1: 144 Scale Half Timbered Cottage

I have been side tracked by a new project. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time. Ever since I added half timbered additions to the nutshell houses  I have wanted to do a 1: 144 scale cottage.

I wanted to use twigs  because I thought they looked great on the other pieces I made. (I buy twigs at Michaels in the floral dept. They are six feet long, all I can use are the tips.) And.... I wanted to fill between those "timbers" with a super fine sand & glue mixture I make. I thought it looked much more realistic/ interesting then just having a flat painted background. It is a bit tedious... more than a bit actually. You have to be so careful not to get the thick sandy glue on the "timbers".  I push it around with the point of a toothpick and pat it all into place between the twigs with a damp finger.

The end of the pin is black from burning off the Zap-a-Gap glue off it. If it gets up your  nose it can make your eyeballs CROSS!

It is not going to be finished for a week or more. I am waiting for shingles and some more windows. I want to operate on those so the inside will have a finished look around the windows.

I was going to paint the double front doors white but now I am leaning toward a sort of barn red. Which might compliment the roof if I try to simulate a reddish tile look.

Where is everyone??? Taking the summer off from blogging I suppose. :-)

Thank You Pepper!!!

 

Here is the gorgeous George 1 cruet set I won on Pepper's blog. http://mitchymoominiatures.blogspot.com/ 

What lovely and generous prizes she offered her Followers. I was thrilled and feel very lucky to have won this beautiful sterling silver set made by silver/goldsmith Stephen J Randal. He is a wonderful silversmith, the detail in his work is fabulous.

Thank you so much Pepper. I will treasure it forever.

It's finally blooming!

I planted a new crape myrtle tree in my front yard two years ago. We have had three years a drought, so this is the first year it has bloomed. We have had so much rain everything in my garden is happy.

In a few short years the tree will grow to be as tall (or taller) then my house. The foliage will get thicker and it will have more blooms. This type of crape myrtle (Sarah's Favorite) flowers several times during the summer but it is also very pretty in the fall when the leaves turn a bright red.

This older one in my back garden is very happy too.

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I have always planted impatiens in the west court yard but because I sit out there so much at night I thought I would plant a lot of white garden this year.

Even the 'Knock Out' roses are happy on the back of the wall.

Not much survives our summer heat so this is pretty good for this part of the world. 

It is 97 degrees F today (36 Celsius) and the humidity is killer!!! Those brick walls make the court yard feel like an oven.

The only way in to the west court yard is through this gate.

Designing The 1: 12 Scale Kitchen Today

No matter where I have lived, the kitchen was where everyone congregated. It isn't that I don't have a very inviting living room, There are comfortable chairs, big sofas and a huge fireplace. The kitchen is just where everyone always wants to be.

I have to admit.. It is my favorite room in the house, so it is no wonder I have collected so many things for a miniature one. I bought this hutch a couple of weeks ago because I was tired of looking at all the Stokesay Ware in the temporary shadow box it was in. It didn't hold everything anyway. Still I am not sure I will use use it. I may want everything on the walls built in.

The apricots, lemons, plums & cherries were made by Teresa Martinez. She is so talented I just could resist their charm when I saw them a few months ago. Thank you Teresa!

A sterling silver chamber stick arrived today made by Mike Sparrow. What a saga! The first one went to Melbourne, AU. (according to UK Airsure tracking). They (Air-unsure) sent it half way around the world in the WRONG direction. When it finally arrived here it had been totally crushed. The top of cardboard box it was sent in had an imprint of the candle stick embossed in it. An elephant must have stepped on it!!! So I am very pleased that a new one arrived today. The snuffer actually comes out of a drilled slot. Thank you so much Mike!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway this dollhouse is going to have a big kitchen!  

Kilmouski in 1: 12 Scale Test # 1

Kilmouski thought he should pose for my next miniature cat. He assured me that his likeness would be a good seller on eBay.

So armed with my new dyes I made an effort to color the light gray Alpaca fibers to resemble his coat. I am pretty sure this new experiment didn't make him very happy. He says he has more black through his fur. The problem is, it is necessary to add a bit of water to the dye so it doesn't dry crusty. To get a real fade to black for the tips of the hair on his coat, I am going to need a lot of practice.

Siberians have three coats. The third coat are guard hairs. They are sort of feel oily. The Guard hairs keep that breed from getting wet. It is very hard to give them a bath because of it too.

Poor Jack had a hard winter

I haven't been making miniatures lately. There have been other things on my to-do list. Like repairing garden statues.

This 3 foot tall Jack Rabbit lost the tip of his ear. When I found Apoxie Sculpt at the model train shop yesterday, I knew it was the right product to do the repair with. It can be used for so many things. It doesn't shrink and freezing temperatures will not effect it. it cures as hard as stone in 24 hours. After that I can faux paint the tip of his ear to look as grungy as the rest of it.

 

Apoxie Sculpt is a two part (putty like) compound that you mix in equal parts. You have roughly three hours of working time. The list of things you can do with it is impressive. I have no doubt there will be a miniature use for it. It will be one of those projects that pops up and you will just know that it is exactly what you need.

Keep a bowl of water close by and some paper towels. Once the sculpting has been done it can be smoothed with water and also textured. Just wash your hands with soap and water.

 You can buy it on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Aves-Apoxie-Sculpt-White-pound/dp/B0013UFM7M/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1369326642&sr=8-6&keywords=apoxie+sculpt

Finished...I don't think anyone would ever know. ;-)

 

The Sofa Transformation

I admit I was really concerned when I ordered this sofa that I would ruin or break it trying to get the upholstered panels off. Hence my plea to all of you for helpful tips about how to do that.

As soon as I took it out of the box I gave it a test by picking at at the fabric on the arm with a finger nail. It just popped off. The same thing happened on the other side. I thought no way I am going to get this lucky with all these padded upholstered panels. YUP! They virtually fell off with a little light coaxing. I never used a tool just my finger nail. The glue used to put this together had about as much adhesive power as a sticky post-it note. PHEW!

I thought I would be scouring the internet or worse looking in local fabric shops to try and find something to upholster it with. Then the light dawned... I have a huge stash of fabrics from the days when I did a lot of embroidery.

I had several choices but this beautiful light gold 100% silk was perfect. Simply because it went with every wing chair I have made. I love the idea of changing things around in a dollhouse. A heavier look for fall and winter and something lighter for the warmer months. After all....If you couldn't play with it what fun would that be?