Frosting the Walls.....

Years ago there was an article in Sunset magazine about the real restoration work being done on plaster work. There was a photo of a man working on it and they said the he was doing it with cake decorating bags and tips! I cut it out and put it away for reference. I still have it somewhere.

I reasoned that, if it could be done on plasterwork in a courthouse somewhere in real life, it could be done in miniature. Today I tested the theory.

I got out an old cake decorating kit that I hadn't used in several years and stuffed it full of DAP patching plaster straight from the tub.....It was too stiff to come out of the point. So much for the bag.

I resorted to the old tried and true method of repair. I grabbed a plastic sandwich bag, stuffed the same patching plaster in it and squeezed it down to one corner. I cut of a tiny point of the corner.

I had used the patching plaster for a base coat of stucco on the walls of the teashop. It was pretty much dry to the touch.

First I tried my handy dandy new tool on a paper plate. I had a distinct handicap. The plaster didn't stick well to the dry paper plate, but it did work.

I jumped right in and did a rough outline with a pencil on one end of the building and started squeezing. Starting from the top and working down, I outlined and filled in the design on the wall.

Here is the first end. I will go back in and fill in some spots and use the pointy tool to clean up the design, but all in all, it turned out pretty good for a first try.

I usually do this kind of thing with Fimo or Sculpey, but I have been wanting to try this method for a while. I think that I like it better. It looks more like part of the plaster.(It is part of the plaster.)

When I finished the first end, I started to turn the shop around to do the other end. As I did, I saw a spot over the door that was just begging to be pargeted. I free handed that one in about five minutes. With poly clay I would have been messing around for an hour sculpting and cooking. This is soooo easy. I should have tried it a long time ago.

Anyway, by the time I got to the other side I was becoming an old hand at it. It's as easy as decorating a cake, if you have ever done that.

As I finished the last end, Tessie showed up. She hung over the end of the roof and said,"Hey! My design looks pretty good!"

Her design? Does she mean the 1/4" long mark that she made on one branch??? I let it go.

I am very pleased that the experiment worked so well. I see a lot more pargeting in my future. And besides I just like the fancy word. Pargeting can be fun!

See you tomorrow.