Ladderback chairs pictured in the Fairfield, with a Cassidy Creations kitchen table that I built from a kit. Last fall I was looking for half scale ladderback chairs to use in the kitchen of my puzzle house and, unable to find what I wanted, I ended up making my own. I looked at designs in […]
Tag: Half scale (Page 21 of 22)
This week I finished cross-stitching a “Blue Kirman” carpet in half scale. It’s stitched over-one on 35-count linen. The finished size is about 2.75″ by 4.5″ (which would be 5.5′ by 9′ if it were life-sized). This design comes from a free pattern that I found online. Here it is in the Fairfield’s dining room […]
I won’t be winning any races, but someday in the not-so-distant future the Fairfield will be finished and on display in my living room, and when that day comes I’ll be really proud I took so long to make it as close to perfect as I can. (Right?!) My latest task is doing all of […]
My mom and I made these mini plants yesterday. The two in the terra cotta pots will go in the half scale conservatory she’s working on, and the arrangement in the vase is for either my Fairfield or my puzzle house, haven’t decided yet. We bought the orchids, roses, pots, and vase at Dollhouses, Trains, […]
Today I finished up the shingling and glued the porch pieces in place. Woo! I’m not thrilled with the placement of that upstairs window. The peak of the gable was too narrow to put the window any higher but now that the porch roof is in, it looks really off center. I’m wondering if I […]
With my puzzle house almost finished, I’m now thinking about how I want to furnish it, and got started yesterday with a Quicker Wicker settee kit for the living room. I bought this from Miniatures.com (along with a chair kit), but a quick Google search reveals that they can also be purchased directly from the […]
After a month’s break, I started working on my puzzle house again yesterday. With the shingles done, the next big task is the porch. I started by adding trim to the front corners of the house, where the siding doesn’t quite meet. I used 90-degree corner trim and painted it the same color as the […]
I’ve been woefully neglectful of my puzzle house these past few weeks (those shingles took a lot out of me!), but I do have a couple of smaller half scale projects to show off. I scratch built these ladderback chairs using 2-inch Houseworks spindles and strip wood. I got the idea for the woven seats […]
As previously mentioned, it took a good three months for my pepper plants to bear fruit. Two months later, they’re finally turning the bright colors you see at the grocery store. The red serrano peppers are pleasantly spicy. The orange habaneros are a little… less pleasant. So now the race begins… how many hot pepper […]
The front and back roofs and gable are shingled. I still have to do the porch roof but that requires building the porch first. I also repainted the windows and doors with a Glidden shade named Sandy Feet, and I’m much happier with it! The shingles turned out surprisingly well, considering they’re made from siding […]
My grandmother used to say “Aw, sugar!” in front of me, instead of swearing. Today I say “Aw, shingle!” because I seriously hurt myself with the glue gun earlier. I was gluing shingles on my puzzle house and got a huge glop of hot glue on the back of a shingle. I went to throw […]
A couple of months ago, Glidden did a promotion where you could get a quart of paint for free, no strings attached. (Well, you had to give them your address so they could send you the paint. Seemed like a fair trade.) I ordered Belgian Waffle, a perfectly nice peachy color, but somehow in the […]
Today I finished putting together the structure (minus the roof) and applied all the siding. Wasted a ton of blue painter’s tape, but with good results! Thank god for paint cans and those little pinchy things… Lo and behold, I have a little house! It seems weird to me that part of the main roof […]
I’m loving how easy this house is to put together! This morning I poked around at Michael’s and Dollhouses, Trains, and More, looking for scrapbook paper or wallpaper for the inside of the cottage. Nothing caught my eye and I decided to move forward with assembly and worry about the inside later. I have some […]
I’ve started putting together a half-scale “puzzle house” by Creatology. Michael’s started carrying these kits in the spring and apparently stopped carrying them at some point over the summer, because they’ve become impossible to find. When they had them, the kits sold for $7.99—and of course, I never go to Michael’s without a 40% coupon […]
The exterior of the Fairfield is finished! (Well, mostly.) Take a look at the fishscale shingles and finished sections to see the latest pictures. I’ve also posted some pictures of my mini workshop in the garage of our new (life-sized) house, and my long sought-after Tomy Smaller Homes dollhouse.
After years (literally) of letting my Fairfield languish in an almost-done state, I have put on the finishing touches! (On the outside, anyway.) Siding and shingles are all up, trim has been attached, porch posts have been glued in. Okay, there are a few things that remain to be done… like the upper porch railing, […]
On the suggestion of my friend Pam Junk, I decided to add fishscale shingles to make the house a little more interesting. (They’ll also cover up some defects in the less-than-perfect paint job…) Rather than use the Houseworks wooden shingles, which come as individual pieces, I am cutting strips from posterboard. These will be glued […]
This is a curio cabinet I bought off eBay. It’s shaped like a house and the right size to display some of the half scale resin furniture I’ve been collecting. I decided to make some changes to the curio to make it look even more like a house. It was fairly easy to assemble. It […]
A while ago, I picked up some wooden coffee stirrers to make hardwood floors for the Fairfield. For some reason, now seemed like a good time to do it! First I stained the coffee stirrers with Minwax Golden Oak. This brought out the grain and even some knots, so they really do look like scale […]
Emily is a freelance writer, miniaturist, and adventure game enthusiast.

