Something Is Missing Here...

Hi everyone,

So yeh, this dolls house could get a little bit drafty if I don't figure out what's going on here...
(click the link!)

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03342.jpg

I've spent today cutting this cardboard straight so that it is easier to handle, and I've just finished pinning the graph to the cardboard, ready for my to draw around. Good new is, it just about fits the width of the cardboard! Whoo.

I've also done a rough measurement of the house so far (may change once I find this missing piece of wall, or realise I've added a wall where a wall shouldn't be somewhere here... But hey, it gives you an idea...

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03340.jpg

It is a little under 5 foot 10" wide.
And 2 foot 6.5" deep.

Big.

See you all soon!

Template and Tips On A Burnt Pan Anyone?

Hey everyone!
Hope you're all good!
I'm back and feeling much better after being poorly sick.

Today I did the template for Old Generals Farm. Already, removing the remaining bits of paper from the graphs, it looks a little more managable... but I'm not going to lie - it's still pretty massive!
Here's a photo (click the link!) I've used a saved TV box... which wasn't quite wide enough... oops. I can add bits to the cardboard until it's right. But hey, the outer edge of the bits of paper is the outline.

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03339.jpg


My next step is to make this into a one piece of card, thick and sturdy and use that as a baseboard and template.

Thomas and I won't be able to get to the cottage to do the remaining of the measuring this week, so instead I'm going to spend my day researching building methods - angles for those scary dormer windows - and some doors and windows :) Exciting.
I also want to dig out my clays and see what I can come up with :)

I can't wait to get cutting wood up and really seeing this build take shape. I have the space picked out in my living room ready for it with plug sockets right near by for the lighting :D Eeek!

Oh.. and before I go, anyone know how to get rid of this awful burn on the bottom of my pan? I got chatting to a friend last night and completely forgot about the rice I had cooking... this was the result :( . I've tried boiling salt water, it's made a slight difference but not an awful lot (it's also why my pan looks really grubby around the edges.)

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03336.jpg

See you guys tomorrow! :)
Hugs ox

Feeling under the weather, but still finding inspiration!

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry I've not been around much the past few days, and I haven't followed up on my plans for Old Generals Farm either, like I promised and I apologise for that too.
I've been a little bit under the weather, feeling a little ill, very tired and run down. I'm still not feeling great today, not ill - just generally. Like my spark has gone awol.

I'm determined to get it back though! I'm going to go through to the bar and get myself a hot drink, then I'm going to come back, get on with my work and then read through all of your amazing blogs later. I've been keeping up with you all quite well I think, thoroughly enjoying a lot of mini creations I'm finding and they're sparking my enthusiam and inspiration!

Ara at Adams Family Mini-Mansion has inspired me with some books she's made recently. The Fairies at Bruion could do with some books, so I must make them some when I dig out all of my supplies!

I want to get back into making some foodies, now that I have my own oven to use and no parents nagging me about the cost of gas, I still haven't made the most of that feature yet! So I hope to be doing some of that soon.

I also need to get Old Generals Farm's second template make and cut out so I have a true ground floor image of how big the house will be and what it will look like. I'm making plans with Thomas in regards to when we can get back to the cottage to finish the measuring! I'm still so excited!

I hope to be back very shortly! Please keep going with your hobbies and making your miniatures! You don't only inspire me, but you inspire hundreds of other people, just like others inspire you!

See you guys soon!
Hugs ox

Ground Floor Graphs First Bit Of Progress Pics

Well Hello Everybody!!
How are we all?

I've been busy this evening converting measurements to 12th scale and I have some progress photos for you!

I have finally completed the ground floor conversion. I had to do a couple of tweaks - tweaks I hope won't effect anything... eeek! But we'll have to wait and see.

Well, bluntly put - it is HUGE! I always knew it would be. But I'm seeing a lot of paper. A lot. So maybe once I've done a cut out stencil it will look a little smaller and I will have a true size of the house. I would measure, but I've spent the past 20mins looking for the tape measure so I think I'll save that exciting part for tomorrow. I believe I've left it in my car. Silly me.

Anyways, this first picture was of my progress last night. I did half of the converting and it took me about an hour. Everything seemed to go pretty smoothly, all the measurements added up and I did well.

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03329.jpg

This second picture is of my progress tonight. I'm sorry you probably can't see much more than just paper - if you click the pics to bring them up bigger you might just see some faint lines there, but I thought I would show you were I'm up to now. You get the general jist of the size this house isn't going to be this way too. :)

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03335.jpg

See you guys tomorrow.
I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do, but I'll do something :)

Today's Exciting Progress!

Hi everyone!

Today finally arrived! I woke up this morning all like "yaaaay!" excited, and was dressed and ready to leave the flat in record time. I got to the house, expecting to find Thomas there since he lives two minutes up the road, but he'd lost his keys - so off I went to pick him up before I could start my day measuring and photographing every inch of wall!!

I took pictures of the inside as well as the outside, but I had more time to photograph the outside while I was waiting for Thomas to show up - until he told me he'd lost his keys.

My parents told me today that within about a month they will be putting the house on the market to rent. Next week the decorator will be in to paint all of the walls. That's okay, I took pictures of all the rooms so I know the room colours. When it comes down to particular brands and colour shades, I don't think it'll matter - just as long as I have the right colour and shade to my memory.

So I really have to step up the mark now and get everything I need from the house. Theoretically, I only have 4 days left. Since I only have one day off a week that I can get home to do all of this, and even then I have to find the time!! I decided a week ago I was going to go home to take all of these measurements - luckily I wasn't busy with an overload of work to do! Fingers crossed it will be the same over the next few weeks!!

Anyways, enough boring you - here are a few photos of the outside.
(I hope they're interesting enough for you Kim!)

PS - You have to click on the links, its the only way blogger will let me add images I'm afraid :(

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03013_zpse1c1dc3a.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03150_zpsc17931ca.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03151_zps2af8d0b4.jpg

http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z356/funkymonkey1993/DSC03155_zps532130b3.jpg

Please note: All of these images are of my own. If, for whatever reason, you wish to use them - please contact me first. Thank you :)

Tomorrow's The Day!! 1 More Sleep!

Hi everyone!!

I've been busy running around my flat preparing for an early start tomorrow.
I've made 100% my camera is charged, I have my camera lead on the kitchen table read to put the photos onto my laptop when I get home. I have my list of things I must not forget to photograph. I have my list of things I must not forget to measure.

I even have my clothes laid out on my chair in my room ready to put on! I haven't done that since school?!

This new project has really got me by the tail, and I plan to allow it to take me anywhere it has to, to complete it! I'm so excited and all I'm going to be doing is measuring walls. Pahaha!

Any tips for tomorrow?
Anything in particular you think I should look out for or pay special attention to?

I hope to have everything measured by the end of tomorrow - including inside. Then I will transfer all of the measurements onto graph paper before I go out and buy the MDF.

Hopefully, next Tuesday or Wednesday I will be able to go to B&Q, but the MDF and have it all cut out. That will be when we know this project is for real!

I will see you all tomorrow, bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning!! :)

Night!

Just Dropping By...

Hello everyone!
How are we all?

Before I begin writing this post, I would like to say a huge thank you to those who have started following my blog recently. I really appreciate it, and I hope I continue to post pages that interest you. A big Welcome from me :)

Now...
I've been going crazy at my reception desk today, plotting and planning the build for Old Generals Farm 12th scale! I have a To Do List - of course! And I have my best friend, Thomas, helping me on Wednesday to measure the house from top to bottom - literally!

Since moving out of home and into my flat, I haven't photographed anything, so the number one item on my To Do List was to dig out my camera... and then my camera charger. Mission accomplished. I have emptied my camera's memory card and I plan to fill it up again with billions of photos for Old Generals Farm. I'm going to photograph every tiny detail so that when it comes to adding those finishing touches once I have built the house, I can add every tiny bit of realism I can.

Oh, I really mean every tiny detail.
On my "To Photograph" list is the following:

- Cobwebs
- Mould patches (around the windows outside)
- Birds nests
- Slipped roof tiles
- Weeds

All of these details will add the finishing touch to Old Generals and I hope it will really help the build to resemble my old home perfectly.

I cannot wait to go home. I'm so excited it is unreal. I've been counting down the days all week. Just 2 more sleeps and I can finally set this ball rolling!!

Hurry up Wednesday!!!

See you guys soon :)

A question for all wood savvy miniaturists out there!

Hi everyone,
I hope you're all okay!

I've been going through my own blog today, as well as many of my favorite blogs which got me started in all of this in the first place!!

I found a couple of posts within my blog, that were basically My Future Project List.
One project that was on this list, and is still something I feel very passionately about doing, is Old Generals Farm - the house I used to live in before I flew the nest, as they say.

My parents have also moved out, and although they still own the cottage and have no intention of selling the house this side of Christmas, I still feel time is of the essence for me if I wish to do this project.

When I looked into having the cottage professionally built to scale for me, I was put off by the price tag. £5,000 to build the project for me ready to go, which in fairness is a really good price considering the hard work and efforts which must go into this, but there is no way I can afford £5,000 and I cannot warrant spending this amount of money on the shell!!

May I please ask - all wood savvy people out there, how on earth can I gain the confidence, skill and knowledge required to attempt such a project myself?

I would really like to attempt to build Old Generals Farm in 12th scale myself.

My dad has some suitable tools in his garage at home, I can buy the wood required at my local B&Q. I have a ruler, pencil, rubber (for the many mistakes) and an image in my mind of how I will like this project to look when finished. Is it bad enough that I already have the space picked out in my flat? :o

I will do whatever it takes!!

• Where do I start?
• How do I know how to measure the roof if I can't get up there?
• How do I make sure all the doors fit properly?
• How do I get all the measurements to add up right? It's okay measuring it in real life, but then converting it to 12th scale and making sure it measures up right on paper and on wood is going to be the hardest thing of all right?
• And what about getting all the angels right? The roof and all that?!
• Would it be better to have the squarish walls cut out for me at B&Q and then attempt to do the not to square parts myself? Since that would help in the amount of waste wood and mistakes?

I've linked to the original post so that you can see a photo of the cottage, unfortunately blogger is still not allowing me to add photos to my post! :(

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for an image of the cottage

The photo shown in the blog post above probably isn't the best for showing how complex this house could be to build, I will try to dig out some better ones. Or take some myself next week.

Thank you to any advice anyone can offer!!

Itching To Get Back To My Beloved Hobby!

We must all go through it from time to time, a break, a lack of inspiration, or where life just gets too busy to allow you just a minute to think about your beloved hobby - whatever it may be.

Well here I am today, flicking through this blog - my very first blog - wondering how I lost my path? It's seriously overgrown that's how!!

It's been such a long time since I indulged in anything miniature related that I've lost all my original ideas, inspiration and love for my dear projects. It's been so long since I picked up Greg - my first and only hand made doll. I really should dig him out, maybe he can spark that love of miniatures I have that's hiding away somewhere deep down.

All my dolls houses and dolls house related items are at home, in my old bedroom. Dad has told me they will need to come back here soon, because they are considering renting out the house. I don't mind that. I'll be glad to have my dolls houses with me :)

Today I'm going to go through all my favorite blogs, draw inspiration and ideas out of everyone's current projects and pray that I can find my mini-mojo again :)

Wish me luck!
And don't forget to check out my new blog, link is in the post below :)

By for now!

I'm Still Around!

Ahh jeez... it's been almost (almost) a year since I last posted here... yes, I'm ashamed.
So deeply ashamed.

But I thought I'd drop by to let you all in on the reason why I've not been around!
Mainly because, simply, I haven't had any time at all for dolls housing :( boooo!

And this blog link here will explain why: Lazy Girls Guide To Life - Living As One .
Uh-huh... I have flown the nest as they say!

Fingers crossed once I've finished staring at colour charts, shopping for furniture and have some spare time - and money - again, I'll be back dolls housing and enjoying the fine life of miniature creations once again!

Sees you all again soon!
ox