First purchase for Hildred House!!

I've been plotting, building and buying for Hildred House really, but nothing worth showing off until now.
A lovely lady called Hazel commissioned me this beautiful picture for the secret nook in Hildred House. You don't know anything about this "nook" yet, because it's a secret ;)

Hazel paints in full scale mainly, but has recently ventured into painting miniatures after one of her customers asked her for a 12th scale miniature painting. She paints in wax, and the effect is marvelous - particularly in miniature.
I asked Hazel for a worn, damaged looking painting that would fit in with a room full old treasures. Hazel created this painting using gold card to achieve the sepia effect and it worked really well!

Click here to check out Hazel's Blog where you can see more examples of her miniature paintings, and there are links and a gallery of her full scale art.

My photo really doesn't do the picture any justice, I'm a crappy photographer!

Hildred House - Copper Wire Advice Please?

You may remember a few weeks (months?) ago I did a post, asking for your ideas and opinions on two options - a governors mansion and the School for Girls from the film Madeline for my Hildred House.
Well forget those ideas, my inspiration didn't flow enough for me, so instead I decided to turn it into my dream home. I'm not sure how well it'll turn out, but hey, I'm trying to be optimistic here!

Anyways. I've got as far as this.
The windows are painted white and the walls are painted a colour called Warm Beige.

Today I started painting one of the rooms when something occurred to me. This house has a copper wire lighting system and this totally baffles me!
I have watched no end of video tutorials, read no end of tips and tricks but I am still so confused.

The house has all of these wires that lead to the centre of all the rooms. As you can see, there are a couple of little gold "holes", maybe screws pinning the tape to the ceiling. I'm not sure. If I get really close there is the tiniest little hole that has been drilled between the two wires and then comes up through the floor of the next room. But it is really tiny, not big enough for a lighting wire.

I hope it's okay to paint over them??

Is this teeny tiny hole for the lighting wire and once through, then what do I do with it? There's no grooves or hole in the back to thread it through?

The videos I have watched show that you have to trim the wiring right down and solder it to the copper tape, but how will that work for a ceiling light, wont it be at risk of falling down or coming unattached from the ceiling?

Also, I want to add a ton more lights in the form of table lamps, floor lamp, fireplaces etc. How do I go about doing this? Can I just go for the socket method that I'm used to or would it be best to *attempt to* continue with the copper wire?

Also... what is this about? What do I do with this? It's on the back of the house.

Any help that you guys can offer me on this will be very much appreciated. I feel that I can't continue with this project until I get my head around this lighting system, it's totally baffled me.

Feel free to copy my images and draw diagrams all over them if it helps to explain. I can post you my email address if needed.

Thank you!
Shellby
 

I'm Doing A Sky Dive in Aid of Ambucopter!!

On the 5th June 2013 I will be slipping into a hideous diving suit, getting in a plane, rising to 15,000 feet and then I'll be jumping out of it with some stranger on my back with our lives hanging on the threads of a parachute!
Honestly, I'm extremely nervous. 

But it's an incredibly small amount of effort in comparison to the time, commitment and dedication of the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance crew who work day in, day out to save the lives of our loved ones. 

When I was 6, my Dad was involved in a fatal lorry accident. It was a head on collision with another driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel. My Dad did everything he could to avoid the collision, but sadly it wasn't enough. 
My Dad was trapped in his lorry for several hours before emergency services could free him. His right leg was crushed and he was losing a lot of blood. The road ambulance crew knew they would not be able to get him to hospital in time to save him. The only option was the Ambucopter. 

They flew my Dad to hospital, saving his life once already when he died in the sky. The entire team of Police, Firefighters, Paramedics, Doctors and Nurses saved his life that morning. They saved ours as a family. It seemed like months until I saw my Dad again. 
I slept in my Mom's bed to keep her company at night when she returned from the hospital visits. I blame this incident for the reason I don't like chips. Chips, chicken nuggets and beans was the standard meal for me and brother whilst we were babysat by different friends and family members for weeks on end. I remember not knowing what was going on. No one seemed to know.  

Finally, after much begging and pleading, Mom took me to see Dad in hospital. It was not long before Christmas. I remember driving to Lincoln Hospital looking at the Christmas lights in the streets. We went into a shop, I believe it to be Dunelm Mill, where Mom bought me a Sleeping Beauty towel. It's funny how you remember the little things. 

But one big moment will be the first time I saw my Dad. I hid behind Mom because I was shy! It had been so long. His face had small cuts and bruises, his leg was in pot and raised to the ceiling on some kind of pully contraption. He had a clip on his finger, but he was smiling. I love my Dad. So, so much. Enough that I shared my profiteroles with him! 

He was home for Christmas. I got a set of coloring pens and he let me decorate his pot with drawings. The next year he came back from another umpteenth hospital visit with some scary metal cage with pins. It looked barbaric. There was blood around the punctures where the pins were holding a metal plate in his leg in place. Because his leg had been so badly crushed in the accident, the surgeons had to replace his knee and shin with a metal plate. He had gazillions of staples and stitches he almost resembled a dummy from a dress makers! 
Had it not been for the incredible work and determination of the surgeons, he would more than likely had lost his leg.

Almost 14 years on and he's walking about living life to the full. He still lorry drives for a living, as well as owning and running a pub with my Mom. His hobbies include motorbike riding and quad biking. He recently did a trip from Lands End to John O'Groats with some biker friends - going by the group name of Skankii Pigs...! 
He may not be able to run, but he can still kick a ball around the garden. 

He's also a very proud grandaddy to two beautiful girls - Destiny and Diamond.

He's my Dad and I could never imagine life without him. He's taught me everything I know. He's brought me up as a strong, capable young woman, determined to make the most of everything I work for and what's given to me. He's been there through the tough times - when I worried I might be a boy inside because I didn't have my periods yet (I was fine, they started two weeks later.), when I fell in love for the first time, when I was practicing for my driving theory, when I passed my driving test (he cried down the phone!), he was there when I bought my first and second car, he took me for a practice drive in the snow and ice down our lane (ice road truckers you ain't seen nothin' yet!). He stood by me for my prom. And I know he will be there to take me down the aisle.

This is not a sob story. It's a true story, from the heart, signed with tears. We all have one. We have all lost, or almost lost, people who are incredibly close to our hearts. We all do what we can, but is it enough? 
I'm asking you please to donate as little as £5 to this cause. It is not a charity. It a necessity. Vital to our society. 

• Almost all of the income to fund the Ambucopter comes from charity work and donations. 
• The Ambucopter and the team receive no Government Funding! 
• £1.7 million is needed to fly the helicopter each year. 
• The Ambucopter travels at speeds of up to 154 mph to enable it to reach a patient anywhere within the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Region in just 19 minutes. This is because it does not have to negotiate traffic, road works or pedestrians. 
• The ambucopter can then get its patient to the nearest hospital in an average of 6 minutes. 

For more information on the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance please visit the website here.

Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Even if you cannot help, please post a link to your blog and encourage as many people as possible who may be able to help. There is a link on the right hand side of my blog to my JustGiving page. If you would like to help me further and spread the support around our blogging community, I can send you a code to enable you to paste this badge on your own blog page. This way people can access my fundraiser through your own blogs. As Tesco says, Every little helps.  

*The images of my dad's lorry, my dad and myself are my own, please do not copy. 
*Images of Air Ambulance crew have been borrowed from the Air Ambulance website. and are not of my own, please do not copy without prior permission. 

Old Generals Farm - Some Progress

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a few days. Life has been a bit crazy and it's left me feeling fuzzy headed - like I'm drunk, I can't quite focus on anything right now and my head seems to be buzzing like my thoughts are having some kind of rave party in there.

First of all, the interesting bit - Old Generals Farm Progress - my little brother helped me cut out the panels. We spent two freezing cold evenings in the garage cutting out the panels until we ran out of MDF. There are still a few panels left to cut out, but I wont get to do these until next week now, at the very earliest.

This is what's been achieved so far. These aren't glued into place yet, so they're propped up with various items to show you the size and shape of the house.

 

Then "Best Friend" Thomas had a play with the panels and did some glueing...

 

 

Yes... I did say "Best Friend" Thomas...

This is why my head is fuzzy. Something isn't right here.
But I guess only time will tell - hopefully it will heal and sort my head out.
I'm glad he's back, but his reasons for his silent treatment were beyond childish, and I just can't understand why he's making up with me now, after a month of ignoring me - and why he never thought to ask my side of the story, instead he believed all the lies his so called "friends" gave him and what hurts the most - the lies are totally out of character for me, so I thought he'd know me better. I guess not.

Anyways, I'm going for a walk. Old Generals will no doubt have no new progress until next week sometime, but hopefully I'll find something interesting to tell you about in the meantime.

Bye!
ox

It's Over!!

"But...please... give me another chance... I promise, I'll be good this time."
"No, I'm sorry. It's done. It's over."
"I can change, please, just one more chance."
"You're always under my feet. Everywhere I go you're there! I need some space and time away from you. I'm sorry."
"Please don't throw me in the trash... It's cold and smelly in that dumpster. I like it here, next to your radiator, here, with you."
"Look, cardboard - get over it okay. I'm finished with you!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

That's how the conversation went with the giant cardboard box that has been taking up all the room in my living room since the day I decided to take on this project. I've decided that I'm done with the template, for now.

I've done the panels... yes, there are a couple missing. I've lost the measurement paper for one piece and the other... well I've decided I'll do that when I get round to cutting out the panel (I may regret this decision later on) I've grown seriously bored with the cardboard box and I'd like to move on now to the nice pieces of MDF I have stood in the corner... Eeek!

I managed to fix the panels that didn't quite add up the other night, I fitted them to the panels that all seem to match up first time, so I figured it should all add up right now.

My plan now is to draw out these panels and the base template onto the MDF. I only have three sheets of MDF, something tells me I'm going to need at least triple that for all of these panels, but I wanted to buy them in bits, otherwise I'd look a bit crazy walking through the hotel with half a shed...

Once I've done that, I will borrow my Dad's table saw tool thingy and his handsaw and I will cut them all out - keeping my toes crossed the whole time that it will add up when it's all cut out. (I'd say fingers, but I might end up cutting a couple off if I try this.)

Then it'll be back to the cardboard box again to create the templates for the inside.
It's getting exciting now!
Eeek.

See you guys soon!





I Spoke Too Soon!!

Hi Everyone!

So yes, the title says it all.
Got back to the template tonight - with a giant box, ready to cut out the remaining panels.. and well. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Yeh, so something has gone wrong here somewhere. Haha!

Oh well, I knew my good luck couldn't go on forever! Back to the cardboard box it is...

See you guy soon!

Old Generals Farm Progress!!

Hi everyone!!

Finally, something really worth showing you guys!!

I've managed to cut out a couple more panels and attach these to the base template. It's looking really good and I'm so pleased with how few issues I've encountered so far! The panels seem to fit really well - only two obvious ones so far that will need tweaking, but it's given my a lot of good faith in our measurements. It's a shame Thomas isn't around now to see how good this is turning out. He'll be telling me "I told you so" right about now, because I had a horrible feeling the measurements wouldn't add up at this stage.

Sadly, I haven't been able to complete it like I hoped I'd be able to - interesting goings on in the hotel this evening - including a guest in my back yard, fighting in Reception and "Security!!!". So yeh, I'm full of adrenaline and probably not going to be able to get to sleep after I've posted this, so who knows, maybe I will get it finished... but here's a photo or two of how far I managed to get up to before Zena discovered our intruder.

See you guys soon!!

Old Generals Farm - Little Bit Of Progress

Hi everyone,

To take my mind off of the whole Governor's Mansion/Madeline's School decision making for Hildred House, I found myself searching for a miniature-related task. While staring at my projects gathered around me in the living room, my eyes wandered over to the ugly stack of cardboard boxes and cut out shapes of graph paper spilling over the floor.

Tutting, I knew I had to do something about that as my Grandparents are coming over to visit in a couple of weeks, and this was unsightly.

So, taking my pencil, ruler and scissors I set to work cutting out that huge ground floor template.

Here's an image for you. This gives you an even clearer idea of how big it's going to be.

I've also started on drawing out the wall panels and I placed a couple of those against the template to see if I was on track. A few of them fit perfectly, and a couple disagree - but nothing major that's going to cause any issues for me... she says.

Sadly, because of mine and Thomas's fall-out the last room of the house that needs measuring won't get measured any time soon... and it just happens to be one of the most complicated.

Hopefully, when I get some time off work I can borrow my brother one weekend and we can measure it together before Mom and Dad start decorating ready to rent it out.

But either way, everything is looking good so far and it's pretty exciting :)

Back Soon!

Hugs,
ShellbyFay

In Need Of Your Ideas & Inspiration

Hi everyone,

You know how it is, life throws a wobbly at you, so you take a break from your hobby, you get back to it and all your ideas and inspiration has dried up! I've been thinking about my current dolls house projects and how I miss spending time on them, researching, gluing and imagining how they will turn out.

The one project that bothers me most is Hildred House.
Remember?
The Big One I got a few Christmas' ago.
It was meant to be a joint project between my Mother and I. Well. That never happened!
And now I have this big gorgeous house, that I am in love with, but I have no inspiration for it.

Please take a peek at the images below.

   

When you see this house, what comes to mind?
I've had several ideas over the past two/three years but none that have screamed out at me. Mainly because the house has that ghastly middle stair case that I hate, hate, hate! I've inspected the house though, there is nothing I can do about that. It's solid.

I can live with it. I can deal with that small issue.

But what to do with it?

Potential ideas have been...

The typical Edwardian/Victorian/Georgian house

or

The Missouri Governor's Mansion


or

A French Town House, my inspiration taken from Un Petite Folie of course because her work is incredible!

or

a Grand Hotel of some kind

or

Madeline's School



I am learning more towards the school, but in all honesty, I have no idea what rooms would be what and how I would decorate them. The outside of the school inspires me for the project, but the inside I feel nothing. :(

Please, I beg of you!, if anyone has any great ideas and some inspiration for this project please share with me!

But Not All Is Bad!!

While playing on this game called "Mirrors of Albion" on my iPad today, I found inspiration in the Confectionery shop. I thought to myself "wow, I would really like to create this as a project." and then realised I had the perfect property for it. The Bakery!! I'd take a photo of it's current state, but the truth is, I have actually lost it! I have no idea where I have put the bakery in my flat. I distinctly remember bringing it here, so it must be somewhere. Where, though... no idea!!

Ha!

I was originally doing the bakery up as a Georgian bakery, but I've since lost interest in that theme. I really love French. I really love light, airy spaces. I really love the colour blue. I'm already really keen to get started!!

Here is an image of the confectionary shop from game play. Isn't it gorgeous?!


I'm going for a bath now to sink away the stress of being unable to find my bakery, and having no clue what to do with HH!

Looking forward to reading your suggestions!

Hugs,
ShellbyFay

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!
I hope you're not feeling too bad after a night of one too many alcoholic beverages! :)

I'm sorry I haven't been around much recently. Life has been very hard over the past few weeks. I have cried a lot, smiled some, laughed a little - but more importantly, I have learnt a lot.

The thing with being young, is no matter how mature and grown up you believe yourself to be, life always seems to find a way to prove you wrong. Things aren't always black and white and a lot of the time there are grey areas. These grey areas are shadows. Underlying issues related to friends, family, work etc. hide in these shadows, and at any unexpected moment, they run up and kick you in the shin! Please someone older and wiser tell me that as you get older this happens less? It happened far too many times in 2012.

2013 is going to be different. 

This year I am going to complete some things from my 100 List.
I am also going to smile more.
Laugh lots.
And meet loads of exciting new people and make new friends.

If anything was a major disappointment and let me down like no one would be believe this year, it was my best friend. My Best Friend. But that's another story, and one I will tell you about another day when I can manage to reminisce without feeling sparks of rage and reaching for the tissues. I will not be making that mistake again this year. I'm done with it.

This year is all about the good times. I need to do more with my year. Last year, it was all about work, work, work. Well, I got the promotion. I've moved out of home. I should be happy now, right? Not really. I didn't experience enough and this year I have a checklist that I must complete!

• Do a skydive for charity. (I've asked around and there are already a couple of work colleagues who are interested in doing one.)
• Furnish my flat! (It's still so bare!)
• Go to Jersey and meet my other family
• Go Zorbing
• Go to see Mr Pickles
• Finish measuring Old Generals and have my final draft build ready to apply to wood.

I think this is all achievable. It will require some saving up and some carefully planned days off, but I think this will improve the year quite noticeably. 

I'm not setting any New Year Resolutions this year. It's easier to change things and do thing differently as you go along in the year. 

What has everyone else got planned for 2013? 

What lessons did you learn in 2012? 

What are your goals for the New Year?

Shellby

ox