Abby's General Store

If you didn't read "My First Inspiration", that post should be read before this one. To begin my next project, I went to Nancy's in Naples in search of a dollhouse kit. I knew I wanted to make a general store. When I was little, my mom had made an awesome general store for our Barbie's. I loved all the miniatures he had created for it. What I found was this...

http://www.dollhousesdear.com/victorian-antiqueassembled

I didn't really like how the manufacturer has it finished, but I had a vision.

I chose bay windows for the downstairs and traditional sliders for upstairs. I purchased the doors too.

Once the basic structure was together (thanks to Aleene's Tacky Glue) I had to make a decision about lighting. This was all new to me, but I figured with a ground-up project - go big or go home. The basics of the lighting kit are easy enough. There are definitely mess ups that can happen though. Once you cover up all your wiring, there's no turning back. One big lesson I learned after the fact is to cover up all your contact points with tape. The ladies said, "Didn't we tell you about that?" Oops! I still have a few lights that sometimes come on and sometimes don't.  It's something I just have to live with.

With the wiring complete, I could start interior work. Wallpaper, carpet, crown molding, baseboard, window trim, and ceiling covers all upstairs. I stained all the trim. Downstairs I installed hardwood floors, wood paneling, crown molding, baseboard and window and door trim, plus a fire place that I bricked myself.

For the exterior, I used plaster for the stucko look. I also glued pavers on the sidewalk out front.

And then all the fun decorating. I learned how to make clay food. I made a little cutting board and pattern for the quilt shop (I failed to mention - the upstairs of the general store is a quilt shop and an office). I made Starbucks coffee. I learned what "printables" were. I begged my mom to give me some of the miniatures from her dollhouse. And lots of others were purchased. I found cool things to hang on the wall at an antique shop on Sanibel Island - old bottle caps and small metal advertising pieces.

It may sound like I just whipped this up, but the entire project was worked on over a few years. I am very proud of my general store!