A Tiny Whiny Probem...



As usual.  Tessie has a problem... OK maybe it's more me than Tessie.

She solves all problems by whine. 

It will be easy enough to solve.  Just more fun to be dramatic and throw a fit over the fact that the window that I measured was the box itself.  Not the hole with the frame inside.  Actually, I like the size better the way that I did it.

I started putting the lead in this morning and then had to stop to go over to April's and go shopping.

I cut the half inch wide lead to less than 1/16th of an inch wide with a long pair of scissors. 

For those of you that haven't worked with lead tape, it comes on a paper backing and is very easy to cut.  I didn't really want an exact width. 

When I did a class in real stained glass back in the 80s, the leading never came out all the same size.  There were a lot of variations.

Anyway, I guided it with one hand and packed it down with my curved jeweler's tweezers.

I cut it at the sharp corners and bent it around the curves.

I put it in place and then Tessie pointed out my mistake and insisted that I fix it....

The window that comes with the kit is quit thick and it also opens...

I had no intention of using it anyway.  I didn't want the window to open. 

As far as Tessie is concerned, it is still a mistake that I must fix. 

I will.  As soon as I am done here, I will make a thin frame to fit inside the window hole. It won't take long and then she will quit hassling me.  I hope...

I thought about doing stained glass, but when I got it in place, I kind of liked the plain old glass look.  I may do more texturing on some of the areas to look like the old glass, but I don't think that I want to do color with all of the other things in the room.  Too busy.

Meanwhile, I won't be bothered by Tessie for a while.  She likes the new mirror... At least that pleases her.  She has been staring at her reflection for the past hour.  Since I put it in place.

Once in a while she turns around and says, "Well.  At least you got the important part right!"  Then she turns back to the mirror and gazes at her reflection...

A little while ago, she asked, without turning her head... "Is the window done yet?  I want to try the escape hatch..."

Oops! I forgot about her plans for the bathroom escape route. How do I tell her that she is going to have to find a different way to get out... There IS a front door... And an open back... and a window in  the kitchen.  "Sorry Tessie, no bathroom window!"

See you tomorrow, with a finished bath!

No Working on Labor Day!

Well... Maybe just a little...

I decided to make the window/mirror frame match the shower curtain. 

Here's how.

I cut a piece of fabric about 1/4" larger, all around that the frame itself.

Then I painted the frame green to match the walls.

After that I glued the fabric to the front of the frame.
When it was dry, I clipped the fabric at 1/4" intervals all around.  I cut into the corners on the inside of the frames and cut the corners out of the outside corners, so that they wouldn't overlap.

With Tessie's approval, I will now put it under some books until it dries thoroughly.

I had to try it out on the wall.  It fits!  Now all I have to do is wait a while and then put in the glass and the mirror.

After that it will be just a matter of doing the leading for the glass and mirror. 

Not today.  It's Labor Day.  I get the rest of the day off.  Just like everybody else!

See you tomorrow.

Three Thirty in the Morning...

That's where all of the best ideas are found.

I got the idea for the leading for the mirror and window yesterday at that time.  I also thought of doing it another way... see below.

Then I went back to sleep.

This morning I thought of doing the frame in copper tooling and the leading in copper also...

Not necessarily the best idea in the world.  Just more work.  I would have to cover the wood with the copper to give it the thickness that it needs.  But by tooling, and adding wire, I could do some spirals and lines to match the shower curtain...

Just more work, indeed!

I want to put some shelves in the  living room around the fireplace... Another 3:30 AM idea...

I have to stop waking up at three thirty.  Note to Kota!

I came up with tree bookshelves.  I have seen some built of regular wood planks in this shape, but I would rather it look like a real tree. 

I don't know if it will work, but I am going to try. 

It's one of those ideas that seemed like a good one at the time... We shall see. 

I am off to bake banana bread now... Then back to work.

See you tomorrow.

Close Enough...

 She caught me again...

I went to put the Steampunk Observatory back where it belonged this morning... Big mistake!

Daisy was hiding in the bushes and ambushed me...

This time she grabbed me by the collar and insisted that I draw up plans for the door and window of the library...

To quote her, "It's getting mighty drafty in there!"

So I went and traced around the inside of the door and window.  Whipped out my handy dandy quad rule pad and went to work.

First, the door. She "suggested" stained glass.  Very strongly...

For the window, I vetoed stained glass, because people will want to see in... And out.

Very simple. Easy viewing.

I went back and made sure that the door was going to fit.  It did.

Now all I have to do is hunt down the lead tape and get to work.

Wish me luck.  I can't remember where I saw it last.

A hunting we will go...

See you tomorrow.

That Was the Easy Part...Oops!

 Be warned!  If you do this kit, especially when adding trees, paint all of the windows before installing...

I didn't.

These two were pretty easy to do... Not so, the rest...

I didn't think to stain the front windows before installing,. So, I had Walter carry the cottage out to the kitchen table and went to work...

Have you ever tried to stain mini windows when they are glued in place and covered by tree branches?  Don't!!! It's not fun!!!

At least, I didn't put the roof on before attempting it!

I see a couple of places that I missed on the inside.  I have to go now and do more staining. Back to standing on my head to see if I missed any spots...

See you tomorrow...

Now You See It... Now You Don't...

OK...Without the plastic insert, you can see down into the library.  Everything is crystal clear...

If I put in the plastic, it is nearly impossible to see what is inside... but it keeps the dust out.

What to do?

I wanted some way to remove the plastic when someone wants to see the library from the top...

Velcro is the answer...

I don't think that anyone is going to stand on their head to see the ceiling of the library... Especially if they can look down in from the top.

Therefore, I grabbed a roll of sticky backed Velcro.  I put it all around the edges of the hole and then put the other half on the plastic in corresponding areas.  I pressed them down and made good contact on both the plastic and the ceiling. 

I do believe that there has to be a way to do this with the window too... I will have to think about it for a while...

That's it.  My job is done for the day...

See you tomorrow.

My Excuse is Rain...And a Flat Tire...

The Monsoon Season has started.  For the last few days, it has rained a lot in the afternoon.

For some reason, that always puts me in the mood to stitch.

I Worked on the rug for Daisy's bedroom first and then Tessie came in, dragging the rug for the craft cottage behind her.  She insisted that I work on that, since it was ahead of the rug that I was working on, in the queue.

So I obliged her.

Then I made plans to work on the bathroom in the cottage this morning.  Some times the best laid plans go haywire...

Walter went out to the garage to go golfing and discovered a flat tire.  So we agreed that he should take my car instead...

I was supposed to go to the grocery store this morning.  Scratch that.  So, I also won't have the gesso that I need to work on the bathroom.  Oh well...

So I decided to work on the window in the bedroom instead... Then I couldn't find my lead tape.  My cleaning didn't work after all.

I decided to use copper tape instead.  Actually, real stained glass windows are done with copper tape, then just covered with lead.  So I am not terribly far off.

I did kind of a branch pattern on the Plexiglas.

Then I covered that with clear nail polish. 

After it dried, I glued it in place, with a piece of card stock painted and cut to follow the pattern, to cover the edges on the outside. 

Tessie held it up, so that I could take a couple of shots.  After I install it, it will be difficult to get a good photo.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' with it. 

It's starting to look a little cloudy already.  Maybe I will get those rugs done after all.

See you tomorrow.

Just A Little More...

OK.  I went for Barn Read Ceramcoat.  I figured that, since Daisy was raised on a farm, she would approve.  If she doesn't, it can be painted a third time.

I was afraid of it looking "Christmas-y", but it seems to work now.  More contrast.  Everything was about the same value before.  Now it stands out, rather than blending in.

At lest Spike approves... Or maybe he is just hoping that this is where Daisy will store the Kibble.

I ran across this bead mandela yesterday while cleaning in the workroom.  I am thinking that, if I made it with smaller beads, it might make a great stained glass window.  I would also have to make it from the clear beads, rather than the opaque.  Just a thought.  Something else to distract me from cleaning...

I am doing pretty good on that count.  This is all I have left now.  I should be able to finish this today and officially have a (semi) clean workroom again...

Didn't I just do this about a month ago?  If at first you don't succeed, give up and do something that's more fun.  That's my motto.  Or it should be.

Walter is out playing golf, so I am going to go play in my workroom some more.  I will let the paint dry on the chest and shelves until tomorrow morning.

See you then.

Mac Gyver of Minis....

 Marisa called me that in the comments this morning.  Now if I could just live up to the title...

I went to work on the windows this morning.  I have done this before so I will not go into a lot of detail on the "how to" part of it.

I did the usual cut the plastic to fit with a bit around the edges to attach it to the wall.

These will not be opening windows, so I don't have to worry about fancy framing.

First I use the golfer's lead tape on both sides of the plastic.

Next I colored a few sections.  I wanted a "broken glass" pattern, like they used on the storybook houses in the 20s and 30s.

Totally random.

After that part was done, I put a couple of coats of clear nail polish on the opposite side.  Don't do it on the same side.  You will have a mess.

I tried hard to mess it up whilst applying it.  That's difficult to do, after  trying hard to make the coats of nail polish on nails as smooth as possible.

I stuck them in to try out for size and color, etc.

They worked.  Next step is to frame them out and make everything stick together in place.

Tessie is not to pleased that she can't see clearly what is going on inside anymore.  Too bad...

I fear that the weaver's workshop may sneak back into the workroom shortly...

This magically appeared on my doorstep yesterday.  Christmas is still happening.

OK.  So I ordered it myself, but it was on an Amazon gift card...So it's still Christmas.

I am to a point now where the two kits under the bed are of a larger size and I wouldn't have anyplace to put them if I did build them... And we all know how my mind operates.  Both would get started and stopped a few many times before being completed. 

It is safer to do a small one.  I am thinking that this may turn into a gardener's cottage... Who knows?  It may change it's mind or Tessie may change it's mind or I even might change it's mind before it is completed.

Anyway, change is coming.  Be warned...

See you tomorrow.

Simply Soutashe

I am again waiting for the hairspray to dry on the curtains.  Second coat.

I decided to finish the inside walls to fill in the time...I still have a way to go on this one.  So every minute counts.

I cut the panels from illustration board that I bought at Hobby Lobby....I am not impressed.  I like Michael's and Joanne's better.  The finish on those are far superior to this stuff. 

At least it isn't warping.  I painted both sides to prevent that.  Since one side has very little finish on the surface, I was afraid that it would.  The other thing I don't like about this board is, it has a bunch of numbers about half inch high printed on the back side.  Most irritating to try to cover, since they are printed in black.

In this case, I didn't need both sides to show, so it was OK.

Now, about finishing the interior windows without a lot of fuss and bother...

The edges of these windows, with the exception of the sills will not easily be seen...but being a neat freak when it comes to finishing things(in mini, not real life) I wanted them finished along the edges.

The braid that I used is called soutashe and comes in a number of colors.  You can usually get it at fabric stores in the notions dept.. I usually try for white or cream....It will be painted anyway.

The stuff that I am using is from a thrift store bag of goodies that I bought years ago.  It was full of stuff that, at the time, nobody wanted.  Now, I know a few people that collect sewing notions that would kill for the unopened card and the label.  I am one of those, so I probably will never use the unopened one.

Tessie and Zar wandered in and volunteered to hold the braid, whilst I painted....That's not the best way to do it.  I didn't tell them that.  I am on their good side right now.  I filled the chocolate covered graham cracker jar up again this morning.

Normally, I put a puddle of paint on a paper plate.  I grab one end and proceed to pull it through the paint, while holding it down with a paintbrush or a finger....That is much faster than trying to get paint on it with a brush when it is swinging in midair.

I let it dry a bit and then ran a line of glue along the edge of the window with a glue syringe.  Then simply laid down the braid.  I did lay it flat on the table at one point and pressed down on the braid, so that the edge of it would be even with the surface of the board.

The next step will be to install the walls and, later today, the curtains.  There's still a ways to go.  One step at a time.

See you tomorrow.

Let Them Eat Cake....And Cookies...

Yesterday was Amare's second birthday!  It doesn't seem like he has been around for two years already. He is growing by leaps and bounds.  And of course, we think that he is the smartest and cutest kid around.

I just had to say "Happy Birthday Amare!!!"

He's the cake eater.

Now about the cookies...

Tessie stuffed herself yesterday.  That gave me a chance to finish putting on the trim and giving it a base coat.

I still need to score the lines and do some washes.

This morning I put the rest of the lead on the acetate printing sheets and coated them with nail polish on the inside.  I think that they will work out fine.  I am going to mount them inside the frames of the windows and not do the outside.

If anybody asks, I will just say that they were installed behind plate glass to protect them.  Yeah, that will work...

Tessie had to inspect each step, between cookies.  So far, she is approving...I think that the sugar high is making her mellow.

Zar informed me that he needed to steady the ladder because she was weaving a bit...

Personally, I think that he just wanted to get in on the cookie part of the inspection.  He figured out that every time Tessie approved of one of the steps, I gave her a cookie....

The only trouble was, Tessie found the sack.  She now has a three cookie stool to perch upon whilst munching...And... Zar gets to hold the next cookie for her.

I am not sure how much more I will be able to do today.  There seems to be a pile of cookies in my way.  And a very belligerent witch, with a cookie, that refuses to budge.

Oh well.  I didn't really want to install windows anyway.

See you tomorrow.

Rings and Things....

I decided that I didn't want fancy windows in the loft.  Instead, I went for old board doors in the window openings.

Here they are...I used some very thin wood scraps that were in the box of stuff that I got from Sue, last week.

I cut a piece the size of each opening...Scored it lengthwise with a pointed stylus.  Then I cut banding strips to lay across on both sides.

What to use for hinges and handles?  That's where the rings come in.  I bought these blanks for making rings a few months ago from one of the etsy sellers.  A lot of the different ones sell them.  I can't remember the name of the dealer I purchased them from. 

You can just put in "jewelry findings, rings"  and you should get something.  They were very inexpensive so I don't mine chopping them up.

I flattened them out with my needle nosed pliers and a hammer.  Then I snipped them is several places to make them look like parts of fancy hinges and handles. I bent the end of the hinges so that they would curve around the edge of the door and the handle I turned under with my round nosed pliers.  That handle was ripped off, shortly after the photo was taken.

I tried the hinges on one side and the handle on the other.  Didn't like it.  I think that I am going to go with all three pieces on the inside.  I figure that it will mostly be looked at from that side.

I am going to make them non opening.  I don't think that opening them will be all that necessary....

Unfortunately, Spike disagrees.  One of his favorite spots is looking out those windows.

I may have to leave one open for him.

I sat one in place to see how it looked.  Not bad.  I still need to put a frame around it though.

All in all, I am very pleased with the hinges.  They add a bit of class.

Spike thinks so too....As long as they are left open.  Maybe we will find some sort of compromise before it is over.

Back to work.  Framing to do.

See you tomorrow.

Get the Lead Out!

OK....I thought that I would try covering up the white printing on the windows that came with the Storybook kit...Not happening.

Their white lines were about double the thickness that they needed to be.  I did part of one window with the golfer's lead tape and it looked like iron bars. 

I went and got some plain acetate and replicated the first one, size wise. Then I drew a line with an Extra fine Sharpie pen, from corner to corner, diagonally.  After I established the angle, I did lines every half inch going in both directions. Thus the diamond pattern.  I Turned it over, so that I would be working on the non inked side.  It still smears after it drys and I didn't want ink all over the place.

I used the handy dandy lead tape that Walter got me at the golf store.  I simply cut narrow strips the length of the tape, about 1/16" wide, with scissors.  Following the lines is easy with the sticky tape.  I ran it across diagonally and snipped the ends when I got it pressed down.

I put the frame over it, so that you could see how much better this version looks than the white painted original. I plan to add a bit of trim here and there to the frames, so that they will not look like dye cut wood.

The pillows are not filled...I didn't try them out against the daybed before starting to cut and sew...Silly me.

They make the daybed look dirty.  I forgot that the white in that is really more beige.

Oh well.  I will just save them and use them for something else. 

The search continues.  Maybe I will just use the fabric that I am going to use for the wicker.

Another oops!  While working on the rug, I happened to look at the edges...I made the interior section one stitch too wide and long.  I am used to working on odd numbers with most of the rugs that I do...So...I added one stitch to each side when I was doing the boarder...Oops! 

I didn't want to tear out two rows on each side of the boarder to make it right.  Luckily, It was an easy fix.  All I have to do is add another row on the outside of two sides and another row to the inside of the boarder on the other two sides.  That makes the interior the right size. 

All it does is make the rug one stitch wider and longer and I don't have to do any tedious ripping out of stitches.  Right now, it looks a bit more faded than I wanted.  I think it will be ok when I get all of the other colors in it though.  I hope.

I am going now to take the pillow covers away from the Terrible Two and hide them.  They were looking forward to playing in the sand today.  They will just have to wait until I make different covers.

I'm off to do more leaded windows and to search for material, now.

See you tomorrow.

No Sharpies...Mark It!

I went to look for the big packs of Sharpies in lots of colors this morning and neither Walmart or K Mart had anything but hot eighties colors.  Not suitable for stained glass.

Sooooo....I went with Bic Mark it.  They were cheaper than the Sharpies and had FOUR bonus pens in black.  You can't beat that.

They promised to be permanent and they kept their promise on the plastic anyway.

I had all of the lead in place, so I decided that I had nothing to lose, trying to remove the Sharpie ink from yesterday...I used nail polish remover and it worked.

The color on these pens are much more subtle than the Sharpies and in some cases I had to use two coats.  Actually, that was better.  It meant that I could have the same color with different hues if I wanted them.

I just held the plastic up behind the glass to see how they looked and I was very pleased.

Of course Tessie, the critic,  had to keep telling me to move it a bit to the left or right.  I never did get it exactly where she wanted it.

They will look different after I cut them out and put a mitered frame around them to install, but for now, I am satisfied.

In this photo, you can see some of the different textures you can get when you play with the nail polish a bit. 

I Made sure that all of the strokes went lengthwise of the glass.  It really does look a lot like some of the stained glass that I worked with in real size. 

Years ago, I took a stained glass class with a friend.  I turned out quite a few pieces....I no longer have any of them. 

I have no desire to go back to it and replace them with new ones.  I had cuts on my hands and bruises from the hammer that we put the horseshoe nails into the work board with....Minis are much easier to do and not as many cuts and bruises.  At least not when doing stained glass...The real thing is too much like work.

We are going to see the Avengers this morning.  When I get home, I am going to finish the chimney if it kills me!

Tessie and Zar have both volunteered to use a whip and a chair to keep me in line until I do it.  Wish me luck.

See you tomorrow.

Need New Pens....

I went to do some stained glass windows for the Weaver's Cottage this morning and found that a lot of my colored Sharpies are dead or dieing.

Rather than making a run to town, I decided to try what I had.

I traced the outline of the five small windows on quad rule paper and went to work.  I want them to look rustic....They are certainly that, if not downright decrepeit. 

I traced the outlines on sheets of plastic.  It is hard to see them in the photo, but they are there...Honest.

I cut narrow strips of golfer's lead tape.  Probably between 1/32 and 1/16" wide.  I didn't measure.

I laid the plastic over the pattern and covered all of the lines with the self sticking tape.  Then I flipped them over and did the same thing to the other side, covering the lead that I had just put down.

I then colored one side of the plastic with the Sharpies at random. 

They turned out pretty bright.  I may have to do another set.  I think that I want something a bit more sedate, but I thought that I would show you how it's done anyway.

I learned about the lead tape in the 80s and haven't found a better way to do leaded windows.  I do wash my hands whilst working with the lead.  I have been using it for a long time and as they say, "I'm not dead yet....".

 

The last step is to flip them to the other side and put a sloppy coat of clear nail polish on to simulate the old rippled glass.

I don't usually coat the side with the ink, but since I think that I may do these over in a different colorway, I decided to try it. 

I wasn't happy with the lines that I had made in some of the blue and purple.  I tried two different brands of pens and they didn't seem to want to play well together. 

That did seem to solve the problem.  With the nail polish, I could move the color around on the plastic. 

Anyway.  I will try these in the windows.  If they don't seem to bright, they will stay.  If they do, I will be making a trip to town in the morning, bright and early.

See you tomorrow, with finished windows.  One way or the other.....