Very Little Progress...

I started to wonder why in the heck I wasn't making encouraging progress on the New Orleans build when it dawned on me: I've been busy doing other real life stuff for the past seven weekends! No wonder! And it's not about to get better any time soon. I am heading down to Arizona with my mom tomorrow morning to get the new retirement house all set up. We'll be gone at least two weeks, and when I get home, we have a family Father's Day camp out. Good thing all of this real life stuff is so fun and interesting - it makes the slow progress on mini dreams more bearable!

I got the enlarged stairwell opening cut, then traced out the rooms onto the ceiling so that I could decide where and how many can lights to add.

I laid out some of the ceiling decorations to help decide on the light placement.

I decided not to put any inside the living room ceiling decoration because I will have the fireplaces sconces and a couple of lamps. I did leave myself the option of adding a ceiling fixture later if it looks like the room needs more light. The hall at the back of the room will have two can lights.

The kitchen is going to be a little more modern, so I decided to plan for four can lights and a possible hanging fixture over the sink. I still have a few left from all of the 3D printing and testing I did for Alki Point.

I'll have two in the porch ceiling in addition to a wall fixture by the door.

The lights I have are spotlight LEDs from JS Miniatures. They come in a set of 10 with the lights and eyelets for around $30 including the shipping from the UK. Although the bulbs are not flush with the ceiling, they are a much more economical option that the Novalyte can lights which run about $12 each. 

They don't seem too intrusive, so I think at 1/4 of the price that they'll work out fine.

Once I had all of the 1/8" holes drilled, I had to make the channels for the wiring. The large hole in the center of the floor is the hub where all of the wires will run to the power strip behind the chimney breast. I basically just marked, scored then chipped out the plywood to make the grooves. Hopefully they are all deep enough or it will mean more sanding.

Oh! One quick tip for getting a good non slip grip - put a silpat under the board or saw. It's nice not to have things move on you! This one is dedicated for minis, and I also use it to cover the cookie sheet when I bake polymer clay.

Here is the ceiling after the ceiling paper has been applied.

And the test fits.

Next I dug out a whole mess of stickers, Dresden and findings to try and come up with the ceiling decoration for the living room. I hope in the end it's not too busy and not too plain.

For the dining room, this is all it needs. The crown starts where the pencil lines are, and because it is behind the kitchen and the arched doorway you will hardly see it at all. I'm going to add a fancy chandelier from the center above the dining room table.

I debated adding the faux tin ceiling in the kitchen, but in the end decided to add it and paint it sea foam. The rest of the kitchen will be white, including the tile, so it was a chance to add some texture and a little color.

Here's the living room ceiling after two coats of ceiling paint. I also added trim to the columns, but haven't gotten to paint them yet.

I hope all of you have a ~W~O~N~D~E~R~F~U~L~ Memorial Day Weekend! I'll post anything interesting and/or mini related while I'm basking in the Arizona sunshine. A Trip to Auntie Em's, perhaps? I hope so!

Jodi