A Milestone Month...

 Been a Milestone month for me, I reached half a Century, still can't quite believe I'm the big Five O.

I had a wonderful day with Friends and Family and was thoroughly spoilt. I had some wonderful gifts, that included lots of fabulous miniatures and a very beautiful, very special Dolls house. I'll show all of the miniatures & house in later post.

Unfortunately, Harry couldn't be with me on the day, as he was finishing his last week of Phase 2 training, but did ring me twice that day. He has now passed out, from his Phase 2 training and is a off to join his Regiment The Lifeguards ~ Household Cavalry, very shortly.

Laser Cut Dolls House.

For Christmas, I had another Dolls House. This is a Laser Cut kit, made from plywood, that was brought from a local seller on ebay. It has two Rooms and a pretty little Porch/Veranda. It reminds me of the American slot and tab, Dolls House Kits. I've never put this sort of kit together before, so will be visiting Casey's Blog for some pointers, as I know she's quite a dab hand at doing them. 

 I have no idea what to turn this into yet, so any ideas, gratefully received.

We worked the measurements into inches, and it roughly equates to 1:12th. There are some other fabulous kits on there, but do check the sizes as some are more 1:24th Scale and there are also Train scale models on there. We paid a little extra for the whole kit to be primed white. Makes it easier to paint and helps to prevent warping.

This pictures are from the Ebay listing.

It is made from 4mm Birch Ply and measures: 450mm Wide, 398mm Depth & 439mm High.

New Arrivals For Desdemona's...

 I'd like to introduce you to, two new arrivals for Desdemona's Home For Orphaned & Abandoned Dragons and Other Magical Creatures.

A new baby Monster and a Baby Dragon, made by the very talented Alicia Singleton, otherwise known as AllieBean Dolls.

I contacted Alicia and asked her if she would be making any little Monsters or Dragons. Alicia emailed me back and said that she would be and as soon as they were made, she would email me pictures.  A couple of weeks later, Alicia emailed me with a picture of these cute little ones and of course they had to come and live with Desdemona. Who could resist their cute little faces.

Alicia has an Etsy Shop, Web page and Ebay. Although they are all empty at the moment due to the Festive season. But keep your eyes peeled as Alicia makes some wonderful little Dolls and Dolls Toys.

These little ones, will join the other little Monster already in residence, which you can see in the previous post, sitting on the mat, playing with a Teddy Bear.

Desdemona's Home For Orphaned & Abandoned Dragons & Other Magical Creatures ~ 4

 The first two pictures show the Kitchen, in Desdemona's, as it was when I opened the packing. As you can see the Floor needed a total revamp. There were also Blu-tac marks on the paper, even though it was a vinyl paper. Decided to strip the Kitchen completely out and start again. 

I started with the floor, giving it a wash of Colour and allowing that to dry. 

In the alcove, where the sink was I decided to take out the shelving and the false Window.

I stripped all the card and paper from this wall, but as you can see, the wall was very patchy. So I tore up lots of tissue paper and glued it over the wall to texture it, so it blended in with the Fireplace wall. I managed on the other walls to get the Vinyl wallpaper off intact, which left the lining paper on the walls. I then painted over the paper with an Oatmeal colour. Then I went back to the Floor and started to build up the colour. Finally, when I was happy with the colour, I dry brushed Black over the top. Then came the fun bit, playing around with pieces I've been collecting for this project. The bottom picture, gives you some idea of how I want it to look.

Desdemona seems quite happy with the renovations so far, but is now on about Dragon Wallpaper, in the Bedroom...

 

 

Desdemona's Home For Orphaned & Abandoned Dragons ~ 3

 The renovations have started on Desdemona's. The Room with the least amount that needs doing is the Lounge.  I took everything out of the room and gave it a clean. The white embossed paper above the Panelling was quite dirty and marked with the dreaded Blu Tac grease marks and there were also glue marks on the Paper. You can see the marks left by the Blu Tac, just above the mantel piece.

I went through my paints and chose an acrylic paint called antique white. It matches the backing colour of the wallpaper perfectly. Just by painting the embossed paper, its really freshened the room up. I Love the Wall paper in this room. I think it is a Chinese or Japanese origami paper. It suits the theme for this House.

 Inside the Fireplace there were some really thick plastic looking tiles, I've removed them and used real slate tiles instead, which I've stuck to a Black card. I also found a Fire back, in my stash, which on closer inspection had the initial "D" inscribed on it, so was certainly meant to be used in there.

 I've also repainted the Fire fender, that came with the house. Its been made from wood, some leather and an old fan. You can see it in the bottom picture. Its nothing fancy but does the job. I've taken the Fire that was in the Kitchen Fireplace and put that in this fireplace.

Just got to sort out the Furniture and lights for this Room now and then I can start adding all the other little bits and pieces. But will wait until, I redecorated all the rooms and tidied up the outside as well.

Desdemona's Home For Orphaned & Abandoned Dragons & Other Magical Creatures ~ 2

 Here are a few more pictures of Desdemona's. I've taken everything out of the House and given it a good clean with a thick Paintbrush to get into all the nooks and crannies.

As you can see on the back of the House, the Electrics are in rather a sorry state. I may look into getting the Battery operated LED lights and strip all this old wiring out.

I completely stripped out the Kitchen, as I wanted to re-paint the floor and the walls, to give it a fresh look. 

The paper in the Bedroom was lifting in places, so decided it take it all out and start again.