Four Hands

 

Years ago when my youngest daughter was diapering her baby girl, Great Grandma Violet was right there, her hands reaching for the diaper, following the mother’s movements as the young mother wiped the baby, and positioned the diaper—in other words, helping. She was always there ready to “help,” and it was at that moment when Jennifer coined the euphemism for too much help, “four hands—I don’t need four hands, Grandma.” We fondly laughed about Great Grandma’s instinctive need to help. Still today, years later, we laugh about the need for four hands, which in our private way sort of means just getting in the way.

 

Sometimes, though, we need four hands to accomplish a task, like  needing to remake a wall with a door or cutting a hole in a kit roof.

With the great desire to get the Manchester finished, I dedicated myself to finishing the exterior, which I've almost accomplished, but more difficult were these two projects: remaking the bathroom wall to accommodate a door and installing the skylight for the Real Good Toys room addition that will bring much needed light to the second story room. I needed help. So I asked my husband if would make the cuts for me. He agreed and finally on Saturday, he completed the little projects for me.

The skylight project began on the Cricut Maker Design Space. If you are new to Design Space, here are two handy links that will teach you how to use the tools that I used in this project:

• how to attach one shape to another
• how to slice shapes
• how to center and align shapes

·Free:Practically Functional https://www.practicallyfunctional.com/design-space-cheat-sheets

·$6.00 Cricut Design Space Cheat Sheets https://thehomesihavemade.com/cricut-design-space-cheat-sheets/

·      Search Youtube, to,  for "how to" tutorials on how to use the various tools and functions on Design Space to create your own miniature projects.

 

Supplies for the skylight:

• 1/16 inch basswood or 1.5 mm chipboard. Circuit provides carries beautiful 1/6 inch basswood, but I can only find it at one Michael's store in my area, so I purchase my basswood chipboard at Hobby Lobby.
• 3/8 inch corner trim. I purchase mine from HBS (miniatures.com) You can purchase it in a bundle or individually. While you probably don't need the dozen, I'd buy extra because cutting the mitered corners may require numerous cuts to get it right 😆
• 1/8 inch trim HBS or Hobby Lobby
• sheet of acrylic acetate HBS or Hobby Lobby for clear window

Tools and other supplies: Saw of your choice and/or skill. These cuts will require either a jig saw or scroll saw sand paper, tacky glue or wood glue. I used my hand held craft miter saw to cut corner trim, while my husband used both my table top scroll saw and his jig saw and a drill to cut the opening for the skylight and the new wall.

 

Begin by making cardstock template of the roof area where the skylight will be installed. I am installing a skylight in the roof of the Real Good Toys addition kit that is attached to a 1990s Dura-Craft Manchester Country Home. 
 
You may be working with a larger roof area, so start with a template size of the area where the skylight will be installed. 

   This roof hangs over the eves of the addition, so I had to reduce the size of the template to interior area rather than the outside of the roof.

2.     It took several attempts get the correct size of the windowpanes that would fit inside the window opening. Originally I had designed a 3 pane window, but the 3 looked awkward in the space, so I added a 4th pane. Expect, then, to make adjustments along the way. 

a.     Determine the size of the window and draw it in Design Space (DS). My window is 19.6 x 4.5 cm.

Note: I've mentioned before that I measure in metrics because it's easier than converting imperial (USA standard) fractions to decimal points used in DS. Use a good ruler that has both inches and metrics so that you make more accurate cuts and work more easily in DS.

I remeasured the interior of the window AFTER I add the corner trim to get an accurate measurement for the window frame. THE WINDOW FRAME IS NOT THE SAME SIZE AS THE WINDOW. IT WILL BE A SMIDGE SMALLER. 

Even after adjusting the frame size, I had to lightly sand the edges to get a good fit--tight enough so that the thin basswood doesn't bend or so that it doesn't move around. 

c.See image 3,4, and 5 below. Next place the newly created window frame in the template that represents the roof, positioning it where you want the wind. Use the "slice" tool to make the place for the frame. 

d. Create individual panes that will be aligned in the frame. Attach and slice to get individual panes and position this piece in the template cut out and attach.

    Use Alignment "align vertically"  tool to evenly space the windowpanes then "attach" them.

e.     Drag window panes into the window frame

f.     Use Alignment tool "center" to center attached panes inside frame.

g.      Use Slice tool to create cut lines for the frame and window panes.

3.     Place window frame in the roof template and Slice again.

1. Represents entire roof

2. Resized template with window frame ready to use the "slice" tool. 

3. Steps for the "slice": create the shapes, for the panes "duplicate"; align them; attach them, making them one unit; drag panes into the frame, center, attach. 

4    Cut template from cardstock first. Use the template to mark window frame cut lines on the roof.  Make the cut—I sought that extra pair of hands to do my cutting.

Cutting Wood on Cricut:

Purple Mat

Trim wood to 11 inches long for horizontal placement

Move 4 Star (white) wheels to far right

Secure wood with masking tape around the edges

Use knife blade set to 1/16 inch

The machine is programed for 14 rounds; my machine cuts through to the mat at 11 rounds. 

Cut with the grain

P

6. With all of your cuts made, you are ready to fame your window and install the window.

With the frame cut, begin layering the pieces in place. 

Position the mitered pieces to frame the window opening, working from the inside of the roof--or the ceiling side.

 Begin with placing the corner edge trim on the interior (ceiling) side of the roof, making sure that the corners match up--mine did when the hands 3 and 4 installed them.

Next install the 1/8 inch edging that the frames will rest on, see here on the exterior of the roof. Then place the first frame on top of the edging.

You can see the 1/8 inch edging on the reverse side (the outside of the roof)

Add the acrylic "glass" and the second pane that will hold the acrylic in place. I use bead and jewelry meant for glass because it does not cloud the acetate.

While he was at it, I asked my husband to cut a new wall for the bathroom after I decided to add a door to the bathroom The kit comes with partial walls, so we purchased fiber board to cut the extra wall. I think he found it at Home Depot.

Nice work, Honey. Thank you

On a final note, I cut the acetate with my older paper trimer. I leave the plastic wrap in place in both sides and with pressure run the blade over the acetate a least twice, not cutting through the acetate, but rather to score it so that it will snap apart along the score line.

                    

Well that certainly was a lot of work, but so worth it. Kit bashing is not for unskilled or the faint of heart. Sometimes, independent as we are, we have to call in back-up. While the family fondly remembers Great Grandma Violet's willingness to help, we have come to realize over the years that four hands can be quite handy.

I hope this all makes sense. Writing this tutorial was a bit complicated. Let me know if you have questions. I just sort of "wing it" as I try to figure things out, so I hope if you find a better way, please share it! There are so many great tutorials both print and video that will teach you all the skills that you need to build to beautiful projects. 

The balcony and the front porch railing have been installed. What an ordeal, but I'm loving the front of the house. Here it is before the installation.

Windows are installed and "glass" has been glued in. I did not glue in the doors and windows since they fit very snuggly. I'm thinking that some day someone might appreciate having to go through a rigorous removal.

Originally I painted the ceiling side of the balcony blue, but I liked it as the balcony floor. The blue floor added some interest, but with this position the balcony sits on top of the porch supports and lacks sturdiness. 

  

Nonnies Dollhouse has a beautiful Manchester that I used to help assemble the porch. Her photo shows the roof install with the balcony trim downward with the porch supports fitting inside the the trim, giving it more stability, so my blue floor became the ceiling after all and I do like the clean, white balcony floor.

There is little else holding the  balcony in place other than glue, so I use shims above the door to hold the back of the balcony in place while the glue set.

And that's not all. I made the wood floors for the second story addition room and kitchen. Now that is progress. I'll write about them later. So it was a very productive week, with all of my inspirations and random thoughts coming together with the aid of 4 hands. 

Thanks so much visiting.