Let there be light...

Hi again,

I'm having my midweek lull- also known as I'm too tired to do much, roll on the weekend!



I did however put the the lights in the Modern Witches Cottage. They are battery lights and, I must admit, are not as bright as I expected. They do however look pretty good and add some decorative interest.



I tried to place them so they had maximum impact, one by the living area and one by the bed.



I am very happy with how they fit with the look of a cottage. I wanted something subtle but stylish and they are just right.



Finally tonight, here are the two canvas pictures for the wall above the side table by the bed.



Until next time
Gillian

Weekly targets updates

Hi again,

Last week I listed my targets for the week

So the completed list is...

Furniture shabby chic'd
Stove painted
Roof completed
Platform shabby chic'd
Wash stand painted

I bought two canvas's from Ebay for the walls instead of painting abstracts... I really liked the canvas's as they look like faux windows, so the outcome is better than if I'd done my own.

The outstanding items are to sew up the duvet, pillows and cushions. I blame dark winter days and cold hands for not wanting to hand sew at the moment, but I need it done...so this is my target for the next week.


Until next time
Gillian

Painting day

Hi again,

The thing with painting is you need to do it, then let it dry. This is the bit I get impatient with. So I try to start early in the day, then go off to do other things.

Today I sanded the rough bits and put another coat of paint on the Rangers Cabin outer walls. I also bought some wallpaper border adhesive ( ready mixed in a tube for ease) so I could put the tile paper on the roof of the Modern Witches Cottage. Then I had to leave them to dry...as I'd completely covered our kitchen table, I had to stop crafting for a while... At least I had some ironing to keep me occupied!!!!




After the tile paper dried I trimmed it and then spent a few tense minutes wood gluing the two halves together before placing it on the cottage to dry in the correct position. It looks good, just a little bit of touching up to do (when I trimmed the roof paper I sort of scraped some of the paint off the eaves-oops!).

Thalia and the dogs quickly moved back in... From the gloom inside it's clear I must put the lights in next- I have some battery lamps as I didn't want to commit the cottage to always being in one place next to the electrical socket.




Whilst I had the wood glue out, I stuck the roof on the Steampunk Observatory (bandstand). A quick fixit I thought- unfortunately it wasn't a clean fit and a couple of bits had to be sanded to get the roof to go on properly- no one will know from looking at it, but it was awkward to put together.




Then it was back to the Rangers Cabin, touching up the outer walls and putting two coats of brown/mocha on the woodwork frame and window frames.




To the right of this photo is the roof trim for the cottage- painted to match the doors and windows.



Ok, so I know that's lots of projects on the go, but whole days when you can have time to paint are few and far between... midweek crafting has to be cleaner and tidier, and be a lot quicker to clear away! I do love all day Sunday crafting days!!!

Until next time
Gillian

Rangers Cabin (the Summer House)

Hi again,

At last the weekend has arrived... what a week! Winter has well and truly descended and caused full on chaos with the snow and ice over much of England. Luckily, not here yet, but the forecast has hinted we might get it tomorrow. Unfortunately my mum fell badly on ice on Wednesday and is in hospital following an operation to pin her badly broken ankle. So none of us are too keen on snow this year- I think I have definitely outgrown the stage of life where fun can be had when it snows... Roll on spring and better weather, it can't come soon enough for us this year.

Anyway back to crafting... I decided on Soft Pear as the colour for the outside walls of the Summer House. It is going to be Liam's new place, and as he is a woodland/ forest ranger then it's going to be a Rangers Cabin ( I actually cannot decide if I should call it a hut, a cabin or a lodge - it doesn't make much difference but for now it's a cabin).




Liam came to look and seemed pretty pleased with the colour. It's only the first coat but it has a subtle, natural tone.




I've tried doing some roof tiles for the Modern Witches Cottage but didn't like the way it looked so I bought some tile paper as a back up option. I really can't decide what to do... which means it will sit and wait until something feels right for the cottage. Still Liam had a good look at the paper and it looks better out of the tube roll.




This week I received these canvas texture prints (bought on Ebay). I'm going to put them in the Witches Cottage, they will add a dash of colour and the arch frame in the design sort of looks like windows into the distance. I will have to make some picture frames for them to help complete that illusion of a scenic view.




Until next time
Gillian

Summer house ideas

Hi again,

I'm still thinking about the Summer House. I keep thinking woodland house, beach house or holiday home. I know they don't sound terribly original, but they would have whatever twist inspiration will send me when I start.

Colours have been really bothering me. I want to stick with a typical mid blue outside, or natural browns if I do woodland, but I feel a desperate desire to break with the norm of creams or whites. At the moment I feel like using two bright colours, one for the lower wall and one for the upper wall.

I tried out all my leftover paint tester pots on a piece of card to see which met my mood for this house...

My usual pastel shades just aren't appealing today...




But I really like the three colours on the right below... Especially the turquoise ( called rather charmingly Mountain Rain). Who could resist the deliciously named Feather Boa or the tasty Juice Berry? But I wonder, would they be too much in a small room? And if I do go more masculine, what can I use instead?




I have to now put it all aside and see what colours still appeal in a week or two. Perhaps I will want a more toned down effect, or maybe I'll have more confidence in going for a much more vivid finish.

Until next time
Gillian

Summer House

Hi again,
I love mini dollshouse projects as they let me loose with creativity and I can make a completely personalised house. One that I really admire is the Dolls House Emporium Summer House. It was their Creative Competition project in 2009 and they have some fantastic examples of quite varied projects on their product page, from fortune teller booths, to beach huts to gnome retreats.

So, when I found one on ebay I just had to bid, and lucky me actually won, and for a good price. Yippee!

It went together really well on the dry build...




Pegs are already in place on the parts to ensure a good fit. It was my first time using that style and, although fiddly, it went together well when I finally got it right.




Putting together a dry build gives a sense of size and of how much you could put in it. I haven't finalised what it will become, but it will have a single bed, a small heater, a small cupboard maybe. I think probably modern style at the moment, but I may change my mind.








I did think this would be a brightly coloured summer/ beach hut. But, now Liam is visiting, perhaps it will have to become a more masculine hut, perhaps in the woods.

Until next time
Gillian

Another view

Hi again,

No crafting today, after school art club and physio for Sean meant that we just ran out of time (and energy!).

So instead I've stared at the cottage wistfully. I keep looking at it from different views to see what it needs next. Then I just thought, why not show it to you too?

So here it is...











I wish I could get better light for the photos- how often do I say that? I must try bringing down an office lamp to see if helps next time.

I have just bought two battery wall lights so that will help too, but I'm not sticking them in until I have decided what wall pictures and shelves I'm going to put in.

A funny thing keeps happening... Whenever I come down in the morning, I find the animals have moved around again; this morning one dog was on the rocking chair, one was on the sideboard and the cat was on the cooker! My children may have had a hand in these strange nocturnal relocations... But really, the cooker?

Until next time
Gillian

Ok, so too much pink didn't work...

Hi again,

A bit more repainting today (not much, it was a work day!)...

The platform I painted pink didn't look right. Well, I bet you're not surprised-it was a little out of place. I really need to work on looking at the big picture when I choose colours. So, it is now shabby chic'd to match the furniture- and it looks a whole lot better.




It all tones together now. Although quite pale I think it is finally right.




Thalia, Maia and Liam quickly came to check it all out.




All looks well, but I think I need to get a move on with the soft furnishings. I've chosen some rich coloured velvets, so I think they will add some warmth to the overall feel of the place.




Until next time
Gillian

Shabby chic and a new visitor

Hi again,

I love Sundays- a day off and loads of time to craft!

I painted over plenty of furniture today, using white, a light real green and various mixed shades of white and teal.




Most go in the Modern Witches Cottage, with the chairs in the foreground for the Steampunk Observatory. It was fun just adding layers of different shades so that the paint coat ended up looking quite casual... aka shabby.

After a few hours drying it all went back in the house.




The girls were just admiring the revamped furniture when there was a knock at the door.




Thalia was so pleased she has a new neighbour. He introduced himself as Liam, and he is actually looking for somewhere to stay at the moment...(we'll have to work on that some other time).




Thalia and Maia took to him straight away and they look like they are well on the way to becoming firm friends... bless. Even the dogs and cats got along well...




Until next time
Gillian

I need to make a list

I really want to make some dolls house progress this week. Somebody told me the best way to get things done is to make a list so you are clear what has to be done. So here it is...

Tile the roof of the witches cottage

Glue the roof together

Shabby chic the side board and shelves for the witches house

Shabby chic/ tone down the rocking chairs- currently very bright pink and needing to be subdued

Shabby chic the platform

"Enhance" the wash stand- don't know how yet!

Sew up the cushions and quilts -all I need to do is hand sew the open edge - shouldn't take too long each, but I do need good light and patience!

Paint a canvas for the wall... Abstract will do... It just needs an injection of colour.

... As you might have worked out, I'm starting to sway towards a more shabby chic effect for the furniture as it would bring together the overall feel in the cottage.

Today I painted the top of the Aga black all over- I just didn't like the yucky blue it was originally. I had tried several paints over the week, from emulsions to acrylics to enamel paints and all were dreadful. In the end one coat of nearly dried up black Games Workshop paint did the trick.


I have to make some ring covers soon... And I will, but maybe my list for this week is quite long enough for the moment!

Until next time
Gillian

Telescope

Hi again,

To go with my Steampunk Observatory (made from the DHE bandstand) I think I need a telescope on a tripod for my little people to look at the stars.

So I've been collecting all sorts of scrap wood, old paintbrush handles, cocktail sticks and pickup sticks. Basically I need lots of different size long cylinders.

Everything is trial and error but so far I cut up a long handled wooden paint brush into 3 different sized cylinders. The brush was tapered to a point so they look just right to me. I then had to sand down the sides; they were a bit manky with part peeling varnish and yucky soft rotting bits. Amazingly after a good sanding they looked like new wood again.

I painted them black with old gold paint at both ends. I then superglued a scope (made from chopped up pick up sticks and cocktail sticks) on top of each telescope.




At this point I had to stop... wet superglue and me are a bad combination. I always seem to get stuck to something, so I'll let it all dry thoroughly before I try to stick a tripod on. I'm not sure how I can do that yet, so I also need some thinking time. Lots of thinking time...

Until next time
Gillian

I love sales

Hi again,
I was browsing on the Internet at the weekend and I looked on the Dolls House Emporium website and realised they had some houses half price. I really don't have any desire to do a classical style three story town house but have always had my eye on a smaller shop they do called Jenny Wren's. Unbelievably it actually was in the sale.... Half price and finally in my price bracket!
I was awfully sensible and resisted temptation for a whole day! Then I caved in and ordered one!




It arrived yesterday and looks really good... Well apart from a couple of slightly damaged bits and a couple of missing parts... Still, when I phoned their customer service department, they were very apologetic and promised to send replacements straight away. Hopefully they will get here before the weekend as I want to start with a dry build this weekend so I can plan out what to do and when. I am just sooooo glad I did the parts check straight away.
Until next time
Gillian

Painting the platform

Hi again,
I've painted the upper platform in the modern witches cottage. I chose a pale pink... I don't know why- I just felt like it! I'm not sure whether I'll change it yet... I wonder if I shouldn't have gone for something more neutral... But then again, why should I? I may not be totally conventional in my choices, but I usually have a good eye for colours that go well together.




I put the ladder against it and decided to leave that unpainted at the moment.
My next little job is to look into how I can get a shabby chic look for some furniture through crackle paint effects. Google, here I come...
Until next time
Gillian

Small things make super fun

Hi again,
For Christmas I was given some foam card a.k.a. foam board (this may have different names in different countries). I intend to make basic miniature buildings and furniture and have tried out a few simple ideas. It cuts quite easily with a sharp craft knife and glues with pva or a hot glue gun. In my dabbling I made a few small scale buildings for Sean's Lego Star Wars figures games. He then requested some barricades and so a few minutes later he had some new scenery.




It really didn't bother him they were untainted. I suppose it just looked like it was from a desert planet like Tatooine.




I won't pretend these models will last forever, but with reasonable care they will last a fair while, and it cost about a pound or two to make about seven small buildings and barricades. The best bit is that they can be rearranged easily and encourage free style play.

I really like the sense of adventure and imagination he used to make up new games and missions. Best of all he had a lot of fun... Who says kids only like expensive computer games all the time- I don't think so!

Until next time
Gillian

The bandstand roof

Hi,
I had to give a lot of thought to the bandstand roof... What would be right for a Victorian bandstand? It needed to be ornate and stylish. Tiles just didn't appeal. Then I had some luck... I found a table mat in Asda that looked just right, a sort of faux ironwork effect. I cut each panel individually (I had cut a paper template first) and stuck then on top of a mat black base coat.




I think it now looks pretty fancy... Perfect for a steampunk observatory.




I also put the fretwork effect on the base, but this one on a white undercoat so it looks more open and less solid.
I'm pleased with the outcome- it is just right!

Until next time
Gillian

Bandstand aka Steampunk Observatory

Hi again,
In true "me" style one project at a time is not enough...

I really like steampunk art and have wanted to make a steampunk dollshouse for a while. So, when I was given a Dolls House Emporium bandstand for Christmas ( one I found on ebay actually) I decided that would be the theme for it. So I'm making the bandstand into a steampunk observatory. It'll need a telescope and a couple of chairs and maybe a table and some star charts perhaps.

I put the bandstand together over the course of a day...Lots of wood glue, elastic bands and waiting for each stage to dry. I then painted the whole thing in cream paint. I use the little paint sample pots from DIY stores, they are cheap and cover the wood well.

I then made a paper template of the floor and glued stone paper to it before fitting it inside.




I also painted two chairs I bought in a job lot of ebay, and then recovered the cushions to be more in keeping with the outdoors steampunk theme.




I already like the effect, next onto the roof...

Until next time
Gillian

Ladder

Hi, Happy New Year,
I saw a 1/12 scale ladder on ebay recently and wanted it for the cottage to reach the platform I made. Unfortunately the bidding was way out of my league.

So I decided I would make one myself. I was going to use some obeche strips I have to make a modern looking ladder but ended with two skewers and some craft match sticks in front of me and so I started dabbling. After cutting the pointy end of the skewers off I lay them out and simply glued the matchsticks across them to make foot steps. Quick and easy and a bit more rustic than I planned.




I am really pleased with the result. It is actually surprisingly sturdy and has just the right look for the cottage.

Until next time
Gillian