A surprise visit

I've been working from home the past few weeks because I tested positive for Covid-19, so I've been in quarantine. I received a call from a friend I have not seen in a while, and she said she found a dollhouse for me at a thrift shop while she was out shopping. She was nearby so she stopped by and dropped off the house. We spoke safely through the window for a few minutes and then she was on her way. It was so good to see her! It was perfect timing too, I was feeling kind of blue about postponing Christmas and being in quarantine. There's no better feeling though than getting a new dollhouse! 

So next in line to be built....the Tennyson! The version I received is the Tennyson by Whitney. Several dollhouse manufacturers have produced a Tennyson model over the years, with some slight variations. The main difference being a roof off the second story that covers the balcony, which is found in later Greenleaf Tennyson models. This version doesn't have the roof, and I'm fine with that. The basic design and footprint of the house is similar to my Princess Anne (which is still in the box), so I've been looking at it several ways to see how I can bash it into something different. Maybe add a wing, not sure so stay tuned on that!

Meanwhile, I've been contemplating which project to actually start next. I have so many ideas for each house, my mind keeps bouncing from project to project. I've been drawing and making notes in my dollhouse notebook quite a bit lately, and scanning eBay and some of my favorite dollhouse supply sites for accessories and building supplies. I'm excited about each one! I will probably wait to start until after the holidays are over, and I'm back to my normal routine. By then I will have settled on which project to start next.

Thank you for visiting and Happy Holidays!!

~ Mini-Shack

The Ashley Dollhouse Video

Pleased to present the short little video for the Ashley Dollhouse. The video includes the construction process as well.

This was built for a sweet little 6 year old girl named Jenise. I asked her if she wanted me to make her a dollhouse and she said YES! Then I asked her what color she would like it and she said PINK PINK PINK. I built this in about 2 months, just working on it a few nights a week and weekends. Enjoy!

 

Thank you for visiting!

~ Mini-Shack

A cute little project, The Dura Craft Ashley

I just finished building a Dura Craft Ashley dollhouse for a sweet little 6 year old girl for Christmas. This is the first house I've ever built that was meant for a child to actually play with, so I did a few things different. I reinforced the floors and walls as I went along, I sealed the front door shut and I did not use the spiral staircase that comes with the kit. I think it would have been too fragile and may have broken easily. Instead of the spiral staircase I made my own out of mini Jenga blocks. I intentionally angled the staircase the way I did, so that she would have more living room space to play with.

I usually furnish and detail my houses as well, but she'll be receiving this empty so all I did was add some cute little curtains, and added flower boxes to the front dormer windows. I really had to stop myself, I wanted to keep adding more and more details, out of habit. She'll have plastic "play" furniture for the dollhouse, as she's still a little too young. The house has already been picked up and no longer in my workshop, so I can only hope now that she has a magical Christmas and gets many years of enjoyment out of the little Ashley.

I will make a video of the documented build step by step, including making the Jenga staircase. It's not a very large house, and it's not a complicated one either. I would consider it a quick build, except you have to cut all your own trim with this kit so that's pretty time consuming...and there's a lot of trim required to make it look decent. They do provide the trim for you, which is great. I used that, plus some extra trim that I picked up at Lowes. 

Also, as I do with all my houses, there is a large decorative embellishment on the front of the house and also on the side of the house. I put her name on the front of the house as well, just to make her feel extra special.

Here's a few photos:

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

 

Keep an eye out for the detailed video. Thank you for viewing and Happy Holidays!!

~ Mini-Shack