This morning the conference opened with a lovely brunch and a lot more table prizes. I think I've got enough animal stuff to open a pet shop!
The afternoon's workshop (for me) was a wicker rocking chair, taught by Marilyn Crockett. She uses a linen thread that gives a very realistic effect. It has a nice feel to it, too ... very nice to handle. It's a very relaxing project. I could do a lot of this, I think!
This is the kit we started with. It contained a chair seat wit
Haven't worked much in the past few days, but there is a little progress to share. The siding is finished and painted. The irregularities below the upper floor windows will be hidden by the porch roof. The shutters are glued in place, and some of the interior window and door frames also glued.
Not sure how or why, but some of the interior window frames are a bit wide and show through the window when you look from the outside. Not sure how this will be addressed. They're made of bal
It has been nearly a month since Mollie and I got the basic construction done. The holidays and life in general intervened, but I've been working at siding for the past week or so. Siding is not my favorite sport, I've decided, but I certainly do like the way it looks so far. The Greenleaf siding that comes with the 2.0 kit doesn't look like much in sheets, but with a lick of sandpaper (emery board, actually), it finished up beautifully.
You'll notice from the photos that tape is an
Mollie is my 10-year-old goddaughter. We're building the Washington 2.0. Mollie has visions of it being an old time farmhouse but with modern conveniences, which include a horse or two in the yard.
Here's Mollie, hard at work sanding and hamming it up for the camera while showing off the dry fit.
...
Mollie hung in there during the sanding and priming with gesso, and finally we were able to glue the main structure together. It was glued before I read the
Well, life intervened with my mini plans, as it often does, but I'm finally back to working on the oven wall. The little baker is very interested in what's happening. Today we got the alcove cut out. The little stove fits in there just right. The little baker likes the little stove. She says she can turn out all kinds of good Bohemian breads and pastries on it. We used a big emery board to sand down the rough edges.
This view shows the left side of the oven wall shortened an
Today's first workshop was offered by Carolyn Eich of Carolyn's creations in Glendale, NY. In it we made a roast beef and all the fixings. In our kits were cutlery, candles and candlesticks, platters and bowls, and even salt and pepper shakers.
This is what my dinner looked like when we finished. Some of the pieces aren't dry. The carrots and peas are glued in with Modge Podge, which will be clear (although I like creamed peas and carrots, too :lol: ) The gravy is made from resin.
Tonight's workshop was amazing. Eighty-some people each assembled a shop from precut wood pieces provided by the instructors, Luci & d*** Hanson. We got the structure together but did not put the trim on as it will be much easier to paint the trim first. [Hmmmm ... the censorship software doesn't seem to like Richard's nickname!!]
The back comes off so you can work inside. The brown paper is protecting the plastic windows, but single strength window glass ca
I just received from photos from my niece. She says the pet shop is getting some nice comments. They put it near the counter but high enough to be out of the reach of small children.
Here are some pictures of the front part of the shop. The grooming areas are in back, just as in the mini shop.
My work here is done.
Today I added the interior light, a roombox light from Cir-Kit Concepts, the Roman shade, and several details.
Interior details include a little bookshelf and a calendar marked with the date the pet shop began operation: August 1, 2000 -- the day my niece started her grooming business.
The back wall lifts out entirely, making this a very easy vignette to work on, especially if you glue down all of the bits and pieces!
Finally, back to the Pet Shop & Grooming Parlor. The shop has been built since early September, waiting patiently for attention. All of the steps below were accomplished in two days. I was painting the building, building a shelf and making items to fill it.
Primed:
Trim and inside painted:
Roof -- Painted dark gray, then orange sand added. Why orange? Because that's what I had on hand. When the sand dried (Modge Podge), I hit
Well, here I am at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, MO, after an already exciting day. My good friend and miniature cohort, Norma Jeane, generously volunteered to drive me to the hotel. It's an hour-and-a-half drive, which gives you an idea of how nice she is!
We left Marshall around 10:30 am. First stop: Nelson Art Gallery for lunch in the fountain court. Lovely! We did a quick spin of the ground floor galleries and stopped at the gift shop. There we found some lovely
Today I did a lot of fiddly things ... wallpapered the music room & installed the tile focal point, went through the stash of fabric from Beachpeach and found the perfect carpet for the nursery and a vinyl for the bathroom, glued the stern wall in place and added the doors. Door framing needs to be added, but am ready to add the top deck and celing lights for middle deck rooms as next step.
Am thinking about changing color of dining room/parlor walls from yellow to a pale yello
Here's a roundup of the past few days' efforts. Have been working on the middle deck.
Ballroom walls are up. Balcony needs to be finished. Haven't decided on window treatments.
Boy's cabin wallpaper is up. Very patriotic! Walls are leaning at this point, not glued. Hallway light is installed.
Nursery is papered. It's a busy pattern that may get changed out.
Bathroom was going to be white with blue Delf
While I'm waiting for some bits and pieces from HBS, I've been doing some accessory stuff. The plain Colonial chandelier has had crystals and doodads added and is now fit for an elegant ballroom. Note that there are only 5 bulbs. How did I know to order extra? One of them hopped like a piece of popcorn and tee-totally disappeared. Even sweeping the floor with a soft brush didn't it turn up. Here are before and after photos:
The shelves in the Captain's li
Mardi Gras floats need people ... that's what Mardi Gras is all about, really. We figured six riders, three on each side, plus people on the street. (We later added a driver; more about that in the Tow Vehicles entry.) Since I'm not a dollmaker, these had to be fairly simple. Because the regalia the riders wear covers them entirely, I figured I could get away with some man-sized stuffed sacks, a lot of fabric, sculptured hands and masks.
I bought this Santa doll to use for scale (an
I thought about jumping into Hobby Builders Supply's Creatin' Contest when it occurred to me that the Corona Travel Trailer would make the perfect base for a Mardi Gras Float. When DH Lloyd agreed to help, it was a done deal! We began this adventure on October 8, 2006.
INSPIRATION
Having been to several Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, I had a good feel for what I wanted: a big upper story with a gigantic statue of Poseidon driving three dashing seahorses through r
This part of the blog has a selection of pictures. A lot of the mis-starts and redoes have been left out so the readers don't glaze over!
The fours figures for the top of the float (Poseidon and three horses) had to be constructed. I used Sculpey to make a mold of a plastic horse's head, and put thin slabs of Sculpey into the molds to form the heads. I wanted them to be hollow, to reduce the weight. Lloyd made the armature for the largest horse from toilet paper tubes; it was cover
The background for this vignette consists of 3 flats, similar to the panels used in stage sets. The base and the two sides are bolted together, so it can be easily dismantled if necessary.
Here is Lloyd airbrushing the buildings and other background. The building on the right has some dimension to it with balconies overhanging the street. The little orange rectangles are marking where the shutters will go. It doesn't matter if some paint gets behind them, as the shutt
First of all, let me introduce Santa. I found him in a gift shop, back in the 75%-off Christmas sale stuff, in a little German-heritage town not far from here. I don't believe he'll live in the mushroom, but he comes by frequently to check on the elves and their progress. Do you think he's carrying a lantern because he doesn't think I'll solve the lighting dilemma? ;)
While I was thinking about the lighting, I did some aging on the oven wall. I love these artist color
The canopy has undergone some modification. It's a lot less likely to attract the Pope now. It's roofed over with some bronze material like the copper used on the bay window roof. The upper deck railings are glued in place, and some of the upper deck items are scattered about. Still thinking about where the plants and playground will go and whether the table and chairs need a sun umbrella. That dark rectangle in the corner is a frog pond. I'm not sure it will stay. A family of frogs keeping frog
Well, I spent most of the day in the basement, catching up on several days worth of recorded Y&R episodes and working on the upper deck. The photos below tell the story. The empty flowerpots will eventually have plants in them. The door on the stairway shelter is made from balsa wood and a piece of gray nylon stocking. I'd really like to grab a glass of lemonade* and sit under the awning for a while. Can just feel those pond breezes on my cheeks.
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Here are the photos from yesterday's efforts. The canopy has been rebuilt and edged with some neat lace I found in a bridal shop for 29 cents a yard. What a deal! Two of the deck chairs have had cushions added, thanks to some nifty froggie fabric that Anna gave me. (The nice shiny wheel and compass in the pilot house also came from Anna. Lloyd is beside himself over it, as the compass really works!) And some astro-turf was installed in the children's play area.
The lower deck raili
After a few weeks' hiatus, I got busy again yesterday. I built a baker's rack out of white-covered floral wire for the bathroom and loaded it with towels. Can't have too many towels on a house boat, eh? Also added a toy to the hallway and a mirrored shelf, and put a towel on the sail maker's bench in the bathroom. I'm going for a lived-in look.
I added a stained balsa window sill to the bay window in the parlor, then I turned to the parlor curtains. I made them
