Thursday, July 31, 2008

....one more thing.....well, 2 more

Seeing as the shop

is still in the process of

opening, I figured I hang

the close sign up........Not to fear!

It will be open for business .........one day!

This little sign was simple. I googled 'open sign' and 'closed sign', and then copied it into my photoshop program. Once I had them printed, I cut them out. Then I glued a piece of string in between the two signs. I also went around the outside of the signs with a black permanent marker.

Below is a picture of a rug I found online. I just printed it out on photo paper, sprayed it with a sealer, and cut it out. It will go in front of the counter. I like how the colors blend in with all the posters and boards.



The little details

It's the little details that make these roomboxes appear to be real. I worked on the front door yesterday. Look close, and you will see the stickers on the door. I put them on the outside of the glass, even put a few on the window. I added a poster to the back of the door. And I took a brass door handle and sprayed it black.I used the stickers that came with the Tech Decks. You can see them on the floor. The left over stickers will be cut to size and placed in a cabinet. I think the front door needs an open/closed sign............and this little shop needs a name.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I should of never asked.

Someone please tell Otis that 5:30a.m. is NOT a reasonable time to eat breakfast. Do you believe that he got into the dollhouse, and started knocking things out, until I got up?! And now that he's all fat and happy, he's napping!

Well, the skateshop is coming along GREAT!! First I had to take off all those skateboards I glued on yesterday.....and use some better adhesive. Aleene's tacky glue was not strong enough. I went ahead and used the sticky stuff that came with the clips~ duh!! Worked a whole lot better! Then I arranged all the 'posters'......and even put a couple on the right wall.
I finally glued in all the skateboards. Well, at least all the skateboards that I started out to hang. I may add some more.
I made the mistake of asking the bf..."What do you think"................LOL............I shoulda known he'd try and take over....Back off.......it's my house! ............. What's that you say? It's Drew's shop? .........................Ohh..........Even made some skate magazines..........
Well it's back to the grind......
Gotta turn some sandpaper into grip tape, paint some trucks, and add tons of tiny stickers.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Stickers and posters

I feel as if I haven't gotten a thing 'done', and yet I've been working on the skate shop all day. I glued the skateboards onto the wooden dowel, but still have to glue it into the room. I also got the trim around the door and window finished.
This morning was spend hooking up my new printer and searching for pictures online. I love google....just type in what your looking for, click on images, and right click to save whatever pictures I may need. I now have lots of posters and stickers for the shop.......See the penny...gives you an idea of how little the stickers are!

Monday, July 28, 2008

Another pencil sharpener

Every year, I take my 2 older kids to West Va for summer camp. This year, we stopped by the Va Safari Park. It's a drive thru zoo, and we had a blast feeding and petting all the animals. As you can see, the zebra stuck his whole head in the car looking for a snack.
The kids go to a special camp for kids with asthma...this year the theme is Christmas in July
And the camp is in Jackson's Mill........that's the mill across the pond. I took this picture last year, but it's one of my favorite pictures.....so I thought I'd share.
They have a little general store on the grounds.......and I found a miniature!! It's some kind of loom for making wool.........And for the Otis fans..........See how he's sleeping? When I first walked in the room, all I could see was his feet hanging out...and looked like something bad had happened.............He was sleeping so hard, it took me a couple of minutes to wake him up~ Crazy Kitty!

Well, I'm taking a break today, but will be back soon with something crafty!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Mounting the Tech Decks

Yesterday was spent trying to get caught up with life. Car needed a oil change, and errands had to be ran. I did, however, manage to play around with my sons Tech Decks. I bought some Command decorating clips~ I think they're meant to hang up Christmas lights......but clip on nicely to the decks. I do however have to add a beam to the wall to attach the clips to. Nothing is attached yet, I was just playing around with where the boards will go. Still have to frame out the window and the door, but I still like where this is going. My son seems to be pretty happy with it, too!!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Rub-ons for wall decorations?!!!

I love how the skate shop is coming along. I found some rub-ons yesterday at AC Moore's, and attached them to the walls. The boys painted the door and the window white last night, and I started to glue in the trim. I want to trim the door and the window, and still need to fill in some horrible gaps. The shell to this little shop is almost done.I worked on Cora's house too, yesterday. I got the front bay, front door and the bottom trim painted. Slowly, it's coming along. Notice how these two projects match?? That's because both of my children picked out the same color.....at different times. I think they both have great taste, hehe.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

He said he didn't need NO tape......

I finally have all the rooms painted!! Still needs a little touching up here and there, but I'm glad that's over with....talk about boring!! It amazing how many positions Otis can find in the doll house. I love Kitty toes, he slept with his feet up like this for hours!! And then he slept like that for the rest of the afternoon. If you look real close, you will see that I actually painted around my cat. LOL....He made a great arm rest! I love how he has his feet propped up! Like he's been working hard, or something!
And the bf even did some work yesterday! Of course, he didn't need the blue tape I had just bought, he is very resourceful~see how he has the top piece propped into place. The carpenter in him is too smart for me, I got an interesting lesson on 'house parts'.....LOL.......and today, I don't remember a thing....hehe
It's getting there......

Monday, July 21, 2008

Still painting.....

I'm soooooo over painting! As you can see, I finally got Otis out of the kitchen........well, at least long enough to paint it. He looks quite comfortable with his feet propped up, huh?
I went back and painted the kitchen a little darker. Today, I get to paint the living/dining room.


Friday, July 18, 2008

Looks like an Easter Egg

Wish I had something more exciting to show you....
but all I've been doing is painting....
...and then I painted some more after that...
....and guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?
Yup....more painting!
LOL
I think the yellow room needs to be a little lighter and the purple room
needs to be a little darker?! The top right room will be
an Art Studio....
think I'll paint that blue?!
And
As for the downstairs......
we will have to wait for Otis to move out,
If, he ever does.
Think she'll let me paint the kitchen orange??

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Canopy Bed

I almost finished the canopy bed last night. All I have left to do is make some pillows that match. So far, I have managed to glue the whole thing.....Yup, no sewing involved!! First, I added the lace trim around the bottom. Then, I ironed the hem line and the pleats for the outside material. (LOL, I spent most of the day, 'thinking' about how to do this........) If you'd like further directions, just ask...and I'll explain. Once the material was glued into place, I went back and added the trim. I also tied back the 'curtains' and glued the bottom of the ribbon to the bottom of the curtains. It was the only way to get the ribbon to flow with the curtains~ otherwise the ribbon would of stuck straight out...understand?? Notice I painted the room a very light purple??? A very, very, light purple. Pretty, huh?!?!
And last night I was thinking????..... Do you think Cora would give up her kitchen for an Otis room? He looks very cozy in there. Everyday, he curls up in there and takes a nap......
Oh...notice I painted the nursery? The top, left room is painted the same color of the house.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Someone! Quick!!!

......... Come take the crackle medium away from me......I'm having way too much fun with it! First is the 'parents' bed. I LOVE THIS BED!!!! It couldn't of turned out any better! I still need to add a little trim to the top sheet, and I have lots of pillows to sew! Maybe we can talk Grandma into crocheting a yellow blanket for it??? This is the mattress for the 'teen girl's' room.
And here is the bed and dresser that will go in the girl's room. Still gotta figure out how I want to do the canopy, and I need to add some handles to that little dresser.
Why do dollhouse's look so small in a picture?? Otis is at least 15lbs....and barley fits in that kitchen. *OH......funny story. I was painting yesterday, and had the cap to my paint sitting on the bed. Next thing I know, Otis jumps up on the bed and sits down~ Yup! Right on top of the paint cap....LMAO.......Poor fella had a white ring around his butt......and wasn't very happy with me after I got done washing it off!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

2 Beds for Cora's House

I started another kit the other night, actually, I started 2 kits, both are the same.
First I started by laying out all the pieces, and
I skimmed the directions. Another one of my flaws.....not taking the time to read all the directions.
Hey, at least I looked at them.
To the right is the first bed. In this picture I am trying to attach the top, but it didn't line up....lol~ It wasn't even close. So I had to glue on one leg, and wait for it to dry.....then I glued and pinned the next one.....and waited for it to dry, and so on. I left the pins in there over night to add the extra support. (**Thanks Casey for suggesting we use pins to keep things in place!!)
With the second bed, I decided I did not want to make 2 beds that looked exactly the same. So I cut down the legs and glued on wooden beads to add character to the posts. ~Poor ole' JD is watching me watch the glue dry....not much fun is it buddie???
And here they are.......Just waiting for my daughter to pick out some material, and I can make the beds. Oh, and I have to paint them....

Friday, July 11, 2008

Oh My!! Cora's house is under attack...

Just thought I'd show you a picture of my helper today. Otis insisted on sitting inside to watch me paint the outside with gesso.
Even tested the strength of the plywood for me......Yup! It's Otis proof.......if you don't mind a few teeth marks, lol!!

A Pencil Sharpener??

I read on someone else's site this week that they were looking for an antique cash register.....My Lord, I wish I could remember who it was... I left a comment about one I had recently found. I bought this little register at an antique mall a couple of weeks ago for eight dollars. It will reside in the MAN room, a room that hasn't been built, yet. The bf is going to build it, one day..... It's just perfect!! Of course I didn't realize until I got it home that it is in fact a pencil sharpener. Do you see on the side where you'd sharpen the pencil.......the shaving fall into the drawer. Neat, huh!!!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Red Chest of Drawers

Yesterday, I showed you a picture of some furniture that had been built from a kit. Remember the chest of drawers that I said I had started to paint? It's the one in the lower right corner of the picture....The box the kit came in is pictured in the background~ You know these kits have got to be at least 20+ years old!!! And here is a picture out of a Pottery Barn catalogue. I love the finish on this piece and as soon as I saw the new chest of drawers, I had to try it.
So, What do you think? I started with a coat of black paint, then a coat of crackle medium. Then I painted it red......oh, before I forget~ don't forget to let it dry in between coats! I am really bad about not waiting, lol. After the red was dry, I sanded the whole thing. Then I went back over it with some oak stain, to age the parts I had just sanded. I had to wait till today to finish it, the humidity here makes everything dry R*E*A*L slow. I did start to glue on the handles, but I have NO clue how they get the draw pulls in there. Ugggg.....I was on such a roll!
Thought I show you a close up of the finish......

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Grandpa's attic

Otis'......I mean Cora's new house has found a home amongst the rubble. And see, I haven't forgotten about it, I did manage to start a coat of gesso.......it's really the bottle of gesso's fault that it's not done, you see, it ran out of gesso, lol. And my box arrived!! When I was little I had all these kits in my room. I never tried to put them together, I assumed it would be too hard. But, then one day....I realized that somewhere done the line, I had missed placed them. It has boggled my mind for years one how I could of lost them?!?! But, it turns out that I wasn't crazy, that my Mom had gone in my room, and taken them. She sent them to my Grandfather, in hopes that he would assemble them. LOL....But procrastinating runs in our family, and somehow the box got shifted into their attic. From the looks of it, he did start to build a few pieces, but never finished anything. I am so grateful NOW that my Mother took them........and that I have them back......
Sorry about that sneaky little flash....
There are a lot of kits in here....There's even 2 bed kits.
Do you see the table.....I can't believe how long it is. I had to reattach a few legs, and I still need one, but Grandpa must of assembled the rest. He also put together that little side table to the right. Last night, I even put a kit together. See the box with the chest of drawers....you see the chest next to it? I was very proud of myself.....the drawers even fit!! And not as hard as I had made it out to be. I think it took me less than an hour to make it.
I started to paint the chest of drawers last night.....Just wait till you see the difference!!