Lights ON!

Whew!  What a whirlwind weekend...figuratively, and literally.  The weather changed abruptly and overnight here in Minnesota we went from sunglasses and tee-shirts to knit caps and flannel!  The wind is making quick work of the remaining leaves in the trees, much to the consternation of my Shetland Sheepdog, Miss Edie.  Edie is ever so slightly OCD, she barks at any and I mean anything that's even slightly out of place.  And the new swirling spirals of russet and orange autumn leaves drive the poor, persnickety pooch mad, mad, mad!  

After much tinkering (and a few colorful explicatives) I am pleased to report that I finally got the electrical system working in the Entrance Hall of Merriman Park!   Thank you, gentle Reader, for your polite applause at my success.  Of course it couldn't have happened without a heaping helping of major drama, now could it?

First off, I needed to visit the local dollhouse shop on the other end of town, to pick up a few odds and ends.  It's a pleasant jaunt down meandering  Minnehaha Parkway (gorgeous in its seasonal autumn splendor) which turns into 50th Street and on into the suburban hinterland of Edina, where the aforementioned shop is located.  After jumping into the car and turning the key and hearing no familiar 'vroom-vromm' noise it was determined that the car's battery was dead.  Drats!

After a jump-start from Neighbor McFriendly, and a trip to the automotive shop for a new battery, it was off, at long last, to Edina!  But by the time yours truly finally made it home, the sun was already dipping behind the horizon.  And there is no way on Earth, dear Reader, that I would even attempt to wire Merriman Park in the dim, yet decidedly glamorous evening light of my 'real-life' house!  Oh, well, "tomorrow is another day," as Miss Scarlet used to say. 

Up, today, at the crack of noon (I need my beauty rest --don't judge me)!  And after a cafe au lait, I begin the lighting project in earnest.  The chandelier wire needs extending but --no worries!-- I bought some of those shrink-tube thing-ies so I'm good to go!  But do you think I could find them?  Hell, no!  I turned the entire house apart and they were nowhere to be seen.  Double-Drats!

And the local dollhouse shop is closed on Sundays!  This is getting so complicated...

The huz comes up with a brill idea:  a Hobby Shop!  So after a quick Google search it's off to Scale Models in St Paul!  

OK, if you ever have the misfortune of finding yourself in St Paul --I'm not dogging it, but I once lived there briefly and it can only be described as a cemetery, with lights.  But please, please, please do yourself a favor and head over to Scale Models on Lexington and University Avenue!

If you dream of  starring in a John Waters film --and who doesn't-- just run on down to Scale Models!  From the outside, the shop looks to be about six feet wide, but enter and make your way down the creaky, water-stained stair and in the dank basement you will find a model-makers Paradise!  It's huge!  It goes on and on and on for like, forever!  (Sort of like this post, but I digress).

Sitting on a bench at the base of the stairs is the strangest apparition:  I swore it was an old man, but the huz insists it was an elderly woman!  And he/she just sits there with a preternatural, evil grin on his/her face!  It's just like the creepy chauffeur in Burnt Offerings!

Anyway, long story short:  I got more shrink-tubes.  Then the Real Fun began.  It only took several attempts to get everything working, but I did it!  I really did it!  I am pretty and I am smart! AND I made my own lampshades...OK before you look at this next picture, please keep in mind that I am new to this and don't laugh!  This is sort of embarrassing, but I made the lampshades out of toothpaste caps!  Is that too ghetto?  Painted black with the inside gold I hope they're not too obvious.  Of course right after I finished making them, I got an email from Clair-bell and they do carry black shades for only three bucks a pop, so maybe I should just spring for it and get them!

Toothpaste cap lampshades: ghetto or gorgeous?

All I have left, is to finish a few miters to the cornice and glue everything down.  I'm not going to post any more photos of the Hall until it is once-and-for-all complete.  (Just a few more days, my my estimation).  I don't know about you, dear, patient Reader, but I am getting a little tired of looking at this room.

And so then, it's on to the Drawing Room! 

T.G.I.F!!!

Happy Friday!

Not much progress to report, but I did get some more art framed, I finished the stair banister finials and I whipped up a corridor which you will get a glimpse of through all the doorways along the back wall.

The scenic wallpaper is from Les Chinoiserie in Spain.

Isn't it cool?!  It really makes it look as if the house goes back a lot further.  And it only added two inches! Do you like the scenic wallpaper?  I bought it originally for the Entrance Hall but decided I'd rather have lots of gilt-framed paintings there, instead.

Here's how I made it:  it's really just a little box made up from scrap stock leftover from the construction of Merriman Park.  Waste not, want not!  After making the box I just papered and trimmed it out with molding.

I added mirrors on the end panels just in case someone sticks their head into the room for a peek down the corridor. The mirrors give the illusion that the hallway goes on and on forever!  I love that!

Some leftover marble tiles finish off the floor.

The gentlemen are pleased with the Hall's progress!

Looks like I'll be making another trip to the local dollhouse shop to buy a new circuit-breaker thing-y. so hopefully I will be able to tackle the lighting, once and for all.  Did you just roll your eyes?  Can't say I blame you --I've been trying to get all the lamps working for like, forever! 

Guess I'll have to get some kind of generic lamp to light the corridor, it won't be seen --does anyone have any suggestions?  I'm also looking for 'candle shades,' in black, if anyone knows where to pick those up?  I just need a few more odds and ends to finally finish off this room once and for all...

Ha! I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever be completely finished!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ouch!!!

I just dropped my  medallion on the floor and when I bent over to pick it up, I slammed my head on the back of a chair!  Now that  the stars have cleared, I think I'm getting a black eye...Ugh!  I look a hot mess!

Two Steps Forward...

...And three steps back!  Ugh!  What a busy weekend it has been.  Unfortunately, mostly puttering around the house, trying to ready things for when the weather finally turns.  END OF TIMES ALERT!:  It's still hot and summer-y here, we almost turned on the air-conditioner!  In October?  We usually have the furnace fired up by now.  Spooky.

In spite of the balmy weather, we emptied the fish pond and brought all the gold-fishies in for the winter.  And by 'we, ' I mean Glen!  Don't judge me, yours truly was busy cleaning out the garage.  We finally made the sad decision to sell the little convertible. 'Gia,' poor dear, has been sitting in the garage for ages and we never seem to be able to scrape up the cash to have her repaired. It's only a one-car garage, so the space has been rendered for the most part, useless. 

Until now!

Sad as it was to see Gia towed away, the garage is now positively brimming with possibilities for a new workshop!   And OMG! You would not believe the cache of tools I found. 

Anyway, I did manage to work on Merriman Park a bit, this afternoon.  But I am afraid my efforts were for naught!  OK, you guys: I was once  practically a straight-A student (except in Math) so it's not like I'm a blubbering imbecile.  But whilst trying to hook up the fireplace sconces to the socket strip I blew everything up!  Now, nothing works, and the socket strip warning light is going crazy!  Ugh!

I figured out what I did wrong...I won't say what it was because it's simply too embarrassing for words!  Suffice it to say that it was a typical 'guy-thing': in other words: I should have read the directions. 

Oh, well.  Live and learn, right?

I started cutting the pieces for the cornice --and that was no treat either!  My cornice is made from resin and it's a drag to work with.  And those inside corners all need to be coped which is tough enough on real wood, but the resin --Ugh!-- you have to go slow because the saw blade heats up and starts melting the resin.  It's a gooey mess!

I also added gilt powder to the stair, for extra sparkle.

I got some fireplace stuff:  the grate, fender, andirons and tools are from the local dollhouse store, Little Enchantments, in Edina.  The lady who owns the shop is such a delight --do pop in if you ever find yourself in town.  The vases are from a Canadian source, The Little Dollhouse. (Shout-out to Giac)! They are of an ancient Greek design, I figure the owner of Merriman Park picked them up on his Grand Tour of Europe.

I had to correct a mistake I made in the floor border:  I neglected to factor in the thickness of the wainscot and the skirting and it bothered me that the borders were not all evenly wide.  I have also decided to add a medallion to the canter of the floor.  I could tell by the sound of crickets chirping when I asked what you thought of the old medallion I made up that it didn't quite make the medallion mustard (it's OK --I didn't care for it, either)!  I found a gaw-jess medallion on-line and honeys, you are going to love it!

I need to pick up a pair of lamps for the Hall table.  I bought a frame on-line for the large painting, but when it arrived, it was too small!

What else?  I cut mirrors for the top of the stair, though it probably wasn't necessary--they don't really show.  I'm working on the banister finals, with my new-found tools (no more kitchen knife, thank you very much)! I think I'll take Karin Corbin's advice and buy some 'mini-files.' 

I am thinking about removing the door on the stair landing and replacing it with a tromp-l'oiel view into another room: one of my heroine, Mrs. James Ward Thorne!  Do you think that could work?

Pondering...

Whilst readying the Chanel mannequins for the upcoming Trunk Show at the department store where I work in Display, I  'came out' of the miniaturist closet to Patric & Susan, co-workers at the aforementioned emporium.

Our store is in the process of phasing-out the 'ye-olde'  accoutrements of yesteryear --namely : cash registers!  It's all changing over to I-Pads, darlings, who carries cash, nowadays?  Anyway, I just happened to casually mention that I was building a dollhouse and was blogging about its progress and in a whirl the I-Pad was produced and the next thing I knew my blog, Merriman Park, was staring us in the face.

I think it's safe to say that Patric is perhaps even more Obsessive-Compulsive Disordered  than yours truly --he collects decorative carrot objets, for god's sake!  (I'm not judging, I'm just saying)!  He peppered me with a barrage of questions:  "what year was Merriman Park built?  Oh, that was during slavery days--how many slaves are indentured to Merriman Park?  What? Oh, no, Merriman Park is most-definitely not a Newport residence, if its not Virginia, it's South Carolina...."

All this forced me to decide, once and for all,  Merriman Park's history.  I guess I've harbored pretensions that Merriman Park was a European residence, but Patric's grilling of me made me realize that it  is undoubtedly and unabashedly American.  I mean, the architecture of  Thomas Jefferson inspired it!  And Thomas Jefferson was from Virginia and the houses that I modeled Merriman Park after, Edgemont and  Bremo are both located in Virginia.  So that means if I accept the idea that Merriman Park is an antebellum Southern house, there were most definitely slaves afoot.

I'm having a hard time adjusting to this reality!

Am I making too much of a big deal over this?  I'm not one of those 'politically-correct' types, but it does make me think a little about my 'hero,' Thomas Jefferson, who wrote so eloquently that 'all men were created equal'  --except, I guess --his chattel!  

OMG! I'm FAMOUS!

It's true that I haven't been at this whole miniatures thing very long.  But imagine my surprise and utter bewilderment at being plucked from relative obscurity and thrown into the center-stage of Miniaturist Limelight! You may be asking yourselves, Gentle Reader, "Oh hell, no, what the @#$ is she going on about now?" and so, I will tell you:  Merriman Park just got a major shout-out from none other than Whitledge-Burgess!

Do you understand what this means?  It's like you're a member of the corps de ballet and all of a sudden they cast you in the lead role...You guys, I'm like, The Black Swan!  

I've been on Cloud-9 all the live-long day!  Even at my job today at the Department Store where I work in Display, nothing and I mean nothing could get me down!   Even knowing that Simon was yucking it up, touring the Stately Homes of England (whilst yours truly was slogging through the hum-drum ennui of making sure all gazillion opera-chairs from our Major Fashion Event  this weekend were properly sent back to the rental company), couldn't get me down).

Whitledge-Burgess is now offering a selection of their gorgeous room-box settings in kit form!  Read All About It in their latest newsletter:

http://whitledgeburgess.com/studio/index.php?main_page=page&id=3


In other news, I made a 'test run' of trying to carve a curlicue finial for my stair railing.  I haven't carved anything in years, unless you count the Thanksgiving turkey.  My Grandpa once gave me a 'whittling  knife' when I was a boy and I totally scared my parents because I developed a certain penchant for carving miniature pagan idols from sticks!  (I was really into Easter Island at the time --don't judge me)!

This was just a test-run!  I need to glue up some stock to match the thickness of the railing.  But I spent only approximately fifteen or twenty minutes with this practice piece of wood and a kitchen paring knife so I think I'm golden.  I really think that I can do this!  I suppose there is some high-tech tool that I should have used, (but don't own), that would work better.  If you guys saw the few, primitive tools I own you would either laugh, or cry!

Indian Summer

It was way too gorgeous outside today to be fussing with miniatures indoors!  Sunny, blue skies and summertime temperatures enticed me out into the garden to apply gilt paint on the Entrance Hall stair.

Enough of that for today!  Time to take the dogs out for a walk down the street to Minnehaha Park!

Wow!  The leaves are really changing...hard to believe that in a month they will all be gone.

The Sumac are really on fire!

In the middle of the park sits the John Stevens House, the first home built in Minneapolis.  It originally sat downtown, where the Main Post Office is today.  It was identified and saved from demolition and moved to this spot in the late 1800's.  I love this little home!  Wouldn't it make a great dollhouse?

John Stevens

 

Also situated in Minnehaha Park is the Longfellow House.  It was built as a 3/4 scale reproduction of the home of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Longfellow immortalized Minnehaha Falls in his epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha.  The poem was such a sensation in its day, it made Minnehaha Park a major tourist attraction. Sorry about the exposure.

I think this would make a great dollhouse, too.  The pilasters could hide the seams where it opens up!  I made a birdhouse modeled on the Longfellow House once a while back but I don't have any photos of it.

The flower gardens in back of the Longfellow House are winding down.  We've already had a few overnight frosts.

"From the forests and the prairies,
From the great lakes of the Northland,
From the land of the Ojibways,
From the land of the Dacotahs,
From the mountains, moors, and fen-lands
Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah,
Feeds among the reeds and rushes.
I repeat them as I heard them
From the lips of Nawadaha,
The musician, the sweet singer."

Minnehaha Creek flows for several long miles from the eastern shore of Lake Minnetonka, where I grew up, and empties into the Mississippi River, near where I live today.  None of my photographs of Minnehaha Falls turned out --I'll have to show you it some other day.

Whew! Edie & Jack the Shelties are exhausted!  Best get back to the house...Maybe I can get the stairway finished?

Later that night:   The ends of the railing are whispering that they want a curlicue finial to finish themselves off.  I've never used FIMO before, but do you think that would work?  Also, since I finished the stair runners in black marble, should the landing runner be black marble as well? I kind of like it 'as is,' personally.