Paperclay Bricks

These photos were taken in July ... the last time I was able to work on the Garfield. Since then, I have been so very busy at work that blogging and anything dollhouse-related has taken the back burner.

I came across the photos today and wanted to share them with you. I haven't made significant progress with the bricking, but whatever I have, I am very happy with! The bricks are uneven and sometimes the lines get shifted slightly. However, I think the imperfections make the building look older and lend a hand-made quality to the bricks.

Oh I wish I could get back to bricking right now!

Paperclay Bricks

Not much has happened since the last time. I did stain the roof a dark walnut color like the inspiration photo.

By the way, I have finally gotten the paper clay for the exterior bricks. I bought them from paperclay.com and they were wonderful! They have discounted price for wholesale items. So I bought 19 packs of "Pearl" paper clay for only $2.65 each ... each pack contains 17.5 oz. of clay! If you have shopped for paper clay before, you already know how ridiculously inexpensive this is in comparison. They also credited back almost $10 on shipping when they found out they could ship out the clay in a USPS flat rate box. So, my thanks goes out to the folks at paperclay.com.

I have started bricking the house, and I can tell you right now, it will take me forever and a day to finish making the bricks. I tested the paper clay on the front door steps. If you remember from the post about stairs, I had used the original front door steps on the third floor of the Garfield instead. So this time around, I had to fashion stairs out of cardstock and masking tape, which I later covered with paper clay bricks. The "Pearl" clay dries very hard, and I am loving it so far ...

The Garfield Manor of Sara Mendez

These are photos of Sara's Garfield Manor. I love the mysterious play of light and shadows ... so haunting!

Sara bought this house for $40 on craigslist.com! Can you believe it? She thought it would be a good idea to photograph the house before she makes it over, so that she can look back and marvel at the transformation ...

For more minis by Sara Mendez, visit her blog: http://honeystarsandfireflies.blogspot.com

Thank You Tara & Kellie!

While I am sharing photos of the gifts I received, I thought I'd post some that are long overdue. These were gifts I received from Tara Ryan and Kellie Wachter last year, but I never got the chance to photograph them until this morning.

The screen and the pillows were made by Tara, especially for the Garfield Manor. She knew that this was to become a nabob's pleasure palace, and wanted to create something with a distinctly Indian flair.

Kellie Wachter created this crazy quilt with all the colors of the peacock, knowing full well how much I adored the bird. She even embroidered tiny peacock feathers, bees and butterflies throughout the quilt ... anywhere you look, you will find a tiny something or the other hidden in the patchwork.

You can see more of Kellie's works at:
Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/yankeedimes
Blog: http://yankeedimes.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.yankeedimeprimitives.com

Chrysnbon Parlor Pump Organ & Stool

I couldn't believe my luck when I won the Chrysnbon Parlor Pump Organ & Stool Kit on eBay for $1.49 ... well, there was the $5.00 shipping, but I was thrilled all the same!

So it arrived yesterday, and I stayed up til midnight staining the parts. It was very easy to assemble and I absolutely adore the details! It looks right at home inside the Garfield ...

Thank You Anthoula!

Today I received a gift all the way from Greece! When I untied the red and white checkered ribbon and unwrapped the red paper wrapping, these tiny treasures awaited me. First came the lemon meringue pie ... then the fruit tart topped with cherry and a slice of starfruit ... followed by the waffle served with chocolate ice cream and banana slices atop a dollop of cream ... and finally the tiny meringue nest with slices of citrus fruits! I love how the meringue swirls so elegantly on all of them, and the details on the starfruit and banana slices are out of this world! Thank You Anthoula!

For more minis by Anthoula Zampeli, visit:

Blog: http://a-miniature-life.blogspot.com

Thank You Teresa!

These are my cherished gifts from Teresa Martínez, all the way from Spain! Earlier this year, she mailed me a copy of the Miniaturas magazine where my doll, Sunehra, was featured. Along with the magazine, she sent me her wonderful creations of marmalade and the Christmas wreath. My photos don't do justice to the detail ... if you could only see the itsy bitsy slices of lemon and qiwi! From the bottom of my heart, Teresa, Thank You!

For more minis by Teresa Martínez, visit:
Blog: http://tinyterminiatures.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.tinyterminiatures.com

Door and Much More

Much has happened since the last time I wrote. We bought a house ... a life-size house, not a dollhouse ... the Garfield Manor survived the move. The exterior still needs a lot of work, but decorating the new house took precedence.

Over the winter break, I was able to work on my Garfield a little. Not major things ... a trim here, a molding there. My favorite has to be the front door. I found the easiest way to work with the doors is to glue the hinge onto the door first, then glue the vertical door frame to the hinges ... then, glue the door frame (along with the door) onto the body of the house. The bar that creates the horizontal door frame goes on last. The doors needed a lot of sanding, and do not fit the opening exactly. But they are opening/shutting fine and I could not be happier with them!

Indoors, I added curtains to almost all the windows on the first and second floor. I love the elegance created by the floor-to-ceiling curtains ... and am doubly glad that the fabric came already pleated when I bought it! I think Dev quite likes them too!