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! 

 

 

 



A Quick Funny

So I was in my upstairs workroom yesterday working on trim and coloring egg carton for my slate shingles when I noticed that I needed more carton. I had already ripped the top off the eggs in the fridge so I was kinda bummed. I let out a deep sigh and put down my tools to take a break. I just happen to glance out the window and I see my neighbor taking two egg cartons to put in her recycling bin. I screamed out the window "I need those!" and she literally jumped two feet into the air. After feeling kinda bad (for about three seconds) I ran out to snatch them up. Talk about timing. Those were meant to be mine! Yes, having a miniaturist for a neighbor can be very interesting.

Busy Busy Busy

I have had a very busy week with work and have not been able to spend any time on the Manor. This weekend will be dedicated to getting the shingles up and getting the stone and brick sealed and grouted.

The expanded story/history is also coming along nicely. It truly is turning into a short novel. Quite ghastly. I most likely will NOT be publishing it in it's entirety on this blog but time will tell.

Hopefully I will have some pictures of progress to post within the next few days. Until then...

 

 



Front Porch Bricking Done (almost)

Finished the front porch brick work last night and started the coloring this morning. Still have a couple of layers to go and then seal and grout the porch and entire structure.

 

 

 

Next will be the shingling. Can't wait! Like the icing on the cake!

Side Project: Victorian Hair Art

 

Many people are not aware of the mourning rituals of the Victorian era. One of the most intriguing to me is the use of a deceased loved one's hair to create art. Yes, you read right. Art. Family members would take the hair of their deceased loved ones and create sculptures, jewelry, and framed weavings.

I think this is fascinating and I want to include some hair art in Garth Manor so I am working on a glass dome display hair art tree similar to the one above but it will be in the shape of a weeping willow. Now hair art is very intricate, so in mini it is a nightmare of patience and a steady hand. I have made these before years ago but just never had a proper setting for one until now.

 



 

Note to self: NEVER leave any mini in progress out in a common area without a note saying please don't touch. I was buzzing right along last night with my egg carton brick work when I realized that I needed more! So, I went to the fridge, ripped the top off of my carton of eggs, and proceeded to start marking and cutting. Well, the glass of Piont Noir I was enjoying brought on the yawns so I headed off to bed. My faithful companion came home later that night and was kind enough to "clean up" after me. Yes, all of the untrimmed and off size pieces were all dumped unceremoniously in with all the trimmed bits. The picture doesn't really show just how many tiny bricks there are but it is enough to keep me busy for awhile separating them. Oh well. Karma.

 

All nice and neat now. AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaggggghhhhhh!

P.S. Please note the cup of tea in the background. You know you are a mini addict when you switch from coffee to tea because you need the used leaves for soil mix for your mini landscaping!

I love doing this believe it or not. You can't think about anything else when doing even the most straight forward brick work.

I am really avoiding having too much perfection in the layout. I want there to be a bit of wonkiness and gappage (are those words?)

 

Another design idea I am knocking around is this wall to close off the front porch. I want nothing to be inviting about this house.

Here you get a better view of the placement. There will be a second set of steps to the right that will lead to the "garden". I am going to cover this with stone work and then cap the top with squared off blocks.

 

I want to introduce you to my new best friend. Mr. Water Putty. This stuff is amazing and I have to thank Brae http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php for introducing this on a tutorial for her incredible creepy tree. There are so many uses for this stuff. The more I play with it, the more I learn. It doesn't shrink, sets quick, and dries rock hard.  Oh, and it's cheap! A can cost me $7.89 at the Home Depot. 

I only have one more piece of base trim to install, then it is on to the other two pieces of trim which will make it more decorative. It is starting to give the manor some personality and "soften" the stone effect just a tiny bit. I also need to trim the tops and the bottoms of the two bays on the first level.

 

Wow, what a difference. I guess I am making progress after all.

 The roof has been primed and it's dark undercoat has been applied. Getting ready to shingle. Still need to assemble the other three dormers and get them painted and aged.

 

 I have also scrapped the first portico and you can see the wood piece in front of the door. That will be the roof of the new, extended one. I figured that if I was hesitating on the first style, it was best to not use it. Go with my gut so to speak. I also realized that the roof boards on the first one were run in the wrong direction. A small detail but one that would bother me to no end.

 

 I also want to make the stonework arched to add some flair instead of just boxy. Most Romanesque Revival structures had curved or Roman arches in their porticos. Even though this is a strange blend of Romanesque Revival and Second Empire, I do want to keep some features appropriate.

 

 

 Mr. Anderson giving me a reminder to install the dormers.

 

Just testing the structural integrity of the Manor. Yup, it's strong.

 

I am really going to hustle today and get a lot of the basics done. The grouting, shingles, portico, dormers, and final trim. Ok, maybe that is too much for one day but I am gonna try to make a dent at least.