Pleased to pieces!!!

Christmas came and went this year and it was a great one spent with friends and family as usual!  But one gift (to myself!) will be coming just a few days late.  I was looking around on ebay and decided to give it another shot and search for the Toadstool High Rise dollhouse plans that I have been searching for, for years now!  And lo and behold there they were!  I panicked momentarily thinking "oh I shouldn't be buying things for myself this time of year" and "how much have I already spent this season?!" before I quickly clicked buy it now!!!  After all I had a bit of Christmas money and some graduation money so why not buy myself a little something - I just made it through Nursing school, right?!

These 2 pictures are borrowed from the auction listing itself.  It was a long time ago, but I blogged about my love for this kit and how sad I was that it hasn't been available in 30 some years.  You may remember me talking about http://minimodern.blogspot.com/2007/09/some-modern-dollhouse-plans.html which is one of the first places that I found this beautiful dollhouse apartment building.  I actually replied to this post back in 2010, but I'm sure my reply was lost somewhere (as it was never published), especially since the original post is from 2007.  The main thing I remember is reading that these plans pop up every few years on ebay.  I have had a saved search set up to email me daily through ebay looking for this exact item since sometime in 2010.  Sadly to say it never got a single hit.  So when I typed in the search terms myself I wasn't all that hopeful that I would find it.  Search terms are funny that way, not everyone is going to tag something the same way and unfortunately ebay is not set up to default to worldwide searching.

Anyway according to my email my package has been shipped so fingers crossed that it travels safely and will arrive soon.  Perhaps it was fate, or luck, or most likely a gift from God that I found these now.  Someone knew that I needed to wait until I would actually have the time and money to get back to working full time on my hobby.  Graduating from Nursing school was the first step.  Next will be getting my RN licensure and then of course a good job!  So yes, it will be a while before I can start on these, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't snatch them up when I did!

The only images I was ever able to find of a partially completed high rise came from this link

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/dollhouse-modern-high-rise-apt-bldg-149661280

It was from a past sale through ebay.

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33302

If you are a Greenleaf Dollhouse forum member you may be able to see the above link, but back in 2013 I was still searching.  I had used the worthpoint link to contact the person who bought and sold this particular house, but they did not have the plans from the original builder.  I will have to update my post on Greenleaf to let everyone know that I finally found the plans!

During my endless search I stumbled upon this little gem.  If remember correctly I found this book on ebay as well while doing a search for dollhouse high rise.  I can't remember if ever shared a blog post about it, but I always meant to.

I'm not sure if the seller knew the original owner of the book, but whoever they were they signed the inside cover in 1991.

The copyright info shows the book was published in 1978.

And of course you can see why I was immediately drawn to it!!!  A fully detailed description and measurements for building an 8 unit dollhouse apartment building!  I have spent many hours studying these plans and drawing them out on graph paper dreaming of how one day I might build this beautiful house!  I'll have to share more pictures later, but it includes a stairwell and a working elevator.  Most of the plans that I have created using this example include moving the elevator from the middle of the complex to the back beside the stairs - after all who wants an elevator that opens in the middle of your apartment?  And my plans also include using each level as just one apartment and not two.  The book includes everything, measurements, the type of wood to use, even wiring.  Although I have yet to be brave enough to delve into dollhouse wiring.

In a perfect world I will have all the time, tools, and money that I need to put these 2 dollhouses together.  So needless to say this will be a project that will take years to complete.  For the dollhouse in the book I am interested to learn if there is a way to build the house floor by floor with sections that could be taken apart in order to view each level from above.  I think it could be done, but it will take alot of time and practice on my part to learn how to do it.

Anyway I am happy to share this post with everyone and a hint of what is to come!  David and I have plenty of plans for the future, two of which include paying off all of our debts and moving into a new place.  We hope for a home of our own one day, but that may not be our next step.  I will need a place big enough and a craft room all of my own to have the space to really put these together.  But I am happy and it gives me something wonderful to think about and plan for!

Happy Sunday blogland!

Graduation!!!

That's me!

Jessie Manuel, BSN

12-13-14

Next will come NCLEX testing sometime in late January / early February and I will be able to add RN to my initials!

Happy Saturday blogland!

Christmas gifts from Kim!

Something that I look forward to every year is my new handmade Christmas ornament from Kim at http://flowerkim.blogspot.com/!!!

She is so talented and so kind to send these out every year!  And I just love this new little guy :)  Kim signs and dates them every year so I can remember when I added each ornament to my collection.  David and I have very few Christmas decorations so that makes Kim's gifts so much more special to me!!!

BSN Graduation!!!

Exciting stuff is going on!!!

Jessica Manuel, BSN

Today we had late family Thanksgiving with our out of town family.  It was at a wonderful place called The Farmer's Daughter in Chuckey, Tennessee.  Next door this great little Amish store called Mountain View Bulk Foods.  They have a little bit of everything and I found these adorable plastic minis that I immediately fell in love with.  I have plans for a 1:12 scale apartment building sometime in the future and would like to add these to a little boys room.  I think they are a great size for doll toys!

They are called Good Luck Minis and are made by Safari Ltd.

Triceratops, T-Rex, and Stegosaurus

Apatosaurus and and Brachiosaurus

Lions, tigers, and bears oh my!

Giraffe and elephant

Kangaroo and alligator

The kangaroo even has a tiny joey in its pouch!

Adorable aren't they?  Happy Sunday blogland!

A new mini in the making

So late one night when I should have been studying for my last ATI test I was looking online for Christmas lights that could be turned into miniature 1:12 scale bottles.  I've had this idea for a while now - ever since I found a pin on Pinterest with some really great faceted lights that someone had used to make fancy bottles.  I came across some great mini amber lights (that I'm still considering buying, I'm just hoping that they will go down in price as the season goes along) that I thought could be used for beer bottles.  In the meantime I took an old string of lights and took all of the orange ones out.  I searched around online and found a link for making a 6 pack holder.  The one above is meant to be made with wood, but I wanted to try the regular cardboard ones that you see in the grocery store.  I copied the image and then inserted it into a word document.  I then sized the pic down to 40% with ratios locked.  I printed it out and then traced it onto cardboard.

And here is my first (really) rough draft.  I think it's kind of cute though, despite the glue you can see hanging out of the edges.

I used a thin cardboard box that held a 12 pack of cans and was already in our trash pile.  You can see the writing on the box if you look closely at the inside.

I'll have to find a way to make the insides fit better.  Right now it's just 3 pieces with slots cut halfway through and then slid down inside of each other.

The bulbs are still rounded on the bottom, so I'll have to figure out how to cut them to make them more flat so that they'll sit in the case better.  And also some labels and some sort of a bottle cap to go on top.  It's not too bad for a first try though!

Happy Sunday everyone!

RN Graduation Pic!

My school pics came in the mail the other day!

How many days until graduation?

Funny you should ask...

45 days

or

1 month 14 days

or

1080 hours

or

64,800 minutes

or

3,888,000 seconds!!!

Happy Thursday blogland!

Mini "Mouse" Rugs

So the boy came home with some lovely gifts the other day!  Someone came into his work and gave them these lovely mouse pads.  Of course you guys can see exactly what I see - dollhouse rugs!  The larger one is supposed to be a mousepad and the smaller one is a non-slip pad for your coffee cup.  I think the colors are lovely and I like the fringe on the sides.

The bottoms are super duper thick and both have a link to the company's website.  I checked out the site and they have some really cute prints, but of course they are much more expensive than a dollhouse rug, so I'll just have to be happy with my two freebies.  I guess the backing could be removed as it is so thick that they do sit very high.  But I may just leave them as it prevents the rug from moving even a tiny bit.

Happy Monday blogland!

More Halloween decorations!

These are a couple of my favorite Halloween decorations.  Not many people decorate their bathrooms, but I saw why not?

The white mat with bloody footprints came from amazon.  I have seen some posts floating around Facebook about a mat that turns colors when it gets wet and usually the picture that accompanies it is of this mat.  It's a neat idea, but this mat comes with the bloody footprints already painted on.  If you've never seen it before it would definitely catch you off guard.

The shower curtain also came from an amazon shop.  I can't remember the search terms I used, but it was probably something like "psycho shower curtain."  There are some other variations of it, but I liked this one the best.  Some of the others just show handprints pressed against the curtain, but I like the effect of a whole person standing back there.  Kind of creepy, huh?

There are other accessory items that I haven't gotten around to ordering yet.  There are bloody hand towels to match the mat and bloody silicone handprints that stick to your bathroom mirror.

Happy decorating!

1:12 Kitchenette - work on the upper cabinets

Here is an updated view of my top cabinets.  I decided that I wanted more color than just a white background, but not so yellow as to overwhelm.  I went with an antique white for the insides.  The right cabinet is missing a shelf for now as it is the one where I want to store cereal and other tall boxes.

And here we have the attached doors closed.  I have finally figured out a little about dollhouse hinges.  These doors open and shut nicely.  There is a gap between the doors and the cabinet when they are shut that doesn't look exactly realistic, but I think they still look nice.

This is a close up shot of the inside where my dishes and mugs will go.

Inside I put the tiny sugar bowl and my plates.  I used glue dots (the kind you can use for scrapbook pictures) which helps the plates to stand and not move around.

Here I was adding in my mugs to see how it looked.  I have thought about adding the tiny cream pitcher in the center, but the mugs kind of block it out and make it look a little crowded.  The cream pitcher may just sit on the counter or I may save it use in another mini scene.

And here we have the cabinet doors shut.  If I did this over (let's hope I don't) I would make the middle part a little bigger.  For now I am trying to fall in love with my mini imperfections.

And finally a pic to show scale.  The cream pitcher is there in the middle if you can see it.  I think I kind of like it, you?

The kitchen cabinets that won't die Part III

You had to see this coming, right?  I would imagine someone out there in blogland has a bet going that I'll never finish my kitchen cabinets.  I changed my mind about the trim on the sides and about the brown color.

Forgive the blurry pics that a few of my recent posts have had.  I usually only remember to snap a pic when I'm already halfway through a project.  Looks like a mess huh?

Above is another inspiration pic that I found while browsing pinterest.  I love the way the sides of the cabinets look.

So I decided to give it a go and see if I could recreate the look.  I used skinny sticks to cut a sort of picture frame border to outline the sides of my lower cabinets.  I also cut a piece of matboard to fill in the middle section.

And here is my semi-finished product.  The sides are done and for once I actually like it.  And even if I fall out of of love with this version I think I'm to the point where I don't want to redo it anymore.  I'm hoping the pale green color will bring out the tiny green accents in the wallpaper.  The yellow was just too much, and the white left no room for contrast with my dishes or the white countertop that I want.  The brown was just too dark and there is already so much pale brown in the wallpaper.  I decided not to go with blue either as there is so much blue in the painted part of the walls. Next I'll be working on my upper cabinets, a countertop, and then figuring out hinged doors.

Happy day blogland!

The kitchen cabinets that won't die Part II

And I'm back at it - again.  I fell out of love with the white inside cabinets and decided to try a light brown color that matches the pale brown in my wallpaper.  Above is a pic of still wet first coat.

And a pic showing the entire insides the new brown.

Above is an inspiration pic that I found at

http://www.paperdollminiatures.com/2013/10/kitchen-island-tutorial_29.html

This site has beautiful minis and some great tutorials.  I liked the accents that she added to her kitchen island and I thought I would try to add a little dimension to my cabinets as well.

Here I am adding some trim to the sides of the lower cabinets.

And here are both sides with everything painted green to match.

I also added some trim around the middle section.  Here you can see where a space has been cut so that the oven door will slide in.

And the other side with trim added around the bottom.

And another bright idea that I had while toying with the idea of trim.  I painted the inside pieces brown to match the inside of the upper cabinets.

Here you can see my fridge, oven, and sink added in.  I also added a faux drawer underneath the sink.  I've seen these in so many real kitchens and I had so much empty space above the hole where my lower cabinet door will go.  Even if it doesn't open (because there would be no room due the sink) I like the way it helps to bring the piece together.