Tree House Nursery...

 

Looking Up... 

Every Now and Then, Dear Readers, I have to stand back and take a good look at the Tree House project in relation to its close neighbor, The Folly. It is so easy to get absorbed into the minutiae of building the current room or current door or current ceiling and forget that it all needs to work together with the Original Property! It has gradually grown tall... nearly to the height at which it Must Stop before it outgrows the land it stands upon. Yes, there will be one more floor... the Attic level which will be mostly a "Studio" and "Storage" place. And the inevitable upper branches of the tree itself, of course. But I constantly need to rein myself in and keep the spaces "realistic" at least in terms of how a tree should be shaped. That said, every time I do step back, I notice another small detail that needs attending to! In my haste all those years ago, (I freely admit I have been "winging it") there were many parts I just didn't have all figured out... so I just rushed on by and left them for later. Much later! Chief among these tasks were designing the method for keeping the opening wall doors closed. 

 

The Tree House leans gracefully out over the little brook (intentionally!) and thus the front wall is slanted and all those doors just love to open all by them selves! A couple were fitted closely enough to the opening that friction held them shut... but for the most part, not. And at some point along the way... I don't remember when, I decided magnets were the method... but how and where the magnets would be placed was already a problem of afterthought... no, not even tiny magnets could be inset into the doors... because they would have to meet the walls too. I came up with a method after much thought... and that is to put the magnets near the opening and a wire loop on the door itself which could then be bent to touch the magnet for closure. The wire loops will eventually be disguised as stubs of branches so they look "natural" sticking off the tree trunk. You can see in the above picture, the closer wire for the Kitchen door has finally been attached. And I slowly added closers to most of the so far completed doors, some of them requiring much fidgeting and finagling. In particular, the Little Loo and the Dressing Room were quite the challenge!

 

There was so little room for the magnet

 and it needed to work for both doors. 

The wire positioning was hard to figure out....

 but I got it done!

 

Believe me, this has been a long time coming! 

And while I was thinking of doors and closings,

 I decided it was time to get the doorknobs on

 the Nursery and Nanny's Room doors.

 

These are made using a large-ish clear bead,

 I am not sure of the size, and a small brass nail. 

I pre-drill a fine hole and add glue 

and push the nail in with my pliers. 

 

And the reverse side...

 because these little doors do open and close!

 When they are open you need to be able 

to see the doorknob on the other side.

 

Of course, The Nursery level is still

 too incomplete to attach the closers... 

the walls are still not attached,

 only the hinged opening wall doors are in place.

 

But when all the walls are carefully propped in position 

and the ceiling (The Attic floor) is temporarily removed,

 we can get a great bird's eye view of the two room's layout. 

 

And while I had the ceiling removed,

 I figured it was the right time to stain and paint it

 in preparation for the eventual top floor construction,

 which even now has to be taken into consideration

 as we complete the Nursery level.

 Everything is so connected!

 

And if you know me at all,

 you can probably predict what happened next... 

a blue sky appeared...

 

 

and clouds formed around the edges ....

and then the cherubs arrived.... 

 

But wait.... 

those looks distinctly like little rodents.....!

 As well they should in a house inhabited by Rats! 

 

And in the middle of the night I realized

 I had painted them from the wrong direction!

 The Nanny's Room opens on the side of the Tree....

 

The angle was all wrong for the Cherub-ratling

 on the side opposite the door 

as you can see when testing in place.

 

 I needed to get my viewing angle right!

 

 

Here you can see the adjusted Cherub-ratling.

 

And while I was doing the ceilings, Dear Readers,

 I wanted to test the Nursery ceiling... 

how would it look if I added the leafy paper to the ceiling too?

 And constructed a "trellis" of branches....??

 

I liked the look right away,

 so I added the same paper scraps

 to this ceiling as are on the walls.

 

In fact, I love the way it looks... 

even before we build the trellis part! 

And while I am finishing the papering... 

I realize that the inner side 

of the outer opening wall frame 

still needs attention!

 

 Both the Nanny's Room and the Nursery frames

 needed the matchstick paneling added.

 

And I started adding the trellis structure..... 

more of that rope twist that looks a lot like woody vines or saplings.... 

along the coving of the ceiling and the corners of the walls.

 

And the bunkbeds wall too.

 

And here this opening side door frame is also papered. 

This is not technically necessary... 

the only way it could be seen once the ceiling gets attached

 is from the bunkbeds windows....

But I will know it is there!

 

This is the interior view with the outer opening door closed...

the frame will be firmly attached to the tree

 and you will not be able to see this view.... 

but the Ratlings will! 

I think it makes the bed-nook so much cozier!

 

And that is as far as I got, Dear Readers, 

Opening and closing doors 

and dreaming about ceilings... 

But I think things in the Tree House Nursery

 are finally Looking Up!

 

Small Steps....

 

 Tree House and Leaves....

As I was finishing the windows for the Nanny's Room, Dear Readers, and the Dressing Room in the bath, I began to mentally count the windows still to be made for the topmost attic level of The Tree House. And that level was probably only going to need one or two at the most. Was I almost done with the windows? But then I remembered the stairs! On the bottom floors the stairs went up in the walls to each new level. But when it came to the bedroom level, I realized the inhabitants would want privacy, and so the stairs needed a different route upwards. Thus I built the little winding staircase on the back corner of the tree trunk... and realized that it would be invisible unless I added an opening door on the outside wall...

 Which you can see on the left at the bathroom level.

 

Here it is open and you can see the staircase is wallpapered too! 

But the window itself was not yet constructed... 

and in order to build it I was going to need to remove the door from its hinges...

 and in order to do that I needed to move the entire Tree House out of The Folly base

 because I could not reach the hinges with my screwdriver otherwise.

 

It is a very delicate and tricky operation 

to lift the Tree House out of the base... 

It has to tilt forward to bypass the living room window,

 but mustn't tilt too far.... 

and then it must stand alone... 

tall and just balanced enough that it won't fall...

unless bumped!

 But I was able to remove the staircase door from the hinges!

 

 It has a chevron shape to the wall 

in order to "curve" enough around the stairs...

 

And there is very little clearance on either side of the window for the frame.

 

 

 The window pieces were made the same as for the Nanny's Room...

 

 

Then the door needed to be balanced over another piece of wood

 so the window could be weighted while the glue dried.

 

 Here is the finished exterior...

 

 

 And the interior too! 

But this side still needs the frame attached...

 

Like so! 

The clearances are very tight! 

And then it needs to be reattached to the hinges...

 

Which you can see here.

 

 

And the open view!

 But I was nervous

 with the Tree House out of the base...

 so back it went!

 

Here you can see it is so close to The Folly

 that it is hard to see that it even opens!

  

 

 And it needs the flash to see inside...

 I might have to put a light in the stairwell... 

 

Because I still need to build the walls around the stairs

 as they go upwards to the top floor....

 the Attic level!

 

And as for those leaves I mentioned, Dear Readers,

 they are the final leaves of the Chinese Dragon Carpet central area.

 

If you recall, I had rearranged most of the kit pattern

 throughout the central area when I added the Dragons to the center.

 I stitched as much of the rest as I could according to the original design.

 But at the end I had to rearrange leaves on the ends too.

 Here I have begun the final leaves for this end...

 

And finished!

 (Except for the designs in the border... 

and the gold border... 

and the background....)

 but hey, the central section leaves are done!

 

So Step by step, Dear Readers, 

those Small Steps are

 making good Progress!

Windows.....

 

And Doorknobs.....

I Found myself recently, Dear Readers, staring at The Dollmaker's Studio project and wondering what it was that was preventing me from just gluing the second floor ceiling in place and moving on with the next level. So I pulled the building onto my kitchen table... the only place where there was room to work on it... and started to make a list. The reason for not gluing the ceiling in place has to do with a whole bunch of small details to finish on the inside of that room that would be much trickier or impossible once the ceiling is glued down. Little things like attaching the oval mirror over the fireplace, attaching the chandelier to the ceiling and spicing those wires, adding doorknobs to the doors, putting a few more curtain rings on the lace window curtain so it would fold more naturally, and so I could finally glue the window frame into the alcove extension, even though that could not be attached until after the ceiling was glued down..! (You can even see the thread that has been tying the window in place to keep it from falling out!) It gets complicated! But I could at least make a start!

 

 The mirror is now attached to the wall above the fireplace.

I used a small hook on each end to "grab" the mirror frame. 

The mirror is originally a Christmas tree ornament and is made of resin. 

(There is a matching one in The Folly Dollhouse.) 

 

I added six more curtain rings to the curtain... 

the original seven just left too much space between the gathers.

 

I spliced the wires for the chandelier

 and the window alcove Christmas light string

 and added shrink tubing to the joins.

I still need to "bury" the wires in the walls... 

but not until the alcove and ceiling are in place!

 

 

And I did glue the window frame into the alcove frame...

 

 Here you can see the building with out the Window alcove.

 

And while I was working on the windows, 

I decided to figure out how to attach the smaller window

 in the front opening door wall.

I had a couple of the small windows from Houseworks,

 but they are built for walls that are 3/8 inch thick,

 and these walls are only 1/4 inch thick.

I needed to decide how to pad the opening 

and support the window frame sturdily in the opening.

I decided to have the frame sit on a 5/8 inch square wood block

 which would attach it firmly to the door.

 

 

 Like so. 

The frame could be built around it easily

 with standard stock wood strips.

 

Here you can see the framework built around the window.

And if you look carefully, 

you will see the glint of a shining doorknob 

on the balcony door and at the top of the tower stairs.... 

 

 Which you can see slightly better here!

 

And while I was pondering those windows and doorknobs, Dear Readers,

 I was also doing the same for the Tree House! 

 

Waaay back when I had last worked on the

 Tree House Bath Dressing Room,

 adding the light to it's ceiling,

 I knew just what kind of window it needed...

 but I didn't ever get around to making it.

 And it had been so long... 

I wasn't sure I knew where the materials all were....!

 I needed some of that gold mesh I paint gray or black

 and I found a scrap partly painted 

(I thought I had more!)... 

but this was enough to get started!

This window wants the "Georgian" treatment

 with a vertical grid of window panes, like I used in the Salon.

You can see the beginnings on the above photo.

 

Here the window panes are being glued to the outer wall of the Dressing room...

 being weighted down by the glue bottle!

 

And here it is with the outer frame glued over the window pane.

 

And here is the interior view!

 

 

And the Nanny's room windows also needed to be constructed.

 Here I have added a knob to the shutter over the smaller window.

The Nanny's Room windows wanted to be

 the old fashioned "diamond pane" glass.

 

 

They always need a spacer frame and 

an outer frame to secure the pane to the wall.

 

Here the larger window has been glued to the wall.

 

 

Here are both of the Nanny's Room's windows

 with the knobs on the shutters!

 (Just look at all those beautiful tiny hinges!!!)

 

The interior view with the shutter open...
 

 And the larger window in the opening door wall.

 

And The upper side of the Tree House....

The Nanny's walls are still not glued in place.

 

And the side view with the doors open... and no flash....

(when will I ever learn!)

 Yes, Dear Readers, I have been 

wandering from project to Project, 

chasing Tiny details like

 window frames and doorknobs...

and making Progress!