The Doors and More Doors

And More Hinges!

Sometimes, Dear Readers, if I am Not Sure of where I am going with a Design, I find it helps to start with the parts I AM sure about and see where it leads me. With each choice I make the field of options is narrowed and the vision becomes clearer. This is proving true with the next room in the Tree House. I have known the Purpose of this room since the Beginning.... but have been much less clear about the Specific aspects of the Design. And the more I mull it over in my mind.. the more I get LOST in the Possibilities! So I decided to jump right in and make the Outer Door for the Room. This would be relatively easy as I was following the basic design of the other two doors already made. It would be thick and sturdy and hinge on the Post already built. And it would have a Window in it.... as the other rooms have. This time I decided to give the window a pointed Gothic Arch. AAAH.... I Do LOVE the Gothic Windows! And of Course, it had to have shutters with more of those Tiny Hinges!

And then, Because this room is going to be a Library of sorts... 

I am thinking of it as the "Scholar's Room"... 

I needed to build shelves flanking the Window... and a seat in the embrasure. 

Here, I think you can see the seat a little better in this shot.....

I added my usual mesh window treatment.... diamond panes this time.

And I stained it all a Lovely Dark Walnut color!

But I was not content to leave it there, Dear Readers, 

I had to make it Much More Complicated!

You see, I wanted to make the shelves into Cabinets with Doors.....

Doors that Open and Close....

So I started by making the Doors according to the method  I use for the Windows.

The Frame is cardboard cut with an exacto knife. 

The top frame is glued to the plastic "window pane" with the mesh fitted into the opening.

"But what about Hinges?" you ask! For those I used an idea that is quite common in miniatures... 

the metal pin hinge.... but I had to be inventive for such a small scale!

I was afraid the pin would not stay in place just glued between the layers of cardboard. So I added a strip of cotton cloth, bias cut, along the outer edge of the door frame where the pin "hinge" was to be glued and wrapped it around the outside of the pin.... creating a stronger attachment to the frame.

Here below you can see the cotton with the pin in place prior to wrapping.....

And here you can see it with the pin wrapped and the inner layer of the door frame added.

I also added a layer of cardboard between the outer and inner layer to make up for the thickness of the pin... so the frame is three layers of cardboard and one layer of plastic.

And here you can see me testing the Doors in place....

OOOOH.... don't they just Give you the Shivers????

The part you Can't see is that I under-estimated the amount of "shrinkage" the motion of the doors would create.... so the doors themselves are too wide for the openings! And I tried to be clever and make the doors for the double section in one piece and cut them apart once they were done..... 

and it Sort of worked....

But the cardboard layers got messed up in the cutting...  

so one of the doors really was not useable as you can see below.

Which was okay since I really had to make a new narrower door anyway if I want the doors to be able to close all the way... which I do!!!

So here I am making the new narrower door...

 and as with many things it was easier the second time around when I knew what I was doing!

And here I am testing the new doors for fit.....

Oh, I Do LOVE how these are turning out!!!

See, they open.......!

All the way...!!!

And Such a Gothic Cabinet needs a bit of Mythical Adornment..... 

A little Dragon come to visit...!

Here you can see the door in place on the Tree House.....

But when you look inside....

 

You can see I have a LOOONG way to go with this room!

 

 

I probably will be making Doors and More Doors for a Quite a while!