It’s easier to build than to rebuild….

“It’s easier to build than to rebuild.” That’s the phrase our town planners used in hopes of swaying votes for building a brand new middle school in town. In some respects I do agree. Especially after attempting to refit the upstairs balcony on the Hoarder House. I pushed. I shoved. I squeezed. I wanted to blow the house down! (Sorry to steal your words, Big Bad Wolf)

I could not get that thing back into place. I figured the problem had to do with the tab-and-slot construction. Once the building was constructed, it was impossible to fit the tabs into the slots – there was no “give” to allow the needed movement into the slots.

So…..I sliced off the tabs and used extra glue to secure the base of the balcony. I think it looks pretty good actually. Some of the arches don’t quite fit and there are several missing gingerbread supports. Not sure how I’ll deal with that. But…it’s the Hoarder House – it’s not supposed to be perfect!

I located the box and examined the picture. What? There’s supposed to be a cupola on top of the round porch area? Don’t think I have any pieces for that. But it does explain why there are some slots up there! I’ll work on that next weekend.

Another issue…should I electrify the house? I originally started to – using a Cir-Kit kit. I vaguely remember struggling with those tiny brads and getting “slightly” miffed…..might need to reconsider that.

I also purchased some goodies: some tiny scissors (for the scherenschnitte) and a ladder from Janice at Feather My Nest (on eBay she’s candylamb) Mom and I used to buy from Janice all the time. She’s from Brimfield, MA and is often at Molly Cromwell’s Sturbridge shows.

Since I decided to use the Hoarder House as a showcase  for the hobbies that both Mom and I enjoyed, I purchased some stamp and coin kits from Ann Vanture at PaperMinis. I also got kits to make a doll scrapbook and a set of house painting items. Looking forward to using this coming Good Friday to make those items. If I can make those tiny items look as good as they do on her website, it will be a Good Friday!!

"Don’t Be a Hoarder"

“Don’t be a hoarder.” These were some of my mother’s last words. Surprisingly, the warning was not directed at me, but to my sister, Jeanne. (Ok….truth be told: I wasn’t in the room at the time.) Mom wasn’t a hoarder – not in the classic sense anyway – but she loved her “collections”. Dolls, dollhouses, tiny tea sets, books. She was a crafter, always working on or planning a project.

Mom built this house for my girls in 1997. Caitlin was 12 and Meghan, 8. The house, the Granville by ArtPly, was built in my mother’s typical manner – quickly. As a result it was a bit lopsided and not quite as sturdy as it could be. Mom also committed the “cardinal sin” of dollhouse building: DO NOT install  windows or porches before painting the shell of the house.
 
The girls and I  moved the completely built structure to our home to paint it. What a pain! Trying to negotiate between porch railings and avoiding paint on the plastic windows was near impossibe. We left the house in the dining room and took a break.Then we had a house fire.

The dollhouse sustained some minor damage. Plaster from some holes punched in by firemen while putting out the fire in the wall littered the roof. Some larger pieces of plaster knocked off some of the porch railings. Just enough damage to put the project on hold – for 16 years.

Mom passed away in December of 2011. I am the “keeper” of her collection. Slowly but surely I am finishing projects. Last week I finished the 40s room box which features a dressed mannequin I won at one the last miniature shows Mom and I attended together. Now, I have hit on the PERFECT solution for this far-from-perfect building: The Hoarder House!!

The Hoarder House will be chock-full of items that reflect Mom’s hobbies as well as mine. I hope it will be a fitting tribute to the woman who built this house hoping to share her love of miniatures with her beloved grand-daughters.

No worries, Mom. I won’t be a hoarder…..but thank goodness I saved all  your stuff!