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 ...
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!
Can't you just see this happening inside the Garfield? This is a song from Charulata (1964): a Satyajit Ray film based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore "Nastoneer"... sung by Kishore Kumar, and starred by Soumitra Chatterjee and Madhabi Mukherjee.
... I definitely need a piano in the Garfield!
I absolutely LOVE the roof! Yes, it has been a long and arduous process, but it was well worth it. And the best part, I didn't need to spend a single penny on shingles! I had been saving left over shingles from all my previous dollhouse projects ... and I was over the moon when I finished my roofing project with about 50 or so pieces left!
Remember the half pack of skinny sticks that was left after I finished the interior moldings? I used the remaining sticks to refine the corners where the roof edges meet. See what difference it makes? A few sticks, a bit of glue and some masking tape ... and limitless patience of course!
There is still a bit more work to do before the roof is completed. I need to add the gingerbread trims and the railings on top, and paint the roof in a dark tone as in my inspiration photo.
I have decided to use this kitchen set in my Garfield. This photo was taken inside a different dollhouse. Each unit is separate, five pieces in all. I have not finalized the arrangement of the pieces. I think the cream and dark wood will go perfectly with the current color scheme, and the retro look is perfect!
