It seems to be taking forever to get this portico done. It is going to be a bear and a half to fit squarely against the house. It will take some very careful tweaking. I'm kinda scared....

 

 First piece of bay trim dry fitted. Awkward angles are making this a test of patience and accurate cutting.

 

 My future coffin book case. Not for the manor but for a Witch/Occult shop coming in the future. I work on this while waiting for clay or paint to dry. It is just one of those cheap wood coffins from Michael's we bought three years ago for a Halloween party. I removed the hinges and filled and sanded the holes. The wood is a bit thick scale wise but I am going to trim it out to try and make it work. If it doesn't, oh well.....

 



Close up of the beginning of the collapsed portico roof. Rain would have poured through this for years so I am tossing around ideas for what it would have done to the porch below.

What a gorgeous morning! The screen kind of muddles the really bright blue sky.

Mr. Anderson enjoying the weather as well.



I am working on a bunch of smaller detail stuff with the manor while I wait in between clay application and drying on the portico.

 

 

The cellar doors waiting to be finished and attached once the manor is on it's base. These are fun because they will feature one of the "clues" to the mystery of the house. Just need to find a tiny padlock. Shouldn't be too hard. 

Hard to see but the windows are now being framed out. I am building them all from scratch.

Unfinished roof decay. The slate shingles will hide most of what you see here but will add just a touch of decay and rot to the overall feel.

A little better picture of a framed out window. This window will feature some stained glass work.

You can see the top of the bay below still has not been trimmed out. Soon. The angles are kind of a b***h to deal with when using a thick trim. I'll get to it. Someday.

 More decay on the corners of the trim along the roof line. Mr. Anderson helped with ageing this one....with his teeth.

More rot. All this sunshine ruins my photos!

Portico stone work. This is the interior side which will hardly be seen but I still want it to look correct. The supports will be covered as well. After this is dry I will complete the exterior side and then get it painted when it is ready. Can't wait! This part gets me excited because it is really going to add personality to the front.

 

Bricks are grouted and sealed. I like that I decided to add natural reddish tones to the bricks. Once the portico is in place, it will show just enough to break up all the grey of the entire exterior. 

Back to the Manor!

After a day away from the manor, I am fresh and ready to begin the next phase. I will finish applying the stone facade to the portico so I can get it painted in a few days. While that is drying I will be framing out the front porch window and door and get those built so that the portico can be installed.

I really need to get started on the builders foam foundation so the house can be "sunk" into place and the porch steps (both front and side) as well as the cellar doors installed. I am still putting off the application of the shingles for last.

I am also not 100% happy with the front steps. I really feel that they don't quite flow properly with the portico. I will wait until it is attached and judge from there. I may end up using clay instead of the grout for a finish. Besides, I want them to angle down the slope and I want to round them off a bit and create a fountain area near the base. This will take some planning to get it just right. One of the main reasons I really need to get this beast on it's base.

Have a great day and I will put up new pics when I have some progress to show!

Warning! Don't Age When Angry!

So yesterday was a vile day on a global level for me. More layoffs at work, financial struggles, and bad behavior on my part. So, how does a person with no common sense deal with this? By working on minis of course. HOWEVER, I found a little too much "therapy" in creating the wood rot on the corners of my roof trim. I had to age the corners after the trim was glued on because I had jumped the gun without thinking. It felt so good to hack away at those little pieces with my fine toothed saw. I went a little crazy, hacking like a horror movie madman, and snapped one right off the house where it proceeded to fly across the room, landing right in front of Mr. Anderson. He realized that it was a toy and quickly paw scuttled it right out the door and under the bed where he guarded it with zeal. I could do nothing other than laugh. I have since recovered the trim and it actually looks great. It is now securely glued back in place and his little teeth marks kinda helped with the distressing!

I also started the clay stone work on the new portico but it is proving difficult. The clay cause some minor warping. Plus, I wasn't patient with the application and it shows. I should know better than to work on detailed projects when in a foul mood. It never ends well.

Today is my Friday so I will go to work, do my best, come home, cook a real dinner, and enjoy some mindless TV. Garth Manor can wait a day. Michi needs a day off.

Photo updates: Front steps and new portico.

Had a fairly productive weekend. I carved the front steps from foam and built the portico shell. Now all the detail work needs to be started.

 

I also continued working on the decorative trim.

Still have one small strip to add and it will be finished. Some of the trim will be falling away from the house and/or sagging. I need to simulate wood rot on the corners and ends.

The new portico. It will completely enclose the front.

Portico roof. Part of the roof will be collapsed in exposing the construction beams and adding a truly run down appearance.

The front steps section one. I carved this out of foam and have coated it in sanded grout. The cracks are carved in. Still needs to be aged.

Here it is dry fit in place. It will not be fully attached until the structure is installed on the landscaping base so it can be "sunk" in place.



For those of you who are not members of any Yahoo mini groups, Karrie posted that she had found these great mini jars at the Dollar Tree. These nail art kits come in glass bottles perfect for many pantry or kitchen items. I am going to use them for herb jars in my Witches Shop which is next on my project list. They come 8 to a pack. I will cut some cork tops for them to replace the plastic ones or make figural stoppers from Fimo. What a steal! This is why I love belonging to these mini groups! I would never have known...... Thanks Karrie! Here is her blog site:

http://lifewithpippin.blogspot.com/

Go out and buy some. But not if you live in Portland. They are all gone......:-)

 

Garth Manor is rolling right along. I have finished grouting and sealing the porch brick work and I am now working on the new and improved portico. I am pleased so far with how the "slate" shingles are turning out but I am desperately low on carton despite my neighbors "donation". I may have to throw a deviled egg party just as an excuse to buy a ton of eggs. Oh the things we must endure for our craft.

 

I regret not being able to post pics of the progress but my "camera" is on yet another camping trip. It will return to me Monday evening so I will post pics then. Hopefully I will have even more done by then! Have a great day!