Getting Stoned!

So Lost Cause house is finished (blog post with before/after photos coming in a few weeks after customer picks up the house)!  And before I get overwhelmed finishing up another customer's dollhouse (been repainting it on/off last few weeks in my spare time while waiting for paints on Lost Cause to dry or for glue to set), I decided to tackle the next major step on my Victorian Mansion: The stone blocks that will be the exterior finish on the house!

Months ago I had done a trial paint job on 6 pieces (enough to do one section of the house):

First six I had painted back in January

But, in my brilliance, I realized a few days after my trial painting that now any other pieces I make have to match with these first six pieces.  Perfect.  Nothing like a little worry and stress to make me avoid doing any of it for months.  So I knew when I did get around to doing the other sheets of block stone, I needed to paint them all at once so the color/technique is all the same on the remaining sheets.  Especially since I was custom mixing the paint colors (from ivory, cream, and tan paints: you can see my collection in the photo above).  If the remaining 18 sheets don't match the first six, I'll bury these six on the back of the house somewhere/somehow so it's not as obvious that they don't match.  But at least the other 18 will match each other!

Leaf still in table from Mother's Day Brunch makes laying all 18 pieces out easier

Painting has begun!

 Base coat took longer than I expected (over 3 hours).  Since I insist we eat as a family at the table during the week, I needed to move the sheets to the dining room table for the next step(s):

Sponge painting my blocks.

This went faster than the base coat did!

Center row is actually the first six trial sheets -- I think the color is matching fairly well!  Taking just under 3 hours, sponge painting the 18 sheets took less time than painting the base coat!  But since it was done leaning over the table, instead of sitting in a chair like I did for the base coat, it was harder on my back, shoulders, and neck.  But I am pleased with the end results!  I think it is subtle enough (as I want the viewers' eyes to notice the windows and doors on the house, not the stone) and the variations of color matches well with the first six trial sheets in the center of the table and with the windows too!

All the sheets are painted!

Love my Majestic Mansion windows!

Now I still have to put a glaze on the stone blocks (to replicate a polished stone facade) and I would like to paint the backs of the sheets to help combat some minor warping, but otherwise the sheets are ready to be measured, cut, fitted, and glued onto the exterior of the house!

For those who remember my fiasco attempting to dress a doll for my Dallas Trip (My attempt at doll dressing); I am so excited to say that Tish dressed my doll and returned her to me:

In the display box (I now keep most of the mansion furniture in stacked clear boxes so I can see what I have)

She is so perfect for my mansion!

I am so happy that my doll is now dressed properly (she would not have looked this good had I done it) and she is hanging out in the Ballroom furniture display box, waiting for the day I get over to assemble, decorate, and play with that side of the mansion...