Siding the Barn...

I found a few boards that were already stained that were left over from the Steampunk Summerhouse and put them to good use. I had enough to do one whole side.

Then I got sidetracked for a few days and finally today stained enough boards to finish the rest of the barn.

I was awake the other night and spent some time looking at Tennessee barns online and found a few with the front roof treatment I was looking for. After cutting the roof and digging through my stash to find a piece of wood to fit the front, it started to take shape. I glued the roof on and held it in place until it was dry enough to let go. I also noticed that board siding on barns is not set perfectly, so made a few a bit wonky here and there.

So against my perfectionist nature! LOL! The next thing I wanted to do was find some corrugated cardboard that I could turn into a metal roof. I used cardboard from a pizza box for the chicken coop I made for a friend so when we had pizza on Friday, I thought I was all set. Well, I wet one side of the cardboard lid in the shower like I usually do, but this time the wet layer wouldn't come off the corrugated part without tearing. So I had to make do with some that was a bit larger, actually the same stuff I used on the banana plantation. Dear Hubby said that the minions probably would use the same supplier for metal roofing anyway, so it works. I cut it to size, painted some gray around the edges that will be exposed

and glued it in place.

I had to hold it very carefully in place so I wouldn't crush the corrugations, but the glue grabbed quickly and now it is drying and waiting for paint! Have a great day!

Greenhouse and a Dispute!

Time to start on the roof of the greenhouse. I had a container of Skinny-Sticks , so used a few of those for the rafters.

I glued up three pieces of square stock for the back support piece, then found some decorative brackets to use on the ends.

I glued these together, several times actually, then found a piece of window trim I cut for the front support. Right about then, I heard an awful fuss and saw Larry and Louie rolling around on the ground, swords in hand.

What is with you two! I said.

After settling them down a bit, I put each one in one of the corners of the garage after finding out they were fighting about who was going to drive the truck next.

This should be an interesting partnership for sure! LOL! After trying out the roof, decided it needed a couple more brackets.

I painted on the first coat of white paint and set it aside to dry. The next thing I had to address was the front wall. Every time I tried it in place, it looked wonky to me. I finally figured out that it needed to go on the top of the left wall, not inside the wall. A narrow strip was added and then I had to trim the right wall to fit better. It fits the way it should now even though the windows aren't exactly in the middle.

Maybe I'll get a little creative with my utility knife tomorrow morning. If I try to cut it now, I will probably damage myself. Looking at the picture, I could make it one large window centered, then divide it up with mullions.....Sounds like a plan! Of course, that means I won't be able to use the trim or the "window glass" that came with this....I'll have to think on it. Have a great day!

Shingles and Blasters...

Started the day adding some "wrought iron" trim to the peak of the roof on Buns & Roses. I used E6000 cement and there is no getting that off!

Shingles next! Since I had to cut each strip to length, I ended up having to paint the ends before I could glue them on. The strip shingles are really handy in this kit, I think doing individual shingles in this scale would turn me into a fumble-fingers. I used two lines of white glue and held them in place on the ends with clothespins and pressed down on them with my fingers for a few minutes until the glue started to set.

I had just enough painted shingle strips to do one side so I will be painting more later.

While all this dried, I pulled out the fart blaster and my box of tiny watch gears to see what I could come up with. When I looked down at my bench, one of the gears had pierced my pencil!

Be careful with these, the pointed ends can be sharp! I tried out a few different things and this is what I came up with.

Also used part of a snap fastener for inside the bell shaped end...seems to look more business-like this way.

I'm not sure how it ended up being a Steampunk Fart Blaster, but it was fun to make! LOL! Now I have to make sure the Captain over at the Steampunk Summerhouse doesn't "catch wind" of it...;) or he will abscond with it! Since there is supposed to be a big storm coming sometime tomorrow, I am going to head off to Walmart to join the throngs who will be there buying milk and bread....the only thing is, I'll be buying black craft paint and glue...have to have the essentials! LOL! Have a great afternoon!

Home Stretch?

Got too wound from watching Dark Matter last night so was back in the shop! The first coat on the porch posts was dry, so I used a small piece of brown paper bag to lightly sand the paint.

Doing this makes for a smoother final finish. Put the second coat on and set them aside. Still plugging away at the roof. I got the three coats of green on and then painted the edges.

A final clear coat and that was set aside to dry also.

Let's see, what can we do while paint dries....oh, I know, the restaurant doesn't have any menus! On to the internet! I found all kinds of pictures of Outback Steakhouse menus but chose their kid menus as they were the most colorful. A little copying, a little pasting, a little shrinking and we have our menus!

The host minion has them all arranged on his podium and is so ready to start bringing in customers.

Since the paint still wasn't dry on the roof, I pulled out the ladder and did some dry brushing on it to make it look a little more like wood. The matte finish helps with the illusion and the minions inspected it and gave their approval.

And guess what came via UPS yesterday.....the lights! Yay!

I opened one of them up and found the bulb rolling around loose. So after some finagling, I managed to get it screwed in and it worked. I had cut a small v in one of the roof pieces to accommodate the cord and used a little cement to hold it in place.

Once that was dry, I was able to glue the other roof piece on.

The minions can barely contain themselves at this point and they are forming a line on my workbench already! After an eternity of waiting for the glue to dry, the roof was glued in place and the cord glued down along the roof ridge.

I'll tell you, there are some happy minions in the shop today! LOL! The tarp they were using to cover the restaurant was folded and put away and I was just enjoying a little glow of happiness when one of them asked when I was starting Buns and Roses. No rest for the wicked.....we will tackle the landscaping and parking lot next and I have another idea for the battery pack for the light. Also need to make something for the roof ridge to cover the cord. Have a great day!

Porch Posts and the Roof!

After a busy weekend, I'm back in the shop this morning! Looked for the lights I needed in a different Michael's, but all that was there was an empty peg. Even though tracking says the lights I ordered online have been lounging around at the post office since Saturday, they aren't scheduled for delivery until Tuesday! Waiting is not one of my strong points....But, there is still some things to do, so let's get to it! I finished the coats of green on one half of the roof and have all the strips glued to the other half. I used one coat of the satin varnish over the green paint and it looks more like the smooth shine of the metal roofs around here.

I'll take care of painting the edges and putting on the three coats of green on the other roof piece later today. Then as soon as the light arrives, I can install it. I was thinking about painting the battery pack on this one silver as if it's a large propane tank...The other project was the front porch posts. The white posts will be the ones I will be attempting to duplicate.

Went to work with my little chop saw and with only a couple of waste pieces, this is what we will start with.

I used the lines on my cutting mat to make sure things were glued straight.

And I think you know what comes next....Let's see how it looks! LOL!

I made these a little extra long so I can trim them to exact length once the roof is glued on. I think they capture the feeling of the full size ones, so on with the first coat of paint!

I used some Apple Barrel white paint I had picked up once and I was surprised how well it covered. Usually, when you buy craft paint on sale, it's going to take a few coats to cover. I think only one more will do the job here. So that is what we have so far, think I will go finish painting the other roof piece and give these posts their final coat of white. Maybe those lights will show up today and I can install that too.  Then it's on to the landscaping and a small parking lot. Have a great day!

                         

Bits of Random...

Did a little work on the restaurant. The front doors have been glued on

and I started cutting the cardboard strips for the roof.

I started glueing them on and realized I wanted to start from the front, not the back. So I started on the other side, then got distracted and put another one on the wrong end. So the strip in the middle has a little more space around it. Then dear hubby said when you do metal roofing, you start in the middle. Well, now I will know that for next time! LOL! Put the first coat of paint on one side...

looks like it will need one or two more. Once the light comes in, I can glue it all together. So in the meantime, I started to think about the next building. It will be the Greenleaf Village store with the two bay windows. At first it was going to be a flower shop, then after seeing the delightful bakery in the November issue of American Miniaturist, I think the minions would like a place to buy their morning donuts too! I tossed around some names...Flora and Fauna, no, that's not right. Bread and Flowers? Wheat and Roses? Then dear hubby said, "How about Buns and Roses?" We both burst out laughing and decided it had to be that one! So maybe that will get started sometime next week.  
The other day when it was raining so much, the sun finally came out in the early evening. Just in time for a beautiful rainbow!

And that evening, a Halloween moon!

Have a great evening!

Back to Work!

The minions had a greeting party waiting for me when I entered the shop today. They said, "Enough fooling around, you need to finish this thing!" They wouldn't listen to my whining and just pointed to my chair. So, what to do first....Ha! That's right, I was looking for a scrap of foam core board! I thought of one more spot to check....guess where it was.

So after moving things and digging around up there, voila! I had just one small piece left.

I put that aside and started measuring the roof. You remember that I had shortened this building, so that meant I had to trim the roof pieces too. The minions were glad I was finally getting to this as we have been having some rain lately and they were getting tired of taking shifts holding down the blue tarp over the roof. I only had to trim off 7/8", that gave me enough for the overhang.

I stained and glued two of the roof supports in place and cut the piece for the front of the overhang.

I bet you know what I did next....let's see how it looks! LOL!

I really should have painted the front gold before gluing it on....well, at least I won't have to be so careful on one side anyway.

I was going to leave the inside of the overhang plain but the minions complained that they could see the old writing on the back when they stood on the porch. And I thought I was a perfectionist! While all the roof pieces were drying, I added some trim around the outside of the building. I wanted to cover the edges of the stone fabric, but the stripwood I have just looks too bulky so went with the same trim as the inside.

I have a few more pieces to add to the inside and then that will be done and ready to glue down the furniture. Just as I was finishing up, I went to add (still) more nail polish to the bucket of wood pieces for the smoker. Next time, remind me to just bite the bullet and buy some envirotex....this poor minion has passed out from the nail polish fumes!

I took him outside to get some fresh air and apologized for all the stinky stuff. I won't be able to glue the roof on completely as I need a light fixture. Haven't been able to find one locally so since I am going to be visiting my mom this week, I will look up there for one or two. I need some plywood bases too...I have five of these left to go! Must make a list. Also wanted to say thank-you to all of you who read my blog, it is very encouraging to me. Please feel free to comment and follow me! More fun to come! Enjoy the fall weather, have a great day!