Thursday, May 30, 2013

At a standstill....

So let's talk Fling for a second, shall we? As I mentioned, the Spring Fling is my very first dollhouse. I wanted something that was fairly cheap (you know, in case I decided it wasn't for me) as well as something that was fairly small, so that I wouldn't get discouraged with a several year-long project.
So after reading through the forums at Greenleaf, I was hooked on the idea. I promptly ordered it and then began to look for inspiration.

Pinterest is, by far, one of my most favorite sites ever. I could spend hours on there, looking at all sorts of things. It's seriously become my new Google. If an idea pops into my head, I think "let me check Pinterest first."And usually, something is there.

Well, after spending some time surfing the old Internets, I came up with a wonderful design. It seemed like everything I wanted and I couldn't wait to do it. My Fling arrived at my house and I immediately tore into it, ready to make it all happen. And I tried. I tried hard. But my idea just didn't work. So I scrapped it and came up with another idea. And tried that. And it didn't work.

Finally, I realized that my process was all wrong. I was drawing up ideas and plans and then going to the structure and seeing how it worked. I mean, it looked great on paper, but as soon as I started trying to configure the pieces around, it just didn't work.




So I finally decided to reverse the process. Let the structure be the inspiration. And that seemed to go smoother. So I think we've finally settled on an idea. I've mocked it up with cardboard boxes (and now there may or may not be any cereal boxes left in the pantry - sorry Honey!) and I think we've got it.

So hopefully later this week, I can show you a bit of what I'm thinking. It's challenging, but so exciting!

Friday, May 24, 2013

A new craft

So on one of my favorite forums, as well as one of my absolute favorite miniature blogs, there's been talk of using punch needle to make miniature rugs. I've never done punch needle before, but it sounded like a really neat idea and I was instantly intrigued.

I went to a local needlework store for supplies (although I later found needle punch supplies at my local craft store for much cheaper) and dug out some of floss from my old cross stitch stash and drew up a pattern for a practice rug. My taste runs a little more modern, and most of the available patterns seem to be other styles, so I made a simple pattern using Word and then traced it onto the cloth. (pay no attention to those messy thread ends)


Then I watched a few YouTube videos and I was off. I was very surprised at how quick it goes! It takes a bit of time to get used to using the needle, but it is a relatively easy craft and goes really quickly. I did this portion in about 2 hours.


I can't wait to see the entire thing.

I'm hoping to get some work done on the Fling over this extended holiday weekend, so hopefully on Tuesday I'll have some pictures to show you.

Happy Friday, y'all!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Spring Fling has landed!

So I did it. I ordered the Spring Fling. And seriously, in less than 72 hours, it was in my hands. I admit - as soon as I saw the box, I got nervous. Like "what if all of the ideas that I want won't work out?" and "so I'm really going to do this?"

I drew out my plans and then spent a good portion of Saturday, running around and getting supplies and other things to begin the bashing. I also discovered another "almost local" Dollhouse store about 45 minutes away, so I made the trek out there for some ideas. Man, it was so much better than my local store. The owner was very friendly and we talked at length about my plans. She also ran me through lighting and showed me some different options, which was invaluable.

And then I got to work on the house. I did a dry fit, and then jumped right in and started making cuts. And you know what? I think I can do this! It's been tricky trying to figure out some of what I wanted to bash (probably because I've never built a dollhouse before or constructed a mini house before) but I think I might just pull this off.

I'm wondering how much of my design and bash I want to show on the blog. I mean, it's going to be real boring if you just listen to me talk about the design, right? So I'm thinking I might just lay it all out here on the blog and show you step by step what I'm doing. I'll have some pictures on my next post, me thinks.

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

Oh, and if you're bored, you can always check out my big blog, 28 Cooks! It's much more exciting.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

It all started with a book....

It all started with a book. And not even a great one at that. I somehow borrowed an e-book from our local library, which detailed the lives of a few sisters who had grown up going to a family beachhouse in New England. One of the characters, who's real life is in shambles, dedicates all of her free time to building and furnishing dollhouses. There wasn't even that much of the book dedicated to detailing it, but there were several passages that described her creating furnishings from scratch to put into this master dollhouse she was building.

And that was it. Seriously. From that single book, I somehow found myself obsessed with dollhouses. So I did what anyone who's grown up in the tech age would do - I Googled it. And Pinterested it. (which has actually become my new Google.) And you know what I found? Some of the most amazing creations I have ever seen.

I mean, we're talking modern houses. Gorgeous loft apartments, all in miniature. Artist studios, created from almost scratch. The more I looked, the more the obsession grew. I mean, some of these photos looked like pictures from any normal home decorating magazine.

And I needed one. Oh, I needed a mini house bad. Why? I don't know. But I did. I wanted to build my own mini modern house. Glass walls and modern kitchens and chandeliers. Wood siding and open floor plans and carefully chosen pieces. Oh, and I didn't just want to buy a kit and then buy every single furnishing and light fixture - I wanted to create them myself. I wanted to build tiny sofas and modern dining room tables. Who cares that I've never done it before? How hard could it be?? (Don't answer that!)

I decided to try my hand at building one single furnishing to see how I liked it. I chose a pattern for a upholstered chair, promptly purchased or dug supplies out from my craft room, and got to work. It took me about 2 hours from start to finish, but I was hooked. I was so proud of that little chair (with all of it's glue smears and uneven corners) and knew I needed more mini.

So I jumped. I found the Greenleaf Spring Fling 2013 contest, which starts with the most simple (and affordable) little house. I figured it's small enough that it won't overwhelm me, yet basic enough that it could possibly stand up to some bashing.

So there we are. So this blog will detail what I'm doing. Now of course, I "think" I'm going to enter it into the contest, so I can only give little sneak peaks. But I'm sure I'll find other projects to work on alongside of this kit so I'll have plenty of content.

So follow along with me. We'll see where this Teeny Maison ends up.