Custom Styled Dollhouse Kits

Greenleaf Country Doll House! Limited Sale

2011-12-01T11:24:00.001-06:00

Greenleaf Has a HUGE sell on the Country House. These kits were sold via mail order only for the catalog company Damark (and Redmark) in the 80s. That company is no longer in business. You have a chance to Get yours now! This kit features a furniture set that has never been used on any other kit by Greenleaf Dollhouses and has never been sold as an individual kit. There are now less than 50 available. Get yours now!

Here is the link to Buy Greenleaf Country House

The 1st two I built (pictured below) I did without even having directions. I only had the schematics . I was just starting out so believe me, this is a simple kit to buildッ. There weren't even pictures of it on the box because they were left overs from a mail order company and they offered to give them to me and I knew I just wanted the kits no matter what (back when I started working for Greenleaf). Greenleaf never directly sold these to the public themselves so this is a GREAT offer and your kits will be new in the box!

I built these while I was still learning to build as a hobby ッ

The coupon code to purchase is CH10

This is the 2nd one I built:

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog!!

Tracy

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Rose Cottage Roombox 1" scale Dollhouse Miniature

2011-10-28T14:38:00.003-05:00

I am adding the last touches to my latest Courtyard roombox setting and I just wanted to share it with you all because this roombox style has been discontinued for years and I only have a few. The scenes I create in my last few are each different and unique. I am not taking custom orders because I am working with the stash I have on hand. This is one of those pieces that is simply gorgeous!! It would be the perfect conversation piece and there is still room for you to add some of your own special unique touches to it. I do NOT use Stamps or Molds. Each stone and brick was hand sculpted and hand painted by me. I have learned from the King of this technique (Rik Pierce) himself who teaches his students how to do this free hand. Much time and imagination has gone into this creation to make it into this special item you see here.

It will be for sell in my CDHM shop and you don't want to wait and let it to get away!! There are over 40 handmade roses in the climbing rosebush alone! Their are 3 different shades of pink roses on this bush to simulate a touch of nature.

The fountain with water sprouting from it, is just so beautiful and has an aged verdigris hand painted effect. The entry way has massive pillars with fierce looking protectors guarding the entry. The flower box is full of flowers in shades of pink, white and purple. The window has a spiders web "lead glass" looking insert.

All I have to add are the butterflies and birds to this Wonderful scene. Can't you just picture yourself enjoying the scene in this Beautiful rose Courtyard?! The Working hanging coach light has also been aged a green verdigris color. If you purchased this scene, I am sure you will be happy with it.

You can purchase this scene here:

http://www.cdhm.org/user/minisontheedge

You can see more pictures via my webshots album

Rose Cottage Courtyard roombox

Thank you for taking the time to view my blog!! If you have questions please do not hesitate to ask them.

Tracy

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1" Scale Roombox or Display Box Dollhouse Scenes

2011-10-18T11:14:00.001-05:00

I have loved creating dollhouse miniature scenes in shadowboxes or room box settings for years. I am almost finished with the Brimbles that I started on this summer and sometimes, when my creativity is overcharged, I do other small projects along the way and I find so much enjoyment creating a setting in a roombox or shadowbox.

I have been excited to share with you all the new display box creations I have been making. I have tried to fit a lot of the elements that I would normally put in my dollhouses, in these miniature scenes and I try and leave enough space so that the buyer can add their own things to each scene.

These are perfect for the person who don't have a lot of space in their homes for dollhouses. I have even sold a few to people who are not miniature collectors at all but just love art.

I have a three pictorial sneak peeks of one that will be available soon for sale. It's unpainted in these shots but, you can see some of the cool elements added to this scene.

Here are a few of some of the ones I have done in the past:

Shadow Box & Card Scenes

Thanks for viewing my blog today!! I will start blogging the Brimbles dollhouse build this week too.

Thought Of The Day ~ True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist. ~ Albert Einstein

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/▌*˛˚ღ •˚ ˚TRACY TOPPS ~♥~˚ ✰*
/ \ ˚. ★ *˛ ˚♥ .✰˚* ˚ ★ღ ˚. ★ *˛
˚♥*!✰˚ ˚ღ。* ˛˚ ♥

Artisans In Miniature October 2011 Magazine

2011-10-02T19:53:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share Another Wonderful issue of AIM I-magazine with everyone.

Aim Imag Issue 38 October 2011

The First Dollhouse I Built

2011-10-01T14:29:00.000-05:00

The other week, I was cleaning up and discovered a Polaroid picture of the dollhouse that got me started building dollhouses as an adult.

So many times, we look at people's work and think, "Man, I'll never be that good" or we think "This person must have always been talented". It's not true and I have the picture to prove it!!

Here is a picture of the very first dollhouse I built.

That picture is of the very first dollhouse that evolved into my hobby/business. I showed pictures of that plain house (well considering what my houses look like now, I think it is rather plain) and I sold about 10 or more of those and gifted others to various friend and family members. I started doing crafts shows and Garage sales and grew my business.

I wrote this post to help inspire any of you out there that may dream of enhancing your creative skills but think there is no hope. Once upon a time, I did not feel skilled enough. Thanks to the many Artists out there that shared some of their talent is what helped me to develop my own . Keep working toward your dreams. They do come true!!

To see pictures of some of the other ones I found and scanned in, click below. I'll add more of my first houses, as I find them. Like my very first Greenleaf kit (which was a Tiffany and Arthur)

My Very first dollhouse Build

Thanks for stopping by to read my blog!

Tracy

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♫ .(ړײ) ♫.

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♫ ..╝╚.. ♫

Castle Courtyard Room Box (Dollhouse)

2011-09-28T12:12:00.001-05:00

This month, I have completed a few room boxes that I had started on a little while back and it felt so good to finish some of them. Today, I wanted to share pictures of the latest one with you. It is another Courtyard scene and it has me wanting to finally jump into making my Castle tower when I am finished with my last custom order of this year.

It is a 1" scale Castle stone scene and I have embellished the roombox to give the entire piece the elegance I felt it needed.The light by the doorway is from England and is lit by using a 9v battery. There are LED lights and battery pack that I added on the top lid to give the room extra lighting. It is so beautiful to view in a dark room at night.

This is a 1" scale room (1" = 1') and the size of the box is 9 1/2" W x 9"D x 13"H. The window and the door was handmade by me and is my own design. The window has a stained glass pattern that I created. The door and the female knights at the doorway were custom created and added to this scene to make it a bit more unique.

The stones are painted an even tone or grays and browns. I call it neutral colored stones so that depending on the lighting, the stones will look all gray or all brown. This item is for sale in my CDHM online store http://www.cdhm.org/user/minisontheedge

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Thank you so much for viewing my blog. Next month, I will do my first Blog Give Away so stay tuned for more details!!

Castle Courtyard Box scene

Night Time In The Court Yard Dollhouse Box

2011-09-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

I am sorry to be behind in sharing things on my blog. Last week, I shared a WIP (work in progress) photo of a 1" scale roombox I was working on and it sold within 2 days. The box is from Olde Mountain Miniatures that I bought several years ago. It's a "Harvey Wallhanger" box and I had this idea for a roombox in my head for a while. I actually started on it this past winter and set it aside to do some other things. the other week, I decided to go ahead and paint it since the clay work had already been done and this is the Magical scene that I was able to create. It has a a lighted carriage light too which is lit by battery.

Even though this was made from a "Harvey Wallhanger" roombox, it is made to sit on a shelf. You can almost smell the Wisteria flowers & almost hear the water fountain.

To see more pictures, click the slide show Below:

Night Time In The Court Yard Dollhouse Room Box

Thank You for taking the time to view my Blog!!

Tracy

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Chicago International Tom Bishop Show 2011 workshops

2011-09-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

Last week, I was looking over the pictures of the workshops offered for the Tom Bishop Chicago show next year. As with every year, I always see several classes I'd love to take but am unsure which, if any I will take. I have been wanting an iPad for a couple of years and 2 of the classes I'd like to take cost more than an 64g iPad. Of course, this has never stopped me before.

If you haven't seen what they are offering, you can click here:

Tom Bishop Chicago 2012 Workshops

What are some of my favorites? Well of course, I LOVE Rik Pierce's Smuggler's cottage:

I'm Also in LOVE with Ron Hubble Jacobean Drawing Room:

One of my Favorite artists is Claude Monet and Karl Blindheim is offering a fantastic class titled Camille's Terrace:

Roz & Aidy Gilmore are teaching a sculpting class on how to sculpt and dress a doll:

Erik Goddard is offering a class that appeals to me too titled Rue De La Croix:

Charrita Teague is offering a class on creating food such as Cheese, grapes, wine and much more for your dollhouse settings. It's being offered in 1" & 1/4th inch scales:

There are seventy (70) classes being offered and many that can catch the eye of any miniaturists. There are classes on making furniture, animals, smaller scales and Much much more. They also offer a fantastic show & sale during the weekend. If you have not been, this is a show you will want to save for and attend. You can click here: http://bishopshow.com/chiinfo.htm for more information about the show in Chicago next year.

Hope you all have a Fantastic day!

AIM September 2011 Online Magazine

2011-09-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

Just wanted you all to know that the new September Issue of Artisan In Miniature is now available for you to read. Enjoy and feel free to post what you liked best about it!!

Aim Imag Issue 37 September 2011

Plaster Of Paris Planters

2011-08-29T10:10:00.002-05:00

I was reading my news feed and came across a Wonderful blog by Mark Montano on how to edit plain old flower pots for your home using molds and plaster of paris. I had always been told not to use plaster of paris because it doesn't hold up well and that it's not water proof etc.. Those comments were made by my friends in Miniature and I am totally in LOVE with the idea of the pots he made and I wanna try them for myself. I'd love to hear your comments about your experiences with Plaster of Paris.

You also will LOVE viewing Marks Blogs if you are a Crafty person or a Miniaturist like me who like to use full size craft projects and shrink them down to miniature. You can see and read his Blog Here.

http://markmontanoblogs.blogspot.com/

If you don't already follow him, you just might want to. He has some fantastic ideas for your real life home and you can scale them down to fit your miniature dollhouses too.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog today!!!

Tracy

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Quarter Scale Dollhouse Kit

2011-08-15T20:01:00.006-05:00

Here is a new house that I just finished and have ready for you to move in! It is a 1/4th scale dollhouse and very few of these kits were made. This house has hand painted and cut shingles and has a pretty vine growing up the sides. There is even a tree with purple "blooms". The crossbuck doors add that special touch to this structure. The size of this item including the base is 5"W x 4"D x 4" H

Everything, (walls, floors, window trim and even the door designs) are perfectly accurate to fit the scale of this wood structure. Please see all pictures and feel free to ask any questions.

This One (1) item is now for sale NOW. The price includes Free USA Priority Shipping.I only ship to the confirmed paypal address when paid via paypal. To purchase and have shipped out of the USA, please contact me first for the shipping cost.
To buy, please visit my website MinisOnTheEdge.com

See more pictures by clicking the slide show:

1/4th scale Greenleaf Dollhouse contest kit 2010

Thank You for taking the time to view this item and for viewing my Blog! I hope you have a Fantastic Day!!

Tracy
http://www.minisontheedge.com/

if you have any questions about this item or other items I have ready for sale, please email me by click HERE

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Greenleaf Dollhouse Barbie 2" scale Roombox

2011-07-20T13:05:00.003-05:00

Several Years ago, I got my hands on a 2" scaled Barbie Roombox by Greenleaf on eBay. I was so excited because I used to always collect any of the older Greenleaf dollhouse kits I could get my hands on. I was so excited I did not want to open the box. One day I hit the jack pot. Someone was selling all of their old store stock and they had 3 of these kits sitting on their shelves. I bought them and decided to build one for my youngest daughter back in 2008.

This is what it looked like when I finished it. She was younger at the time and everything had to be pink.

Last year (in December), she wanted me to freshen it up a bit. She took very good care of the roombox but it had writing on the walls and scuff marks so I told her I would do it. I got so busy (working to pay bills and everything else life throws my way) I let those get in the way of my doing it.

Every time I walked past it, I would clean it up and I even sat it on my work table a few times but I never "worked" on it (So she would take it to play with of course). I always felt guilty for not getting back to it.

Yesterday Morning, I decided to put all of my other work on the back burner for the day and spent the day fixing up her roombox. For the most part, it still looked great considering how much Sarah & Rachel had played with it. This is what it looked like Yesterday Morning when I "stole" it from her bedroom.

The floor boards were all in tack but where dull looking so, I added a darker stain to them and then added a varnish on top of them. She had already picked out the wallpapers she liked so I decided to use one from her stack of wallpapers which is a light turquoise.
I decided to accent and compliment that with a darker turquoise blue on some of the trim.

I then added some details on all of the white trim I decided to keep. The stained glass window still look great so I kept that in place. I also decided to add a stone paper to the fireplace instead of the red brick that was there. This past winter, I had purchased a 3 light outdoor post from the dollar store. It was a smaller scale because it was sold for their train village and it lit up via a battery pack. I kept looking at it and decided if I painted the post part silver it could become a nice ceiling light (And because it used AA batteries, I wouldn't worry about them playing with the electric). By the end of the day yesterday, this is what the roombox looked like:

Of course, Sarah is very pleased with it and has begged me to make her two more rooms so I will build them this week and let her paint the trims and everything else (to one of them and then I'll do the other).

Sorry that the colors still don't show the "true" color shade but, maybe one day, I'll take lessons on learning how to use a camera to take pictures correctly

You can see more pictures by clicking below:

Sarah’s Barbie Roombox

Thank You for stopping by to visit my blog today!!

Cathy's 1/24th scale Buttercup Lasercut Dollhouse Cottage

2011-07-19T12:25:00.001-05:00

I know I have not posted here on the blog for a little bit but I wanted to share with you pictures of the 1/24th scale Buttercup dollhouse kit I built for a client. This was the first time that I added electricity in this scale. I also am a little more pleased with the brick and stone scale on this one. The stones and bricks are very close to the scale this time.

I made the tree and flower container up front of this house too. I also created the fireplace and the added burning logs inside the fireplace too.

All of the stones and brick were created by me using clay and then hand painted several colors to create the realistic look of stones and brick. I even hand formed each shingle. Enjoy the pictures!

You can see pictures by clicking the slideshow here:

Cathy’s 1/24th scale dollhouse Cottage

Thought Of The Day ~ "Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations." Marston

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit my blog today!

ღ˚ •。☻/* ♥ ˚ ˚✰˚ ˛★* 。 ღ˛° 。* °♥ ˚ • ★ *˚ .ღ 。

/▌*˛˚ღ •˚ ˚TRACY TOPPS ~♥~˚ ✰*
/ \ ˚. ★ *˛ ˚♥ .✰˚* ˚ ★ღ ˚. ★ *˛
˚♥*!✰˚ ˚ღ。* ˛˚ ♥

Greenleaf Dollhouse Contest 2011 Kit

2011-07-05T10:54:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the deadline for anyone to submit their entries to the Greenleaf Spring Fling contest 2011! Here are a sample of a few submissions this year. Because of my position with Greenleaf, I have never entered a contest with them though I must say, this years kit really talked to my creative side!! I am so proud to be a member of such a talented group of Online Dollhouse Miniature enthusiasts. The above picture is the kit for this years contest. Below are a few pictures from members of our Greenleaf dolhouse forum. To see more or if you can not see a particular gallery, sign up and become a member of the Greenleaf Dollhouses Forum by clicking here: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/

All pictures below are copyrighted by the members named below and Greenleaf Dollhouses

Greenleaf Username pquade

Greenleaf Gallery http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5217

Greenleaf Username Raffa

Greenleaf Gallery album http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5216

Greenleaf username otterine

Greenleaf Gallery album http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5101

Greenleaf Username chattycathy66

Greenleaf Gallery album http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5094

Greenleaf username jujurodgers

Greenleaf Gallery http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5164

Greenleaf Username rbytsdy

Greenleaf Gallery http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5210

Greenleaf username LLyn M.

Greenleaf Gallery http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5205

Greenleaf username Momof2Moos

Greenleaf Gallery http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5199

Greenleaf username creativity95

Greenleaf gallery http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5159

Greenleaf username csd

Greenleaf gallery http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?app=gallery&album=5194

Greenleaf Username Jo Med

Flickr Gallery http://www.flickr.com/photos/64268770@N03/sets/72157627103555440/

Thank you for stopping by to read my Blog today!!

Mckinley Dollhouse Build Blog (Completed)

2011-06-24T21:56:00.001-05:00

May 26 2008
Posted by Minis On The Edge
The Finished McKinley Dollhouse

These are pictures of the finished McKinley Dollhouse! The Greenleaf dollhouses are loved by many great miniature Artisans. There are so many things you can do with a Greenleaf kit. They are lighter in weight but sturdy when assembled. They are simple to cut (I only used my hobby knife for this. All you have to do is think outside of the box. I always regret not taking the final pictures of this house after I cleaned up the edges and did touch ups but, these are the only completed shots I have of this kit.

Remember, if you dream it, you can do it! Have fun & feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comment section.

This is what the Kit looks like on the box:

This is what mine looks like:

You can see more pictures of the McKinley by clicking here:

Black Briar (Mckinley)

Thank you for viewing my blog today!!

McKinley Dollhouse Build Blog (Electricity)

2011-06-24T21:40:00.001-05:00

May 26 2008
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Adding Electricity

I used a mixture of hard wire and tape wire to light up this house. Because this house has a flat back and will hang on the wall, I fed all of the wires to the back of the house by clipping off the plugs and feeding it through holes that I drilled into the back of the house.

After that, I added a 11" strip of tape wire and took the plastic cover off of the tape wire. Next, took the wire and split the two wires about half inch down and then added one side on each side of the tape. Do not let the two exposed hardwire touch each other when you lay them down. I then took some masking tape and tacked it in place so that I could do all of the wires this way. Once all wires were added, I then took my soldering iron out to heat it and while it was heating, I added soldering flux (just a little touch) to the exposed wires (All of them) so that the solder will adhear to the wires to the tape wire.

After that, I add some solder to the tip of my soldering iron and then to the exposed wired to affix it together. I do this to all exposed wires. Here are the pictures to help you with the visual side of the instructions

After that, you can remove the little pieces of masking tape you use to help tack down the wires and keep them in place while you solder them in.

After that, I taped down all of the loose wires and labeled which room each wire it for. You can also add more lights & outlets to this later on if you like.

Now, all you need to do is add the Junction Splice and put one prong on each side of the tape wire. Then you add your transformer lead in wire and transformer and You have Electric!

It really is simple to do. Don't over complicate things by thinking too hard.Remember, if you have more questions feel free to ask in the comment section.

McKinley Dollhouse Build Blog (Roof Editing)

2011-06-24T21:15:00.000-05:00

May 26 2008
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Roof Editing

I started with foam core just to see if this design would work and if it would look really nice. I ended up cutting the roof height (on the raised roof side) down to 8" high. This is what it looked like in the beginning:

It took a while (3.5 hrs. ) to get the angles right because I found out that this house needed a little more support now that I was bashing it away from how it should have been done.

This is after I added the wood roof & attic parts. It was level on one side and not the other and I went around and around with the leveler I did finally get it right . After I got it to the point where I was satisfied , I added sandpaper and painted it black to give the roof floor an "Asphalt" look. I then added the Chimney stack :

I wanted to add roof trim to give the roof more detail. At first I started off by using the kits trim:

I ended up using some iron railing for the widows walk instead.

I aged it with a sea foam green paint:

Thank you for stopping by to read this blog!

Mckinley Dollhouse Build Blog (Fireplace & Tower)

2011-06-24T20:49:00.001-05:00

May 24 2008
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Fireplace & Tower Alterations

This is the close up of how high the attic wall would have been. You can see where I added the extension here:

This is the way the stairs & fireplace originally look.

I decided to add an extra wood storage shelf I also added stones on the fireplace:

My next change was to alter the look of the Mckinley's front door. I did this by using 2 strips of wood that is 1/16" x 1/4" x 36" . I used the actual door but used the strips of wood to alter the door design and not add the windows. I then added a lion head knocker to it that I hand made.

After that I started trying to figure out where to add the porch light. I found out that the area is too tight to add a light next to the door but, you can add the light above the door.

I also wanted to make a pointy tower roof as i had with my Pierce that I built last year so I did this by cutting wood in long triangle shapes to make the roof pointy I would have added a weather vane but decided that a tower cap would look good too.

I hope these changes help you to realized that the picture on the kit box is just that. A Picture. A few alterations and already this kit is looking different. Don't be afraid to have fun with your kit.

McKinley Dollhouse Construction Blog (The Beginning)

2011-06-24T20:31:00.001-05:00

May 24 2008
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Starting The McKinley

This time I am only blogging the changes that I made to this Gorgeous doll house kit. The McKinley has been my favorite since Lisa from Greenleaf asked me to make one 4 years ago. This is something that a newbie can do if they have the patience but since most new people have a hard time with the kt instructions I want it to be known in advance that, this McKinley Dollhouse blog is really for the advanced builders who can look at these brief comments listed and make the changes.

I started the building of this house a few weeks back. I started out building this kit pretty much like everyone else on the Greenleaf Build Team. You'll notice though (if you have your instructions nearby) that I did start a little bit out of sequence. When I have built a kit several times, I don't view the instructions as much. I have been wanting to bash (Alter) this kits' design since I completed my last one . I started on the back wall since I knew I was going to bash it by extending the roof line. I took wood that Greenleaf uses for their kits. They sell extra sheets but you have to call them for plain sheets that are not punched out yet.

When the original roof is finished, it is only 4" high. Mine right now is "bashed" to have a 9" high ceiling.

The next big change was that I wanted to change the kitchen wall so that the opening would be in the front of the room, not the back. I did this by cutting this wall into three sections so that most of the tabs would still be in most of the right parts of the floor for stability. I figured this out through trial and error and it took me over an hour to get it straight, stable & right. I also moved the kitchen wall over by 1" to make the kitchen larger.

I then had to attach it to the rest of the structure that I had already assembled:

It ended up looking a bit like this:

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog today. I am moving my build blogs over to my blog here on blogspot so that things will be easier to find. That is why you may see older dates written on the blog posts.

Hope you are having a Fantastic Day!

The Thought Of The Day is ~ There is a saying "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficult thing." What thing is difficult in your life right now that you can turn into an opportunity?

Brimbles Mercantile Dollhouse 2011

2011-06-21T09:06:00.002-05:00

I know, I have not posted anything for about a week. I'm not on vacation but just been busy with keeping the kids busy (They are home for the Summer) and my oldest daughter graduated from 8th grade.

Most of you don't come to my blogs to hear about the regular being a mom stuff. You come for the dollhouses so, yes, I have been working on another project. I started working on a new Brimbles Mercantile kit for a client of mine. Here is a picture of where I left off at last night (or early this morning depending on how you look at it).

I'm not sure yet if we are keeping the stained glass windows. The shot above is a shot I sent to my client to ask her if she likes the stained windows there or if she wants plain clear windows there. Plain ones came with the kit. I am a little further along and will blog step by step info of this entire build project. I'm just not doing it right now because the kids are home all day and, when they are not home, I'm catching up on cleaning lol.

I love the color combo's she picked. It really makes the room look "rich". I am really enjoying this project. I hope you are enjoying you day too!

After this project, I have to renovate my youngest daughters Barbie room box.

I hope you all are having a Fantastic day!

Thought of the Day~ Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.

Thank You for stopping by to read my blog!

Magnolia Dollhouse Build Completed

2011-06-14T15:02:00.062-05:00

April 9th 2007

Posted by Minis On The Edge

The "Maggie" Dollhouse Kit Day 10

Today I had to add the shingles and add a base to this house. I had a total ball building this house. The windows and porches are Wonderful. This is the PERFECT house for the Newbie. It's Great for a Child and is also WONDERFUL for the Dollhouse Collector! I stained the Shingles a Dark Mahogany

This is the Greenleaf Magnolia Dollhouse built By Minis On The Edge (Tracy Topps). This house was done for a Customer of mine who wanted this house built for his Grand Daughter for their Christmas Holiday. He was in the VA hospital and was not expected to live through the new year (which would have been 2007) . He wanted to purchase a lasting gift to give to his Grand daughter and so while in the hospital, he tried to build this kit along with the help of a couple of nurses.

On November 30th 2006, I received the phone call from him and he told me his story. TJ was such a sweet man and I promised him that I would have this house built and sent to him in the hospital in time to surprise his Grand daughter. He had someone else making something special for his Grandson. I started building this house on December 2nd. I was so happy to complete it in time for them. I was worried and up late several nights because I was worried about letting him down.

He sent me pictures of his family (I asked him to send me 3 of his favorite family pictures and I would surprise him with something special) I added one of the pictures he sent me of his daughter along with her husband and kids to the living room. I hung it above the fireplace. I also added a picture of him on the mantle and in the one bedroom on the wall. I gave a grandpa doll along with a card for him to give to his grand daughter. The doll looked so much like him and it was a new product that I had ordered during the summer of 2006. It came in 2 days before I shipped this house and the grandpa doll looked so much like TJ I had to give it to him.

I had a matter of days to build it and I built this house, wallpapered & electrified it in 10 days! It was a complete joy to do this for him & his family and I still think about him from time to time and wonder how they all are doing. When I did the blog for this house finally in the spring of 2007, I had just received another letter from him (My neighbor had gotten it months before and was afraid to give it to me because she accidentally opened it thinking it was her mail since the mail person had put it in her mailbox).

In January 2007, I received a letter in the mail with a picture of his Grand daughter with the house:

Here are pictures I took as I started building this house all the way till completion of it. I do this so that my customers can see how things are coming along as I build for them.

Magnolia Greenleaf Corona House

Thought of the day ~ You know you're in love when the hardest thing to say is goodbye.

I hope you all are having a Fantastic Day ! Thank you for stopping by to read my blog today.

Magnolia Dollhouse Build Blog Days 5 - 9

2011-06-14T14:44:00.023-05:00

April 9 2007

Posted by Minis On The Edge

Days 5 - 9 Of "The Maggie"

This house is really a Fast Build. I completed it in 10 days with working on it just a few hours every night. I added the window trim and it really makes this house begin to POP I also added the porch roof and porch trim. I covered the plastic windows so that I could do touch ups to the window frames. I LOVE this house and look forward to making another one soon

These are pictures of the staircase assembly. I used Quick Grip glue because it is paintable

I used the foundation brick sheet that came with the house kit. I put a dirty wash of black paint over it to color the mortar Gray. You can see the difference it can make because the left side has the "dirty wash" & the right side shows the natural way it comes in the kit (which looks to clean to my eyes)

I also decided it was time to add the roof

This house is almost finished in time for Xmas giving. I'll tell you the story about this client I was building this kit for soon. Towards the end of the blog. His story is what kept me working so hard and so late in the early morning hours to have this done in time. It's a True Story about a Grandpa in a VA hospital and the love he had for his Grand daughter......

Thanks for stopping by to read my Blog today!! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them.

Magnolia Dollhouse Kit Build Blog Days 1 - 4

2011-06-13T10:43:00.093-05:00

The Original date of this blog entry was 04 April 2007
I am moving my dollhouse build blogs to this blog so that people can find them more easily. I hope they help assist you in building and creating your own dollhouse dreams! I have been building dollhouse kits for almost 17 years. If you would like to have one professionally built by me, feel free to contact me. You can visit my website at MinisOnTheEdge.com

April 4 2007

Posted by Minis On The Edge

The Magnolia Dollhouse Kit Day 1

This house is large enough for the child or collector. The rooms are big enough to get a lot of play out of it and yet, this house is detailed enough for the adult collector to enjoy displaying their collection of dollhouse miniatures in it. I called my Magnolia "the Maggie" for the little girl I built it for in December. I built this house, painted, electrified, wallpapered and added a base to it all in 11 days!!

This is a fun house that you can enjoy to build. Have fun watching my journey in building this delightful house!! I started building this house on the 5th of December. First I selected the floors. It took 2 sheets of this hardwood floor to complet the living room of this house. That is how large this house is!

I then added the Kitchen floor. I only needed one sheet of this one. You can look in the pictures to see what I used

Then, I added the back wall and roof support & front wall

This house can be a fast build! I added the wallpaper to the front wall (the kitchen area & kitchen side wall) I also added the wallpaper to the living room wall

I messed up initially on my lattice trim. These parts should have been BEHIND the foundation frame. I made the mistake and assembled it in front of the foundation.

As you can see, even I make mistakes. Hopefully it will help you feel batter if you make any mistakes. I must admit that I make mistakes on all of my houses. The good thing about that is that they are all simple to correct .

I assembled the house using Quick Grip & Masking Tape

April 9 2007

Posted by Minis On The Edge

The Magnolia Dollhouse Kit Days 2-4

This is the Kitchen wallpaper I picked for the Maggie

This is the front bay after it's been added

This is the inside of the front bay. I always add the wallpapers as I assemble the house

I used "Old English" to stain the wood floors because the wood was too light for my customer

I added the top front wall after I added the wallpaper

The top Divider wall has been added now too

My customer that I built this house for, wanted the house to be the same colors as it was on the box so I had to try and find paint colors to match those colors. I did not want a "flat" paint look so I added a little textured (I got my customers approval of course first). I used the Greenleaf "Stucco" and added paint to it for the outside walls

This is the inside of that same wall

This is the outside walls once I finished them

Thank you for viewing my Blog! ✿(◠ ‿ ◠)
Thought of the day ~ "If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it." Johnathan Winters
Hope you are all having a Fantastic Day!! ~ Tracy

Lily Dollhouse Building Blog Compelted

2011-06-06T13:18:00.004-05:00

November 11 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

More Outside Painting

I have just added more colors to the outside of the house. It is really beginning to have it's own personality and I need my houses to talk back to me

Here are the pictures:

The new colors add more warmth and life to the house.
I dry fitted the porch parts onto the house. Now, I gotta paint them and glue them in place.

February 12 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

The Completed Lily

This house was made for a customer of mine and she did not want too many flowers up front but you know me, I gotta have flowers and trees and some form of life to the house. This is why I added things to give the house life but no "Cute" flowers.

Also, because this house was being shipped far away, I could not add a huge base to it so, I took some foam core (1/2" thick) and glued it to the bottom of this house. I then covered it with "Sheet Moss". I then added trees & moss to the the base to give this house the appearance that the yard is kinda unkept and this is what we have now. I will add more pictures shortly!!!

I am so excited because I know for sure that this house will be featured on the front cover of Dolls House And Miniature Scene Magazine in the UK. It's the first time I have ever been featured in a Magazine.

You can buy your copy by following the link

http://www.dollshousemag.co.uk/

You can see completed pictures of the Lily By clicking below:

The Lily Greenleaf Dollhouse

Magazine Cover

Thought of the day ~ Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. ~ John R. Wooden
Thank you for stopping by to read my blog!

Tracy

Lily Dollhouse Building Blog Days 9 - 12

2011-06-06T13:03:00.007-05:00

October 23 2006
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Adding The Clay

I finished painting and adding the dormers to the roof. After that, I decided to start painting the base coat on the trim that I added to the house (It will get about 4 washes to make it look like stone). I then started adding the clay to the foundation. I also made little clay embellishments that I want to add to the porch to give the effect and mood that my customer wants for this house.

After I finished that, I painted the porch a very dark brown. Then I started adding clay to bottom of the house. I decided to have the random stone effect. Here are the pictures so far:

I also had to redo the floors upstairs and down because I had not added a finish to them before I put the house in the garage

November 3 2006
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Completing the clay work

I did not realize that I have not added more pictures of the rest of the clay work I have done to this house. It is a large house to add clay too, which means, I am using a lot more clay than I thought I would. It is looking wonderful though.

The outside is all done.

Finished Roof Shingles

November 7 2006
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Completing the clay work

I have completed the entire outside of the Lily!!!

I will start painting it tomorrow

November 10 2006
Posted by Minis On The Edge
Painting The Lily

I have begun to paint the outside stone & shingles of the Lily and it's beginning to look like an old dreary home (which is the effect my customer wants).

I have added the extra sculpted elements at the bottom of the house around the base. I will add the doors and porch rails. The pictures show only the first color added to the house. More pictures to come soon!!

These pictures almost make the house look like the stones are gray but they are actually a dark brown color.

Thank you For Stopping By to View My Blog!

Thought Of The Day ~ "One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life" ~ Edward B. Butler

Tracy

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May 24 2008
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Fireplace & Tower Alterations