More Corrugations and the Roof!

Started the morning dry brushing the Metallic Aluminum on the two end pieces.  After that dried, dry-brushed the Burnt Sienna and waited for that to dry.  Last of all, dry brushed a little Campground green along the bottom edge as the moisture was sure to get to this in the jungle.  

Just make sure you do the right edge...otherwise it will have to be hanging vines! LOL! I marked the back so I wouldn't reverse them by accident. As the pieces were sitting there drying, I thought why should I wait until they're glued on the building to add the trim...it was a lot easier putting it on while the pieces were lying flat.  

Made sure to glue the floor in before I put the corrugated pieces on...that way I could use clamps to hold it in place as the building was maybe just a little bit crooked...;)

The sign was glued to a piece of card and cut out and glued in place; once the floor was dry, the ends were glued on and I added the doors.

On to the roof! The Banana Farmer kept putting the crates of bananas in the building and I kept taking them out. Besides, I don't know where he got those bananas, but it says "Fairway Banana's"  on the ends.  Seriously? Oh well, maybe the minions won't notice...
Once the roof pieces were painted green, I glued them together along with the roof supports that I had stained with my Minwax pen.  It is slow going with the leaves, I can only glue on one at a time, clamp it in place and wait for it to dry to do another one.

I think I will experiment with a little superglue tomorrow to see if I can speed up the process....I have one very impatient minion here! LOL!  My dear hubby has been putting the finish coats on the shelving unit for all these little buildings, so we will check that out next. Have a great evening!

Minions and Metalizing...

S asked about how I metalize things.  I thought at first I had made up a new word, but no it's in the dictionary.....I checked.  So I took pictures of the process to show you.  I started with FolkArt Gunmetal Gray Metallic paint.  I really like the FolkArt metallics, they seem to be one of the only paints that actually are metallic. I use an older brush that has gone fluffy on me so can no longer be used for any kind of sharp edges paint-wise.

 I also use index cards as small palettes for paint.  Someday, I'll have to come up with something different but since I bought these for one of my kids as a back to school supply and he is now 33, I have given them a different use. LOL! As it turned out, got a little overzealous with the paint....you won't need that much.  I ended up putting half of that back in the bottle when I was finished.

The next step will be to dip your brush in and get paint on the ends of all the bristles.

After you do that, you proceed to take most of the paint off the bristles by rubbing them on the rest of the index card.  You want barely enough paint on your brush or you will get streaks on the item you are trying to metalize.

I've also found that it's better to do a batch of metalizing at a time as it seems to come out a little different each time.

When your brush has just a trace of paint on it, lightly stroke the bristles across your project in either straight or circular motions.

You can keep adding more if you like, but keep in mind you will have to paint your item and start over again if you want less.  Since the Steampunk Summerhouse has alot of black on it, that is what I metalized.  I haven't tried this with other colors or other metallics; that would be worth experimenting with.  So here are a few pictures of befores and afters, I think the metalizing gives more dimension and interest to the trim pieces.

Of course the Minions had to have a good view of things for the whole process. Heeey, wait a second! There's alot more of them than there were the other day!  They have snacks too!  This can only mean trouble...hope it's not like Tribble trouble!!  Have a great day all!

News! News.

By Debra from Olde Cape Cod, 16 June

A letter has arrived special delivery! Sounds like the Captain and Rose are having a real good time and are enjoying tooling around in the Summerhouse. Wait 'til they see the steps I'm working on! While they were here, the Captain would pull her up with a little assistance by Reginald bringing up the rear so to speak. I think Rose just likes to make him blush. From now on, Rose can disembark in a more elegant way. Also, no more leaping into the Captain's arms to get down......that can't be good for his back.....

Not sure how much work will get done today, the laundry pile is again summoning me.....still puzzling away at the steps, not sure if they are glued to the pins or have to move freely but I will figure it out! Have a great day al!

P.S. Grabbed a couple of minutes away from the laundry pile to dry brush the railing for the back balcony. I think all the iron on the Summerhouse will be done this way. I like it! Here are before and after pics, subtle but I like how it looks less "plasticy".

 

P.S. again...When DH saw the balcony all dry brushed, he said it looked more "metaly". LOL! We must be married!

Wagon Wheels and Glad containers....

By Debra from Olde Cape Cod, 29 May

Dry brushed the black wagon wheels with FolkArt gunmetal gray metallic paint to make them look, well, more metallic! LOL! Then I found a Glad container and put all the wheels into it. Will keep the sawdust off that I'm bound to be creating making that set of scissor steps; but also keeps the Captain from messing with them. Though I did catch him with the hydraulic jack trying to pry open the lid.....he's persistent, I'll give him that. I was thinking about the steps and remembered that the wood I bought is 24 inches long. Instead of measuring and cutting each one inch piece, I think I will measure and mark the whole thing. Then I won't end up with any odd bits. Plus, I do have the extras I cut before I remembered to paint first....So I guess today's project will be cutting a humongous amount of little sticks! LOL! That's after I go do the WalMart thing and clean up the kitchen (that I should have done last night and didn't)...had that pointed out to me by the illustrious Captain who thought I should be working on his Summerhouse instead of ironing a few shirts. These little people will run your life if you let them, for sure. Got to go, hear sounds in the shop again, I think the Captain is trying to get into the Glad container....