Welcome to Helen

Welcome to Helen.  Thanks you for adding yourself to my followers.  What incredibly talented things you do.  I am soooo flattered you took time out to visit.

Change of Name

I am sorry to have changed the name of the Blog and I hope it doesn't drive anyone too crackers trying to find me. There's a couple of reasons.

The first is an 'emotional' one.  Since last September when I bought the Honeychurch shop, I have lived with its image in my head and it soon got conjured up into Le Tout Paris.  The two things seem to be bound together - the Honeychurch is Le Tout Paris.  Having just sold it, it feels as though Le Tout Paris has gone with it.  The idea of a fancy, 'Frenchified' dress shop seemed more suited to its pretty face than it does to the Lyddington.  This new shop seems to squat there, smugly full of English robustness.  It is a double-fronted Georgian shop which has evolved through time into a solid respectable Edwardian business.

The second reason is a pedantic one.  The more reading and research I have done about Edwardian drapers, milliners and dress shops in small towns the more I have come to realise that it would be very unlikely for anyone to call their shop anything 'fancy'.  Shops were generally known by the owner's name.  So, Le Tout Paris becomes Bentley's.

It would be daft for me to continue chattering about it in a Blog called Le Tout Paris!

As far as I can tell I have thirty people on an email list who I notify every time I add a post to the blog.  If you'd like to be added to this list just send me your email address.  I have some readers using an RSS feed so they know when something new appears, but it is probable that I have many more of my readers just stopping by now and again using the Blog address.  These are the people who might lose me now I've changed the name.  I was able to do a bit of fiddling about and I kept Le Tout Paris address and I have put a link to this new place.  They should find their way from there.  I hope no-one falls by the wayside thanks to my whimsical notions. 

With apologies...





  

Procrastination is the thief of time...

This is a quote you shouldn't look up the rest of (like I just did) It is too depressing.  It does however describe where I am and what I am doing.  I spent six long months exiled from my Le Tout Paris project and arrived home bursting with ideas and enthusiasm.  I then talked myself out of the Honeychurch and into the Lyddington on the basis of refurbishing seemed like too much work and my half a year's accumulated ideas were bigger than the premises allowed.  So there was a brief pause waiting for the Lyddington to arrive.  It has now been with me twelve days and all I have done so far is a dry build of the basic carcass.  Even this has been dismantled awaiting painting and gluing back together.  

Each day I find another excuse not to start.  I truly haven't given up on it I just feel overwhelmed by the prospect at this stage.  Ken keeps reminding me I have done it once before so it can't be beyond me; but the first one was done in a state of innocence.  It was a very simple, externally finished, click it together Dolls House Emporium kit and I had no greater ambition than getting it to stand up and be stuck together in all the right places.  This time I want it to be more like a miniature than a dolls house and I keep finding one stumbling block after another.

Here's my 'progress' so far.

... and so the build begins....

This is one terrifying flat pack Lyddington.  Looks nice and controlled here; not so when you take the shrink wrap off.  There are a zillion bits all clammering for attention.  You will meet them all, no doubt,  as I pootle along.

How did that nice little pack become this?

Here's the carcass up and running courtesy of some masking tape.  You might notice that the build is being done in the kitchen (again!) and not in the new workroom.  I chickened out and decided that it might be best to keep all the pieces indoors.  I am concerned that a cool and possibly damp area isn't a great place to keep MDF and expect it to stay in shape.  If anyone has built MDF stuff in a shed and then kept it in a house afterwards without any problems PLEASE let me know so I can get it all back out there.  The plan now is to do work on individual pieces outside and bring them in each day!!

I then labelled each surface to identify it.  It sounds daft and probably is if you can keep three dimensional images in your head when working on something; I really don't do well at that!  As soon as each piece becomes a single flat piece I have to really think about where it goes, which way up and what it might need to finish it correctly.

This is the back wall with all its little labels - see I forgot one!  Now you may be saying this is potty because you have to take them all off to size the MDF before building.  Correct!

Worry not I have a cunning plan....

I transcribed all the notes onto the parts sheet which came with the kit.  Had there not been diagrams of all the parts I would have just taken a photo of each piece on my iPad and referred back to that if and when necessary.

This is another big worry - I haven't a clue how to go about making the stairs and putting them in place.  I have four (half) sets of stairs which need spindles and rails and newels.   I plan on painting all the bits and then gluing them together to make something which looks like a staircase; preferably one which doesn't look as if it was built by a navvy on a drunken binge.  Even if that is a success, how the heck do you then manage to get those dainty, wibbly-wobbly pieces glued to the strange cut outs in the house and then add in the other bits of rail needed to complete a dog-leg staircase.  I just don't know.  The song I keep singing in my head is that others do it all the time so it must be possible.  I'm not convinced. Help and tips please????? 




So until I actually make a decision on what to size the MDF with that's it for now.

I spent an pleasant hour or so picking wallpaper and paint for every room and have that comfortably settled.  I have also chosen the colours for the mortar to go under the versi-bricks, paint to go under versi-slates and paint for the exterior woodwork.  You might know I have also created a problem for myself with these choices too.  I want to use Farrow and Ball colours.  I like the paint, the choice of finishes and their colours BUT I don't want to buy Farrow and Ball tins of paint as they are very expensive.  Like most manufacturers their sample pots (£3.95 each!) only come in one finish which is OK for some things but not all.  I have emailed to ask if they would sell me small pots of a range of heir products.  I don't really expect a yes, so then it will be back to the drawing board for me.  Yet another delay.

A Room of One's Own

My little hut is all newly painted (not that it really needed it).  Big thanks to my other half who did more than his fair share.  The floor looks a bit strange because I couldn't wait for the paint to dry to take the photo! I have a friend visiting tomorrow but I am so mad keen to move into my new workroom I hope to be up early enough to do it before she arrives.

I wrote that on the 10th and never actually managed to do that but by the 12th I was home and dry.

Unfortunately it is too far from the house to get wi-fi connection.  We are changing providers next month, so I live in hopes.  Meanwhile I have a brilliant Ikea corner table which gives me masses of room.  Two little metal sets of drawers (their cheapest at £24 each) and two sets of their cheapest shelves (£12??).  Right now I have more space and storage than I need.  I suspect that might change as I bowl along.

My advert on EBay for the Honeychurch

I have put the Honeychurch up for sale.  It cost me seventy pounds plus the cost of the trip to pick it up and a table to put it on.  Just in case you are interested (or anyone you know is interested) it is in the Dolls House section of EBay and looks like this.

This is a rare opportunity to buy a lovely shop made by Honeychurch.  These are few and far between and are rarely complete.  This one has everything. There is nothing missing and nothing broken.  It has been finished and used as a dolls house rather than a collectors piece and could go straight back into use as that but it would make a wonderful starting place for a miniaturist looking for something special.  It is made of plywood - no MDF in sight.  The base measures 23 inches by 15 1/2 inches.  If you email me I am happy to send precise measurements of each room or any other details you want.  I can also email more detailed photos if you need them.

There is the normal amount of wear on an item which has been used.

Pick up only is advisable.  This is from Bury, Lancashire (near Manchester).  If you want to arrange shipping that's also fine. 

I am happy to accept a PayPal payment or cash on collection.  No cheques please.

Exciting stuff...

My Lyddington shop arrived yesterday.  As of now I have resisted going at it like a whirlwind - my usual approach.  As I mentioned previously I want a space to work in and we need to get on with that first.  It is very hard though as I am itching to at least do the dry build so I can get an idea of its size.  I have absolutely no spatial awareness skills and can never actually visualise the volume of anything in a space, so it is nigh  on useless giving me dimensions - yes, I understand them but, no, I can't visualise them.

I don't really remember assembling the Wentworth and I wonder if I was as fazed by the seemingly zillion bits of stuff in the package.  If anyone out there has built stuff and has any tips I'd be so grateful for your help.  I am mostly concerned about what parts I should paint or paper or whatever BEFORE assembling or whether I should just throw up the building and go at it from there.  Painting the ceilings before building seems reasonable but after that I'm stuck.  I've trawled the web but get conflicting and incomplete notions from what I find there.

I have two sets of dog-leg stairs (no spindles or rail).  I don't see how these can go in and then add the handrail and spindles in situ and then try to paint them - surely it would be better to build and paint the stairs first and then put them in?

Last time I worked out which internal walls were to be painted and which to be papered and did that before building but it wasn't all that easy to get right and I was only papering the back wall so there wouldn't be a problem with any corners having gaps.

As for the outside; the last project came painted and papered from DHE.  I am tackling this one myself.  I am veering towards versi slips for the brickwork as there won't be much of it.  I shall paint the side walls (to match the brick) as they would be attached to the rest of the terrace in reality.  Not sure if I can run to versi slates for the roof but would love to do so........  again suggestions welcome.  I'm not confident I can use the pressed card sort of things and then paint it realistically which is another option I've considered.

I want to leave out the quoins which come with the kit but I also want to add window sills inside and out and don't know how to go about that either.

I am assuming a silk emulsion rather than an oil base for the exterior woodwork????

As for the work space.....

It is freezing cold and neither of us want to go out and work in the garden getting the summerhouse cleaned up.  I know summerhouse sounds grand - it is just a shed with a lot of glass but if I call it a shed that conjures up another image so I'll have to go with summerhouse I think.  Anyway it needs a wash and then a paint job before I can move in.

We have just got back from a trawl round Ikea buying the 'furniture'.  I sussed it out on line first.  In fact I nearly ordered it on line and the delivery would have cost £35 (!!) which was a lot on low priced items. My smarty pants other half suggested we go and have a look at the stuff and make sure it is what I want.  It turned out that getting it from the shop and arranging the delivery there only costs £15 and it will be here tomorrow.

I'll take photos as we go along and tell you the saga .

Meanwhile lots of little EBay bargains are still arriving.  Today's haul was a music stand and, from another seller, I got three lovely little jugs.  I decided it seems a bit daft just showing you screeds and screeds of stuff as it arrives.  The photos get added to the online Le Tout Paris contents album so if you are curious you can just check in there now and again and see what I've got so far.  

Something I don't understand is how a business in Shanghai can sell me a music stand for £2.99 (free post) and mail it by a fast method which is signed for on delivery at this end. Where is the profit in this?

As you can see I have a zillion thoughts going on at once and that's only the dolls house - don't even get me started on the garden which is desperate for attention and a real life kitchen that needs a rethink/rebuild.  All of which needed doing yesterday as far as I'm concerned. 

I don't sleep well!!