Follow Along as Shirley Builds the Buttercup

You will have 9 sheets of pre-cut pieces, 1 sheet of stenciled windows.I took the sheets out of the box and had bags that I labeled for each sheet.  I marked each piece to the corresponding sheets and placed them in the baggies.

Step #1

Assembly of House Structure

I started the assembly of the dollhouse, first I glued the first and second floor supports to the bottom of each floor.  This is used to make the back level with the front.

Here is a picture of the 2 side walls that will form the entry way.

This is a picture of the front of the house being attached.

Here is another view of the entry and front wall together.

This picture shows both walls attached to the bottom flooring.

Tips:

*Before you start gluing your house together, us a fine sandpaper sponge and go over all pieces of the dollhouse.

*I skipped step 1 in the directions and did step 2 first, I found this much easier.

*It was a little confusing for me I had to sit down and think it through on what the directions were telling me to do.

*I made the mistake of not checking the slots to see what was the top side of the first floor.  I glued the support to the wrong side and didn’t realize the mistake until I made to add the bay section.

*Using the tab slots I aligned the left and right front walls to the first floor, I dry fit each piece before I glued them in place and taped them to dry.

*For all the steps dry fit the pieces first then glue them into place.  Here is where I used masking tape to be sure the walls stayed together and gave them time to dry.

The next step I matched up the tabs and slots for the side walls, then I glued and taped them to dry. Once they were dried the next step was to place the second floor in place and glue.

This picture shows what my house looked like with both side walls attached.

This is a picture after I added the attic floor.

Step #3

Assembly of Bay

To assemble the bay window and seat, I matched the slots and tabs for the right side, left side, seat and floor.

Here is a picture of the bay window with the floor and seat.

Before you place this section in place, glue the cupboard doors under the seat.

Once I saw that they slots and tabs aligned I glued them together.

I next aligned the bay section flush against the side wall of the house.  Once I glued this in place the next step was to glue the front of the bay window in place.

I next aligned the bay section flush against the side wall of the house.  Once I glued this in place the next step was to glue the front of the bay window in place.

Here you can see how the right side of the house will look once you glue the bay window in place.

Here I glued the outside wall for the bay window section.

*Tip:

*I did not read the complete direction and thought great now I can fit and glue the roof.  DO NOT glue the roof on that step will be later on.

Step #4

Assembly of Windows and Window Trim

I followed the directions for the windows and trim.

I took all the window casings and interior window casings and primed them first.

Here is a close up of the windows completed with the outside casing.

This picture shows the casing for the top attic window.

This is a picture of the outside view of the attic window completed.

My grand daughter Jordan, just loved being part of putting this dollhouse together.  In this picture she is gluing the windows int the attic.

This is a picture of Jordan priming the rest of the trim that will be used to complete the dollhouse.

This is a picture of the bay window complete with the window trim.

Tips:

*I should have also painted the windows the color I was going to use to paint the trim on the house.  I waited and did this last and it was like painting a window in my home. I had painters tape all over the place and had to do some touching up when I was done.

*I removed the stenciled windows from the plastic sheet.  Be careful and use a exacto knife to cut the windows out.  I didn’t on the first one and the window tore a little.

*Be careful when gluing the window top and bottoms, I glued one backwards and didn’t realize until I had the windows all installed.

Step #5

Assembly Of Roof

This is a picture of the gusset that needs to be glued in place before you start to put on the roof.

Here is a picture of the roof glued and taped  as I waited for the roof to dry.

This is a picture of the side view of the dollhouse, showing the details and trim.

This is another picture of the side of the Buttercup, showing the bay window.

here you will show how I attached the back roof.  At this time my Buttercup looked like the house on the box with the except of the shingles.

Step #6

Assebly of Door and Chimney

Picture of the front door, with the window and trim added.

This is a picture showing the Gingerbread Trim added to the house.  At this time I marked the roof showing where I would apply my shingles.

I played with it for awhile dry fitting and taping until I had the chimney looking correct. I did not glue the chimney on the roof until I had all the shingle glued on the dollhouse.

Here will can see how the roof is marked and how I started laying down the shingles.  The directions tell you to  put them on tape and then glue them to roof.  I decided to glue one at a time. 

Here is a picture of what my entry way roof looked like after I put on the shingles.

In this picture you can see I have all the shingles glued to the house.  At this point I applied a stain to the shingles.

For the door I purchased small hinges online.  I didn’t want my door to be glue shut and wanted it to be a working door.

This is a picture of the front of the house completed with opening door.

Here is a picture of the back view of the completed Buttercup Dollhouse

*Tips:

 *I played with it for awhile dry fitting and taping until I had the chimney looking correct. I did not glue the chimney on the roof until I had all the shingle glued on the dollhouse.

 *Be sure to paint the trim before you glue the pieces to the roof.  I didn’t and had a time painting the trim with the shingles in the way.

 *I marked the spacing on the roof as stated in the directions.  I first marked the bottom line then marked the top line on the roof.  I did this to make sure the shingle ended on the top edge that would take a full shingle.