Fenders and Company!I

By Debra from Olde Cape Cod, 28 July

I took the fender out of the clamps, actually clothespins, and most of the ripples had settled down. I was glad about that as I really didn't want to have to make another fender. I put on two coats of matte finish and let it dry. I did have more trouble with the rippling so had to put it back in the clamps for awhile. Note to self, use wax paper next time as the pieces of wood I used to clamp with stuck to the finish and I had to do part of it over! But, it was finished at last and glued in place.  If you're wondering what the washers are for, they are so the wheels don't rub on the house when in motion. I ended up glueing them on the back of the tires too and think I will used some silicone lubricant on them before I glue the axles in place. Of course, I had to try out the wheels to see how it would look! 
So while I was busy with this project, I had minions roaming around my shop looking for something to do. Since it's been in the 90's with 90 percent humidity, they can't go outside as they would quickly be just another grease spot on the sidewalk! One of them found the helmet I made for the steampunk robot awhile back and declared himself a Viking! I just remembered that I have a Viking-looking hammer around somewhere, I'll have to look around for it. Don't worry, it's plastic and is a very small hammer! LOL! Next he'll want a ship too...I must have a tiny rowboat somewhere......When I was almost finished with the fender, Dr. Watson came by. Sherlock is a friend of the Steampunk family and he heard about the telescope and told the good doctor. Since he is an amateur astonomer, he was excited to try it out. I helped him onto the porch roof and he spent quite awhile gazing up at the sky. At least I think he was gazing at the sky....I'm beginning to think he was looking at the lady in the McKinley room box too! LOL! I asked him if he would do the trim on the porch while he was up there and he just laughed and said "I'm an astronomer not a carpenter!" Very funny Bones......Have a great evening all!

Telescope, Part Two

By Debra from Olde Cape Cod, 22 July

I was really proud of myself after building the telescope yesterday and was excited to show it to my DH when he got home from work. He was duly impressed but when I touched it, it fell over and the telescope broke off the mount and then the mount broke off too! Argh! So figured I needed to cut the legs at more of an angle to make it more stable. Woke up early with a few ideas and started hunting through my stash of wooden parts and metal filagree to add a little pizazz! I used a wooden bowl for the copper piece but this time, I drilled a hole down through the bottom and glued in a piece of toothpick. I then stacked the separate pieces on the toothpick including a cradle to hold the telescope. The new design is more stable and I like how it looks. Made the chains on the legs more realisitic too with eye pins inserted into each leg and the chain hooked to them. Jump rings on the tip of each leg add bling and still more stability. The Captain is very happy with it and he can hardly wait for the glue to dry! That was the progress for today. Tomorrow I'll work on the project on the back of the house and work on the roof pieces. Though I do have just a bit more brick paper to do. Maybe I'll do that just to get it done. Have a great evening all!

Trim and Telescopes

By Debra from Olde Cape Cod, 21 July

The back of the tower has been sitting there bare for awhile now so I decided to add that little piece of brick paper to make it complete. That way I can also glue on the remaining corner trim for the tower.  With a bit of work, I transformed the white cardboard trim pieces that came with the kit to something fit for a steampunk house! I was standing there admiring my work while the Captain was looking at pictures of the Neverwas Haul online. His first words were, "Heyyy, there's an observatory in there!" Hmmm, hadn't really thought about that at the beginning as it was going to be a cute little Victorian house.....I told him he would have to give up the bathroom to have an observatory and he thought about that for a few minutes. He decided that he'd better keep the bathroom as Rose really loves the Jacuzzi tub. Knowing that he likes to stargaze, I suggested a telescope instead. He liked that idea so after hunting around in my metal and wood pieces, I came up with this:  I found a cute little resin tuffet in my stash and now you can sit for hours looking at the stars.
Whenever a cartoon character looks through a telescope or binoculars, they show huge eyeballs on the other end...I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist! LOL! Hope I made you smile today. Have a great day all!