Mini Shells!

I've made a lot more progress since I last posted, and I've taken pics along the way however I need to sort through them before I upload some! I've completed the staircase (I made a few modifications to it).

In the meantime though, here's a few pictures of some shells I collected while on holiday in the North Island. Some of them are a little too big for 1/12 scale but I'll find something else to do with them! I couldn't believe how tiny some of them were, and yet they are still as perfectly formed as a large shell!

(As you can see, I stained the flooring for the dollhouse! ;) )

New Items

Got some more items in the mail that I ordered from miniatures.com! Put them in my "old" dollhouse for now which is just packed full of a mix-match of most of my furniture and accessories! Storing most of it there until the Beacon Hill is ready to be furnished :)

Stained furniture & mini plant

Before and after shots of the unfinished furniture I bought online a few weeks ago, which I stained tonight. I just used one coat of stain and wiped off the excess with a tissue. Really happy with how the blanket box turned out. I think I will add another coat of stain on the drawer of the wall table so it matches the sides a bit better. Then I will glue on the handles for the drawer.

Tonight I also finished making a miniature hosta plant using a tutorial and printout from weloveminiatures.com - I think it turned out pretty well! I wonder if the pot is slightly too big for the plant (I have three matching pots and that's the biggest) but oh well :P maybe the owners put it in this pot so the plant can "grow" into it ;) I will make some more hosta leaves to plant in another pot, and then some other plants as well.

Finally started the Beacon Hill!

Here's a few photos of my progress so far on the Beacon Hill! This was three days of work. 

The package came all the way from the US. Not cheap on postage haha.

Sorted out all the pieces and made a start! Lots of sanding!

Glued the foundation - the only part I have glued so far. The rest is just dry-fitted. I want to make sure everything fits well before gluing! I have one concern about the foundation, I think one side of the back wall of the foundation is slightly higher than the other, so I will try sanding the other side down a bit.

This all fits well and it taped to hold it firm. 

When I added the partition between the lounge/hall and the third floor, I noticed a little problem. For some reason, the partition sits on a slight angle (despite the tabs fitting perfectly into the slots) I don't know if perhaps it warped slightly, or what, but this means that there is a slight gap in the front corner of the second floor floor/first floor ceiling where it joins with the partition. For now I've left it, as I can't quite work out what to do to fix it. The third floor was quite challenging to insert, due to the partition being slightly wonky, and it was hard to get it into all the tabs. The tabs on the right and left sides of the house fitted perfectly but it was a challenge to get the middle one into the slot! This may be normal though. So, because of the wonky partition I haven't glued it yet. I've taped everything firm and straight so this may fix it, and it may fix itself with the addition of all the other walls etc. Failing all else I can possibly use some wood filler to fix the gap. 

New Items

My order arrived today from minimumworld.com - very pleased with everything. Currently in the process of handmaking some miniature Hostas which I will plant in 2 of these pots. The blanket box and hall table are both unfinished, I'll give them a nice walnut finish and add the handles to the drawer. Still awaiting some packages from other websites. I love online shopping, it's like getting a present in the mail for yourself! (Even though I had to pay for it...)