Hardscaping & the Tree - Again

So over Thanksgiving I did a lot of work on the Blacksmith's shop and home.  I took a couple vacation days so I have almost an entire week off and it was a good thing I did.

I hunted up all my 'wares' for my blacksmith and added them to the storage chest beneath the window.

There was the issue of the landscaping for a Tudor period building set in a town rather than the countryside. So I needed to make cobblestones.

I used cardboard, paint, chipboard, paint, tinted spackle and black sand.

The tree which was looking so promising had to be set aside. Caspia Grass has a scent to it which Dante found irresistible and I couldn't keep him away from the tree. The tree was also large enough that it couldn't be hidden from him either.

So I started over and instead made a much smaller apple tree with the Candytuft I had on hand. 

So far so good!

I was able to get my set up for the submission pictures done and have them all picked out with my little description of the build written. 

And a good thing too. Because someone at work got Covid over Thanksgiving and didn't realize it until they came on Monday.

Guess what?

 Yep. My husband and I have it again.

It's not as bad as it was the first time around but it's not good either. 

Hoping to have my submission pics and the extras up on Sunday maybe. Just writing this was exhausting!

Anvils

Tools

Whetstone

Finished goods

Forge Roof/ceiling

Forge Bargeboards - skip, too fancy

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

Tree

Well/water pump with Water!

Landscaping

Electrical wiring - final

The Tree

 Well I've been organizing my workroom/dining room for a bit and working on my tree. I run into times when the glue has to dry so that's when I clean up and organize.

I've also had a cat with some issues so he's had to have medicine and monitoring and strangely enough, chasing a one and a half year old cat around at my age is a little tiring. Though to be fair, age wouldn't have as much to do with it if I wasn't also out of shape.

But he's better, done with his antibiotic and muscle relaxer so we'll see how this week goes.

The tree is progressing slowly, I'm getting low on Candytuft so I ordered something that I hope will be comparable and blend well with what I have. 

Here's the tree so far though.

The organizing will continue when the new (really wonderfully cheap) shelves come in and I can get things out of the boxes and off the floor and onto them. The goal is to have space to set up the table with the Cricut and work on some of those projects as well as minis. Since the tree and its glue drying process allows for other work to be done.

And if anyone has a source for sage/basil colored candytuft I'm definitely interested!

The list is progressing:

Anvils

Tools

Whetstone

Finished goods

Forge Roof/ceiling

Forge Bargeboards - skip, too fancy

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

Tree

Well/water pump with Water!

Landscaping?

Electrical wiring - final

Base

China Sets For the Etsy Shop

 I've been experimenting lately with things I can put in my Etsy shop and came up with a couple of listings that I think are worthwhile. 

I love mini dishes but it seems like they're never modern designs.

First I experimented and came up with a pretty set that I thought Jodi might like for Roz. But Roz's kitchen is already perfectly outfitted and Goldie loved them. So the china is Goldie's now. Roz is such a generous Beary Godmother. 

Jodi took these pictures. Even her photography is better than mine!

I came up with two other designs. One with Blue Flowers and another with Country Wildflowers and used the music room box as my display area.

First the Blue Flowers. A Twenty six piece set.

Four dinner plates, four lunch plates, four bowls, four cups and four saucers.

Two large serving bowls, one large platter, two smaller platters and a pitcher.

The Country Wildflowers set is a little different. It has twenty seven pieces. 

Four dinner plates, four lunch plates, four bowls, four cups and four saucers.

Two large serving bowls, one large platter, three small platters and a pitcher.

I put them on Etsy this morning so hopefully they'll do well. My plan is that every set is unique. 

Lots of Little Things...And a Tree

Well time got away from me. I've only been meaning to post for two weeks now!

I've been working on a lot of little things for the build. I needed a paddle to take things out of the hot oven. So I drew the outline on basswood, cut and sanded it down and then stained it before rubbing it with charcoal for a slightly aged look.

I like how it came out.

Another thing I needed was baskets, several in various sizes. I have a bunch of paper wrapped wire that reminds me of grapevines so I used that. It gives the baskets a slightly rustic appearance.  Then I added the produce, eggs and sewing paraphernalia. 

Filling the baskets up with things is handy for disguising the slightly rougher interiors. I made the sewing/knitting stuff but not the vegetables. Miniature food is still a little beyond my capabilities right now.

I'd purchases some urns/pitchers and placed them in various spots in the kitchen and bedroom, but I didn't have any bowls to match. And I really wanted a shallow bowl for the bedroom, suitable for washing up in the morning or evening.

So I went with Kris's paper pottery tutorial. I couldn't find my quilling paper so I cut thin strips of printer paper instead. It worked out pretty well I think. Lots of glue, sanding, glue, sanding and then acrylic paint, and Gallery Glass paint on top to give it a glazed ceramic/pottery look.

You'll recall that I made a bunch of little jars to put on the shelves around the living quarters. But I wanted some other type of storage as well and figured that chests and boxes would be something useful. You never know right?

So I made a bunch of chests with legs to keep them off the floor using various pieces of trim and sized them to fit under the stairs and alongside the stairwell.  Fair warning, lots of pictures to follow.

My first attempt:

Second chest, slightly fancier with metal handles:

Third try. This one is meant to be stored on top of the bed:

Fourth attempt. Slightly shorter than the first, also meant to slide on top of the bed:

Fifth try. I didn't like this one as much, so it's going into a far corner, and I glued the lid down. Don't say I didn't warn you about all these pictures:

Sixth. Bringing in some of the Celtic knotwork trim. Not sure why I didn't take a picture with the lid off. It is removable. 

Seventh one. More knotwork. At this point I'm consciously measuring and trying to make chests that'll stack under the stairs. Math is not my friend so not quite as easy as you'd think.

Last one!  Very small with one handle on the lid. 

And now all of them together:

I was very pleased when everything stacked up the way they were supposed to.

And they all fit into their spots.

The chest above might move to another part of the room. Not sure just yet.

I also decided that I wanted a couple of rush mats for the floors. I did a simpler one and then a braided mat.  I like the braided one a lot but it was very labor intensive.

I imagine I'll put the smaller simpler one in the kitchen, maybe as a kind of doormat. But I like the larger braided one in the bedroom.

But you all know how I wanted a tree. It has begun!

I noticed when I was painting the tree for the WQRC that the paint would rub off the trunk when I was holding it. So I primed the trunk with gesso in the hopes that this time the paint wouldn't rub off once it dried. 

I'll start painting this weekend when everything is completely dry and see how it goes. 

I hope your September is going well!

Slowly but surely crossing things off the list.

Anvils

Tools

Whetstone

Finished goods

Forge Roof/ceiling

Forge Bargeboards - skip, too fancy

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

Tree

Well/water pump with Water!

Landscaping?