Mckinley Dollhouse Build Blog (Completed)

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!! 

Magnolia Dollhouse Build Completed

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.

Coventry Cottage Dollhouse Building Blog Days 11 & 12

4 May 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

Painting has Started

No matter how many times I have worked with Paper clay, it always amazes me to see the house "Spring to Life" when you add just a little bit of color to it. I dirty washed the entire house and have only added one color so far to the bricks and the Shingles. Yes there are more colors to add to them to make them look more realistic and I have not started the stones (other than the dirty wash) but I am very pleased with how it is turning out.

It is beginning to look like what I imagined it to look in my minds eye. I did decide to add a very small base for this house.

Enjoy the "Eye Candy" below!!

06 May 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

More Painting

I have done more painting but I am still not finished. I had expected to finish this house last night but this was as far as I got. I still have to add 2 more colors on all bricks and stone and 1 more color to the roof to give it the proper aged look.



I know I will finish by next week for sure!

Enjoy the pictures!

This one is of the side with opening

This is the front view

11 May 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

More Painting

 I have completed this house!! It is raining so I have not had the chance to take pictures out side but to see the ones I took so far you can look in my Coventry Cottage gallery too. I will add better pictures when I can get outdoors and do that.

This house was very fun to build and decorate. I want you all to leave my blog  knowing you should NOT feel afraid to alter your houses!! Each kit can turn into a unique item. Just think outside of the picture on the box! So many people miss out on these wonderful houses because they are afraid to think outside of the box. Don't just see a pink house and think that is the way the house has to be. Bring in your own personality. Bash the kit. When you have questions know I are always here to help!!

Even building the house as it is on the box can be VERY rewarding. Some people look down on diecut dollhouses but I have not only told you, I have shown you that you can do a LOT with a diecut Greenleaf house! Have fun and Build On!!

This is the Kit box Picture and my edited version of this house

You can see bigger pictures by clicking below

The Coventry Cottage

Thank you for viewing my Blog and I hope you enjoyed watching me build the Coventry Cottage Dollhouse Kit by GreenleafDollhouses.com  

All dollhouse kits have been made in the USA Since 1947 and is owned by the Original Family that started it all. Read the history of how it all began by clicking here

Coventry Dollhouse Kit Building Blog Days 3 - 6

20 March 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

Not a Tower but a Roof?

 Over the weekend we were looking at house by the lake. Of course I did not have my camera but I saw a house very similar to the Coventry (Maybe I saw it before which is why the both look so similar now). I have decided to add a roof to the added room that I made where the porch is originally.

I am not sure if this is what I will keep which why I only used foam board for now. If I keep this one I will make the roof parts out of wood and cover the entire house with clay. Please tell me what you think...

4 April 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

Hardwood Floors

I have started on the floors because I felt I had to do something to my poor house. I am so tempted to work on my Rik Pierce Lighthouse from last weeks class (I had a ball the other week meeting my friends from the Greenleaf family in Person for the first time). Of course my Coventry won the battle LOL which is why I am blogging today. 

 

I used the wood siding from greenleaf to create my floors and think I will have stone floors in the entry way and in the kitchen area. These are pictures before I fill the gaps and stain them.

 
This is up which is angled and meet in the center

 

This is downstairs

 

 

11 April 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

Kitchen Stone Floor

I learned this technique about 4 years ago in my first class with Rik Pierce and Sometimes I use it when I am completely out of miniature flooring (like I am now). 1st you take a Vinyl floor tile and cut it to fit the room you wish to install the finished floor in.

 

 

Then you should check to be sure it fits good BEFORE you start the next step. Once you are sure it will fit, take the piece out and take your pencil and start drawing where you would want your "grout lines" to be. You can also purchase a copy of Rik's "How too" in Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine 12/05 Issue (can't find my copy right now LOL).

You would then take a straight edge hobby knife to cut the grout lines. Cut each side of your pencil line and then lift up that strip to reveal the "grout" color underneath.

 

 

I did the entry way & the Kitchen using this method. This is the finished product

 

22 April 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

The Clay Sculpting Has Started

I have started adding the paper clay to the outside of the house. The side wall opens and closes because I decided to add a hinge to it for easy access since I added this extra room. I have not attached the "real" roof that I am going to use and I am still working on it. What worked easy in gator foam is a little more difficult to use in wood (Getting it straight & flush).

Here are the pictures so far 

 

 

You can see that I added a bay roof on both bays because I thought it would look nice to have a copper roof for the bay window area. I used chipboard to create the parts to make the roofs for the bays.

 

 
This is with the side wall opened

 

 

Thank you For stopping by to read my Blog!

Coventry Cottage Dollhouse Build Blog Day 1 & 2

The following blog is of the Coventry Cottage created by Greenleaf Dollhouses. It is a really cool kit and is very versatile. If you can visualize something in you minds eye, you can create it. This house inspired me to add or change things that are not on the box cover. I built this kit and did this blog back in the Spring of 2006. Follow along with me as I build this kit!

17 March 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

Looking for Ideas Day 1 Part 1

 Well, I have had this in the box for about 3 weeks and I keep changing my mind on how I want this one to be done. My first thought was to try to tole paint it similar to the one Sally Eckel did for Greenleaf. There used to be a decorating packet by her that shows you how to create your own original like hers pictured below.

Then I decided that I wanted to create a tower where the porch is at. But, as with all of my projects,  they seem to sometimes have a mind of their own. I hope you enjoy following me on this new journey of creating & Bashing (dollhouse editing)  a Coventry cottage. I hope to inspire everyone and encourage you so that you can see that you can make YOUR Dollhouse Dream House different from the one that appears on your kit box. 

Last night was the first day I had to finally get started on my Coventry Cottage. I was still thinking to myself, "Will I have a tower, if so how can I make the adaptions quickly since I have only a limited amount of time to work on this one." I have been reading the instructions trying to come up with ideas and decided last night it was time to start the build.

I Love this kit and this will be my third time building it but my first time bashing it. This kit is fun and it sort of lock together. Greenleaf made a couple houses that has this same interlocking system such as the Cantebury and the Story Book Cottages. The tabs on some parts are longer and helps to create the "raised" foundation.
Here is the first step showing the front wall.

See the long tabs? It is so important to slide this as far as you can because it can mess up the entire alignment of the house (roof and all )

It is very good to glue it when you are directed to glue it in the instructions so that you will not have any shifting . This is the center wall that locks into place.

This house has one Small tricky part and it is locking the second floor in place. These instructions are updated because the picture in the instructions is MUCH more clear on what to do and how to do it. Here are a couple of pictures of how this is done. 

 

This one shows the right wall:

17 March 2006

Posted by Minis On The Edge

Day 2 Bay Windows

I started on the Bay Windows. I have also decided to add an extra room to and omit the porch. I created a wall in the front that will have the front door.

This house has one BIG tricky part and it is with the bay windows. It is almost impossible to assemble it with out breaking a part. You can glue it back together and it will be almost as good as new. Don't panic if this happens . Every time I have built this kit and the Storybook Cottage, I break one of the window sills or another part of the bay window structure. A little glue and a lot of sanding afterwards and you'll have a smooth finish that does not show the break.  

In the picture below, I was thinking about adding a false wall on the side that opened up so that you could see the hallway.  

Well, after looking harder and also building it, my mind started thinking something else. I closed the wall up and open up the kitchen wall

I will be adding paper clay to this house too.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog!