Dollhouse Kits: Dyeing Shingles

Sports & RecreationsHobbies

  • Author Stephanie Watson
  • Published May 24, 2008
  • Word count 445

Adding Shingles To Your Dollhouse

Aside from paint, nothing will add more to your dollhouse’s exterior appearance than a good shingle job. As you prepare to put your dollhouse together, it is important to think about what kind of roofing will look best, whether or not you want to dye your shingles, and how to attach them to your dollhouse.

Dyeing Shingles

If you decide to use wooden shingles, you will want to consider purchasing shingle dye. It is inexpensive, and makes a big difference as far as appearance goes. There are two colors available: red-brown and gray. The red-brown dye is rich in color and adds a lot of warmth to your dollhouse exterior. The gray dye is more discreet, and draws less attention to the dollhouse roof.

Shingle dye comes with instructions, but we will also describe the process here. First, be aware that the dying process requires 2-3 days, so be sure to complete it before you want to add the shingles to your dollhouse. Materials you will need include:

• A large piece of cardboard (for 1000 shingles, you will want at least a 2’x3’ piece), or several smaller pieces

• Two plastic gallon milk containers

• A set of rubber gloves (the dye kit comes with one, but you may want to have another one so that you can work with two hands)

When you are ready to dye, place the cardboard in a well-lit working area and have your shingles handy. Cut off the tops of the milk containers so that you will be able to fit your fist inside. Also, you will be pouring the dye from one container to the other, so you might want to make a notch in each milk container. Following the directions on the dye kit, add the dye and water to one of the milk containers. Then, add a handful of shingles to the milk container. After about a minute, pour the dye into the empty container. Then, wearing gloves, place each shingle on the cardboard so that it can dry out. Repeat the process until all the shingles have been dyed; this will usually take 1-2 hours. The drying process will take about 48 hours to complete.

One thing to keep in mind as you are dying: the longer the shingles are immersed in the dye, the richer and darker the color will be. So, if you’d prefer to just tint your shingles, make sure to pour the dye out after about 30 seconds, and spread out the shingles as quickly as possible. If you want the color to be deeper, you can leave the shingles in the dye for an extra minute or so.

Dollhousecity.com offers Dollhouse Kits, accessories, and helpful hints in setting up your Wooden Dollhouse Kits.

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