One Wall At A Time...

This week's mini time was focused on the second wall, referred to by that title because it is the second wall that the instructions have you attach to the foundation. It was a little challenging due to the time and care it took to finish and assemble the front door, a window and a set of French doors.

Second wall with front door and second story French doors.

So it's not confusing, let's talk about the kit's walls and where they'll go. The first wall in the instructions is the wall that I transformed into the stairwell tower. The third wall houses Alice's pop out bed cubby. These plus the second wall seemed like the "easy" walls. The final or fourth wall consists of Goldie's bed cubby (yet to be built) and the bay windows. It gets built using the pre-assembled bay windows, slip-in wall sections and single molding pieces that need to be glued together with the slots in opposite directions. That is so they can attach to the second and third walls using slots in the molding. The instructions give cut length measurements that are no longer relevant because I reduced the height of the foundation to 7/8". I'll be doing lots of math and triple checking my calculations. I may end the week with less hair than I started with! 

Now back to the "easy" second wall. At Goldie and Alice's request, I added many Dresden embellishments to give the doors a frilly, carved appearance. Thank goodness I had Wayne's dexterous raccoon fingers at my disposal - they really helped when my big hands proved too big for the job!

I used the glaze pens again to enhance the kit's acetate windows with stained glass effects. I am getting a little better with practice, and I really love the raised effect you get by applying many tiny polka dots.

They look very pretty from the inside, too.

With that part done, it was time to work on the interior of the wall. I thought it would be best to continue with the Tudor timber look and leave the colorful details for the furnishings and accessories. I clad the walls in timbers, adding door and window trims as I went. The doors and window framing were spruced up with "carvings" thanks again to Wayne. He likes to keep late hours, so when I woke and saw the work he'd done, I felt a bit like the Shoemaker must have felt when he saw that his work had been done by Elves!

Once the timbers got painted with a coat of khaki, I applied Paperclay in between the timbers as I did with the other walls. I got a bit more cracking this time as it dried. It must be more susceptible with deeper, wetter applications. It was actually fun and easy to repair. The deep cracks got a surface application of more Paperclay and the shallow cracks were smoothed over easily by rubbing them with a wet finger.

I cleaned up timbers that had a bit too much Paperclay build up on them by sanding and scraping it off. Then I applied a coat of diluted khaki paint over the timbers again. I liked the aged and worn look so I fought the instinct to make them look new. I painted the "stucco" in light washes of khaki mixed with white, then treated the corners and edges to some aging with a stronger khaki wash.

I'd like to age the doors and give them some definition with washes, but I am still working on a technique that yields the results I see in my mind's eye. What I've done so far isn't it yet, but I'll keep working at it...

Now for a little Alice and Goldie news... The girls are no longer in their skivvies! I found them each a dress and a set of long underwear that should suffice until their pretty dresses arrive from Spain - hopefully soon! They each got a pair of shoes, too, though I can't swear they'll keep them on long - they seem to have gone a bit feral lately!

It doesn't feel like I accomplished a lot this week, but I know it'll feel that way once all the walls go up. First, I have to timber and stucco the inside of the first wall. Then, I'll tackle that fourth wall - no more procrastinating! I have my work cut out for me, but I'll take it one nibble at a time.

xo xo,

Jodi