Roof, Drapes & a Cricut

So the first order of business for the weekend was hooking up my new Cricut and figuring out how to use it.

For your amusement I've included pictures of the Building Inspector and her sister Miho as the Cricut worked.  They were highly suspicious.  Miho actually tried to swipe at the mat when it was going back and forth.

 

I'm pleased to say that after a couple of false starts I was able to make the pieces for my roof out of chipboard.  Because the largest measurement was 14 1/2 I had to divide the pieces in half and tape them together.

The roof only has a one inch rise so I looked up shallow slope roofing and apparently flat roof material is recommended for shallow sloping roofs.  So of course in the interests of accuracy I had to use that.

I love Gorilla tape!  Cheap and it looks good and it's going to be so easy to dust.

Once I got the roof on I used a magazine to weigh it down.  It flattened it a little more than was strictly needed but I still like how it looks.

I took a little bit and figured out how to make arches in the Design Space.  And that let me cut out my cornices out of chipboard.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of them before I glued them together and covered them with fabric.

This is the same fabric I used for the WQRC bed curtains. 

I wanted to have a couple of chairs too, so I hunted up some of the extras I had.

I was already in the process of prying up the cushion when I took the picture.  But I used the same fabric for the cushions.

I didn't have any cotton fabric for sheers so I made do with a synthetic for them.  I had to use a lot more glue than normal but eventually I got them done and attached to the cornices.

Once the glue was mostly dry I turned them over and made sure they looked good.

I found some embroidery thread that matches the cornices so once it's safe to move the sheers I'll make cord and tassels for hold backs. 

Since I had to let everything dry for a while I got out all my musical instruments and tested how they'd look in the room with the rugs.

My shelves look so empty.  I have stuff arriving tomorrow.  Of course with the post office these days...it could be a week from tomorrow.  I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

 

I like the harpsichord and the piano, but I'm not sold on the spinet in the far corner.  I might look for something like a cello and a music stand for that corner instead.  It's just a little too big for the room.

I fitted the front wall on and opened the doors.

See what I mean about the spinet and harpsichord?  The spinet pretty much pushes the harpsichord out the door.

I'm still thinking about the flowering vine I want for the pergola but I definitely want one.  And I'm considering the layout and how big I want my patio.  I'd love to try and do a water feature but I don't know how ambitious I'm feeling. 

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Siding & Front Elevation

So this was a weird weekend for me.  I didn't get a lot of sleep on Saturday night so even though I got a lot done during the day I didn't get very much accomplished on Sunday.  At least not in my opinion.

I added a 'foundation' to the room, using some textured brick paper I had left over from the WQRC tower.

And as you can see I got my siding cut out.

I painted them and waited for everything to dry then added the siding to the right and left side of the room.

And while I waited for the glue to dry I went and researched what I want the front to look like.  I came up with some ideas, and some of the folks on Facebook suggested that the music rooms they've been in open onto gardens with French doors.  Which gave me the idea of a pergola and some steps below it.  I could make a climbing vine with some flowers to go on it, and maybe do a garden to go in front of the room later.

So, pergola it was.

I added siding to the top and corner trim to the sides of the front. 

So I tried out the supports but they ended up too low.

See? A bit too low.  Slight adjustment needed.

I played around with the steps.  And came up with something I like.  I'll likely paint them white.  I've made them so they attach with magnets in case I want to move them around or do something different for the front.

I also did a mock up of the roof.  Cardboard since I didn't want to waste my basswood. I need to adjust the dimensions some but I like the look at least.

One other thing I did this weekend.  I finally succumbed, seduced by Jodi's amazing kitchens, and ordered a Cricut on Saturday.  It was supposed to arrive on Monday along with a list of the things Jodi suggested I would need.

It arrived on today (Sunday) and after only getting six hours sleep I was in no condition to attempt setup or doing anything more complex than clearing a spot on my worktable (aka the dining room table) to put the box.  I'm excited but I'm also exhausted so I don't want to start anything too complex.

I added some poly semi gloss to the floors and trim inside.  I like how the room looks.  Now I'm going through my things for the shelves and decide on the rug.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Doors, Hardware & Light Fixtures

I didn't post last week but I did make some progress.  My window and door hardware arrived!

While the paint was drying I began to work on the exterior door handles for the French doors.

So then I got the interior window trim and the hardware attached to the walls. 

I like how it turned out.  Once the glue dried some paint touch ups were needed but that was simple enough.

I hunted up my siding so I'd be able to add that once I got the lights into the room.  Luckily I had some and didn't need to order any.

I also drilled out some holes in the side walls for the magnets.

Once I got those glued in I covered them with tape until the glue dried.  And I glued the French doors into the front.

Last week I also worked on my chandelier for the room.  It took me a bit and I really want to find some other beads in teardrop shape for a different style if I want to make more later.  But I like how it came out.

It still shows a little loose here but once everything was glued into place it looks much more symmetrical.

After dealing with tiny beads and wires and spacing and I was ready to scream so I put everything down and stopped with the minis for the weekend.

But this weekend, with renewed optimism I began to work on the sconces.  Still a lot of cursing and fussing with beads and wires but at least I got them both done.

Then I did another test of the lights.  I'm pleased to say that I didn't manage to pull anything apart so they still worked.

Actually getting them into the room was much easier than making the lights. 

I got a piece of the same wood my siding is made out of and tested some colors for the exterior.

From left to right, 1) Voyage, 2) Cabana Blue, 3) Venus Teal, and 4) Cascade.

I like them all, but Voyage seems a bit off so I don't want to use it.  I used Cascade on the interior, behind the built in shelves.  I think Venus Teal is a bit too light.  And since my husband has to see it too, and he likes Cabana Blue I'm thinking I'll go with that one.

I'm letting all the glue dry on the ceiling and light fixtures before I paint and glue on the siding.  And I'm debating the front yet, if I want to add steps.  I'm not sure.

So I'm going to set that aside for a bit and worry about it next weekend.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend!