Complicated Corners...

 

 

Floor and Ceiling...

I had left you, Dear Readers, with my bold additions of Cartouches with Roses along the sides of the carpet I am enlarging, but did not show you the many attempts I have made to design the rest of the expanded carpet. I quickly decided that the more I could make use of the designs already "charted" in the kit, the better it would be in the end. The simplest addition would be to reverse the scrolls that were already the framework of the design. This decision was aided by the happy coincidence that there was just enough room for a second set of scrolls in the added carpet width! You can see above that I started right in with that plan and really liked the results. One of my chief concerns with this expansion of the original kit design, was the quantity of threads I would need. I had calculated the square inches of extra stitching and believed there would be enough thread overall to complete the extra designs... but only if I stayed carefully within the "proportions" of the colors of thread included in the carpet. So far I think we are going to make it! But it is a close thing with the threads for the pink roses... I have more than doubled the original number of roses!

I knew I wanted roses in the corners

and I wanted them to sort of mimic the other roses

 that were already in the corners,

 but they would need to be in "cartouches"

 like the other ones I had added.

I jumped right in, sort of copying the design from the kit,

 but the space required that I adjust their "angle"a little bit.

They needed to fit in this sort of square space.

Getting the "framework for the "cartouche" to fit the space

 was much more challenging than I had thought it would be!

After many tries... 

I am getting really good at un-stitching the threads...

I have settled on the not really square shape you see above.

It needed to meet up with the side and end borders 

and with the tips of the "scrolls" which

 extended from the corner rose clusters.

And I wanted it to end up being a "cartouche" 

sort of like the ones I had added at the sides.

But there wasn't enough room for as many rows of color all around...

So I had to compromise with the red and gray rows...

So this is what I came up with....

The framework is not as bold as the ones at the sides...

But I think it ends up with enough of a soft "floral" shape 

while still fitting in the space.

It is going to have to suffice because 

it is way too late to un-stitch it again...! 

 

As for the Complicated corners for the ceiling trim, Dear Readers,

 this was just as difficult and just as much trial and error!

To begin with, I had to make a "template

 that I could glue the pieces to

 that would fit into the inside corner of the ceiling trim

 when it was completed and in place.

And because it is a tight corner, 

and nothing stays put at an angle,

I can only glue one piece at a time...

wait for it to dry, and then add another...

and after a while see if it looks okay....

(And it is also really tricky to photograph!)

And then try to hold the pieces in place

 to see if the angles fit in the corner correctly...

So hard to tell!

And so much waiting for glue to dry...!

But there would need to be more corners.....

so I started more...

And trying to get a sense of how they will look...

So hard to tell...!

But I had to keep going anyway...

Each corner will need to be a little different to fit the space...

And adding primer to the first bunch....

 because maybe that will make it easier to tell if it looks right...

And that's as far as I got, Dear Readers,

 with the Complicated Corners

 of the carpet and the ceiling trim!

Nowhere near finished, 

But at least it is progress!

The Fourth Wall...

 

Wallpaper....

I don't know about you, Dear Readers, but I always forget about the "Fourth Wall" of my houses! I suppose it is because the kits usually made in America don't include an actual wall, but leave the "back" of the house open for ease of playing. I have always loved the idea of the completely closed dollhouse... with hinged doors for keeping the dust and stray pests from invading. So far my houses are mostly open on the "fourth wall" side, but I am thinking more and more of changing that! Meanwhile, the construction of the Dollmaker's Studio, being a hodge-podge of kit bashes, didn't start out with the fourth wall as part of the plan. At some point I added the fourth wall to the ground floor (remember this initially was the great addition to the too small Sugarplum Cottage kit which has no fourth wall) making it a lovely enclosed room. With hinged opening doors.... (have I mentioned that I Love hinges?) And because the ground floor was now enclosed, the upper floors would also need to have opening doors on the "fourth wall". You can see those doors in the above picture (the third floor ones have still not been constructed).

 And if you are familiar with the Sugarplum Cottage Kit, you will know that it has a very cute front porch with little benches beside the door. This is actually one of my favorite parts of this kit! But in this kit bash, the porch is elevated one story from the ground... making the porch unnecessary. But because it is one of my favorite parts... I decided to make it into a balcony instead. And then when I realized how much the door to the porch used up valuable wall space inside the room... I decided to reverse its location to the "fourth wall", the opening wall. You can see in the above picture the closed-in altered front wall of the Sugarplum kit where the porch would have been. I even had carved the new door opening slot into the foundation extension before deciding to make it a feature of the "fourth" front opening wall. Which is why there is a "door to nowhere" in that front opening wall (see the first picture). All of this is a way of saying that there were quite a few challenging adjustments needing to be carefully fitted to make the front opening wall have a cute porch attached to it!

Starting with the addition of the 

porch support to the opening door.

(I apologize for the dark pictures... 

it was so hot on the weekend

 I had all my window shades closed...)

And you might have noticed on the first picture

 that all the screws for the hinges

 are poking through the too thin wall...

Requiring lots of added "strip wood" to hide them.

 

Here you can see the one on the inside of the front opening door.

Here the door is separated from the building.... 

you can see the added trim on the door frame

 and the door itself (covering the screw tips).

I needed to get the porch and door framework started

 before I could add the wallpaper to the inside of the front walls!

 

Here you can see the Sugarplum porch pieces

 have been stained and glued together.

(I didn't have enough hands to hold it all together

 for fitting without gluing it).

But they are not attached to the building yet. 

I will be making some changes!

But they fit on the door and the door

 swings open without interference.

I added a large baseboard on the interior of the opening wall doors

  in part to cover the screws I used to secure the porch support beam.

And here you can see the door trim being added to the porch door.

Making the arched sections will take more time,

 but can be done after the wallpaper is attached.

Here you can see both doors with the wallpaper....

(at the kitchen table where the light is better!)

And an inside view seen through the alcove window.....

The window will require fitting and trimming too.

Here's the exterior view with the porch in place 

(although it leans out because it is not fastened yet)

it will need railings and perhaps a roof.

And with the doors open (and the flash on)

you can see that at least the wallpaper is all done!

I do like the way it is looking!

And here you can see that no progress at all

 was made on the ornate ceiling trim.

 

It always Amazes me, Dear Readers,

 when the pieces of the puzzle start to come together

 and they look as good as I imagine.

Seeing the Wallpaper on the fourth wall

 really makes a difference!

Roses, Roses....

 

 And More Roses...!

The Roses in my RL garden, Dear Readers, have been putting on an astonishing show this week. Every shrub has been doing its best to upstage its neighbor with the quantity and beauty of its blossoms. I try to admire every bloom but cannot keep up! And each new blossom is more beautiful than the one before! Is it any wonder that Roses are the theme of several of my endeavors right now? I have not shared with you my latest petit-point carpet project, another of Janet Granger's delightful kits.

 

It is a beautiful Aubusson style carpet,

 complete with roses in clusters among lavish swirls.

There is only one problem... 

it is too small for the room I wish to use it in!

The completed kit would make a 5x6.5 inches carpet.

The mesh cloth included in the kit is large enough

 that I could fit a carpet 6.5x8 inches if I used all the space.

Which made me wonder if I could expand the design.... 

just add a border all around?

If I stopped following the kit... 

and pushed the border out by 3/4 inch all around

And maybe added a couple of "cartouches" at the sides... 

with roses in them...

Like so....

Would it work?

The first cartouches are too small

 and have to be re-stitched...

Just one stitch larger all around.

Then I discovered I had counted wrong on the border....

The entire left side had to be taken out and moved over by one row...!

(Hours and hours of undoing and re-doing...)

These symmetrical patterns are very very unforgiving 

of counting errors!

Can you see where my idea is headed...?

But there is still a huge amount of re-designing to do!

(This is harder than it looks!)

Meanwhile, Dear Readers, this is not the only place

 where I am playing with roses!

For a while now I have wanted to try to embellish

 the ceiling trim of the Dollmaker's Studio...

Adding swags of "carved" ribbons and roses...

First gluing a selection of "floral" pieces to a mesh ribbon....

Coating it in primer....

This is just a test run to see if it works...

Painting it gold...

 and trying to see if it looks anything like I imagine...

Which is really hard to tell...

If we temporarily add the ceiling and shine a light in....

Can this work...???

Well, Dear Readers, I'm not done yet!

There is a long way to go and a lot to figure out...

But I am having a lot of fun...

Playing with the roses!

Inspired by my RL Garden!

The Window Seat Alcove...

 

A Twisting Tale...

Unlike the Dollmaker's Studio Vignette, Dear Readers, which went together flawlessly from laser cut pieces of the well made kit, the Window Seat alcove is cobbled together from scrap wood pieces found in my "bits and pieces" boxes. What seemed like an ideal piece of plywood, exactly the needed dimensions for the base, had a subtle flaw that only became apparent after the structure was glued together. It had a slight warp to the plywood! The result is that the base of the window seat doesn't sit square to the walls on both sides. On one end it leans away from the wall, leaving a sliver of a wedge shaped gap at the top. You can see in the above picture that I have added a sliver of plywood to fill the gap. And on the other side of the window, it is the window frame which doesn't meet the side of the wall!

  This is because the opposite wall leans out a little bit because the base is a little bit twisted. The piece of plywood is too sturdy to "untwist" by applying pressure and a lot of glue; it is 3/8 th inch thick and only 2 inches wide by 7 inches long. It is sturdy so the window seat will not be vulnerable to accidental breakage over the years, sticking out the way it does!

It is screwed to the supports that it sits on 

(I will glue it permanently when it is all finished)

and the supports themselves might not be entirely level or even.

 I am allowing that over the many hundred years of its life, 

it has probably sagged somewhat!

The structure from the interior will not show

 the patched pieces once the trim is all in place. 

And all the trim needs to be added to

 the window seat before I attach it...

starting with the narrow scrap of ceiling 

which is another serendipitous scrap!

 It is meant to be the roof (with overhanging eaves)

of the window alcove for the Sugar-plum Cottage kit,

 and fits just perfectly into the

 expanded size of the Window Seat alcove! 

Not a sliver of altering needed!

 But it also must first be painted...

 

With a sleeping cherub among the billowing clouds.

 

As always, it takes many layers to make it look right.

 

 This one will be difficult to see...

This is as close as we will ever get!

Because the ceiling of the window seat is 

tucked behind the supporting wall beam...

And there will be the gilded ceiling trim blocking the view...

And we will have to crane our necks to even get a glimpse...

But we will know he is there...

 asleep on his cloud pillow!

The gilded trim needs to be fit... 

but not attached until the wallpaper is attached.

Which requires that we get the whole end wall glued in place

 so the wallpaper pattern can match as well as is possible!

No, the pattern does not match perfectly!

I am using up scraps in this build...

 and argue that the discrepancies will be attributed 

to renovations made later.... or something like that!

And... Oh look! The baseboards have even been added!

And wallpaper on the sides of the window seat...

 so we can glue the gilded ceiling trim in place!

The window seat will have trim around

 all the edges once it is glued in place.

And I am using a very fine scrap of wood veneer 

(that came with the Willowcrest kit

 for making the mansard roof curved sides...)

to cover the back and surface of the window seat itself,

 because I don't want to add any thickness to the seat. 

It is already high enough!

Here you can see my trusty high tech clamps in action 

holding the side panel in place while the glue dries.

The seat surface cannot be added until the window seat

alcove is firmly attached to the supports and those screws filled in!

Here I am testing it in place... not firmly attached yet! 

First I must figure out how the ceiling of the room will "tab" into place

 if all four walls are glued and have no "flex" 

because of all the firmly glued alcoves....!

For the moment I have left one side of the end wall

 not yet glued to the support post... 

so it can be flexed as needed for the ceiling tab. 

So you can see, Dear Readers,

 it is a bit of a Twisty Tale...

 Figuring out how all the parts fit together...

 but I am making good progress!