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