Going For The Gold....

 

Nano House and Nanny's Room.....

The Last you saw of The Nano House, Dear Readers, I had just completed the Tiniest Pagoda Bed Ever, and realized that it might require me to raise the ceiling of the room the tiniest bit in order to fit the pagoda top without squishing it! The solution for this problem is the same as the solution for this problem in the original Tree House bedroom.... the ceiling needed to be "domed" to give the top of the bed enough space. And for the Tree House bedroom, that ceiling became a "coffered bossed and gilt wonder of its own (you can read all about it int he archives... waaaay back in the 2013 season) which of course, means that the Nano House bedroom ceiling needs to suggest the similar features with out copying slavishly. So for starters, I needed to carve away the underside of the ceiling framework...

 

 Here you can see that piece of wood with

 the shape to be cut away already started. 

The wood itself is 3/16 inch x 3/8 inch stock... 

the same as I used for the Tree House Library shelving. 

It is sturdy but not too thick. 

But I had to be careful that my "dome" remained

 fairly shallow so as to not weaken the wood too far.

 

Here is the rough cut with the piece removed.

 

Here you can see it has been sanded,

 (as best as I could for such a tiny piece!) 

to smooth out the imperfections and 

emphasize the shape of the central oval. 

 

Here the ceiling has been painted 

prior to testing the fit with the bed in the room...

 

Which, if you look really carefully, you can see 

the bed does not quite hit the ceiling!

 

Next step... adding the gold trim! 

Here I have glued on the finest gold thread in my collection... 

to outline the oval shape, as was done

 with the Tree House Bedroom ceiling.

 

And here the second gold edging has been attached.

 

Here you can see the ceiling in place on the Nano House.... 

and yes, the gilded trim is visible 

if you look up at the right angle! 

(The tree House has this same problem, 

those ornate ceilings are hard to see!) 

And because the ceiling looked good just like this,

 I decided not the add more details. 

This was enough.

 

And as for the Nanny's Room, Dear Readers,

 it has been a while since we paid attention

 to that lovely painted ceiling!

 

You might recall the Cherubrats that adorn the cloudy sky

 and are looking curiously down from above! 

And because this ceiling resembles the one in the Dollmaker's Studio

 where I used that very elaborate gilded trim for the cornice,

 I wanted a similar effect in the Nanny's Room, 

only it needed to be smaller and quite a bit more "refined" in style.

 

Months ago I had painted a regular small piece of trim with the gold paint....

 but it needed the addition of some form of three dimensional decoration. 

Then I remembered a string of small beads

 in a delicate rosette arrangement that

 someone had given me as a teenager... 

those Hippy years, you know,

 and they were somewhere

 in all my accumulated supplies...!

 Yes, I found them!

 They would make just the right sort 

of decorative swag glued onto that gold wood.

 It was a slow process to get them glued in place...

 one swag at a time.

 

And they just fit the length of painted trim I had already prepared...!

 

Which then needed several coats of primer....

 

And then the gold paint....

 

Three coats of the gold paint to achieve

 the level of brilliance desired!

 

And then trying to see how it would look against that ceiling.... 

(All the walls and the ceiling are still not attached

 for the Nursery and The Nanny's Room.... 

they wiggle and fall down at the drop of a hat!) 

But I think the look is going to be just what I wanted... 

so now it is just a matter of cutting to fit the mitered corners....  

and testing in place....

 (Hold your breath)

 

Aahhh.... That is what I was looking for.....!!

 

Although I still have to cut and fit the other sections... 

and test it with the bed in place and the candle lit.... 

but I do believe it has just the right amount of decorative detail! 

 

Oh, yes, Dear Readers, we are 

looking up and Going for the Gold 

in the Nano House and the Nanny's Room! 

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!

Going For The Gold...

 

 Step By Step...

It's Been a while, Dear Readers, but Some of you might remember way last spring when I was starting to work on the ceiling trim of the second floor room in the Dollmaker's Studio project. I wanted to create an ornate, gilded floral swagged Rococo border to accompany the cherub painted ceiling. I began to construct the corner sections first and had assembled and painted many of the pieces when summer arrived and the Castle painting became my central focus. You would be forgiven if you thought I had abandoned this project! (It became buried under the pieces of "rock" I was needing for the Castle...)! But as often happens with my projects, this was really because I had become unsure of how to make a part I needed for this ceiling trim. I wanted to add some leafy sprays of foliage that would counterbalance the downward sweep of the swags... but I could not find leaves that would suit my purposes. At any rate, I had temporarily taped a few of the "swags" into position and there they stayed until I unearthed the pieces a week ago. I decided that at least I could attach the pieces I had already finished and then it might be easier to see what was still needed! So I began gluing the swags to the gold painted cornice trim... one piece at a time, being careful to not get glue onto the wallpaper.

The ceiling cornice is not yet glued in place 

which means it easily falls out of position...

but it is necessary to attach the swags while it is in place

 so they hang correctly against the wall.

The ends of the gold ribbon are glued down afterwards, 

leaving one of the corner sides unattached 

until the final gluing will be done.

I know, it is complicated!

And, of course, the wall is irregular because of the stone archway,

 so the different pieces need to be carefully fitted around the arch.

Each swag is slightly different anyway, 

because I wanted it to feel loose and carefree

 rather than too structured. 

Rococo design is dependent on

 asymmetrical flowing forms.

It was night time and dark, so the flash is necessary.

 

 

Here you can see it in the clear morning light!

But I wanted to see how it would look with the painted ceiling in place.

 

Without the flash, it is impossible to see it well enough.

 

And with the flash...!

It is starting to feel like I hoped it would... 

except for the missing leafy parts... 

Which I have been experimenting on

 making from plastic pieces and paper pieces.

Here I am testing some foliage....

 without the flash...

And with the flash.

I have added a few of the heavier plastic pieces

 in between the swags,

 but this is just testing, not glued in place.

And a few of the paper pieces

 peeking over the top against the ceiling. 

They need to support the illusion

 that there is sky above the gilded trim!

 

As you can see, Dear Readers,

I still have a ways to go before 

I can really glue it all in place!

But I am making some progress!

Step by step... Going for the Gold!

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!