Tree House Improvements....

 

Wall Paper Deja vu.....

I Could not find a can of the right colored wood stain, Dear Readers, at my local hardware stores. The big box store had changed brands, no longer offering the kind of stain I had used all those years ago. I bought the new brand in the "same type of color" and it was not the same at all! It was much too "orange-reddish" for my tastes and would not match the already completed paneling. The smaller old Hardware store chain did still carry the old brand, but did not have it in the old color ("Early American" it was called) but they did have one of those "pens" for fixing small scratches in the proper color of the old brand! I bought it and applied it to the matchstick paneling and the steps to the Bednook on the Nursery Door. And it looks much better than the "wrong" brand. The matchsticks absorb the stain a little irregularly and I will give it another coat, but I think it saved the day! So I applied it to all the other newly "paneled" areas.... chiefly the Balcony interior on the Bedroom Door.

 

As you can see here, it tones down the "new wood" look

 of the matchsticks but is not as dark as the walnut stain of the doors.

 

And I applied it to the bunkbeds too.... 

over the too orange-ish color of the "wrong" stain.

 It did not erase the orange completely, but it toned it way down 

and I think it will end up looking just fine in the Nursery

 when all the rest of the parts are assembled.

 The "stain pen" turned out to be much easier to use

 on these already assembled pieces too!

 No drips, no spills, hardly any vapor. It was a great relief!

 

And while I was working on all those walls in the Nursery,

 I decided to test an Idea I had first had way back in 2014

 for the wallpaper of these rooms.

 

Well, really, there was no question in my mind and never had been!

 That old rose patterned wallpaper was perfect for the Nanny's Bedroom!

 All I had to do was find enough scraps to

 match the pattern across the adjoining wall sections.

 And some of you Dear Readers,

 if you have been hanging around here long enough

 will recognize this wall paper!

 It was also used a few years ago on The Dollmaker's Studio project,

 and way back in the beginning on the 

Dining Room walls of The Cupboard House.

I got right on it...

 

I made my patterns and cut out the pieces and glued them in place!

 

And because the Nursery Wall is on the other side

 of one of The Nanny's Room walls, 

I needed to get that one papered now too.

 

Doesn't it look Familiar too?

 Yes! It is the same wallpaper that I used

 on the other room in The Dollmaker's Studio project! 

And while you might think I am just copying

 the Dollmaker's Studio decor, 

it is really the other way around.

 I have always intended to use this paper

 in The Tree House Nursery!

 It just seems to feel like "Leafy Nature" on the Walls.... 

with its birds and butterflies that the Little Ratlings would love to see!

 And in a funny way, it is a good thing that

 I used the paper on the Dollmaker's Studio first 

because if I had used it in the Tree House first, 

there would not have been enough

 left over for The Dollmaker's Studio

 which needed the larger sections. 

As it is I had to piece together scraps

 to complete the Bednook wallpaper....

 

Here you can see the four little scraps that are needed

 to complete the opening Door Wall....

 

Which looks like this!

 I wanted to make  one of the birds.... 

and while it is not actually "correct"

 it is convincing enough!

 Those Rats had to make do with whatever

 scraps they could scavenge, after all!

 

The back wall has the only "complete" bird in the pattern...

 

And here you can see the Bunkbeds wall in place...

 and I even had to piece together the papers for this wall too.

 

And here you can see I have put the ceiling in place... 

it makes the space look so much cozier!

 

 And The Nanny's Room too....

 I am going to have to get working on the lighting for this!

 

And in the morning with just the natural lighting of daytime,

 I think it looks wonderful!

 

And the Bunkbeds wall too.... 

I think it is looking just as I hoped it would!

 

And The Nanny's Room..... 

a much darker, cozier space...

 But just as I had imagined it would look!

 

So you can see, Dear Readers, 

I have been making some Real Improvements 

And I don't mind at all that it is 

a Little bit of Deja vu! 

Hang The Curtains!

And Paint the Birds.....

Oh Those Pesky Details!
You will Laugh, Dear Readers, when I tell you that I wanted the curtains to hang on a curtain rod with rings... so you could slide them open and closed if you wanted to! So I set about making some tiny "rings" from brass jewelry wire... and stitching them to the top of the very fragile net lace curtains! It was not easy!

Can you even see them here???

(Poke the pictures to enlarge them)

(Or even better right click on them and open in a new tab for huge close-ups!)

And then I strung them on a small wire rod....

Which I bent so it would arch over the window....

And then I carefully located the holes 

where the nails would go to attach the rod....

And a wire "hook" in the middle to hold the top in place.

I used my awl to create the holes...

And pushed the tiny nails in with the blunt end of my pliers!

(Nothing else was small enough to reach in there!)

It was really Really Not easy to do!

But, believe it or not they work!!!

Can you see that Magnificent Curtain Rod???

And with the windows in place......

And if you opened the windows.... 

could you feel the breeze blowing through???

Oh, I am so happy with the way they are hung!

And lest you think I had forgotten about the birds, Dear Readers,

here you can see I have started to paint them....

Beginning with the pigeons 

because they are larger and therefore easier.

And as I am sure you are aware, 

pigeons are not all colored alike....

So I tried to vary them a little without going to extremes.

Here, would you like to meet Perry Pigeon?

And Pauline Pigeon....

(She is a little shy)

Yes, I think painting them was a good idea!

But what about the sparrows, I hear you ask?

Alas, they are not so easy.... 

they are so much smaller and their Details are more delicate....

But I made a start!

Here, would you like to meet little Sandy Sparrow???

I almost think he is the cutest thing imaginable!

But then I added the tiniest doll to the Bed Alcove.....

Just to see how it would look with a doll.....

 (She is made of wire with a bead for her head...

I bought her at the Sturbridge Fair....

But, I am sorry I don't recall which vendor made her!)

She is only 1/4 inch tall!!

And while she might not end up living in the Tree House....

She looks so sweet sitting there in the Bed Alcove!

There are still So Many tiny details 

to add to this Bed Alcove, Dear Readers,

but I do hope you will agree with me 

that it was a very good idea to 

Hang the curtains and Paint the Birds!

Teeny Tiny Progress...

Why Things Take Longer.....

I am sure I am not Alone, Dear Readers, in thinking my creations will be simple and quick to make... and I don't know why I have not learned that this is never the case! For instance, I decided that I needed to make a "few" tiny birds for the Park... because who ever saw a Park that had No Birds? And I wanted my birds to be Pigeons and Sparrows... because they are always the most noticeable little Park residents.... so I started with the Sculpey.... but I wanted my birds to have little wire feet... with four toes (just for accuracy's sake!) ....

So I twisted together four strands of very thin gauge jewelry wire

 and bent them into a little armature for the birds...

I started with the Pigeons, as they are larger and therefore easier to make!

I think they are a little large for true scale... 

being just over an inch long...

And then I tried the sparrows... 

each is about a half an inch long!

Isn't he cute???

But does he need Paint????

(I think he needs paint.....)

 

And Can you see their little wire feet???

I have not trimmed them to a correct length yet....

because I decided I needed to make More of each....

How many birds equals a "flock"???

And then, of course, Dear Readers, 

while the Sculpey was baking, 

I was also adding the details to the 

Bed Alcove for the Tree House Nursery!

I finished the matchstick "paneling"....

And I found some scraps of worn out paper Twist 

that was used for chair seats... 

and fits perfectly as the edging for the opening to the Alcove!

And I added a second layer because 

the Door frame is two layers of plywood thick....

so both the layers are edged in the paper twist.

Then I stained it with a light maple stain...

And While the stain was drying.... 

I was also making the "leaded glass" windows!

And because it had been So LONG since I last 

made any of these windows for the Tree House, Dear Readers, 

I was not at all sure of what I was doing!!!

They consist of several layers of cardboard 

cut to the shape of the opening, 

one layer just slightly larger than the other,

and painted on all sides, 

and glued together with the clear plastic "window pane" inserted in the opening.

Then I add the "mesh" which is cut very carefully to fit the pane 

and glued in place with a thick layer of Aileen's clear gel glue.

Once they are completely dry I attach them to the wooden window frame....

And this whole panel is the outer layer 

which will attach to the outside of the opening on the Bed Alcove....

 And here you can see it just held in place temporarily....

(I don't glue until I am sure the parts are assembled as far as possible 

because it is easier to make the pieces when they are flat and not inside a tiny hole...!)

And with the light shining in the windows....

Perhaps we can imagine sleeping in this little Alcove...?

And while we are Imagining Things......

Perhaps we can test how a little lace curtain will look....

But Of course, we will need a soft mattress too......

Does that look inviting....?

If we Imagine we are very small.....

 

Well.... it is a Start!

And while we have been lost in Imagining this Tiny Alcove....

Somebody has been feeding the birds in the Park.....

Yes, I do think they need to be painted...

But it is a Start!

So I think you can see Why it is, Dear Readers, 

That even though there has been Teeny Tiny progress....

Everything Always takes Longer!