Curtains, Window Seat Lights, Gilded Trim Etc....

 

 

Details And Distractions...

I Hope you won't mind, Dear Readers, that I have a Lot of details to show you this week! And even though I am now Retired and (in theory) have all the time in the World for minis, it hasn't exactly worked out that way! My younger son came East for two weeks and has been back and forth between my house and his Dad's (an hour away) so there has been more than a usual amount of distraction! It was absolutely Wonderful to have such a long visit with him, the first here since covid shut travel down in 2020! We talked and talked and ate and ate and consumed pots of tea (me) and coffee (him) and he helped me get some necessary projects accomplished too. Tonight he is headed back to Alaska. So here I am trying to put a sense of organization into the many little things I did during the past two weeks. For starters, I decided to grapple with the "difficulties" I was having with the Gilded trim for the ceiling of The Doll Maker's Studio. You can see a lovely picture of one section partly painted in the above picture.

Here you can see it really really close up, 

and if you look carefully you will see all the "white" spots

 where the gold paint has not quite covered over the primer.

And even where it has covered, it still needs several more coats of paint.

I did lots and lots of painting!

This section is the long side that you don't ever see

 unless you are looking in the windows.

And if you look carefully on the left end you will see a little cherub...

One of the troubles I had with this trim, from the very beginning,

 was that I wanted cherubs in the trim and couldn't find any that would work!

So I decided (at least two years ago)

 that I would have to try to make my own from sculpey.

This little guy was among the first of my attempts,

 but I thought he was too small.

So I made some others, and I didn't exactly like them either!

But if you know me, you will understand that I couldn't just throw them away!

(These guys take on a life of their own!)

I dithered and debated forever.... 

and eventually decided I had to try to make them work.

 

But here I must show you that I did get the second curtain made

 and here I am testing it with the first one.

And if you look closely at the gilded trim right above it

 you will see some very "blobby" parts amongst the swags.

I'm sorry I don't have better pictures....

 but there is a cherub sort of wrapped in the ribbon swag...

 he has a rather homely face 

and his wings had to not bump into the ceiling... 

(which is removed here).

And on the other side of this trim is the other fellow...

 but he is facing toward the wall so his fanny is what you see...

 along with his wings and the back of his head.

I decided that people would probably be too busy

 looking at the window seat to notice them up above.

They also needed lots of touch up with the painting.

I will try to get better shots of them...

 they are kind of cute in their own way... 

But first I have to show you the corner piece of trim

 that needed to be adjusted....

Here you can see I am trying to make the final piece of  "corner trim"

 fit into the corner properly and meet up at all the other sections correctly.

And you might recall me mentioning that 

the curtain rod needs to lift out of one of the hook eyes

 so the curtains can be removed.

But this corner trim was preventing the rod from lifting out!

Darn!

Here the corner piece has been pulled out 

(none of the trim pieces are glued in place so far!)

and I have taken my pliers to the pieces at the bottom and pulled them apart!

There is the evidence of my destruction!

With a great deal of taking it out and putting it back again,

 I was able to figure out where exactly the trim needed to stop.

 

And meanwhile, Dear Readers, between visits with my son,

 I had also decided to add the electrical outlet to the back corner of this room....

Here I have run the outlet through the wall

 and need to get it hooked up to test the wires before I glue it down.

I have been endlessly debating the lighting for this room.

The chief light source is the chandelier in the middle of the room.

 There is also the battery operated lamp that came with

 the original kit and will sit on the work table.

I have always thought the front window would look lovely

 with a string of Christmas lights 

rather than anything as bright as sconces.

I needed to test my theory!

Outlet works! Check!

But in order to hang the lights there would need to be hooks....

Made out of wire and poked into the wood frame.

And testing the lights in the window....

And with the curtains.... I think it will look just lovely!

And meanwhile, I have repaired the corner trim....

And repainted it....

I don't know why I sweated so much over this corner...

 it is absolutely Not visible!

But, yes, I will know it is there!

And more layers of paint.... 

you have to look from every angle....

 and I'm sure there will still be "missed spots" 

when it is too late to fix it.

Okay, so maybe here is a better view of the cherub...

can you see him there sort of swathed in the ribbon? 

He is supposed to be trying to hang the garland on the ceiling....

And the other one... carrying the other end of the garland... 

can you see his wings and fanny?

Well, never mind.... 

 I will know they are there 

and I am glad I included them after all!

There was still more painting to do...

And here's the first little cherub...

I'm glad there was room for him too!

Here's the last view of all the trim sections together....

And the last view of the walls without the trim.....!

Yes, I started to glue it in place!

One side at a time, but adding the next section 

before the glue was dry so it could be adjusted if necessary...

And with the ceiling in place (temporarily)

the morning sun is reflecting off the floor 

(protected by a sheet of paper)...

And with the paper out of the way....

I just have one small adjustment to make

 on the trim for the opening side wall....

 the piece you will hardly ever see...

so it has not yet been glued down.

And the ceiling is still removable....

 but not for long!

So, In spite of a lot of Distraction, Dear Readers,

 I have managed to complete a lot of little details

 and made a whole lot of Progress!

Let There Be Light.....

 

Heaven Scent... Lilacs....

Yes, the Lilacs are Blooming, Dear Readers, in RL and in my mini world. But capturing the moment of sunlight in my dark corner of the work room is tricky indeed. The Dollmaker's Studio project is sitting in the spot where the sun shines more fully, so I must catch the few brief moments when the lilac is lit early in the morning if it is a sunny day! You can see the sliver of light reaching into the garden in the picture above.

Aaahhh.... it really is magnificent!

 (And worth being late to work to catch the best shots!)

It only lasts a couple of moments and then it is gone.

But the lilac is magnificent even in the gloom!

But I am sure what you really want to see, Dear Readers, 

 is what I accomplished on my Dollmaaker's Studio project.

You may recall that I wanted to get the alcove completed

 so I could attach it at the back of the room.

Once the wallpaper was attached I needed to add the baseboards

 and the ceiling trim, and the ceiling panel itself.

And I hope you are not surprised that I needed to paint the ceiling first!

You can see the beginnings here... a sky with rosy clouds...

And testing it in place.... 

but it needs the trim too...

 

Which will be gilded....

And with some cherubs looking over the worktable!

Can we get a sense of how it will look...?

And in the alcove with the lamp...

because we need to see if it adds enough light!

Because I have not figured out the lighting for this room yet...

This is the battery operated led lamp that comes with the kit.

I also needed to "beef up" the woodwork on either side of the alcove, 

to equal the mass of the rocks in the arch.

And finish adding the baseboard trim as well.

And while I was painting things....

I was also working on the fireplace...

 painting the brickwork...

(This was surprisingly challenging to paint!)

With the morning light shining into the room 

I can see the  way the alcove is shaping up!

Even better with the light on!

(Forgive me, Dear Readers, this will be a long post!)

With the baseboards added, the alcove itself is complete!

And I must tell you that the tiles for the fireplace

 were bought a few years ago with a gift certificate

 given to me by a Secret Santa for our annual Christmas Party at work.

I think they suit this fireplace perfectly!

Testing in place..... I Know....

It is too dark!

But what I was really eager to get working on Dear Readers,

was painting the rest of the ceiling...

I needed to get it all done at once.... 

using the same paint mixtures and with the same "feel" to the painting....

I had already primed the board and added the blue sky paint... 

so it was just about the clouds...

And testing to be sure it works with the section in the alcove.

Then adding layering and detail to the clouds....

 

And the cherubs...!

You have no idea how many times I had to put the ceiling in place

 to see if I was getting the perspective even remotely right...

Because the angle of viewing does make a difference!

Testing in place.... with the flash...

 because it is late and getting dark and impossible to see...

But there has to be another cherub....

And another testing....

But I think the painting is finished....

(It took hours and Hours!)

And you must know those darling cherubs are holding the lamp!

(Where is that lamp....!)

This is another old salvaged item... 

two out of three of the lights work...

but I need to find my plugs in the light of morning.

So for now, all we have is the flash.

But with the morning light.... 

can you see the picture...?

Here, come closer!

But I must go to work... 

I will have to see about the lamp later.

 

 Ah... there it is! 

Can you see them now... holding up the light...?

Well, Dear Readers, whether you can see them or not....

We have light!

And we can even call it Heaven sent!

I hope you are all finding the light in your lives too!