Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Mansion Update (For Mom: mostly pics with some words)

I keep waiting until another step is finished before I take an updated photo of the Mansion, but I jump around so much there is no completion of "one step".  If I keep waiting until it's perfect, no one will see the photos until it's finished (which will be in seven years or so at this rate! LOL).  Since my mother keeps updated on the mansion progress via this blog, I needed to do an update for her (and for anyone else who has wondered where this project of mine is at).  So here is the current situation of the Lion's Keep Mansion (even though all parts are still in progress):
Main House is stoned and painted except top level; addition is painted and has stone cut but it is not glued on yet.

Front door area is stoned and coach lights are loosely arranged.
I loved those coach lights by Jo of Spencer's Nook.  I still need to drill holes thru for coach lights to be wired inside the house (but my electrical toolbox is snowed in at work and I'm snowed in at home).

Have 2 different trims to finish off the linear edges of the house...This is trim 1.

Trim 2.  Still can't decide which I like better....
Thought I'd be doing this roofing as "roof" is really only large enough for about 4 rows of Spanish tile roofing...
Leaning towards Spanish tile roof.

Not sure color coordinates well enough though so I'd have to paint them.
For the inside....Lady's bedroom still needs crown molding but new flooring pleases me.
Lady's Bedroom
Sitting room still needs door trim and baseboards (and picture needs to be hung):
Lady's sitting room fireplace (door on right needs trim molding still)

Just needs curtains and baseboards from this angle
Music room still needs it's wallpaper installed and protective covering taken off flooring...

Music Room/Parlor

Love those windows and seeing thru arch to front door!
Guest room just needs crown molding and curtains (and I have to dress the bed, in all my spare time):
I love the bay bump-out in this room!

Guest room, in progress but close to completion
The library (still my favorite room in the mansion)...

Full two story library

Lower library

Entire view of the right side of mansion:
Right side of mansion, in progress
The upper level is a conservatory to be filled with plants and birdcages, but it is only primed and there is nothing to show yet except white walls.  And the lower basement kitchen area is a mess because I decided to cut through the wall to the other side of the mansion so the servants can walk from the kitchen to the laundry room and their bedrooms.  But in the process of cutting the doorway I accidentally ripped up the flooring so I have to fix that now.

Here's an updated video of the right side (with me trying to operate the remote without looking at it to see which button I'm pushing -- oops).
That's it for now!

Friday, March 2, 2018

Woodline Victorian Ready for Play

Between illnesses, doctor visits, and the lingering real life redecorating of my daughters' rooms, the only miniaturing I got to do in February was on customer projects.  The Woodline Victorian is completely repainted and ready for the customer to come pick it up for daughter to play with it!

House was brought in missing all second story railings and some of the first floor railings.  We were hired to repair or create all railings, repaint exterior, create working front door and side door, finish shingling the house (customer had started a while ago but never finished), repair 2 windows that were missing mullion pieces, replace the "grass" in the yard, and wallpaper 3 remaining rooms inside.
BEFORE
AFTER
Originally customer was uncertain about removing all the black accent touches.  So our first step was to repaint the trims, leaving the corbels and window trims black:
IN PROGRESS Painting
But daughter didn't like the look so all trims were painted over.  Those black interior window trims were changed to white.  It took five coats of white to cover, and even then I think it could have used a sixth and seventh coat but we had reached the budget limit back on coat four! LOL Surprisingly, covering the black with the teal color only took 2 coats in most places -- and good thing too, because it was nerve racking to paint the edges of the shutters without getting paint on the white house!

Customer provided the wallpaper and we tackled the remaining 3 rooms in the house that were not papered (top two rooms and center middle room):
BEFORE: a few rooms left needing wallpaper
AFTER
BEFORE Center two rooms needing paper
AFTER
Longest part involved the porch railings: regluing all the exterior railing back together, painting the railing while it was already glued to the porch, and needing to cut two new porch post corbels!
BEFORE: Side porch missing all rails but a porch post and corbel railing.
AFTER: Needs a wicker porch set and a table with summer drinks on it!
BEFORE
AFTER

AFTER

AFTER
Now that this house is done, I am finishing up another customer's red townhouse (townhouse has been in since I primed it and installed some tapewire over a year ago: customer has been slowly picking out wallpapers and chandeliers for me to wire in:  Video of customer's townhouse after getting fire place lights installed).  And once that is completed, I can go back to working on MY miniature stuff again!  I wish everyone a productive and sunny Spring!  Caio! (That was for you, Julie! LOL)