Doing Something Fun!

Just for fun in the firebox I decided to go with stone as opposed to brick. I have a partial roll of the Magic Ston sticker stuff, so this was a great opportunity to use it up.

For those of you who have not worked with the Magic Systems products before, here's how they work...

1. Paint the area you are going to cover with what you want to be your grout color. Let dry.

2. Cut out enough length of the sticker to fit the area. I like to remove the stone or brick stickers before I apply them to the surface - it is much easier. Affix your sticker to the area, making sure to firmly press down all of the lines.

3. Mix your mortar with enough water to achieve an oatmeal type consistency. If it's too dry add more water in tiny increments. If it's too wet you're screwed........  nope, just kidding. Just add a little more mortar mix a bit at a time until it thickens.

***Side note - the Magic Systems kits come with an assortment of colored powdered mortar mix. It is also sold separately. Don't get tricked into spending a bunch of money on this stuff. Regular powdered sanded or un-sanded grout mix from the hardware store is exactly what this stuff is. It is a fraction of the cost of the stuff sold for miniatures. One box should last you a lifetime of mini projects. Buy a light color - you can always add acrylic paint to the mix to achieve the color you want. Want a rougher surface - add some sand.***

4. Using a rough paintbrush, dab out a fairly thin layer to cover all of the stickered area.

5. Gently peel back the sticker paper and see the pattern left behind. You can gently smooth rough edges or pat down for a smoother look,

6. Let dry. Once dry, you can paint with color washes or sponge on more texture to achieve the look you want. In my case, I wanted my firebox to look as though it had been cleaned and painted for use as decor only. That is why the stones and grout are the same color. If I had been using it for a "real" functioning fireplace the grout and stones would have more contrast.

I like the stuff, it's easy to use and kind of fun. It goes a lot quicker than egg carton stones, but I like doing those as well. In other words, what is six to one is half a dozen to another...

I didn't care for the brownish tone once I'd held it up against the fireplace, so I just coated over it with a lighter grey. I also added some of the ceiling paper scraps to the niche and gave that a couple coats of white. I'm thinking I'd better not attach it to the house just yet. I'll have to fiddle with the roof, and that is not nearly next on the To Do list.

I've also been working on the inside trim - did I mention that there is a lot of fussy work on this project? I certainly need to work on my "fitting molding together nicely" skills. Oh well, in the end it is supposed to be a little shabby. More on the interior transformation later...

One last thing... Do something that makes you really happy today! Sometimes the "have to's" make us forget that life is to be lived and enjoyed!

Product Review: Andi-Mini Fieldstone

In my miniature adventures, I have tried several brands and methods of making brick and stone. I have really enjoyed how they've all turned out, I guess it comes down to personal preference.

Packaging and sticker roll

I have used the Magic Systems kits on 3 projects. It is essentially a roll of brick, block or stone shaped sticker paper that comes on a roll. The idea is that you attach the sticker paper to the surface of your project (walls, floors or whatever), then spread the mortar mix (provided in the kit) over the top of the sticker. Then you carefully peel the sticker away, and viola!

Magic Slat

You must first paint the background of the surface which serves to be the "grout" when finished. The mortar mix comes in several color choices, depending on the kit you purchase. For example, red mortar for bricks, grey for flagstone etc.

Magic Brik

I like it, it is easy and it works great! You can dry brush or color wash it after it is dry to add more depth. Once done, seal it.

Magic Ston

It can be on the pricey side, depending on the scale and budget of your project, so that is a consideration. Speaking of scale, it's perfect for 1/12, and could probably pass in 1/2 scale, as well.












I tried out the stone paper from HBS in this project. It's okay in this setting because there is so much else going on you hardly notice it. I added color wash to varied stones to give it more life. I will probably not order it again, unless I am going for an animated or cartoon looking vibe.

Last spring I finally had occasion to try the egg carton method. I was really surprised at how much I loved the results! It was very easy, and completely customizable!

Basically, you cut or tear pieces from an egg carton, (to-go drink containers and anything that is a recycled formed paper item will work) into the shape you're trying to achieve. . You tacky glue them to the surface you're covering. You can dry brush, use artists chalk, or color wash with acrylic paint. Seal them well with matte sealer and let dry overnight. Next day, grout with real tile grout or your own mini mortar mix. Otterine has a real tutorial. It's a great one!







One product I hadn't tried yet was the Andi-Mini Fieldstone. I saw them in the HBS catalog and thought they could be fun! They are made from high density casting plaster, and are a solid color throughout. Apparently, this is so when you cut them they still look like authentic stone. I ordered a couple bags of the Brown Fieldstone and some Andi-Mini mortar to try out on the barn.






The body of the barn is a darker blue with some grey undertones. The stain I used throughout and will use on the roof shingles is a honey oak color. The grout is grey. The combination of those colors makes me a little nervous, but we can only move forward and see what we see and learn what we learn!





I'll pop back in on this post and update how the progress is going. It will be interesting to see how these stones look when glued over top of milled clapboard siding.

Wish me luck!

UPDATE

When I had rocked up to the front door area, I had to stop and make the deck. Otherwise I'd have no idea what to cover and what to leave. I finished constructing the deck, and finished installing the rocks. A coat of satin varnish was added. The fieldstone comes alive with the varnish! I'm loving them!

All I have left with the fieldstone is to grout, and then install the trim cap. I'll update again when finished.

UPDATE to the UPDATE...

I tackled the grout today! It was a messy job, but I kind of like messy projects!

I decided as I was going to sleep the other night that I should put the grout into a container that would allow me to squirt the grout in between the rocks and there fore control the mess a little better. I found an almost empty honey container, so that's what I employed for the job.

The directions on the mortar jar said that you could add water to get the right consistency. It looked good to me, so I scooped all of the grout from the container into the newly cleaned empty honey jar, then set to work. Don't get me wrong, it


was still messy, but it was definitely a more controlled mess.

I found that once I squeezed the grout in between the rocks, the best tool for getting it squished in was my finger. I'd do an area, the wipe down the rocks with a damp sponge.

The grout went on a pretty dark grey color. I left the grout to dry, and by the time we'd finished dinner it had dried to a very light grey. In fact, I'm not sure if it was the terrible night time lighting in my dining room, but it almost seemed to perfectly match the blue on the clapboard.

At that point I took a kitchen wash cloth and really gave all of the rocks another good wiping down. It seemed like the rocks had dulled a bit from the grout residue.

Still looking dulled, I added another coat of satin varnish to both the rocks and the grout. That seemed to deepen the nice variegated color in the rocks again, and made the grout a deeper grey.

The clean-up was great! The mortar dries like sand, so I just brushed off my work surface and ran the vacuum. The sponge and wash cloth came clean right away, too!

So, all in all I would say I enjoyed the product. I have about half of one bag left, and enough mortar to use them in some future project. Would I spend the $15 again for each bag? Humph. Probably not. I think I could have had really decent results with egg cartons and real life grout (I still have tons left over from tiling my laundry room). Better to spend the money on something I can't do myself. I would rate the project as an intermediate skill level kind of thing.

A Little About Brick Options...

When it comes to brick options, there is a whole world out there beyond the egg carton kind. The ones I am using on the 2016 Creatin' Contest build seem a little less labor intensive than the egg carton version (used for the fireplace), and I am really having fun with the variety! There are great options out there for every budget!

The type of "brick" I saw and wanted to use as flooring is a product by MBS, or Model Builders Supply. I linked to their web site so that you can take a look at all of the wonderful products they have, but many miniature stores and suppliers carry a variety of their products, as well. Mine is called Interlocking Stone, and comes in a brick red color. I purchased mine through an eBay seller. The great thing about this type of brick is that it comes in a 14" x 24" plastic sheet and can be grouted and painted. I will also likely use it on the patio (unless something more fun makes itself known). 

It was so easy to cut it to size - I just scored the line and it snapped off perfectly! Grouting it was also a dream. I just used spackle and my finger to squish it in, let it set up overnight, then wiped away the excess.

It comes with a sheet of detailed instructions and gives great tips on painting and washes. I chose a brown wash and am still working on the layers to get the desired effect.

The next type of brick I wanted to throw into the mix is a Patio Brick Sheet by Houseworks. They are available from Miniatures.com and measure 6-1/8" x 12-1/8". Each little brick is 3/8" square and 3/32" thick. They come attached to a plastic mesh backing to make for faster and more accurate installation. Instead of using them as flooring, I thought they would make a great kitchen tile! I attached them using Tacky Glue and then used the spackle again as the grout. They were pretty easy to cut - just score several times and then use pliers next to the score and snap off. I applied the same wash on them as the floor.

That brings me to the next type of brick. I wanted something quicker for the inside walls. As long as it took to do the fireplace, I was afraid egg carton bricking the walls would take forever! There is a deadline, people! I tried Magic Systems Magic Masonry Brik on a project waaaayyyy back in 2002. I really enjoyed the stuff - and have since used the Slat and Ston versions (I have not misspelled them, they really are spelled that way on the packaging).

It comes with a roll (or two if you buy the larger kit) of stickers and dry grout/mortar mix in brick red or a gray-ish white. You can use the package as a mixing bowl for the dry mortar - just add water until it is akin to frosting. I like to mix mine in a Rubbermaid container because it stays moist for a long time. If it becomes too dry while you store it, no problem! Just add water and it reconstitutes! 

The first step to the process is to paint your background color. This becomes the grout. I chose white because I knew I was adding washes later and this was a perfect starting color. I let my "grout" dry for a couple of days. The next step is to apply the sticker to the wall. I started at the base of the wall and worked my way up overlapping consecutive rows by one brick to maintain the pattern.

One note on the sticker roll. Because of my past experience with the stickers, I have found it less frustrating to remove the "waste" part of the sticker prior to attempting to peel it from the slippery backing and apply it to the walls. Why? Because not every "waste" brick wants to kindly peel away from the "good" sticker. It is difficult to stop in mid-stick to remove the pesky "waste" and it's even more difficult trying to remove them once you have the sticker applied nicely to the wall. Trust me - take a few minutes and remove them first!

For the mortar mix, I grabbed a few tools I thought I might need to do the job. I ended up really only using the large putty knife. You can give texture to the mortar if you wish, but on the small Brik it didn't seem necessary. If I was doing a Slat kit I would have definitely done some texturing. It does spread very much like frosting and is ready to have the sticker pulled away after about 5 minutes. I did mine all at once and it worked out very well. It is messy, though (or is it just me?), so have your trash receptacle handy.

The mortar does lighten up a bit when it is dry. The color might be perfect for those of you who are going for Brick Red, but you can see that it does not match the warm color pallet I'm going for here. No worries! I learned while using the Slat on the Tuscan Villa and the Ston on Encounters that it takes very well to paint and color washes. Tip: If your grout is dark, you don't even really need to be all that careful! My white grout called for a little patience. I put a little squirt of paint into the bottom of several dixie cups and added water. I dipped the tip of the paint brush into the paint/water mixture and by just touching the tip of the brush to the brick it gave me the color variation I was after.

After that it was just a matter of applying the color wash. To keep the same tone, I used the Burnt Umber wash that I had used on the fireplace and the floor. I used it on the kitchen tile brick, too! Overall, I really like the way it turned out - subtle, textural and most important for Little Pigs trying to be protected from the Deadly Hot Air spewed by the lungs of Big Bad Wolves: Brick!

A couple more washes and I can move on to the next phase which involves a rip saw, a scroll saw, faux walls and lighting. Wish me luck!

For today, though, I will just bask in all of the juicy posts I missed the over the last few weeks of work! Yippee!

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

Brick Walls & Experimental Wood Staining

In keeping with the rustic feel of the Duplex Room Box, I decided on a brick wall treatment for the second shop space. I like the quick results I get with the Magic Systems sticker and mortar kits, so that's what I used.

I want the look of painted brick, so my "grout" and bricks will be warm white. Normally, the under color will end up being your "grout" color so most people use gray or white on the walls and get the kit with the red mortar powder. I got the kit with the white mortar so it would be easier to paint over.

It's kind of fun putting the sticker stencil on. I pre-peel the brick waste cut outs from the backing paper. I've learned from experience that if you don't, they sometimes stick to the stencil while you're peeling and it causes moments of panic that just aren't necessary. Better to mindlessly remove them while Netflix is on.

I actually forgot to take photos of peeling off the sticker - bummer because it's a fun and gloppy mess to look at! Then, I forgot to take photos before I painted the bricks. :o/

I end up with some rough edges on my bricks from when I peel the sticker stencil away. I solve most of this by letting the bricks get almost dry, then just gently rubbing my thumb and finger over them. It works great! I did manage to touch a couple of spots before they had set and kind of messed up some bricks. Notice the lower back corner area on the photo below. Oops!

I thought it would be fun to experiment with some different products for the wood floor (I am using the same Houseworks wood floors I used in the first shop). I took a scrap piece and tested the following products:

1. Minwax Stain Marker, Provance
2. Ranger Alcohol Ink, Pebble
3. Ranger Oxide Re-Inker, Vintage Photo
4. Ranger Oxide Re-Inker, Walnut Stain
5. Ranger Distress Stain, Hickory Smoke
6. India Ink & Isopropol Alcohol

I have used the Minwax stain pen a few times and always really like it. The color was a little too dark and too brown for the look I wanted for this room. But it is a good product, it is not water based so it smells, but that also means it doesn't cause your wood to curl.

The alcohol ink was really interesting! I love how it colors the wood and am definitely going to do more experimenting with it. I think it might be great on wood furniture. Getting color without adding layers of paint could be so good!

The re-inkers were interesting, and while I like the rich colors, it may be better suited as a wall finish. It stayed a little greasy feeling, too.

The Distress Stain was my favorite of the bunch. What you are seeing is from just one coat. It really brings out nice highlights in the wood, and the color could complement a number of color schemes in a room.

A close second was the India Ink and alcohol mixture. The model railroad website where I read an article on it said to use 1 to 2 teaspoons per pint of alcohol. I didn't want to experiment with that much, so I added about 1/3 a teaspoon to about 1/3 of a 16 oz bottle of 99% alcohol. The first coat barely did anything but wet the wood floor. So, I added the other 2/3 teaspoon and put on one more coat. I think this could be really interesting. The ink tends to pool a bit together on the wood, which really leaves a nice aged patina. I think with a couple more coats this could be a fantastic way to get gorgeous weathered boards!

So I decided to use the Distress Stain. It dispenses itself through a sponge on the top of the bottle. Think Bingo dobber. It kind of snagged here and there on the wood floor, even though I had it sanded smooth to the touch before starting. I don't see why you couldn't apply with a paintbrush, but I didn't try. I really love the way it came out!

Then I added the baseboards, crown molding, window and door (hinged in the same manner as the first room).

I may add a bit of ageing to the bricks, but for the most part it is done! Now I get to start making stuff to go inside! I have so many kits that I really want to do, so many things that I really want to try! I think that's going to be the focus for the end of 2017 and into 2018.

And maybe still, before Christmas, I can post some photos of Ellie and Jim enjoying the season in the Sweet Christmas Cottage!

Peace and love to each of you!

xo xo,
Jodi