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

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

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