Translate

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Beacon Hill Dollhouse Day 1

Though I started this some weeks ago, I am going to Blog them by Day here since that is how I have my Albums set up on my computer. Some Days, I may post more than one day at a time BUT, that particular post will be labeled by what day number I was actually working on at that particular time.

The Beacon Hill kit can seem like a daunting project, especially if this is your first dollhouse kit ever. Please know that if you follow the instructions, your kit can look as beautiful as the one that shows on the box cover.

It does take time and patience and a lot of Chocolate!! But, because I am no longer eating my cookies N stuff like I used to while I build ('Cause this year I decided to change my eating and work out habits) I went through LOTS of chewing gum .
:D

I always use a highlighter to highlight the step I have completed. By doing this, if I have to walk away for a moment (or day), I know exactly where I left off at. The Foundation (Step A) walls & Floors (Step B) went by quickly on Day #1.

The thing that took the most of my time on Day one was the staircases!! It took Hours to remove & sand and then assemble it all. I always add wallpaper & wood floors as I build and this is something you should do anyway to all of the hallways because once the stairs are assembled and glued in, you will not be able to access most of the areas easily. The stairs for the 1st floor took me 3 hours!!! That's right, Three hours to complete. The second floor was not as hard but it still took 2 hours. The third floor was just the railings.

You can see the progress pictures of the stairs as I started. This was a part I was stuck on because this is not pictured in the instructions. The rest is simple to figure out since the instructions has pictures of it LOL. I am a visual learner and know so many of you are too so here are the Pictures of the very first part. this is how it looks front and back:




This is a picture of right before I started working on the 2nd floor staircase:

Most of these rooms will take 2 wood sheets (which is quite expensive) because of the depth & width of the rooms. Also, you will need at least 4 sheets of wallpaper per room since some of these rooms are a nice size.


After I assembled the stairs and stained them and sanded them again and then stained them again, I called it quits for Day #1 . I guess I did not take as many pictures of that days work as I thought LOL. I was too busy working to snap pictures LOL.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, Tracy, I'm so glad I didn't have to tackle the staircase in my BH . . . even though it was tricky to get the thing wallpapered!

Looking good!

MinisOnTheEdge said...

Thanks Teresa!! I wish I had found mine on the curb...... On second thought, I am horrible at refurbishing a house. I don't have the talent in that area as you do :D ~ Tracy

Craig said...

I'm just starting the Beacon Hill. I used Elmer's wood glue for my earlier houses, but Greenleaf is recommending a hot glue gun. My first doll house (played with by my daughters and now my grandchildren) has lasted over 20 years and is in good shape, Do you have any idea if the hot gun glue would be as good?
Thanks. Your blog is great.

MinisOnTheEdge said...

Hi Craig! Thanks for asking this question. The instructions are a bit outdated. As a builder myself, I would not suggest using a hot glue gun because the glue formulation is different than it was 30 years ago. Your house would not be built to last. I personally use Elmers wood glue ( pro bond or tite bond) they work extremely well and dries a little faster than the regular Elmer's wood glue. Please share pictures of your house and feel free to ask any further questions!