 Visit Elisabeth's dollhouse site to browse Lundby catalogues and tour a virtual museum of Lundby through the years. Brush up on Lundby history on the We Love Lundby Club website.
Repapering
Want to give your vintage Lundby dollhouse a facelift? I have taken photos of original Lundby papers that you can resize and print, then apply to damaged spots or entire walls.
I have repapered rooms in Lundby dollhouses and extensions using scrapbooking paper (which comes in a variety of colors and patterns that are dollhouse scale), but real wallpaper may also be used. Be very careful with paint or wallpaper paste, as it can be messy and might cause the old layer of paper to buckle.
I don’t remove old wallpaper, except to peel off any loose bits. Rather than removing windows or doors, I work around them. I make a template of each wall by laying bits of thick paper around the edges of the wall and around any doors/windows and then taping the bits together. I then trace the template onto the paper I want to apply to the wall (always onto the WRONG side), cut it out, completely cover the wrong side of the paper with glue, apply it to the wall, and smooth it all over using my fingers and the edge of a credit card. This also works for floors, whether you recover them with paper or carpet. A glue stick (like UHU brand) is easier to use and less messy than liquid glue or paste. Furniture cleaning & repair
To brighten dull or stained bedding and rugs without bleaching them, I soak them in warm water with a denture tablet for about 15 minutes. You can wipe upholstered furniture with soapy water and dry with a hairdrier. Hide blemishes on painted wood with grease/wax pencils of a matching color, then buff up. A good match for touchups to ivory-colored furniture is Plaid's FolkArt series of acrylic paint in Tapioca (color 903). The same brand makes a metallic paint that can be used for gold detailing. To mend broken furniture, I use a clear-drying white craft glue like Aleene's Tacky Glue.
Hanging lamps & pictures
If your lights (plastic ceiling disks) and pictures keep falling down, you’re not alone! If you don't want to use glue or a permanent adhesive like double-sided foam tape, you can try a removable adhesive like Glue Dots, available at craft stores. Glue Dots are nice because they won't damage paint or paper, and they’re removable, so you can redecorate as you please. But sometimes they're not strong enough—especially in humid weather.
Your turn!
Do you have feedback or tips to share? Let me know! I owe many of these great ideas to my super resourceful friends Sue, Linda, and Sieglinde. Thank you all! |