Halloween already on the porch!
So some "small" progress on the Half Scale Witch Cottage. Step by small (sometimes agonizing) step. 👀 ha!
Still a bit of outside trim to do on the first floor exterior. The progress really is step by step as some things just have to be done before others. And a lot of this painting/trimming is really stuff I hate to do. ha! (House: Laser Dollhouse Designs' Jasmine Gothic Victorian Cottage. Last post- plants; some garage sale finds. See first floor.)
Looking at the pix, I know it seems like I didn't do much. But it took a lot of figuring and planning for this stage. And it's actually coming together better than I thought.
First I decided I had to have a lit pumpkin on the porch! I'll probably change this to a ceramic pumpkin instead of plastic if I have a smaller one (gotta go dig in the pumpkin container!) so the light shows off better. I ran the light up through the floor and the seat of the chair, soldering the wires under the house.
Other things I did:
* Paint/glued in small front roof supports (not shown, next to tower.) Painted small roof. Waiting on some shingle strips.
Here's the house kit photo from the website so you can see the sections I'm talking about:
We cut holes in the back tower wall piece and the front wall behind it to provide access to the bedroom. Trimmed it with 1/8" thick strips. There's only about a half-inch between the tower piece and the wall so I'll probably add some small wood strips on the outside so it's closed off on the outer roof.
It just seemed a waste to have that tower space closed in. Why have windows and not use the space? I decided to use the nature print scrapbook paper as it seems to fit in the space. I'll have to glue any furnishings in since the roof will be and the door is glued.
The floor you see is cut from the 9 x 12 star card flooring I ordered from Melvin's Miniatures I like it. It's printed well and does not smear if you wipe it! I bought a few other old-fashioned tile patterns that I'll use in the Park Ave. Mansion when I start that. I also used the same floor for the bedroom section behind the wall here.
In case you're wondering... I didn't want to put a full door so this ended up looking pretty cool. I cut part of a plastic gate I had to make a lacy "door." It works perfect when you look through the doorway though you won't see that view once the front tower piece is in except if you peek through the window.
With the roof on, but not glued down:
Of course, I had to paper part of the wall again since I forgot to run the light up the wall! ha! I decided to use the top part of one of those "wrought iron" Christmas lantern lights over the bulb. They come in handy. I used one of those lantern pieces outside the second floor door on the Fairfield (the right side) but attached it to a small wood base there. In the tower, I glued it to the wall as it looks like it's attached to the tree.
Bedroom side of front wall:
View of the bedroom wall and tower door: I may put a small black net curtain just on this large window since it's a bedroom. The one side of the purple wallpaper (scrapbook paper) has to be glued down after I run the light wires to the top and glue them so there'll be some light near the peak. I'm adding a small floor/ceiling piece and maybe a rail so I'll have an "attic"-type storage space. Gotta store those brooms somewhere. ha!
I did put the Gothic Victorian bed together from SDK Miniatures. Nice kit and it goes together well. I painted the insets gold, the same way I did the Gothic bookcase and chairs in the Fairfield dining room. (Love this set!) Figuring out the linen colors yet.
I'll also be using some of these pieces though the coffee table may go on the lower level.
So far the idea for the second floor is a bedroom plus a small sitting area, a standing lamp, and a writing table and chair with a lamp. I also might add the witch's chest full of spells here (for safekeeping; don't want that discovered!) Will see yet what fits where. The tower room will be a stargazing space, I think.
In the meantime, I fiddled with some pieces from one of those DIY house kits. Decided to use a small sink cabinet for the first floor and added a strip of wood on the bottom to raise the height a little. It'll work as I want to dirty it up since potion making can be messy! I luckily had a smaller one-handle faucet that fit the sink. I also have a small plant potting table that might fit in, too.
I'll have to see what else I can use. And gasp! Realized a witch should have some frogs and toads so found a couple of those. I might make a mold and see if I can make some more in plaster. I know I had some bigger toads, too... somewhere. The things you stash away until the right project--and then you can't find them. haa!
And whatever else I come up with. This is one of those projects where you think of things as you go along. I was measuring and too bad, I have a nice glass case that would be big enough but it's not deep enough for this house. I'll have to keep my eyes open for another one.
So... that's it for now! Thanks for visiting - again! Come back soon to see what else got finished!
