Lilacs At Last....

 

And a Few Rocks And Roses...

Did You think you would not see the Blooming Lilac this year, Dear Readers? We have been having a late and colder than usual Spring in this part of the World, and my RL Lilac has finally bloomed this week! I thought we would never get here! And the blossoms on the RL shrubs all of a sudden everywhere in the neighborhood, reminded me that I needed to make the seasons change in my mini world too! Above you can see the blossoming lilac tucked into its protective box (a huge box, really!) where it hides in the eleven other months of the year (I do allow it to feature in The Folly Garden for a full month each year!) But in order to see it properly, it requires that I rearrange the dollhouses in my workroom so that The Folly can be in full view.

I imagine that You can imagine what a process it is

 to juggle all the parts while moving just two

 of my too many mini houses!

The Dollmakers Studio has retreated to the back corner, 

but rest assured, I have been working on it too!

Meanwhile it is a gloomy afternoon and the flash was required

 to show you the studio as it now is.... 

you will have to wait for morning for

 a better view of the lilacs with the sun shining in.

And if we catch it early, you can see

 the slender beam of sun that sneaks into the studio...

And if we wait a few minutes...

Ahhh.... the morning sun

 illuminates the shrub and The Folly Garden!

 

 There is nothing quite like it!

But it doesn't last.

Only a short while later you will have to make do

 with artificial lighting.

Oh, I Do Love to look at this blooming lilac!

It is a Dream come true!

And Dear Readers, I am sure you will not be surprised

 that while I was rearranging the Studio, 

I was still making a few more "Rocks"

 for the Lord's Bed Chamber.

I had happened, quite by accident, 

to discover that I was overlooking some

 crucial pieces of "rock for the Tower Structure!

My method of constructing the Castle Towers from the bottom up,

 thus allowing the ceiling of each room to be removable

 until the room is completed, 

means that I leave the top couple of "steps" unattached

 on each stairway where it goes up inside the walls.

This is because the ceiling of the room below 

(which is the floor of this one) is removable until the last step.

This is so the steps will fit right against the floor when it is finally attached.

Well, I attached this floor (the ceiling of The Lord's Council Chamber)

 way last fall and completely forgot that the top steps were not attached!

I don't think they were ever built at all... if they were, I couldn't find them!

So I built them from scratch... (not a difficult task)

And glued them in place!

Ta Da!!

(I was really shocked when I discovered

 that I had nearly overlooked this gap entirely!)

And speaking of other overlooked details....

Just to the other side of the door by those steps... 

the front corner of the Tower needed its Corner Post added!

Remember I had neglected to build these

 when I started the Castle Oh so many years ago!

Can you see it there now...? To The left of the door?

It does sort of disappear once it is in place!

It's a lot easier to attach before the stair wall is in place!

And speaking of other holes and missing rocks....

I had not finished making the "rocks"

 that surround the Doorway to the Spiral Stairs.

Here you can see I have cut and fitted them.

And the flash makes it obvious that there are a few "gaps"

 where the door wall meets the stairs.

Here the door surround "rocks" have been painted and attached.

And a couple more "rocks" have been fitted to cover the gaps!

One more still needed for the top step space.

(Fitting these "rocks" is not easy!)

And Did I mention Roses too?

Well, they are not yet blooming in my RL garden, 

but I have been making more of those gilded swags

 for the ceiling cornice of The Dollmaker's Studio.

They are composed mostly of Roses!

Here they are being glued together, plastic, metal, resin....

attached to a metallic mesh ribbon...

and then glued to the wooden cornice trim.

This is the section which spans the front opening side of the Dollhouse, 

and will thus be only visible when looking in through windows...

when it is all constructed I will paint it with primer and then the gold paint.

There are three primary swags along each side of the room.

The shorter sections at each end have unique treatments.

(But more about them another time!)

It is a slow process with LOTS of waiting for glue to dry!

Hence the many other projects in tandem...!

Here they are getting a test fit along with all the other sides.

The painted ceiling is removed and lying flat on the work surface... 

so you have to imagine you are looking up at the ceiling....

Progress is being made!

So there you can see, Dear Readers,

 the many pieces I have been juggling...

But Mostly I hope you have enjoyed seeing the Lilac blooming...

Even if it is a Cloudy Day!