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July 07, 2023

Half Scale Witch Cottage: Up on the Roof

 

Got that song in my head (and now it's in yours! haaa)

Well... this is probably the shortest project I've done, having started this in May with painting some of the exterior. I wasn't sure how long it would take, but I'm sure the next larger project will take much longer. Actually, finishing up the men's shop in the cigar humidor was my shortest, done in a day. But I had a lot of the accessories finished before, just had to add a few and fill the counter, etc. (See last post: decor. Click photos for full size; more posts in left column archives list.)

Anyway.... the roof is on, with the help of the super-giant clamps. One thing with this kit, at least for me, is I had to cut down the tabs which were not quite fitting. but it's on. Yay!

Attic and ceilings:

Some other things I did: added a small attic space near the ceiling inside. Had to re-glue the attic area fence about three times and will make sure it sticks now as I glued a wood square dowel to the back for support. Yeah, should've done that first! The "attic" base is a piece cut from mat board of some flooring I did in my other house so there's tile paper on top, (not that you can see it!) and added some braces underneath. 

Trim, trim, trim. Ugh! I also put some wood strips on the ceiling sides as it looked too plain. Hate doing it but looks so much better when done, like adding the molding across the roof pieces at the inner peak. And trim in every corner and edge, it seems. ha!

Got the art on the back wall.  I may be using this bookcase and the bench here. (Wall: before I added the rest of the corner trim.)  Unless I trade this out for another bench, I'll repaint and reupholster this one. I'll have to build another Gothic Bookcase (SDK Miniatures) in case I want to switch it out when I decorate the Fairfield fully for Halloween.


First floor:

The first floor divider, made from one of those wooden fans, is in. I like how that came out. To me, the space looked odd without having a small arch or something dividing the two spaces. 



And.... wait! What's that thing in the corner? 

Well... originally I was going to use this face bead (see second photo below) to make a lamp in that spot but I came across this skeleton figure in my stash. Drilled a hole so he can hold the light. It may be a Day of the Dead figure as it says Made in Mexico on the bottom. Thought it fit well in here. I have another one I'll use in another house, or maybe as part of the Halloween set-ups.

Just when I think things are going well, first the aggravating part. Well, several, so beware! haa! Plugged in a standing lamp for only the second time... and the *&^% bulb burnt out! The other lights in the house still work fine so nothing wrong there. Couldn't get a new bulb in, so remade the lamp using the shade parts and  some skull beads. Have to connect the wires together.... wish me luck. ha!

The roof: 

Got some trimming done on the front towers, but first I had to take the outer windows off to get the roof piece on as I realized it wouldn't fit over them!  The tower roof isn't attached yet and have to add the top. Also have to add the decorative piece at the peak of the front wall. Needless to say, I'm tired of trimming! (And not done yet!)

Other stuff: 

Still experimenting with the luminescent powder I found on ebay. It does glow! The green color seems to work best, though the blue works too if there's enough. Mixed it with the craft  varnish but it also seems to work with the clear nail polish. I tried to get it on the teensy cat's eyes but just too small.

The real garden: The Moss Roses are loving the hot weather! Sick of it, but with the ac on and the windows closed it helped somewhat with the fireworks. But the dog still runs around when they set off the big "booms." Ugh!


The roof shingling is next. Deciding on that....

Thanks again for visiting. Stay tuned for more updates!