Cut and Paste. Cut and Paste.

Actually I was doing cut and glue, but cut and paste sounded more computer oriented. I finished all of the half timbers. YAY!!! This morning I did the plaster in all of the in between sections. Then I painted them all. You want proof?

OK. Here's one end with the plaster done. I did it with the DAP that I told you about the other day. Tools used? Fingers. I smeared it on and got a good cover and then I stippled it with the end of my finger to rough it up. I cleaned up the half timbers as I went with a damp paper towel. I am afraid that it isn't to impressive in this state.

After that dried, I used Antique White, Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint to fill in the panels. Again, this isn't very impressive. I didn't want to stray away from the traditional colors.

I don't know if you noticed that I decided to cut off the cat slide that made up half of the porch roof. If it rains the tenants will just have to carry an umbrella.

My next move will be to get out the DAS air drying clay to do the foundation. That reminds me, I have to go find the foundation piece that fits under the back floor. That will need doing too.

I guess that I should do the front step at the same time. The house comes with just a small front step. I am thinking that I would prefer one more the size of the one on the basket shop. I make people stand in the rain, holding the umbrella whilst they hunt for their keys, but I won't make them teeter on a tiny step or stand in the mud! I'm not that mean.

I still haven't decided what this cottage is going to be when it grows up. Give me a couple more days. Maybe when it is all dressed up on the outside I will decide what goes inside.

I have to go hunt down the piece of back foundation and something to make a front step from.

See you tomorrow.

I'm Late! I'm Late!

I sometimes feel like the White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland" on Wednesdays. I didn't get a chance to do anything mini before the meeting. It was here today and I had to cook and all that stuff you do before company. So.....Well at least I am getting to the mini part of the day at last.

After everyone left I pulled out the cottage and got to work. I couldn't mess up the table as much as I would like to because the leaf has to be taken out and it has to be returned to the corner by the window so that I can have my natural light.

The first thing that I did was put the U channel on the back side edges and floor edges. some people wait til they have the floors finished to do this. I don't because of the stability it lends to the structure while I am building. Let's face it. The tab and slot houses are pretty thin wood. It is a blessing and an irritant all at the same time. I like them because they are light weight and no matter what you add to them you can still move them without help. The irritating part is that they can easily warp if you aren't careful. Thus the U channel comes first.

I wanted to show you a valuable tip that I learned from a real sized woodworker. That is, his furniture was real sized.....I guess he was pretty normal sized too....Anyway, when you go to put a long narrow strip like the half timber on a house, instead of running a long line of glue on the back, put the glue on in dots. Here's a piece that is about to be put over the two slots above it. The glue is about 3/4 to 1" apart on the board. I find that this technique keeps the board from warping and also it doesn't tend to slip down the side like it does if you have the whole back covered with glue. I did the whole side of half timber work in less than 20 minutes, cutting and all. I didn't have to tape anything but the two beams under the eaves.

Here's the finished end. I simply slid in the wood where I wanted to put the next piece. Then I marked it where I had to cut. I cut it and then dry fitted it. I took it back out and put the dots of white glue on the back and stuck each piece in place.

Generally I start with the longest pieces and fill in with shorter pieces until I think it looks right. Actually, I went back in and added two more verticals on the center section after the photo was taken. One in the center of each side panel. I left the center one under the window as is.

I could show you the other side, but I am afraid that you would just think that I flipped this photo. It looks the same.

Now I am about ready to start plastering the panels. I am saving that for tomorrow. See you then.

Filling in the Blanks.

Well.....It has been decided. The Sweetheart is going to be a half timber cottage. I am still not sure what is going inside, but the outside is half covered with timbers.

This is one of my favorite techniques. I love the style. I am using DAP Dry Dex Spackling Compound to do it. This stuff is great. It goes on pink and when it is dry it is white. It is easily sanded and takes paint well.

My first step is above. I filled in all of the tab and slot areas with the DAP. I waited for it to turn white and then sanded it.

Next I went and found a bunch of the slats from my handy dandy 80's style blinds. My method of doing the half timbers is not very scientific or even architecturally accurate. I take a big pair of scissors and just hold the pieces up to the building where I want them, mark them and cut with said scissors. I try to err on the side of too big. Then I dry fit them. To install I start with the longest pieces horizontally. That would be the floor line on the first floor and then the same for the second floor. Those are easy. I just cover the tab and slot holes.

Next I run One timber under the window line. Then I do verticals at the edge of each window and door frame. I put a top frame on the square windows. Oops! I forgot one on the bottom of the second floor arched window. I haven't decided what I am going to do for the arched window and door yet. You will have to stay tuned for the next episode to find that out. Next I fill in with shorter timbers under the windows and diagonally under the eaves. I let those dry.

The last step in the process is to fill in the blank walls all over. The bottom will be filled in with a foundation of rock or brick. I think that I may make the first floor under the windows herringbone brick. The rest I will fill in with the Spackle to look like plaster. Here you see a section that I just did. I use my finger and smear it from the outside to the center. I want it to look like the plastering was done after the timber. As I go, if I get any of the Spackle on the wood, I wipe it off with a damp paper towel. As you can see, this section is still wet(pink). I will let it all dry for 24 hours and then do some stains and washes to make it look aged.

Grab some old wood slats, glue and Spackle and join me. There are lots of books and sites on the web with photos of half timber houses if you aren't sure how they should look. If you try it, have fun with it. After all, your house isn't going to fall down if you put a timber in the wrong spot.

I need to get the Spackle washed off of the keyboard and go back to work now. See you tomorrow.

Onward and Upward....

That's a terrible title for putting on a roof. I just couldn't think of anything else on short notice. I have now gotten every speck of Christmas out of the house, vacuumed and dusted and done other icky things that the house needed.

I glued and taped the front of the roof on and am sitting here looking at it. On just about every one of these houses that I have done, that little tail on the roof that hangs over the door eventually gets taken off. There is another piece that makes the other side of an overhang over the door. It always looks skimpy to me and kind of an afterthought in the design. I hate to say it but the bashing fairy is flickering around my head once again.....I think it is going to have to go. To my eye, it just makes that whole side of the house look lopsided.

The back of the house looks OK so far....

I'm not going to put partitions in. I want more room for whatever I do with this one. Another bashing fairy is floating by my left ear and poking me to enlarge the hole for the stairs to the second floor. Not even the bashing fairy could get from first to second through that hole. Its' only about 2"x3". Hmmmmm......Bashing fairies are basically mean. They always come around with suggestions after I have the house put together. I think that they like to watch me try to take pieces out with the trusty keyhole saw while standing on my head! At least with a house this size, the house can stand on it's pointy little head instead.

That's all I have done on the house today. I have one other thought from the complaint department. It's about this. It's a 6" black and white portable that I have had for years. As of February 9,2009, it will no longer work without a little converter box that is as big as it is. I have the same situation with the 2" color one that I use in the Burglar's box. They both will be pretty much useless.

Years ago I made my father-in-law a miniature TV shop in a 12" Sony portable. He had his own TV repair shop here in Tucson. He loved it. Unfortunately, it got dropped and was messed up beyond repair. Also unfortunately, I don't have any photos of it. I am debating putting a 1/2" scene in this one. I can't decide whether it is worth the time and trouble.

I thought I would throw out the idea for anyone that is in the same situation. I had a great time making the repair shop. It even had a few colored "tubes" in a TV that was being repaired. Now I am thinking that smaller portables that we aren't planning on hooking up again could be made into scenes from our favorite TV shows.

I have a feeling that there is going to be an endless, very inexpensive supply in all of the thrift shops very soon. They are pretty easy to get into. I simply built a foam core box to fit inside the shell and made it to fit the screen with nothing showing in the front. Let's all go find a TV to make into our favorite show! Inexpensive. Easy to do. And what could be more fun? We can make lemonade our of our lemons!

See you tomorrow.

Robbing Peter to Pay That Other Guy.....

OK. I ran into a bit of trouble and irritation. I went to put the Sweetheart together this morning and found that the corner channeling for the walls was missing. I found a couple of pieces in my stash, but not enough for both corners. I don't know if I pilfered it or if it was missing when I bought the kit. If you hear a bit of growling, it's me.

As Maxwell Smart would say, I missed it by that much! See the right side corner? Yup. That's all I needed. I am fixing it with a piece of U channeling and a flat board. When I finish, hopefully, you won't be able to see it.

I have the walls and second floor up and running. After I get that part done I always run an extra bead of glue around all of the cracks and smear them with my fingers. You would be surprised at how much that strengthens the building. It is plain old Elmer's white glue and will dry clear. It will all be covered by other stuff so there's no worry about it showing later anyway.

You can see at the very top of the photo where the corner channeling ends and the U channel begins. I will have to do something with that area too.

The cottage is not yet talking to me. My daughter suggested that I turn it into a cupcake shop. I don't think that is going to happen tho. They are kind of a fad in real life right now and I am not really a fad follower. I figure that in 50 years someone will look at it if it is a cupcake shop and say something like....."Cupcake Shop?? What the heck is a cupcake shop and why would someone want to make one in miniature?".Sooner or later the building will start screaming about what it wants to be when it grows up. They usually do.

Meanwhile, I have the roof pieces drying. I am looking for flat strips to finish the corners. There are no slots in the roof but there are ears to stick slots in on the top edge of the end pieces......Another mystery to solve.

Putting this together without directions is harder to do than I thought. I has been a long time since I did one of these. It is coming back to me slowly.

See you tomorrow.

The Holidays Are Done!!!

It's official. My Christmas tree is at half mast right now. That is, all of the hanging decorations, balls etc. are off. All that are left are the garlands and the lights. I am going on strike for the rest of the day. It is Saturday! Aren't we supposed to have fun on weekends?

I went into the workroom with a string on my toe, looking for something to keep me busy. By the time I was done looking, I needed the string to find my way back to the door.

I settled on one of my all time favorite kits. This is the bottom of the pile. By that I mean it is the last of this particular kit that I have. It's a Sweetheart. I think that I have put it together 4 different times over the years. I still like it's bones. As you can see, I paid 5.00 for this one. It had been opened by the previous owner........No directions to be found anywhere. Oh well. I have the picture. Surprisingly, I don't have any of the ones that I have completed. They all grew up and went out into the world to live with other people.

The kit was purchased by someone at Standard Brands. I don't think that any of that chain still exists. The price was 9.99. Anyway, it had to be a long time ago. No self respecting six year old would be caught dead in that pinafore! I know I wouldn't. Remember the age of my attention span?

As we pull back from the table and let you see the rest, you will see that things are almost back to normal. I have all of the pieces punched out. I did this by shoving back the Christmas centerpiece and propping up the extra pieces against it. The books are left over from an excursion into the bookcase to clean. The wicker furniture is left from some photos that I took this morning. There's also a 1/4" trunk scene that I took off of its shelf so that I could put a plant in it's place. That's another story all together. It's good to be back in my normal surroundings.

Now. I have to get down to business and have some fun. Someone pass me the sandpaper, glue and painter's tape.

See you tomorrow.