Book Nook Part II

Haven't been feeling too hot this weekend.  Weather going up and down always throws my sinuses out of wack and I didn't have a lot of energy.

So I did a lot of little things this weekend.  My husband has always been awesome about printing things for me since I don't have a color printer.  Taking into account some feedback I got about Dresden I found some Coke can images and figured out a way to make cans.

I actually managed to do a little tutorial.  It might be helpful.  

You'll need printed images in whatever size you want your coke cans to be. I went with about a half inch high.

I had a dowel about the size of a pencil so I used that but again, whatever size works for you.

Sand the edges so they're smooth. 

Next you'll need aluminum foil.  Cut two small pieces large enough to fit over the ends of the dowel piece.

Cut the corners off and cut into the edge so it lies flat against the sides of the dowel once it's glued on.

Use a strong glue to attach the aluminum foil to the ends and smooth it down the sides as much as possible.  Make sure you use the dull side of the foil, not the super shiny side.

I tend to use Weld-Bond. It seems to hold pretty much anything.

The image I use has some extras that I didn't feel were strictly needed.  So I cut them off and only used this for my label and top.

Put your glue on the back side and wrap it around the dowel. Use the black tabs and UPC code first and wrap the label around so the nutritional information is the last part to be glued down.  The press the top down onto the end of the dowel.

You may find some white from the back of the label showing if you sanded your dowel down too much.  The excess glue should be enough to press the label down so none of the back shows.

They're not perfect but they look like beat up coke cans and I think they'll suit my purpose.

I also made some more books this weekend.

Since the workroom/laboratory is in a sub basement I figured a concrete floor would be suitable.  I need to make a protective circle in brass or gold or something, so hopefully the Cricut will be helpful with that.  

I used a gravel texture paint to get a concrete look.  I like it a lot, used the same stuff for the sidewalk in front of NOLA House.

I also got some labels printed and glued them to jars.  

I went through my flower making supplies and filled the jars once the labels dried.  

I dug out the mortar and pestles I'd ordered.  I like the wooden and metal ones. I doubt I'll use the porcelain one but it's pretty.

I decided to try a new method of candle making this time around. I thought it would be easier than hollowing out a dowel.  

I dug out some straws and cut them into different lengths, then coated them with hot glue.

I primed them with gesso and then painted them Warm White.  I was a little worried the red would still show through when I put the lights in.

It doesn't seem as if it will but when I tested them...

I spent a lot of time on them (not to mention burnt fingers) so I'll try to line the interior with some paper or cardstock to mute the red effect.

I've got plans to make a trap door in the ceiling over the stairs similar to NOLA House in order to make it look like the room has an entrance.

I also need to make sure my pictures for the 2020 Creatin' Contest are good. Only a few more days to enter.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Book Nook - Dresden Files Style

 So an old friend and I reconnected on Facebook and now and then we'll message each other.  I'm not a huge Facebook person but I'll link my blog to it and post some progress pics to a group I like.

Instant messages are great but sometimes with me they're not so instant because I don't have Facebook on my phone.

My old friend is a huge sci-fi and fantasy fan. We used to play D&D together if that gives you an idea?  And he asked if I would be able to make a bookshelf insert in some sort of fantasy style.

Uhh... hello?

He hadn't seen my blog, only the pics I share on Facebook.  So the WQRC came as a surprise to him.

But end result, I said sure, I'll give it a try.  Since I'm mostly using things that I have it won't cost a lot because he can't afford the two hundred dollar Etsy book nooks.

He's a big fan of the Dresden File books by Jim Butcher.  Harry Dresden is a wizard for hire. In Chicago which I love.  I have a bunch of the books though I haven't read them in a while.  So I'm doing a book nook of the Wizard's Laboratory/Workroom.  Harry Dresden lives in a garden apartment and the workroom is in a sub-basement.

He has a skull named Bob who's a bit of a perv and reads romance novels.  Little Things of Interest had a sale so I got a set of novels for Bob and I had some skulls too.

I also bought some downloadable book kits and worked on them this weekend.

My plan is to have the stairs go out of sight around a little corner.  The one thing he asked was that the nook light up somehow so I'll hide the battery pack in the corner too.

I'm debating if I want to do a false wall, something thin, on a slight angle for the right side of the box because without diagonal wall it'll be hard to see everything on the shelves.  What do you think?

I'm using a gravel texture for the floor and I'll do the walls in brick.  I can't do the walls just yet because I might want to put wires under the bricks. Have to see.

But I decided that since it is a Wizard's basement workshop, a dragon statue (or maybe not) would be appropriate.  So I picked out one of my dragons and primed him.

Since the building is older I'll have some support beams on the ceiling.  But I decided to do the tongue depressor planks so it would look like an old sub-basement.  

I taped some scraps the same width as the walls in place so I wouldn't go over the borders and make my walls not fit once I got the ceiling glued down. 

It's a much smaller ceiling than the WQRC so I got everything glued down today.

I'll use a couple of different stains and make it look aged.  The beams will go along the sides, butting up against the walls.  And I'll likely do the beams a bit darker.  I figure the steps on the stairs will semi match the ceiling while the stringers will be more of a match to the beams.

I've got a cauldron, a tea kettle, books, and I'll make some candles with drippy wax to go near Bob.  I need to keep an eye out for 1:12 tupperware type stuff.

Harry also keeps his notes in some green spiral notebooks and I found some of those on Etsy!  Very excited.

The cookies and candy apples are just for me because hey Sale!  

With luck I'll have more progress next week.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend and a Happy Thanksiving!

Back To It - Sort Of

 This weekend I decided to work on a simple (relatively) project. My husband thinks it's wonderfully meta so it's nice to amuse him too.

I'd mentioned that I cut out the back of my empty fabric softener bottle.

I used scrapbook paper to make the floor (with some cardboard to level it out) and some coordinating paper for the walls.

It took a little searching but I found some fabric to recover the ironing board that matched pretty nicely.  

And I made a shelf from the brackets I got from HBS Miniatures and some scrap wood.  Then I added a few of the cleaning supplies and an iron.  I'll make a little mop to go in the bucket and add some more trash to the little can next to it.

The blankets are from Fabulously Flawed Miniatures on Etsy.  I made the towels from some fabric.  And the hedgehog picture is a jewelry finding.

Big difference in how it looks with the lights on and the lights off.  I inserted a piece of clear plastic under the cap and added a string of lights.  I found them on Groupon actually, they're made to go in bottles to light them up. 

With some velcro to hold the battery pack to the underside of the cap they work pretty well.

I'm excited also because an old friend asked if I could make a book nook for him.  I'm waiting on the dimensions but I've got ideas. He loves the Harry Dresden novels so the idea is to do a nook of the workroom in the sub basement.

And on Amazon I found the coolest thing to use for the shelves. True bachelor style.

I think this will be a lot of fun.

Hope you're all doing well and staying safe.

So Much For My Plans...

 Isn't there an old saying...if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans?

I had grand plans for this past week.  My husband was going to be at work and I would have the house to myself.  I could write or work on minis... not have horror movies on the TV constantly.

And then...

One of my husband's employees went to a family gathering.  Guess what happened next.

Go on, guess.  I'll wait.

You got it.  She caught Covid.  And then gave it to my husband and four other employees. 

As you know, sharing is caring, so my husband gave it to me.

Luckily, because he has underlying conditions and the folks at my workplace are bad about wearing their masks, I keep my mask on constantly while I'm working.  Even six feet apart or in meetings.  It seems to have worked because no one at my workplace has caught it.  I'm relieved.  I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

So my plans...

Yeah, my husband has been home this past week.  There was no quiet time.  And even if there was I felt so lousy that I wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything.  The cats are upset because we're not letting them close enough to sniff our faces or get cuddles because we're petrified we'll give them Covid.  It's rare but apparently cats and dogs can get it.

I was able to accomplish a couple of things.  I had ordered us new phones, and got them set up and the old stuff moved from the old phones to the new ones.  Got longer charger cords so we could use the ones specific to the phones in the cars.  And cases for the phones so we don't break them.  (This is an actual concern.)

I tested the camera on the new phone.  Tali (aka The Building Inspector) was irritated that she was the test subject and I woke her up.

The other accomplishment was a new coffee maker.  The old one was on its last legs and we don't drink pots of coffee in one sitting anymore.  So we splurged on Prime day and got a Keurig.  We ordered some reusable filters for it so we don't waste all the coffee we already have.  It's smaller and fits under the cabinets so that's nice.

I'm trying to get away from drinking soda in the morning for my caffeine fix.  My doctor's been after me about it.  So the new coffee maker is our fourteen year anniversary present to ourselves.

I got a little bit of energy early in the week and organized my minis a bit more.  Moved the new shelves in place.  

I really need to do something pretty to the paper boxes. Cover them with more fabric or vinyl and put my label holders on them.  Maybe when I feel better.

And I cut out the back of one of my new laundry room boxes.  I also microwaved one of my little birdhouses and took it apart.

The other plan for the week was to goof around with the Cricut and learn more about using it from the cool videos and tutorials.  But that fell by the wayside when I wanted to sit again after walking around the house for two minutes.

I can tell you that the symptoms are not great, but we're lucky we've only been hit with them moderately. The hardest thing is thinking it'll be like the flu.  Four or five days of misery and then recovery.  Nope.  We've been feeling lousy, then we have a good day, think we're getting better and the next day we feel worse.  It feels like the flu but it doesn't progress or follow the timeline of the flu, if that makes sense?

They say fourteen days after you first show symptoms but you can only go back to work if you're symptom free.  It makes it hard to plan because you might feel fine for a day or so and then get hit with the symptoms again.

So we're taking it day to day.  He can work from home easily enough but I can't.  Even with a VPN I only have a laptop and with my lousy eyesight it's very difficult to be productive.  I'm going to talk with my boss Monday hopefully and try to figure out when I can come back.

I hope everyone else out there is staying safe and as healthy as you can.  A mask actually will work if you remember to wear it.  (I don't think they wear them during surgeries as a fashion statement.) 

Take care of yourselves.  I hope you're all having a great weekend.

Finishing Up

This weekend, despite my best intentions, I didn't get a lot really organized or cleaned.  Instead I decided to finish up a project that I've had on the backburner for a while.

I have to be in a certain mood to make furniture (meaning from scratch not a kit) and until lately I haven't been.

But I managed to make a chair, a bed, a table and lamp.

I had a hard time deciding on how to place the bed.  Ultimately I glued it down but in a position that I forgot to take a picture of.

But it still looks festive.  So I'm pretty happy with it.

I also broke out the spray on adhesive and my fine 'snow' glitter and added it to the outside.  This was the other thing I'd been meaning to do for a while.

It is much more sparkly in person I promise.

I'll try to get some better pictures soon.  But that's it for my accomplishments this weekend.  

Hope you're all staying safe and healthy and having a good week so far.

Cleaning & Organizing

I didn't do much mini-ing this weekend.  Unless you count organizing my minis.

I got a new set of cube shelves for very cheap (so cheap they squeaked 'cheep cheep') and put then together. Since my workroom doubles as the cat climbing space I didn't have enough room to put them together in one big shelf. 

Instead I have a shelf of six cubes and a shelf of five.  But that's fine. No biggie.

The tough part was going through all of the boxes I have and sorting. Then putting things away. Breaking down boxes.  Dusting and vacuuming...

Taking the vacuum apart to fix it when it got jammed.

And continuing the whole shebang on Sunday.

It was a lot of standing on a vinyl floor with a concrete foundation under it. Barefoot.

Ladies and gentlemen, I ache.

I still have a bit more to do.  One more container to go through. (I don't even know what's in this one.) And I need to clean up my table and figure out a place to put the music room until I start to work on the garden.  I promised to bring it to work to show them so first I need a box to accommodate it.

If I work on some of this stuff in the evening this week I should have pictures to show you soon.

And by that I mean pictures that don't embarrass me with the plethora of boxes and junk piled everywhere.

In the mean time, here's a picture of the cats. Before they began the ongoing attempts to destroy the couch and make me crazy.

Oh, I don't know if I mentioned, but the other project I was thinking of doing is a roombox of this:

I have the roombox with the arches at the front and with some work on the Cricut I could make more arches for the back walls.  Print pictures to go in them for background and get the map printed for the floor?

My husband is a big Game Of Thrones fan and I think he'd get a kick out of this.

And with that... 

I hope you all had a great weekend.  Stay safe, stay healthy and if we have to stay home at least we have an interesting hobby to keep us busy.

And if you're like me, you always have something to clean.

Trying To Get Organized

 I haven't posted because I haven't really gotten much done since my last post.  I've been trying to get my space organized, clean my house some, and other hobbies have taken up some of my time.

I have a bad habit of buying things and then not putting them in their proper place.  So I put things away and relocated a few things so I could find them. Hopefully.

I've been debating my next project still.  I'm debating redoing the Gothic Victorian because I'm a little bored with it and there's so much I could do better with it.

But I'm also excited that I've got a couple more out of the norm containers for some little laundry rooms.

So that'll be a lot of fun.  

And I found on Ebay, the cutest little buffalo horn chair.  This is exciting because my grandparents had a buffalo horn chair in their basement and my mom has it now.  I've wanted one forever.

I've been trying to remember that my hobbies are meant to be enjoyed.  They're not something I should be putting pressure on myself to do.