Birds, Blossoms, Walls and Wires....!

Hardwick Hall Progress... And More!

Believe it or Not, Dear Readers, I added a few more birds to the murals on the Bedroom Wall in Hardwick Hall! And whether or not they can all co-exist in Harmony in the Real World, here on my Mini Paradise Walls, I wanted to include as many of my favorites as I could! So I added a pair of Tufted Tit-Mice, which you can see on the branches to the left, and I also added a pair of Common Yellow-throat Warblers to the tree on the right. Because I was home on vacation, I spent a snowy/icy/ windy/freezing day flitting from bird to bird in my own little Springtime! And because I had so much Time to pursue all those little Details on my List, I also began to run all the wires from the Bedroom and the Parlor through the kitchen and into the basement.

These are the wires for the two bedroom sconces, the bedroom fire, the front porch light, the downstairs hall light, the two parlor sconces and the parlor fire. They all needed to be lengthened in order to reach the plug unit which will be at the back of the house along the foundation. I carefully spliced longer wires, using shrink tubing at the joins. (I neglected to take pictures, of course!)

I used ordinary masking tape to "flatten" them against the wall, and to keep them separated from one another so they would not rub and cause short circuits. Because they will be covered by the Hearth wall, I am not concerned about the tape failing to hold over time. They will be held in place by the wall itself. (At least this is the theory!)

And here is the view of the underside of the house, 

where the wires come through the floor 

and pass out from the foundation at the back

(which is at the top in this picture!).

I tested every light before and during and after 

the procedure of splicing...

 just to be sure they still worked!

Parlor sconces and hearth fire and downstairs hallway.... check!

Front porch.... check!

Bedroom sconces and hearth fire.... check!

So far we are good to go!

And of course, there were still a few more Birds that got added.... 

There are a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, one on each tree (the female has no red spot on her head) and also a pair of Rufous Sided Towhees, scratching in the flowers on the ground. The female is more brown and is on the left, the male is black backed and is way at the right in the corner formed by the back wall extensions. I also added another flowering Quince shrub to that corner (still not finished in this picture!) My goal was to get this wall finished so it could be glued in place!

Then I remembered that there were two more lights 

that would need to be run down the kitchen wall...

One was the kitchen light itself.....

Here you can see that I have added a chain 

to support the light so the light is not hanging by the wire alone. 

I have snaked the wires through the links 

and added a jewelry finding as a ceiling plate.

The other light which will need to run down this wall is the upstairs hall ceiling fixture... which is attached to the underside of the third floor... so I have to get that floor glued in place before I can run the wires down... and before I can glue the third floor, I have to glue the outer side walls!

And the front hall upstairs will be forever viewed only through the adjacent doorways...

Here is the view looking down from the top before the third floor is attached....

The Moon Maidens are marching up the stairs from the front hall to the attic,

 each one representing a different phase of the moon.

There are thirteen of them in all.

And since I was finally done adding birds.... 

well, I could go on adding, but enough was enough!...

I had Finally reached that important step, Dear Readers, 

the one where I take my courage in my hands 

and GLUE the wall in place!!!

It was a tricky manoeuvre, Dear Readers, because the walls were a bit warped, and I still was not supposed to glue the top front sides together because the third floor needed to be tabbed into slots on all three sides before gluing could be done! Of course, I didn't take any pictures because it was late and dark.... but the next morning the light could shine into the bedroom with all the walls in place! (Although you can see from the gaps in this picture that I had not yet glued the third floor in place!)
I wanted to attach an outlet into the baseboard that runs along the outside wall before I put the ceiling on! The wire would run through the groove in the baseboard and out the back corner where it could run down the outside to the plug strip. This would be covered eventually by the corner trim boards.

Here the kitchen light is glued to the ceiling, 

but it's wires have not yet been spliced.

And then, because nothing else could be done 

until the third floor was attached....

You can see my inventive method of "clamping" the walls together while the glue dries...

Because I have no clamps big enough... and ALL the walls were quite warped and unwilling to just sit nicely in place until the glue dried! I used a toothpick to insert some glue into the cracks of the upper half of the front corners, added tape and braced the stick against a nearby doorjamb!

Then I went to bed! (It was late!)

And in the morning I went to see if all was well.....

So far so good!!!

But I still needed to attach the wires to the lights from the hall and kitchen....

and run them down through the basement....

Kitchen light.... check!

Upstairs Hall light.... (viewed through the bathroom door)... check!

And you can even see a few of the stars glowing!

Progress, Dear Readers, 

This is Progress!!!

 

But I promised you blossoms too, 

and so far they have been missing...

 Here you can see I found time to sew 

the backing on the needlepoint pillow 

and stuffed it with seed beads...

I am in love with these needlepoint kits!!!

I think it looks so comfortable on this settee!

And that is not all! 

Do any of you even Remember 

the embroidered curtains 

for the Thee House Pagoda Bed?

Well, I couldn't remember when I had last stitched on them,

 and couldn't find a good picture, 

and forgot to take one of the "before" 

when I started stitching again....

Only about half of the blossoms on the left hand curtain had been done.

They are each about two and a half inches long, 

the basting stitches outline the curtains edges.

They are getting very close to finished!

 

So There you can see, Dear Readers, 

between the birds and Blossoms and wires and walls,

I made Great Progress on Hardwick Hall!

And Beyond!

Birds And Blossoms....

Dreaming of Spring.....

I have Finally Embarked on one of the Tiny petit-point pillow kits I bought years ago, Dear Readers, and I am determined to actually Learn the correct stitching methods for these tiny projects! This is a kit I bought from Janet Granger and it comes with everything you need to make the pillow (except Time and Patience!). I thought it would be easier if I started with something quite small so that finishing it would not take forever! Well, in spite of the very good instructions and diagrams that came with the kit, once I had placed the first ten stitches in dark red, I panicked! I had no idea  how to move from one direction to another, up, down or over or diagonally, or how far you could "jump" without starting a new knotted thread! So I put it aside because I knew I really needed to master the basic stitches first! So I pulled out a scrap of needlepoint canvas, and just started Sewing! I practiced the tent stitch and the basket stitch until I felt comfortable with them. Then I added in a piece of pattern, just to try working around different colors, and after a while I felt that I understood the basic stitching techniques well enough to try the pillow again! As you can see from the above picture, I am figuring it out!

Here you can see I have added the leaves and the border too...

All it needs now is the background filled in!

And the best part is that I am Enjoying it So much!

I have always loved to sew....

But I am loving this More than I thought I would!!!

But that is not All I have been doing Dear Readers, 

I have also been making Great Progress with the painted murals 

in the bedroom of Hardwick Hall!

Here you can see I have added two Blue Jays

to the trees on the front and side walls.

You might recall that I have not yet glued 

the outer or inside wall in place, 

just so I can still paint these small details on the front wall!

(I apologize for the blurry picture, It is really difficult to get the focus just right!)

I thought that if I can just get All the birds painted, 

I can at least glue the inner wall in place.

Here I have added the American Goldfinch

as well as a Red Breasted Nuthatch...

(The one climbing head down on the trunk....)

Their mates are on the opposite tree with the Blue Jays.

Then I painted a pair of tiny Wrens on the big tree beside the fireplace....

And a pair of Tree Sparrows in the lilac shrubs.....

Can you see them there... just under the sconce?

Then I added a pair of Rose Breasted Grosbeaks.....

the female is quite plain...

Here is a larger view of this wall.... the hearth fills the empty spot.

And you can just see the Sparrows when the hearth is in place!

(Yes, it was very dark and late by now....)

But I continued painting more birds the following day!

I added a pair of Baltimore Orioles to the outside wall....

And since I decided that the inner wall was ready.....

I GLUED it in place!!

Hooray!

The front wall was a little bit warped, 

so I had to turn the house on its side 

and add the weight (a paint can) 

to ensure a good glue connection.

But meanwhile I continued to paint birds 

on the outside, unattached wall...

I added a pair of Chickadees and a pair of Indigo Buntings.....

(The female Indigo Bunting is a plain drab brown.)

Here I have added a pair of Mockingbirds.....

He is on the tree top at right, 

while she is in the Quince shrub at lower left.

And once the Glue had dried sufficiently, 

I righted the house and glued the baseboards 

along the inner wall and the front wall!

But I still was not done adding birds....

A pair of Barn Swallows swooped in.....

And a pair of Hermit Thrushes joined the choir.....

He is in the lilac at lower left while 

She is scratching in the dandelions down below....

(Yes, it is a trifle hard to see them... it is getting late again!)

I am nearly done adding the Birds!

And as for the needlepoint....

I got started on the background.....

I am really so pleased with my progress, Dear Readers!

It didn't take me long at all to finish the background!

(And there were only one or two mistakes!)

 

It might still be Wild Winter 

in my RL World, Dear Readers,

But in my Mini World, 

it is all Birds and Blossoms 

And I am Dreaming of Spring!

Ashes, Birds, Branches.....

It's The Little Things.....


Another Busy weekend, Dear Readers, working on the RL project, kept me from doing much with the minis. But I have become really determined to accomplish at least Something in spite of the demands on my time and energy! And this weekend I was able to get three small things done! I realized that I had forgotten to add the ashes to the bedroom fireplace! And because I had also decided that it would Have to have a lit fire, there absolutely needed to be a pile of ashes below the fire grate! So I cut a piece of egg carton that had a humped shape and glued it in the hearth. Then I painted it ash colored and gave it a try with the "regency" fire grate.

Yes, I know, my pictures are terribly dark, it is almost impossible to see the details!

There will need to be a fire screen or a fender at the very least 

to prevent run away coals, but I think it is looking good!

Such a small detail, but I would have been 

very annoyed if there were no ashes!

The second thing I accomplished, Dear Readers, 

was that I remembered I had not yet painted

 All the birds on the walls of the bedroom!

This was something that would be very very difficult to do

if I had already glued the walls in place!

I managed to add four birds to the front wall, which is already attached, 

but without the side wall in the way, I can reach in from the side 

to paint on the front wall with at least a little less trouble!

(The above picture shows the side wall in place, but it is still removable!)

There still need to be quite a few more birds added to all the walls. 

The idea is that it is a New England version of the

 Chinoiserie wall decor, so fashionable in the eighteenth century,

and so it needs to be filled with our native birds!

So far the fireplace wall has American Bluebirds and Robins, 

and the front wall has the Red-winged Blackbirds and the Cardinals.

But that is just a start! There are many more that I plan to add.

It is such a little thing, but I think it makes a huge difference!

And the third thing I managed to do was to start the painting 

of the sculpey tree branches for the Parlor Fireplace.

Here you can see them all removed from the parlor but not yet painted.

The color of the sculpey is just a little darker than the paint I used for the Fireplace.

It is a slow process to paint all the branches, 

so I started with the ones surrounding the mirror on the mantel.

This is just with the first coat of paint. 

There will need to be some shadowing and texturing and marbling 

to make them match the fireplace.

But, of course, I have to test them in place even though they are not nearly done.....

(And once again, I am sorry it is so difficult to get good pictures at this time of year!)

Above, you can see them in place with the sconces turned off.

And here you can see the sconces turned on, and the sconce "shades" added.

This view is taken while the side wall is removed... 

once it is attached you will not be able to see this view

 except through the side windows!

I do think I am going to like the effect when they are all painted!

The color difference is very small, 

but I think it is such an improvement 

to have them unified in color!

So Dear Readers, I might have only done three little things,

But we all know those Little Things 

make a Huge difference!