Monday, February 24, 2014

The Next Steps.....




Lots and Lots of Steps....!

I hope you can forgive the pun, Dear Readers, because I was on Vacation last week and I had Lots and Lots of Time to make Lots and Lots of little Steps of progress on the Cloud Palace! I tried to not overload my Time off with too many expectations of what I could accomplish in my Mini Worlds... and instead decided to just do a little of this and a little of that and see what it added up to at the end. I left you last week with the Question of Where the stairs would go.... but I had already decided that since they could not possibly go Inside the Tower... they Had to go outside the Tower! I envisioned a lovely spiral stair winding up the outside of the tower... but was really unsure How I would accomplish this! And I was also aware that I needed to complete several other Steps before I could really work on the steps at all! The first of these was figuring out the size, placement and attachment method of the floors for the Tower. As you can see in the picture below, I have cut two circular sections with extensions on the outer edge that will align with the floors of the House itself.... making hallways of a sort. I also cut an overall base for the entire grouping to be attached to.



And then I cut out some test steps from the pink builders foam insulation panels 
that I have so many scraps of..... 
just to see how they would look on the outside of the Tower......

And I stuck them on with masking tape. 
The panels are one inch think... 
which make a tall step in 1:12 scale!
So I asked Blue if she would give them a try....

She said that since Fairy Bearies are able to fly up the stairs, 
she didn't mind the size at all!
But I was more concerned with figuring out how many steps were needed 
and how far around the Tower they would end up going.....

And decided that we could actually have a sort of Balcony along the front side....

Between the top of the stairs and the doorway into the attic of the House!
And more importantly... 
I decided that I simply Had to complete the Roof assembly......


And Glue it all together .... 
so the angles and edges would be completed!
I decided that the opening in the roof needed to be shaped like a dormer...
With a vertical wall on the one side....
but open on the other side where it abuts the Tower.


The little piece I cut off the end wall of the House, 
turned upside down became the side wall for the dormer!
And while I was at it I painted the tower and floors with primer....

And made the pattern on the floor extend from the House floor.....

And while I was doing all this painting... 
I also painted a few more Silver Beams for the Ceiling of the Palace...

Perhaps it is even More like an overhead Trellis with the clouds above?

Believe it or not, there are still a few more places I need to cover the cracks with trim!

And once I had the paint on the floors done... 
I could start to attach the steps! 
I decided that they did need to be trimmed to less than the inch thickness...
So I cut each one to a little less than 3/4 of an inch thick.
Then I started to glue them on the outside of the Tower... 
One by One....

It takes a whole lot more steps to get up to the next floor that way....
So I had to narrow the placement of the steps on each other... 
with more of an overlap.
And while I was waiting for the glue to dry on each step....
I was also adding egg carton "stones" to the Fireplace!

Because, believe it or not, Dear Readers, 
this Tiny Tower Room is going to be a Kitchen!

I know you will think I am Crazy to try to fit a Kitchen in this Tiny space....
but the Fairy Bearies do a lot of their "Cooking" with Magic....
So they just need a place for a fire and a little bit of storage....

You can see the Hearth from the Main room....

And you can see there is space under the window for a tiny sink....
And some shelves along the wall....
I think you will be astonished at what we end up fitting in there!

And Blue has come by to reassure us that there is still room for a Beary cook!

And giving the new steps a try...

Yes, there Will be some sort of outer edging or low railing built...
So those who cannot Fly 
need not Fear falling off the edge and into the Clouds below!

And I have even begun the work on the upper levels of the Tower, Dear Readers, 
although it will be a while before I can attach all the levels together!
To begin with, I will need to make a whole Lot More Steps!
And even though the Tower is starting to take shape....
It takes Lots and Lots of Steps!
And there is Always a Next Step, Dear Readers,
Yes, there is Always another Step!

27 comments:

  1. Wow - you just amaze me with all the 'steps' you have managed to take. The steps around the tower look fabulous and I love the silver beams. This is such a magical build.

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    1. Thanks, Sharee! There is something very "Freeing" about building for Magical Fairy Bears! I get to make up whatever I want! LOL!

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  2. Now the ceiling look like it was made of glass and one can see slouds through it! :) :) I can't wait to see the kitchen and the tower ready!!

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    1. Thank you Ewa! That is just the effect I am hoping for! The kitchen might take me a while.... I don't think any of the parts will be "normal" furniture! LOL! I will have to custom fit Everything! Why do I get myself into these situations?

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  3. I love your house. it's so brilliant with the stairs in the tower. It is very creative thought. I look forward to see more.
    Hugs
    Wyrna

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    1. Thank you, Wyrna! The Tower is too small so I am having to make Exceptions to the Normal Housing! Actually, I think everything in the cloud Palace is going to be Unusual! LOL!

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  4. You've been busy!!! Love the stair around the tower...it's getting more beautiful every time :-)

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    1. Thank you, Margriet! There is still SO Much to be done! And I thought it would be a Simple Project! LOL!

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  5. I really like what you are doing with the round tower and the steps! its going to be nice. The painting on the ceilings is great too. Keep up the good work!

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    1. Thanks, Troy! I keep adding to the Original idea.... !

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  6. Hello Betsy, I have been watching (and enjoying!) your progress on the Cloud Palace for some time now....I love the way you painted the walls and ceilings and the things your changed/added to the orginal kit; the tower made of a cardboard box....lovely! Keep up the good work :D

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    1. Hi Liduina! I am so glad to hear you are enjoying this building project! It makes it so much more fun to know that! I have lots of plans.... just wish I was faster...! :)

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  7. Your house looks fantastic. I like the stairs.
    Bye, Faby

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  8. Wow your house is amazing. Not only are you very talented you also have magic fingers. Your stairs is wonderful. I love following your work. Cant wait to see more magic.
    Hugs Maria

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    1. Thank you, Maria! (I think it is Blue who has all the Magic!.... She keeps giving me more ideas!) I am really glad you are enjoying it!

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  9. Amazing work, Betsy, I love the stair around the tower......it is getting more and more beautiful! Blue will be over the moon with all this magic:D!
    Hugs, Ilona

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    1. Hi Ilona! I just had to have stairs... and they really can't go inside the Tower... LOL! It makes it much more complicated... but also more interesting!

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  10. The fact that there's always a next step because your imagination never stops to create new miracles is the very best part... ;O) That tower is going to become so lovely, I love the idea of the small kitchen. You're right - all the fairy bearies need is a place to bake cakes and to store their cookie jar... *teehee* Ewa already said what I was thinking when I saw the newest picture of your cloud ceiling - it really looks as if there was a glass dome through which the bearies look into the sky... Ah, everytime you're showing something new it's pure beauty... and I'm waiting impatiently for the next steps... may there be many more (and not only around the tower!)

    Hugs
    Birgit

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    1. Thank you, Birgit! I will try to take Some credit for all these ideas... but I really think Blue has contributed most of them! LOL! :) And the very fact that they are such Magical Little Fairy Bearys makes it easy because Nothing has to be done according to the Rules! LOL! If you want stairs on the outside and Sky on the inside.... Well... there you have it!!! :)

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  11. Maybe the bearys should go on a diet?
    Bearly room to turn around in the tower!
    Enough carping - it's truly lovely, and I'm glad you decided to cut the stairs down to 3/4 inch - the others were out of scale.
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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    1. Hi Mom! I am glad you approve of the smaller stair height... I am also glad I decided to do that step.... It added a bunch of work... but the results are very worth it! As for the Tiny Kitchen... it will be very "Efficient" with everything at arms reach! Just Imagine a little cooking pod....! So Ideal!

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  12. This isn't only cute, it's truly palatial! I think the ceiling could stand to have roses or cherubim or famous figures or something painted on, that's very Renaissance and fancy feeling, but it also looks really dazzling as is, so that's really your call. Keep creating!

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    1. Thanks, Zambini! Welcome to my blog!
      I have several other painted ceilings in my other projects... with gods and cherubs and frolicking creatures.... so I wanted to leave this one more "Spacial" and Truly up in the Clouds! You can find some of those other ceilings from the link on my sidebar... "Painted ceilings". One of the projects is a Tiny Tree House... and the other is a Castle with a Medieval Chapel.... I hope you enjoy having a look! Thanks for commenting!

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  13. Your cloud palace looks stunning and it's not even finished!!! The inside is spectacular and all the addition you are creating look just superb. You really have a great creative mind and it's always nice to see what you are up to. Well done!

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