Monday, August 15, 2016

Glass House Beginnings....




Framed..... Or Not!

I must Confess, Dear Readers, that it was only After I had started to work on (*cough-cough*....) Another Project that was needing me to cut plywood walls and doors, that I realized the simplest method of building the Glass House would be to cut the openings for the door and windows from a piece of plywood, rather than trying to construct the walls from pieces of "lumber" like a real life building! I had been pondering the various steps needed to construct the door and the windows and fit them into the uneven brick wall area, and was making no progress! The ready made commercial windows and doors were not the right sizes to be of use here. And three of the four corners were partly supported by the brick wall, which was not the full height of the sides for the Glass House, so they would need to be fit on top of the brick walls.... and so figuring out where to start was just making me go in circles! Then I realized that I could start with the plywood "wall" and cut the openings for the door and windows! So simple!! And I had just the pieces of plywood right at hand! This Glass House is really quite small, being just under seven inches wide and seven inches deep. So I started right in with the front wall where the door would open onto the "courtyard".

The windows will probably be made of real glass 
with additional "framing" to hold them into the openings.

And then I started on the end wall which rests atop the brick wall.

(I apologize for the dark pictures.. I hate to use flash, 
and the light is not strong in this room!)


And then started to fit the challenging back wall .... 
which needs to match the sweep of the wall on one side 
and establish the level base for the rafters above!

The fourth wall will be The Folly wall. 
And the back side of the roof will hinge open for access to the room.

I cut the other rafter frames, but still have to notch them
 into the top of the wall and add the support under their ends.

It went together much faster than I thought it would! 
(Although none of the walls are yet attached.... 
they fall down at the drop of a pin!)


It makes the "courtyard" feel very small and intimate.... 
but really, all the rooms in The Folly are rather small!

But I didn't have time to figure out the hinges for the door...
The Folly is one of those thin plywood kits
 which don't support the use of metal hinges with screws... 
so I used leather ones on the front door....
 which is the only door in the whole house!
The plywood I have used for the Glass House is thicker 
and would take metal hinges with no trouble.
 

 
Meanwhile, Dear Readers, rather than leave you with so little to look at, 
I will share with you some pictures my sister sent recently
Featuring a Fairy Bear adventure (of a small sort!)

Marmalade and Buttercup were playing together
 one sunny afternoon at Hope Cottage.
Suddenly one of them said, "We're sisters, 
but which one of us is the older one?"
"I don't know," said the other one.

And then Marmalade said "Hey, our wings can come off....
 let's trade wings and see if they feel different!"
 
 
And she had removed her wings in no time at all!
But Buttercup's wings would not come off!
"Here, I'll help you" said Marmalade, 
wielding a long sharp looking tool.

But buttercup had complete faith in her sister, 
so she sat quietly while Marmalade climbed onto the outhouse door 
in order to get better leverage!

Soon they both had taken off their wings and they traded, 
Golden for Orange.....
It made them feel a little giddy and full of Adventure!


Next they decided to climb to the top of Sleeping Couch Mountain 
to see if the world looked any different.....
(And of course, they could have Flown up... 
but it seemed more Adventuresome to help each other climb to the summit!)

They made it to the top at last, 
and they could just see Hope Cottage in the distance!

It seemed so small and far away!

Then Marmalade said "Look!"
"We could slide down the Mountain on this beautiful cloth slide!"


And so they did!
Squealing all the way down!
And when they reached the bottom, Buttercup said "what next?" 
And Marmalade said "I'm hungry"

And Buttercup held up her magic wand and recited a quick magical spell......
(The words of which I couldn't hear clearly and have since forgotten!)
Her wand glowed brilliantly....

And suddenly a platter of beautiful fresh fruit appeared, 
brought by a lovely house genie!
Marmalade gave a big sigh! Being sisters was so much fun!
And it probably didn't matter at all which one was older, 
or who wore which wings....
It only mattered that there Was a sister there to share with!

This story was lovingly sent by my sister, Dear Readers, 
to share with all you in blogland 
who might have wondered how Marmalade and Buttercup 
were faring in the South!
Meanwhile, the Glass House is well under way, 
and I didn't have to do any "framing" at all!


29 comments:

  1. Hello Betsy,
    The project is coming along beautifully! I think cutting the plywood instead of using lumber is brilliant. It will make the job go so much faster and I think it will probably even more solid. Great idea!. I love the proportion of the glass house against the Folly. It is just the right size and complements the house beautifully. The little area in front of the glass house door has so much possibility. I cannot wait to see you work your magic...I know the end result will be another masterpiece.
    What fun it was to share the adventures of the Fairy Bears. I wish I could borrow someone's wings.
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Thank you Giac! I have been wanting to get to making this little Glass House for a long time! It will feel so good to have it done! Of course, the bricks were the thing keeping me from building it sooner! Now I just have to figure out all the glass!

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  2. The glass house is a nice addition to this house. Great work.
    The fairy bears are so cute.

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    1. Thank you Fabi! I have always wanted to have one like this! So much fun in mini!!!

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  3. Your glass house is going to be "SMASHING" Betsy! You are so resourceful and have such a unique style which I GREATLY ADMIRE!!! I am constantly Fascinated by the things you do and How you do them. ( You should seriously think about writing a book one of these days! )

    Meanwhile I can see that your sister has inherited the same creative genes which you have in abundance. She has the gift of storytelling too, so today I take my hat off to BOTH OF YOU! :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Thank you Elizabeth! I do like to tackle the "engineering" challenges! (It must be from my Dad the Architect!) This little hose has presented a few... which is partly what takes me so long to get started! Now all I have to do is make all the glass windows! and the hinged roof! :)

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  4. Oh. Another project? Can you please give me a bit of your energy? :D The glass house looks cool already! I hope to see more of the progress soon!
    Hugs

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    1. Hi Ewa! (The energy is called Dreaming too much! LOL!) I always get ideas and then have to see if they will work.... My house is a mess! But I have projects to keep me happy! I hope you will enjoy this Glass House project too!

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  5. Hi Betsy! I see that you've started a new 'project', or the Glass House, and again an other brilliant idea of your creative mind :D! I bet that it will be a gorgeous addition to The Folly. I have always admired (and still do) for the way how you solve problems on your way to your goal, you're very inventive and instructive to all of us ;O! So, I fully agree with "Mrs." E that you really should write a book about everything you're inventing, while you're working at your dolls houses!!
    Like we all can see: the two sisters are doing fine in the South, I loved to read the story about their adventure and they're right: if you have a sister to share things you're a 'rich' person. I do hope your sister will read our comments/compliments, because she has the same genes as you have ;D!
    It was so good for me to take some rest, but now it's also good to be back in the blog world, because I've missed you all very much.
    Hugs, Ilona

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    1. Thank you Ilona! It is wonderful to have you back in blogland! It is always such an inspiration to see what you are making!!! I do love to make those challenging "engineering" projects! I am so glad you find my methods to be helpful! I would love to write a book "someday" when I am not too busy with job and too many stories and projects.... You have to finish things to write a book..... :)But thank you so much for your faith in my abilities!

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  6. You're so clever! The glass house will look stunning and I can't wait to see what you do with the courtyard.
    As for the story of the fairy bears, I can see it runs in the family.�� I love the "sleeping couch mountain" ���� I had a great giggle!
    Hugs,
    Véronique

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    1. Thank you Veronique! I am so happy to be Finally building this little Glass House! (It has been part of the "Plan" from the beginning!) The courtyard will be another whole project...... along with most of the other "plantings" for this house! So stay tuned! :)

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  7. You're so clever! The glass house will look stunning and I can't wait to see what you do with the courtyard.
    As for the story of the fairy bears, I can see it runs in the family.�� I love the "sleeping couch mountain" ���� I had a great giggle!
    Hugs,
    Véronique

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  8. Hello Betsy,
    The glass house is coming along really well, I think it compliments the 'big' house perfectly :) I love the walls too, they really bring everything together.
    As for the fairy bear story, it was wonderful. I too, loved Sleeping Couch Mountain :) So simple a little tale, but very well written and so effective. I loved it!
    All the best
    Vivian

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    1. Hi Vivian! I had to make sure the roof lines matched those of The Folly with this little Glass House. Otherwise it would look off. But this is such a small space, it is a bit of a challenge to fit it all together! I am glad you like it! And the Fairy Bearys always inspire good stories! :)

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  9. What a lovely blog!
    Great to see the other bearies in their transplanted location, & Hope Cottage.
    In haste,
    xox,
    Mom

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  10. I think the people who will live in your house will be quite young because an old woman like me wouldn't be able to do all that gardening. (when I retire Im planning on dying my hair lavender, buying a jaguar and move to Las Vegas ..maybe the bears would like to come with me)

    love the glass house

    Hugs
    Marisa :)

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    1. Ha Ha! Thanks Marisa, for the laugh! My "garden" gets more and more "pavement" every year to stop the work of weeding and mowing! LOL! This mini garden has quite a bit of pavement for just that reason! But I still will have to do the work of making the plants!

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  11. The lines of the new glass house look fantastic. It's going to be a super nice addition to the house. Those little bears are adorable!
    hugs♥,
    Caroline

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    1. Thanks Caroline! I think it will be a great addition too! I am looking forward to being able to "move things in" LOL! Thanks for commenting!

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  12. I am for sure one who has wondered how Marmalade and Buttercup get along in their new home - and I really loved to see them so fine having fun and excitement. What a great beary adventure on Sleeping Couch Mountain - this alone made my day! And of course I could solve the riddle who of the two fairy sisters is the older one... *smile* But I'm not going to tell who hopped first from my needle - you should not tell a lady's age in public, right? ;O) Thanks to you and your sister for this wonderful episode - I enjoyed it very much. And of course it was fascinating to see your glass house developing. What a clever way to do it - you're a magician for sure!

    Hugs
    Birgit

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    1. I was One Hundred percent sure that you would be happy to see this post, Birgit! And I think "not knowing" the precise ages of the two sisters is a Much preferred situation! (Being the older bossy sister in RL, I think it evens up the odds, if you know what I mean! LOL!) As for the Glass House.... I have Always wanted one in RL.... so nice to be able to build one in mini!!! :)

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  13. oh Betsy, we're totally on the same wavelength! I was just pondering the idea of a glass house and yay! You've already zoomed along and made one! I LOVE it, the gable shape and brickwork are so cosy and Victorian to me, and I think the small size is just perfect, very English country garden. And you can cut plywood perfectly too...!

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    1. Hi Jonquil! Yes! You get it Exactly!!! LOL! I have been Dreaming of this little Glass House for a Long time.... it is so much fun to be finally building it!!! (As for the perfect plywood cuts..... not nearly perfect enough in close-up.... but I will make it work! LOL!)

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  14. It's great to see how the glass house becomes part of the Folly as if it was always meant to be there.

    I enjoyed seeing Marmalade and Buttercup again. They have so much fun.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Hi Drora! Yes, so well said! I think it was always meant to be there! LOL! We will just have to pretend that it was always there.... when I have aged it and made it look part of the landscape!
      And I am glad you enjoyed the Fairy Bearys.... they are always a lot of fun!!! Thank you so much for commenting!

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  15. Your glass house looks wonderful. It looks perfect in this spot and a wonderful addition to the house. I cant wait to see more. Fantastic funny story from your sister Marmalade and Buttercup look like they are having lots of fun.
    Hugs Maria

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    1. Thank you Maria! I can't wait to see more too! LOL! I am building the roof and need to get the glass cut... that is always an adventure! I am so glad you liked to hear about the Fairy Beary adventures too! They are always a lot of fun!!!

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