Pound Cake Exterior: A Happy Ending...

As this week draws to an end so too does the exterior of Pound Cake! I'll pick up where we left off last week and take you through the process...

You'll remember that my intricate stencil idea didn't work out so well so plan B was to cut various "fondant" shapes with the Cricut. I used Kraft cardstock and then laminated two layers together to increase the thickness. I also made scalloped trim in the same way to add a little extra detail where the black transitioned into the white "cake" layer.

Here is the first side applied in a random pattern. The cardstock is very white and the paint is a warmer white so the detail is easy to pick up. Each section was painted in the warmer white later to leave a raised textured effect like fondant.

Plain white white cardstock.

Painted with warm white.

On the front area I left room so as not to interfere with the porch roof.

Once the "fondant" was done I could get the wiring sorted. I was able to lead all of the wiring for the lights (thus far) to one point of exit, creating a hub for the power strip. Any future additional lights will have to be carefully camouflaged and lead here. Luckily, I still have lots of space and a transformer large enough to handle many more bulbs!

This was an exciting moment! I finally got to see all of the lights lit together on the transformer instead of the 9 volt battery! I am super happy with the amount of light given off by these 16 fixtures and bulbs!

Now it was time to address the roof. Remember how I had modified the fit so that I could add and remove the roof as needed while I installed the second floor walls? Well, that left me with some unsightly gaps that I had to address. It seemed that the easiest and cleanest method was to add more of the scalloped cardstock.

Gap

Scalloped cardstock cut to fit and painted.

Gaps gone and you barely notice the scallop edge.
But if you do, it looks intentional.

Switching to the porch entry floor... I painted coffee stirrer sticks and laid them in alternating black and white to create stripes.

And then I painted the roof's metallic finish on in several coats. It is
Jacquard Lumiere Metallic Acrylic Paint in Pewter. It looks like a lead roof so it's really neat! Also, I left this photo uncropped so that you could get a look at my background hoard. I am embarrassed to say that I have not done a deep reorganization of my bins and shelves since I finished the New Orleans last summer!!! I may take a short break before I start on the interior of the bakery just to hit the reset button.

Next in line was the front porch. I continued with the black storefront theme and added a couple small ceiling lights. The wire will have to be run to the back in some inconspicuous manner.

For the storefront sign I once again harnessed the power of the Cricut. Using the same font as the window vinyl, I cut and laminated three layers of kraft cardstock and installed that onto the kit's sign board.

The dormer gingerbread has been added here, too.

Gratuitous lighted shot...

Opposite angle.

There will be touch ups, and I am leaving space for more inspiration to lead to more detail, but Pound Cake's exterior has indeed reached a happy ending!

And last, I want to take a moment to truly thank each of you for being here. Each of you who come by to share a little of this amazing and heart filling passion. And to those who have uplifting words and leave thoughtful comments that lift my heart and encourage me to reach for new challenges. And for those of you who don't have words or time or even a free hand to type them but send good thoughts instead. Thank You All So Much! For without you, the joy for me in this passion would be hollow. I am so happy and grateful to be part of this special community of fellow mini enthusiasts who inspire and encourage one another! Each of us adds our own unique flavor and we are so blessed to have connected with one another!

xo xo,
Jodi

Have My Cake And Eat It Too!

In keeping with my flighty nature (when it comes to miniatures), I grew bored/dissatisfied with the SOS shop kit. After I had made a counter unit and painted the exterior front wall, I moved all of it's parts and pieces to the top of the New Orleans where it will likely sit until it inspires me again. No telling how long that will be. Good thing there won't be any company coming over for a while!

Why switch, you ask? Because once again, ideas solidified and I became excited for the next steps on Brimble's bakery... the roof and exterior.
The roof is really pretty boring, so rather than expanded explanations, I'll just show the progression via photos and captions...

Fill, Sand, Gesso, Sand...

Cut cereal box covering for wires...

Add trims and gesso...

Dowels to bridge the apex gaps in the dormers...

Of course the cereal box fits - it was Lucky Charms!

In Miniatures, you can turn a wooden roof into a
metal one with just a few pieces of trim!
It's magic!

No shingles - yippee!!!

Channel molding to hide and direct wires...

Base color for metal roof...
The metallic paint will come later...

Also notice that body trims are being added to frame exterior elements...

And just in time - The Cake part, because, well, I really love cake!!!
Some of you may remember that I wanted to try to make the exterior of Pound Cake look similar to a layer cake...

So using the Design Space software for my Cricut, I made lattice, stripes and floral stencil. These were cut from paper products, of course, rather than fondant!

Lattice, stripes and stencil created in Design Space.

Here you can see that I laminated three layers of Kraft card to thicken up the lattice.

And here I am adding hundreds of tiny half pearls, one at each intersection. There were 112 of them used for the bottom lattice alone...

And then, along with trims, they were added onto the bakery...

And then the stripes...

And more lattice and trims above that...

Great progress, right? Until I got to the flower fondant layer...
This was proving to be a total trial and error adventure. I had hoped to be able to share the finished exterior in this post, but alas, the work continues...

I had the following ideas about how to achieve a fondant/frosting kind of texture:

1. Cut floral shapes with the Cricut and add embellishments to supplement.
2. Create a stencil with the Cricut and apply spackle like frosting over it.
3. Use a Tim Holtz stencil as above with spackle, then paint and embellish.

My first attempt at cutting an intricate floral stencil was a disaster. For those of you with a Cricut, I used Cricut Kraft paper with the Kraft setting, fine point blade with extra pressure. It did not cut all the way through on the first pass, and the second pass only tore sections. So disappointing. Back to the drawing board...

My next experiment is going to be with larger flower shapes which I plan to apply in a random pattern on the wall, paint and then embellish. If my cuts don't go well again, I'll try the stencil/spackle idea, though I fear that will be majorly messy!

To fill my non mini time during our mandated seclusion, I have also been baking (muffins not cake... yet!), cooking a whole lot more than I'd like (but not as much as Russ likes), finally getting my money's worth out of Audible, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, and learning that at 51 years old, yes 51, you can absolutely love playing video games. It turns out, surprisingly, that I'm a pretty good pirate and warrior! :O)

Finding silver linings is something I'm truly good at. I hope you are too, that you are staying safe and healthy, that you have all you need and are not afraid to ask if you don't. There is so much kindness out there and we all get to take turns giving and receiving it.

God bless all of us!

xo xo,
Jodi

The Freedom To Choose!

It’s been two weeks since my last post and you’d think I’d have made a ton of progress on the bakery to share with you. Especially,  since time has practically stopped! But alas, there is little here to show on the bakery for my time...

I did manage to get the ceiling papered, stucco'd and painted, the ceiling decorations attached and the lights installed. And I did attach the roof, fill gaps, install trim and touch up paint. Hey - I guess when I type it all out, it sounds like a lot, huh?

With what I'm about to share now, I know I might risk losing your confidence that I’ll ever finish a project. In my defense, I’ll remind you that after abandoning the New Orleans for a year and a half, only the landscaping remains to be finished. It took a while for inspiration to take hold again, but eventually, thankfully, it did.

I must also confess that it has been a little over a year since I ceased progress on the Storybook Cottage. It really is a shame that I can’t muster the inspiration to finish it, because I love it so much and it is ever so close! Only the bedroom and living room furniture and decor to go!

But working in the monochromatic bakery was beginning to become mundane. And there was nothing to keep me occupied while glue and paint were drying! There is still so much to do before I get to the fun parts - all of it more black and white and gray. It is fun to think of what I might do on the exterior, but...

With all of the worries in and for the world lately, I needed something more colorful to lift my spirits. I looked at my stash and thought "If the world might really end soon, I just have to see one more mini project come alive!" ;O)

And I know that there is not one miniaturist who is willing to die until every one of our mini dreams is realized. And God forbid we go with any unassembled kits remaining in our stash!

So I pulled down the Street Of Shops Two Window Shop kit.

I bought the whole SOS set back in 2013, and some of you may remember that I used the Bay Window Shop to house  Starbucks. You won't be surprised to know that it's not finished. I had plans to brick the exterior of all of the SOS shops and was waiting until they were all finished to do so. It's funny how my plans have changed over the years, and what used to be exciting plans for a wine shop has totally lost my interest. Here's how the poor Starbucks sits now, forever waiting to be completed. Look at all that dust!

And while I had no clear idea what I wanted the two window shop to be now, I  went through the wallpaper drawer, selected a piece of flooring and began to take measurements and sketch ideas on the instructions.

I found some lights and power in the stash...

And began to make some built in shelving with the Cricut...

And found a direction to go in...

Drawer Fronts with Dresden Embellishments and
Sparkly Drawer Pulls

 

Cut, installed and waxed the wood flooring...

Mirrored these cabinets and installed some lights...

And now, with no clearer idea what this shop will become, I'll start on trims. While glue and paint are drying, I'll switch back to the bakery. Or the New Orleans landscaping. Or the Storybook Cottage's furniture. Or start another new project... It's so nice to have choices, and the freedom to choose between them!

I pray that all of you are well, have all that you need, and that you have things to keep you happy, dreaming, and looking forward in spite of all that is out of control around us. God Bless, and keep on keepin' on!

xo xo,
Jodi