Throw Out Fifty Things continued....

 11. 5 pair of nylons 8 pair of kneehighs (trash) 4 pairs of nylons still unopened (donate)  I haven't worn nylons for 9 years.  I'm loving it too.  Even if I were to wear nylons these colors are probably outdated.

12. 1 battery operated small table clock. (donate)  I can't stand the sound of the ticking of a battery clock.

13. 4 old pillows (donate)

14. 2 old brief cases (donate)

15. 4 old purses (donate)  they have been sitting in the basement for months okay maybe years.

16. 1 strange tupperware yellow organizer (donate)

17. 1 bag of cough drops (trash) they were so old the paper had stuck to the cough drops.  Gross.

18.  Freezer burned food in the freezer (trash)

19.  Old Dell computer (Staples)  Staples will take old Dell equipment at no charge and dispose of it properly.

20.  12 hand towels/2 bath towels (donate)

21. 1 white mug (donate)  I received this from someone that brings back bad memories

22. 1 black folder/organzier (donate)

23. 1 fabric picture frame (donate)

24. 10 cookie tins (donate)  I love the tupperware cookie containers...they don't rust and always seal well

25. 1 waffle maker (donate)  we don't really like waffles at this house

26. 1 old staple gun and staples (donate) the staple gun was rusting...yuck

27.  1 old plane (donate)

28.  Excel 97 Bible book (donate)

29. 3 purple party hats (donate) this was from a party when my daughter was like 5 years old

30. 1 square hamper (donate) it had a rip

31. 1 storm door screen (donate) purfect shape but we got rid the door over 6 months ago

32. 1 empty pampers wipes container (recycle bin)

33. 1 pink heart dollie (trash) it was stained...just looked really bad

34. A 15 year old bike with a broken pedal (donate)

35.  2 boxes of dog treats...my dog didn't like them (donate to animal rescue)

36.  Old bike helmet of my Dad's...it never fit my husband (donate)

37.  7 bags of shredding from old bills etc...

38.   Lots of empty boxes from pictures...I finally got organized. (recycle)

39.  2 broken garage door opener remotes (donate at county drop off)

40.  3 computer printers (donate at county drop off)

Rainforest diorama

In 3rd grade our daughter's big project is a diorama.  Her class had the rainforest and Elyse had a sloth.  I was initially lost but used the interent to get the juices rolling.  Here is what we came up with.  I was pretty impressed if I must say so myself.  We used an oversized shoe box from a pair of ankle boots.

First the sky was painted.  We did a darker shade of blue for the bottom of the horizon and green for grass.  We left a blank spot to later paint blue for water.

 

Then it was time for the trees.  She shaped trees using aluminum foil and masking tape.  It was difficult get them to stand.

Now it was time to paper mache the trees.  We used 2 parts water and 1 part flour.  What a mess.  It wasn't easy because the surface of the trees weren't smooth.  This is the only part she really got frustrated with and asked for Moms help.  My hands were like prunes by the time this step was completed.

It took 2 days for the trees to dry.  Thank goodness with had enough time.  Now it's time to paint the trees.

Elyse went all out making animals for the rainforest.  She not only made a sloth but a monkey with a baby, a macca, an aligator and a tree snake.  She used crayola modeling clay.  It air dries and is very light weight after.  I couldn't have made those animals if my life depended on it.

Elyse used blue cellophane for the water and green tissue paper for the leaves.  She also use twine for a vine for the monkey to swing on.  I had an old wreath that she cut pieces off of to add some plastic greenery.  We also had small river rocks from an old Girl Scout craft that she glued around the water. We used Quick Grip glue not a hot glue gun to glue everything in place.  I'm in love with Quick Grip glue.  It's not easy to use but it works like a charm.

One of the requirements was to use items around the house and not purchase anything.  Well, I failed on one account.  I did purchase the blue cellophane for the water but we had everything else on hand.

Here's the final product.

First things to toss

The first items to toss:

1. 20 bras (trash) too worn and too small 3 bras (donate) victoria secrets in good shape

2. Hair removal kit (trash) Oh, my this is old.  I did keep this plastic popsicle shaped stick which I thought might come in handy with the dollhouse.

3. Elmer's stainable wood glue (trash) mostly hardened

4. 4 plug outlet from Egghead Discout Software (trash) the switch on the side is stuck.  Does anyone remember Egghead?  That's like 20 years ago.

5. Conair lotion container warmer.  It was always causing me troubles but still works if someone has the patience. (donate)

6. Fabric pill shaver (donate) I think I had this back in college.  If a sweater is in that bad a shape that I need to use it I'll just toss the sweater.

7. 4 indoor timers (donate) I kept 2 just in case.  We used these 13 years ago at our townhome for electric christmas candles in each window.  I donated the candles years ago but hung onto the timers.  Silly.

8. Pedicure stuff - special socks, brush, ridge filler etc... (donate)  just don't look at my feet okay.

9. Nile file and emery boards (donate) I never liked nail files and emery boards ... give me those new softer emery board things.

10. Earplugs (donate) a friend of mine sleeps with them every night and I thought this might not be such a bad idea...it was horrible...I couldn't stand the way they felt in my ears.

Well that's 10 only 40 more to go.  It would have been 39 more to go but my daughter insisted on keeping the vanity mirror for herself.  Let's see how many other things get pulled out of the bag.

Throw Out Fifty Things

Well, I checked out this book from our local library on a whim.  It's by Gail Blanke.  You're suppose to throw out fifty things...really.  You're suppose to start in the bedroom and you have to write down everything you toss.  Plus if you toss say 5 socks that's 1 item not 5.  Tricky huh!!  I figured that if I wrote this on my blog I was commited to this.  Wish me luck.

Next step stone work

Since I had experience with mosaics, I decided to put field stone around the dollhouse. I glued the stones to the dollhouse using quick grip. It was fairly easy to break or cut the field stone with an X-acto knife. After the glue dried, I applied the mortar mix. The stones were very porous which caused to them to absorb much of the mortar mix. I wasn't real happy with this since the field stones lost some variety in coloring which I really liked. I found it valuable to apply the mortar mix using a children medicine dispenser. This way I avoided getting a ton of excess mortar on the surface of each field stone.


After the mortar mix was good and dry. I waited at least 2 days. I then applied a clear satin polyurethane varnish to seal the field stone and mortar. I really liked the result. I no longer had a dusty feel to the area and the field stones popped more.

First Attempt

I decided to prime the walls and ceiling of the dollhouse. I had read in several places that it is best to prime them because then the grain of the wood will not show through the wallpaper or paint. It was a tedious task. I dribbled one spot on my hardwood floor and will have that boo..boo on the hardwood floor for a very very long time to remind me of my haste.

History of the dollhouse

Each dollhouse has a name. In this case "Lady Westerner". It was produced by the Dollhouse Mfg. Co. in N.J. As far as I understand the factory burned shortly after this model was manufactured and proceeded to go out of business. The date on the instructions is 1985. My mother-in-law purchased the dollhouse completely assembled as far as I'm aware. The width on the dollhouse is 31". It opens by raising the roof and then opening the front wall just like a giant door. This is traditionally how the Europeans would design their dollhouses. Americans traditionally leave the back wall open to get into each room.