Wandering...

Well as the Gloucester draws to a completion my mind has wandered to my other unfinished houses. I would like to finish the houses that I've started before build begins on any others. My definition of finished is for the house to be built, trimmed, wallpapered landscaped, all ready to start furnishing and accessorizing, just as if the house is ready for the little people to begin moving in. I don't expect any of my houses to be 100% finished as I will still want to add an accessorie here and there, but I would like the structure to be finished. Where would the fun be if there was no little touches left to do? So with this in mind, I have finished the Lydia Pickett Hill, (I still have landscaping I want to do, which I know should mean it isn't finished, but I am waiting as I am seriously thinking of saving up for either the basic or advanced landscaping kit meant for this house to make it easy.)

Now I've chosen my Irish Cottage as the next for completing and was planning on waiting till the weekend before renovating and finalizing began...but couldn't : ) the house was complaining of the awfully drafty windows and the smoking fireplace. So last night I pulled out all of the furniture etc and boxed it up except the pieces that were glued to the walls. I removed the cross bars of the windows, touched up the stain, cut acetate to fit and chinked up some wood dowels for the exterior above the windows and doorway. I will need to use more joint compound for the "plaster" exterior when I install them so they look more built in rather then glued on. The windows will be leaded and finished to look like old wavy glass. Since the openings aren't perfectly square I will be doing all it all from scratch with gallery glass lead lines cut down and clear non-yellowing nail polish applied over the acetate. I also re-stained the front door and I will be add a satin varnish over all the wood work since I didn't do it before and you could really tell. I will be cutting a piece of foamcore for a base to lanscape around the house and will raise the foundation up enough to install a non-working cellar door to one side. The house is small but I want to give the impression that someone could really live there so they need someplace to store their food and anything else they may need. I'll give them a bed pan and pretend they have an outhouse somewhere and they can store the bath in the cellar heehee. I also added a hanging lantern yesterday. The wire will run accross that back of one of the beams and then out a hole I'll drill on the side with the fireplace and run it down the wall behind the soon to be chimney. I'm really happy at the idea of getting this house finished especially as it brings back really nice memories when I see it. I don't have any pictures yet, plus not much looks different yet LOL. Wish me luck!