Back to Business

I am now fiddling with windows and doors in the bookshop. I went out and bought some lead weighting tape that golfers use on their clubs yesterday. I have heard that this stuff makes great mullions on windows. As with anything else, practice, practice, practice makes perfect. Luckily there is quite a lot of it in a package.

It does have a warning that the product "contains lead that has been deemed dangerous to health in the state of California". I guess it is not dangerous in Arizona, or at least it has not been deemed dangerous. Odd that the warning was only for one state.

Anyway, I started playing with it this morning. I just cut it with a pair of scissors. I wasn't trying for straight lines for practice. I think I will use a ruler and an Exacto knife for the real windows. I played on a piece of plastic for printing overheads on the computer. It was a bit flimsy but It wasn't the finished product so I wasn't too worried. I think it will look pretty good. It is fun to play with. You can maneuver it into curves just like the real leading used in stained glass windows. That's as far as I got with that.

Then scatterbrain moved onto playing with the front door. This is what I had to work with.I cut a pattern from a piece of mat board. Then I started using the wooden blind slats to build. I want it to look somewhat rustic. I am keeping to the storybook look.

This is the first stage. I decided to cut a window in the middle of the door to echo the shape of the windows in the rest of the building. Then I did verticals with the widest boards I had. I ended up putting one of the narrower ones down the center. That way I didn't have to cut the width of any of the verticals. A couple of cross pieces holds them together.

Next I started putting on narrow pieces in vertical lines to make it more decorative. There is no finish on it yet. Once that is in place it will even out the color.

I will make a wrought iron grill to go over the window in the door and fancy hinges will fit on the cross pieces.

I think that will be most of what I get done today. We are going out to look for a new lap top for me this afternoon. The sooner I get one the better. My old one died a horrible death a couple of months ago.

In other news, Tiffany of "Mini Mischief" just finished her first bed using my tutorial. She said I could show you a photo. I think she did an outstanding job. It is for her daughter's dollhouse. Lucky daughter!

She did the headboard on her own from scratch. Don't you love the hand painted flowers? As far as I know she is the first one to finish a bed using the tutorial. Be sure to go over there and look at her blog. It's really a fun place to visit. She's in the list to the left.

OK now I am out of here. See you tomorrow.