the mum the other day. I’m afraid they were once a pair of underpants. I just liked the print and the lacy edge.
Ages ago, (3 years?) I bought an ELC dolls house from ebay, full of furniture and people. I always intended to decorate it and eventually did, about 18 months ago. I painted it in various colours - red, yellow and white, then repainted over each colour with a different one then finally sanded it down to reveal some of the first coat. I like how it turned out.
About 9 months ago, I got all the furniture out and did the same thing. Yesterday I put a few extra bits in, some made, some bought, some borrowed from other toy sets about the house and finally took some pictures.
Maybe over the next few days, I’ll finish off the people. Some need painting; some are painted but need hair; some are pretty much done.
The lilac bear, I made out of fimo and it worked out fine, unusually for me!
The house is a few bits of balsa, tiny bits cut from circuits in a broken laptop and bits of paint and fabric. It needs a roof.
The cake is a piece of dowelling, rolled in decorators caulk and mixed herbs, with decorators caulk squirted on top and little fimo chocolate bits sprinkled on top.
The wierd highchair is very much unfinished. It’s half a deodorant lid, a quarter of a kinder egg, a cocktail stick and a broken dart from a velcro kid darts set.
All good fun.
