Tiny Houses, Big Plans

Today was the kick off date in modifying our new project - The Christmas House.  But first, we had to go through the "Bashing" process.  I still think this is a squirrely term used to describe the remodeling of a doll house.  Babette tells me it's the process of removing any and all parts that do not fit into the new plans.  It also involves adding the items we want to transform this baby into what she envisions.  Got my fingers crossed I'll be able to reproduce those things inside Babette's head.  Anyone who knows my wife also knows her brain never shuts down; it's like a super freeway buzzing around at lightning speed inside that head of hers!  😆 First on the list was to remove (scrape off) all of the old wooden shingles.  Babette wanted this house to have a more traditional black asphalt type shingle.  Online she noticed how someone took black sandpaper and cut it into strips.  The strips will be notched along 1 side to give them a more realistic look.  Fo

 And we're off, sort of, but first as a refresher here is Babette's & my next project.  Plans are to turn this average looking little doll house into our version of a Christmas Holiday home.  You know what they say about the best laid plans; well, right off the bat we were thrown a big curve ball.  Before the modification could even get off the ground I was forced to come to the realization that my original plan/desire to build a detached garage for an old holiday theme type truck will have to be eliminated.  (Frickle-Frackle, Frickle-Frackle)  I was really looking forward to building that garage too, but in the scheme of things, it's simply not that important.  Fact is, I just wanted it and believed it would have added more to the overall charm of what my vision was for this Christmas house.  Like Babette said, we can still have the garage, but we'll have to eliminate the truck; space will be at a premium and the garage would have made things too crowded.   To that

 Now that the Spooky Halloween House is complete, it will soon be time to tackle this farmhouse looking little gem and turn it into our very own version of a Christmas House.  Not yet sure exactly what Babette has planned, but knowing her it's probably gonna be detailed.  I'm also quite confident this baby will have plenty of lights, some support posts, and railing for the front porch area.  There will also be assorted other decorations scattered around and on the house itself; not to mention in the yard to help bring it all to life.   For years Babette ran her own craft show and created designs of various goodies that we then made and sold for others to enjoy with their own holiday decorations.  Some of her biggest sellers were different size Santa Clauses that were suitable for both inside and outside setups.  For those of you who are familiar with, or purchased her designs in the past, you know exactly how detailed, unique, and 1 of a kind items she loved to make.  She used

 As the title states, our 1st doll house makeover is done and in the books.  Babette and I are both real proud of the way this Spooky Halloween model turned out, and as she put it, "Not bad for our 1st attempt."  We started the project August 2nd and finished it late yesterday, October 5th.  I'm sure others might have been able to complete a project like this faster, but since we could only devote the evenings and weekends; not to mention, we were basically flying by the seat of our pants, we're satisfied with the results.  Plus, our only real deadline was Halloween itself, and that target date was met with time to spare!  YEAH!!!  Now for the fun part ... waiting to see the expressions on our grandkids faces.  That will be priceless, and I'm definitely going to try and capture their faces with a picture at the moment they see it light up. So it was on to setting up the area where this new decoration will be displayed in our home.  That meant the support box built

 And so it begins, the messy part that is, and I am sure glad Babette is the one who wanted to apply the paper mache to this old tree and stump.  I guess she knows me pretty well too, because early on I was warned to get ready for a messy process, and you know what, she was absolutely right!  😝 The paper mache gives the tree trunk a more realistic look, while the owl's perch should make a good home for him after he and the tree have been painted. As for "Rocky" the raccoon, he will be placed on top of this stump once it has been painted.  Now we wait until both pieces have thoroughly dried before Babette does her magic with the paint. I already posted a few of these pics to my Facebook account, but here are some showing a vine with a little moss crawling up the sides and onto the roof.  She used some brown Jute Twine and then hot glued it to where she thought each would look the best. This definitely gives the old home a more neglected and spooky appearance.  Next, it wa