Not Following Directions

I read the assembly instructions for the staircase again this morning. The first thing they say to do is make the posts. There are six of them. What you are supposed to do is glue three of the long flat strips together to make one post.

I started to do that and then I realized that they would end up being 1/4 inch square. Why waste all of those nice straight pieces of wood? Why not just use 1/4 inch wooden dowels? So that's what I did.

The instructions also say to glue the platform to the posts first. Yeah, right. How do you glue something that is suspended in the air? I couldn't figure out how I would clamp the platform that way. I still don't know how I can clamp them.

So, I started with the base and then added the platform. A Cheerios box with a piece of 1/8" basswood on top was the perfect height. I do a lot of improvising here! LOL

Now I'm waiting for the glue to dry. The next step is adding the stairs.

I didn't like the finish on the bare wood so I weathered the floor and the platform before I started gluing. So far, so good.

Hopefully, this won't fall apart when I try to move it.

Waste Not Want Not

A friend of mine once told me, if you cut your toothpaste tube in half you can get another couple of days of toothpaste out of it. That's true.

Works for wood glue too. :D

My sofa is finished except for the frame. I think I just might have enough glue. Now I just have to wait for it to dry.

Hope you have a wonderful day making minis!

A Sticky Subject

I have all of these different kinds of glue. Now Casey tells me I might need one more?

I have a wealth of large pieces pieces of card stock. They are saved from the xray film boxes at work. I know the girls there wonder why I'm always taking them home...

I made a pattern of the back wall of the kid's room.


Then I found this red and white striped fabric in my stash. I think it will look great as wallpaper?


Now I need to attach the fabric to the wall. Casey did say that you can use watered down white glue. I think I'll try that before I go and buy more glue!

So here I go. Testing the glue I have and waiting for it to dry!

Blessings,
Kathi

Sticky Subject

I have a question. I'm getting frustrated with my glue. It seems fine when first opened but after a while it gets so thick I can't get it to come out of the bottles! I've resorted to taking off the top and digging some out with a craft stick but it's still too thick. Got any ideas?

Puzzled,
Kathi

Research and Development

No wonder I don't get much done in my real life! I'm spending too much time at this computer!

I promise I'll go do some laundry and clean up the kitchen as soon as I finish this post...

I laid down some popsicle sticks in the living room just to see how many it would take and how they might look. The popsicle sticks are 5/8 inch wide.

Then I tried Star Bucks coffee stirrers and liked them much better. They are 1/4 inch wide and look more realistic. You wouldn't think 1/8 of an inch would make much difference but it does. Guess I just might have to go back to Star Bucks!

The good thing about coffee stirrers is that you can cut them with scissors. Much easier to cut off the rounded ends than using a craft knife or saw.

One of these days I'll buy a nice saw from MicroMark.
I'm wondering if I can just glue the sticks right down to the plywood floor? Do you think they would warp? That's my biggest concern.

Thanks for following my progress, including the research and development!

What Glue Do You Use?

I've spent a lot of time waiting for glue to dry here!

Right now I'm trying to glue the legs on a little artist "adjustable" stool.

The legs sit like a triangle. Kind of like my telescope...

Tacky Glue is great for some things but it doesn't set fast enough. Anyone have any suggestions on a different glue that would be faster? It is difficult to sit here and hold three things together at the same time!

I actually cleaned up my kitchen this morning! I can see counter space again!

Next, it's on to the dining room where I have my dollhouse. I'm going to have to empty the house so I can get back to the restoration. It will be hard putting all of my mini things away for a while!

Here's the mini mess I've got to deal with!







Hope you have a nice Sunday and thanks for any help you have to offer!
Blessings, Kathi

Fireplace - Accessories

While I was waiting for the glue to dry on the tile, I made some teeny tiny fireplace accessories.

If you look closely, you can see what they are made of. It was a matter of determination over loss of patience with these little things! I would much rather be building something!



I'm going to clean them up a bit and then paint them all black. Hopefully then they will look more like the real thing? Yes, I could have just bought some accessories for my fireplace.
Maybe next time I will!

I really need to go do some laundry, run to the grocery and put gas in my car....

Hope you had as much fun today as I did!

Blessings, Kathi