A change of pace

Bev and I spent a couple hours at Barb's this afternoon working on projects.

The only project I had that was easily portable was Vern's Attic so I actually got some work done on it. I had back-burnered it as I wasn't sure just how I was going to handle the lighting for it. When I went looking for the round battery for the light I had originally planned on using, I came across a battery light that would make electrification much easier.

With that out of the way, I was able to start putting up the drywall (matboard). Then I realized that I had to frame around the gable opening so have to do that before I can drywall the ceiling.

But am pleased with what I did accomplish.

Back to the dollhouse as that has to be finished by Saturday but I'm looking forward to finishing this and filling it.

Dollhouse roof

The roof has two coats of blackboard paint and it's looking good. But I think I'll add just one more coat.

The paint instructions call for one coat of paint to be applied in one direction and the second to be applied at right angles. Which I did. But I applied the first coat vertically and the second horizontally. I should have done it horizontally, then vertically. That's why I decided to do a third coat vertically. It just works better.

The trick to doing those three coats is:

a paint tray like this which is sealable during coats:

Don't know where I got it but it's about 4" x 3" x 1" and the bottom is marked PLACON CS04 (made with ECOSTAT Recycled PET).

 I used a 2" foam brush that I wrapped in saran wrap immediately after painting each coat.

For Elizabeth (not mini)

I took all the alphabet pieces from the box I bought yesterday and coloured them on one side with Sharpies (a gift from DD Leanne years ago).

(As usual, I didn't think to put rubber gloves on until after my fingers were stained red...but, oh, well...)

Letters are 1 1/8" tall. The original idea was to have all the vowels red but as I coloured them all, that didn't always hold true.

Took a long time to do and I'm hoping that it will be fun for her, Mom and Dad, to play with.

I hate shopping but....

today was a great day!

Joanne and my first stop was at St. Albert Michael's where Joanne looked for Snow Writer and I wanted chalkboard paint. Both were out of stock but the salesperson kindly phoned Michael's on 137 Avenue and confirmed they had both.

Next we stopped at Home Depot where I confirmed they had chalkboard paint (but way more than I needed) and Joanne got the sandpaper she needed. As we were headed to checkout, I spotted a bin of Contact Paper and saw a roll that I decided would work on the outside of my three room roombox.

This will allow me to get that project nearer completion.

Next stop was the nearby newest Dollarama. They didn't have what I was looking for but I did find a few things.

I'll pass on the letters to Elizabeth but I'll keep the box to use as an Advent Calendar for DGD Holly this coming Christmas.

Don't have a use for the adhesive mirror sheet (5 5/8" x 6") but I know I can use the 1/4" square (and very thin) mirrors somewhere. For $1.50 I can keep it in my stash. I'm out of the larger Ziploc bags so these will come in handy.

Off to Michael's on 137th Avenue where I got my chalkboard paint and Joanne got her Snow Writer.

I don't often shop at Michael's but I must admit that I find the staff much more knowledgeable and helpful than they were years ago. (In this case, the salesperson found, not only the product that was on the shelf, but dug in a bin under the shelves and found this for me - less than a dollar an ounce as opposed to $2.60 an ounce for the one on the shelf.)

We stopped at the Dollarama by Save-On in St. Albert on the way back from Michael's where I found these pieces for Elizabeth for her dollhouse. Each one has a piece of furniture (pretty much to scale), three small pots of paint and a paint brush. Thought they would give her a sense of ownership to paint them herself.

By the time we got to St. Albert Centre, it was 12:50 and we were just a bit early for an in-store fashion show at Tan Jay - Alia where I had purchased two pair of denim jeans on Tuesday. I had told Joanne about them so showed her where they were (short petite sizes) and she got a pair for herself.

Enjoyed the fashion show (just three customers modelling pieces from the store).

Headed to the Food Court where we had chinese food then headed home.

Incredibly successful day!

Winter has returned.

Hit a small (but not insurmountable) snag

Spent today running errands, including a hair cut. One of my stops was at the paint shop at the bottom of the hill as I had the idea to paint the roof with chalkboard paint so Elizabeth could have fun with it on another level.

They had the wood filler I was looking for but not the chalkboard paint so stalled a bit. Paint for Joy should have the small bottles of it and Home Depot has them plus larger amounts so will have to try them later.

The roof is on but requires some wood filler along the peak then will await getting the paint.

It's coming along slowly but it's coming along....

A solution !! to the dollhouse roof problem..

My friend and fellow miniaturist, Hoanie Y., called the other day and had a great conversation about what we were working on lately. 

I mentioned that I had been working on cleaning my workroom - mostly so I could avoid working on the dollhouse roof.

In fact, here are two work surfaces all set up to work on projects: on the left is the library project and on the right is the kitchen roombox.

So Hoanie said, "instead of cleaning the shingles off the existing roof, why don't you just put on a new roof with the wood that you bought?"

DUH!!!

While I like the fact that the original roof is 1/2" plywood and incredibly sturdy, the shingles that remain simply won't come off easily and even where they have been removed, the surface is incredibly uneven with glue and so on.

Here is the top...

 and here it is from underneath...

It took quite a bit of effort to remove it as it had been glued in addition to being nailed every inch. But I did it!

Leanne and I had picked up a  2' x 4' sheet of 3/16" hardboard at Home Hardware (I think). I cut it down to 38 1/2" in length. The sheet had to be cut lengthwise into two sheets 11" wide. I couldn't do this by myself so I asked my DS Shirley to come over after we visited Mom and she helped me with that cut.

Cut went really well. Until I looked at Shirley who was covered with sawdust from her waist to her toes. LOL So we got out the vacuum and cleaned her off before she left.

Then I noticed that the clapboard on the facade of the house was loose so had to reglue it before I could work on the roof.

Now have one half of the roof on. Some tape and a couple nails to hold things right while the glue dries.

It's a bit late to start cutting the second roof piece so will leave that until tomorrow.

There are some bits and pieces to be cut to finish up the windows. And some cleaning that is best done before the second roof piece goes on.

But I'm hoping this will be finished by Tuesday at the latest.

DS Marie and BIL Rob were here to visit Mom on Thursday on their way to two weeks in Mexico. When they return, I'm hoping that they'll take the house home with them and deliver it to Elizabeth after they get home.

Grandpa's Dollhouse Annual Sale

Message from Liz at Grandpa's Dollhouse.......

2018 Grandpa’s Doll House Daily Deals Promotion Begins!! Remember the new dates: Monday, January 15 – Saturday, January 27 AND Monday, February 12 – Saturday, February 24 We hope you choose to stay with us because we have some wonderful items to offer you this year………..better than ever before. We have closed our home based brick and mortar store.  We will continue to serve you with our website, but we have many items to clear out in order to turn the previous store space into workshop space! To that end, we will be offering MANY Awesome Buys this year.  There will be a change this year that you will want to know about!  The Awesome Buys will be offered randomly throughout the promotion.  That means that you should take a look at the site often.  You never know when a great deal will be offered. If you are new to the promotion, an Awesome Buy is a grouping of items that are offered for sale at amazing prices.  They sell fast so you might want to check the Daily Deals category on our site often on these dates: Monday, January 15 – Saturday, January 27 AND Monday, February 12 – Saturday, February 24 We will also have a new contest this year that will involve finding KEYS in photos to win prizes.  I will tell you more about that later. For now, please go to the site and read the information about this promotion.  It is always good to refresh your memory about the timing of the deals and details you may have forgotten. I know I had to read them………my “over 50” brain does not retain information like it used to. 😊 See you at 8 pm on Monday for the first email with photos of the first day’s offerings! Liz Dieleman www.grandpasdollhouse.com info@grandpasdollhouse.com St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada