Just Enough Gesso!

Hang in there.  This is going to be a long one...I am having too much fun!

This is what the house looked like at noon yesterday.

That top floor is very difficult to install....A lot of twisting and turning involved....Me and the board, both. It looks like a simple house, but I wouldn't recommend it for a starter house.  There are a couple places like that...You have to install a piece and then force another piece in around it.  Oh well...It's done now.

I finished installing the roof yesterday.  Then I stopped.  I had to make a few decisions before advancing further.

At the same time, I didn't want to loose momentum, so I started some wicker...Which you will see later.

This morning I got up bright and early, only to find that the gesso was almost empty.

I went ahead and used the patching plaster on all of the little slits, nooks and crannies that had to be covered...

Then I jumped in and took a chance.  Gesso time.

I installed the window and door frames.  I wanted them to be stuccoed too.  I am kind of going for the Victorian Territorial look.  There are still some around here and over in New Mexico.  They kind of mixed Victorian and adobe to get the look.  Not enough timber for a full Victorian.  Lots of mud and straw for adobe.  Some of the walls in these places are at least a foot thick and in some they are more like two feet thick with seats at every window.  The thicker the adobe, the cooler the house in the summertime.  The warmer in winter.

April and Seth lived in a small one when they were still in college.  It's not just a theory.  The thickness does work.

I decided that the upstairs attic is going to be for storing all of my unfinished projects and some supplies.  It really should be bigger!

The reason that Tessie is leaning dangerously over the edge is this.  She took one look and asked..."I know how I would get down from here. Zap.  How are you going to manage???"

She is hoping that I won't be able to function in the place.  Theory being, she will inherit it when I am finished with it.

Tessie.  I have two words for you....Rope Ladder!

Anyway, I had about a tablespoon of gesso left when I finished painting the main floor. 

I am thinking bare rafters and newsprint for the attic. 

Now I have to decide what colors I am going to use, inside and out.

Meanwhile, yesterday afternoon, I baked cookies and wicker-ed.

My Dremel needs a new drill bit for small holes, so I did 66 holes in the desk by hand...Ick.

Fortunately the holes were already in the chair seat.  

I am using # 30 thread on these pieces.  It will take twice as long as the #20 thread that I usually use.

Tessie is already asking why her furniture isn't all this fine.  She has a couple of chairs that are.  There are a couple in other houses around here....Please don't tell her.  She will start tearing things apart to get at them.

I am one of those strange people that doesn't like white wicker in my own rooms.  They are perfectly nice in others, but they show dirt and especially when the pieces are going to be used in a workshop. 

Right now I am typing with gesso coated fingers.  Don't nag. I will go soak it off in a minute.

OK.  I am going to do the obligatory "Go Vote!" thing now.  Tessie is here pulling at my sleeve.  The blog has been tied for first place a couple of times this week for a little while.  I have to admit that I would love to win for a third year in a row.  I work hard at this.  Writing, designing, and thinking up tutorials takes up a lot of time.  I do it because I love miniatures.  I also enjoy all of you that I know are out there reading what I wander on about each day.  Thanks for your support.  Not just during this voting period.  I have learned a lot of new stuff and made a lot of new friends in the past five years.  Thank you!

Off my soapbox now...Go poke the badge at the top and "Vote for Tessie"....She made me say that!

  It is going to be hard to cram all of this into one entry a day...

See you tomorrow or maybe later today, if I get more done.