I Really Have Been Working

Yes, I am still working away on my self-imposed project of finishing all those unfinished kits, some of which are so old that I can't always find the instructions. And along with finishing things, I am also repairing things that were broken. This takes time - the wonderful table below fell off my desk, with the result that all four legs broke off just below the apron of the table, at heir narrowest point, at least five or six years ago. I was able to glue them back, using the broken shapes to decide where they went, as well as the paintless spots that held the side braces and the shelf. That took from Wednesday to Saturday, one leg at a time, then the side supports, and then the shelf.



I think it was the paint job that I love about this - I am quite sure it was a Camp exchange gift from years ago, that had not yet found a home. It is crying out for a food prep scene.  Before it was repaired, it looked rather like the tea trolley below:



It fell in the same accident; we were moving a desk, and I forgot the hutch on it wasn't fastened down, so of course my favourite pieces fell to pieces. This is the coming week's repair project, which has to be done one leg at a time. There are tiny brass casters on each leg! This was also  Camp exchange gift, loaded with a teapot and some cakes.

Today's rehab project is a Tudor table, a carpenter's "second" I was given; four of the decorative spindles had dowel stubs on them, but two did not. I was too chicken to tackle it until this weekend, but I think I've found the solution; drill holes in the spindles, fill in the holes in the cubes and drill a hole, and use wire or fine dowel to hold the pieces together. The photo insists on coming up sideways, although it was just taken, which means you will have to wait until I sort this out to see a photo. The finished table will go into the Tudor Apothecary project.



This is a very early project! I have glued the legs on, as I now have a really good wood glue. This is a Recamier-type sofa, intended for one of my earliest projects, an artist's studio. His models are intended to pose on this. For the upholstery I need to find an old silk tie with a tiny pattern, that suggest the thing is at least a century old. The back will be glued on once it is upholstered. This photo came up right side up, I can't figure this out! (Oh yeah, the photos that worked were taken a day or two ago, while the two that refuse to come up were taken today; the batteries in my camera  died yesterday, and apparently something has gone awry with the installation of the new battery.)

The photo I just tried to load is of a book-shelf, in a plastic bag; it also comes out the wrong way up so no photo. It has been sanded, and is just waiting for me to slightly sand the rebates for the shelves and the back supports to fit. Tomorrow or Wednesday I hope to get to that. My box of unfinished kits is starting to look somewhat empty....

Yesss!

Still Working Away....

These items are finished, except for candles in the candlesticks (that will be a polymer clay workday), and the rope handles on the wood box. In my stash, I have another wall box that will also need candles, like the little blue candle box. And I think the candle box in my Tudor house has no candles left in it. The candle cups are small belt rivets, painted to match the wood they are on.

On the gluing jig right now is a colonial cradle, from an old kit - I hope everything fits together, the trial fit wasn't entirely encouraging! The fairy house planter is just about done, but I still have to paint the cat butt birdhouse. The garden trellis is done, painted in white chalk paint. The tray is now painted black, but I still have to do the design.

In the meantime, I have managed to sort and empty two boxes and a bag that have been sitting around for, well, years....

I am working on embroidery and knitting (full size, for now) upstairs in the mornings, and move to my work table to make wooden minis in the afternoon. If I can find my cyano-acrylate glue, I will start a "wicker" doll cradle, a partial kit that is missing its rockers, for my eventual toy shop. The rockers should be fairly straightforward, I hope! I also have a cat bed in wicker to do, as well as some pet accessories; these are intended for the steam punk loft which also needs finishing. Sigh! May I please have another eight hours each day?

More Work in Progress

Thank you. blog commentators, the Carpenter-in-Chief went cider shopping yesterday (Sunday) for a dish he was making, and came home with a jar of gel stain for me. It is rather more golden than my favourite Ipswich Pine, but it will do beautifully for the undercoat of my miniature "antiques". The tray is supposed to be black with flowers, so it is sitting around until I get to painting again.

On my storage shelf is a basket with "unfinished kits" - so I hauled that out yesterday, with a view to finally completing these things, emptying another box, and perhaps having some more items for sale.



So we have a trellis (I foresee a morning glory vine!), a planter, a "cat butt" bird house, and a bathroom shelf (which is upside down - the round bar is a towel rail. More painting in my futute!



I am particularly proud of this peculiar item; it is, in fact, a very early form of adjustable lighting. The design showed up at my volunteer job (I do museum accessioning) in one of the reference books I was checking. It is an adjustable candle stand; the holes allow one to move the shelf to four different heights, depending on where you are working. A peg through the hole holds the shelf in place. The candle cups in the original were removable, by pushing up  the peg under them. You could thus move your light from this unit to a pierced shelf in another space, pop the candle and peg into that hole, and there you are, one candle in use at a time (or two!). The original post was round, but I just can't drill holes into something as thin as a skewer or toothpick, so my post is a narrow plank. This, once it is painted, will go into my Tudor apothecary workshop.



This peculiar item is a birch twig fairy bed I started many years ago, at least 10. I decided to try and finish it, just to be able to say I did. The headboard is done, the footboard still needs some gluing, and then I can add the bed base. Perhaps this will become a flower bed..... (for those who have never seen one of these, people here sometimes use an old metal bed frame and plant flowers in it, for out of doors).

In between, I am doing some cross-stitch and some knitting, while trying to whittle down my stash of stuff - I'd have to live to 150 to be able to use it all up, so away it goes!

Two Days' Work....Well, A Day and a Half or So!

It's fun every once in a while to dig into my scrap bag of wood bits, and see what I can make with them. Well, we have a pipe box, a candle box, a foot stool or bench, a tray, a candle stand and a wood box.

I've written about the difficulty of getting good wood, since Michaels is the only supplier here; when I was in Maine this fall, I picked up a bag of jumbo craft sticks, and some of the items in this group were made using them. They tend to be quite straight, most of them, and they yield quite a bit of good wood. The wood box was made from less than two of them. It will get leather hinges and rope handles, once the box is stained and painted.

They all need painting, of course! But first, I have to find a colour of water-based stain to use as the base coat. I used to use Varathane Ipswich Pine, a lovely rosy brown shade, but the water-based stains have been discontinued. My local hardware store dealer suggested I look at Min-Wax water-based; although I won't find an ideal match, there may be a colour there that I can deal with.

I'm making things that could sell, but if they don't, can be incorporated into one or another of my mini projects. There are more small bits I'd like to try....

The "fancy work" is done with files, sanding sticks and sandpaper, as well as my trusty knife. My sanding sticks are worn out, and I don't know where to find more of them; the ones I had were purchased some years ago at the NAME National in Nashua, NH (USA). I have people looking out for them for me, though. They are so handy for making nice curves in basswood pieces!

Things Are in Process

Today at our mini get-together, I shaped and sanded a number of wooden Colonial-style miniatures. Now I have to glue, paint and age them. If tomorrow's storm happens as promised (tghreatened?), I'll work on them then; otherwise, I'll get back to them Friday.

I've already made two pairs of candle sconces; they just need their candle cups and candles now. If I remember correctly, there are at least 5 other pieces ready to finish....

Messing About with Prototypes

In about 3 months, it should be another miniature show and sale; I'm awaiting the forms any day now. So, I decided I should perhaps try my hand at a few new items. As my sales public is limited (there are very few people in this province), new ideas are always needed. Since I never know if what I decide to make will actually sell, I try to make things I could use in case they hang around forever.

Today, at our mostly weekly mini get-together, I worked on some lightweight prototypes for this year; some are original, some are from old, out-of-print books; whatever I make, I will add my own touches to the finished product.



Four of the pieces are from The Colonial Dollhouse, by Phyllis Gift Jefferson, published in 1977. If you can get hold of a copy of this, it is just chock-full of wonderful ideas in a very wide variety of media and aimed at a wide range of skill levels. I am attempting to make some tinware and wooden ware from file folder cardboard, with faux finishing to suggest metal and wood. These are the lightweight (recipe card from the $ store!) first attempts. The wall hanging box I hope to make to represent old enamel ware.

From left to right, back row: enamel wall salt/sand/soda container, wooden firkin, wooden bucket and front row, wind-proof candle holder and one of several varieties of wall sconces. I will have to find some heavy-duty foil for the sconce, as it really needs to have frilly edges on the back. (I cut them in scallops to give the idea.)

Another storm is forecast for tomorrow; if it happens, I can't get to my volunteer job safely so I hope to work up some real versions of some of these items. Fingers crossed!

Well, This Took Some Time...

...and generated a fair bit of waste paper and painted paper. My friend Louise had asked me to make a companion dracaena tree, in half scale, for her camp project. She had one, but wanted another to make a balanced composition.

Half scale is new to me; I dreamed about how to tackle this project, before Christmas and after the holidays while I was working away on quilted Christmas and birthday gifts for my family members.
Finally, I decided to cut to the chase.

I must have tried half a dozen or more separate ways to do this; you can see some of the waste generated below. Last night I figured it out, the prototype worked, and today the tree is done, just in time for our mini get-together.



The original is to the left of the photo, my version is on the right. (You can see the various attempts at prototypes in the foreground.) Still a bit too bushy for a proper match, so out came the scissors, and hoping I wasn't going to mess it up, the dracena got a haircut.



Better, but too many clumped leaves, so out came the scissors again, and the plant got a trim around the edges. Original on the left, my version on the right. Photos really help to point out where corrections are needed!



OK, now we're cooking! This was my final attempt, as I was happy with the appearance of the plant. The stems were heavy gauge floral wire, wrapped in strips of paper, and then painted. Over that went a coat of matte varnish. The leaves are made of painted computer paper, a piece about 2 x 2" (5 x 5 cm), cut in a gentle curve at the top edge to vary the lengths of the leaves. The paper is then fringed every 1/16th of an inch (about 1 mm), leaving 3/8" (1 cm) uncut at the base.

Then each narrow leaf is tapered to a point (I nearly went cross-eyed). I used my pointed tweezers to roll up the fringed, trimmed strip, stuck in a tiny clamp, and allowed things to dry. Once dry, I curled each individual leaf over my scissors blade, trimming where I felt too many were the same size. When the leaves were all curled, I pulled the tiny clamp out and cut half of the rolled base off. Then I used my pointed tweezers to open the hole somewhat, and stuck in the stems with tacky glue on their ends.

I will give it to Louise at the meeting. Now I have to create a couple of white amaryllis plants. That will take a few days, as I work tomorrow and have appointments on Friday. But I will get to them soon!