Monday, March 31, 2014

Telling Tall Tales.....




My Head Is In The Clouds....

I know you will Not believe me, Dear Readers, when I tell you that I truly did Not Arrange this little group at all! I glanced over as I was walking by the other day and noticed that Brother Beorn had found himself a Delightful audience for his Flower Stories, which he is prone to launch into at the merest Whisper of a Blossom! As you can Imagine, they are Ecstatic to hear him describe the Wondrous scents and flavors and silky textures of all his favorite flowers! Is there just a Little Bit of Longing for Springtime in the air around here? (In this part of the World where there is still not even a Hint of a blossom to be found outdoors...!) Well, to get back to what I was telling you... Brother Beorn is Very Learned in all the magical and Mysterious plants the Entire World over... he has traveled and explored That Much! So the little Flock of Crystal Butterflies are Enchanted to hear him speak of these Wonders... because most of them have never flown to the distant corners of the World.... their Natural Habitat being Above the Clouds, you see! But the Flower they are in the Most Raptures about is the Elusive and Rare Lotus of the Clouds! It is surely a Plant I have Never seen.... but I have it on  Good Faith that I have made a decent approximation of it in the Stone Work for the Cloud Palace Fountain....

I must apologize in advance because I really think it is a trifle Ugly!
And I am Truly hoping it will improve with the painting it needs....

It took an unworthy amount of Time to seek out all the right pieces of egg carton
to make the parts look like they are chunks of stone...!
In the center is the fountain which will have the water pouring out....

And into the Well below....
But before you scoff at this little fountain I must tell you 
that the Lotus of the Clouds is known for it's Nectar....
The merest Sip of which will grant you Immortality...!
At least that is what the Legends Say...!

And while Brother Beorn is busy 
Telling Tantalizing Tales to Crystal Butterflies.....

Sir Orion and Blue have been Speaking in that Language known throughout Time....
It looks to me like Love has Blossomed....
I have not Eavesdropped on their conversations....
I have been too Busy trying to Build the Palace Tower...
Which Itself is a Tale that just keeps getting Taller...!

 
The Next room up is going to be the Sleeping Chamber....
A Cozy little space to curl up.....
You can see the beginnings above...
I cut three windows high up in the walls....
(This is so there will still be room for the bed Under the windows...)


And then I added the egg carton "Rock" Window frames....

And started to think about the ceiling....
Oh Dear.... the ceiling....!
I could NOT just do an Ordinary Ceiling!!!
I wanted a Domed ceiling.... 
And not just an Ordinary Domed Ceiling.... 
But an Onion Domed Ceiling....
*Sigh*
So I started to design one out of cardboard.....
I did quite a bit of Geometry....
It wanted to have five sections......
I started with the fifth of the circle the same diameter as the Tower....
(That is the small pattern you see below...)

Then I expanded the length and gave some curves to the sides.....
And traced that onto cardboard.
I kept the central parts connected 
and cut away the gaps in the curved sides....

Then began the gluing of the curved sides together.....
First the incurved top portion, held together with tape .....
It is important to let each part dry thoroughly before gluing another part....
There is a lot of stress on the glued seams... and the tape is essential!



Even so, some of my seams pulled apart as I glued the others.....
And once all the incurved seams are glued, 
then you force the sides to bend down and glue the outward curved sections ....


Again, you need to let each section dry thoroughly before gluing the next!


Which is why it is still not finished.....
(And I did need to adjust the curves a little from the original pattern...)

Here you can see the interior view....
I am going to see if I can coerce the gaps back together...
And the bottom edges need trimming...
Oh, and I still need to try it in the Tower to see if it Fits......
If it Doesn't..... I will be having Fits!!!

Meanwhile..... 
while all that glue was drying...

 I put a coat of primer on the Lotus Fountain....
I do NOT think it made an improvement....
But it was necessary!
I also put several coats of paint on the little desk in the Library....


I apologize for the dark picture... you can hardly tell, 
but it is now a beautiful shiny Silver!
Oh, and I also glued Lots and Lots of egg carton "rocks" 
onto the steps leading up to the next level....

You can see how Tall the Tower is getting...!

Although Blue and Sir Orion have not noticed at all....
I wonder what tales they are Telling.....?
As for Brother Beorn.....

I think I am like the Crystal Butterflies...
Enchanted with his Tales of Mystical Flowers.....
I don't know about you, Dear Readers, 
But I have my Head in the Clouds....
For how Else can you Tell Tall Tales?

14 comments:

  1. Watching you create is so much fun! I want to see the fountain with the water and all. It has a great start!

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  2. I think I will hire you to re-design our flat. With your imagination I expect every room has a dome ceiling! :D
    I love your fountain(or as I have just write before make it right" funtain" ;)) It's great idea and it is looking good!
    Haha, remember me asking how high this tower will be? ;) It's good to see it growing up!:)
    I would be happy to sit next to crystal butterflies and listen to Brother Beom's stories....

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  3. Oh Betsy, I always love to read your blog posts. I agree with you: if you want to, you can create everything you want, you have to think about it and then you can try, just like you ;)! I think the domed ceiling will be a great idea for the tower!
    The lotus fountain is an other great find for these lovely bearies, who are known for being such great nature lovers.
    I can't wait to see more of your work!
    Hugs, Ilona

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  4. Hi Betsy...I love following your progress. Your posts are always so much fun. The dome ceiling is a wonderful idea! It is so much work to create everything yourself, but your results are amazing.
    Hugs,
    Lisa

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  5. So lovely to see your progress, Betsy. The fountain looks very promising allready , as well as the dome you made. Knowing you, the objects will be fabulous once you have released your painting talent to them! keep up the good work.

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  6. I do not see limits of imagination to this fabulous house... Great!

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  7. Geometry, wow! (I wonder how they did those domes?)
    How will you create water in the fountain? Real water would melt the egg cartons...
    Your imagination runs on and on, to more and more distant lands and rainbows.
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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  8. LOL..I have my head in the clouds to I can hear the bears tall tales...I always wondered why I heard voices..now I know :)

    Hugs
    Marisa

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  9. Yes, no doubt about it... it's springtime even high up in the clouds. Love is in the air for sure... and everything is growing and becoming a wonder of its own, may it be a tower, an onion shaped dome, a stunning fountain (or even better funtain - like that word creation) or love between two who where destined for each other before they even met... I would love to join the crystal butterflies to listen to Beorn's tales - I know he knows many and he's a great storyteller. So please don't take your own heads off the clouds and continue to enchant us with your beautiful posts!

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  10. Lots of wonderful work being done as usual. I love the tower and the little library.

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  11. Dear Betsy! As usual, your stories are as interesting and as complex as your miniature work is. Your staircase is FABULOUS and the fountain is on its way to becoming another Incredible Feature. Your talents are without end and I just don't know how you do it, but keep on doing it, Scheherazade!

    elizabeth

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  12. I'm sure the fountain, once painted, will look much better and as you wish it would look. You say you don't like it but I do, even without paint, just as it is. The tower is getting amazing, as amazing is the transformation you have made with the whole house. It looks like Sir Orion and Blue are having fun while living in the cloud house you made for them but they don't seem the only ones to have fun...you probably are having as much fun if not more!!! Good job with the progress on the house.

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  13. Oh Betsy!
    Everything you make is so magical! Can't wait to see the finished Lotus Fountain, or the Dome on top! Thanks for sharing your wonderful creativity and imagination! You inspire me!
    Vicki

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  14. I love it when you choose the difficult path......an onion dome ceiling hahaha...but it will be wonderful when it's finished and well worth all the trouble!!!! And I'm sure the fountain will be a masterpiece too!

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