iseecerulean

Right about here I decided that no amount of trimming in the end was going to keep the coconut fiber thatched roof from looking awful.

So...

I'm going to buy some faux fur instead.

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Will the cricut cut tissue paper to make peonies?  Kind of.  Can I get the cut pieces off without destroying them in the process?  No.  Did I ruin my light grip mat?  Maybe.

Will the cricut cut leaves from thin fiberous paper?  Yes.  Will it score them first?  No.  Can they then be shaped with a stylus?  I haven't tried yet, but suspect not.  Should I have tried this with flower petals instead?  Definitely, but I only had a green colored piece of this type of paper.

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New feves...

...and Guthrie's friend Julien.

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I got out the 1:144 scale Queen Anne kit I started then gave up on in November of 2016.  I spread it all out, found I was missing a piece but could do without it, decided what needed to be done to fix the mistakes I made painting the windows, and rediscovered the damaged siding the kit arrived with.  I threw the whole thing in the trash can.  Project complete.

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I pulled out one of Nancy's echeveria kits, threw the instructions over my shoulder, and just played.

I need to play more today, I'm not done yet.

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I exchanged a few emails today with another miniaturist and found a home for more of Charlene's miniatures.  These will be mailed to the west coast too, only further north than the fishing gear.

I've been busy, but not with minis...with work, and holiday preparations....and I finished Downton Abbey.  Boy, there was a rush to pair everyone off in the last season, wasn't there?

The 1:144 scale Queen Anne mansion is not progressing well.  I painted all the window pieces before I cut them free of the sheet, because I thought it would be easier.  What I should have done was at least free and dry fit one pair (but I know what I'm doing, right?).  I didn't assume their placement correctly, so the interior are painted exterior colors and vice versa.  What I really wanted to do was chuck the whole mess in a trash can, but I piled it up in a corner of my work table instead.  I'll get back to it, and repaint, when I'm done being irritated with myself.

Instead, because I wanted to test my theory of coloring with markers and stain instead of paint, I dug out a 1:144 scale barn.  I was right, it's a lot easier.  BUT...I think I broke and repaired almost every piece except the walls.  Construction was horrible; I cursed a lot.  I'd pick something up carefully and SNAP.  I have decided that 1:144 scale is just too delicate for me.  I won't be building anything else in this scale.

Marker didn't work well on the base, I need to paint it, it looks horrible.  I need to glue the roof on too (obviously).

I got the barn on a whim, thinking it would go in Susan's mansion, in the boy's room, as a toy.  It's a bit big for that though, I think, unless the boy's room is huge.  I think I'll cut the base down and reduce the fenced in area.  Susan, it's your call....but I imagine you'll have to get furnishings in the room first, to see how much room is left.

Let's see...what else...

The furniture repair hasn't been finished yet.  My studio is a mess.  I haven't put together a photo album for the Mobile Studio.  I'm crabby.

Oh!

A spot of wonderfulness that made me smile....Sheila sent me a surprise.

A ton of fabric, contact paper, a fan, odd and end minis, a handmade table, and two cool screen things that will be fantastic to keep crud off when I spray paint pieces outside.

Thank you!  You couldn't have known it, but it arrived at the end of a horrible, horrible day and lifted my spirits immensely.  I'd hug you if you weren't across the country.  Big virtual hugs for you!

Save

I started the painting prep work.  After I'd gotten too far along to turn back it occurred to me that it would have been cleaner and easier to color the pieces with marker, especially the trim pieces.

A few of the pieces have damaged spots on the siding.  I thought about cutting out and piecing in new clapboard on the tower but everything is so fragile that I didn't want to risk it.  I left it alone with hope that it won't be too obvious in the end.

I got the floor pieces stained and the base assembled.  I wasn't careful enough curving the base piece that wraps under the porch and broke it in several places.  It's a bit wonky now, but landscaping will hide that.

I also messed up the tower roof assembly.  I put it together carefully and correctly, it must have come out of shape when I wrapped rubber bands around it to hold it in place while the glue dried.  Thankfully it's not too out of shape that some sanding can't fix it.

I would like to blame all this on being in great pain, but my dental surgery wasn't until the afternoon, all the work on the kit was pre-op.

The surgery went well, better than the one for the first implant.  I'm in a lot of pain today, but it will pass eventually. 

A little something to pass the time...

Little is right!  Holy cow!

Wish me luck...