Dollhouse Miniature Front Door Knob

 

Watch the video here.

 

This is a project I should have done a long time ago. But since that didn’t happen and I have the door knob now I decided to show you how I am doing this today. (also this way I actually get the door knob installed before I loose it and have to buy another one…..)

The door knob set I purchased has a back plate with a key hole detail. I both love and hate this little detail. If handled properly I love the look of the extra detail even if it is a bit out of scale. However, I hate when the color of the door shows through the key hole. I am just as guilty of this as anyone. I can’t remember how many times I have put a door knob on the exterior door only to notice the paint showing a day later. So I started doing this little trick I show today and I love how it looks.

To fill the hole I cut a piece of paper, I used a scrap of card-stock that was on my work table from a recent Cricut project, and cut it to a size that will fit in the recess of the back plate of the door knob. It doesn’t have to be good fit just small enough to fit in all the way and big enough to cover the key hole.

Then I use a black pen, or paint, or whatever is handy and color one side of the paper.

Then use a glue, like e6000 to glue the paper in place to cover the key hole. Let this glue dry, overnight is probably best since we will be putting glue against it to attach it to the door.

To make the placement easier I cut what is basically a jig to help me line up the door knob. I first measured from the center of the door knob to the bottom of the back plate of it and found that to be about ½” since I want to glue this in place with the door knob at just around 3” from the porch floor I cut a piece of wood to 2 ½” long. In this case I used a piece of a craft-stick that was on my work table. That way when I place the stick with one end on the porch floor I can glue the door knob in place with the bottom of the back plate resting on the top end of the stick. Then I know my door knob is in the place I want it and I don’t have to try to get a ruler in the already cramped working area of the front porch. (yeah, this would have been soooooo much easier before I put the door in place)

Before we get out the glue do a dry fit of the knob to make sure where you are putting the knob. I also placed a heavy object (a brick that is wrapped in foil) behind the door so it would stay closed while I am working on it.

 

 

Now using a glue that will work with all the materials we are trying to glue together (metal, paper and wood) add some glue to the back of the door know plate and put it in place on the door. I do prefer a glue that dries clear for this. Depending on the glue you use you may need to hold the door knob in place for longer than I did. I found mine stayed in place with just a few moments of holding. Allow the glue to set up before moving touching it again,

The hardest part of this project was probably trying to figure out a way to get the camera set up in a safe way (where I wouldn’t knock it down) in a place where you guys could see what I was doing. So tape roll to the rescue, the camera with the tripod base fit perfectly on top of a bit roll of masking tape. Hey you use what you have, right??

 

Once the glue dried and I was able to move the dollhouse back in place and add the back the current seasonal décor I am very happy with how much better the door looks with the door knob in place. Oh, and you get a little sneak peek at Sunday’s tutorial here too…..

 

 

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Fall Plaid Tablecloth

 

Watch the video here.

This week for the tutorial we are making a fall plaid table cloth for the dollhouse. I started off camera by creating a table cloth the same way I did in the video you can find here. In that video I show you not only how to make the table cloth that can be draped to look realistic but I talk about how to size it to your table.

This video was supposed to go up on the channel last week and I had all but the end of it filmed when I made a huge error that ruined my table cloth that I couldn’t easily fix. I actually got to the same point twice, making the same mistake. So I decided I needed to build a way to fix that mistake into the project.

So you might be asking what was this mistake. For the plaid design I am using alcohol markers. I use these because they are a medium that won’t run if the table cloth gets wet and are not likely to come off onto other items in our miniature collections. I also find them much easier to work with than paint for adding details. Since I know that I can remove the ink with Isopropyl alcohol I figured that if I made any errors with my design they should be easy to remove. I was very wrong. In both of my first two table cloths I had placed a line in the wrong place and when I went to correct it all I did was make a huge mess. The ink soaked into the fabric so much that it just smeared instead of removing. That told me that I needed to seal the fabric. So I decided to use a coat of white paint on the fabric. Initially I was just going to do that but as I was working on the table cloth for the video I did some testing and decided that I wanted to add the extra precaution of the layer of Mod Podge to further seal the fabric. This way I was able to clean up any misplaced lines as I show later in the video.

I used my normal technique of using tape, sticky side up to hold the table cloth in place while I worked on it. Since I really wanted it to stay in place I used the widest masking tape I could find, and I did add a third strip at the top off camera. I also folded a piece of printer paper to fit under the table cloth that would stick out on the top and bottom. The paper will help my tile that I work on to stay much cleaner. You will also need to have the table cloth attached to a surface that you can rotate to do the lines like the tiles I usually work on.

 

The first step on the video is to add a coat of white paint to the table cloth surface. I used some white fabric paint simply because I have an entire bottle of that and my white craft paint is getting really low. In the end I do like the color of the paint more than the color of the fabric I had used. They are both white but the paint make a much crisper white color that I was happier with.

 

 

Now we can add that coat of Mod Podge, I used Satin in the tutorial mainly because it was on my table and I didn’t have to go find the almost empty bottle of Mat that I had just put away the day before. In my opinion the Mat would have looked better in the end but it is not a big deal the Satin looks good also. Allow the Mod Podge to dry completely.

 

 

To make the lines that form my simple plaid I used the Bic alcohol markers that I got at Walmart a few years ago. You could use any alcohol based marker. I have seen a lot of fall table cloths in real size advertised that are teal and orange and I find them so pretty so those are the colors I went with. Specifically the color names are- Hot Aqua and Sunset Orange.

Start by marking the center point of each edge on the tape/paper that is under the table cloth. 

 

 

 

Then pick which color you want to start with and make a line across the middle lined up with the marks you made. Be sure to stop and stop all the lines off the table cloth, this will prevent getting a blob of ink at the points you started and stopped. Working from the center line to the top edge make lines ½” apart. Then turn your surface the table cloth is attached to 180° and work from the center line to the opposite end of the table cloth. 

 

 

 

 

Now turn the project 90° and repeat the same steps to put lines across the table cloth. Again working from the middle to one edge, turn the project and work to the other edge.

Now you should have a table cloth with a grid of one color of lines. In my case the Aqua color.

Once the first set of lines is in place it is time to add the second color in my case the orange. To do this starting again in the center add a line ¼” away from the middle line and work to each edge just like before. This way your second color lines will be alternating with the first set forming our very simple plaid design.

Once the ink is dry which will be pretty quickly remove the table cloth from the tape and do any trimming needed.

At this point in the video I show you how to correct any mistakes and why I sealed the fabric like I did. 

 

 

 

As you can see where I sealed the fabric with both the paint and the Mod Podge it was easy to remove the ink so if I had made a mistake I wouldn’t had to start over like I did when I didn’t seal it.

 

 

Now on to putting the table cloth onto the table which I also showed in the original tutorial for the table cloth in more detail than I did on this one.

 

 

And now let’s see a few options for the table with the table cloth and various projects we’ve made on the channel in place on the table for a scene in your dollhouse or room-box.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Round Santa Sign

 

Watch the video here.

Today’s project is another that I have created a pattern for you use to make yours. You can find the download here. I have both a PNG file for use with an electronic cutting machine and also a PDF for those that are hand cutting their shapes. Also included is a text file that will give basic directions for how to use the PNG file with you cutting machine including the size to set the image at to get the correct size project.

 

This sign only needs 3 basic pieces- sign base, Santa’s belt, and the belt buckle. You will cut 4 of the large rounds for the back of sign and 3 of each of the other shapes.

 

 

 

 

Glue the pieces together in sets and allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

Now time to paint. I used red for the base of the sign. Since this is a bit of a bigger piece I do recommend painting both the back and the front on this piece just to minimize any warping. Black for the belt, And a golden yellow tome for the basecoat on the buckle.

 

 

For the second coat of paint use the same red and black on those pieces concentrating on any areas you might have missed with the first coat and any areas that look too light in color. For the buckle switch to a metallic gold paint and give it a good coat of that. Allow to dry completely.

 

 

Now we can glue our sign together, I do recommend doing a “dry fit” to make sure you know where the belt will line up best. Then just assemble the sign with the belt in the middle and the buckle in the middle of that. Allow the glue to dry.

 

 

Now just a quick coat of Mat Mod Podge to give our signs a more finished final appearance.

 

 

Once dry we are ready to add the sign to the dollhouse wall. You could even just lean it against the wall if you wish. 

 

 

 

You can find all the items on the porch (plus a few more projects) in the new playlist I created here: The Santa Collection.

A big thank you to Plaid for providing the paints, brushes and Mod Podge used in today’s tutorial.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Fall Tabletop Decoration

 

Watch the video here.

Today I thought it would be fun to replicate in miniature a little fall decoration I recently picked up in real size. I was at the local Family Dollar store and they had just finished putting out some new fall decorative items. In amongst them I saw this cute tabletop decoration. Now to be honest I wasn’t going to buy anything that day but then little guy was just sitting there and I knew it would be perfect to make in miniature. I also know it will fit in on my fake fireplace since the decorations were a little sparse last year.

So to begin we need to gather just a couple of items. A couple of regular craft-sticks and a white chenille stem. For coloring those we will need a few paints (we’ll talk about those in a minute) and some alcohol markers.

Start by cutting the craft-sticks in the following sizes:

2 @ 1”

2 @ ¼”

1 @ ½”

1 with a roof peak that measures 5/8” from the tip of the peak to the base.

 

Glue the two 1” pieces together and clamp to hold until at least mostly dry. This well be the base of our piece.

 

 

 

 

 

Now glue the peaked craft-stick piece and the ½” one like this to form the little house.

 

 

 

Meanwhile use a pair of scissors to trim the chenille stem into a tree shape and color with the alcohol markers. Ideally if you have a brown one that would probably work alone. I didn’t have one so I used a yellow one first to coat it then just a touch of orange on the tips of what are now the branches. Set this aside to dry until later.

 

 

Once the glue dried mark the middle of the long unit and glue the 2 tiny pieces to the front like this. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

Now we can paint, I used some vanilla cream paint for the base piece. Then mix a tiny bit of the same paint with a brown (I used Woodsy Smoke) to make a beige color and paint the house part. Allow to dry.

 

 

Now add the details. On the house part use the cream color to add the roof details and a door and windows. Then first with a pencil write the word FALL on the base and they using a toothpick apply some rust[orange color paint (I used Buttered Yam) to the letters. Allow to dry.

 

 

 

 

Once dry glue the house to the top of the base. Cut the tree free of the rest of the stem and glue next to the house and allow to dry.

 

 

There you have a cute little fall tabletop decoration for your dollhouse. Here is the one I made in the video next to it’s real counterpart. I think I did a pretty good job of scaling it down for the dollhouse.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Building the Beachside Bungalow part 24 Porch Floor pt 2

 

Watch the video here.

This week we are finishing the front porch floor. And even though I am writing this part of the blog before the work is done I already know I love how this looks. I got the slightly aged wood look I was after without going too far. I think I achieved the mix of old with new and I used just stuff I had on hand. Actually the “stuff” I used a lot of people would consider to be trash. I love it when I can tie a Trash to Treasure project into a major component of a project. I have a lot of the cardboard still on hand (and I get more every month) so don’t be surprised to see more of it in future projects on the channel.

Of the 60 some strips I cut last week I have around 15 or 20 left over. I was hoping to have extra since I would rather have more than I need than have to stop in the middle of a project to make more. I am sure I will figure out a use for the leftovers. Maybe the dollhouse needs a matching doghouse……..

I used the same wallpaper gel glue that I used on the step and on the inside wallpaper in the house. If you don’t have any of this look for the thickest glue you can find. The thicker the glue, the lower the moisture of the glue and the less problems you will have with the project.

I did use a brick to weigh down the strips as I went. I placed a piece of parchment paper in between the brick and the floor to protect it. I did manage to cause some minor damage to the front wall of the dollhouse but it was easy to fix with a bit of sandpaper and some touch up paint. There was already a drip in the paint below the window that I have been meaning to fix for like forever so I did that at the same time.

This project would have been much easier to do before the porch railing went on for sure. But I know I would not have thought of this method back then so I am glad I waited.

I cut the strips to fit in batches so that I would only cut the amount I needed so the ones that are leftover are full length.

 

 

Be sure to make sure every strip you lay down is straight that is the key to this project. Take your time and be careful.

 

 

To fit around the places like the posts and the door I used the method my dad taught me many years ago when we were replacing flooring in the house we lived it. Here are some photos showing the process I used, if you do the same you send up a thank you to my dad for me.

When working on projects like this I like to lay just a few strips and let the glue/paste do its job before I add more. That way I find I have a better chance of my finished floorboards being straight the entire length of the porch. If I try to lay too many at a time I find by the time I get to the far end of the porch my boards will have a definite slant which will really show up at the end by the rail.

After laying all the flooring I gave it a coat of Satin Mod Podge. This will seal the floor and make it much more durable. I would have used Mat Mod Podge but I am almost out of that and I wanted to get this finished this week. I do have to say while if you use wood you might be able to skip the clear finish with the paperboard I feel it is necessary.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.

Dollhouse Miniature Saint Patrick's Day Porch Sign

 

Watch the video here.

Today we are adding to our front porch decor for Saint Patrick's Day with a really fun porch sign. I love how this one turned out and I hope you also enjoy the project.

The paints, and brushes were provided to me by Plaid so that I can create better videos for all of you.

We start out with 4 of the slim sticks that I picked up at Hobby Lobby, you could also use either slim sticks or coffee stir sticks for the sign. I cut each of these sticks at 5”.

I also cut 3 pieces of regular craft-stick at ¾” long.

I lined up my sticks making sure the ends were as even as possible. Since one of the sticks I am using this time is pretty crooked I used some masking tape to hold all the sticks right where I wanted them. I then glued the craft-stick pieces to the back side to hold all 4 of the slim sticks together. I don't worry too much about how far apart I space these since they won't really show once the sign is in place. 

 

 

Once the glue dried I used some white craft paint and gave the front of my sign a really good smooth coat. I also got the edges of the sign but skipped the back.

Once dry I found the center of my sign and marked it with a pencil. I then penciled on the letters to the word “welcome” skipping the letter “o”

After making sure I was happy with the placement and size of my letters I used a black fine tip paint pen to write the letters to word. Any pencil lines that still show can be erased once all the paint is dry.

Once my letters were dry I used some green craft paint (Folkart Multi-Surface in Bright Green) to paint a shamrock in the place of the letter “o” that we skipped earlier.

Allow this to dry completely.

I decided to skip the Mod Podge this time for the sign since I really liked how it looked without the finish on it.

As always I do want to sincerely thank all of you for watching my videos and reading my blog posts. It means so much to me that you are supporting me in this way. If I could ask you all to do just a bit more by subscribing to the channel and liking the videos and leaving comments. Those help more than you can imagine. Also if you could pass the links on to your friends I would appreciate it so much.