No cooking yet in the kitchen

The mckinley kitchen is progressing.  Slowly.   I go through spurts where I work every day...then I go through a spurt where it's a few weeks between work.  

I started by making templates of all my walls, ceiling and floor.  Then I pondered and pondered and pondered the placement of the kitchen appliances.   

Once my decision was made I realized that I was going to definitely have to make some custom cabinets.   

My handiwork is not the highest quality...but with little or no extra money it works for me.  And it's fun!!!!

Oh yes....I decided I needed an upper cabinet on the back wall.  (I decided uppers on the side wall above the sink would box in the room a bit too much for my liking!)

Ahhh much better.     

I painted the window seat in preparation for some pillows /cushions.  

I also in one of my brief hiatus' got this amazing little piece for the kitchen.  

And I have now added in the white walls and ceiling...and the tile flooring.  I have the cabinets and kitchen appliances in place for View/affect.     

From there it was one tiny leap to put in the counter tops and actually install everything!   Woohoo!!!

Trim work....and clean and get curtains for the windows...cushions for the window seat and then the little things like food...pots and pans....canisters...etc!!!!  It's rolling!!!  

Maybe I had best get planning in my head my next room in the mckinley!!!!

Progress

I worked on the kitchen bag window!!!  The kitchen is 'closed in'!!

And the porch!!   

I pulled the tape off this morning and there was a wee little piece that needed to be reglued.  No biggie. It took me about 2 minutes to re-glue and re'clamp' with tape!

The I spent some time looking at the tub, toilet and sink in the bathroom.  Just to get an idea of how they will work in there...ideas!  Here is a built in shelf on the bathroom back wall that will be added eventually/soon!

And the kitchen also.....

Yes I have paper on the floor and I rough drew in where and how I want the kitchen cabinets to be.  

I plan on using the window seat as seats for the kitchen table!!!

The only thing wrong?  I don't know where this will go...and I REALLY want this!!!

Slow progress

I have not forgotten the dollhouses!  Life has just been busy and well...the houses are at points that the work is sloooooooow!

I did fix the wallpaper in the mini mansion...the wallpaper that I messed up when I installed the trim!!!  It looks pretty good  although a careful eye would pick up the repair.   But, I'm satisfied with it.

At a historical museum a few weeks back I saw a roasting oven that was used in open heart cooking.  I was enthralled and decided that my log cabin MUST have one!!!i thought about it..and actually experimented with a tin foil pan but I didn't like that at all. So I changed my material and tried it again....the cardboard/matte board was excellent!   I am very happy with it.  Especially since I painted it!!!!   I will need to get out the polymer clay and make a 'bird'  to have inside the roaster in the spit!  But until then I'm happy (with the back of the toaster toward the fireplace you can't see it anyway...but I know that there is no birdy in there!!!!

I have been contemplating the kitchen of the McKinley.   I knew that I wanted to go between the 20's and 50's for the kitchen...so I started researching...these pictures are inspiration for me!!!!

I also decided that I made a mistake on something with the McKinley.   What was the mistake?  Well since I'm planning on installing lights into the McKinley I wasn't too worried about prepainting and papering the house before installing it.  Yeah I was sitting there looking at these windows....and doors and all that trim and I decided that I should have painted the trim before installation.   No problem....I  decided to paint the inside window trim before the next step.   I was careful around the windows for sure...but I wasn't too worried about getting paint on the walls of the rooms...they will be papered over eventually!!!

We went antiquing this week...it was so cold that antiquing was a good option!!!   Of course we looked at lanterns!!!

But I got lucky and found two dealers that had dollhouse stuff that I liked!  I picked up an adorable ceramic/porcelain bathroom set for $5!  I also picked up a new gas/cookstove that I love but sadly is too big for the mini mansion I will just stay with the old fashioned coal stove.  I also got a towel rack, same cabinets and some neat little things like brass pots and pans, a brass towel rack,  a neato old phone, toaster and just fun stuff!!! I also got the cutest little sink....cute enough thatbibhave pondered putting a false wall upstairs in the mini mansion and adding a small bathroom....you would only see the sink..  I haven't ruled that out totally yet...but I am leaning toward no.. I have no running water in the kitchen so it would be kinda weird to have a bathroom with running water.

I got home from my weekend of adventuring and found a box!   My lights have arrived!  

So today I am reading up on installation of said lights....

I'm terrified Of this wiring process but I am soooo excited to see my wee little baby lit up!!

Farewell 2016

Well last night I hung trim in the mini mansion.   It is pretty much the last of the construction style work to the house.  Well...except for the lights which will be installed when I have the money to purchase them.  (Christmas and car repairs sucked me dry!).    

This morning I was rushing around getting ready for work but I just had to take a moment to remove the tape that was holding the trim and wainscoting in place while the glue dried. I was like a kid at Christmas, giddy with excitement!  I couldn't resist...I pulled down the box of furniture that I do have for the mini mansion.   I'm so excited!!!   I didn't have time for the books and smaller things that I do have...but it's an idea!!

Bedroom

Sewing/quilting room

Living room

Kitchen 

I was carefully pulling the tape off of the trim and one piece came up unexpectedly...tearing the wallpaper in the living room.  Aaaarrrgggggggg!!!  You can't see it in the pictures because the chair hides it....it's right by the doorway leading to the kitchen. I could probably leave it unfixed but I know it's there and it bothers me...so I will have to fix that!  Good thing I have extra paper!!!

Theoretically the mini mansion can now be moved to its resting place and I can focus on the interior fun stuff...the knick knacks and furniture and things that make it look like a real life home!  And what's better?   The workspace is now free for the construction of the McKinley!!!  Bring it on 2017!!!

Addiction

Work is steadily progressing....on everything!!!  I usually spend an hour or two in the evenings working on my 'dollhouses'.  It is so relaxing and satisfying to see things come to life!

First of all let me include a picture of the rope bed that I FINALLY finished!

And beside the rope bed is the cradle with the wee itty bitty afghan that I crocheted with embroidery floss.

Yes I have sheets and a quilt for the bed but it's too darn cute to not show off the rope part!!

With those two things done I haven't done much else on the log cabin...other than think about little things that I want to do.  I still want to put in a fireplace crane or a gridiron at the fireplace. 

And I want to have some dough being rolled out with the rolling pin....little things like that!). 

Work has been moving along on the mini mansion.  The living room received its floor and then commenced the slow polyeurthane...dry... sand....clean..polyeurthabe...sand..dry...clean...repetition!  As soon as I was happy with the 'waxed floor look' I finished up the living room with the trim and other than the lighting (I am working on a budget, the fixtures are going to have to wait a few weeks/months!). The room was/ready for furniture.

It will need all the fun little touches...stuff like a foot stool...a knitting basket....pictures...etc.  but it's fun to see it look 'kinda real.'

Speaking of pictures...this dollhouse was my boyfriend's sister's when she was a child.  I found some of her artwork on the walls.  I kept one (I wish I would have kept them all but I wasn't thinking until it was too late).   This morning I made a wee little frame.....

and painted the frame gold!   

Well, the curtain rods I made are gold...which were not hung yet in the previous picture!).  

So next up was the kitchen....I decided on green walls with a white wainscoting, a white tin style ceiling, and the same light pine flooring.  The walls were covered and the floor was laid tonight.  Lots of clamps and weights!!

Once again I was at a standstill....

So on to the McKinley!!!

After being overwhelmed the other night I knew I had to tackle it.  Otherwise it would gain big ugly horns and I would never do it!  So the next morning I started pulling out the pieces for the first steps.   

It was just time consuming...flipping through the large awkward panels and getting parts without the other pieces popping free from the panels.

   So I gave up...and went and purchased a whole raft of ziplock bags.  I spent a few hours labeling all of the pieces and bagging them in ziplock bags according to the panel number from which they came.   Much more manageable!!!

Tonight the real work began!!!   Window and window trim!!!!!  

All of the windows have their outside trim!!!

My workspace is way too small!!!  

I think I need to finish the mini mansion....at least the walls, floors and ceilings so I can rest those baby back on the piano while I dream and plot about the furniture for upstairs and the little fun things that make it seem real!  

Then I'll be focused on stuff like...

Spice boxes

And rug beaters

But the addiction grows!   I finished my work tonight and picked up the flyer that was in the box that my dollhouse came in and I think I know my next dollhouse...it will be a quickie though!!!!  

The Storybook cottage by greenleaf.   

Why that?  I've always said I wanted to do a quilt shop!  Wouldn't that make the cutest quilt shop!!!!  (The Coventry cottage would work too...but the smaller one is the think I'm going to go with...when that day comes!!)