Beams and Candles

 Oops...I skipped a weekend... sometimes I end up doing that when I don't feel like I've accomplished much. 

But I did do some work.

First, candles. I used my old tried and true drilled out dowel method, although this time I cut the tops of the 'candles' at an angle. That seems to help direct the light and also looks like the candles are burning unevenly. I painted them with Ceramcoat Antique White and once that was dry added my hot glue 'wax drips'.

The smallest hot glue gun nozzle I had but it worked pretty well.

And I added an extra step. A watered down black paint, 'Wrought Iron' to give the wax a burnt look. I let it drip down the sides and on the tops and used a dry paint brush to soak up any excess. It gives the candles another layer of realism and the dark paint makes the 'drips' show up better on the candle.

And now for the buttons, because there's a reason I have them near the candles.  I have a huge stash of buttons from when I used to sew (and also extras that came with clothing I bought) so I got a few that could pass for candleholders and drilled into the top and sides. 

Then I used aluminum wire and crazy glue to attach the 'loops' of wire to the buttons.

I used my Dremel sandpaper attachment to make narrow channels on the bottom of the buttons. And then I primed them with gesso. Once that dried I painted everything black and added black metallic paint over that.

The result has enough texture that it looks like iron work to me. Everything is drying in the picture above.  But once dried, I added candles to some of them and put them in place.

I'll 'set' one on the stairs too.  The lights are some of the LED lights from Miniatures.com. Five will run off one twelve volt battery. 

I did one other thing, also involving buttons. I got some wooden candle 'cups' from Hobby Lobby. The little things that'll hold one candlestick that you attach to a bigger candle holder. They're just the right size for jars and they paint up very nicely. With a little effort anyway. But if they're jars then they need lids. That's where the buttons came in. And a few beads for lid handles. 

As you can see, I stained one and then painted the rest. They'll look pretty nice on the shelf near the stairs.

There was a lot of sawdust in the past couple of days. Mostly because I was cutting and sanding and staining in order to get more beams added to the exterior of the front and rear upper walls.

I have a couple more to add to the last picture, and then I'll add the beams to the interior as well. But since the glue had to dry I moved on to add the structural beams and ceiling to the dormer.

And after that...well I had a few life size house chores to do.

But what a difference a couple of weeks makes for cats. Anthony, whom we are testing names for, among them Dante and Raider, has moved beyond the living room in his explorations.  He's very snuggly (and a hot water bottle of a cat) and wants attention a lot. See below:

Those are from when I was working on the dollhouse. And one from me being on the couch with the laptop. He doesn't care about sawdust on the floor, or anything else. He just wants me to pet him. He also jumps on the back of the chair and leans over my shoulder to see what's so interesting.

Miho (such a sweet girl) is being remarkably patient with him and she's getting used to him.

Princess... well. In cat years she's 84 and she doesn't like him or Miho, but she likes my husband and me, and she wants human food. Like she'll take a swipe at another cat if she thinks they're getting some and she isn't. No, no one on four legs gets human food but that doesn't stop her trying.

She'll eat near the other two and she's come up on the couch to sit a few times. She likes my husband a lot though. And she really enjoys the window shelves we've got. 

She came with her collar and bell so we've kept it on her. We figure it's hers and she's used to it. But even though she's a little overweight she knows how to move without making the bell jingle. Unless she's in a hurry because Dante/Raider/Anthony is chasing her.

Miho isn't meowing and looking for her orange brothers anymore. Maybe because Dante/Raider/Anthony likes to go around the house meowing (discussing) to test the echoes (or whatever) in all the rooms. He's an interesting character and at least Miho isn't lonely and confused. Even if she doesn't like the new cats too much, she's got something else to think about besides the ones who are gone.

And so do we.

And I got a couple more things crossed off my list, or at least partially crossed off.

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

Roof

Bargeboards

Tree

Landscaping?