Manor Minis and More

I have finally finished the interior bones of the Fascination Station. The bathroom is done! My poor mini people have been waiting far too long for this room.

And the big picture of the whole house.

My entry title has a double meaning. I think it is time to move on to other projects for a while. Of course, I fully anticipate that I will be returning to the black and white house occasionally to play with furniture and accessories. In the mean time, I need to find a place to put this big house so I can reclaim my dining room/work table. <grin>

Speaking of space, am I the only one who is getting a little crowded out with prolific dollhousery? I am hoping one day to have a dedicated minis room. Unfortunately I don’t have one yet and the spare space we do have can only be accessed by a spiral staircase. (See the one is my house above. Don’t do this in real life!) I saw that Mini Mod Pod is dealing with her space issues by selling a very cool house on eBay. I’m not quite at that point yet. I guess I could quit buying and building – NOT! Oh well, who really needs a sofa?

Sandra

I worked like the dickens on floors this weekend and got almost every room fleshed out. I still have the bathroom to finish and then I strongly suspect I will set everything aside for a while. The Contemporary Ranch is calling to me!

Overall, I am pleased with, for me, how quickly this all came together. Two months is most definitely a record for me!

Enjoy the mini tour! (You will notice that my primary accessories are my cat collection – a little like real life.)

I’m not sure if I am going to keep that circular star. And I am definitely not sure about the fireplace. I really do like the Kris Compas furniture even if it does not technically fit into the black and white color scheme.

This is an Elf kitchen kit. The fridge is also from Elf and I really love it! Ridiculously clear counter tops here – what! no Cuisinart!

The bedroom a little more finished. Cats on the bed – the story of my life! The “aromatherapy” lamp on the table is battery operated. It is a bit large, but flashes all these nifty colors and I’m a sucker for that sort of thing.

Needs work. Sigh. A Nate Berkus trick of wallpaper in the shelving unit. I didn’t have anything I really loved to put on these shelves, so I stuck in some mini books. Cookbooks, Little House On The Prairie, and Shirley Jackson – now there is a combo! I have some different chairs on order for this room as well.

The bare bones of an office. Large empty shelving unit. Empty wall shelves. Empty desk. Now how long would all that be true in the real world?

In case you might be wondering, the cats are a mix of Anton Reve, Teresa Summers, Bridget McCarty, and Marlene West.

Now on to finish that bathroom!

OH!! I just want to let everyone know that the Modern Wallpaper is now a freebie. Please download and enjoy!

Sandra

Well, almost. It needs some fine tuning. But, I finally feel like I am making some progress on the interior.

A major slow down was the electric lights. I have vowed to myself never – and I mean NEVER – to try to electrify a MDF house again. I broke tools, junction boxes, plug-in lights, and completely knocked out the electricity to one room (fortunately, just ONE room!). Honestly, I just can not believe how hard MDF is to penetrate. I salute everyone who can successfully electrify MDF without excessive swearing and/or a couple of stiff shots.

I am coming down the homestretch of finishing this project. I should have more pictures to share very soon. Hooray!

Sigh. I did not make the deadline for the Creatin’ Contest. This does not surprise me in the least. I started way late and have a terrible time with deadlines.

Maybe, I’m just not the contest kind. I tried before with the Spring Fling 2010 and never got that finished either. After all the commentary about a Meth House contest winner (which I personally thought was pretty original), I think my entry would not have been approved either. I had a notion of doing a 1970’s head shop complete with tie-dyed t-shirts, posters, records, and -gasp – bongs and rolling papers. My sense of nostalgia is pretty warped, I guess. <grin>

At any rate, I did finish most of the exterior.

And after some electrical troubleshooting (am I the only one who has discovered the tested electrical is no longer working AFTER the wallpaper is up?), I will finish up the interior (this time!). Maybe in time for the I’m A Giant Challenge deadline?

By the way, super thanks to Pepper at Mitchy Moo Miniatures for the super tutorial on the Mod Fire. I just had to try this out and made one in card stock for my rooftop sitting area.

Happy Holidays!

Sandra

So far, so good!?

Those sliding glass door have given me fits. This is a set of Timberbrook doors that I was lucky – I thought – to find. They do not want to stay in the tracks for some reason. Sigh.

Will I get this done before the 15th? And be able to take pictures on the 16th? I am beginning to have some serious doubts.

Golly! I still have wallpaper, floors, the kitchen cabinets, and a shower to finish up. And some trim work inside and outside and some landscaping.

Well, if I do not finish in time for contesting, at the very least I will have a house that probably got done faster than any other house I have ever put together.

Now back to work!

Sandra

I had, what I consider to be, a very productive weekend. The structure is glued and the roofs are on. I also got the electrical tape in place and did a primer interior coat. That is a lot for me!

Am I the only one who thinks mini shingles are a tedious pain? In an effort to stop spending more money on this house, I opted to use some cedar shingles that I had lying (or is that laying – I never can get those two straight) around. I will say that the trouble was worth it, I like the textured look for this house.

I also managed to get my Christmas tree up!

My 2 foot high Christmas tree that is. I have a cat with more energy than necessary and decided against a big tree this year. What fun to find a purple one! And turquoise and green and bright pink ornaments! Ho Ho Ho!

Sandra

I keep plugging away at the Fascination Station. I am usually slow and easily distracted, so I feel pretty good about what I have gotten done so far.

The exterior is planned out and painted. (The windows and doors will cover up those rough cut holes.) I still have much assembly left as I am trying to configure the floor plan inside.

Textured Spray paint is my new best friend. Seriously! I love this stuff! I first heard about using it for shingles on the Miniatures.Com Facebook page. I tried it for my East Side Townhouse and was very happy with the results.

And now I am using it for the Station Project. I don’t think I could paint this cool roof effect (and the matching shingles) any other way.

Okay, enough blogging and back to work! Deadlines approach!

Sandra

I’ve been plugging away at my Fascination Station. I think I have made so many changes, it might have been easier to cut everything from scratch. Sigh.

Something that has been indispensable has been a tile cutter for cutting the MDF without ripping it up.

And it it not intimidating for cutting small pieces like the table saw can be. Thanks to my husband for this suggestion!

Here is what I have so far:

Of course this is just a very rough layout and subject to change. I have a lot more work to do!!!!

Sandra

Okay, not really. But I couldn’t resist the email from Miniatures.Com that told me the Fascination Station was on super sale. I got two!

I thought I would challenge myself to put these together into some sort of modern house for my black and white minis.

A second challenge will be to see if I can get it done before the December 16 Creatin’ Contest deadline. Can it be done? We will see.

Sandra