New year new promise

I have ignored my house this year, but it sits waiting for me to return, almost finished, but never completed.

So my promised is a couple evenings each month, I will work on my house, I have outside jobs which need completing, the attic, the street level.

I have rooms to complete, the yellow bed room, the attic rooms and the basement.

Gardens to create, a courtyard in front of the house. 

Most of the above things I hope to do using kits, and making myself, it's the way ahead since the local shows and shops are disappearing, It is a shame, we have a dolls house shop within walking distance of our house, but the owner is very opinionated, it would be great if we all could afford the best made items, and not support the cheaper imports from places like China, but our hobby has to suit our pocket, and my house has a mixture of items.

What to do

This is me,  I have not done any minis for so long, Somerset House is at a stand still, I still have not put up the railings, I have all I need except the desire to get it done.

I have been thinking about if I will finish Somerset House, or just store all the stuff from inside and pass the house on. I have no suggestions to what I would replace it with, or even if I will be without a house.  My dear hubby says "leave it where it is, you can always do it when you have the desire again", so that's what I have done.

I do feel guilty when I see the house each time I come into my office, but at this time I am getting so little pleasure from it. I went to a show earlier this year to bring back the mini buzz, but the show was so poor, not enough good makers.

Can you suggest any good sites, places to visit to fire it all up again................

Another rug

 Hot off my needles

I love stitching this design, Christine says she would use it for a pink room or 1940's themed project, I hope she likes it and finds a happy home for it. For me the hardest part is doing the fringing, but this rug does not look right with out the fringing.

I have been off this week, I have had abscess, with a swollen and painful mouth, which has enabled me to finish this rug so quickly. No mini's at this time, not able to stand for long and most of the building work  I need to stand to finish.

Christine please e-mail me your address, the rug is waiting for you.

200 followers

Christine from Hollyhock Cottage has become my 200th follower, and I am going to celebrate by offering her a gift, I love cross stitch and would love to make you a small rug of your choice for your cottage.
Watch this space

Is this the best you have ever seen

 This is the best work I have seen on blogs

Brae's work is just stunning

 Please visit her blog, and stop with a warm drink and enjoy what you see

Every thing Brae makes is to such a high standard, pop here

Bright Idea's

 Fliss and I spent time together on Sunday

As always we had a long look at the house, Fliss is very good for idea's, in my sitting room I have had a rug made from woven material, I have never seen a pattern or a ready made rug for in here. Fliss took the large table cloth shown in my last blog and laid it on the floor, and now you see my new rug. It looks great, I am thinking about putting a coloured lining to give it depth.

My stash from the local show is poor, two reason's, my house has most of what I need, it will be never finished, secondly there were only 23 sellers at the show, and most were small and loads of hand made items. We did not have one big seller there, and only had three tables of which I loved the standard.  It's a vicious circle we have, poor attendance stops the good sellers going to the smaller loacl shows, and then poor displays stop people going.

Table cloths

 I have done a bit of shopping, these are all made by Chris Sims, she sells on e-bay.

 Her prices are very good, and her work is tiny, using mainly silk.

 She will make for you, any colour or size.

 So now my house has enough table clothes of every size and shape.

I have done nothing on the mini side of things, I have my railings ready to be fitted, I still unable to decide how to finish the pavement outside my house. We have a local show at Portsmouth next weekend, but the sellers list is only 23, and I was hoping Peter Clarke would be there, not sure if I will go. I need inspiration.

Just a bit more

I have been working on the pavement tonight, I have painted the front, it will match the lower house colour when it's finished. I have added the ridge where I want to set the railings in, I have left a bit extra in front of the steps, this should keep the steps in place.
The side panel is in place, every where needs a top coat of paint.

I am leaning towards painting the pavement black to look like tarmac, it was invented in 1820's, but I worried the dust will get into it and spoil the look in time, I don't want heavy paving slabs or paper on top, which leaves me with tarmac or soil, neither is very inspiring. There is very little I can put on the pavement, lighting was gas and mainly next to the house or above the railings. Postboxes are Victorian, much later.

Can we fix it

This morning, we cut the board for the front of my house,so when these are put together, it will be the raised pavement, all we did was measure, cut and sand each piece.

I then glued the top to the front and added all the supports. It was a perfect day to glue the board, hot and sunny, so it set quickly, our garden table was the best place to work, in the shade. I put in loads of supports to keep the pavement straight.
The raised pavement looks good with the house steps, I have a hole each side of each step, for the shortened post, I have placed one post in the bottom hole for you to see.

The railings will stand at the back of the pavement, along with the gate. I am going to put a small moulding for the railings to stand in. That's a trip to the DIY store tomorrow. There will be steps going down to the kitchen door in front of the gate.

The view so far, This is exactly how I wanted my house to look, I have a courtyard, outside of the kitchen windows, I have not decided what to put in this area, maybe a seat and some flowers.
I still have loads to do, I have the side pieces to fit into place, I then have to paint all the new items, before I do, I want to go on the net to find out how the Georgian pavements were finished, were they dirt, paving stones, I'm not sure. I hope by the end of this weekend to have it all done and my railings in place.
When I want to look at the kitchen, I will just lift the steps and the pavement away from the house.

Home improvments

This is Montgomery Hall, as sold by Doll's House Emporium, it's the only kit I have brought, not the most expensive, but a price I could afford at the time. I knew I would change loads about it, I never have in my life followed instructions, almost always feeling I can improve on the design. I have always hated the pavement and steps on this house, but I loved the room sizes and layout.

I have my railings and post, and have been busy with them, I drilled two holes in the full length post and the railings fit into them, I will set the post into the pavement's. I have also taken 18 of the post ans cut them down, I have 9 steps from the pavement to the front door, I will drill a hole each side of the step and set these shortened post in.

The house below, is a Sid Cooke house and it shows the pavement I am trying to create, my railings will have post not pillars.

Later today I will mark out my board and then get Kev to cut it, I have to make the front board and pavement which will be in one piece each, and then each side. When I want to move the pavement to get into my house The whole piece will just lift off, leaving the kitchen in full view.

Railings and goodies

My metal railings came from e-bay today, and they are better than expected. I have 9 panels, one gate and loads of post. They feel sturdy and well made, I still can't believe the price I paid for them, it really is worth holding out until you get what you want. Each one has been hand made and it shows.

I now have to make a raised pavement, on which I will put the railings, overlooking a courtyard in front of the kitchen. I am totally restyling the front of my house, I have always loved the rooms in this house but hated the steps going up to the front door. I will still have steps, but there are less and they drop straight to the pavement, before they went right and left and dropped down to the baseboard of the house.
The railings have a straight top, whilst the gate has a curved top, the gate is for the steps at the side of the house going down to the back door. I have loads of post, I intend to cut them down see photo below and put one each side of the steps going up to the front door. So every thing will match.

I now need to buy wood and measure to make the raised pavement. The attic is coming along well, I have not yet added the windows and the front part of the roof. I have a carpenter friend who is making the window dormer's, but he's busy at the mo, so I have to wait for him. I'm not good at putting things in a straight line.

As for the goodies, Fliss my daughter got a cheap house from Maple Leaf, it was horrible and nasty, she has given me all the doors windows, and everything she had brought for the inside, so I now have a hoard of goodies, and I'm now thinking of another room box project.

I can't wait

Today I am so excited, I found some metal railings on e-bay for the house.

The photo is not very good, but it does show what is for sale, I love the black set, bottom left in photo, and I have ordered, 8 sets, with post and a single gate, all for much under half price, I have had quotes for doing the railings but could never afford it. The sellers dad made these items, his business was From Little Acorns, at the time he did shows all over the UK.

Dee has lights and also plastic window sheets, her seller ref is flusteredgirl, so if you want a bargain check her out, I will be keeping an eye on her for other items. I normally don't buy much on e-bay, I have been disappointed so often when things arrive.

Now I need the postman to call.

A new home

When I sent the 1st prize to Bea, who lives in Spain, I asked her for some photo's, she does not have a blog. So below is some of the images she has sent to me.

Tiger skin rug looks very good in the front, in her sitting room, this is an interesting room, I love her family.


I also sent her a couple of pages of things to make for Easter, there are a couple of boxes in the children's room.

I sent two rabbits, which Bea has use for pets in the house. There were other photo's but I have just used three, I looked for my photo of the items, but I can't find it, I'm sure I took one,.

Today is the day

I am pleased to show you my second tiger skin rug, I finished stitching it last night, it's smaller than the first, I will finish it today and put it in the study.

Thank you every one for your comments on my give away blog, it was the most comments I have ever had on one post.
So after 3 years of writing about my house and mini projects, I am pleased to have my give away ready,

Fingers crossed

You are all in the box, twice if you linked me to your blog, after a good shake of the box

The winners are

Winner = Bea at b-e-i-s

Runner up = Sonia at http://minitink.blogspot.com/

send me your address and your gifts will be sent to you.

Please also wish Daisy at http://miniaturasdaisy.blogspot.com/
a happy birthday, sorry you did not win today

I have had so much fun, watch this space, I intend to have another rug to give away in the summer, I have made all the rugs I need for my house but love stitching them.

Knit one?

We have had family staying for the weekend, and as a result, I had to move my bookcase full of my craft books, so this afternoon we put the bookcase back, I have been sorting my books and look what I have found.I love anything with lace on, I did try and do some tatting, but as yet I have not mastered it, so I brought this book of knitted lace, it's not a new book, infact it was reprinted in 1990, inside is a great miniature bed set, I do like the top lace, and this would look good on my half tester bed in the main bed room, I feel a trip for thin knitting cotton coming up.
Tomorrow I will be finding out who has won my blog giveaway for the Tiger skin rug and other items. I am pleased to say I will finish my second tiger skin rug tonight, this is for the study of Somerset House.

I hope your weekend has been as fun filled as ours,
and you too have seen the warm sun shine.

On line minature show

I have been making books for the nursery in the attic, I not sure yet how I am going to have this, I do want daybeds in there, but thought there should be a few books.

Books are very easy, if you can get some thin paper, I have had mine for years, it's a thin parchment paper and not white. As for my books, I was looking on the net for some old books and found a site that list "out of print" books, I looked in the children's section and found they showed some pages from each book. so I was naughty, and printed a couple of books, scaled them down and then made them up. For best results I only have 3 or 4 double pages. just fold them stick them together and add a plain cover, you can choose the cover colour. Mine are the true colours of the books
I have added both books to my prizes, yep I have sorted so much I have decided to have a second gift, please add a comment on my post "Time for a giveaway" to have a chance of winning. I will draw the names on Monday 28th.

I am going to be busy this weekend, there is an on line show going on over the weekend, with loads of sellers, from around the world, if you want to be a part of it, you need to register here and they will send you a password to enter the show. Sounds great fun, and maybe a bit expensive.

Please add comments on post Time for a giveaway

Time for a giveaway

I started this blog on 28th March, 2009, and with 154 followers. I love my doll's house and was so very pleased to find so many other's who felt the same. I always adore reading what you have brought, made, and your ideas for your projects.
I also love cross stitching and have made most of the rugs for my house. I use loads of books and the smaller the better.

I have now finished the Tiger Skin rug, it does look good in my house, But, I will stitch myself another, the rug is the first part of my giveaway.

Please note the furniture is not part of my giveaway, it's there to show the size of the rug.

I am also adding the booklet below, it has some good rug patterns,

I have other items in my giveaway, but as we all love surprises, I'm not going to tell you any more,

To have a couple of chances, please follow the guidelines below

• You must be a follower of this site and leave a message on this post.
• For a second chance, please post this giveaway on your blog with a link back to here.
• I will make the draw on Monday 28th March
  

That's all there is to it, good luck.

I have had a good week on e-bay, I sorted loads of craft books, I no longer use, and sold 16 out of 18, which is a good result, I have to get to the post office this morning and send all the books which have been paid for. I was good, with loads of money in my Paypal account I did not go shopping. But I don't know how long that will last.

Ralph Keemar

I don't buy magazines anymore, I have so many in my stash, and alot of things whilst nice to read, do not help towards the building of my house. My favorite magazine has always been Dollshouse World, I was browsing in W H Smith's yesterday, and looked at this months issue.

I was so pleased to see this article on Ralph's shop and flat, I have never met Ralph, but when his shop was featured a couple of years ago,Issue 146, I was impressed by his standard of work, he made the shop as a stand alone box, but always promised he would make a flat to go above. I was very keen to see how it would look. Ralph does not buy much, he makes most of what you see, and he is very good!
This copy will go on my bookshelf with the copy with his shop in, they are too good to be stored in a drawer with all the other copies.

I have been listing loads of my dollhouse books on e-bay, I have so many, and alot of them I have finished with, so I thought I would see if they would sell. The one's that don't sell I will take to our local Sue Rider shop, it's a charity shop, but they sell dollshouses. But don't worry I still have loads of books left. I can't live without books for me to read and use.

I have not forgot I have promised a giveaway, I want to finish my Tigerskin rug as part of the goodies, so watch this space sometime next week I will reveal all.

1st visitor

Somerset House has had it's 1st visitor all the way from North Carolina, when she arrived she moved straight in and has been staying there . Miss Isabella says's she is a distance cousin to the family.

She is using the yellow room, even tho it is not finished, she loves the french feel of this room, and liked the hat and bag left in there for her.

She has inspected the work being done in the attic space, I want to thank Connie for her giveaway. the doll was a extra she put into the parcel, you can read about the items Connie sent me here at my other blog.

The Tiger skin rug is coming along well, I have run out of two colours, but should get more and finish on Tuesday.

Next week I am going to have a giveaway for this blog, in March it will be my 3rd year anniversary, so watch this space.

Internal walls

I have painted all the inside walls and left them all looking rough, the Georgians would have never considered doing anything good in the attic rooms, no one but the children and the servants would go into this area. I have glued the walls for the maids room together, I have left a space at the back to make it look as if there if a corridor behind.

I have not glued the maids room into place, I want to be able to move it, should the need arise, I have put a few items of furniture in place to show the size. I now have to make the windows for the roof and then attach. I will be using card tiles again from Peter Clark, but I have to go to a show in Lyndhurst in April to purchase them.

I have stated making the Tigerskin rug, not done much yet, but you can see the colours, I have a friend who is good with Filmo, and she has made me a head. This will go in the study.

I'm not sure I will be able to keep up this pace, but I am so very pleased to have done so much in the attic.