New Cottage:  Hi everyone I hope your September is going wonderful!  At the Miniature Show a lady came up to me and asked if I did consignment work!  Then handed me this tiny picture of a cottage house from a company that actually builds these houses for people to live in. She said she would like for me to build the house for her.  I did say I had never done consignment work and would like to give it a try.  I did tell her that it would be a couple of months before I started it and I would let her know when I started.  But I couldn't wait a couple of months so I went ahead and started.  I decided not to let her know until I knew that I could build it to look like the picture.  Plus I'm not worried if she doesn't want to buy it cause I think its turning out really good and would sell at the show next year.  When I am done putting in the electrical lines and finishing the interior and landscaping I will surprise her.  She has chandeliers and lights and items she had in her childhood dollhouse she would like to incorporate into the interior.  So I will set up the wiring to were I can add her lights instantly.  I added a few of my own touches to the exterior, and added a couple of extra window shutters.  I did put the  Flintstone House on hold for now since I wanted to start this cottage.  I think my most favorite thing on this cottage so far are the wood shutters and wood door I made outta scrap wood, and the fake metal hinges I made out of cardboard.  I hope you like the progress ive made so far. 

I tried to be very creative with the roof.  I wanted a Slate Tile looking roof.  I created it from Egg Cartons I have been saving.  I think the slate tile roof shingles turned out Wonderful for using egg cartons that were free- since it would have cost me $50 in tiny wood shingles to cover the house.  But the labor of 3 hours to make the paper shingles almost would cost the same as buying them already make, but its the pride of making them vs buying them. 

This is the slate tiles right after I spent 5 hours hot gluing them into place.  Once they were done- I used Mod Pod Glue and covered them to make them hard and shiny to help make them look like slate.  I also took some diluted grey paint and painted some extra shingles to give more color variance.

It took me 3 Hours to tear the Egg Cartons apart that I saved.  3 Large cartons were used.  I could bearly move my fingers when I was done. 

Once all the paper was on and started to dry I painted it a light grey for all the grout areas. 

I think I spent around 7 hours just sculpting the stones and adding the paper stucco to the walls. 

The house once I put on the paper stucco which is about 1/2 inch thick.

Wood  version glued together.

Laying out my pattern to cut out of the sheet of wood.

I drew out the house on mat board then cut it out with a razor, then I taped it together for a dry fit, before I cut it out of wood. 

 

 

The tiny picture the lady at the miniature show handed me to see if I could build it for her. 

The Denver Miniature Show was a Hit!  I felt like a Rock Star- and 10 out of the 14 houses I took sold-3 of them were in the exhibit room and not on my sales table!  The Show gave me a huge boost in confidence.  People loved how small they were and that each of them were fully furnished and decorated.  While I was in the process of setting up my tables the day before the sales show, 2 of my houses sold to other Miniature Dealers.  I was so exciting and awesome to meet and talk to all the miniature addicted people. It was also totally exhausting setting up the tables which took 4 hours even with my 2 helpers, helping haul in all the houses. 

My Friend Stephanie from Wyoming as she carries away the first miniature house I made that inspired me to start building the houses.  This was a very sentimental house for me to part with.  But I want my closet space back at home so I can start building many more houses for next years show.

 

Flintstone House and Preparing for Miniature Show

 

Hi everyone, I'm so sorry for not posting anything for the past couple of months.  I've been very busy between many camping trips and my annual rock hunting trip to Idaho and work.  I thought today I would post as many things that I have been working on in the past couple of months.  I have 4 separate post I just posted to show you.  I have been trying to make many miniature items to sale at my first sales table at the Denver Miniature Convention that is this weekend September 7th and 8th, and trying to get ready to do all the fun dinner banquets starting tonight and through the weekend.  Getting excited to see and meet the miniature people who inspire me at the show.  Currently I just started the Flintstone House that I am trying to create from a picture of the cartoon I found on the internet.  Plus I thought I would throw in some pictures of all the houses I will have for sale at the miniature show this weekend.  I was trying to set up the display at home on a table to prepare for the 12 foot table I will have at the show.  But I have way to many houses to fit on the 12 foot table.  I'm horrified and scared and excited at the same time for the miniature show, and hoping the show goes good, but I admit I'm scared people wont like my miniatures that I created.  But we shall see.  I hope you all have a Wonderful September and I will try to get better at posting my projects. 

 

More of the sales table I am trying to figure how to set up at home.

The 3 houses are going into the Miniature Show Exhibit Room.  My Christmas House, My Circus Worker Trailer House, and Mausoleum and Catacombs.

Trying to create the Flintstone House from this little picture on my cell phone.

 

I added plastic bags and duct tape to the outside to give the house the rounded look and to also reduce the amount of paper clay that I will add to the house. 

I added a second piece of wood on the roof with spacers to increase the depth of the roof so I wouldn't have to add so much paper clay to get the thickness I wanted. 

 

It took me 2 bags of the powdered paper clay mache to add to the house.  Once it was all mixed up I'm guessing it came to around 40 pounds of wet paper clay.  Plus it has been drying for a week now and still drying since it is about 1/2 to 1 inch thick in areas.  I have to admit adding the paper clay and then wetting my hands to smooth out the house is very relaxing and almost meditative for me.  It took me a couple of hours to add the paper clay to the inside and outside of this house.