Venturing Into the World of Scratch-Built Houses & Other New Adventures

Lately I've noticed that I don't get as excited about finding dollhouse kits on Craigslist or eBay...at least not in the same way that I used to when I first started in this hobby.  I mean sure, if it's a great deal (like the $10 Pierce that I found not too long ago), I'll jump on it.  However, it has to be a rare house (like the Hofco Queen Anne) or an extremely good buy for me to get it.  I've pretty much seen all of the kits that are out there and have quite of few of them already in my collection...even if they're not done yet.  So I got the idea to build a house from scratch.

Of course, me being me...I couldn't just build ANY house from scratch...it had to be a BIG one, the bigger the better!  So I've decided to build the Glencliff dollhouse from Earth and Tree.  If you're not familiar with it, here is a link to the monster.  Glencliff Dollhouse  See what I mean?  The house is humongous...it will easily be the largest one that I have built by the time I'm done with it.

Now I said I was building it from scratch, but that may not be accurate.  I've bought the plans/blueprints for the house.  But I've been talking to a carpenter that I'm going to hire to cut the wood out for me once I get it.  Hubby tried talking me into taking a woodworking class at one of the community colleges nearby, but honestly...I don't know if I trust myself not to cut off a finger or hand.  Also, I know how important it is that the pieces be cut accurately and I don't want to risk screwing it up...I know my limits.  So I thought it would be better to have someone else cut the pieces for me and I'll take it from there.  So technically it's not from scratch, but that's the story I'm going with for now.

I'm expecting the plans to arrive any day now and will update when they come.  I was so incredibly busy with real-life stuff today that I didn't have a single moment to work on any of my other projects.  Hopefully I'll get a little time tomorrow.

Oh, I almost forgot...the other things that I'll be working on in the near future.  I'm always amazed at the window treatments that I see in other people's houses and even more amazed to learn that they made them themselves.  So I thought hey...why can't I do the same?  I can sew pretty well, and I can read and follow instructions.  So I've started gathering books and other info on making dollhouse curtains and drapes and will be attempting my own very soon...so stay tuned!

Also, I have an obsession with dollhouse beds.  My absolute favorite are those by Kelly Curtis & Lorraine Scuderi.  I commissioned Kelly to make a bed for me awhile back and it's just lovely!  It's a shabby chic bed that now resides in my Seaside Villa.  I also bought a bed from Lorraine. Both of these ladies do such wonderful work and I'd love to have them make beds for all of the my houses.  Unfortunately, with all of the houses that I have, I'd go broke doing that.  So I thought, why can't I try and make my own dollhouse beds.  Again, I'm a pretty decent seamstress, so with practice I should be able to do a decent job.  So that's the next project that I'll be working on in the near future.

So much to do, so little time!  But to me that's what makes this such an enjoyable hobby.  The fact that there is always something new to learn, some new skill to try and perfect!  I'm always up for a challenge though! 

TTFN