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Sunday, August 7, 2016

How To Make A 1:12th Scale Rain Chain + Product Review: Fred's Wood Weathering Stuff


As far as blog posts before work get's crazy, this will be my last hoorah! The word is that a 1:00pm conference call tomorrow will kick things off and then the rat race is on!

First up, I wanted to make the little pigs a nice rain barrel for the front porch. I had an unfinished wooden barrel, the pump assembly from the Chrysnbon sink kit and a spigot from a garden hose set.


I wanted it to look something like this:


I'd need to make some modifications to my barrel, like chisling in board lines, making the metal straps prominent and adding some rivet detail. And definitely give it a good old country aged flavor. On my last order from HBS/miniatures.com I saw a new product called Fred's Wood Weathering Stuff. It looked intriguing, so I picked up a bottle to give it a try.

I started with a smaller barrel just to make sure it would go in the distressed direction that I had in mind. The instructions say to keep layering on coats until you achieve the look you want. This is after the first coat:


This is after the second coat:


This is after the third coat:


The directions also say that it will affect different woods in different ways. I found it to be a nice aged and weathered finish, and am excited to use it on other woods and painted surfaces in the future. There is no odor at all - I was kind of expecting it to be vinegar based, but there is no odor at all. It will stain clothing etc., so be careful when you are applying it. Overall, I give it two thumbs up!

I repeated the three coats onto my larger barrel, but took the detailing a step further. I made vertical board marks using a small flat blade screwdriver to chisel them in. Then I used a dark brown to highlight the barrel straps and the grove between the boards. I used the same brown watered down washes to highlight areas where grime might accumulate over the years. Then I added rivets or nail head dots using a metallic bronze glaze. I used the same glaze to tone down the brass spigot. For the pump I added a black plastic "pipe" to reach the bottom of the barrel.


Now for the rain chain... There are a million styles and materials in the real life versions, so this is where you get to let your imagination go wild! I made the one for Encounters using a plain copper chain. You can use the glue bottle tops from Tacky Glue, you can use a variety of beads, you can use saucers - just dig through your stash and you'll find something!

I had a lot of the Farrow tiny plastic tea cups and saucers left over from my failed attempt at still in design mode chandelier prototype for the Shabby Chic Soap Shop. I liked the bell shape and thought they would work nicely for rain chain cups. I grabbed those, some black chain and a screw in eyelet.



I cut the handles off and sanded any uneven plastic leftover from manufacturing.


Then I found a drill bit that was just a touch smaller than the width of the chain links and drilled holes through the bottom of the teacups.


I measured the height from my roof edge to the top of my rain barrel and decided that five cups would work nicely.


To string my cups onto my chain, i looped a piece of piano wire through the last chink and used that to thread on the cups.


Some cups were a tighter fit than others, and I found that forcing them only made my chain break. After the first repair, I figured out that going slow and putting equal pressure on both ends of the chain made the cups slide up the chain nicely. They fit so snugly, I didn't even need to glue them. I spaced them out evenly, and added in a couple decorative larger jump rings at the top and bottom.


To paint the assembly, I needed to rig up a paint booth - one where I could turn the chain 360 degrees to coat all sides. I drilled a hole into the top flap of this Amazon box, then attached the chain with a piece of copper wire threaded through a loop, up through the drill hole, then flattened it out so I could spin the chain as needed to paint.


I coated the entire chain assembly in flat black and let dry. Then I sprayed and overcoating of aged bronze metallic.


Here is a mock up of the assembly - not where it will end up yet because I still have some detailing to do to the barrel. It just gives you an idea of something you can do that's easy, fun and will add another level of detail to your project!


This will be one of the last things marked off my Creatin' Contest To Do list for a few weeks, I'm afraid. But I have so many more fun and interesting things to look forward to! That will keep me motivated to work hard and fast so I can get back to the excitement of creating a mini world!

Wishing all of you the best!
Back soon!

Jodi

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Making A 1:12 Scale Bath Pouf


I'm making lots of accessories for the HBS Creatin' Contest build and one of the items I thought would be fun for each pig to have was his own shower pouf. I have some tulle in a few different colors, so I went in search of a real life tutorial. I found this one, and thus began some trial and error to adapt it to a 1:12 scale, doable project.

Supplies needed:

  • 3 strips of 6" x 1.25" tulle or netting with a small weave for the pouf
  • Scissors
  • Needle
  • Thread
  • 1/4" x 1/4" basswood (or scrap wood of close measure) cut to 1.5" long for the handle
  • Sandpaper
  • 3/32" drill bit and/or pilot hole punch
  • Thin string or hemp rope 
  • Tacky Glue


For The Handle

1. Cut handle wood to 1.5" long. I am doing multiple at a time hoping that the odds will help get me a better result.


2. Using sandpaper or sanding block, round off edges to shape as a handle. Be as basic or as fancy as you like.

3. Drill a hole towards the end of the handle which is large enough for your string or hemp to pass through. Mine were about 1/16" from the end.


4. Paint and/or seal as you like. I experimented with different stains, but ended up liking a Folkart Honeycomb watered down a bit.

5. With your string, tie a hanging cord through the hole. I found that by coating the string in some tacky glue I could get the knot very small and it would not come undone. Cut off excess ends.


6. Set aside.

For The Pouf

1. Cut 3 strips of tulle 6" long x 1.25" wide


2. Fold each strip in half lengthwise. I found that I needed to set something heavy on top because it would not stay folded while I folded the other strips.


3. Stack all three folded pieces on top of one another with the folded edges on the same side. I used a clamp to hold them in place while I worked.


4. Using a matching thread color, run a basting stitch down the center of the entire length of the folded pieces.


5. Cut the open edges to make them straight if necessary.


6. Pull the thread to begin bunching the tulle.


7. Coat the end of the handle in a little Tacky Glue and then place the handle into the center of the bunch.


8. Cinch up the tulle wrapping it around the handle, then wrap the thread around the center of the bunch about three times to secure it to the handle. Tie off the thread and cut excess.


9. Leave to dry a bit before handling too much.


I made about five of them before I got the hang of it. It is a bit fiddly, and maybe one of my mini genius readers could suggest a better method. Please feel free to leave comments!

I am happy with the results and am happy that Bob, Joe and Sam don't have to share a bath pouf!


I am going to keep going with this marathon of little projects and postings until the minute I get pulled away to real work! This deadline thing is kinda working for me!

Enjoy your weekend!

Jodi

Thursday, August 4, 2016

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