What's everyone working on?

[Jo Med]

Thank you Holly, its good to be back I haven't touched any minis in about 4 months.

 

[Selkie]

Welcome home Jo. Missed seeing you but I know you were having a wonderful and relaxing time. Maybe you could share a beautiful scene or two from your trip to inspire us. Hope to see around sharing all your fantastic artistry.

This forum format just started later yesterday so we are all bumbling around a bit as Logan gets us acclimated to the new locations and fixes little issues.

[Deb]

Jo!  Jo!!!!!  <grabbing your hands and twirling around>  It's SO good to see you back here!  We missed you so much!  And you brought such yummy eye candy too!  <drooling>   I hope that the resolutions work out for you coz we sure love having you around here.  And you know I can't wait to see those Arsenic and Old Lace dolls because, well, it's Arsenic and Old Lace. LOL!!!   If anyone can do justice to the sisters and Teddy and <more drooling> Cary Grant, it's you.  I know we see each other on FB but the newsfeed is so inconsistent that I miss most of your posts so conversations aren't nearly as feasible as they are here on the forum. 

I finished the wallpaper for Miss Tennyson and have stacks of pretty colored wood all around the studio.  My order arrived from Itsy Bitsy Mini half an hour before I finished the next to last room so that was some perfect timing!   I'm very, very glad I ordered the Tin Hearts rather than using the other wallpaper I had set back for it because the Tin Heart paper is sooooooooooo pretty and looks lots better with the other papers.   I was able to finish wallpapering the whole house without missing a beat and I like it when that happens.  I started on the window frames yesterday and they're looking pretty spiffy.  

[blueirishmoon]

Great pictures, Jo. The details are awesome. Loving the exterior...

[Debra from Olde Cape Cod]

Welcome Back!  Loving the eye candy Jo!

Deb!  So glad to hear about your progress! You go girl!

[Soapz]

I'm working on another Craftsman box and finally have the wallpaper figured out.

Welcome home, Jo! I made a ceiling light similar to those in your shop - and I'm calling it Craftsman style..... which it probably isn't. I marbled vellum with ink and then coated it with resin to protect it. 

[jbnmini]

Welcome Home, Jo!  And you brought eye candy!  LOL  Can't wait to see the Arsenic & Old Lace dolls!

I contacted the owner of the Ellwanger House and since she is on vacation for the next 2 weeks, that gives me some time to play with the house and make a new pad for the window seat in the living room.    I decided that the teal material just wasn't going to work so I rummaged thru my material box and found some beautiful dark gold silk.  The pad is covered, so now I think I may attempt some 'tufting' and make several gold, pink, teal and white pillows (to pull all of the colors from the wallpaper).

With the work bench more-or-less cleared, I will begin the heavy duty renovations on the colonial farmhouse that is next on my list.  I have been painting windows, porch posts and railings here and there but now I can actually start on the house itself.  I decided that the 2nd and 3rd floors were not a very sturdy plywood, so I purchased some nice birch plywood and will be working on making the grooves for hardwood floors.  I can't (or don't want to) remove the base floor piece, so the kitchen will get tile and the living room will either get a flooring sheet or carpet.

I just received another rehab house which wasn't supposed to arrive until October or November....but since it is here I just might decide to do it and the farmhouse in tandem.  I will post pics of it as soon as I have a chance to get a bit more acquainted with the new process!

 

[havanaholly]

I had to go to the dentist early this AM (I gag easily, so don't eat breakfast until after dental work), so after breakfast since we were in downtown Pensacola anyway we hit the antique mall" and there was a pre-Greenleaf Tennyson, NIB!  Why  is it till sitting there?  Because as I studied the picture on the box I realized that this is the same Tennyson as the last rehab house I have sitting patiently in the workshop, waiting its turn down to the same color scheme as on the box! (which neither it nor I care for!).  I hope to get out to the shop tomorrow to begin painting the farmyard and work on the rabbit hutch and start cutting out pieces for the chicken coop.

[blueirishmoon]

So, did you buy it, Holly? How much were they asking for it?

[miniaddicted]

Very cool exterior!

[havanaholly]

So, did you buy it, Holly? How much were they asking for it?

Since 1) I already have one to rehab and 2) DH reminded me of the stack still NIB, I left it where it was.  I will PM you their price.

[Jo Med]

Thank you for the lovely welcome back.

Selkie, I'll post some holiday snaps in the non mini related thread. 

[Deb]

I finished the frames for the 6 bay windows yesterday and have all the interior ones painted and installed.  The exterior ones are numbered and tucked away into individual envelopes to be installed after I stucco the exterior.  I should be able to do the big window and the two door frames today.  I'm making much better time on this house than I thought I would!   And I'm already starting to think about which house I want to build next.  <cheesy grin and happy toe wiggling>  Maybe the McKinley.  Or the Vineyard Cottage.  

[Merry]

hello, please excuse me for intruding, but I am receiving an email every time some posts on this thread.  I left the forum years ago.  I have sent an email asking admin to remove my email address, but I continue to receive them.  I have changed my email preferences to once a week, and I continue to receive them each time one is posted.  Help!!

[Deb]

hello, please excuse me for intruding, but I am receiving an email every time some posts on this thread.  I left the forum years ago.  I have sent an email asking admin to remove my email address, but I continue to receive them.  I have changed my email preferences to once a week, and I continue to receive them each time one is posted.  Help!!

Hi Merry!  I turned off the notifications for your account so that should resolve it for you. :-)  

[nuttiwebgal]

I feel like such a noob...lol...today I untaped the box of Chantilly trims..which I had primed...but when I shut and taped the box for the imminent move I must have said something to myself like...no need to bag and tag this stuff...you will figure it out later....well later is here...HAHA... Im sure it will be fine but Im telling you...its like starting out as a new builder after such a long hiatus from building with decorating....I put my interior trims on...but now hate the wallpaper...so later I will be ripping out the bedroom like I did the kitchen and CAREFULLY do a quick stucco effect in both rooms....the ceilings have textured white paper and we sure would like it to stay that way....lol....since the house is now destined to be for 2 sisters...have to do away with the blue wallpaper....whoever installed it must have been blind....ooooo and work around the stairs because although the rails turned out not to be glued in the staircase most certainly is! SIGH....who put this thing together????                      the new pink color is definitely working for me and all the window trims are now black but do NOT like that the cross sections in the windows are black as well...sigh....will keep thinking on that as I buff the porch and apply another coat of poly....all signs of my gingerbread house are now gone....but its a happier house sitting there and I am a happier builder.... all the houses I have built...yet I keep very few...I enjoy giving them away and building with specific person(s) in mind

     Albie's doors are on their way....YEA! painting the inside a nice clean white helped me feel like progress was made but not really...lol....

and to top all of this....my daughter reminds me that the 25th is her niece's birthday...do I think I could finish putting her Orchid together for her because she sooo  busy(school.soccer.orchestra,baby sister and another on the way) she may not get back over to do anymore....SUUUUURE...whats one more thing? right?    I only have to finish our stone work...find out what color she would like the outside...or just paint it all white inside and out and let her paint it as she wishes...which Im pretty sure is what I will do...I once built an Orchid from start to finish in 7 days...I got this...since we have main part done already.....

pretty typical nutti day really!

[Merry]

Deb, please keep trying.  I continue to receive emails.

[Deb]

Deb, please keep trying.  I continue to receive emails.

Merry, before I do anything else, look at the top of this page on the right side and you'll see a blue box that says either "follow this" or  something like "stop following".   Usually if you're getting notification messages from a thread it's because you're already following it and if you click "stop following", it'll stop the notifications.  Try that and if it doesn't work, send me a PM and we'll go from there.

 

I finished the last of the window and door frames yesterday.  Frankie helped.  <chuckling>  I don't mind a few teeth marks on the wood but when it came time to fill in a doorway space to make the screen door fit, he took off at the first sound of the Trio cranking up.  Reliable help is so hard to find these days.  LOL!  Anyway, that's all done and ready to paint.  I'm not sure if I'll get in the studio today or not.  Bruce is on vacation this week and we planned a "go to town" day but haven't picked which day it will be yet.  Top of the list is a trip to Michael's to replenish my basswood stash and probably a stop into JoAnn's to see if they have any minis left.   Since we'll be going past Harbor Freight, I'm sure we'll stop in there because the car seems to have a mind of its own when it sees the HF sign.  It's the strangest thing.......it just automatically turns into their parking lot of its own free will.  <cackle>  I think we'll have lunch either at a great little mom/pop diner or at the most awesome mexican food restaurant.  Either one will do since they both have cloth napkins and people bring the food to your table.  Maricopa has a million fast food places and some bar-n-grill options but we enjoy being able to have a conversation over our meal so we always plan for lunch when we go to Casa Grande.  I *love* that town!   Oooops, I got rambling off track again.  Minis. I was talking about minis.  LOL!  So yeah, even if I don't get into the studio today, there will be shopping for minis and/or tools so either way, it's gonna be a great day!!!! 

[Anna]

LOL Deb, I bet Frankie took off like a greased lightning when the Trio reved up ;) ypu know, just because....

Been fiddling with the exterior trim parts for the lighthouse, had them gessoed earlier and put away so now the are painted white all over. Fiddly work but it makes such a dfference when one adds those to the exterior. Now, if I could only locate the itty bitty box I have the door handles for the lighthouse new door, I know I put it away in a safe place, and it is indeed a very safe place as so far it has eluded me.

Hmm, come to think of it, miht be at the very same place I have my bottle of water???

 

hugs

[havanaholly]

The weather cooperated just long enough for me to glue up the other side of the rabbit hutch and lay the first color down on the foundation board.  Today is not so hot, but overcast all day and frequent showers of rain.

[grazhina]

I've got the 3 walls and base cut out for my half scale cottage. The 3 little windows are partly made. I'm going to start on the door next. It's annoying me that I have to have the windows and door finished before I start on actual "construction". I'll never ge able to get my fingers in there if I don't get them in place first.                                 

I also need to decide on door and window frame colors now, another hard choice. I'm going to look at old paintings and illustrations of similar cottages to see what zings me. The easiest thing would be to paint the door and window frames in "wood".  That's starting to sound like a good idea.

At least I've decided on what the steps to the cellar will be like - I think.

[havanaholly]

Grazhe, I'm thinking of painting my chicken coop and rabbit hutch wood, rather than staining, since stain for an outdoor building for animals wouldn't look right to me.  Too new.

[KathieB]

Grazhe, I'm thinking of painting my chicken coop and rabbit hutch wood, rather than staining, since stain for an outdoor building for animals wouldn't look right to me.  Too new.

This would be a good place to use India ink in alcohol as an aging agent. It tones down the stain with a lovely silvery gray overcast.

[CutnStuf]

Got the flooring done on the 1st level of the Orchid. Found a nice printable "tile" floor for the kitchen and used wood strips (skinny popsticks) for the livingroom. Used red mahogany minwax and got the 1st coat of poly down. Busy doctor day tomorrow. Got to meet with the spind specialist to go over the results of my MRI, (yep, screwed up another disk in my lumbar). Then off to the dentist to get my repaired upper back. Don't know that I'll feel up to working on the DH after that. Might just come home and take a nap!!

[nuttiwebgal]

hey Art one good thing about DH...they wait on you...so feel better soon!

another productive day for the nutti....found the tiles I lost yesterday...looked all over for them and today...I found them in the first place I looked yesterday...under Albie....sigh. since I plan on using them on it I put them beside the box of furniture in the milk crate which makes up Albie's rolly cart....difference today the house was turned back around so I could put the floor in and there they were....sigh...so after I installed my new floor I played with the tiles and the table top I found and I do like what I came up with...will glue after kid gives final ok...also took the time to make the working light fixture DH had made for the kitchen into a non working light and rehung it...looks soooo much better

The Chantilly got another coat of pink on the outside and now has a lovely textured kitchen...in the same pink...painted the bays....repainted the black window trim that I blotched pink on while looking for something with a wet paintbrush in my hand...(bang my head emoticon)lol

decided that 2 houses strewn about was enough and that the Orchid will have to wait till I am making furniture for the Chantilly...so it will be a Christmas thing...I just do not have it in me to stop on the Chantilly while Im in the groove....tomorrow I want to texture and paint the other room I stripped with purple....then the kitchen trims will be that purple and the purple room will have pink...have to do this because I broke the upper window trim while removing it without benefit of the hair dryer sitting right beside me to use...yup

all in all I had a good productive day and looking forward to my order form HBS friday with Albie's doors and some furniture kits for the last 1/144th scale house I built...I am giving it to Catriona for the MHM....she got all teary and said mom I wont be able to let anyone play with the house...NOPE gonna put a back on it....already decided...unless she has a daughter and I will fill it with Greenleaf kits and she can put the delicate things away....