When I am stressed I buy fabric, or bake something. Or buy more dollhouse kits. Honestly, I do enjoy putting them together. And just buying the kit and anticipating putting them together calms me. I do stick to a budget each month and hunt for a bargain. With the exception of one or two models I have a maximum price I'm willing to pay. But I'm also trying to complete a series.

This post is really nothing more than me trying to document a hobby that has possibly grown a bit bigger than it should. The slide show below is what I have in my craft cupboard and what is on order.

If nothing else, this is a preview at future blog posts as Kate and I put them together.

I've noticed a pattern developing. For two out of the (now) three dollhouse apartment kits I've put together, I've used them as distraction/stress relief while my real-life housing is in flux.

As I alluded to in my last post, some big life changes have come. Namely, I've decided to leave my current job, and move closer to Rachel. It wasn't an easy decision to make, both because of the current pandemic, and because it means no longer working in a library. But I knew once I made the decision, it was the right one.

Life has moved quickly! I will have approximately 20 days between the last day at my old job, and my first day at the new one. In those 20 days, I will need to pack and make moving arrangements, find new accommodations, and do the thousand chores it takes to move house and change address.

So, what do I do first? Finish this kit that I started shortly after completing the last one.

As with the last kit I put together, this one has you make all the elements for the different rooms before putting together the shell and filling the space. First up was the bed for what I deemed the "spare room".

The bed for the spare bedroom, along with the shelf and desk was completed before Christmas. But I still had the rest of the furniture and accessories, along with the shell to finish.

Having this little kit to focus on in the evenings was a great way to keep my fingers occupied while my brain whirred. I began to hope that whatever my new accommodations would be, I would be able to make them as cute and inviting as this kit.

And here it is, all lit up! I think the acrylic dividers do a nice job of giving the illusion of walls and separate spaces without closing anything off. 

The pictures on the cover of the instruction booklet highlight the green and grey tones in the kit, but now that I have it all together, I'm not sure what is the main color theme. Regardless, I enjoyed imagining myself into this little apartment while making it, as I hope you've enjoyed coming along with me for the ride!

After my last dollhouse assembly I took some time off to appreciate my renovated sewing room. But this little kit called to me with the fresh, green feel. Plus, this is the only kit with two floors that I've seen that is supposed to be viewed from all four sides.

If only I had known to dark path ahead...

I didn't take many assembly photos, but here are the small accessories:

So we're gonna skip to the finished photos. Enjoy them in this form, because the problems with this house in real life have soured my enthusiasm for this model.

1) The fabric for the couch shows ALL glue. Would have been nice to know beforehand...

2) The order in which the house is wired means that by design there is a chunk of wires exposed on the living room wall.

3) Some of the wires were too short to twist together, and pulled apart after the house was together.

4) Gluing and placing the stairs as the instructions stated made it nearly impossible to keep level.

5) The living room chandelier was impossible to glue straight, and it snapped apart several times before I got it glued up.

6) And finally THERE WAS NO BATHROOM IN THE DESIGN. (?!?!?!????!!!)

I did some redesigning of my own and after scouring the internet for a single listing of a 1/24th scale non-Victorian toilet a bathroom was installed. See the captions below for details.

The best pictures I added a filter to and posted on Instagram. Enjoy the slideshow without captions. The electric lights never did work properly, so I may tear all the wires out someday and just enjoy this as a non-lit house.