Onward and Upward....

I finally glued the skylight piece of the roof in place this morning.

I added a bit of color to the tiles along the roof beam to make them stand out more and a little of the same color here and there in the rest of the roof. Tessie approved.

Now that the roof is officially finished, I can start the half timbering.

I don't know if I have ever shown you this method of transferring lines on walls and windows before. I am using it to get an idea of where I want the timbers.

I also use it when I want to install wallpaper in a house. It works well for getting an accurate pattern without a lot of measuring.


I start with a piece of graph paper the size of the wall I want to copy. In this case, I didn't have to patch it. If you have a larger wall, just tape a few pieces together to get a fit.

I then lay the paper against the wall in question.

You can tape it if you are unsure. I have been doing it for many years and it is easier for me to just lay the paper on the wall and hold it with one hand, whilst tracing the details with my thumbnail or fingernail.

Here you see the piece for the front of the annex. I held the paper in the exact place on the front of the building and pressed the edges of the three windows. If you are unsure of the lines, you can go over them with a ruler and pencil.

After I am sure that they are right, I simply cut the windows out of the paper.

When wallpapering, I do the same thing with the wallpaper itself. I find that, if I am off at all, it is usually just a hair and the edge will be covered by the trim. If you are trying it for the first time, I would suggest that you cut a graph paper pattern to do it.

Once you get used to doing it this way, it is a real time saver. If you are doing inside walls, be sure to leave excess in the back side corners and glue the sides in first. Then cut the back wall exactly and glue it over the wraparounds from the side walls. You will have no visible corner seams if you match the paper design.

When I finished cutting out the patterns, I laid each one down and drew the half timbers on it.

I then taped the pieces to the building. Here's what it looks like.

I will probably do a bit more refining of the half timber design, but when I am satisfied, I can cut out the part that will be the stucco and have a pattern for the timbers left intact.

You may have to enlarge the photos to see what I mean.

Did you notice? Tessie got new threads in Carmel...They are made out of the Walmart, men's handkerchiefs.

I am not sure that I like them all that much, but when Tessie wants new clothes, she gets them. Tradition has it that she gets a new outfit every vacation.

She picked out a finger puppet. at a great toy store in Carmel, for Amare...Now if I can only get it away from her and Zar. It seems that Big Bird is very popular. I don't know why. Both Tessie and Zar already know the alphabet and their numbers.

They have had their heads together all morning and a lot of giggling is going on.

Maybe we should have bought two. One for the real little kid and one for the Terrible Two.

I do hope that they don't teach him any bad habits before he goes to Amare's house to live....

See you tomorrow. Oops! I almost forgot. If you want to see LOTS of these houses, go here for the slideshow. http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?q=fairy+tale+houses+Carmel