`Quick Marble Tile tutorial for your floors...

Quick Tile How- to with pics from October issue of

Miniature Collector Magazine

In my previous post, I mentioned I planned to tile the bathroom and perhaps the hallway floors with a marble how to I found in Miniature Collector. Yesterday while taking care of household chores, which was sooooooooo boring, I decided to get started on the prep work of the house. It was way too cold yesterday to go out and try to rip out the remaining carpet, or to paint or prime, so I thought that getting a jumpstart on the prep work of the room floors in the bathroom would be a good start, that would save time later.

Ok, let's get started.

Tools and materials you will need:

2-4 tiles Mine were about 12 x 12, and whatever tile you use, they should have the sticky paper backing. Mine were found at the Home Depot for 98 cents each. Look in the tile/flooring section. I did not find any comparable at Lowe's, just make a note of that. These tiles are usually sold by the case, or singly, in a variety of patterns and colors.

Ruler

SHARP, Exacto or Stanley blade knife

pencil

Start by Marking your tile off in 1 inch increments across each side. I did this on all four sides:

As the pics show, connect the dots where you have marked. Your tile should look like the above pic, graphed in 1 inch small squares. These will be your tiles. If you are doing patterns, you can make your tiles larger, depending onthe size of your room. Since my bath room will be small, I won't need but so many. I will probably cut the dais tiles for the bathtub in different sizes.

Now that the graph is marked, take your ruler and score along those lines, both ways across. You will need a very sharp blade for this. After all lines are scored, begin to snap off the sections, then 'snap' off the tiles in the small sections, as shown.

Snap your tiles in two, as shown above. The tile is flexible, and should snap on the scored lines you made with your exacto blade.

You will then have a variety of tiles that look like this:

And eventually a swell supply like this-

For grout, I recommend Zap a dap Spackle patch, or Quik Seal tub and tile grout, buy it in a larger pail, as with playscale it will take alot. A variety of things can be used to spread your grout after the tiles are secured on your floor base. (I recommend with these sticky tiles using a drop of Tacky Glue for extra hold- no superglues because of the tile materials or hot glue, which doesn't hold well.) With Zap a dap you can add in a color of acrylic paint if you want your grout colored, spread on with popsicle stick or a plastic spreader, make sure all cracks are filled, then wipe off with damp sponge or cloth. Let the grout dry, the wipe down again to get any crumbling pieces off, and seal with a varnish or sealer. I am going to be storing mine in a plastic baggie until I'm ready to use them, I hope my quick how to helps.

I am currently working on a mantel holiday garland for my 1/6 scale Bespaq fireplace for Christmas, I will post pics of this how to when I'm finished.

~Lisa

Demolition of Stair railings...

I did some demolition on the stair railings today on the third and second floors; those scraps of carpet and stair railings were nailed in, as I feared, with long nails. This will affect how I do the floors, and is a little disappointing. Getting some of them out is next to impossible, so I may just put the floor coverings on thin cardboard cut to fit the room layout.

I started sanding on some of that glue and carpet matting, that is another reason I have rethought the floor coverings. I also thought out the girls' bathtub and room layout for the small bath off of the bedroom. One of the things I had struggled with is I wanted a clawfooted bathtub, but the Barbie my house tub was too modern, and would take up a great deal of room. Searching on Ebay and other places, I finally settled on the Bratz New world bathtub, via a trip to Walmart one day.... The 2008 Barbie bathtub I may still buy if I decide that the bratz tub just will not do, but it was so much more elegant than Barbie's, even though the Barbie tub would probably fit the FR girls better. Right now, I'm going more for the illusion than the fact that the tub will not fit exactly. I had thought of putting the bratz tub on a raised dais, or platform like one of the tubs in the previous posts I did on the layout of planning the bath. Most of all, it had to look elegant, like a fashionable woman's bath in an old manor house or mansion, which would have had antique fixtures such as this tub. I once had a tub like this, and loved it. Besides, Eugenia was quite insistent. (I think my snobbish girls just like the idea of their tub being on a dais, like a throne. )

Shown at left are the two pieces of mdf I am thinking of using for the dais where the Bratz tub will reside. I plan to tile the two steps with tile, cut into one and 1 1/2 inch squares to match the floor, all in white- I bought my 2 white tiles from Home Depot last night for 98 cents each. I found a wonderful tile how to in the past issue of October 2008 Miniature Collector magazine, page 31, called Easy Marble floor. The tiles should have the peelable sticky back on them, and you measure and mark the tiles off in 1 inch squares, then cut with your cutting blade and ruler, then snap them apart. The author used a spackle compound for grout and glue to adhere them to cardboard template that fit her floor for her dollhouse. I liked this quick and easy method for a marble tile floor, and it will really match the picture of the floor in the French Country decorating magazine I saw. I want the bathroom to be all in white, maybe with puddle drapes at that window, and looped chiffon pouf drapes above the tub.

Ah, luxury for dolls. Here is a picture of the issue of Miniature Collector I am using for reference when I do get to the point I start the floor.

Here is the issue where I found the tile tutorial. I love this magazine, and am a dealer of it; I carry it on both my website, http://www.kingwilliamminiatures.us/& also my Ebay store, Pumpkin Hill Studios http://tinyurl.com/yjvz65 . We currently have November & December and January 2009 issues still in stock.

For the stairs I have also thought of a couple of alternatives, given the odd stair opening placement. Another which my husband, Chris likes is the idea of the spiral staircase. We have assembled these from kits in 1:12 scale, but never created one in playscale before. As a child, my dollhouse cabinet my father made me had two of these spiral staircases, one made from a broom handle, with the steps screwed into the broom handle, then inserted into the openings, to sit just so. I still have that staircase, but it would not work for this since the stair openings are not directly underneath each other. Two sets of spiral stairs would have to be made, not impossible, but would have to be thought out. My original plan was to use a classics staircase kit, which had a width of 3 3/16 wide on the stair width, but would fit the stair opening. However, the drawback is the stair might look small in playscale. So I am still thinking on the stair dilemna, but happily, since I haven't begun the priming and sanding yet, that can safely be put aside.

The only thing that needs to be done now that I'm dreading is pulling up the carpet on the bottom floor. One problem is it has been very cold outdoors and kneeling on that cold ground in the shop isn't appealing. Before I can begin the painting after the carpet is removed, I have to find a stable place to keep my Maison de la Royale so I can work on it. I have some very impatient dolls that I did some consulting with as their decorator, and Agnes was not happy.....

I found the dolls lounging about the Christmas tree, critiquing my work....As usual, they were not really concerned about anything except their own small world.....

Agnes: Thank you for arriving in so timely a manner, I greatly appreciate it. I was admiring your work on the Christmas tree.

Me: Thank you Agnes, er Your Highness. But I am not finished decorating the tree...

Agnes: Oh. That's why it only has lights and I'm standing in green branches covered in lights. Well, how does the work progress? Will we be able to move into the manor soon? I'm planning a houseparty to welcome my friends from the Moods Collection.

Me: Hold on here. You said I had as much time as I needed...

Agnes: No, as much time as I need, to change my mind. We want to have a party- and they will be here any day now!

I will need to re-schedule another audience with the Baroness, as she has flounced out of the room.....

Vanessa then decided to add her two cents worth-

Vanessa: Please understand, we just can't change our entertainment plans at the drop of the hat. And by the way, can you also hire us a French maid from that company called Silkstone?

Me: What???I'm supposed to buy another doll, (gulp) the Silkstone maid no less, to wait on you and Agnes & Eugenia hand and foot! You must be joking! And the French maid is not inexpensive missy....

Vanessa: I know. That's why we want her- she's expensive and wears that cute maid outfit. It would look so nice when serving us Re-ment champagne with our friends from the Moods collection. You will have my bedroom done won't you? Remember, I want that nice, really nice wallpaper...

Me: Yes, I remember. Now, what if I bought the silkstone french maid outfit and let one of you wear it? Wouldn't that work? And that nice, really expensive wallpaper?

Vanessa: You must be joking darling. Me, Vanessa- wear a french maid outfit? What a Marvelous sense of humor you have- those fumes from that ghastly carpet really got to you this evening, didn't they? And of course it is expensive. You weren't really thinking of using that shelf paper were you?

Me: Sigh.....

Eugenia, on the other hand, was only intent on posing in the leather chair. She had raided Highland Fling's pajamas, (she's a little bustier than Maeve) and wanted her picture taken...

Eugenia: Don't I look stunning? Who would have thought I would look so fetching in this little peignoir number? Maeve won't mind at all.

Me: So aren't you upset I haven't yet finished the house?

Eugenia: Of course! But right now I just want my picture taken underneath the Christmas tree for Santa.

Me: Oh, okay. Here ya go-

Eugenia: I wasn't ready! No fair! I hate that picture- it looks like my arm is broken!

Me; stop being a drama queen.

Eugenia: I'm not. Agnes has that as one of her titles. Hey, my toenail polish matches this outfit.....

Me: Sigh......

Eugenia: Look, my tan goes perfect with this set. Now you need to stop worrying about the house. Just get on with it, we want to have a party.

Me: Okay, okay, I'll get to working. Just don't rush me.

Eugenia: Hey we also need some new wardrobes for Christmas too. We can't keep wearing the same old thing, everyone has seen us in these same clothes. Why don't you learn to sew?

Me: Hey, I need new clothes too. And I don't sew...often.

Eugenia: Why do you need new clothes? Aren't you working on the house? And don't you have to paint the house, and tile the floors and cut wood? What do you need to wear new clothes for that for?

Me: Because I go to parties too, hey it's Christmas. I should be on vacation, not working on mini construction projects for dolls.

Eugenia: There you go joking again. You don't need new clothes, just finish the house. Besides, Vanessa really wants that nice, really nice wallpaper in our bedroom. Do you think it will match my outfit, or will I need a new one?

Me: Sigh.........DOLLS!

So thus was my conversation with my divas in miniature. My husband Chris saw the dolls sitting about the tree and liked that decoration better than putting ornaments on the tree. Only in a household devoted to miniature divas who live in one sixth scale........LOL.

Ghastly carpet is almost gone.....

Yep, I pulled up the carpet on the third and 2nd floors. It was not a day to take pics of my progress, to paraphrase Snoopy, "It was a dark and stormy night..." well, today was a dark and stormy day. This afternoon around 2 pm it just stopped raining, so I couldn't resist taking my trusty tools out to the workshop to attempt to get up the carpet.

When I pulled it up, I was amazed at how with a few cuts of the knife it was easy to pull up....

As you can see here, the creator of this obviously used glue to tack the carpet down. now onto sanding that floor and laying on my stomach to pull the rest of it up. I had to leave a bit of carpet around the staircase and the stair railling as you can see from this pic, I am hoping the stair rail and the staircase itself are just glued in, not nailed in, which will make it easier to get at those scraps. As the dollhouse is as tall as me, my back was killing me after pulling up this carpet! After the sanding and the rest of the carpet is up, I can then begin to prime and paint the wood to prep it for what I have in store for it. So much work to do before the fun part of decorating it begins!!

~Lisa

Plans for the bedroom & Bath............

I had plans for the bedroom to be divided with a wall so the girls (mainly Agnes, her Royal Highness.....) could have a bathroom.........but that has changed. For one, after a more thorough exam of the ghastly carpet, I found to my suspicions that it has been glued in. My plans for the floors do not include burgundy runner carpet throughout the house, it would not be in keeping with the country french decor I'm planning......

The two pics above I found online, and suit the decor and colors I am thinking of for the bedroom. Admittedly, the smaller of the two conforms more to the space considerations for the bath. I like the idea of the tub raised on a platform. The pink bathroom is more to my taste but the sofa is too much, would be hard to do with the bedroom space. I have 35-36 inches to work with on the third floor, so the bath needs no more than the tub as a focal point, with a small sink. I am thinking of putting the tub on a platform underneath the left window, and having the stairs come into the bedroom itself, instead of, walls dividing the hallway, bedroom, and bath, which would really eat alot of space.

The new barbie bathroom My House set is so cute, it has a classic looking tub with claw feet, and I can do alot with it to make it look more luxurious. I found some recent pics online that gave me some ideas of what I would like the bathroom to resemble.

I also like the idea of an over the top mirror in the bathroom- it is so luxurious, and diva-ish. Instead of wallpaper in the bathroom, I'm going to use plaster, with a tiled marbled floor, and a drape canopy also, if I can material sheer enough.

......before I can do these extragant decors however,.......onto ripping out the ghastly carpet and priming.........

~Lisa

1:6 scale Bespaq furniture to move in...

I thought I would show some pictures here of the 1:6 scale Bespaq that Agnes wishes to move in as soon as possible. ( It will be awhile, there is sooooooo much work to do and this house is huge!) Just for fun, and also because I thought posting pics here might give me some ideas on color schemes, and hopefully, wallpaper options. The two wingchairs were designed by me, and manufactured by Bespaq for my company, King William Miniatures. They are limited editions and named Viceroy l (blue) and Viceroy ll (gold). The fabrics reminded me of the Empire period around the turn of the century, with a luxurious India influence- the fabrics have small golden Indian crowns scattered across them. They are finished in a walnut finish. I thought they would go perfectly with my fireplace, also Bespaq, which gives the impression of the one from the movie Titanic, from Rose's stateroom. I think it will look marvelous with these two chairs, in the 2nd floor salon.

Will post more as I progress! ~Lisa

A diamond in the rough.....

Welcome to my 1:6 scale dollhouse blog!

It is certainly a diamond in the rough that I have brought home. This playscale gem was brought home today after being found in one of my favorite antique stores, Federated Warehouse located in the Richmond, Va. area. At first I had no intention of keeping it, merely selling it later. But the one sixth scale challenge was calling- and so were my fashion royalty and Silkstone Barbie gals- especially Agness and Vanessa. (They simply cannot bear living on my computer desk and dining room table. lol)

The house is quite large, but in extremely good condition. Though the staircases are somewhat crude, they are well made and finished, with mitered cuts. This house is a gem because whoever created it also created a 'garage' with roll door for the dolls, in the lower right floor. The piece of loose wood is of course, for the car to roll out and onto the floor or street. The door is made quite ingeniously out of a bread box slat door! Eugenia is happy, because now there is a safe place to keep her Bratz corvette!

The house measures an astonishing 51 inches high! Four feet, 3 inches. The three floors are of varying heights. The first floor is 14inches high, the 2nd floor is 15 inches high, and the third floor is 16 inches high. The entire house is 23 1/2 inches deep, and 36 1/2 inches wide. Here is a pic of the 2nd floor with Vanessa & Agnes inspecting their new home. The little diamond shaped thing on the back wall looks like a homemade attempt at a faux stained glass window.

My plans are quite simple, to turn this diamond in the rough into a beautiful upscale townhouse for my fashion dolls, and be a resting place for my massive 1:6 scale Bespaq furniture collection I have acquired. The house has wonderful bones-and looks like it was built by a person with cabinet or woodworking experience. My plan is to make it a lovely stucco townhouse, with the shingles on the roof painted a terra cotta color, with exposed brick. As you can see the windows and shutters are handmade of plexi and strip mold, which I think can be made to look more finished from the white and pale pink color it is now. It is solidly built, so am looking forward to this project.

I plan in this blog to take you through the creative process- the first thing will be to rip up that carpet so neatly tacked down, for the installation of wiring and also of three walls with doors, to seperate the rooms from the stairs with halls, like a normal townhouse. I am going to work on the premise that Agnes has bought herself a townhouse sight unseen in questionable condition, so the decorator (me!) will have to get moving with lights, and wallpaper, and action!

Here are the girls at different angles, Vanessa

on the stairs- I might be able to work with them by enclosing them in, and work on the storyline

premise that this is a very cramped pied a terre or townhome. Agnes, as always, is a drama queen and was devasted at the unfinished business of her new home.lol!

I plan to first work with the furniture I have and what colors the rooms should be painted. THe bottom floor will more than likely be a kitchen- after all, everyone has to eat right? So I have someplace for my Re-ments. The 3rd floor will most definitely be the bedroom, with my Bespaq Louis XV bedroom suite up there- I am still picking out colors, since the bed is upholstered in taupe silk. The ceilings in all of the rooms are too low for chandeliers, which would be level with the dolls' heads, so I think stationary lights will work, maybe table lamps also. Floors will be amixture of veneer flooring and also marble tiles, to keep it in keeping with Maison de la Royale. (the name I am playing with for the townhome for the girls)

More pics of this progress will be in my webshots album http://community.webshots.com/user/Barbietown in the new album of the same name. My progress will more than likely be slow, as current construction on my garage being flipped into a studio/office will come first, where Maison de la Royale will more than likely reside. I am toying with the idea of making the hallways with an Oriental flair- to house one of my custom designed 1:6 wingchairs I sell on my website, http://www.kingwilliamminiatures.us/(King William Miniatures) that are manufactured by Bespaq. Here is a pic of the 'Red Dragon', which would go well in the hallway since its legs are in a black lacquer finish-

I simply love this chair and its material, with medallions & green

dragons scattered across the fabric.

This chair is also available in my Ebay store, Pumpkin Hill

Studios, http://tinyurl.com/yjvz65 with a choice of five other chairs in different fabrics and finishes.

I will be posting more on this 1:6 scale venture, and can hardly wait to get started!