Still Waiting...

A couple of weeks ago I was told that the "take over your whole life" part of my job was likely starting a week early. Now the news is that it might be another week. It sure is difficult to make plans when you're in "wait mode". So, what better to do than a series of little projects on the HBS Creatin' Contest build!

It seems to me that little pigs would have lots of indoor activities at their disposal. You never know when a bad wolf might be lurking outside. So, having books to read and games to play would be essential!

I have a few of those cute but not always in scale cabinets that Michael's sells. They are always good for quick projects, like a bookshelf. Here is what I started with.

About 30 to 45 seconds in the microwave will usually loosen the glue up enough that you can pull parts off. TWO IMPORTANT CAUTIONS:

1. PULL OUT ALL METAL DOOR PINS BEFORE YOU ZAP IT! THERE ARE USUALLY TWO FOR EACH DOOR - TOP AND BOTTOM.
2. HANDLE WITH A POT HOLDER WHEN PULLING OUT OF THE MICROWAVE AND AS YOU ARE PULLING OFF THE PIECES! THEY ARE ~H~O~T~!!!

These are the parts I pulled off to use in another project someday...

These are the parts I will use. I had to add my own bottom shelf piece from my scrap bin because the original bottom was an inside fit and did not want to come off without splitting. This sometimes happens. Sometimes you will even have to make a small repair to splintered off pieces after you pull the doors off. A little wood glue and some sanding does the trick.

I taped off the top of the shelf and painted the body in the same Georgia Clay that I've used for much of the furniture in this build, then stained the top and shelves in the same Chrysnbon Fruitwood stain that I seem to have oodles of packages of. After it dried, I put two coats of ultra matte sealer on and let that dry thoroughly.

Now, to fill the shelves... I ordered a sheet of the vintage cut & glue game boxes from HBS. It was my first time using them, and they are really cute! Patience while cutting them out, and then letting the glue dry thoroughly before handling them is the trick. The mini clamps are also a must have. I suppose you could use paper clips in a pinch. I also went over the edges with a sharpie where necessary.

I saw Marilyn's video about a kit she purchased to make loads of books. I decided to give it a shot using my own blocks of wood and my own printed covers. Some of the books were double thick by gluing two pieces together, and some were just a single piece of wood. Once I had them measured and cut for the shelf, I painted the edges with a Folkart paint called Linen.

To make the covers, I just measured how long and high they needed to be as follows:

Front 3/4" + Spine 3/8" + Back 3/4" + a smidge more to fold the front edges under = 2"

Height 7/8"

I converted the measurements to decimals using this handy Fraction to Decimal chart. This meant I needed them to be:

Front .75" + Spine .375" + Back .75" + a smidge more to fold the front edges under = 2.0"

Height .896"

In my drawing program, I made a box for the front, spine and back at the height I needed. Then I grabbed nice book jackets off the interwebs and resized them to fit into the boxes. In some cases I had to cut up the images, regroup and reconfigure them.

Then I printed them out on matte photo paper and gave them a coat of matte Mod Podge.

Once dry, I cut them out and colored the edges and a bit of the inner cover with coordinating sharpies. I used Mod Podge to adhere them to the wood blocks.

Once the shelf was dry and the books and games were completed I could load them up! I even had a special little piggy bank to add to the shelf.

A fun, easy and quick project to fill the time until there is no time. For minis. that is. Now let's see what else I can bang out before the chaos begins!

Back soon, I hope!

Jodi

Furious Finishing!

I've been working as furiously as possible trying to get as many of the mundane tasks done as possible before my attention has to shift to work. This way, I'll have the fun and impactful stuff to look forward to when I can finally get back to mini-ing!

For this project, the set design includes loads of bricks! That's a lot of fiddly and repetitive detail just for a backdrop, but it is all about the details, right! So, I got out the egg cartons and paint to make a ton of bricks (snicker). I recycled a priority mail box to build the chimney and the chimney breast.

I covered the exterior in a layer of mud brown before applying more of the Magic Systems brick stickers. There was a lot of area to cover, so when I applied the mortar I had to work quick! Thankfully, it went very smoothly and I even managed to contain the mess to the brown craft paper I'd lined under the structure!

Just like the inside, I did not care for the flat monotone brick red color of the mortar, so I went at each brick with a warm color palette of acrylic paint. Once I was satisfied that there was enough diversity I gave them an overall ageing wash of watered down burnt umber.

Luckily, I had enough of the egg carton brick left to do the front porch floor. It and the chimney assembly also received the burnt umber wash. I think I'll wait to actually attach the chimney assembly until after I do the roofing. This will save me from having to work out complicated cuts in the speed shingles. These are the diamond shaped ones I was going to use on the Sugarplum roof but decided they were too big for that small house. I think they'll work perfect for the little pigs roof.

I crafted the kitchen faucet out of a couple spigots and a piece of scrap wood. I had the soap holder and bar of soap from the sink kit, so I added those and made the little bar of Lava. That seems like what crafty little pigs might use.

I was able to cross some things off the long list, and I am trying not to think about the fact that by the time I start working on the contest build again I will have less than four months to finish. I have some adorable things in mind, so I am really looking forward to getting back to the fun of it! I hope you all are truly enjoying your builds, as well!

See you again soon!
Jodi

It's Not Easy Being Bad

It wasn't easy growing up bad. He couldn't help it - he was just born that way. No matter how many times he tried to be nice just to fit in, it never felt right. In fact, he was never happier than when he could make the other animals tremble in fear. It was such a rush! He especially liked picking on the three pig brothers. Little squealers - always trying to be nice to him. He couldn't stand it!

Growing up, he'd gotten warning after warning from everyone telling him his behavior would lead to big trouble. He ignored them. How could any trouble come to him? He towered over every other living thing! He could squash them like bugs if he wanted to. He WAS the TROUBLE.

His greatest accomplishment was his ability to fill his enormous lungs with air and blow nearly everything to smithereens. He practiced every day, and soon he could blow down fences, trees and even farm wagons! Any pip squeak who got in his way got blown down hard! Everyone was afraid of him, and he loved it!

Eventually, like all bullies who refuse to change, he did get into trouble. He began blowing down straw and wooden houses in the village. Everyone was terrified! Who would be next? After two of the nicest pigs had their dream homes blown down, the sheriff decided enough was enough! It took eight strong bears to do the job, but they finally put the Big Bad Wolf in jail, No matter how hard he huffed and puffed, those concrete walls and iron bars were never coming down.

What will happen to the Big Bad Wolf? Will he get out of jail? Will he be scared straight? Will he change his ways? Is the village safe? Check back soon to find out...