I'm all twitterpated!

 I'm twitterpated because the prep work is finished and now I can start doing the fun stuff like putting it together and filling the rooms with furniture and tiny dessicant cylinders masquerading as canned food. 

I painted over the '70s backdrop and I used white paint (as in house paint) instead of spray paint. It was truly a rookie mistake and the paint caused the cardboard to crinkle. Sigh. 

Also, if you look at the last photo you can see that the backdrop has taken quite a beating. I think it looks like some mice have had it for lunch but I guess it could be wear and tear. At any rate, I glued some posterboard on all of the worn spots. 

I'd had a lot of trouble deciding where to put the finished product. It's around 60 inches long so I had to find a place for it. I didn't want to bury it in a bedroom because I want it to be a conversation piece. Fortunately, I found the perfect place on a bench/shelf in the picture window. I'll post photos of the progress which is sort of the point of this blog--ha ha

Carpenters rock!

Everybody needs a carpenter in their lives be it Jesus or the union variety.  It turns out that posterboard or matting just wasn't going to cut it (ha! cut! as in cutting with a saw). Matt the carpenter and I took a trip to Home Depot and found some sheets of particle board. I can't recall the name of the wood but it's the kind that's commonly used for dresser drawers. 

I'm glad I enlisted his help because he said that it was pretty complex and he's been a carpenter for around 20 years. We (well, he) carefully marked the measurements and used a circular saw and a circle bit. Then, he used Liquid Nails to adhere the wood to the plastic. It made a huge difference. I dont have to worry about the plastic floors bending and breaking. 

Thanks for your help, Matt aka "Thew." 

Found miniatures

I was up late late late working on this part of the project. This was the first time I'd really sorted through my found objects, sorting them from room to room. 

The palette for the kitchen will be red and white. I want to use either that Philosophy recipe box or the older metal recipe box. Who knows, though. I might find something else in their place. I want to use those red and white pot holders for rugs. 

Check it out! It's fresh produce!!! These are actually clip-on earrings that belonged to my grandmother.

I have tons and tons of mosaic tiles and thought this color pattern would work but I need to use my tile breaker. They're too big for the scale of the kitchen.

I'm not sure where this came from but it's going to be a wonderful cookie jar.

These Trimz wallpaper borders from the '40s may (or may not) work in the kitchen. About 10 years ago these were found on eBay constantly. I haven't been able to find them for the past few years---good thing I have multiple rolls.

Do you see that little notebook with the spider? This was the object that inspired me to begin this project.

This little "dresser" was purchased on a trip to Nogales, Mexico in 1980 give or take a few years. This was a crucial object in my townhouse when I was a kid.

I found these at Michael's crafts (I know..I know) and plan on using them as kitchen cabinets.

Those little black squares are tiny chalkboards and the little shapes are mirrors. The following photos are going to be mounted on the framing matting and used as wall art. I'll probably have to save them for later since there are so many. Check out the bookmarks below! (thanks, Mom)

These tiny candles are perfect! I love the tiny bunny candles and the tiny ladybugs. Now I just need to find some tiny candle holders.

Let the hoarding begin!

Likewise, from the days where Candra and I put together our Barbie compounds to today, I still see objects and imagine how they would look in a Barbie house. In the first photo you’ll see the elevator. Since I have two elevators I might glue them together and make them a gazebo. Yes, that pink shaggy item is, in fact, is a toilet cover. I bought it thinking that if I cut it into a rug-sized square it would make a crazy cool shag rug. I still might.  Hunter S. Tomcat is anointing it with cat smell. 

I’m also brainstorming what I’d like to do including that hideous crunchy plastic and the pink shag rug. I’m trying out using Popsicle sticks to make a wood floor. I painted them with Minwax Polyshades in Classic Oak. (which is the best thing around to duplicate the original shade of Heywood Wakefield furniture). I’ve laid the sticks out but I don’t like it. Even after Dremeling the sticks I don’t think it’s going to look all that great. The pine doesn’t absorb this nearly as birch. Oh well. It’s a process that will not ever be finalized. It’s the Winchester Mansion of Barbie houses. 

I have two boxes of this midcentury flooring. It's pink with sparkles! How awesome is that?? There's a catch, though. They're asbestos floor tiles and they emit a strange odor. I've been told that these tiles aren't a health problem until you break them into pieces (like chipping the tiles off during a remodel). 

I plan on painting over the graphics in the background with good ol' white paint so I can choose my color pallet. 

I'm not certain how I''m going to re enforce these floors. This is a template I traced. Maybe I can use the template to trace on posterboard or framing matting. 

Goodbye, rules!

I really wanted to stick to my guidelines about using only objects found around the house. It was a trip to the craft store that did it. I'm a creator, not a builder. I'm not the weirdo killer in The Lovely Bones. It's just that Michael's Crafts had so many cool little cupboards with drawers and such. What I'm still having trouble with is constructing the bathroom. I may have a tub (a metal pencil box) and some vague notion about a sink but how in the world do I make a toilet from scratch? Any ideas? 

The Preparations Are Underway!

The houses have arrived! I'm excited and ready to get my project off the ground but there's a problem. You see, the townhouse I had as a girl was the 1979 model. The floors were made from masoniite which gave quite a bit of support for the weight of the doll furniture. The 1979 models were just too expensive and I found out why the 1973 models were available at low prices. Basically they're a load of crap. The floors are made of brittle plastic that did not age well. Think of the way one of those recycled bottles of water feels only these floors actually crumble. I'm reminded of the part in The HItchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  where Ford and Zaphod find the space port full of old ships, "just rust and wreckage." They comment (loosely, mind you) that those old ships would fall apart if you even looked at them.

Because of this structural setback, my project will be put on hold for the time being. I need to experiment with ways to reinforce the plastic. My first thought is to use pieces of the mat used for framing pictures.. About 20 years or so my mother took a picture framing class and saved a huge bag full of that heavy paper matting. I thoughjt of using the posterboard I'd wound up with rom school. 

I just don't know. This might be trickier than I originally planned. FWIF I' want to add a few photos for posterity. 

These are the room backgrounds. I dom't have to fall in love with them because I'm painting the entire backdrop white and paint each room so I can match its color scheme. 

I've snapped a few photos of that damn crumbly plastic floor. Please try not to judge me too harshly. I have an entire classroom that somehow was dropped on my house. Yikes.  That last photo scares me. 

I get to play architect/flooring installer

I've been thinking quite a bit about flooring. Yes, let's operate on the assumption that this is what I do in the evenings. It beats drinking.  So, yes...flooring. I'm thinking that wood flooring would be a nice touch. My stain of choice is Minwax Polyshades in classic oak. It's my go-to stain for refinishing Heywood Wakefield furniture and it has the varnish built in. I used the large craft sticks and once they dry, I'm going to see how they look. 

I'm also really wanting to do a mosaic tile floor. You can see the tiles in the photo below. I have an entire set of dishes with that pattern. I smashed up the teacups to make these shards. Nobody uses teacups anyway. (note: the butter dish with this pattern was one of the first vintage/antiques I ever purchased back in 1992). 

The last picture shows the template I'm tracing of the floor so I can reinforce it. Trust me....it's a lot trickier than it looks..