Handgemalt Cottage: Part 5, Finished and Very Happy, Mr. Groundhog - Real Good Toys, Children's Choice, 1 Country Lane CC1 Front Opening Kit

 

Finished!!!

 

Oh my!

I've finished my third of four dollhouses from the RGT Children's Choice collection, the 1 Country Lane. Take a look, its definitely the "sister" of the RGT CC Tudor, just a change of the exterior trim package and the "bash" I did on it... https://happylittleworlds.blogspot.com/2014/02/retrofit-kit-tudor-dollhouse-part-12.html.

In any case, I'm very pleased with Handgemalt Cottage's results as I kept within a very sparse budget and only bought special "beams" from my favorite miniature trim provider, www.manchesterwoodworks.com.

Yes, fabric sides. I can't help myself!

The back, of course!

The stairs and the banister are removable.

 First floor. If you look very close you can see the wee nails for pictures and such.

Second floor. 

All the "wallpaper" throughout the home is fabric.

 Attic

___________________________________

So the whole thing was designed for the vintage, German, Handgemalt furniture....

Well, before I can begin the fourth and last of the RGT, CC dollhouses, 333 Franklin St. dollhouse, the last of the four, I must do my taxes.

Boo hoo!

 

 

Handgemalt Cottage: Part 4, Hang Out Your Shingle and Get To the Top - Real Good Toys, Children's Choice, 1 Country Lane CC1 Front Opening Kit

Everything seems to be leading to the roof now...

 

Even the wee banister I've made with craft sticks:

 

I think I'm not going to glue the banister down. Just like the stairs, you can leave them out. Just hope you have a dolly piece of furniture that won't fall through!!!

___________________________________________

 

I Hate Shingles!! 

Not really, but yes!!!

All the dyeing and drying before one can do a thing!! I feel like Lili Von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles, "I'm so tired!!". 

I usually end up with about two dye baths per roof to get the color I want. I use Rit Fabric Dye and salt. Three colors this time. Scarlet, Dark Brown, and a tiny bit of Black. And I never rinse the shingles. The final color? Its a crap shoot really.

The first dye with Rit Dye, Scarlet. The final dye with Dark Brown added and a little Black.

 

 ___________________________________________

 

The Stuff Before the Roof Goes On

While all that dyeing and drying was going on I had to figure the angle and cut my beams for the attic ceiling. I am a glutton for punishment!! 

I made a template of the attic peak area by putting the dollhouse on its back and drawing its profile.  Then I cut my beams on the perpendicular to the angle for the top and where the beam meets the attic wall. I messed up a couple of times!!

Look! Half a roof on already!!

__________________________________________ 

And finally.....

 

The First Rows Of Shingles!

Handgemalt Cottage: Part 3, Sticks and More Sticks!! - Real Good Toys, Children's Choice, 1 Country Lane CC1 Front Opening Kit

Sticks! Long, Laborious, Sticks!!!

So the batons that run vertically on the front of the wee Handgemalt Cottage, what a pain!!

I realized, after marking the 1" spacings per the instuctions, that RGT's 1" spacing, well, was dumb! But of course that realization did not come to me before I had glued up the window trims and shutters! Duh!!!!! None of the baton sticks lined up with the middle of the windows or the peak of the front porch!!! Argh! So I ended up erasing the original spacing guidelines while all that trim and shutters were on, and made new spacing lines to satisfy my need for symmetry! Geesh!!!

Cutting and gluing up every stick!

Another frustration, the sticks for the batons were not long enough to span the longest areas! Another reason I decided to use shutters, a desperate attempt at making the fewest scarf joints as possible! I only had one scarf to make, to be exact, using my "new" spacing and shutters. Originally there would have been at least four.

Even then, I was anxious all the time, hoping all the batons would line up proper when it was all done. Lot's of measuring, cutting sanding and gluing alright and since the front is stained,  I couldn't use filler to hide mistakes!

In the meantime I was planning for the sides of the house. To stain, to paint? My brain was a-tizzy!

________________________________________________________

Fabric To the Rescue, Again!

Well, after all that thought, I decided to use the last piece of fabric I bought to match the house that I found at a thrift store. I'm not sure it was such a good idea, but its different!

I used ModPodge to apply the fabric, directly over the wood. I didn't prime it or anything. Once dry, I applied a coat of H2O poly to it and that made it stick solidly. The machine finished edge, I wrapped and glued under the house's bottom floor.

I also decided, instead of cutting the fabric off at the top sides, I would wrap it over, into the interior attic sides. It doesn't have a noticeable pattern and less trim to cover the raw edges!! Yay!

Exterior side fabric wrapped up and over, edges sealed with a bit of trim.

I think it came out rather smart!

_______________________________________________________ 

Finally, the Front Peak!!

At last I could put on the front peak! This just really makes the dollhouse come alive in my book.

And of course, I had to test the front wall to see how the whole thing is gonna look when its done!

And yes! I did finish all those sticks and they look pretty OK to me!

Apply the gingerbread trim, another brush of stain on the whole thing and some poly and it will be good to go.

Now I have to prep the shingles and finish the inside attic roof treatment. AAAAAAA! I'm insane!!!