Plaster was a regular wall covering back in the day, and it was a useful thing since it helped fill in chinks in brick and stone as well as making the walls and ceiling look nice. The plaster was covered in a lime wall to help it look white, and I’m guessing to help protect the plaster as well. I’ll have to do some more research and get back to you.
I’m using joint compound and a craft trowel which is very small and not that easy to use to make a ceiling and walls that look like they’ve been plastered.
I now have a proper ruler and exacto knife to go with my other tools. I’m using a lot of what I have on hand as I have other things I need my money for….
The first thing I did was measure out the first room’s walls and ceiling, the wine cellar, and cut out thin pieces of cardboard to fit over them.
The piece with the white smeared on it is the back wall. I had thought about painting them before plastering, but I decided not to.
These three need to be sanded down to get rid of the lines from the trowel – hopefully – and I have one more wall to do before moving on to the painting. I’m going to do a wash of white acrylic paint and mod podge before I put them all into the dollhouse.
It’s not a lot of progress from the last time I talked about this project, and I will be doing more as the year progresses. This is a long term project as I’m learning and I go along. I plan to make as much as I can by hand too so there will be plenty to share with you as time goes on.
I hope you will continue with me on this journey and feel free to make comments, suggestions and give me ideas for things. It’s not going to be completely realistic, but I’m doing my best.
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!
I received a lovely surprise in the mail from the mother of all people. 🙂 I opened the package, but after a quick peek, I decided to share this happy mail with you!
It’s a lovely little mini kit! It’s supposed to be half scale which is awesome!
It has an instruction booklet that’s like an IKEA manual – mostly pictures! There’s also a baggie full of tiny stuff!
Check it out!! So tiny!! I think this is smaller than half scale but not by much.
The bookshelf is roughly 1 1/4 inches which translate to about 2 1/2 feet or so. That’s 3.175cm(approx.) translating to .762 meters. I don’t know about you, but a chair is about 2 1/2 feet or so tall so, the bookshelf should be taller. It shows in the picture, the bookshelf is much higher than the chair which I’ve linked to since the photo is copyrighted:
Still, this looks like a fun little build once I have some time for it. 🙂 I’ve not done something like this before, but I have been talking to Mom about doing something on a larger scale.
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!
I know I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks – too many reasons why not to post here, and none of them are really that are of any interest to anyone but myself.
What I’m hoping is of interest to you is what I’ve been working on these past two weeks. Some are ongoing projects, one is a new small and one is just something I was trying out. Let’s begin
MSAL – November
I’ve done almost half of the design for November. I have one big flower and two small flowers to add before I move over to the left side of the design. The top part of the middle flower is done in white which you really can’t see on the white background. I might pick it out and try another color, but I like the white so….
Dollhouse
I worked on two “wooden” floors for the Ground Floor. One goes in the Tradesman’s Entry and one in the Pantry. The above is what I started with.
This is what both floors looked like basically. I forgot to take a picture of the first floor before I glued it into the dollhouse. The staining looks a bit natural, but I’m still going to be covering it up with a welcome mat or something.
Crochet
Not the best picture I’ve ever taken, but you can still see what I’m working on. It’s going to be the decoration of a bolster pillow. It’s a Victorian Era design, and you can find it at the following links:
I don’t think I’m going to follow the pattern completely, but I’m going to do most of it.
Something Different
I wanted to try something different, just to see if it would be something I’d like to pursue in the new year. I like trying new crafts just to see if I can.
This is called Viking Wire Weaving, and it’s just a very small length of it.
For a first attempt, I don’t think I did too bad. I need more practice. It was easy to learn, but it’s going to take work to get it looking like it’s supposed to. I used YouTube videos using the search words Viking Wire Weaving.
I think I’ll be working on improving my weaving skills in the coming year.
Let me know what you think, and let me also know what you think I should try next. I have some time before the new year, and I’ll try anything once. I’ve already tried knitting and while I am okay at it, I don’t like it. I get bored with it. What else can you suggest??
I’ll be working harder to keep up with my posting from now on, but I’m only human – not to mention it’s the holidays so….
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!
Things are finally smoothing out and looking up for me. 🙂
Work
I have a regular schedule again with a rotating weekend guaranteed to come around once a month. It comes at different time though, but the schedule is made in such a way plans can easily be made. The store is also encouraging cross training so I’ll be leaving my department to work in other departments from time to time. This helps with the monotony of always working in the same area. I’m also getting cross trained in an admin position on the off chance this person goes on vacation leaving someone needing to fill in for them.
Projects
I’m behind on Land Baby which I’d wanted to have done by the end of the year, but the other projects I’ve had planned for this year are coming along nicely. I’ve done small projects I haven’t written about because they were spur of the moment things that I did on a whim.
Dollhouse
This is a multi year project so it deserves it’s own update. The exterior is almost done, and I’ve begun work on the inside. I will be making a great deal, but there will be a great many things I’ll end up buying or have made since they will be beyond my little beginner skills. I am actually quite pleases with the way it looks so far.
Writing
I’ve been stalled out with the book, Golden Knave. With all the turmoil going on, working on the dollhouse and stitching took me out of myself. Writing hasn’t been something I’ve been able to focus on, but I’m hoping since things have gotten better, I’ll be more able to sit and devote myself to my book.
Relationship
My gentleman friend and I are back on good terms again especially after spending time together this past weekend. It’s the first time we’ve been together since the issues we had that nearly tore us apart. This has been hurting me so much I was sure we’d never be in the same room together again. We’ve talked some but always on the phone or via text. I’m just glad we’ve gotten things resolved and can move forward again.
Mimi
Mimi is fat and sassy as always. She’s my constant friend and companion, and we love being together. Now that it’s not raining so much, and it’s not a scorcher when it’s not raining, we’ve been enjoying early mornings outside. She was basking in the early morning sun just a few hours ago in fact.
That’s my life in a nutshell. I work, I go home, and I work on my projects. Once a month, I get to see my gentleman friend – or will now that I’m on a proper rotation. It’s not the most exciting life, but it’s mine. I’m content with things as I’ve learned they could always be worse, and they have been more often than I’d like.
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!
I finally got the back of the house mostly done. Since it’s the biggest part of the exterior, that’s what I’ve been working on since my last post regarding my fail. It wasn’t an epic fail, luckily, but it was still a fail. I went back and did the paper towel to faux stone technique correctly using cheap paper towels with no design on it and watered down school glue aka pva glue.
Once I got the back looking as close to proper stone in texture and scale, I took it outside and applied two coats of white spray paint. I didn’t want to use regular paint because I didn’t want brush strokes to show.
I still need to trim to excess off around the sides and paint the bottom white to blend in with the house. I’m also going to get some pigment powder to put a light coat of gray on it. I think it will make it a little bit more realistic. Then, it needs a coat of sealant to keep the pigment from being rubbed off.
While I’m waiting to get the powder, I’m going to work on the sides of the house now.
Personally, I think it looks very good for my second attempt at a faux stone look. I won’t be taking short cuts with this technique ever again.
Let me know what you think about how it looks as well as whether or not I should use the powder. Buildings in this era were made of stone and covered in a white lime wash so, I could leave the powder off….
Next week, I’ll show you some of the items I’ve acquired to decorate the inside of the house. I’ve begun getting items for it when I can, and I’ll be making quite a bit as well.
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!
I know some of the walls are not quite straight, but I didn’t notice it until after everything had dried. Short of tearing it up, the walls will remain a bit crooked. I also know they don’t all line up with each other, but I did this on purpose. Not all rooms in a multi-story house line up with the rooms above and below so why should mine?
This house’s outer walls and roof are being created using new 1/4 Luann while the walls are being cut out of the old walls and roof of the original house. I’m reusing the original base.
I say “we” because my son, J, is helping me with this build. We are using a hand saw because I can’t afford power tools right now. I was gifted with a Dremel 3000, but it’s not going to be used for cutting out walls.
We were using 32 TPI(teeth per inch) metal blades, and they were so hard to get through the wood! At one point, one of them began to bend. I switched us to 24 TPI metal blades, and it’s much easier to cut wood. I was worried the coarser teeth would splinter the wood, but it really hasn’t. What has splintered can be easily sanded, and it’s just the edges, not the main part of the walls.
Right after I took this picture, I added three walls to the third floor. I’m using wood glue to attach everything and nothing else right now. Eventually, I’ll be adding tiny magnets to hold the front wall to the body of the house.
There will be a third floor and an attic with a mansard roof. I am planning on four fireplaces and around four gabled windows.
If anyone has any suggestions for how to shingle the mansard roof where the front meets the sides, I’m all ears.
That’s it for now. I’m working on getting more walls cut for the third floor and for the attic space. After that, I’ll be adding the left side and putting on the roof. The roof is going to be a challenge because I have yet to find a video on how this roof is built in miniature. I’ll be winging it.
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!
My dollhouse I’m building from scratch has four floors to it, the ground floor is the first. The story for this house is it’s a French Chateau renovated into a modern home, but this is subject to change. Most houses I’ve seen are either some variation of Victorian or Modern. There’s not much else. I welcome all suggestions.
The house will have a ground floor, three floors above and an attic space. I just added the ground floor interior walls and the floor/ceiling.
The rooms are, from left to right: cellar, wine cellar, mudroom/trade entrance, pantry, kitchen and washroom. The angle for the washroom is a bad one, and I do apologize. The ceilings are 4inches tall in 1:24 scale and 8 feet tall in normal scale. 1 inch equals 2 feet. The depth of the walls is 6 inches or 12 feet.
I’m waiting on the next floor to dry else I’d have the rest of the room measurements for you. I’ll give them to you next time.
None of the rooms will perfectly line up with the walls below. Normal houses don’t do that, so my dollhouse rooms won’t either.
I noticed, belatedly, the house is not properly centered on the base, and I left no room on the back for chimneys so they will have to go on the sides of the house. I’d rather not have them hanging off the back of the base.
This is definitely a learning experience for me, and I’m looking forward to doing more to this piece. I am going to be making as much as I can by hand from inexpensive materials. Considering the size, I don’t think it needs more expensive stuff.
Once the frame of the house is done, the front of the house will be held on by magnets. They are really small ones that I will be embedding in the wood and covering up so they’re not pulled out. I had originally thought of hinges, but the correct size ones are too weak to hold much weight. Once the front has all its windows, doors and staircase added, it will a great deal heavier than it it now. Plus, the magnets won’t be seen.
Next week, I should have more floors in. I won’t be putting up the left wall until all the floors are in. The mansard roof will be going on last.
Feel free to leave comments and/or suggestions below. I’d love to hear from you, especially those who have some experience with this sort of thing.
I took a Hartley Peach Brandy bottle – emptied by myself and my special gentleman friend – and I turned it into a Health Potion ala Dungeons and Dragons. My son asked me to make him a prop for his Twitch stream : Grim Commando 95, and we both chose the potion bottle.
I watched Darkest Raven Designs make her potion bottles, and I copied it only on a large scale. I also didn’t age or label the bottle because my son wanted something simple and basic. For the potion itself, I used:
Glycerin
Red Mica Powder
Water
For the bottle, I used
Push Button light
Foam
Cardboard
Mod Podge
Glue
Acrylic Paint in Brown and Black
Tissue Paper
The end results:
I know these aren’t the greatest pictures, and I really wish I had a decent way to make a video of it because the potion swirls inside and looks really cool with the light shining on it from below.
This is my first time ever doing something like this, and my son was pleased with the result so, I’m happy with how it came out. I’ll be doing more projects with bottles including making a Mana Potion prop for his stream. That will be a while because I want to get a few things to try out with it first.
More great projects are in the works, and I’ll be sharing them with you as I get them done just because I can!! LOL
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season including ringing in the new year!! I was too busy with work and family to do any posting until today so I’m a bit late to bring in the new year with you. However, better a little late than never at all – right??
Let me begin by saying I am so very grateful for each and every one of you who read these posts of mine. I don’t mind if you don’t comment or anything, I’m still going to write regardless. Would I like more interaction? Of course, but I’m not going to push things. I will eventually write something you’ll want to respond to, and I’ll be happy to respond back. To those of you who do respond to certain posts, I thank you most warmly. I enjoy the feedback and the interaction with all of you.
So what’s in store for the new year? I think we all have lists of things we want to do, see, make, visit etc. I don’t have a travel list, but I do have a To Do and To Make list. In fact, I’ve already begun several, and I hope you’ll follow along on my journey through this year as I show off what I’m doing, discuss things I’m interested in and so much more.
Projects Begun:
Mystery Sampler Stitch-A-Long called Changing Seasons by Fox and Rabbit(formerly Linen and Threads) – I had to order the Aida cloth because none of my local sources carry them that large. I have also joined the Facebook group for this project, and I’ll post the link when I discuss the project further with you on Saturday.
The Land Baby by John Collier – I have seen this pattern for sale on Etsy and Ebay both. The Link I’m sharing is from a free site with the charts and thread list. I saved them as images and am going to use my Paint program to help me mark off what I’m doing.
Crocheted Baby Blanket for a Co-worker – she’s due in March, and I offered to make her a blanket. I think every newborn should be gifted with a handmade blanket.
Health Potion Twitch Stream Prop inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, the game – my son streams on Twitch, and I have an empty brandy bottle he wants me to turn into a “Health Potion” as a prop for his stream. It should be fun to make.
Frederick the Literate puzzle – this is going to be a challenge, and it’s not exactly like the cross stitch project of the same name so that’s good. 🙂
I have a great deal more planned including the ongoing project called Golden Knave. I’ll keep you in the loop on all my projects, and I hope you will all share with me the projects you all have planned for this year as well.
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!
I know it’s been a while since my last post, and I sincerely apologize. I have to say, in my defense, it was due to circumstances beyond my control including my computer crashing due to a serious hardware malfunction. I finally got it fixed, but I’ve lost a lot of data since my last backup from the beginning of October. Teach me to back up more often.
Still, I have had my phone so I was able to complete some projects with it – something I don’t recommend when working with any kind of cross stitch pattern unless you have a way to magnify your screen – I don’t.
Let me show you some of the things I’ve been doing since my last post.
Halloween SAL
I have to admit to not remembering what all the blocks represent, but you can check out Anna’s finished piece where she has them all listed. She’s also framed hers in a lovely and unique frame. I’ll be waiting to get mine framed due to unforeseen bills. Still, the project was an interesting one. I am looking forward to trying one that is weekly next.
MSAL
October 2021
The above is last month’s block, and it turned out very pretty! Anna has also posted hers, and I love the colors she’s used! I have to admit to being intimidated by this block. I wanted to do a good job on it, and I’m not sure the color choices were quite right. Originally, the middle flower shape was going to be purple but then, I changed my mind. I haven’t done the block for November yet, but I’ll have it done by the end of this week.
Frederick the Literate
I finally finished this piece, and I am so happy with how it turned out!! The titles of the books are so cute! I can see why Fred is asleep with a smile on his face – no doubt dreaming about some of the books he’s read. I am going to be doing a full coverage piece in 2022, and it’s based on a painting called The Land Baby by John Collier(1899). I’ll be doing it on 16 count white Aida.
I’ll be framing Fred just as soon as I have the money and figure out how I want to do it. I’m taking suggestions.
Other Projects
In addition to my cross stitching, I am also making 9 baby octopi for a co worker who has commissioned them. I’ll post pictures of them on Friday when they should all be done. I’m also making two baby blankets for her, but those will be a while in the making. I’ve made a few other things, and I’ll post pictures of everything in my Friday post.
Writing
I’m having to redo a lot of what I’d added to my story on the computer due to losing data not backed up so it’s setting me back on when the book will actually be done and published. Such is life, and I just have to move forward. Who knows, I may write something even better than I’d already done. 🙂 The ending is still eluding me after all.
Health
I’m having a heck of a time losing weight! I’ve lost 4 inches across the hips but barely an inch in my waist! I’m developing a bit of muscle in legs and arms from work, but my core is still covered in fat. It’s a bit bewildering and depressing when I’m trying my best to get my middle flatter. Still, I’ll keep working at it. I know I feel a lot better eating healthier food that I have been in the past.
Work
Work is work. I am getting along with my coworkers, and I still enjoy my job so, what more can I ask for? Working part time suits me as it doesn’t put a huge strain on me physically, and it gives me time to do other things – like write.
That’s about it, in a nutshell. I am busier than ever trying to get my commissions done, write, work and relax – in turn. I will share more of my projects in the future, but I do have plans for the new year which include trying some new things. 🙂
I hope everyone will continue to travel along with me on my journey from here to there and back again in the coming year!
See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!
Dedicated to discussing the craft & industry of dramatic writing, maintaining mental health, and the unsurprisingly large overlap between the two. Oh, and maybe some Beatles trivia.
Griffin's Nest 