Katelyn's Crossing

Up and running again with a new laptop and Windows 8.1. It took longer than I thought but at least I can blog again

I finally finished painting Katelyn's Crossing!
 For those of you who want to see what I'm really working on, here's the link. A pre-assembled, playable dollhouse, sold as " Ryan's Room"
http://www.creativebrainsonline.com/Ryans-Room-Home-is-Where-the-Heart-Is-Dollhouse_p_423.html. I bought it because it was open on all sides and I planned to put it on a turntable so you can see minis from all 4 sides. No ladder or furniture which is ok and I did plug the hole.  Biggest drawback....only 9' ceilings  Darn.  But I'll make it work.

 I knew when I bought it at a flea market that it would be difficult to paint but this turned out to be a real challenge. After I started applying a primer, I said "nuts to this" and attempted to take it apart, hoping that Fate would allow me to put it back together again. But neither my husband nor I could un-loosen the bolts.  So it was back to turning it on its sides, front and back as well as upside down to paint the interior. I eventually put it on a turntable.  At least I didn't have to rotate it front to back.

I gave up the idea of painting each floor a different color and ended up with the inside and outside the same.  Blue.  And blue it is. I plan to tone down all that blue with wallpaper, carpeting, etc.

So, here's the plan.  Katelyn's Crossing will be a series of 5 shops.

The top floor will be a year round Christmas shop.  I have so many Christmas minis that I won't have any problem filling up the entire floor. But it won't be anywhere near complete in time for Christmas this year.

The second floor will be a home furnishings shop and a lady's shop.

The ground floor will be a gourmet Fudge shop while the other side will be a postal substation and gift wrapping area.

The first thing I did was to make templates for all 4 walls.  It is so much easier to apply wallpaper this way and to arrange wall hangings. Otherwise I would have to set it on it's side to be sure everything was straight.

I started with the gift wrapping area because I already had some things made from a while ago.
Here is what I wanted to display.

And here is the wall section nearly complete  I just have to make a few more multi-looped bows.  And, yes, that is perforated paper. Still haven't given up on that stuff yet.

First, I had to wrap the presents, make more wrapping paper and bows, and cover the template with wallpaper. Then, it as on to the pegboard.

Here is how I made the pegboard if anyone wants to try.



You will need:

perforated paper- found it on Ebay. Cut to workable size
white cardboard for backing- cut to same size as pegboard
glue
scotch tape
pencil
wire cutters
4 beads per section- to be used as spacers
jewelry findings-These will be your pegs- use the ones with flat heads



Cut pegs to size. Mine are 3/4". 

Plan were your first 2 pegs will go and then, from the back, insert pegs and secure with narrow piece of tape. ( It helps a lot if you fold over one edge of the tape to make a tab-easier to remove tape before applying glue.)

Do the same for the second row. At this point you may want to turn it over and see if it's correct.

 Now it's just a matter of counting and marking the holes with a pencil.  Insert pegs and secure with tape.  This is how mine looked.

 

 

Now comes the tricky part.  Gently remove the tape without pulling the peg out.  Add a small dot of glue to the underside of the pinhead and push the peg back down.

 

 

 

When they are all done, prop the pegboard upside down off the table so they can start to dry.  Now you may want to take a peak at the underside to make sure pegs are straight

 

While they're setting up, quickly apply a thin coating of glue to the cardboard backing and press to the back of the pegboard at the corners and hold for a few seconds.  Then put the pegboard upside right on the table and with your fingers, press down as close as you can to the pegs without disturbing them.

 

Now it's just a matter of gluing the beads/spacers to the card board and your done.  On mine, I did glue everything in place.  As soon as I put down the flooring and finish the bows, I'll be ready to attach the whole thing to the wall,





 

I know this is a long tutorial for something few people will use, but it's here if you want it.

 

Hopefully, my next post will be in a few days so I can show you what else I've been working on.  Lots of little projects not quite done.

 

So, till next time, take care and have a Great Thanksgiving!

 

 

Diane