Instead of putting a wooden dowel or skewer on the exposed edges at the top of the roof lines, I decided to continue with the rustic look of the dollhouse and used shingles applied sideways and joined together to make the roof peak. I still have to touch up the shingling with wood filler in certain areas and more stain.
I worked on the outside yard. I bought the faux grass that I needed to be able to complete it. Measure out the grass for the yard base before doing anything else. That way you will get the exact shape and size of grass that you need. If you do not wish to put grass, you can always put stone or tile to create a court yard.
After you have the grass piece cut out to the exact shape of the yard floor, put it to the side. Don’t glue on it now. If you do, you will get glue or paint on it, ruining it.
I gathered all of the pickets that go with the gate and dry fitted them to mark with a pencil how they go. That way I know that all the pickets which are left are for the fence and they won't become confused with the gates. The gate pickets are different. They are designed on top to create an arch when glued correctly to the gate door. They are easy to spot because they don't have the usual arrow tips like the fence pickets.
I took a measurement of the yard base by dry fitting it to the dollhouse. This way I can tell if it’s a good fit or if it needs adjustment. You don’t want to wait until your fence is built to do this. I had to cut off the back tabs and narrow down the right tab for it to fit properly. It has to fit snug against the dollhouse with a little leeway because the grass adds just a little more area in the back of the yard base.
I glued the sides to the yard base. Make sure they are square and level. I didn’t have green paint that matched the grass so I decided to stain the sides.
While that dried, I painted the posts and fence pieces. Once all of that was dried, I glued the pieces to the yard base. It's really self explanatory because the pieces can only fit one way but you get more help from the dollhouse box picture than from the instructions. Once that dried, I glued the fence posts on. They go over the fence posts created by the fence structure to hide the tabs and joints.
Glue the grass sheet on with spray adhesive, a glue stick or spread a thin layer of tacky glue on the surface of the wood. Don’t use hot glue, you’ll end up with a lumpy yard. Don’t glob up the glue or use it in excess and don’t put it directly on the grass sheet. If it bleeds through, you will have wet spots that can not be removed. Use the glue sparingly. Remember this is not holding anything together, it's just a decorative element and it lays flat so gravity is already keeping most of it down. The glue is just so that it doesn’t slip off or lift up on the edges.
Glue the yard with the half built fence to the dollhouse. You will have to put your dollhouse in a sturdy flat place so that the yard dries evenly with the dollhouse. You don’t want to end up with slanted up yard or a down leaning yard. Put something underneath to protect whatever area you put it on from glue drips. The yard should slip easily against the dollhouse because you measured it first.
Clamp the end posts to the dollhouse walls so the yard stays in place. Be sure to not get glue drips on the grass area. Leave it clamped over night just to make sure that it's on tightly. You can hinge the gate but I decided to go ahead and glue it. You can make the pickets as close together or far apart as you’d like. I don’t think there is a wrong way. I used a picket as a space guide.
I added a little decorative finial to the front gable because there was a little hole there. That’s why it's so important to save interestingly shaped pieces. You never know when you may need them later. This little piece came with some furniture kits I had assembled. I put some trees in the front yard that I had leftover from other dollhouses.
