General Course Sept2011

17/09/11 13:54

This week was really enjoyable for me - I hope it was for the course members too. We had a mixture of ‘old’ friends and some new ones too. As ever, it was a very short time before we all felt we had know one another for years.

Joan and Stuart were new to Tickhill- their deposit having been paid by their son for a Christmas present. How nice is that? A son who actually thinks about suitable presents for his parents.
Joan brought a room box previously made for her by Stuart, in which she made a dressmaker’s workroom. Although the box was complete, Joan set about putting in a window which changed the whole perspective of the room. Outside the window will be a scene which will again, add a new dimension to the scene. A corner fireplace looked good especially when Joan had put in her lighting. Joan’s blue and white decoration looked beautiful along with the wood flooring and curtains she made. All in all I think Joan did a really good job which showed her sense of style and taste.

Stuart’s father had sold building materials when Stuart was young and several years ago, Stuart bought an Airfix kit of his father’s lorry. He had never got around to making up the kit - until this course. The first day was spent building the lorry and then on to the model of the builder’s yard. It was such fun to recreate the yard and then of course, to ‘distress’ it. Stuart did a great job of all the distressing techniques and the yard looked so realistic when he added the sand and grit with bricks and a corrugated iron ‘office’. I am hoping that Stuart will send some pics of the yard when complete with the lorry which I will add to the gallery.

Last time Carol come to Tickhill, she added a mansard roof to her dollshouse. This time she added a basement. I wonder how big this house will be when she finishes it. Carol had never done anything prior to her first visit to Tickhill, but she is so competent in using all the tools, she makes a great job of everything she attempts. Although she built the roof last time, Carol decided to change the dormer windows and put in an extra faceted window which looked superb - I’m so glad she did it - it certainly added to the style of the house. Having built the body of the basement, which will eventually have steps leading diagonally up to the front door, Carol added an arched window which she did with the fretsaw with great aplomb. This house is certainly going to be a very desirable residence when Carol has finished.

Linda’s husband, John, bought her a tiny teddybear chef. He is a lovely little bear but really needed a kitchen to work in. For the course, Linda found a little round chocolate box which was the ideal size. With the box painted and a floor put in, Linda set about making all the equipment needed for .....wait for it......Alphonso’s kitchen. I am sure that Alphonso will be delighted with the Aga, kitchen sink and counter with display shelves behind. He certainly looked happy when his kitchen was complete. Under the floor will be used for storage - there are so many things he will need to make all the lovely cakes which he displays on his shelves and I am sure that the sign on the wall behind will encourage all sweet toothed bears to flock to his shop.

Jools has an amazing sense of humour and it shows in her miniatures. Having done Badger’s House on the last general course, she did Ratty’s Residence this time! Toad’s Hall will be next I am sure. Jools takes a 1/48th kit and - kit bashes it so that it represents her ideas. Badger’s house needed furnishing so Jools made up some lovely laser cut kits and completed her first project before starting on Ratty’s Residence. Badger’s House had a bark roof but this time, Ratty had made his home just under the river bank so had a grass roof with muddy walls - all painted in different earthy coloured paints. With some dirty water added, we will be able to imagine Ratty living in comfort in his new home I am sure.

It was Elaine’s birthday during the course so we had an excuse to tuck into some delicious chocolate cake. There were double celebrations as Elaine had just been discharged by the hospital after suffering from cancer. We were all delighted for her of course and would have had the chocolate cake for that news - the birthday was a bonus. Elaine and her husband Chris are stalwarts of Tickhill. They have done so many great projects and it is great to see them progress so brilliantly doing things they never thought they would be capable of. On their last visit, Elaine started a Christmas room box, filling it with all the lovely little Christmas items her mother-in-law has bought her over the years. She continued working on this box this time by putting in beams with textured ceilings, and making a washing up stand with shelves underneath. On the shelves, Elaine put some pots and pans which she made from a Chrysnbon kit. Their baking kit is brilliant and painted looks just like metal. Elaine’s roombox gives a very different slant on Christmas scenes, as you can see from the pictures in the Gallery.

Chris is Elaine’s husband and a regular at Tickhill. He is meticulous in his work and really does the most brilliant work. Never happy with ‘it looks OK’, with Chris it has to look excellent - and it always does. This time, Chris bought a dollshouse which he has been working on for some time - it is looking great and this time he decorated some rooms and also finished off his bathroom which has to be seen to be believed. Chris has put in an airing cupboard with a tank showing behind the open louvred door which he made and alongside is a shower with curved wall. It looks so good. Chris’ next job is to decorate the landings which is not an easy job but I’m sure he will do it perfectly. Can’t wait to see it, Chris!

General Course Aug2011

17/09/11 13:42

We have just finished another general course - I hope those who attended enjoyed it as much as I did. Everyone on the course had been at Tickhill before although they hadn’t all met. Of course, it was a very short time before they were all chatting and enjoying themselves and all did really well, all achieving their aims.

Adele has been on both general courses and Diane Harfield’s course. Unfortunately, this time, she was only able to attend

for 2 days so will join in another course later to make up for her missed day. Look out for her on your course. Adele has a gorgeous little boy, Theo, who is almost 1 year old and her project for this course was centred, of course, on making some baby items for him. She had already started to fill a hollow book entitled “Grandpa’s Toy Shop” with some little toys and she finished the decoration inside and out, before starting on her second project - a house - again for little Theo. Adele painted the house in lovely, bright primary colours. Theo is going to love it. The blue roof had coloured spots and in the garden was a baby bath with bubbles and duck. Perfect for a little boy. Unfortunately Adele didn’t have time to work on the Apothecary she had brought to finish off - hopefully next time will get that completely finished.

Heather had decided to work on the unfinished kits she had made on Jane Harrop’s courses. Firstly she tackled the homework we had to do for Jane’s Provence house ready for the next step in October.
The floor took a long while. Heather did it in 3 coloured tiles and it looked fantastic. I had already done mine - somewhat rustic, as is my wont, but

when I saw Heather’s (and Mary’s) I really would like to have changed mine for their neat tiles but it would not have looked good in my ‘rustic’ house so I must be content with what I have. The windows and shutters had to be painted and put together before setting them in the house and it is really time consuming as all the tiny window bars are separate but Heather persevered and finished all the windows and most of the shutters. Excellent. They looked so neat too. Jane’s two little kits - the antique shop and the shop were finished with Heather lighting both. They did look good and added beautifully to Heather’s great achievement on the course.

Sally has made all her houses - and she has many - with Peter Alden at his ‘Dollshouse Holiday’ workshop. She is so talented - each time she comes she brings something breathtaking with her to finish off.
This time it was a fishe

rman’s cottage which she made some time ago from the Brian Nicholls book but Sally adapted it to 1/24th scale. It just needed lighting and those gorgeous 1/24th lights did look fantastic. Sally then set about making furniture for the cottage which really brought it to life. She very quietly sits making 1/24th furniture - usually in oak - and very quickly produces pieces we all feel envious of. Her latest creation is a National Trust property - sorry don’t recall the name - and Sally finished the course by making 2 garden benches which will be set outside - just like the picture - she does like to get these things correct. I’m looking forward to her next visit and hope she will want to electrify this house - can’t wait to see it.

Sarah has worked, each time she has been at Tickhill, on her fabulous Grovenor Hall kit. Poor thing, she spent 3 days with a paint brush in her hand but oh, how good it looked when she finished. Firstly, she painted all her windows white which took the whole of the first day.

From there, Sarah painted the front of the house, columns and balcony in a stone finish - it took several coats but looked amazing when it was done. I always feel sorry for students when they have a lot to paint - the temptation is to put on one coat and finish quickly but it always pays to do several thinner coats for an even finish and Sarah proved this to be true this week. I’m looking forward to the next step. I’m sure Sarah wants to get over this one first though and I don’t blame her.

Margaret left her house with me from the course in July, ready to start again this week.

With the stairs completed and looking great, she first of all laid her tiles in her kitchen. With a matt finish they looked really authentic. Then we started on her lighting. Some of the lights had been installed previously but there were still many to do. Well, that was the start - Margaret got all the lights in and when we tried them out - nothing! How upsetting is that? We tried every combination we could think of and still nothing. The system was shorting and we didn’t know why. Through a process of elimination, we eventually traced it down to a faulty wall light which was causing the system to short. Remove that and all went well with Margaret eventually ending up with a house fit for royalty. Putting the glazing in her windows had somehow got Margaret in a fluster so when she came to do it, after the lights it was ‘a doddle’ - royalty would even be warm too.

Norma is always quiet and unassuming but when we look at what she’s achieved on a course , it is incredible. This time, the projects were all parts of bigger projects so it would be very easy

to think that not much had happened. However, Norma had bought some metal spindles to remake a staircase which was originally made with wood spindles. She had painted her stairs to look like marble and they looked fantastic. when she had finished setting the spindles, the staircase looked really elegant. Norma’s next job was to remake the front of a Cumbrian house she made some time ago. She had been unhappy with the way the original opened so set about making a new one. Norma had never used to jigsaw to cutout doors and windows but did a great job and cut them out perfectly so they house should now be transformed. 41 windows! That is how many Norma glazed on this course. As I said - she gets on quietly but certainly accomplishes a great deal.

Mary has done me a great favour by testing the time it would to make the book I had done as an idea for attendees to do on courses. Much to my relief, we found that it could be done in 3 days - a lot less than the 10 years it took me to finish mine!

Like Heather, Mary needed to get her floor ready for Jane Harrop’s course in October. Having tried 4 different ways of doing her floor, all ending up in the bin, Mary ended up doing one in 3 different coloured tiles , similar to Heather’s, and it looked really good when put into her house. Although it took a day to complete, it was certainly worth it - I think even Mary agreed! The next big project was again in preparation for Jane’s course - making bougainvillea to climb the walls of the house. I love working with cold porcelain and so does Mary but so many flowers and leaves are needed to make an authentic looking plant, that they take for ever - at least that was what I am sure Mary thought. Again, though, I’m sure she will agree that when the house is finished and the flowers hang in profusion over the walls, it will look stunning.

Tickhill Dollshouse Courses

.....where little things mean a lot

General Course Sept2011

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