On holiday, so a little time for minis.

 Hello Readers,

Yes I am hopeless but unfortunately real life often does get in the way of my mini life. With my current position at work it tends to be the school holidays that I get to finally get back into mini making. My poor Victorian house gets covered over for up to ten weeks at a time and every now and then I lift its covers and say....yes one day I will get back to completing you....after all where is all that furniture going to go?


I recently bit the bullet so to speak, purchasing some miniature tiles for my house...due to the cost I could really only afford to do 3 areas. (Seriously the tiles I purchased are more expensive then the real life tiles I have in my current house....scary I know)

 The first area was the house foyer or entrance...this went pretty smoothly. I used matboard as a base and glued each tile to it. They are really bright, which has lead me to wonder...what on earth (Colour wise) am I going to put with it?









The 2nd area I tried was the bathroom...ok so I was totally clueless when it came to the border tiles but what I have is it.....I managed to pull it apart several times and had enough...note to self...never use border tiles again....I'm sure there is some sort of magic number that makes it work...but I have no clue...hopefully my fixtures can cover the multitude of mistakes.

I started the veranda today...so far so good...very painful at the edges but I might have to have many  decorative planter boxes...I don't know....maybe I am too critical of my own skills but its never quite what I want it to look like...


I wish I could be like many of the miniature makers I talk with online...some of them throw something together fairly quickly....and make quick decisions....does anyone else agonize about every little detail?

Well back to gluing....those tiles await...
IndyPoppy

Where did the year go?

 Hello Followers, long time no talking....yes well that is my fault as real life house building has got in the way.

One thing I have managed to do though is work on a smaller scale project. In the last few months I attended a workshop on how to build this lovely house by Red Cottage Miniatures. It's 1/24th scale and I love it. The kit comes complete with staircases, windows, doors and trims...

It is also my first attempt at using paperclay for the exterior. During the workshop I learned aging techniques as well as paint ideas.

The house also enabled me to test my lack of skill in the lighting department. I used tape wire for this project and certainly will be using it again.

Anyway as a side project I have been busy with my facebook group...If you haven''t joined already Id love to see you there.

www.facebook.com/groups/Worldofdollhousesandminiatures/'

We now have over 5000 lovely people chatting away about their miniatures.

Talk Soon, Indypoppy

Shingle Time: Will it ever end?

 Hello Readers,

Well I was determined to try and finish shingling my house before the end of January and I'm not too far off achieving my goal.

They are split cedar shingles that came precut and ready to lay. As you can see there is quite a variation in their colour but I'm happy with the look.

 Tips:

1. BOTTOM EDGE: Most miniaturist recomend you start by gluing a small (about 1/4) of a shingle long ways along the bottom edge of your roof. This enables the shingles to lay flatter. If you don't do this your shingles will stick out.

2. SCISSORS: The cedar shingles are easily cut with scissors (please don't use your best craft scissors for this project....hide them....hide them!!!!!)

3. DRAW LINES: Draw lines for shingles to line up to!!!!!! (I didn't do this so well in this project so its a little wobbly)  Take a look at my old post and you will see what I mean.
http://tailsofadventurewithindyandpoppy.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/the-roof-is-on-but-not-complete.html

4. GLUE: Choose your glue: I used wood glue....according to some miniaturist it's a big no no. But I had minimal problems using it. The main thing to remember is to take your time. Glue on a few...leave it for ten minutes...then do another section. Too much at one time will lead to shingles moving...falling off or drying crooked.

5. MIX IT: If your shingles came in separate bags. Mix them up before you start. The shingle colours very so much but if you don't mix them it will stand out.

I hope this helps: It is a bit of trial and error, but if you take your time you will be suprised by your results.

Well its time for more shingles

Talk soon, IndyPoppy

More Painting.

Hello Everyone,
What a difference paint can make. I've actually started to get excited again about the house as it now looks like a house.


As you can imagine there has been hours of work in painting. 2 undercoats and at least 3 colour coats. The windows have been painful also. The paint seems to disapear and takes several coats to get any coverage at all. (I have used good quality paint for this project and it still has been painful)

Getting closer to shingle time.

So for tips:

1. Paint: It is worth getting a good quality paint. I figure you want your house to last a long time, ( and it does go a long way)

2. You can use a big brush but I found a brush the same size as the cladding.....I had hardly any drips and didn't miss to manyparts. It also can get into those fidly areas that a big brush can't.

3. Sand, sand and sand. Before you paint.....sand between coats as well.

4 If you can purchase window that have removeable glass (plastic) buy them. A great way to guarentee clean windows.
IndyPoppy

Happy New Year. Time to Paint.

Happy New Year: Ok so I'm a little late with my greetings, but I've been a bit busy. This time last year I was rushing around painting my real life house so I had very little time for minis. This year, I'm set. My goal is to get going, hopefully painting and shingle-ing the house before I start back at work.

I was really unsure about my paint choice but I really like blue, so the cedar cladding has had a coat of paint with "duck egg blue". I plan to trim it in white, but would also like another colour. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The chimney has had it first coat of paint and Im pretty chuffed with the effect so far. You may remember from a previous post that I used coffee stirrers to make the individual bricks.  See it here:

http://tailsofadventurewithindyandpoppy.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/chimney-almost-complete.html

I really like the effect so far....Im actually hesitant to put another coat on. Both paints are acrylic.

Anyway...its time to give the house another coat! So its off to the shed for me.

IndyPoppy

Christmas must be getting closer.

Good Evening readers.

Well you do find dollhouses everywhere. Today I was in one of my favourite shops checking out their Christmas decorations when I stumbled upon this lovely. It's a Wedgewood display for their beautiful Christmas Decoration. I so want one!!! Alas not for sale. So perhaps it should be a future project. I also thought you could use it to place your very special miniatures in it as well...ahh the possibilities are endless.

IndyPoppy

Dry Fit: Window time.

 Hello Readers:

As I am nearly finished my cladding (one wall to go) I decided to see if the pre made windows would fit. After a bit of sanding with the Dremel (Im starting to love this tool!) most fitted in fairly well.

I'm not planning on glueing them in until much latter as I will prepping each one before installation. Most of the windows came with the kit. The only thing that is a little disappointing is that they aren't opening.

I have to admit, they really do start to make it look like a house and not so much like a shell which it has looked like for a long......long....long time.

Till next time,
Keep on mini-ing.

IndyPoppy