We moved into the house we live in about 10 years ago. The fireplace has built ins on either side that don’t go the whole way to the ceiling and although we decorate it for the holidays it always looks so empty once we take them down.
I finally decided to build some half scale houses to fill it up and give me somewhere else to put my minis LOL. I normally work in 1:12 so I decided to order a couple kits to get me started. I ordered a little laser cut farmhouse kit and a Greenleaf kit. The laser cut one went together really nicely but the Greenleaf was an exercise in frustration – nasty, flaky, splintered wood that all needed to be sanded and didn’t fit together cleanly. I abandoned my plan to furnish the insides and just focused on making the exteriors look presentable.
I sided them in my trusty mat board, painted and shingled and they ended up looking ok. Since I have a laser cutter I also ordered a couple of SVG files from etsy and cut them out – only to find the trend continued – one was a beautiful well made file that went together like a dream and the other was a complete disaster – so much so that I may not even use it at all!
The good one was a Parisian style commercial building – The Roebuck.
I also ordered two more laser cut kits from to different vendors – one a Parisian Haussmann building that I just love and so may decide that this one gets furnished and doesn’t end up on top of the built ins at all LOL The final one is a gothic/victorian mansion
I started out with good intentions on the farmhouse kit – using scraps from La Maison Tordue, I wallpapered and even put in a coffee stirrer wood floor. Ultimately I gave up and focused on the outside. I cut strips on matboard for the siding and leftover shingles. I wired that sucker up and it is the first house up on its perch 
The Greenleaf I started building in tandem and it made me so mad I nearly trashed it! Never again – so many splinters, endless sanding and the rooms make no sense at all. There are rooms you can’t even get to once built – like the tower. I like designing my own houses way more!
I was so mad I didn’t even take pics LOL – I finally decided not to let it defeat me and focused on the outside – mat board to the rescue again.
Here is is in the corner thinking about what it has done and waiting to be allowed out of the time out – next to the way less frustrating laser cut SVG file I purchased from etsy. I think it will be a restaurant when I finally finish it.
I got completely sidetracked once the Haussmann kit arrived I was so looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. It was beautifully packed and arrived safely….. without instructions….LOL Using my best puzzle brain I managed to dry fit it and it worked out. I am sorely tempted to decorate this one but I have so many other projects on the go right now.
The last one finally arrived and It just about drove me over the edge. Really big and complex and the printed instructions were small and blurry. There were a ton of pieces I didn’t even know what they were for. SLowly but surely I chipped away at it and go it done
