Mulch Never Looked So Good

One of the bigger finishing touches to the yard is most definitely the landscaping, and I was excited to create some planting spaces!

A few weeks ago, I found this at Michaels on clearance which I used for the mulch:

I hadn't yet figured out how to create these spaces, so this on-clearance container of mulchy-dirt-looking stuff seemed it would do the trick!

I had a number of thoughts about how to create this space, but I didn't really work that hard to sort them out. I sort of mushed them all together and created something that would address everything I wanted. Why compromise on the fake house?! The thoughts:

1. I don't want it to just be flat. Dimension in some way is needed.
2. I don't want to be locked in to having to create a border for it. That's not to say I won't do it, but that is to say I don't want the immediate requirement. So, it needs to look finished without it.
3. (And, probably most important, hahaha) I need to be able to create and use yard stakes for decorating.

With those thoughts in mind, I found lying around our house a piece of super-basic (non-water absorbing) floral styrofoam, and I just started hacking into it with a serrated knife to create bedding strips:

I had no idea how much I would be able to create with the piece I had on hand, but I figured it was a good place to start. I didn't cut the surfaces evenly to help create some dimension.

From here, the process wasn't as smooth as I thought it was going to be, so I didn't stop to take pictures. First, I took my pieces and fit them around what I considered the most important places to have them as I knew I didn't have enough to go down the sides of the house. In some cases, I had to cut very, little, odd pieces to fit holes. What you see in the picture below are some such pieces as well as others that are cut-aways from fitting the big pieces around the perimeter:

After laying it all out, the messy part began! Piece by piece, I schmeared glue all over the top and front side of each piece. From there, I covered the glue in the brown stuff as best I could before dropping a few dots of glue on the bottom of the piece to put where it belongs next to the house. 'Sounds reasonably simple, right? Hmm ...

The tricky part was getting the mulch to stick without it sticking back on my fingers. That it is such a light product (think fluffy) made it difficult to get down *in* the glue. After doing the left side pieces, I finally got wise. I got the glue on a piece where it needed to go, glued it to the ground, and then I took large pinches of the mulch to pile on to the glue. This allowed me to really cover it and press it down into the glue without glue seeping through and sticking to my fingers. In other words, the more mulch, the merrier. This particular adjustment to my process made this whole project way easier!

After it dried for a little while (less than an hour for those counting), I used the vacuum hose to very carefully lift away the majority of the stray mulch to see where things were at. Interestingly, most of the front pieces had a gap needing filling. Why? I really don't know. But, I knew running a bead of glue and throwing more mulch on it overnight would fix most of the issue:

This morning, I used the vacuum about an inch from all of the surface of the mulch to get rid of excess and reapply as needed. There were just a few places that needed some TLC both from where it meets the grass as well as on top. Those are now all tidied up as much as is needed for yard work!

And, here you can even see a few yard stakes I made!

I'll get into the details of the decorations scattered about next, but, for right now, let's just revel in the beauty of the mulch!

The Grass Is Always Greener On the Other Side Of the Room

The family across the room in the beautiful, yellow house was not without an outdoors to celebrate the Fourth! TA-DA!!

Oh, to finally have a yard!! Woohoo!! There are a number of projects displayed here, so I'll share them in their own posts. Let's start with -- you guessed it! -- the green!!

If I'm being honest, this turned out to be a little more involved than I expected. The good thing is I had a solid sense of the steps before taking them on, so I just kind of started the process without thinking about what it would take. That helped keep the mental game positive!

So, in my stash of stuff, I have had a roll of green "grass" that I bought way back in the winter with a 70% off coupon at Michaels. What I assumed then was that it was too small for what I needed, but I was reasonably sure I could eventually get 2 and make it work. I unrolled it, though, and I didn't like that the piece looked bent in different places. These were creases that I really didn't think I could fix. And, I while unrolling it confirmed I'd need another, I realized I would have to very carefully plot and plan exactly where I would have to create walkways to cover the seams before I had a chance to step back and visualize the space as it "grew". I didn't really like either of these factors and immediately started Googling to find another option.

What I landed on was this roll of grass from Hobby Lobby:

50" x 100" oughta do it!

I certainly knew this was entirely more than I needed as the width of my yard is 64", but it took having to intentionally cover seams out of the equation. SOLD! The next smaller size was the same as the one I already had anyway. So, go big or go home.

The first hands-on step to this process was creating the template. There was nothing exacting about it. I just placed paper on the plywood, folded it up against angles and taped it all together on three sides of the house:

Then, after heading out and buying the only roll of the grass in stock (whew!) at my local Hobby Lobby, I unrolled and taped it down to the only non-carpeted space big enough in our house to receive it:

I didn't really think that part through before
buying it, either, but I was confident in
figuring it out!

From there, on went the template!

I cut around the template being sure to tape down where I just cut, or the grass would want to roll up under itself. Not only would that be annoying, but I really really really didn't want to screw up the cutting here!

After getting the main piece cut away (and working hard to get the roll back in the plastic casing with My Girl because that sucker did not just slide back in), I went back to trim to size:

Placing the piece on the plywood ended up being a two-person process. This happened mainly because of the rolling factor of the grass. Even though the "roll it backward" method works for, like, wrapping paper, I didn't want to over-roll it fearing creasing it in a way that it would look WHACK on the yard. We cannot have a WHACK yard. Rather, I utilized my people. My Girl helped with the initial run of it as she held one end while I taped going around:

She held it so it simply wouldn't fall and pull it off the table.

The next step of the process was untaping, gluing and reapplying the grass. I got out the Aleene's Tacky glue and just started from the left undoing the tape, smearing glue as best I could and weighting it down for a bit with a book and a hand weight on top or just with my hand pressing down. The back of the grass is a paper that doesn't allow the glue to seep up through the grass. But, it does wrinkle when it gets wet. This is where Aaron had a genius idea to use the Pampered Chef roller thingy:

I watched my mom wallpaper like crazy when I was a kid. I
was surprised I didn't think of using something like this!

This was a life saver as it got out ridiculous wrinkles with ease! I don't need the yard to be perfect, but wet paper wrinkles tend to pattern in unnatural ways. So, those had to go.

I untaped and glued section by section as it seemed fit. There was no measuring or real planning. Once I was convinced the glue was dry enough to keep pressure off of it for the grass to stay stuck, I moved on. This did put a few pauses in the process, but I realized that I couldn't keep taping or it would possibly lift the grass off its paper. And, it couldn't sit and dry completely if there were wrinkles to get out. So, hitting pause while slowly moving around the house was worth the time!

Might I throw in a "Holy crap, the piece of grass fit the table and around the house exactly!"?!

And, I'm thrilled with the outcome!

The yard, though, is far from finished! Keep going for the next step!

Two Miracles In One

I'm just about to embark on another big step in the dollhouse process, so I thought I'd catch up a few details first!

To begin, I felt the need to update something that should have happened from the very beginning:

Up until this weekend, the corners of the yard platform were a perfect 90 degrees. And, let me tell you, I've been concerned about that every, single time I or anyone else passes by them because those are gonna hurt if hit just right.

And, two weeks ago, one of them was hit just right by My Girl's head, and, in a step-behind move, I finally cut them all. It took trying three, different saws to figure out what would go through the plywood as it's more than a half an inch thick. And, the inside of the house looked like they'd gone through a small earthquake when I finished. But, I got the job done. It's a job that would make any industrial arts teacher shudder, but, it's finished nonetheless. All edges all the way around the entire yard are now sanded, too, so, GO ME.

The other update has been long in the making as it's about interior trim. Oh, heavens, all of the trim in this house just about undoes me after a while! I mean, it's LOVELY when finished, but the process has become a bit of bore. This project must have heard me be bored, though, as it added some excitement.

You see, I discovered a reasonably large stash of unfinished trim a few months ago in my "haven't yet used this/what are these pieces" container. I didn't look too closely at it before determining it must be the trim for the lower level doorways. Thinking nothing more of it than, "Oh, I should probably finish that," I got all of the pieces painted.

Fast forward to this past weekend, and I figured tackling that project was probably a good use of my time while waiting for lattice to dry. Plus, it was all painted and ready, so, how hard would this really be ...

Well, it's really hard to trim doors when what you seem to have is a stash of window trim! Whuuuuuut?!

All of the pieces had been pre-cut to angles for the windows. And, they were really long fitting only the windows in the dining room. But, the rub was that all ... and, I do mean all as I checked and rechecked ... of the windows are already trimmed! What the ...?!

After a "Heavens to Besty" moment, I decided to just cut the pieces down to fit the doorways and call it good. The spoiler alert is that I ended up only trimming the kitchen sides of the doorways leaving the rounded corner cuts in the family and dining rooms. I could tell you that was completely on purpose as a design decision OR you could know that I cut one of the long pieces too short and pretty much ruined the ability to trim all of the openings. You make the call.

As it turned out, it was better that I wrecked one because I needed to completely adjust all of the normal doorway measurements to create trim without an actual door. When installing doors, their frames take care of finishing the interior framing. See?

Without door frames, the trim around the opening needs to be wider to be flush with the wall. Like so:

That line toward the right is the addition
of the trim.

By the way, I love the lighting in that picture. It's like the early evening sun is coming into the kitchen ... ahhh ...

You can see how the very top piece of trim on the kitchen side actually falls below and is not flush with the top. In truth, I didn't even realize that happened until I took this picture! (Have I mentioned I'm amazing at finding all details that need tending?! 😆 Oh, well. No one will see that. It's been days, and I certainly haven't noticed! I'm not sure that's saying much, though ...) Anyway, that's what all of the trim would look like without custom-making it to be wide enough.

In the end, it all worked out, and I love the outcome!

These are the final outcomes of the trim
project. One is for each opening in the kitchen.

Up it goes! tape-tape-tape

That pup's all, "Who cares about the trim,
gimmee some goodies. I see 'em up there!"

Okay, really? HOW did that piece in the
upper left corner move before setting in to dry?!

That's nothing a little wood filler can't fix.
TAKE THAT, TRIM!

Touch it up with some paint, and no one
is the wiser. Except for everyone I tell.

The last picture is to show the family room side. As I was experimenting with what to trim, I realized I wanted to create a little picture collage to go around the doorway, and that would be cooler to me than just trimming it. So, there you go. I suspect I'll decorate around the dining room opening, too. And, there's always the option to, someday, get some more trim and do that if I change my mind! Right now, though, I'm very happy with it! And, no one really believes that I'm going to voluntarily trim another doorway or window in this house. (I'm talking to you, Cindy.)

So! It's FINISHED. I'm done talking about trim -- until I tackle the exterior house trim hahaha! Before that, though, we're diving into the yard! Get excited!

Loving the Lattice!

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, I just hated that the dollhouse sat with the outdoor areas so neglected. The Fourth of July and a completely incomplete outside situation just really started to bother me.

In full disclosure, I blame a miniature company from which I have ordered a couple of products for my sudden angst. They send me emails to entice me to buy all the things. Usually, I delete without opening because I know I'm not in the market and it just painfully temps me. But, just the other day, I decided to open their electronic Pandora's Box which is when I saw super-cool outdoor things perfect for celebrating the Fourth. And, that's when I knew my little family over there on the other side of the room has been neglected.

So, I finally carved out some time to tackle a project I've been super-stoked to do: The Lattice!!

Where there is not brick, there shall be lattice at the foundation:

Ohhhhh, I've been itching to make this happen!! The only thing about it, though, has been that I haven't been sure how to make it happen. I've seen lattice for purchase online, but it has to be bought in larger, square/rectangle pieces, and I wasn't sure how well they would cut down to size. Or, should I say, I wasn't sure how well *I* would cut them down to size. My cutting track record is a bit tarnished. It's also more than I want to pay when I was confident I could figure out how to do it myself.

With that, I dug into my box-o-wood pieces, and I got down to business!

I had in my stash a bag of these:

I either bought those for the lattice vision or for a wood floor plank idea I have for another spot in the house. Whatever the reason, I broke 'em out for this!

Then, I measured, in the best way I know how, how long they needed to be:

Folding a piece of paper is way easier than trying to measure such a space!

From there, I used the mitre box to see if the angle worked for how I wanted it to look. And, as I suspected, it did!

Now to make about a thousand more of these 2 1/4" suckers ... 😁 I first thought I'd use the mitre box and saw, but, it turned out that using scissors was way easier:

I just held one up to a stick and cut without drawing a guide line or anything. That whole measure-twice-cut-once mantra didn't really apply here. (It probably should have because, in the end, I must have let one slip as I wound up with a pile of them that were too long and needed to be trimmed one by one by one. Are we surprised? It wasn't as horrible as it sounds.)

Anyway, here's the initial pile -- of the good ones and the needing-more-attention ones:

From there, I lined my beloved graphing ruler up to create the distance between the bottom of the porch and the ground as verified by my folded piece of paper. By taping the ruler in place, I created a solid guide between it and the foundation to lay out the first run!

I did use the graph lines as a guide between pieces, but, let's just say it isn't perfect. I kept thinking about how people used to build log cabins by hand, and, those worked out, so ...

Then, I taped over this line to flip 'em:

Up and over!

OMG I love when things work out like that! I particularly love it since I was making up the process as I went.

Creator's Note: Why the flip? The flip itself wasn't necessary. But, keeping these pieces in place while gluing the ones going the opposite way on top of them was. So, laying out the first run, taping, flipping then repeating the process on top totally worked.

Oh, those stragglers on the end? They're actually creating the smaller pieces that complete the pattern when butted up against a wall. They just hadn't been cut up there. But, they are down here:

Now the whole strip will fit when the front wall hits the gazebo angle. See?!

With it flipped, I could make the pieces that go the other direction. I put a piece down in place. Then, I marked it, removed it and glued:

Here's another look from another section:

By this point in the process, I got smart enough to mark a
handful of pieces at a time. That's why there are a few guidelines
that you can see here.

You place pieces and glue enough times, and check out what you get!

Okay, that's just part of the first strip, and it's showing the taped side, but you get the point. I really just wanted to make sure this strip fit in the intended space! The real story is, it didn't. It was just a smidge too tall. But, it was nothing a few snippety-snips from the scissors couldn't fix! I just found ones that seemed a little long and kept trimming until it worked. Thank goodness I already trusted the scissors process AND that the Aleene's Tacky Glue held fast and strong! I really didn't have to wait to keep taking care of business because the glue dried so quickly! And, for the very few pieces that slipped when cut, it was no biggie to glue again.

After I did the first strip, which is just a little over 15 inches long, I had 5 sections of under-the-gazebo to create. Each is about 5 inches. I did work to match up as best I could where pieces fit together at foundation angles which was a little tricky. You can see it in the middle of the photo where one section reasonably, but, certainly not perfectly, lines up with it's neighboring piece:

I actually had some fun with this because I felt very accomplished! However, it took a little bit of brain power, so I made just one of the sections before turning my brain off and creating a stock pile of pieces for the rest of the project to be continued the next day:

My hand-cut method both worked perfectly and failed me completely depending on which piece I picked up. Or, all of the new pieces were actually good as I took more focused time to cut them, but I mixed them in with the first run of those that were too long. Regardless, grabbing the next piece to create the lattice was a roll of the dice as to whether or not it would fit correctly! But, it oddly didn't bother me at all to continue to find ones too long. SNIP! Taken care of! Just like that.

I did ponder for a little bit only creating lattice for the front and under the gazebo but not the rest of the house due to my hand starting to ache cutting the pieces and just wanting to be finished as fast as possible. But, then I realized I was slipping into a "find the easiest route" mindset, and that never ends well. Not going all the way to the back of the house was not at all what I actually wanted, anyway. It wouldn't have made any sense. So, I shook the thought and got back to work!

It took a day, but, I got 'em finished!

'Probably should have turned the flash off on that one. Muh'bad.

I decided early on in the project that I would treat myself to a can of spray paint to get them white knowing I would not have enjoyed the process of hand-painting these! Therefore, $4 and 10 minutes later:

Voila! Painted in no time! I think it took me longer to determine
"which color" of white to get at the store than it did to do this!

While waiting for those to dry, there was one more step to prep the house for this addition. See it?

Doesn't the house look different with the black on the foundation?! I didn't know it would make that huge of a difference! Anyway, I slapped that paint on and, after letting all paint sit overnight, I did a little dry run to make sure everything fit:

Lookin' good!!

A few pieces needing trimming on the ends, but, overall, it worked the way I planned! Woot!! So, I got to gluing and taping!

I was concerned that the sections wouldn't line up as clean as I would like, and I was right. I looked online at a dollhouse that has lattice, and that person hid all seams with shrubbery! While a genius move, I didn't want to be locked in to having to landscape for this purpose. So, after pondering a few solutions, I landed on cutting down and using a piece of floor molding in my stash! I love how it turned out!

Here's a before and after:

I am SO HAPPY with the outcome!! It's just the start of getting the great outdoors ready for living!!