The Tiling's On The Wall

The tiling was done in the same way as the bricks.  Tiles 1" by 1/2" cut out of a piece of painted sandpaper, then stuck onto the upper bay overlapping each one to give the 3D effect.

The lead flashing was part of a cereal box cut to shape and sprayed using some grey primer we had in the garage.  To give it a slight metallic look, I brushed some watered down PVA glue over it.

It's Not Balderdash - It's Pebbledash!

Having bricked the porch and the lower half of the front of the house (another six hours!) I pebble dashed the upper half of the house.

The pebble dash is made from white paint with a dollop of PVA glue mixed in and then model railway "ballast" mixed in and sort of stippled onto the wall until it looks right.

Bricking It.



 Take a few sheets of fine sandpaper...

...paint them brick colours...

...then cut each sheet into 644 tiny little bricks.

I wanted to achieve a better look than simple brick wallpaper and although I was exceedingly tempted by the fantastic real brick slips that are available from Richard Stacey, I wanted to keep my costs to a minimum.

As long as you remember to paint the wall in a mortar colour before beginning to stick the "bricks" on so that any tiny spaces between the bricks look like real mortar, it's an excellent compromise.

Having spent six hours making the bricks, it took a further two hours to brick below the lower bay window.  (But well worth all the time and effort.)

A Touchy Subject.



 I've spent six hours painting the windows and external doors, trying very very hard not to get paint on the "glass" and staining the internal doors in a medium oak colour.  Luckily, the weather was beautiful so I was able to take them all outside to the garden and catch a few rays at the same time!
My neighbours wondered what the hell I was doing!
Of course, to see what a difference I've made, I had to put them temporarily in place once they were done!

It's arrived!

I arrived home from work to find that the courier had been and delivered my two boxes of Mountfield kit.  I only ordered my new dolls house two days before and I feel so excited.
Within a couple of hours I had the dry build up and spent hours looking over it all, deciding what to put where etc (although, it changes each time I look at it, or get some inspiration!)