Updates: Water, Dollhouses, and Projects

So, it's been roughly 6 months since my water experiment (Playing with water effects) and it's time to check in on our water displays:

Our four samples

The lower left one seems cloudy - which became more noticeable in the direct sunlight:

So, the lower left (Envirotex Pour On) definitely clouded up, probably from the massive amounts of small bubbles that formed when I had poured it into the birdbath, I'm sure.  But the surface is still glossy and easy to wipe clean from a small layer of dust (display sits on the counter near my work space so there is dust).  The painted birdbath was the other EnviroTex Pour On sample and it likewise is still hard, glossy slick, and the small bubbles that had formed when I poured are still there but not as cloudy or noticeable as in the unpainted sample.  But I think that is the painted bottom that is helping disguise the cloudy issue.

EnviroTex Pour On at an angle to catch the direct sunlight on the surface to capture the cloudiness of the water.

The Solid Water example (lower right in group photo) had reacted with the finish on the birdbath within moments of when I had poured it.  The marbleized swirls on the bottom of the birdbath still remain and, like the EnviroTex product, the surface is glossy smooth and easy to wipe clean.

Solid Water at an angle to catch the direct sunlight across the surface of the water.

Which leaves us with Scenic Water (upper left in group photo): all bubbles that had formed when pouring are still there.  The surface is tacky, sponge-like, and soft making dusting impossible.  I am fearful to even touch it too much as I don't want to pop the bubbles clumped together on the side of the basin and I fear leaving fingerprints on the gelatinous surface.

Scenic Water at an angle in direct sunlight to highlight the bubbles.

I will check in on them again at the year anniversary mark....

So, besides the water update, I have dollhouse updates...this customer's house had wiring checked over, lights added, flooring installed, and was picked up yesterday:

The wood floors look so crisp and pretty!

Lights all working, including the new chandelier in the center room and the lamps in the top attic floor (not in photo).

Coach lights were added since old ones had been ripped off years ago

And the Newport that was supposed to be picked up 3 weeks ago was left with us for painting. (Blog Entry about Newport.) Customer thought she would paint it until they came to pick it up.  Her husband took one look at it assembled and said, "No, have them paint it; you'll never get it done!" Gotta love those type of spouses! Lol  We finished painting it on Thursday and it will be picked up today:

Pretty in Pink

Priming started on 2 other customer houses we'll be working on this month.  The first is a little gray cottage, a bungalow dollhouse by Alessio, that the customer would like us to wire the interior for electricity:

Love this house by Alessio - customer still has front door at home to paint it.

Loved how she used Alessio trims to finish off the flat rooftop over the dormer windows!

We had previously cut out the bathroom partition walls for her weeks ago

Placing furniture to figure out where she wants electricity

Other customer house that needs work is a Glenwood.  It will get finishing, inside and out!

Interior will be finished off completely, but first step is to prime it!

Exterior porch needs to be painted and roofs (both on main house and on porch) will be shingled.

So Dad (that's him in the photo) is helping out with my work load by priming the interior of this Glenwood while I was finishing up the Newport and starting the wiring on the little gray cottage.
I still have the water damaged house to be working on...I'm waiting for some Spring days so the table saw can be rolled outside and wood pieces cut to replace the porch roof I had cut off (Water Damaged Porch House).

Needs a coat of paint to blend the primed replacement siding with the housebody

Plus I'm making progress on my Asian Butterfly Garden scene.  First, I had found these little statues a friend had given me, but they are a neon green that (in my opinion) make them seem toy-like, disjointed, and disruptive compared to the rest of the scene:

One of the statues, not a subdued green like the other statues in the scene

Painted the statues a deeper green to help blend them in with the greenery and other statues in the garden

It seemed like a stroke of fate that I found these in a local craft shop:

Bamboo!!!!

They will be in the Asian Garden scene too...I'm almost ready to mix my "dirt" with glue and start sticking my landscaping in place!  I tried to laser cut my Shoji doors a few days ago, but someone had modified the setting on the laser printer so I have to wait until Monday so that I can reset the machine to the proper settings (which I didn't have time to do the day I went in to print my Shoji doors).  But I believe my Butterfly Garden scene will be finished by the end of the month!

And I'm making a little thank you gift for a friend so I bedazzled this chair this week too.  I'll post pictures of this little scene as it gets closer to completion...

Broke out the glitter

Lots of updates on projects, but I'm still buried neck deep in work so time to get back at it!  I'm off to wallpaper a customer's townhouse (and I didn't even show you photos of that dollhouse -- there's just so much going on here!).  Have a great weekend everyone!