I also finished gluing on the window boxes. As you can see, this is why you didn’t have to glue down the window lock boxes because all of the external pars are glued to it and the wall. Your window boxes aren’t going anywhere.
I installed the front bay window. Basically the window casings make the walls of this bay window, so I don’t have to wallpaper the interior, only stain it. Assembly of this bay is extremely easy. I installed the bottom and top to the dollhouse first and then installed the window casings all around. I find its easier than pre-assembling the structure away from the dollhouse.
I pre-assembled the staircases. Dry fit the stringers (sides) onto the dollhouse first, so that you don’t glue them together backwards. Make sure they are facing the right way and glue on the steps. These staircases are very basic and easy. They do not have risers, only steps.
While all of this dried, I decided to prepare the doors. This dollhouse has two doors, the front door and a kitchen door. Preparing the doors will also let me see how the stenciling of the dollhouse will go.
I first stained the doors and I didn’t assemble the front door. I just marked where the openings of the front trim panel will be on the back panel of the door. That way I can center my stencils right on them.
Stenciling the door was a series of trial and errors. Thankfully this is wood and any mistakes can be sanded off and done over. I found that the sponge stenciling brushes do not work well for these very small stencils and wood. Regular, fine tipped paint brushes work best.
I laid my stencil on the door and painted the pattern with all of the colors I wanted on it. Now, when you lift the stencil the pattern will look very plain and undetailed. This is where your free hand painting comes in. You have to give the pattern depth and detail by highlighting the images. I used white and pink to highlight. They don’t have to be all identical, just use your imagination.
You will get the hang of it as you move along and it will become easier and more natural to make the designs. Remember the stencil is just a guide, so all of your flowers and designs are the same size, but you have to give it its shape. It's suppose to look hand painted so don’t be afraid to get in there and make your design anyway you want it.
While the doors dry, I have to begin working on the interior. I won't be able to continue on to the attic until I do. So I stained the floors, the bay interior and the interior window mullions because this dollhouse does not bring interior window trim. I painted the ceilings and primed the walls for wallpaper.
Wallpapering this dollhouse is a little different from the others because you have to cut out your windows first, before applying the paper. If you don’t, you’ll wallpaper over your window mullions, which is fine if you want to paint later. But if you want your windows stained, don’t wallpaper your mullions. The openings I made on the wallpaper for the windows didn’t have to be perfect because I’m going to make my own window trim out of skinny sticks later on.
After wallpapering, I installed the doors and the “glass” for all the windows.
