Grumpy Minions and The Church...

Had a sleepless night last night so found my way into the shop to see what kind of trouble I could get into. I heard a lot of grumbling and mumbling coming from my tool bag and suddenly remembered that I left the minions in one of the pockets! All week!

It was with many apologies and promises of banana donuts that they were released and went their separate ways. I got a few dirty looks and comments like, "We have businesses to run you know!". So while they were busy tidying their shops and restaurants, I got started on the church. Well, all you have to do is take one of these little buildings with you for a week and they start getting new ideas. (If you want to know what we were up to all week, hop on over to Twice Across America )This church was going to be an American Gothic style with board and batten siding and gingerbread dripping from the eaves, painted a soft yellow with white trim. Well, this little building was having none of that! So as it was telling me all its wants, I started to glue it together. Two sets of walls went together and I made sure they were square.

Those grids on the cutting mat come in handy. Started glueing in the floor

and then everything was clamped in place. You can never have too many clamps! LOL!

This is what it looks like out of the clamps

and then with the first step of the exterior.

"What is she up to now?" you may ask. Well, it's going to be a.......naw, not telling until tomorrow! Have a great day! It's spring here in Tennessee!

Cavorting with Minions...

March in Tennessee means it's grass-mowing time! I got out of it this time because I am still coughing and hacking. So my Dear Hubby went outside to start up the mower. When the minions heard it start up, they all looked at me horrified. "We didn't get to cavort in the flowers yet!" they said. This is something new to me, so I assured them we could go outside and they could cavort all they wanted until Bill got to that section of grass. We had quite a few tiny violets pop up in the lawn this year so there was a nice patch in the back part of the lot. I had to carry them all out there as their legs are kind of short. I think these guys have been hanging out at Buns & Roses a little too much, or it could be all those lunches at Outback Steakhouse, I hear the Crominions have some nice lunch specials; anyway, they are heavy! So by the time I carried them out to the violet patch  

and then over to where some dandelions were,

then back into the house, I was exhausted! I fell asleep on my workbench and the minions figured out how to use my new camera and snapped a shot of me.

I heard them all laughing and woke up. All they could say between gasps is something about my face being scrunched up and wasn't I just hilarious. Oh well, they are funny to have around anyway. So right now, we are on the road!

I packed up the Minion Church to bring along but I'm not sure how far I'll get with it. We are going over Bill's southern part of his bike route before summer to check out road conditions and connect with churches along the way for speaking engagements. Hop on over to Twice Across America to check on our progress. Our little camper has hit a few snags, but we dealt with each one as it happened so we will be all set for summer. Have a great day!

Under the Weather...

Don't worry, I'm still here. When Bill came back from a trip to Dallas, he came down with a heavy cold. After a week went by, I thought I was safe....nope, now I have it. Hacking and blowing my nose and general exhaustion. But today was a little teeny bit better than yesterday, so dragged myself into the shop to have a look around. The minions were very concerned for me and bought me a cake from Buns & Roses.

They were also working on some chicken soup, their very own recipe, and once I was settled on the sofa, they brought me some. The bowls were kind of small...they each had only one noodle, so it took awhile to fill me up. Felt a little like Gulliver. LOL! I didn't ask what was in it, but it had a faint aftertaste of bananas. I guess they thought I needed more potassium! LOL! Then the pastor came by and said he would pray for me so I am in good hands for sure.

This past weekend, we picked up our little camper and started the mini makeover.

For those of you that enjoy following that blog, it's here: Twice Across America  I think I will go get some more rest now, have a great day!

Interior Decorating...

The minions have decided on colors for their church. I was going to paint it white, but then realized that this was a minion church and they might like something a little different. After much discussion, and maybe a bit of arguing and bonking each other in the head a few times, they made a decision. The meeting went on for so long that they started to get hungry and when minions get hungry they start thinking about bananas. So one of them said, "How about a nice pale yellow with white trim just like banana cream pie..." Well, that got everyone drooling and with a hasty "Meeting's over!" they all ran over to Buns & Roses for some of those banana donuts and I hear they've also added banana cream pie in honor of the new color. So this is what it looks like after a couple of coats.

It's hard to get a good picture of it but I will keep trying as we go along. I got the last coat of white on the pulpit

and while I was out doing the Walmart thing the other day, I found some cross charms and one of them fit on the front just right. I clipped off the ring on the top with my wire cutters and glued it on with some 527 cement.

That was all I got done today. I'll put on a couple more coats of paint on the interior and then it can be glued together and I can start the board and batten on the outside. When Dear Hubby came home last night, he brought me a surprise! If you've been following my other blog, Twice Across America , you'll see the trip we have planned this summer. This tool bag will hold many of my tools so that I can "mini across America".

We are leaving the beginning of May and when the time gets closer, I will go over packing up and what I'll be bringing with me to work on while I wait for Bill on his bicycle. But for now, work continues on the Minion Village! Have a great day!

Trees and Podiums...

Started out the day in the shop working on the tree. After painting the trunk, I decided to paint some of the branches too. It looks more like a tree and less like a bush now. I dry brushed it with two darker colors and was very happy with it.

Once it was planted in Larry & Louie's outdoor showroom, I asked them what kind of tree it was. They just gave me a look. "What?" I said. They both just rolled their eyes and looked at me like I was a moron and said, "A Minion Tree of course!"

So we all have the privilege of seeing first hand the one, the only, Minion Tree! LOL! Shot another picture of the layout in front of my big plant for a background.

I call it "Planty" because I have no clue what it is. It was a rescue that I brought back to life and it has tripled in size in less than two years. It's now almost as tall as I am. I've looked online and can't find anything like it....must be a Minion Tree! ;) After the tree was done, I put a final coat of paint on the church pews and the minions wanted to try them out for size. Looks like they all fit!

I had another window punch-out kicking around on my workbench and thought I should make a podium for the pastor. I used a piece of 1/12 scale porch post I had saved from the Steampunk Summerhouse cut to size and a small rectangle of thin plywood. The pastor couldn't wait for the glue to dry to try it out.

This is what it looked like once I took it out of the clamps...or clothespins....

Then of course, we had to try everything out in place to .....see how it will look! LOL! I think they were having a church meeting about what color the pew cushions should be....could be a long meeting.

So this is the Minion Village so far.

Once the church is done, there will be only one building left! I have an idea for another small scale project that I think you will like. Have a great day!