The Dreadful Egg Carton Stones

Last week I was delighted at all of the mini time that had suddenly been dropped in my lap. It seemed like things were progressing quickly, and I could see the project taking shape. You know - the exciting part when your vision becomes tangible!

Then, the next step arrived - the dreaded egg carton stones. I was enthusiastic about doing them! That was until I had worked on them for many, many hours over two days. Then I realized my pace had slowed to a crawl. So much for progress...

The cutting and applying part, though excruciatingly long, went fairly well. I used the pattern from the vacation photo of the Mt. St Helens path wall as a guide. I loved how they looked and thought maybe they just needed a bit of dimension.

Okay - I'll just sponge on a little paint in contrasting but muted colors. That ought to do the trick. Well, it might have, if I could just leave well enough alone. But I can't. 47 years on this planet and still I can't just Leave Well Enough Alone! I swear, they looked fine on Saturday evening.

They didn't become completely disagreeable until I had the Grout Idea on Sunday! You see, I had several different grout options, but each also had a drawback:

1. The powdered grout from the hardware store where you just add water. Drawback - It was already colored, and being a bit of a medium brown just didn't fit with the vision for the project.

2. Spackling compound. Drawback - Too easy!

3. The tub of mosaic tile grout that I purchased from Northwest Art & Frame in 2002 which by now of course was a completely hard and solid rock inside the container. Drawback - Why, none of course! Let's prove a point and bring to life and make new again something completely dead and useless! Frankenstein was not crazy! He was a visionary!

So once option #3 was chosen and committed to I began to attempt to resuscitate the dried up grout. I took a rather large Xaxto implement (to scare) and cut the substance into chunks and out of the container.  Once I had dispatched about half of said grout into a paper towel I added about 1/4 cup of hot water to the container with the remaining (now scolded, freaked out and ready to submit) grout. I let it sit a few moments after which time I further forced it into submission by smashing and stirring it vigorously with a large paint brush handle. After several minutes of such treatment the grout relented, and was just as liquidy smooth as the day it was purchased. Ha! Try to waste my $3.99 will you! To this now yielding batch I added more and more of the paper towel contents until I, once again and satisfied, had a full jar of perfectly good grout. :O)

I mixed in a little complementary color, put it in an applicator bottle and began the grouting process.......... It Was A Mess........... Apparently, little bitty chunks of the resistance party remained, clogging up my applicator bottle, exploding under the pressure and causing a great disaster of a mess. I stopped trying to apply the grout into the cracks, I began to, in frustration, pour great globs into my hand and apply the grout smearing and pushing and hoping some would make it into the places it was supposed to be! It Was Awful! Then it got worse...

Now, with warm wash cloth and sponge in hand, I began to attempt to try to remove the grout off of the rocks only to find that in the motion of scrubbing off the grout that the surface of the Egg Cartons were coming off too! Never Have I Ever Had This Kind Of Holy Terror With Egg Carton Masonry!!!

At this point I went to bed. To distract myself from the grouting horror with which I have never seen the like, and being at home alone (due to hubs and son doing an out of town job), I thought listening to the Dark Waters YouTube Channel would be just the thing to fall asleep to........... I have come to the understanding, after lying awake and afraid to move until 4:00 in the morning, that I am an appalling decision maker, and that apparently, my bad decisions come in groups. Unless you want to truly terrify yourself while home alone with "real" encounter stories, Never, Never Listen To Dark Waters!

The next morning I made the decision (remember? Me + Decisions?) to just coat all of it in a wash. I mixed a little of the grout color into some water and brushed a coat over everything. It does look a little better, but still so one dimensional. Now I have decided not to do Anything! I need to wait a few days and  see if I can figure out what to do next. More sponged on color? Some Mod Podge? Leave it alone? I am just afraid to do anything.

So, in the meantime, I am doing some trim and some detailing. Thank goodness, that is going much better than the Egg Carton Stones!

And, in other Bad Decision News I have resolved to quit being such a big sissy and just enter the darn HBS Creatin' Contest. I finally had a fun idea (my ideas are still okay) for the structure, and it's so fun to share with everyone! Don't think I'll start until this project is done, but I bet that decision will come back to Bite Me too!

Autumn's Pantry

Getting to the end of a project always makes me itchy to get started on a new one. I have been tossing ideas around in my head for a while now, thinking about what kits I have stashed away and what might be calling to me. After the involved and complicated bashing I did on both the New Orleans and the Storybook Cottage kits, I am craving something a lot simpler. Perhaps just a room box type project, and perhaps, since I haven't yet tried the genre, something to display in the fall? That thought was the one that got me remembering all of the fall/harvest/rustic type minis I have stashed away here and there, and soon the idea to combine two of my small kits was born.

In March of 2017 I had the opportunity to visit a miniature shop in Glendale, AZ called Auntie Em's. It was a treasure trove of miniature delights, including lots of new old stock kits. I found Carlson's Old Time Store kit on that trip, and the Victorian Bay Window kit on a subsequent visit. I decided that the store kit wasn't quite large enough on it's own, but if I doubled the floor space and added the bay window kit, it would be the perfect size for a fall farmer's market type of store. The working title is Autumn's Pantry.

Side Note: I've had a lot of questions recently on how I make certain things and what materials and supplies I use. That got me thinking that maybe I have become a little lazy on my blog. It seems I used to share everything in more detail, but somewhere along the way, I began to think I was preaching to the choir and maybe being a little redundant? But in the interest of potentially helping or encouraging any readers to try something new to them, I am going to attempt to be more detailed about what I am doing and how I am doing it. If I inadvertently leave something out, just tell me. I am happy to explain anything, though I am no expert on anything. To me, minis are just about trying new things and having fun!

I combined the two original tongue and groove left/right side pieces to make one double right wall. The original floor and roof piece were combined to create the new floor. The original back piece remained the same width, only needing a 3/16" strip added at the top to match the other wall's height. The left wall would be comprised of the bay window kit and two 1-5/16" side walls to match the width of the right wall. The front wall with the window panels and door would remain the same, so the only piece I'd need to completely invent was the main roof. I decided to keep it really simple, giving it the look of a strip mall store with a clear "glass" top to let in more light. The bay window roof would work nicely with the new facade with no changes necessary. It was a little tricky to cut the mitered pieces, but following the instructions, it came out great with just a little finish sanding. More roof photos are coming later in the post...

The first decisions were colors and finishes. I liked the idea of a Northwest theme using a green/burnt sienna color palette accented with brick. I wanted to go with a rustic/country kind of feel, so all of that gave me a direction to go in. I had a big book of scrapbook paper with a nice variety of patterns to use as both wall covering and flooring. To prep it for installation, I took it out to the garage and sprayed Sealer on both sides, letting it dry several hours in between. To install the flooring, I used Wallpaper Mucilage, applying it to the back of the paper with a 1" paintbrush. I positioned it on the floor, then used a plastic burnishing tool to smooth out any wrinkles and distribute the paste evenly. Any paste that oozes out I quickly wipe up with a baby wipe. Because of the sealer applied to the paper, the paste will just wipe clean away without damage. Don't leave too long or get too wet - the sealer is only so good.
Because I wanted a shiny floor, after the paper was dry, I took the structure back to the garage, taped off the walls with printer paper, then sprayed a few coats of Gloss Sealer, letting each one dry for 15 minutes.

I thought the panels below the windows would look nice with some rustic brick. Since it was such a small area, I decided to use the egg carton method. To determine how many bricks I'd need to make, I laid out each of the panels on the egg carton lid. One lid would be plenty with some left over for later sidewalk or planters.

***At this point, you can paint a grout color as an undercoating where the bricks will be applied.  If you are going to create a very tight brick pattern and will not be using grout but are concerned that the background might show through, painting a grout color will work fine. If you are definitely grouting, painting a grout color is unnecessary, as the grout will cover all of the open grout lines when done properly.

To get the coloring for my bricks, I squirt a blob of each of the colors I want to use onto a paper plate, going from darkest to lightest. I apply my main color as a background to the entire egg carton surface using a brush. The remaining colors will be applied using an old piece of kitchen sponge. I wet the sponge first to open up all of the holes but squeeze all the excess water out. Then I randomly apply each of the colors from darkest to lightest, blending and splotching as I go. If the sponge begins to get sticky, re-wet and squeeze out again. Once you have a result you like, let dry thoroughly. The benefits to this method are that it's fast, and once you cut and apply the brick, you get a nice random pattern.

Base color

After all the colors are sponged on

To get consistently sized bricks, I start with strips. I first cut the egg carton into 1-1/4" width strips the entire length of the carton lid. Then I cut them down so that they are in 2-1/2" lengths. Then each of those lengths are cut into 1/4" widths using a piece of 1/4" basswood strip as a guide. Then each strip is cut into 5/8" bricks. Perfect pieces are put into one cup, scrap pieces into another for later use.

To apply the bricks, I draw a center horizontal line with a dot indicating vertical center. Once the first brick is positioned, I add a line of glue and place the rest of the bricks. Then I measure up from those bricks and draw the next line. If you want perfectly aligned bricks, be precise in your work. If you want a little character, just have fun.

I glue the bricks over the edge and when dry, just trim around the edges. It's much faster than fitting each brick to the end.

TIP: You may find that you go through quite a lot of Xacto blades. I sure do! To safely dispose of them, I fill up an empty prescription bottle with the old blades. Once full, I paste a label that says "Sharps" onto the bottle and place in my regular trash bin. Because the prescription bottle lid is locked, there is no concern about someone inadvertently getting injured. Check your county's regulations, as they may be different.

Once the bricks are dry and trimmed, you must apply varnish. I had unfavorable results once using Mod Podge, so now I only use DuraClear matte varnish. I apply three generous coats, letting each one dry thoroughly in between. I know it's frustrating to wait for things to dry when our mini time is so limited, but it really does pay to be patient. Try to have other tasks lined up so that you are making progress on other things during the necessary drying time.

Now it's time for the grout. I have had my best success using Dap DryDex spackling compound. I just add a bit to a recycled disposable condiment cup. It doesn't take much. I squirt in a tiny bit of complementary color, then mix. The grout wil lighten as it dries, so take that into consideration when mixing up the color. My best application tool is my finger. I squish the grout into the grout lines, wiping away the excess back on to the edge of the grout cup. Once a manageable area is filled, I use a baby wipe to clean up the brick surface. If the surface is extra craggy, you may need to employ the aid of a toothpick to remove excess grout. With a few good coats of sealer, you are safe to wipe several times. If the egg carton surface begins to erode, stop what you are doing and begin the sealing process over again. I learned the hard way so you don't have to!
Let the grout dry thoroughly, then seal again with the varnish.

The backs of my brick panels are visible from inside the store. I decided to make them look like rustic wood panels. I measured out board sections and used a stylus and screwdriver to scribe out seams. Then I painted them burnt sienna and applied a Glazing Medium mixed with burnt umber (4 parts glazing medium to 1 part paint) over the top. Rustic! The exterior tongue and groove got the same paint and glazing effect.

Meanwhile, during the drying time, I installed the wallpaper. It looks Really Green! now, but once the built in shelving goes in it will balance quite nicely.

Back to the roofing... Both roofs will be tarnished copper. This requires several steps. First a coat if raw sienna, then a few coats of Copper Metallic, then an age wash with watered down raw sienna, then some Verdigris patina gilders paste wax. The door will get the same finish. This is where I'm at with the roofs and door, so far.
I plan to leave the front panel and the main roof removable for easy access, so many of my photos will be taken with a helper to hold the wall in place.

Hopefully, when I see you next time, I'll have the roofs finished, the brick panels installed, the built in shelves fabricated and installed, the regular window panes installed and some handy information about how I achieved a stained glass look in the upper windows of the front wall panel. Lots to do and lots of experimentation, but with such a small scale project, it doesn't feel like too much!

Hope all of you are getting to try some new things, too! Whether mini related or otherwise, new things keep us young at heart!

xo xo,
Jodi

Call Me Impulsive...

As I was starting the Fairytale Treehouse's kitchen, I kept thinking about Goldie and her dream to create a porridge cookbook. I knew she would need ample space to experiment as well as 'top of the line' appliances. That is, top of the line for the era that she is living in! Suddenly, I had the whole room envisioned in my mind, and the impulse to start on her oven. Sometimes, the order I do things isn't logical. But inspiration can be fickle, so I've learned to follow it whenever it comes.

Goldie's Oven

Last week I shared a couple photos of how I began - with the first floor's dividing wall. I drew out my dimensions and then began to create the structure pieces for the oven in Design Space. I truly wasn't sure it was going to work on the first try, but the best way for me to learn is to see a thing in three dimensions to understand it. I got really lucky and the first pieces I cut worked just the way I hoped they would!

Linfield kit's first floor dividing wall.

Oven components in Design Space. Purple are the upper portion of the structure, blue the lower portion and black are the base pieces and inner structural pieces that needed to be cut on another sheet of chipboard.

After I cut the parts from chipboard with the Maker, I assembled and painted them. I attached the base to the Linfield kit's dividing wall, then added 1/4" channel molding to finish off the wall's edges.

One of the things I have been looking forward to most with this project is the opportunity to use lots of texture - by whatever materials I have available to me or by using any craft supply I can think of trying. For the dividing wall, I'd have bricks showing through Paperclay stucco. I'd clad the oven in a combination of stone and egg carton bricks. The base floor was another fun chance to try Paperclay, this time in the form of river rock.

For the wall's brick and oven's stone cladding, I used Magic Masonry - it's the sticker roll stuff  that you apply to the surface, spread stucco (or in my case joint compound) on top and then remove the tape. You are effectively removing the grout lines when you remove the tape, leaving behind the masonry. To add a little texture, I let the joint compound set up for a few minutes to become more firm, then I lightly pounced it with a paper towel.

Areas of Magic Brick, and the stove top framed in egg
 carton brick left over from another project.

Magic Stone applied to the top of the oven hood, more
 egg carton bricks applied to various areas.

In between the assorted masonry applications, I was also working on the oven door. I needed to figure out a way to make it functional, and because it is made of chipboard and not wood, I decided to make paper hinges with a toothpick as the pin. 

Three layers of the door: Frame overlay, oven front
 with opening and arched double layer door.

Frame overlay with egg carton bricks applied.

Cardstock paper hinges made by wrapping thicker card several times
around a toothpick then securing with Tacky Glue.

Oven door assembly. Two paper hinges are attached to the door and sandwiched under the smaller inner door arch piece. Two are attached to the oven front and then wrapped around to the inside of the oven front where it is secured with lots of strong glue. Then a toothpick is inserted through all four hinges to allow the door to swing open and shut. Beads have been added to the top and bottom of the toothpick for decoration as well as to keep the toothpick from coming out of the hinges. Dresden appliques have been added to the door, and a silver brad is the door handle.

The black acrylic paint looks really close to cast iron after rubbing it down with your finger. Dulled by dead skin cells, maybe? Eeeewwww!

Testing the function - it works! The little door will attach to the
side of the oven in order to feed logs into the fire.

As the finicky glued parts of the oven door were setting, I starting painting the individual bricks and rocks. The look I am after is muted and ethereal, achieved by many whitewashes, but the initial colors are bold. You might notice that I have added 1/4" x 1/4" timbers and brace pieces to the walls to lend to the Tudor illusion.

Colors taken from the color chart for this project.

Wow! Saturday morning cartoon colors!

Muted after a bit of whitewashing.

Time to apply the paperclay stucco! I like my results with the stove wall much more than I do the bedroom and kitchen walls. Practice really does make perfect (or close enough)!

Now it was time to stone the base. I brushed wood glue onto a small area at a time, then rolled up random sized Paperclay balls to squish onto the floor. I found that if the Paperclay cracked while I was forming it around the edge, a little water, rubbed on by my finger, repaired the crack. My stones were a bit thick, so it took overnight for them to dry.

The next morning, I was able to sand the stones to flatten them a bit (more even surface to stand on while cooking) and then paint my individual stones. When they dried, I sealed them with Mod Podge in preparation for the grouting process.

I used my fingers to apply joint compound into the cracks. Because the cracks were so deep, I did a second application once the first had dried. I found it was much easier to remove the joint compound from the stones without damaging them than it is to remove spackle. There must be some added stabilizer in spackle that makes it harder to remove. From now on, I will only use joint compound for grout of all kinds.

You might have noticed that I also added a mantle/shelf thing using cove molding and 1/16" x 1/2" basswood. I can't resist an opportunity to add a surface for displaying minis later on!

Shelf and joint compound finished.

Left profile.

Time to add years of use to the floor! Hey, I know it's a new treehouse, but patina is charming! I made a slurry of wash with brown, gray and khaki acrylic paint and an abundance of water. I applied about three coats and dabbed up any "overdos" with a paper towel. In between coats, I also aged the stucco and brick around the edges with a khaki wash.

My LED workroom lights are glaring, but the end photos with 
ambiance lighting gives the romantic fairytale look I am seeking!

Finally, it was time to figure out how to make a fire to heat the oven. I have been falling asleep with the intention of coming up with something realistic looking for days. Luckily, my first set of ideas worked like I'd hoped. I love the results!

I made a LED Log Fire With Glowing Embers tutorial and listed it on the Tutorials jump-off page, too.

At last, I could install the oven door and see the completed vision!

I am so amazed that the oven wall came out so close to how I had envisioned it in my mind, and that it evokes exactly the vibe I am trying to create for this project! Goldie is thrilled to be able to start on her cookbook dream, and I am reminded that it is always best to let inspiration lead you when it comes to miniatures.

Follow your impulses, my friends. You may just discover your untapped creativity!

xo xo,

Jodi