Roof, Lanterns, Tools and... Cookies?

 One of these things is not like the others... 

Remember that game? 

Well after I worked three (I think, I lose track of time) weekends in a row on the contest build I wanted to try something a little different this past Sunday.  But first... 

The Forge needed a roof, which meant boards and stain and making sure everything fit into place. I used some basswood, scored and sanded to look like boards since when I use my tongue depressors I tend to encroach into my 'no wood' areas and then nothing fits squarely in place. This method looks good and is much more exact.

There was a lot of clamping the wood into place while it dried. I also added some embellishments to my stools/benches.  Not much, but just a little piece on the end to give them a slightly more rustic look.

A couple of pictures of the upper level now that everything is glue into place and dried. 

And something I've been working on for a couple of weeks. The water source for the forge and house. Not everyone can afford to have a well pump in their house, so usually there was a public pump near the village green or near the crossroads. Our blacksmith decided that since he needed water to cool the iron pretty often he'd build near the well pump.

The water 'pouring' out of the spout was still drying in the two pictures above. Hence the white appearance.  I wanted it to look like it was splashing a bit so once it dried I added a little bit of white gallery glass to the bottom and the ripples to give it a bit more visual contrast. So far I'm happy with it.

By the time I finished with that the glue for the forge roof/ceiling was dry, but I needed another source of illumination in the shop besides the fire in the forge. That'll look good but it won't throw off much light so I needed to create some lanterns.

More dowels with hot glue (as you can see here) and some jewelry findings, along with circle woodsies and smaller dowels. I drilled and sanded out six woodsies for the top and bottom of the lantern.  Then it was a matter of painting everything and getting the LED lights wired in.  

I have some hot glue spillage on one of the lanterns which I like because it looks like the candle wax has been dripping. 

There's one more hanging from the center beam but I didn't take as good of a picture.

But once all the lanterns were in place I was able to glue in the roof. I like how it looks so far.

I had a few tools and tongs for the forge but I definitely needed a few more. So I spend some time making those. I used wood, sanded into various useful hammer shapes then painted and stained.

I want to make a few more tongs but I need to wait until my patience with glue drying times has built back up again. It's dangerously low after making all those.

I also decided on what to put in the far corner next to the stairs. I had another cabinet in the same style as the first one, and it fit nicely in the corner without needing to be cut down or adjusted. 

I added some jars and a loaf of bread and cheese. Along with a couple other little pieces of decor, and then glued it into place.

And then since things still seemed a little bare I added some pieces to the fireplace shelves. I want to make some baskets to go on top of the new cupboard as well as on top of the bed upstairs. 

Basket and reed mats are next on my list of things to do for the build.  I'm going to spend some of my evenings this week measuring and cutting strips of cardboard for my shingle roof.

But I've been wanting to work on things I can add to my Etsy shop and so I did a little experimenting on Sunday.

I think I came up with a way to make some cookies that won't be too expensive (or difficult) for me to do but will look like actual cookies. So here are my attempts.

I have a few more than I'm playing with but I thought I'd show all of you some of my attempts. I'm going to get some little plates and make a little plate of Christmas cookies and some Halloween cookies as well as flowers. 

Thoughts?

I'm woefully behind on my blog reading but I promise I'm catching up!  I hope you're all doing well.

Anvils

Tools

Whetstone

Finished goods

Forge Roof/ceiling

Forge Bargeboards

Second floor/ceiling beams

Second floor/ceiling

Second floor walls

Second floor fireplace

Second floor railing (so no one falls down the stairs)

Bed

Candlestick

Dormer

Windows

Forge Chimney

House Chimney

Dragons for chimney and chimney pots

Benches/stools for kitchen. 

Oven/bread paddles (at least one)

Baskets

Rush mats

Knitting/sewing...something for the upstairs bench.

Fur throw

Fireplace tools, (tongs, shovel, poker)

Pease Porridge Pot

Sink with dishes

Bucket of water

Barrel of water for forge

Roof

Shingles - living quarters

Shingles - Forge

Bargeboards?

Tree

Well/water pump with Water!

Landscaping?

A Revision and Some Stools/Benches

 I'll start with the big thing that happened. I got both sides of the roof on!  The glue was still drying when I took the picture but I'm cautiously optimistic that it's going to stay where its supposed to.

I have one super thick Vogue magazine that I use to hold things into place because its just flexible enough for this sort of thing. 

A nice little preview of what the living quarters will look like when everything is finished.

You know me, I can't resist a picture taken through a window. Even without the candles 'lit' I like how it looks.

I also did some work on the chimney for the living quarters. The chimney pots are in place and their decorative aspect added.

I need to add a little edging to the top of the chimney but I want a less regal more rustic look for this build. The former queen doesn't live here after all!

The chimney can't be attached to the house yet. I need to get the roof on the forge first and that's going to take a little bit of work. 

I did revise the handle for my whetstone though. 

It looks a bit more to scale now. At least to me. 

I also made some stools/benches for the living quarters. I read that chairs were actually a rarity during Tudor times, at least for anyone but the wealthy and/or nobility. Most people had stools or benches to sit on.  I guess chairs were complicated to make, kind of like bureaus, so everyone made do with simpler furniture.

To that end I made a start on mine. The glue is drying and once it's done I'll add a few more touches to make them look a little more 'Tudor'. But I think I've made a good start.

You can see that I'm also trying to make a hairbrush. Once the glue is completely dry I'm see if everything holds together when I separate out the bristles. If not, back to the drawing board.

But I got a couple more things crossed off my list. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

Oh, Dante is the most intrepid explorer, Sunday morning he decided to investigate the top of the bookshelf. 

How are all of you doing?

Anvils

Tools

Whetstone

Finished goods

Forge Roof/ceiling

Forge Bargeboards

Second floor/ceiling beams

Second floor/ceiling

Second floor walls

Second floor fireplace

Second floor railing (so no one falls down the stairs)

Bed

Candlestick

Dormer

Windows

Forge Chimney

House Chimney

Dragons for chimney and chimney pots

Benches/stools for kitchen. 

Baskets

Rush mats

Knitting/sewing...something for the upstairs bench.

Fur throw

Fireplace tools, (tongs, shovel, poker)

Pease Porridge Pot

Sink with dishes

Bucket of water

Barrel of water for forge

Roof

Bargeboards

Tree

Well/water pump with Water!

Landscaping?

Furniture, Tools, Dormer and Roof

 I've been working on different things for the dollhouse, adding more detail to the walls amongst other things. 

I also added the brackets and support beams to the side of the house. And while the glue was drying on that I got started on the accessories for the forge.

Two anvils, from Shapeways, needed bases to bring them up to a comfortable working height. I added some hoops to hold the tools. They're a little too shiny though. I need to dull them down with some matte poly or glue or something.

I wanted to have beams supporting the roof on the upper level that reflected just how cramped and somewhat limited the space would be. So I used square dowels and some of the brackets along with wooden beads and some toothpicks to augment the glue holding everything together.

Some of them for the front of the house have magnets embedded into the wood to hold the front wall on. Measuring and geometry are as delightful as ever but I managed to get everything lined up.

I also rethought the idea of using my old cradle. I love it but its more eighteenth century than it is Tudor period. So I built a new cradle with basswood lengths, toothpicks, and dowels. I had tiny little wood turnings and used them along with the toothpicks to hold the canopy. Beads to top off the dowels and cherry stain on the whole thing. It seemed to take me forever. But I think it's worth it in the end.

It's just a little longer and higher than my old one but I think it looks pretty good. 

Since a few things had a long drying time I started that process and worked on other things when I could set them aside. Acrylic water added to a sink, a barrel for the forge and a bucket. I also used painted hot glue and silica gel to make vegetables for the pease porridge.  Since that's a slow cooker the pot will rest on the hearth. 

While the 'water' was drying I began to make my fireplace tools. I started with wood and aluminum wire and then primed it with gesso before painting them black and then adding a layer of metallic black for the finish. 

I also used glue sticks (cut to the right length) and hollowed them out a bit, then used jewelry wire for the handles and aluminum wire for the base. More gesso and some dark silver paint and they look like something our blacksmith would make for his own use.

Since I'd already added the hooks for the tools to the fireplace I hung them up (carefully) and then added one of the tankards to the last hook. The other tankard will sit on top of the fireplace or maybe on the table.

And by the time that was done the roof/ceiling and beams were ready to install. And that is always an interesting endeavor. But I did manage to get it done with a minimum of cursing and glue on things it shouldn't be on.

One beam rests on top of the fireplace, and doesn't have the fancy arch/braces because with them no one would be able to get into bed. 

Since that had to dry I turned my attention to more tools for the forge. I made a working set of tongs, out of wood and jewelry wire. 

And then I set to work making a whetstone. It's a little more complicated than it seems because the foot press is supposed to turn the stone so you can hold whatever to the surface with both hands. My handle isn't strong enough so I need to rethink a bit.

I started with wheels and filled in the groove on one side with woodfiller and wood glue. Then painted it to look like stone.

I made the half box and stand which will hold the water and used some hot glue to make sure it was sealed, then added my acrylic water.  Then the handle, rope and peddle.

The handle is out of proportion as well as not working quite right so I'm going to redo that. But so far it's not looking too bad.

One thing is bothering me and its the empty space next to the stairs and fireplace. It's just blank and I know it should be utilized somehow. maybe another cabinet? Any ideas?

I hope you're all doing well. I need to go and read the blogs because I'm about two weeks behind!

Anvils

Tools

Whetstone

Finished goods

Forge Roof/ceiling

Forge Bargeboards

Second floor/ceiling beams

Second floor/ceiling

Second floor walls

Second floor fireplace

Second floor railing (so no one falls down the stairs)

Bed

Candlestick

Dormer

Windows

Forge Chimney

House Chimney

Dragons for chimney and chimney pots

Benches/stools for kitchen. 

Baskets

Rush mats

Knitting/sewing...something for the upstairs bench.

Fur throw

Fireplace tools, (tongs, shovel, poker)

Pease Porridge Pot

Sink with dishes

Bucket of water

Barrel of water for forge

Roof

Bargeboards

Tree

Well/water pump with Water!

Landscaping?

Putting Up Walls

 Well...not putting up walls in an emotional isolation kind of way.  More of a literal putting up walls.

Last weekend I added more beams and layered on more of the plaster to the walls.

I had more to do with the electrical work before I could glue the walls in though.  Three 'candles' downstairs and three upstairs in different places make for some long wires.  Before that could be done the 'candles' needed places to sit. Which meant furniture of some sort.

I decided that one could sit on the railing which I had to make anyway. 

And I wanted to put the third on a piece of furniture like a bureau or desk. But research shows that most Tudor period homes didn't have bureaus...I'm guessing because of the labor and skill required to build and fit drawers. From what I could find it seems like people used cabinets or chests, mostly up on some legs to keep vermin from getting into them. 

Learn something new everyday!

But this meant if I wanted a place for the candle to sit I had to build a piece of furniture. And being me I measured wrong, so I had to build part of it twice.

But I finally got it built. 

And because of all the glue I used, rather than stain it and go nuts out of frustration, I painted it to look a little older.

But the candle goes on top of it nicely. Then it was just a matter of hiding the wires and gluing the floor into place. I doubt this is what my Grandmother thought I'd use these books for when she gave them to me but they are perfect.

All the wires go down the back of the chimney and then the wall can be glued on. Yes! More adventures with glue.

There was, as you can imagine, a lot of waiting time while the glue, paint and polyurethane dried on the cupboard so I stained some of the wooden dishes I have.

I also hunted a cradle I've had since I was like...eleven? I think. It was a while ago obviously. I got it at the Smithsonian Museum. It's the closest I have to a Tudor cradle. 

I was going to glue on the back wall and nearly did it, when it occurred to me that I should make sure the bed still fits in place.  Which it did, but I had to put it in before I glued in the back wall.  Glad I checked. 

So I made up the bed with some pillows, sheets and blankets. I'll probably get a little fur throw to put in there too. And then I put the bed in place and glued in the back wall.

While I was at it and messing with bedding I got the cradle 'dressed' as well. 

I wanted to have different shaped jars so I stained some other wood caps I got from Hobby Lobby and made lids for them out of buttons and pieces of dowel. Red mahogany stain, black marker, Early American stain and Dark Walnut stain. 

Since I was messing around with electrical I figured I'd get the kitchen cupboard set up with most of its shelf accessories. There's still space for some food next to the candle too. 

On the bottom shelf you can see the last of the newer jars I made, that one is done with Early American stain.  

But now I've got two more walls in place. 

 It's a little messy because I was storing some of the more fragile items in the bed cupboard so they wouldn't get knocked around.

I have the wood cut for the roof but not glued yet.  I'll tape that and do a dry fit soon so I can make sure the dormer is in the right place.  But so far so good. I tested all the lights and everything still works.  That's a good sign right?

And at least one thing crossed off my list.

Anvils

Tools

Whetstone

Finished goods

Forge Roof/ceiling

Forge Bargeboards

Second floor/ceiling beams

Second floor/ceiling

Second floor walls

Second floor fireplace

Second floor railing (so no one falls down the stairs)

Bed

Candlestick

Dormer

Windows

Forge Chimney

House Chimney

Fireplace tools, (tongs, shovel, poker)

Roof

Bargeboards

Tree

Landscaping?