Guten Morgan!!!

I am not German, but I just had to use that for a title. And it's no longer morning, but Guten Morgan fits the occasion. I am very pleased with Morgan. He is now in his place on the front of the building. He has one coat of antique wash around him. You can't really see it in the photo. I am going to have to do it again. I think that he could still use some more metallic powder on his little nose too.

I put a little framing under the roof line and then I started painting rocks. I continued painting rocks. I then painted rocks some more...... Did I mention that I did some rock painting this morning? The results of the exercise is two walls finished and one to go. I think that I am still going to add more rocks to that side too. It seems to need more to balance out the other two sides.

I am starting to get excited now. It is coming together pretty much like I envisioned it at the beginning. Somehow I am always surprised when this happens. My buildings seem to evolve. It seems like the building is telling me what direction to take next. Or maybe I should say that the building is directing me.

This whole project started taking shape when I got a book called "Storybook Style, America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties". The authors are Gellner and Keister in case you are interested. I had seen the ones in Carmel, CA years ago and really loved them. There were not only houses, but also shops.

In fact, when I was growing up in Phoenix AZ one of my favorite parts of the city was the houses around Encanto Park. That area was filled with these houses. Each one was different. Each one told a story.

The style is completely fantasy and most of them look like they came straight out of a fairy tale. There is no rhyme or reason to the design other than to please the eye of the beholder. Most of the time, the rocks on the houses served no structural purpose. They were purely decorative and simply added to the fantasy quality. That's what I like about the style. There are really not to many rules or restrictions to the design.

I decided what better style for a book shop than a storybook building. Thus the Buttercup Bookshop was hatched. Now I can't wait to get it finished and move in.

I am making no promises, but I am hoping that I can get it done in the next week or so. I want to start something new! Back to work.

See you tomorrow.