MiniSmidgeon

The quest to shore up the dollhouse continues. All areas at the top and bottom have been secured, now I move to the middle. Notice the way this section sags on either side: Using wood glue, applied with a mascara wand, I coat the sides: As well as the layers that are coming apart: I placed shims to ensure the middle section would stay supported while curing, and though I originally thought I had more clamps than it turned out I did, I had to resort to chip clips, but only on the spots that didn't need the greatest support. I then placed the large clamp on either side of the mid-section: I allowed the 6 room side of the dollhouse to cure for a full 24 hours (just as had been done with every prior glue application), before moving on to the 5 room side (the lighting isn't the best as we are in the midst of dreary rain and overhead lighting is no match against it): The same process was repeated: Once complete, in an effort to further seal the wood (whi...

The Hobbies dollhouse is currently under its third glue and clamp, of which there are many more to come, but in the meantime, it turns out this house had yet another surprise in store for me. More on that in a bit. While it's been undergoing its first round of structural repair: I've done my best to stay busy. There's been a lot of trips to the hardware store and scouring the Internet in search of the pieces needed to make this dollhouse structurally sound again. As much as I want to get to the truly fun part, making it safe is my number one priority and I refuse to move forward until I feel confident there aren't going to be nail jabs and splinters when my daughter is playing around within its walls. So, yes. There's been plenty of measuring and searching. We found what we believe will be useful in making the various missing or broken pieces of external trim. For the missing baseboards my husband is hopeful to be able to recreate those where needed. Becaus...

I spent a small portion of yesterday morning pulling electrical, which I didn't bother to document since it was simply turning old screws and pulling and/or snipping wire. Most of my time was utilized deconstructing the trim pieces from the roof, siding, and front and back facades. It took great care as some of the wood was brittle, and in some cases, repair or replacement will be needed. There are also missing trim pieces that need to be made to complete everything once I get to the rebuild portion of this project. Here you can see an example of how some of the trim has broken: Also, there are exposed nails and brad nails. I encountered some of this while removing the baseboards on the interior and ended up nicking and poking myself more times than I care to recall. I should have pulled them straight away but I chose to work around them for the sake of expediency. I was on a roll, after all. But I did finally yank them out this time around: The large roofing det...