Trip to Savannah and Home...

I was so wound up about the poor birdies the other day that I forgot to tell you about our trip to see our son and his family! They live in a lovely home and he wanted to do a bit of remodeling. So we packed up to go for a visit for a few days over Memorial Day weekend. It's about a 6 1/2 hour drive from here, but there's nothing I like better than a good road trip with my Dear Hubby. The day was clear and beautiful and we didn't come across too many crazies on the road. I did see a couple of billboards that made me smile. The first one was: "Country Cookin' makes you good lookin'!" Let's just say that is definitely puffery for sure! LOL! The second one showed a frog in the lotus position on an inner tube and it was for a company called "Zen Tubing" and their slogan was "Get in touch with your inner tube..." It cracked me up. When we arrived, Bill and Caleb got right to work building a wall in their master bedroom. The room is very large and was an L shape. It was kind of a second room but not a room so they built a wall with a doorway there and it became the "man room" of the house. The wall on the right in this picture is the new one.

The new room even has it's own air conditioning vent and a double window and easy access to the bathroom. If they sell one day, it will make a great nursery or even an office. But for now, there's a masculine place for my son to retreat to in a houseful of beautiful ladies

(my sweet daughter-in-law and their 3 beautiful daughters of course.) The next project was a large archway into the dining room which made the perfect visual separation from the kitchen. I will put up a picture when that is complete...we managed to get everything done but the sanding and painting so I am eager to see how it looks. A few days after we returned, both Bill and I were hit with a stomach bug of some kind and I am finally feeling better today. I have tried to stick close to home so as not to spread it around but I actually went outside today to get a picture of the early morning clouds on the mountain.

Now you know why they call them the "Smokey Mountains" here. Later on, I went out to pull a few weeds and got a picture of the very first gladiola bloom of the season.

I know these flowers are seen by some to be a little over the top, but I just love big bouquets of them. Can't wait until there are more out there! Uh oh, I just heard the clitter, clatter of little feet and you know what that means...the skellies are up and about! I was sure there would be rude comments about something, but Mr. Skellie had climbed up to the Minion Village to Larry & Louie's Landscaping

and got me a bunch of flowers.

I didn't ask if he went under the cover of darkness...I mean, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth around here...He said he heard I was under the weather and wanted to bring something to cheer me. He said he was sorry about the "wide load" comments but since seeing my x-rays, they know I am one of them and were just "busting my chops". Who knew a small plastic skeleton could have such a big heart. I was careful not to cry on him as he didn't want to get his bones wet so he scampered off and brought me back a tissue.

As he was leaving, he turned and said, "Ya big crybaby!" and winked. At least I think he did, this eye socket thing can get a bit disconcerting sometimes.....hurrah, I am one of them! 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!

Still more Digging...

Woke up this morning thinking that the greenhouse setting needed a tree. I was thinking it through and had a plan in mind. Unfortunately, I still tend to think in 1/12 scale and the tree I had in mind would have been huge! LOL! Okay, lets scale it down a little. I have ziploc bags full of silk and plastic plants and flowers that I brought from Cape Cod. Christmas Tree Shoppes and Jo-Ann Fabrics were always well supplied with artificial flower sprays and quite a few had come home with me. When we moved, I cut them all apart and put them into storage bags for future use.....the future is now! LOL! I found a few pieces I thought would work and glued them together with E6000.

I have to find my floral tape to finish this, so set it aside to work on the remaining gardens. I was going to keep the back simple, but Larry and Louie insisted we go all out in order to display all they can do. What a couple of slave drivers! When I started to get sunburned, we moved the whole operation indoors. I think this should qualify as a work related injury, don't you? ;)

So here is what the back looks like right now.

I have to admit, these guys really know their stuff. Then Goliath hauled in all the stone for the walkways and I set to work. I read about how to do egg carton stonework online and started glueing down the pieces. Once they were all in place, I brushed on a thick coat of white glue, then moistened my finger tips and smoothed it into place. I used a blow dryer on it to partially dry the surface and pressed down any stones that were sticking up. I have never done this before and this was really fun! All this time, I hesitated because I didn't want to mess it up....just go for it! :) Here is how it looks all dry, no shading or painting, the glue just seems to enhance the stone all on its own. After the walkways were done, the greenhouse was glued in place too.

I really like it. I see a stone building in our future! There is one problem with landscaping indoors...it trashes your shop! LOL!

Here are Larry and Louie at their outdoor showroom with Goliath standing at the ready to open up the greenhouse. Pierre is there from the flower shop at Buns and Roses (yes, he has named himself too) to arrange for regular deliveries of fresh flowers. The only thing that needs finishing is the tree.

So after that gets some work, it will be time for a cleanup and then on to the next building! Have a great day!

Digging in the Dirt...

Whew! Am I glad to be able to sit down for a few minutes! Larry and Louie had me building flower beds all afternoon and I was up to my elbows in mulch. It all started innocently enough, I decided to paint the underside of the board I'm using for a base. I haven't done this on the other builds and when I look up at the village, I can see the unfinished undersides of the bases.

After two coats of paint I added my signature and the date, then used a couple of coats of clear matte spray for protection.

Then it started, Larry and Louie came driving up in the truck with a load of mulch and flats of flowers. They even managed to fit a birdbath in there. They climbed down from the truck laughing and talking and then stopped dead in their tracks. "What have you been doing all morning?" said Larry. "I thought you would have the flower beds all built by now!" said Louie. Okay, okay let me get my gardening gloves at least....said me. "No time for that!" they said in unison. So I started carving up styrofoam and splashing brown paint around and this is how it is starting.

After the paint was dry, I covered them with white glue and poured on the mulch....or tea leaves, whichever you prefer. :) Larry and Louie had to give my work a thorough inspection before the plants went in

and all this glue and mulch were beginning to stick to me too.

After hours in the hot sun, all the plants were in and watered and I stopped for a much needed break.

I took orders all afternoon, I don't know how I got roped in with this landscaping business. There's still a couple more beds to do, then there's stonework to be done for both walkways. I think I will let Goliath lug all the stone, I'm pooped. Have a great day!

Painting, Painting and more Painting.....

So today was supposed to be landscaping day. I looked through all my tiny artificial flowers and chose a few that I thought would make a nice flower garden. Then I remembered the resin garden piece I found in the thrift shop for 50 cents. I got it down from the shelf and I think it fits perfectly with the greenhouse.

I was playing around with the arrangement when I noticed that the paint job on the resin piece was a bit rough. Well, I thought, I'll just get out my tiny brush and a couple of paints and we'll take care of that. Okay, so I might need my second pair of glasses and maybe a few more paints and hmm, now that I've touched up the leaves, the flowers could use some touching up. That gold could use some help too and whoopsie I got some color on the green so I have to go back and touch up that. Oh, I missed a spot on the pink.....got some pink on the green....touch that up....And on and on it went! LOL! After spending hours on this 50 cent item I think its finally done and I am all googly eyed! Here's the before and after for you to judge.

It does notice more in person and I did have fun doing it so I guess it was worth it! More landscaping tomorrow! Have a great day!

Finishing up the Barn...

Got quite a bit of work done today on Larry and Louie's barn. I started with several colors of dry brushing on the siding and the roof. All the barns that I looked at had sections of rust on the roof like this.

So as I was deciding how to place the barn and the greenhouse together on the base, Larry and Louie came by to tell me that they purchased another lot in the Minion Village. They want to set up the barn on the lot out of town and have the greenhouse in town. These guys are always full of surprises! I could see their point though, who wants a big compost pile next to that pretty greenhouse....so I adjusted my layout and started putting together a setting for just the barn.

Once I decided on the layout, I decided to make a nice compost pile for them. I started with a piece of styrofoam that was kicking around. I trimmed it a bit with my utility knife and poked and pressed it into shape.

After a coat of brown paint, glue was applied and a couple of layers of tea leaves from a tea bag were pressed on. Looks like a bird dropped a couple of sunflower seeds on the pile!

I spent a good part of the afternoon glueing on a patchwork of grass and tea leaves and added a few pots and a black plastic wagon wheel that I painted and aged.

Bob takes care of the truck for Larry and Louie and is very proud that his barn has a quilt square. He also has the prettiest compost pile in town! LOL!

Tomorrow we will start work on the setting for the greenhouse. Have a great day!

So much Randomness.....

I forgot to share my Valentine's Day bouquet with you!

Dear Hubby came home with flowers, a cake, candy and a beautiful card! Felt so loved....It was a beautiful day that I enjoyed very much. After Bill drilled all the holes in the shell that I plan on making a fairy house out of, I was thinking about how I was going to find a fairy to live in it. After looking a few places online, I discovered that fairies just love buttons. I ended up inheriting my nana's buttons years ago and I have a pretty tin that they go in. I like to use them on projects for my children and grandchildren...like a little piece of history. Anyway, I set out the button box with the lid off to see if there were any fairies around. Shhh, I snapped this picture as this fairy was making a selection.

Looks like I'll have someone to live in the house after all! I'm so excited! Let's see, what else do I need to tell you about....Oh, while I was looking at Pinterest pages....wow, does that eat up time by the way...I saw a tutorial for making tiny pens for the dollhouse people. Since my husband enjoys making full size pens, I thought it would be fun to make a few of these.

When Rose stopped by last week, she fell in love with them and wanted to give them to the Captain. She's been such a good friend, I gave them to her to give him. Later on, the Captain came by to thank me and wanted me to take his picture with them.

The pens went together quickly and there are lots of ways you could make them. It was raining again today, but what happens when it rains? Rainbows! Got this nice shot of one to share with you.

And last but not least, I managed to get a coat of grey paint on the barn roof.

Since I had to do the Walmart run today, I took special notice of all the barns along the way. I think I'll have to do a bit of dry brushing on it to give it more dimension so that is something I will work on tomorrow. So we are up to date for now, have a great day!

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!