LisaN Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I posted this topic on the ATM forum, but I have recently re-started my deserted sugarplum and since some of the pieces were missing(my fault for misplacing them) I decided this was the time for : KITBASHING! i used drywall joint compound after reading an article in an old AM on how someone made sagging, weathered siding using Sheetrock joint compound. This stuff is great to play with, and it's like--icing a dollhouse instead of a cake---and it weatheres nicely too! So far I have planned for this sugarplum to be a 'Shabby Chic Boutique' shop--I have so many collections with in a miniature collection, that I need somewhere to put the items, instead of boxes! :lol: For pictures of the boutique, go to this album: http://community.webshots.com/user/lisaneault I have done another sugarplum but not quite as indepth as I have started on this one. This one is a wizard's cottage, complete with garden, cemetary, and dirt road. http://community.webshots.com/user/lisan204 That house has taken the whole top of my entertainment center up! But I am really proud of this little boutique, and can hardly wait for the compound to set up! Enjoy! Yes, this is one of the projects i have finally got around too, considering I have two or three roomboxes and another cottage I'm working on midstream! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Oh, Lisa, I think I like the drywall "mud" even better for playing with than spackle! What did you use to make your siding "comb"? Sherise gave good directions in her article, didn't she? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 Yes she did. Chris is thinking about making a tool for me that is similar, but more precise with the saw tooth blade--these scale nuts! I made my own comb by going to the dollar store(I was in a hurry to start this project! :lol: ) and bought a package of those teaser combs that I had seen, and cut one off at an angle. I keep an old ceramic mug(way too big for coffee) to keep the mud from drying on my coombs and tools. When you spread the mud on, let it set up for a few minutes--in a humid climate like mine, only a minute or two. Might take longer in a better climate. Drywall mud is the type of material you shouldn't use if you have a tendency to freak about it not looking --perfect! You have to play with it and keep telling yourself that this is the way it is supposed to look--because until it dries it looks like a mess--I think this is one of the intimidating factors of paperclay, which also has the same qualities... I plan to take my mud and paperclay to Florida, to create in the camper and campsite, on the way to the Lakeland FL show in July--so this should be something else in that heat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Ah, but the extra humidity will give you lots of "play" in your clay! (I didn't even try to resist that one! my bad!) I just hope the weather's better than last year's for you. We're headed up one side of the Mississippi & down the other, and if the kit gets here in time I'll try to build a Glencroft (with stucco). Last year the dollmaking stuff was fairly compact & didn't take up a lot of room, so this will test not only my ingenuity but also the strength of my marriage! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shutterbugkc Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Wow! I really like how the compound looks over the red bricks. I'll have to try that sometime. I bet that would really look great on a fireplace. Shutterbugkc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Lisa has done that on the Sugaarplum fireplace, it looks awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted May 31, 2005 Author Share Posted May 31, 2005 Actually, I cheated on the exposed bricks. I buy that brick sheeting from HBS, and hoard it. Since it is plastic, it isn't the best look all by itself, so I cut small squares and glue them here and there on the walls, inside and out. Sometimes I age them with some burnt umber paint, and sometimes I don't--depends on the look I 'm going for. I did the same thing in Mr. Bannister's Doll Emporium that I am building too, only I used Americana stuccos on that structure. Since I am a packrat, I save alot of scraps--I use alot of these cheapie kit scraps of wood to make shelves, tables, pictures, etc. or even cutting boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllThingsMini Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Great job! So what kind of wares are going to be sold in the boutique? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted May 31, 2005 Author Share Posted May 31, 2005 Marie, you must have missed my story line on ATM. Miss Stephanie, a love-lorne spinster (she has a crush on Mr. Theodore Bannister, who treasures her friendship but could never settle down,) comes from a well to do family, who lost their fortune, so now Miss Stephanie, who is rather elderly, has opened a shop and sells ladies' toiletries, her own gourmet jellies from the family 'recipe' and soaps, perfumes, and all kinds of luxuries. Miss Stephanie is a rather feeble attempt at my first doll, I am rather proud of her--she looks a little overdone, like most spinsters I have met. Did I mention the Shabby Chic Boutique will be put next to Mr. Bannister's Doll Emporium? I came up with the name of Miss Stephanie from the old busybody in 'To Kill A Mockingbird,' one of my favorite books i used to read as a kid. Chris pointed out, Lisa, Shabby Chic is a recent thing....so I had to explain the story and say it DOESN'T matter, since these are dolls and we can make up whatever we want, and also Miss Stephanie is poor, and everything is shabby, so there ya go...my poor sweet suffering husband turned his head and laughed and said, Only you, Lisa could think that up!' Now i don't know if that's a compliment, or what....but he gets a kick out of the wonderful stories all of us make up for our houses, and believe it or not, he remembers all the ones connected to me and my daughter Amanda's houses........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judithfa Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Lisa -- thanks for the great tips about sheetrock joint compound, the brick sheeting from HBS (I really love that idea), and the Americana stucco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted June 2, 2005 Author Share Posted June 2, 2005 you're welcome! they are really easy to use...and pretty inexpensive also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judithfa Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 I checked my Michael's. They have the Americana stucco AND it comes it all kinds of wonderful colors. I want to use all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted June 3, 2005 Author Share Posted June 3, 2005 I used to do demos in the middle of the day at my local Michael's and that is where i learned about this fabulous product. I have used the natural color on my shop emporium, the rose antique color is a wonderful color also, and the pale green willow on a french styled roombox. It has a wonderful effect, and you can use stamps and combs to make textures in it also, for interior walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted June 11, 2005 Author Share Posted June 11, 2005 I remeber where I used the rose antique stucco now......one my french show display case I use at shows........I made little french posters so the case would look like a small shop........chris screwed plexiglass on the front, so it really looks finished. the top is open, so the pieces are protected at my table at shows. I remember, was it Nutt? who asked if anyone had used this color. This is in show display case on my webshots/user/lisaneault Well, the roof piece is warped! :angry: so that means more.........EXTREME KIT BASHING! I plan to build a framework and make my roof out of another piece of wood, this will probably give me more space in Miss Stephanie's boudoir......she has been complaining there isn't enough room for her trousseau..... I have a dress on a mannequin that i would like to put in her bedroom, actually.. It's funny that the large roof pieces would warp, and not the smaller overhang pieces.......just a hindsight piece of advice, do NOT let these kit pieces sit anywhere that could get extremely hot! I love these little cottage kits, but I hate wrestling with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 yesterday I did the floor on the upstairs of Miss Stephanie's boudoir. I have managed to upload one pic of the floor in my webshots album==shabby chic boutique. http://community.webshots.com/user/lisaneault I veneered the floor with this wonderful stripping from woodcrafter's--as you can see from the pic I need to buy more. I also did a 'painted' ceiling with contact paper on the first floor, and a ceiling medallion that I have wanted to add. I will try to get a pic uploaded today or tomorrow--webshots isn't being very agreeable today! **I have added some pics of the 'painted' ceiling, finally got back to webshots. I hope ya'll like 'em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 I love the cherub paper on the ceiling! that is too cute! it really does look good and I cant wait to see the the finished product! you go girl! nutti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I like the cherubs. How did you make the medallion? It is really nice. Keep up the good work! Peggi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 Thanks so much Nutti, and Peggi. I had ordered the medallion eons ago when I bought my first buttercup........that really is a house I would like to try again. As usual on a house, my plans changed and I didn't use the medallion for that buttercup...so it looks just great in the sugarplum even though the ceilings are low. I highly recommend looking in Big Lots--I found rolls of this cheapie contact paper that is soooooo easy to apply, Peel and stick. And I measured only once! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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