windows of the soul

They say that the eyes are the windows of the soul and i'm sure that windows are the soul of the house! the stockbroker only had 2 complete windows and some battered frames, when it came to me..  i did toss around the idea of making some mock-up windows, after checking out the price and availability, on ebay. They cost around $30 australian. thats supposing you can find them! This model has 15 double windows and 2 single panes near the front door, so very expensive to replace... but i  wanted 'real' windows and so i began to collect them slowly... it took a little time to get there ,but  finally, i had enough!!! yaay!! They were a sorry lot!! Rust, yellowed cracked plastic, broken hinges!!! Never mind... rust was sanded back and frames painted,  the plastic replaced in the worst and  curtains attached to all... they now resemble something befitting my glorious house!! (have i mentioned that i love it !) oh, they also got a rub over with diluted umber paint to give that suitably aged look!!!  The tabs were broken off some of the windows, these ones i glued in, the other ones are removable....

wow....  take a look at her now....
While i'm here i want to thank all of you who are making this so easy for me...some of my photo's are not going, where i tell them to go!!! i don't get to say all that i mean to!!!  patience is a virtue!! so to all you
virtuous lovely people out there .. thank you for all your support and wonderful comments. christine xxx

a little elbow grease...

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I have been putting off adding a new post!! I really feel out of my depth, here, but here goes...I have been scrounging through photo's, looking for evidence of the enormous amount of work that i have invested in this house. I have found a few photo's, not nearly enough as i had no idea that i would be drawn into the world of blogging. And i was on a roll, every waking moment was spent, if not working on it, then on the internet looking for any information that i could find..... so it didn't feel like work, but sadly not enough photo's. There weren't any remnants of previous wallpapers, so after much thought and mulling it over, i decided against reproduction papers (many of which i really like), for this house and used vintage wallpapers in small patterns that i found on ebay. i am getting a nice little collection together now and i'll need more houses to use them.that will be my excuse, anyway!!! Some came all the way from america, some from england and some were swaps that i had with other members of DHPP.  Once the original paint colours were determined, it was really only a matter of giving it a good sand, then an all purpose undercoat was applied. New base was made from old ply and timber salvaged from a vintage wardrobe. the roof was reattached and i was ready to decorate!! Well worth the effort....  oops forgot to mention that all the hinges were broken!

photo's of triang

These are the photo's of the stockbroker before it's rebirth. Don't ask me how i wrecked my first blog...

With a little bit of luck i'll get my head around it and will eventually be as competent as all you, out there  in blogland!! i tried but was unable to add the photo's, also i have to figure out how to add the list of blogs that i follow. this is not going to be a piece of cake .

new beginnings

My fascination with dolls houses goes back many years. I still have furniture and dolls that have been packed and kept in storage and have moved with us as we journeyed through life. I was a young mother of 5 robust happy healthy children and  raising my kids and coping with the normal ups and downs of everyday life took priority. So it stayed packed, in garages, in lofts, wherever there was space, only to be unpacked and looked at every  few years. My babies are all grown up now, with families of their own. They showed me how to use the computer and i was off...  One of the first things i purchased on ebay was a very large Triang Stockbroker, I was over the moon!! It didn't matter that it was missing the windows, the doors, the stairs, that it had been painted over with cream and green gloss house paint. It took the long trip by courier from Queensland to arrive here a little worse for wear with the whole roof unattached and the front pieces off as well. The base had been replaced at some time and needed to be removed and a new one made. Now, i love restoration, anything antique or vintage that needs work! i'm your (wo)man.... I couldn't wait to make the doors and stairs, I ratted through the shed for old timber from unfinished projects, not that new crappy pine, mind you! the old lovely kauri pine that loks so nice when its waxed. The thought of scraping back all the gloss paint was another challenge that i welcomed. You can do a whole lot of thinking when you put your hands to something that doesn't need your mind!!! Next time i'll see if i can manage the photo's a little better.