January 1, 2011 - Day 1 with 364 more to go!

The Beacon Hill box has been taunting me since it arrived. I pass it numerous times a day and while I have been eager to start, I promised myself that I would, at least this time, practice some self-control.

So, I have waited.....and waited....until January 1st, 2011 to dig into the mass of wood sheets (27 to be precise) and pages and pages of instructions and schematic drawings.

I read through the "Warmup Sheet" in my usual yada-yada way...mostly skimming the words and nodding my head as if I really know what the whole grand plan for this house would already be when the reality is that I change my mind at the drop of an...inspiration. Not fickle but perhaps easily swayed by yet another glimpse of yet another possibility. I read the Assembly Instructions much more closely and after a few "DUH" moments and re-reads, I  boldly start searching through the wood sheets for the three pieces for Part A of the assembly....the foundation. Of course, all three pieces wouldn't be on the same sheet....that would make things far to easy. Two of the pieces are on one sheet, which is the third sheet down in the box, and the last piece I need for this step is the second last sheet in the box (it figures).

After removing the pieces and sanding them I can now say that....in my opinion....that the quality of the wood used is....cr*p! It is what it is, and I will have to work with it....and around it. I will also have to accept that during the construction/assembly of this dollhouse that sandpaper is going to become my new best friend. I will keep repeating "Sandpaper is my new best friend"....until I have myself brainwashed into believing it. I also remembered to make a cardstock template of the floor plan to use later on when doing the flooring. OMG, I almost sound organized LOL

I did get the first step (The Foundation) completed.....and glued.

Tomorrow I will head over to the hardware store on a quest to find the right wood sealer....for me. It seems that the 50/50 Shellac/Wood Alcohol combination suggested isn't that easy to find. Shellac is readily available but the wood alcohol....not so easy to find. However, that said, after reading about wood alcohol on the internet, I'm not sure that I want to use something that is a few molecules short of toxic waste on any project. I'll trust my local paint expert to advise me on something safer and less likely to be killing my remaining brain cells since I suspect that they may come in handy.