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!! 

McKinley Dollhouse Build Blog (Electricity)

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)

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)

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)

 

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?

Greenelaf Dollhouse Kits picked as 'Readers' choice Awards

I  just wanted to let you all know that 2 of Greenleaf Dollhouses kits for has been selected as the Miniatures' Readers' choice Awards at about.com. The two kits are the McKinley and the Beacon Hill and they have made it in the five finalists in the Miniatures' Readers' choice Awards for Dollhouse Kits. Greenleaf Fans, Now is the time to cast your vote!!  Let people know We LOVE Greenleaf dollhouse Kits.

To vote for the Mckinley, Click here:

Mckinley Vote

to Vote for the Beacon hill, Click here:


Beacon Hill Vote

I have built both kits in the past and you can visit my Gallery for the Beacon Hill Here:


Beacon Hill 2010

You can see the Mckinley here:



Black Briar (Mckinley)

On another note, I would like to Congratulate Casey of Caseyminis for also being nominated for having the best Miniature blog! She has been a member of the Greenleaf Family for 3 years. You can vote for her here:


Casey's Minis Blog Vote