Video: Dilettante’s Dollhouse Episode #8: Painting the Exterior

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Happy Dollhouse Sunday!

I am so excited to share this post with you all as I am finally painting the exterior of the dollhouse!  If you remember in last week’s episode I primed the exterior. In all I did 2 coats of primer. For the white, I forgot (again) to bring the trim paint we had at home to the studio so I used acrylic paint instead and it worked great! It has a nice gloss which I liked for the scallops and the trim and it really pops against the soft pink color.

I know I have mentioned a bunch of times that the pink I am using is the same color of my studio walls and I just love that this dollhouse will have a piece of my first ever studio with it for years and years to come.

I began by trimming out the excess siding from the inside of the windows using my craft knife (affiliate link). I know I ended up taking a bit of the wood with it as well but I am not worried since I will be building my own windows along with the interior and exterior trim.

Once I did that I began with painting the scallops white. I also painted the underneath of the roof that hangs over and all the currently brown trim.

If I were doing this over again I would probably wait to attach the scallops and first paint the color on the lower part, then paint the scallop pieces and then attach them. It was a little fiddly painting where the scallops and the siding met but not at all hard and it came out really nice when I used a smaller brush.

I also noticed that some of the side pieces weren’t glued down the best so I added some more wood glue and attached them with some clamps to dry overnight. This worked perfectly!

I then moved on to the siding and painting it pink.

For the purposes of the video I just painted the front but for you blog readers I will give you some sneak peak information. I have (as of writing this) completed the whole exterior painting and it looks amazing!!! I am beyond happy with how it turned out. In the end it was about 3 coats of paint on top of the 2 coats of primer. I think if you were using darker colors you wouldn’t need as many layers but what’s really nice about the cardboard is it dries so quickly. By the time I finished both sides I was able to go back and paint the front and then move back to the sides. It worked really well and went much more quickly than I expected.

Here’s how it turned out:

The best part is that I can now move inside the dollhouse! I still have lots of finishing touches for the exterior-along with a fun idea for the “walkway” that wraps around the house on 3 sides-but some of those will require purchases I can’t make just yet. Instead I am going to move inside for next week’s video and the first thing to do is figure out how I am going to lay everything out inside which means deciding on the stairs. That also means building a template for the stairs so I can move it around and see where I like it best. I have an idea on how to do that so here’s hoping it works!

Well that’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed seeing how the dollhouse has progressed. I am just in love with this hobby! I can’t see how I could ever be bored with it 🙂

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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Video: Dilettante’s Dollhouse Episode #7: Scalloped Siding for the Dollhouse

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Please note this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links I earn a small commission but it doesn’t cost you and more money.

Note* Sorry if you checked out the video last night and it wasn’t complete-my internet went out and apparently the full video didn’t load. Thank you to one of my viewers for bringing that to my attention!

Happy Dollhouse Sunday!

I have been so excited to share this week’s blog post with you all. I was able to get the scalloped siding finished and I am really happy with how it all turned out. I used my trusty cereal boxes to make the scallops. I had some of the siding pieces I cut for the lower half and I just used those for the scalloped side. These were cut to 3/4″ (1.9cm) wide and I used a plastic cap to trace the shape of the scallop.

I put 2 marks on the cap that I lined up on the edge of the cardboard so that the sizes were pretty close to the same. The nice thing is it wasn’t very noticeable if the shapes were off a bit here and there.

I glued them on with my Gorilla Wood Glue (affiliate link).  I was able to easily cut the pieces along the edges by creasing them and then coming in with my craft knife (affiliate link) once the glue had dried. I still need to go in and cut around the windows which I will do before I paint.

Once the siding was done and dried I went in with some primer. I used a primer called Triple Thick only because we had some left over from a house project but any primer you have would work. I wanted to prime the siding to hopefully give the color a better surface to adhere to and to give me more even coverage.

I might do a second coat but I am going to see how the first one dries and take it from there.

In other dollhouse (and book club) news I started reading “The Miniscule Mansion of Myra Malone” by Audrey Burges (affiliate link).  I hope to have it finished for this week’s update and I’ll share all about it with you then. I will say that I recommend it as the story is really unique.

Well that’s it for today’s blog post! I hope you enjoy watching the video and if you have any questions about how I did anything feel free to comment below and I will do my best to answer.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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Video: Dilettante’s Dollhouse Episode #6 DIY Siding out of Cereal Boxes

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Happy Dollhouse Sunday! Today we had an amazing day at our church picnic and then took a trip to the store to finally buy our anniversary present! We celebrated 21 years married a few weeks ago and were trying to decide on a gift and finally settled on a new grill! Our old grill is about 15 years old and really needed replacing. We have been really enjoying cooking and eating outside so it seemed like a perfect gift. That combined with a lot of really nice family time has me uploading this week’s dollhouse video a bit later than I planned-but I think it’s worth it!

I originally planned on spackling the siding where I removed all of the decorative elements, sanding and then painting-which I did but I wasn’t happy with the results. The wood is in pretty rough shape and so I came up with the idea to “vinyl” side the dollhouse.

If you watched my first video you know that I am looking to completely change the look of this dollhouse and add a bit of cape cod feel to it. I think the siding along with a scalloped peak, will really make this house beautiful!

Since I am always trying to use what I have available or to hand I decided to give it a shot with cereal boxes. If you have spent any time on my blog you know I love cereal boxes from dollhouses to making journals. I wasn’t quite sure how it would look with the paint or even how it would take paint so I did a sample piece and it really came out nice! With the sample piece looking like a winner I decided to go ahead and start siding the whole house.

I cut my strips to 3/4″  (1.9cm) high and as long as the cereal box. Then I marked a line 1/4″ from the top (.64cm) that was my guide for lining up my pieces. I began gluing from the bottom and started to work my way up.

Since I was able to use full strips along the bottom I did and once I got higher I made sure to stagger my seams so they wouldn’t end up in a straight line. So far I am really happy with how they turned out. I am going to continue working this week so that next week we can focus on the scalloped peak which I think is going to be so much fun!

I hope you enjoy the video.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

June’s Book Club Update

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Is it really the third week of June? I am pretty sure it’s supposed to be the middle of May isn’t it?  Ah well, time is a funny thing so I have decided to pop in with my latest book club update and some other book related news.

I’ll start first with what I have read since the last book club update back in April. I finally finished, “Lost Books and Old Bones” (affiliate link) by Paige Shelton. I really enjoy her books and this one was no exception. I quickly requested the next in the series (Scottish Bookshop Mysteries affiliate link) from my local library and hope to start it this week. I am still reading “Emerald Isle” (affiliate link) Stacy Justice Mysteries Book #5 by Barbara Annino on my kindle. It’s a really good story I just have been spending a bit more time gardening than reading but it is a goal of mine to finish it before my next book club update.

I finished my Agatha Christie audio book, “The Secret Adversary: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery” and really enjoyed it. I began listening to “Murder on the Links” to continue on with The Agatha Christie Mystery Challenge. The other audio book I began is “The Moneyless Man” by Mark Boyle (affiliate link) which was recommended to me by Michael Nobbs. I am really enjoying the story and it’s a nice listen while working in the studio or doing dishes.

My new library books (pictured above) are:  “The Stolen Letter” by Paige Shelton (affiliate link), “The Way Home” by Mark Boyle (affiliate link) and “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards.

“The Stolen Letter” is the next in the Scottish Bookshop Series. I really love a cozy mystery and if you have been around for a while you know that. The summary of this book (as written on the inside cover) is:

“Delaney Nichols is confident she’s doing what she loves—case in point, just one day after returning from her fabulous European honeymoon, she’s eager to get back to the Cracked Spine, the bookstore where she works. But as she disembarks her bus and hurries toward the shop she and another woman collide, sending a stack of books the woman is carrying to the ground.

Delaney’s hapless victim’s name is Mary, and the two women can’t help but notice that they bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. According to Mary, they both also look like the long-beheaded Mary Queen of Scots. Even stranger, Mary believes she is the reincarnation of the Scottish queen. But peculiar as Delaney’s doppelganger is, she doesn’t have time to dwell on it: on her arrival to the bookshop, she learns the Edinburgh city council wants to close the Cracked Spine, citing code violations, and she’s determined to stop them.

But when Mary’s husband dies in a car explosion—and Delaney learns he was the very member of city council who proposed that the city take a closer look at the bookshop’s construction—she starts to wonder if her meeting with Mary wasn’t an accident. Edinburgh has become as filled with intrigue and deception as any European court, and Delaney is determined to get to the bottom of this royal mystery.”

“The Way Home” is from the same author of the audio book, “The Moneyless Man” and to be honest I am really intrigued. While I love technology-afterall I am using it right now-I do love the idea of taking technology breaks from time to time. To spend time in nature, reading, doing puzzles, going for walks, going to sleep when the sun goes down and waking when it comes up, all sound like very appealing to me. I am interested in reading this book to hear about his journey of a year without technology.

Lastly “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” I saw from this YouTube video where it was recommended to help grow your drawing practice something I am really working on doing.

So that is my current update for you. I am really going to focus this week on making more time with my books so that hopefully I will have lots of updates for you all next time.

What are you reading? I would love to hear! You can also take part in my link party below and share a link to your blog talking about what you are reading this summer.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Plan With Me: Functional Art Journal in Our Planner Spread

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Today I am sharing something a little different-a simple plan with me video.  I haven’t done a planner video in such a very long time but I thought it would be fun to combine planning with art. I like to keep my planner spreads simple and functional but I also like them to be fun to look out amidst the to-do’s.

I started off adding some washi tape along the bottom and then used some colored pencils to add some decorative boxes. I used some fun watercolor pencil around what I typically use as a running to-do list for the week. I then added a quick pencil sketch. I am trying to do daily sketching and using my planner for tracking and quick sketches seems like a wonderful combination. I finished off with a few stickers.

I hope you enjoy this video. If you like planner videos let me know in the comments as I am happy to share more.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

If you found value in this video you can buy me a coffee 🙂
https://ko-fi.com/thedreamingdilettante

Happy Planner: 2023 Happy Planner x Zaewild Painted Blossoms Happy Planner – Classic Dashboard Layout (it doesn’t look like the one I have is available but it is a similar style to these)
https://amzn.to/3CBHfM5 (affiliate link)

The colored pencils I used: https://amzn.to/449Fodk (affiliate link)

Music by Angela Predhomme – Hey Mr. Sunshine – https://thmatc.co/?l=A91D246D

Video: Dilettante’s Dollhouse Episode #5 Painting a Textured Roof

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Happy Sunday! I hope your weekend is going well and maybe you have had some time to indulge your love in all things mini.

I am so excited to be bringing you this week’s episode as I am finally painting my cardboard dollhouse roof! I have been thinking this one over in my mind a lot and I am so excited to share the process-and results with you today.

I started off by mixing up a gray with just some basic craft acrylic paint. I wasn’t too worried about getting the same shade as I worked on the room because I knew I wanted variation but if you are going for a consistent look make sure to mix up enough of your color to do the whole roof.

Once the first color was down I went back with a little lighter gray. I used some foam packaging I saved as sponge to dab on the paint and give some automatic texture. Once that was done I did the same with a bit of black and can I just say how happy I am with it?

The whole thing turned out way better than I imagined and it is looking like a real roof now!

I hope you enjoy this week’s video. I would love to hear what type of miniatures you are working on so please leave a comment below. I will be back next week when we tackle the front facade of the dollhouse.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante.