Beacon Hill Dollhouse Construction: Day One

Okay, so I was too excited to take pictures of the process of putting the first two floors together. Sorry.  If you want to know how, YouTube it.  I’m super helpful. You’re welcome. hehe

I was shocked at how quickly and easily this came together. I have maybe 3 hours in it so far and it already looks like a dollhouse! I'm feeling encouraged.  Maybe I will be able to finish it before Christmas after all.  The hardest part thus far has been keeping it a secret from my girls. They're starting to ask questions.

Apologies for the terrible camera-phone picture.

Yes...I put furniture in it. I couldn't help myself. I'm having fun. That's the whole point of dollhouses right? Plus, I wanted to see if the furniture I bought the girls would fit. That's a much more respectable reason. I should have led with that. 

Ways I can actually be helpful to other would-be Beacon Hill-ites:

-Read the warm-up sheet. I giggled when I saw the instructions had instructions, but they're included for a reason and are very helpful.

-When it says to dry fit, dry fit. When it doesn’t say to dry fit, dry fit. A throwback to the Simpson trial: If it doesn’t fit, you must a quit. Oh man, that was bad. Yes, I know what acquittal is. Anyhoo, dry-fit!

-DO NOT use hot glue to glue your house together. If you're like me and have spent time stalking professional miniaturist blogs, you already know this. I had to include it though. Hot glue will make things move along faster but over time your house will fall apart! Don't be like the 2 little pigs. We all know what happened to them. Build your house to last.

-Do not jump ahead! Be patient grasshopper. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow this opportunity comes once in a lifetime...

-Be careful punching these puppies out but don’t be afraid to sand the bejesus out of them to make the slots fit.

- If you’re not careful while punching these puppies out because it’s 3 in the morning and 'nuff said. Don't panic. It can easily be fixed with wood glue and patience. 

Here's the glued foundation waiting to dry.

-The foundation section of the instructions seemed a bit confusing to me at first. I thought it was upside down... because it was. You have to flip the board upside down to glue the underside of the foundation. Once I started using common sense, otherwise known as my husband, it started to come together. 

I've been wallpapering before gluing the walls together in a lot of the rooms because I personally find it easier. This is because I'm using very cheap thin scrapbooking paper. If you're fortunate enough to have actual dollhouse wallpaper or cardstock scrapbooking paper you could probably paper the walls after assembly. It appears to be a personal preference thing.

List of supplies I’ve needed so far:
-sandpaper variety pack
-exacto blade
- wood glue
-masking tape
-pencil
-t square
-primer
-courage

Supplies that aren’t necessary but made it easier:
-wood carving knife
-block sander
-measuring tape

-self-healing mat (This is useful when cutting out the stubborn pieces and rotary cutting wallpaper.)

-rotary cutter
-wallpaper

-some type of adhesive for wallpaper (I used matte mod podge because I happened to have some.)




Much, much more to come...