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!

Kit Bashing The Cloud Palace....

Oh, What Have I Done....

This was supposed to be a Simple Easy Little kit, Dear Readers! It was going to be a Quick build.... with not too many troublesome Details.... but then I decided to make a few changes.... and that is where I get into trouble every time! Well, before I get to showing you what I am talking about, I must point out that I did make a couple more "Cloud Chairs"... so all the Bearys are sitting comfortably now! And because I had to interrupt their morning "Kaffeklatch" to get any work done on the Palace at all... they decided to Fly their Cloud Chairs off to the top of the Castle Dollhouse where they could sit undisturbed....

You may notice that Sir Orion cleverly moved his chair closer to Blue's chair.....

He is finding it difficult to think of ways to express himself.....

being a Great Hunter and Warrior, 

he is not used to sitting at a table with China teacups!

But I will let them have their time together...

I have work to do!

To begin with, I wanted to finish the decorative painting on the interior walls....

So I added the herbs to the planters.....

I painted Lavender in one of them.....

And in the other I painted a combination of Sage, Hyssop and Rosemary...

Of course, I had to add some more Butterflies....

A couple of Cabbage butterflies .... and a Common Sulphur....

And another couple of Tiger Swallowtails.

(They are giggling deliriously!)

And then I started to assemble the house and Glue it together!

This is harder than it sounds... 

because the pieces just don't all fit exactly as they should!

But gradually it started to come together....

and then I remembered that I still needed to make the front door hinges!

I like my doors to open and close, 

and the kit just has you glue the door in place!

I was very glad I remembered this before I glued the front panel to the house!!!

I needed to cut the wood away where the hinges would go...

You can see (above) the two small gaps I cut into the frame and the door....

I am using small pieces of leather for the hinges here...

Here you can see them glued into place with the door wide open....

The leather fills the gaps and folds easily to fit.

Metal hinges would do the same... 

but they would be harder to attach in this thin wood.

Here you can see the front panel attached....

the lighting is not very good... 

it is night again....

But that was just the Beginning, Dear Readers!

Some of you might remember my mentioning that there would be a Tower....

Made from Oatmeal boxes....

Well, I made a start by cutting one of them open so we could see the inside...

And Blue wanted to let you know that there was 

plenty of room inside for a small Fairy Beary....

(Bears do like cozy Dens, after all....)

The real Trouble began when we began to think of the upstairs....

"Up-Stairs..."   

"What stairs...?"

Uh-oh, where are the stairs???

This is a real problem for me, Dear Readers, 

I like my houses to have the realism of stairs!

And even though the Fairy Bearys could all fly up to the next level...

what would happen if they had visitors who could not fly?

And before we even get started on solving the stairs problem....

I realize that the "upstairs" will want to be accessible from the Tower upstairs...

Which means making a door through the roof...

Before I glue all the roof panels in place!

So I started cutting into the roof panels.....

(I hear some of you gasping in horror!)

But it must be done.... 

if there is going to be stairs to the attic...

Blue came to have a look through to the Tower....

We might have to adjust the opening a little.....

It is very complicated to make the shape fit the slanting roof corner!

And meanwhile I have also been making another adjustment to the kit...

I am adding silver trim around the ceiling edges....

Like a cornice only flat against the ceiling...

and also adding vertical trim at the corners to cover all the gaps and tabs...

I tell myself it will make the room feel even more like 

a "Pavilion" with a metal framework against the blue sky.

Here the vertical pieces are in... 

I still need to make the pieces for the rest of the Cornice.

Here you have another view of the attic with the gaping hole....

And the Tower from the outside....

So you can see, Dear Readers, the Trouble I have gotten into...

Oh, What have I done?

But there is no going back now!

Kit bashing the Cloud Palace....

Pull Up A Cloud....

The Travelers Arrive!

It was Just ahead of the Storm, Dear Readers, that these two Fearless Travelers arrived at my Door this morning! I would like to introduce you to Blue's brother Beorn.....

who is a Wise Druid Healer, and his friend 

Sir Orion Blackthorne the Skywalker, 

a Knight of Great Valor!
Made for me by the very talented Birgit of BiWuBaren Blog... !

They have traveled together for many a day 

over Oceans and Mountains.....

In search of the Cloud Palace where Beorn's Sister 

Blue the Blue Fairy Beary lives.

You must understand that this is at the request of Sir Orion....

for he wishes to meet Blue.....

He has admired her from Afar for ages and ages....

And at last he has prevailed upon Beorn to introduce him!

It is only as they approach the Cloud Palace that Sir Orion begins to feel unsure...

(There is nothing that can make the Warrior feel Fear but Love....)

And he doesn't wish to intrude on his Friend's reunion with his Sister, after all....

So he asks Beorn to go first and prepare Blue....

"Halloooo"...... calls Beorn

"Are you there.... Blue...?

Sir Orion has brought a Golden Rose.....

As a token of his Deep admiration.....

Beorn can see that Blue is there.....

"Come in..... come in!"..... she calls to him....

They have not seen each other in what Feels like Forever!!!

They have so much to say to each other!

Then Blue sees someone behind Beorn......

"Who is here...?" she whispers....

"Oh.... I almost forgot..." says Beorn.....

"He is my friend... I want you to meet him....."

"You better come in now..." he calls to Sir Orion.....

"Blue.... I want you to meet my Great friend....

Sir Orion Blackthorne the Skywalker...."

"My Lady...." says Sir Orion....

"I have waited a Long time for this day...."

(here he needs to clear his throat a little...)

 

"I have brought you this Rose... a Treasure from the Land of your Birth."

"I only hope you will allow me to spend some time with you...."

 "Oh...!" says Blue.... at a loss for words....

"No-one has ever given me a Rose before...."

(It brings a slight blush to her nose....!)

"Well...!" says Beorn....

Interrupting the tender moment.....

Now that is over ..... we can all get comfortable...

 And while they start to tell Blue about their adventures together.....

I rush off to try and make their chairs....

The Cloud Palace still has no chairs!!!

I wanted to make the chairs..... 

"Cloud Chairs..."

Because what else would you sit on in a Cloud Palace?

I wasn't sure it would work with the fuzzy material....

So I also made two "Cloud Chairs" from more traditional materials....

I think I like the fuzzy "Cloud Chair" the best.....

I will have to make some more....

 but for now....

Orion is not afraid to pull up a Silver Lining Cloud Chair.....

And even though it is late at night.....

They still have so much to say to each other....

They will probably still be laughing at sunrise.....

On Valentines Day!

So wherever you are Dear Readers, 

Traveling or not...

I hope you have a Wonderful Valentines Day....

And that you can take a minute and 

Pull Up a Cloud....

With your loved ones!