Monday, July 22, 2019

A Little More Progress....




Sugarplum Structure Changes.....

You Might recall, Dear Readers, that I am raising the height of the ceiling in the second floor of The Sugarplum Dollmaker's Studio by lowering the floor level, causing the bottom one and one half inches of the walls to be formed by the plywood structure I built from scratch. In order for the door openings and the alcove openings to begin at the new floor level, I had to cut away the openings in the plywood to correspond with the openings formed by the kit. Above you can see that I have done that, making the openings for (from the left hand wall) the fireplace, the Tower stairs door, the Alcove, and the door to the Balcony at the right side. We won't consider that this would have been easier to cut if I had made the cuts before I glued the base together...! At least this way I could perch the Sugarplum kit on top of the new base and make sure the openings were in the right place!


You can see here that I still have to cut away the bottom sections 
of the Sugarplum kit where the openings are....
 as well as add the door to the stair Tower 
at the second and third floor level.

 
Here I have cut away the lower portions of the kit....
 and added the floor so you can see how they go together.
The Balcony porch will be one small step up from the floor level.
And I have placed the Alcove in its opening
 as well as cut the Tower stairs door.
(The more I cut away the Sugarplum kit pieces,
 the harder it is to keep it standing up!)

Here I have added the second floor ceiling
 to get a better sense of the dimensions of the room.

 
Here you can sort of see both floors....
I know my photos are too dark.... 
It was a blisteringly Hot weekend here, Dear Readers,
 with temps in the high 90's both days, 
so I was staying indoors with my shades closed
 trying to keep cool!

 
This is a view of the structural support I am adding 
where the Stair Tower will connect to the main part of the house.....

Glued and screwed to the base wall...
It will make the connection much more durable
 and will stabilize the second floor kit where it sits on the base.

Oh, and you can see where I decided
 there just Had to be a small window in the back wall.
(Again, this would have been So much easier to cut
 before the walls were assembled!)

Here you can see I have patched the top of the door
 to the Balcony where it was too tall once the floor was lowered.

 
And I started to build the Fireplace for the Ground floor room.

As usual, it doesn't seem like much was accomplished,
 but quite a few little steps got done.

 
And yes, I Did complete my Weekly ten leafy stems
 for the Summer Lilac shrub!

Between those stems and
 the Sugarplum Structure changes, Dear Readers,
I think I made a Good bit of Progress!

11 comments:

  1. Y tanto que has hecho progresos! la estructura se ve muy bien definida y esa ampliación quedará fantástica!!
    Bravo por tus 10 tallos más!
    Besos.

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  2. You've made excellent progress and I really like the alcove although I bet there were a few "head scratching" moments!

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  3. Looking forward to see the progress on your house. Baby steps!

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  4. You are so adventurous with your kit bashing! Those slot and tab houses always freak me out with the idea of changing them.

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  5. Oh it's so much fun to see the photo of all three floors! It's going to be such a charming space with all of the arches and the little alcove! Great job filling in the balcony door, and great job cutting the openings after the walls were vertical! That is a challenge!
    The fireplace is going to be great there between the doors and I love the little window! You must be squealing inside at all of the possibilities for this wonderful new project! I know I am!
    And let's not let slip by what an accomplishment it is to have another 10 leafy stems completed! You've definitely made the most of your mini time this week!

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  6. Making your stems in between some Serious Reconstruction on the Sugar Plum cottage Dollmaker's shop looks like A LOT of progress to me too Betsy!

    but hey! but didn't your Cloud Palace start out as a "little" kit too!? ;D

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  7. Having in mind that all of this started with a very tiny kit for a dollmaker's vignette this is really progress to be proud of! *LOL* Really, you've achieved so much - and you've still found the time for keep up with your weekly amount of leaves. It is big fun to follow your steps and to see your intentions and visions come to life. And all of this during a heatwave - we're having one too (today we've had an all-time record in Germany... frightening) and this is keeping me off from almost everything… *sigh*

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  8. You have done a lot of work this is an exciting build. I am looking forward to see your progress.
    Hugs Maria

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  9. Hi, Betsy - As usual, you don't think you've accomplished nearly as much as I think you've accomplished! Making all the structural changes in the Sugarplum kit seems like such a challenge - but an exciting one - and you're doing a good job keeping track of all the doors, windows, balconies, and alcoves, and a fireplace. My mind reels! I don't know how you managed to make those ten leafy stems in addition to everything else; your perseverance is admirable! I'm looking forward to seeing this new project take shape.
    Marjorie

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  10. Yet one more little house launched; amazing.
    I'm home, safe, tired.
    Much love,
    Mom

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