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Yesterday I made the windows from F-6 (the triple that goes in the left front window opening downstairs. Today I made the rest of them. I took the four frame pices and stacked them together keeping the inner edges as even as possible, spring-clamped them on the sides and clamped them into the benchtop vise and sanded the inner edges smooth with an emeryboard sanding stick and the outer edges with the Dremel drum until they fit. I also had to perform corrective surgery on each window opening to get the windows to fit AND work B) Then I used the emeryboard to remove any "whiskers" from the edge corners and lay one pair of frames facedown and glued the acetate pieces to the backs. The frames are numbered from the upper right wall window through the two left wall windows, F-1 through F-7; the corresponding acetate "glazing" is identified on the schematic sheet W-1 through W-7. I use regular white Elmer's glue because it dries clear & doesn't damage the acetate sheet in case of an "oopsie" (guess how I figured that one out? not on THIS house). I covered the glued frames with a piece of waxed paper and weighted them down and let the glue set for about an hour. I cut a strip of chamois from one edge, 1/4" wide, and cut "hinges" from the strip; 1/2" lengths for windows hung vertically and 1" long for the F-3s that hang horizontally and were almost an "oopsie" because I was on a roll of gluing the "hinges" on the long edges of the frames and I was about to butcher the right gable window opening when I had the "DUH" moment and took the windows back apart (VERY carefully, I make those puppies to last forever!) and hinged them correctly. I glued a set of three "hinges" evenly spaced along the edge I want the window to open from and then I glued the other pair of frames on top and clamped them all around with spring clamps so that no gaps showed between the adjacent frame pieces. After the glue had set (another hour or so) I glued on the window handles; after a half hour I took my fine-point awl and punched holes through the handle nail holes into the wood and attached the little 1/4' brass nails/ brads we love so well... I have a pair of fine-pointed tweezers I use to hold the little devils over the nailholes and an elderly dull flat chisel to coax the brad down into the hole. then I exchange the tweezers for the chisel and grab a hammer and hammer the chisel to set the nail. Finally everything got a final coat of stain. complements of havanaholly

Not really "finished", but the construction is DONE!!! The front yard did not want to fit levelly across the fron t of the house, so I got insistent. The short fence sections take the seven pickets nicely at 1/2" intervals (center of one picket to the next); however, to continue this spacing on the longer (left front) fence sections takes only NINE pickets, not the ten suggested in the instructions. I used seven pickets on the gate. The whole fence got two coats of paint. The gate hinges I got look very good, but you can't see them because I hinged the gate to open inward, as on the box photo, and then installed the fence before I realized I hadn't taken a picture of the hinged gate (since I had already installed the handle on the front of the gate there was no way to get a good picture of the hinge anyway). I installed the windowbox under the kitchen window & as soon as the left fence glue dries enough to remove the clamp holding the side of the fence to the yard I can plant my flowers. I ordered the little sign kit from HBS and whilst the glue dried on & in the windowbox I painted "The Sprig of Holly" sign & installed it. I have begun tracing furniture patterns. complements of havanaholly

I popped out the yard pieces and began prepping them yesterday. I applied the edge pieces and step piece WRONG, I discovered today when I was able to collect all the scraps into the box bottom & study the picture on the box top. All the pieces have been popped off & glued back on. The gate went together really well, although the instructions tell you there are 12 gate pickets and you actually only use seven of them. I found the gate hinges in the first place I looked for them, they'll go on when everything's painted. The yard needed a bit of cosmetic surgery to accommodate the fenceposts, very minor. The fence has gone together nicely. The post pieces that get glued over the frame pieces aren't quite as wide, so needed very careful sanding to get it better. I'm considering pulling out the spackle tub before I paint, which will be after I get all the little pickets glued on. Since, as Linda mentioned, there are many, many pickets to apply, I figured I'd go ahead & blog whilst waiting for the glue to dry. I have most of the right fence done & the left end of the left fence has a picket on it. I measured to place the center picket on the fence sections taking 7 pickets, then eyeballed between them, and shall eyeball for the last four pickets on each fence section. I am measuring the 1/8" up from the bottom to get the edge even. The walk and step turned out well and I've glued down the grass paper on the right side of the yard. I'm only gluing the perimeter of the yard area "grass". complements of havanaholly

It took all of an eighth sheet plus one row of shingles from a ninth 9"x12" sheet of paper to complete the roof; for you math-impaired (like me) that is more than 800 sq in of roof.On top if that the first coat of lacquer sort of dissolved the pastel chalk pigments; they're there if the light is just right. After I touch up the roof seams with black paint & it dries I'll hit the roof with a second coat of lacquer and then go over the slate "lines" with colored pencils. Or maybe just leave well enough alone.I masked off the section of yard in front of the exterior door to prime & then paint a grout color. When it's dry I'll spackle it and carve "paving stones".Somewhere I have some railroad landscaping "grass" from the Cambridge front yard that I'll use for the rest of the yard.complements of havanaholly

The "slates" look more like asphalt shingles according to DH today, I have shingled the right & left ends of the roof and the rear and begun the front, and it does look as though the lacquer layer was not sufficient to keep them stuck down without rippling and rippling makes them look like wimpy asphalt rather than sturdy slate. I did try going back and regluing the edges down and where it worked they look better, so this is what I'll try before the last coat(s) of lacquer. It also looks as though I shall need more than seven sheets of construction paper "slates". If I were mathematically inclined (instead of arithmetically challenged) I would have figured the square inchage (miniaturist's version of square footage) area of the roof and figured out that way how many 9"x12" sheets of black construction paper I'd need to prepare. Mumble, mumble... If I don't have to make more sheets I ought to be finished roofing tomorrow & can start fitting the yard. If not, we all know what I'll be doing for a couple of more days :o <_< complements of havanaholly

I "guesstimated" that seven sheets of 9"x12" black construction paper would be sufficient to make roofing "slates" 1"x1", knowing I can make more if I must. I had bought a pack of all black construction paper on sale at Michael's a while back. First I pulled out seven sheets of paper and painted one side with lacquer and let it dry. On the other side I drew 1" grid lines with a #2 pencil, the graphite shows up really well & by using a bit of pressure to draw the lines the coarse construction paper scores nicely along the pencil lines. THis comes in REALLY handy for the dimensional part of making paper "slate". On each of seven more sheets of construction paper I used combinations of no more than two of the following pastel chalk colors: red, violet, dark green, dark blue, brown & white. I rubbed them across the sheets as I did the sandpaper for the "bricks"; because the paper is coarser than brown kraft paper it picked up the colors, and because it is much finer than the 240-grit sandpaper I used for "bricks" the effect is much subtler. I sprayed the colored sheets with my ever-trusty acrylic matte sealer and on the reverse sides I drew 1"x3/4" grids; I lay each sheet of construction paper down on a sheet of waxed paper both to protect the chalk surface & to protect the work surface. The next stage was to crease the colored sheets along the 3/4" lines and tear them carefully into strips, then crease & tear at the 3/4" lines into individual "slate" layers. Then I glued them randomly onto the unlacquered side of the 1" grid sheets. Once they were nicely dry I took the white pastel chalk crayon & drew bits of random squiggles on the colored paper bits & when I'd done one sheet I cut out a strip and laid it on the right bay roof and cut it to length. I then cut between the "slates" on the vertical 1" lines approximately 3/4"-7/8" and ran glue beads across the back (I'm using Elmer's white glue on the construction paper)and stuck them down. As I finished gluing on the second strip DH walked in & said, "It looks like slates". As most of the day was spent dealing with DS#3's breaking his arm at 4 AM & not getting out of hospital ER until 11 AM, I'm going to be working on this part for a while. One of the advantages to construction paper shingles/ "slates" is that I have not had to use the first piece of masking tape to hold them in place. When the glue dries I shall paint the whole section of shingles with another coat (or two) of lacquer. complements of havanaholly

I got the trim & kitchen door off in one, trimmed the door to FIT and rehung it.The stair "carpet" was a wee bit wide, but turned out not too bad; wish I'd found the ribbon before I had to install the left wall, it would have made the carpeting easier, but then I'd have gotten spackle on it & THAT wouldn't have come off! The red leather will work nicely. I had to piece the snug's windowseat, but it doesn't show. Somewhere I have some narrow braid to hide the jaggedy edge of the leather, even with a steel straight-edge & Stanley knife the leather stretches a tad while being cut.I prepped the roof for shingling by taking spackle on my finger & smoothing it all around the rough plywood edges of the roof. When it was dry I painted it black.It will take me a couple of days to make the "slates", I'll blog how I did it when I see how/ if they turn out.complements of havanaholly

The windows are hung!I readjusted the door to the bathroom and rehung it; I'm still trying to prise off the trim around the kitchen door to fix it. I've masked around the inside of the right bay to finish spackling "stucco" in there and when it's dry I'm going to cut a piece of the wallpaper I used on the floor to do the window ledge. I need to make a pattern for shelves for under the right front window in the kitchen.If the woven red ribbon I bought isn't too wide I'll carpet the stairs tonight. I found a red leather ball cap at the Goodwill that will upholster the two window seats and however far it will go after that.Last night I touched up the chimney with more drybrushing white with a touch of black; DH said, "Oh, now it looks like stone." Hurrah! B) complements of havanaholly

I began by hanging the front door and then the windows. Remember the care I suggested taking with the window frame pieces, because it goes double for the window surround trim. In order to remove the trim sheets from the plywood there is a minimum width the pieces can be die-cut. In order for the windows to hang and be able to open & close the surround trim must be cut down by 1/3 (3/8" to 1/4") from the inner edge. For me this involves combined whittling and sanding. The front doorway also required some minor surgery, as did the door, but the fit is good & the door works. I'll have to go back and try to take out the interior doors and trim them and rehang them; difficult, if not impossible because I did such a bang-up job hanging them the first time (but they don't quite fit because I hadn't fought the front-door fight). One of the challenges to shaving that 1/8" is that the frame pieces are die-cut, and that means that for two elements that go with the grain, there is one element that goes across the grain of the plywood (there are three plies to 1/8" plywood and both the top & bottom pieces' grains run the same way). While it wasn't a huge problem with the vertically-oriented windows, that poor little horizontal window in the right front gable that I had to rehinge has the trim cut the same direction as all the other window trims. While this looks nice on the schematics sheet and I'm sure laid out well for the die-cutters, when it needs to be trimmed down so much there is obviously a risk of breakage, and mine broke as I was whittling the last little bit. Fortunately plywood also mends easily, especially when the breakage is offset (in my case by nearly a half-inch B) ) so I will probably be able to sand off the remaining protrusion where I was whittling when it broke. I would suggest making all the trim pieces the correct internal dimensions and not having to trim any excess, or at least have it trim off the outer edges (and I could've done it on the belt-sander...). I have installed the left wall windows and they look pretty good. Instead of the little brass handles I used on all the other casements I made knobs on these, using 1/2'" nails and brass beads. I also hung the windows in the upper right wall & in the right bay. I suspect this part is going to take the longest, especially if I can coax the interior door surrounding trim off to shave the doors a bit more and rehang them. I thought I was adding to the blog & I'm into a possible thriller (well, maybe not to the reader...). comlements of havanaholly

It didn't seem like much until I got going, but I have installed all the half-timbering & spackled/ filled the "stucco" areas on the second floor and have washed it all with burnt sienna. Then I assembled the tapered upper chimney, chimney top edge & flue. I masked the flue, spread a smooth coat of spackle over it & painted it terra cotta. I'll install after the rest of the chimney's done. I attached the chimney top to the tapered part and then I spackled the top edge and carved "stones" in the damp spackle with a pointed toothpick. I attached the tapered part of the chimney to the top of the rest of the chimney, so I guess for my NEXT trick with the chimney I'll spackle & carve stones. I began assembling the windowbox, although I'll use it on another house, I don't think the pub proprietor wants a windowbox, the Mrs will probably put houseplants on the snug's window seat. Also I read over the instructions twice and glued it together the way the instructions read. I have since pulled it apart, sanded the mess off and reglued it the way everything will fit... The interior trim is next on the instructions, HOWEVER, seeing what a masochist I am I decided to make all the windows "working" windows, so I shall be assembling windows and cutting more chamois hinges; wheeee! I also installed the right bay roof. The right front roof once again needed gentle coaxing, I found my BIG hammer and coaxed the heck out of it! The shingles will cover the dings. I shall take my trusty spackle tub & go over all the seams in & on the roof, it worked really well to cover up the scores I cut to get the roof to curve where it was supposed to. complements of havanaholly

Short entry today because most of it was spent running errands. I located all the window frame pieces. I want all "working" windows, but the left front downstairs window is a triple so think I'll hinge the two side windows and leave the center panel "fixed". Note: Use extreme care prepping the window frames, they are only 1/8" thick & 3/8" wide and the plywood sometimes has brittle spots (note one of the F-6 frames in the vise). I also cut a 1/4" wide strip of chamois to make hinges. I also got all the brackets installed, they are still drying. complements of havanaholly

I played with spackle most of the day. I spackled the roof seams inside and out and spackled some of the upstairs ceiling. Right now I like the way it looks, but I may come back later & spackle the whole thing... I spackled the chimney and carved the "stones. When it dried I pounced a base layer of color on it, mostly white with touches of blue & green. When it dried I came back with a whole lot more white & a tiny bit of black & dry-brushed over it to give it a bluish-granite look to complement the burnt sienna stucco wash. It pops. I went ahead and punched out all the brackets and glued them together. The Mrs found out about the flowerbox and informed the proprietor HE could clean up after his houseplant in the snug if he wanted to, if she had to spend all day in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove she'd have a bit of pretty to look out on; so the flowerbox's second coat is drying. I'll give the brackets a sanding with the Dremel drum later, when they're dryer. Ooh, this house is FUN to build!

I actually accomplished a lot of twiddly little things. I finished the roof, had to beat the right front roof back into submission.I began to glue on the half timbering, found several spots needing either stucco or brick infill, I think I have all the brickwork done but there are several more spackling spots.There are a few additions or corrections I'd make to the instructions/ schematics sheet. I installed Wall O upsidedown and discovered it when I was ready to intall the roof, and when I used the triangular piece to fill in where it went, I learned it wouldn't have gone there anyway (may be why I installed it upside down, it didn't fit the other way).That's the only place I won't be able to use the half-timber piece that goes there.With an invite to eat out I stopped with a few more pieces of trim to install, and then a burnt sienna "wash" to the new spackle, and then find the right bay roof and mask and spackle under the bays, the roof seams (especially inside) & finish the exterior cosmetic work (except the chimney, I'll spackle & carve "stones" when the chimney is pretty much finished).complements of havanaholly

The roof additions are holding so I began "bricklaying" at 0830; it took 5 1/2 hours to glue the individual "brick" faces to the card templates & the finished product POPS! So much so I painted a dirty wash of 5 parts white to one part each black & burnt umber and LOTS of water, applied it wet & patted with a tissue and it looked much better. When dry I cut out the infill areas of the bricked card and glued them to the house. I also "washed" the parget. I washed the stucco with dilute burnt sienna. It was good. While things were drying I installed the right gable roof and it gave me no problems. I also discovered where the spackle didn't stucco and one area of downstairs infill I missed tracing from the half timbering onto the card, so I'll hunt down that piece later & get 'er done. complements of havanaholly

After last night's entry I took the card templates & colored sandpaper sheets, steel ruler, pencil & fine-point pen downstairs to the diningroom table & for two & a half hours I drew grout lines on the templates 1/4" apart and then I marked 3/16" intervals down the sides & 5/8" intervals across the ends of the four sandpaper sheets and when I got out my lovely transparent ruler to connect the interval marks I discovered it has pica & half-pica markings!!! (a pica is 1/6") Mumble, mumble, MUMBLE, mumble some more, too late, the grout marks were set for the smaller dimensions, I had already marked four 8 1/2"x11" sheets of sandpaper, it was for half-timber infill, not a Georgian mansion, and it was 2300 EDT (meaning at that time of night I wasn't going to redo it all).Today I have begun to glue the courses and it looks nice. It will probably take me until tomorrow or the next day to finish; we have noticed since we got back our refrigerator exhibiting symptoms it wants to die... Today we ran errands that included trips to the major appliance stores to research features, prices & specs.I did get the left gable left roof on this morning without incident, the tape & glue & staple job has held.complements of havanaholly

I started out in a mellow mode rubbing pastels lightly over 240 grit sandpaper to color "bricks" and sprayed them with lacquer hairspray afterwards. I did four sheets with different combinations of colors on them. I calculated that a 1/12" scale brick face is approximately 3/16" x 5/8"; after I get them all cut I'll put them into a bag or box & shake them up really well & glue them on in random colors. I also calculated I shall have to do this sitting down with a FRESH knife blade and a SHARP pencil. Then I was ready to install the the back roof support. Do other people's walls try to go their separate ways? While it dried with lots of masking tape and staples we ran errands. The rear roof went on just like it was supposed to B) ! The right front roof, on the other hand, was going NOWHERE. I checked the blogs and noted one that showed Wall O before that part of the roof went on, and it didn't have that funny triangular bit with a tab on it for which there was no corresponding slot, but I had meticulously spackled figuring all would be revealed in good time. What was revealed was how easily my 2-sided draw saw could cut off that triangular bit! and that piece of roof went on. The left front roof, however, required I chip off every bit of the thick spackle "stones" I had carved onto my chimney in Arkansas and then I performed surgery on the chimney opening on the roof piece to get it over the chimney, and then I "persuaded" it (with the hammer, I don't use no rubber mallet...) onto the thickly glued edges of the left inner & outer wall and stapled them in place and reinforced with approximately a foot of masking tape. Next was the left gable. OK, I figured the right side piece of the left gable roof was gonna be a bear because it curves down along the wall the front door is in and I had read complaints about getting the wood to curve, so I first tried to fit the left side of the left gable roof (this was before my final battle with the left front roof, which had a delicate & precarious hold on where it was supposed to be). This was so not going to happen, I set the left gable left roof piece aside & literally beat the left front roof into the aforementioned submission. OK, I had read a posting from Judith that she had scored the right side of the left gable roof to get it to curve... Well, duh, the Dura-Craft Cambridge's mansard roof was scored, of course that was the way to go, so out came the steel carpenter's square & craft knife & hobby saw and by golly I scored that puppy below the gable and I tapped it into place and stapled it to the gable's right side and used masking tape to hold it to the edge of the curved wall and it went right on. When I'm done installing the half-timbering I'll take a bit of spackle on my finger to smear over the scores so they don't show. While I was feeling sure of myself & not likely to try to install it any more today I tried a dry fit on the left side left gable roof & found I needed to remove a bit of the edge that will, by hook or crook, fit against the left front roof's inner edge when I do install it. When we came home our old refrigerator decided it's time to act like it's dying, so DH is trying various strategies to avoid going out to buy a new one and all the perishable food is out in the camper fridge, so I need to stop & put on some clothes and go see about fixing supper. Maybe I'll prep the card templates for bricklaying later... complements of havanaholly

I'll dedicate today's entry to the late JD Salinger, whose Glass family I first met in Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenter . Since I was tackling the roofbeam it seemed appropriate. Of course the roofbeam didn't want to go where it was supposed to, even with help from Merck's Manual (I knew my nursing reference books would come in handy after I retired B) ). I have a slightly different configuration that involved lots more glue & the Stanley stapler and the aforementioned manual, and in the AM we'll see if it worked. This after three tries to get the splice to hold until the glue dried so I could sand the bottom edge even. Then there were Walls O & P, which I found next-to-last mini session in the camper. They needed wainscots & Wall O also needed spackle above the wainscot, and I needed to do another shortie strip of panelling to go under the upstairs windowseat, so while the glue dried on my various roofbeam splice & installation attempts I measured, cut, stained & installed the rest of the wainscotting. I installed Walls O & P and covered the back of the Wall O tab in the bathroom with some of the godawful "stainable" woodglue I bought on trial & will use until it's gone because if I'm careful to get it all wiped up it eventually sticks things together but oozes a disgusting brownish color where I wasn't going to stain anyway (like on nice, white spackle...). It worked as well as spackle or wood filler with a lot smoother fill that took the touch-up paint job nicely. While all that dried I tried something I wanted to borrow from a posting of Tracy's some time ago on another forum. I masked off the rectangular space under the middle of the front left upstairs window and spread a smooth layer of spackle over it. When it was nearly dry I brushed a little green paint on it and dabbed it with a damp towel to blot the brush strokes & then removed the masking tape. When my green rectagle was completely dry I masked off the parts of a holly wreath brass embossing stencil I wanted to use and centered the design over the rectangle and taped it into place and spread another layer of spackle, then untaped the stencil and removed it. When the design was nearly dry I cleaned it up with a toothpick & drew a "vein" on each leaf. DH had suggested calling my pub "The Sprig of Holly", and no one came up with a better suggestion, so that's what it is. If I get really carried away I'll try my hand at a signboard, but if not, there it is. I think the roof is next, but I have a pile of sandpaper and some pastels and I may need to stop and think "bricks". Stay tuned... complements of havanaholly

Reading over the blogs I realized I forgot to enter my blog for August 16, when I got a "rest" day between kayak paddling while we were at Lake Point State Park in AL. Joy of joys, the beams stayed where I had put them! Then I realized I needed to paint the underside of the roof pieces, since that will be the upstairs ceiling; oops. Finally I masked all the timbering lines on the upstairs walls to be half-timbered and spackled over the tape; when the spackle was tacky I pulled off the tape, and when it was completely dry it was ready to stow under the bed again for the trip home. I learned that trick from working with Magic Systems. We got home Thursday & finally got the house out from under the camper bed yesterday, so I set up the workroom & got out the craftsticks to use for the wainscotting because I figured it had better go in before the roof goes on, which is next in the instructions. I went ahead and finished installing door hardware & hung the interior doors. I could clamp the upstairs door trim on top & side & I used masking tape on the hinge side of the trim and it held until cured. Downstairs I could only clamp in one place so I used LOTS of masking tape on the other. I used 1/4" wide craft sticks and cut them down to 3" long. My sweet DH let me get the EZ Cutter from Micro Mark and what a good cutting job it did! I laid the cut pieces along strips of masking tape with the ends even and when the rows fit the length of wall I wrote which section of wall they were to go on and I laid the strips on a piece of waxed paper and stained them. When they were dry I took a fresh, longer strip masking tape and laid it across the front of the row, turned it over and took the old masking tape strip off and liberally applied wood glue to the back of the strip, laid the masking tape side down on the floor touching the wall it was to cover and carefully lifted it into position and used the ends of the masking tape strip to hold the row in place until dry. The short sections I did to see how the method worked look good. I'll have some touchup to do with the stain and then the better spackle where the sorrier stuff just didn't cover. complements of havanaholly

I finally got to meet Tracy! As soon as she looked at the photos I took she spotted that I installed the stairway beam wrong. Rain today made for good mini-working, so off I went to fix the stairway beam & install the other ceiling beams. I read the instructions & schematics 3 more times & decided to try to follow them. Many "magic" words & a bit of hammering later & some surgery I still don't know if the thing'll hold. The box of remaining plywood sheets is sitting on top of the front. I would suggest first gluing the beams to the notched back support and the glue them to wall C (beams 1-8). If you're going to plaster the interior walls (like I did) it would be nice to know ahead of time that beams 1, 8, 9 & 14 are flush with the top of the walls and mask for them before plastering. I would also be nice if the nothes on the back supports corresponded better with the front wall notch holes. Because of the surgery to get the notches to line up I'll eventually need filler at the stairwell end. I was so involved with with problem-solving the beams installation I forgot to take pictures until the house was ready to go back under the bed. complements of havanaholly

Finished tub of so-so spackle on the interior, one of the "stones" fell off the chimney before putting it away, will touch-up next time. Completed "marbling" bathroom floor & sealed it with clear nail polish. I painted the walls using Benjamin Moore sample pots, the upper half a golden-yellow & the lower half a dark tangerine, two coats. I made an embossed decoration under the right wall window using ornamental themed buttons from Hobby Lobby and used embossed sticker strips from $ Tree for a border between paint colors. I assembled the remaining left wall & spackled the inside & rear of the chimney. I attached the second floor mantle after painting. I attached the outer doorframe trims of nonhinged sides of the doors. complements of havanaholly

Assembled prestained doors using chamois strip hinges (see havanaholly's Arthur blog). I glued the trim to one side of the door & clamped to set. I clamped the trim to the other side of the door & sanded the hinge side smooth & even. I removed the trim and applied glue & chamois strips, applied glue to trim and clamped to set. I installed door hardware to hinge side of the doors. Shopping note: DH found scale champagne bottle candles.complements of havanaholly

Resting up after late night (blues show) I set up outside. I installed fireplace & firebox sides & rear chimney wall. I spackled the partition & interior front walls of snug after masking doors & lower partition wall. I noted a 1/8" difference in width between front door trim & interior door trims. I spackled the inside of left rear wall (may have to chip off some for window frames). Began "marbling" bathroom "flagstones". Shopping notes: Miniature Museum of Greater St Louis has a great shop & Schaefer's Craft & Hobby Shop has a dollhouse & miniature section complements of havanaholly

After 9 days on the road a "quiet" day in Vicksburg, MS, Glencroft came out from under the camper bed & the kit box from under a dinette bench. I've decided this kit wants to be a pub & DH suggests calling it "Sprig of Holly".I masked the window edges & lower walls of the bar & snug for later wainscotting.I assembled & installed the bookcase & stairs.Spackled fireplace wall in the bar & carved "stones" into the fireplace surround & installed the mantle. Spackled & carved the inside fireplace walls. When dry I dry-brushed "soot" with black & white acrylic paint.Upstairs I spackled the bathroom floor after masking the walls & carved "flagstones" for later "marbling". Bathroom walls to be painted.Shopping notes: One packet of wooden bottles suitable for beer & small barrels at Hobby Lobby on the way to Baton Rouge.Building note: No room to mini indoors in an RVcomplements of havanaholly

I stained the stairs, trim & doors (on the plywood sheets) with oak water-based stain. I made the hearths by masking off the floor area, spreading spackle & carved "stones".I separated the front yard & fencing sheets to leave at home, since there's no room in the RV camper. I packed the non-assembled plywood parts into the box for completion on the road.complements of havanaholly

Glued front wall parts after the dry-fit & installed left inner wall.complements of havanaholly