Ready To Work - Or Is It Play?

Now that I have sufficiently gotten enough of my To Do List Ta Done, I can go do what I want, which is minis, and do them relatively guilt free. The work room is ready, so now all I need is to make some decisions.

I've had plenty of unfocused ideas swimming around in my head, but still don't have the certainty to go forward with confidence in my choices. So, the best thing to do is just to start doing something and see where it leads me.

Here is what I started working with - a mess of random ideas! Lets just see if a plan begins to form...




I began by choosing the wall coverings. They are wedding themed scrapbook paper that I picked up at Joanne's on my way back from Moab. The book was half price and there were lots of mini scaled patterns, so I'll have lots more choices for future builds too.

I chose a striped pattern as a wainscoting , then a more modern type pattern for the main walls and then a swirly floral type for the upper wall sections. They are all white with silver grey accents, which I wanted so that the patterns don't take over the focus of the shop.





I have a pretty fancy ceiling paper for the main interior roof section, but needed to paint what will be the outside soffits before I can apply the paper. Once I apply, I'll paint a coordinating white so that it is more of a textural element than an eye catcher.





While the paper and paint were drying, I began to think about the type of flooring the shop should have. Since I am going for a little shabby, I thought a whitewashed wide plank wood flooring might be nice. I had about 10 brand new pieces of 1/2"x1/16" boards, but that wasn't going to be enough. I had more of different material, but everything I had was 1/8" thick and that seemed too chunky.

I found a solution: I had more 1/2"x1/16" planking left over from Alki Point, but it had already been stained with the vinegar mixture. No problem. A little sanding and a good coat of white wash and the floor will look just like any old building where different wood floor species was added through the years.

I started by bundling up and taping together 6 pieces at a time. This makes for quick cutting work on large jobs. I calculated that I could get three 4-1/2" pieces from each board with just a little spacing material left over for good measure.

I remember the days when I would have to take my little miter box and hand saw to cut each piece. It is amazing that anything I cut with it ever ended up cut correctly, and if I needed multiples of the same measurement - forget consistency. I am so grateful to have my little chop saw from Harbor freight, It has completely changed my cutting skill to the point where I am not intimidated any longer to take on a project with any kind of cutting involved. And talk about perfect miters! If you don't have one already, do yourself a huge favor and go pick one up. For a tool under $30 with the coupon, you can't go wrong.

I painted both sides of the kit floor to minimize any warping. Just in case any of the cracks would show through the wood floor.








After all of the bundles were cut, I just began laying them in a staggered and random pattern. I applied them to the kit floor with ES6000. I found that I could apply the adhesive using an old paint brush a single row at a time. Then I would "butter" each piece of the wood floor before sticking it down. None of the pieces warped in any way, and I could press them into position very easily. If any excess glue oozed out, it dried quickly and pulling it off was like picking a booger. No glue residue left behind.

The next step was to sand the floor so that it ended up with an even surface. It was a pretty nice day outside, so I just sat on the back patio and sanded away - no mess to clean up inside the house.

In between cutting, gluing and sanding, I kept applying little coats of white spray paint to the windows and doors in the garage. Between the spray paint and ES6000 fumes I must be down a few brain cells!

I needed to add a little depth to the plain basswood flooring before adding the whitewash, I just watered down a little barnwood and painted a bit on.

Now for the whitewash. I'll just thin down some warm white and apply until I get the look I'm after.

It's getting there...

I think that's about all for the day - I am still recovering from the bronchitis and all of the work I've done around the house for the last week. I think I need to eat pizza and fall asleep in front of the TV.

More tomorrow, see you then...

A fresh start in the work room!

The Sugarplum was started in earnest a few weeks ago, and then LIFE happened. After the four day trip with my mom I came home with bronchitis. I'd let you know in my last post that while I was gone my wonderful husband cleared out my office/work shop (living and dining rooms) and tore out the carpeting in preparation for laminate floors. It was great news for a messy miniaturist with two little puppies and a rapidly shedding beagle. Not so great news because I was really sick for another four days before I could help get the rooms back together again...

New color over old color

When finally I could muster any strength, I decided since the rooms were empty it was a great time to re-paint the dining room. I have never liked the color I ended up with a few years back (never trust a new paint mixer at Home Depot), a pale and cold blue which was supposed to be a warm blue/green, so it was the opportunity I needed for a do over. I got the perfect shade of Valspar called Steely Blue, and the paint itself was thick and really easy to work with. I love it! It will be my go to brand from now on! I primed first because I was going from satin to flat, and one coat covered the primer amazingly. I did three coats though, because I love the durability and depth of color that way.

Yellow ceiling and coral trim.

While I was at it, I got rid of the pale yellow ceiling and the coral moldings (what was I thinking), opting instead for white. Once the ceiling was painted and the coral edited out, I decided that the crown molding, chair rail, baseboards and bead board really needed a freshening up as well. Russ painted the second ceiling coat and the crown molding because heights give me the willies. Thanks honey!

Finished!

Raised the light.

Now the room is bright and clean! The hutch and buffet, which were given to me by my grandma, have found a home in other areas in the house. This means that I can line up all of the drawer units and other storage items along one wall, giving me much more room to move around in the space. No more bruised hips and stubbed toes? I doubt it - when I am focused on minis I hardly remember that my body is there! But having more room to slide from work station to work station on my table in my wheeled office chair will be liberating!

Why does it still look messy? Need to work on that.

Need to add a shelf for finished projects, maybe?

Here's the space before the work table comes in.

Hopefully, by the time I call it a night I'll have the work table back in here and ready for me to play. Right now though, I need something to eat and to let my aching muscles relax a bit.

The rest of the house is in shambles, so I have to spend the next two days hitting the reset on everything. Then work Fri-Sat and hike with the hubs and puppies Sunday. I have high hopes that next week I will be able to carve out some time again on the Sugarplum. Strike that - NEXT WEEK I WILL MAKE TIME FOR MINIS A PRIORITY AND MAKE SOME PROGRESS ON THE SUGARPLUM!!!

Here's a shot of Gertie enjoying a cup of coffee in the newly cleaned and dusted Starbucks. She likes to watch the progress on everything, and when she's finished she just strolls on over to Alki Point for the night.

TTYS :O) Hopefully with some exciting progress!

Here we go again...

Hello mini friends! I just got back from a lovely little get away with my 66 year old but young at heart mom. Let me just tell you that on her 60th birthday we took her to a fun piano bar. She sang along with the pianist when he did a Snoop Dogg hip hop song. Yeah... You get the picture...

Anyway, nothing too crazy happened. We mostly drove through beautiful Oregon - down the middle, over to the breathtaking coast, then to the eastern side chasing the sunshine. It was fun, we saw some incredible landscapes, and didn't do too bad at Indian Head casino! ;0)

I started getting a sore throat on the last day, and really wanted to get home to resume working on the little soap shop.. We got home late evening, and I walked into a disaster...

Here we go again...

I know I really need to be grateful to my wonderful husband for putting in new floors for me. And I really, really am. I've just got the full on chest cold with body aches, so I'm extra whiny. 

Here sits my crafting table, taunting me as I camp out under the blanket, unable to do anything but cough and complain. Boo hoo, poor me.. I just really want to work on my minis!

Maybe by Sunday I'll have new floors, an organized space to work in, and most importantly a new attitude.  😜