Update! - Shingles and Minis + Weekend Trip!

Well I am not sure how much I am going to have a chance to do for the rest of the day. I have to start packing and getting ready to go the mountains with my family! SO... I wanted to show you guys what I've been up to since yesterday.

I finished shingle-ing all the roof!

Here is a closer look at the roof so far. I like the way all of them are slightly different shades, so I will try to keep that aspect of them, but I do want to make them all darker. I will try to apply a dark wash over all of them, so that it takes the color down a few notches.

Also, I couldn't get the shingles to bend without breaking... I even tried to soak them in water overnight and they still splinter. So.... I will do this! I am going to take the trim that was meant for the corners of the house, and trim the roof with them! I figured that since they are a bit too wide for the lower portion of the house, that wouldn't matter on the roof- especially when I add dark paint and moss on it. Haha!

I will trim all of the front corners with this. I am planning on doing something different for all of the back trim.

Another thing I have coming up on my list is the flower boxes! These are what the kit ones look like.

Here is what one would look like under the window.

They are perfectly fine, but not really what I want to go with. I want to make some that are similar to the outside walls of the house. I am making all these things for flowers and plants.... I hope I will be able to find some plant-life that looks right!

Also, here is something I am working on for some new miniatures I want to make. They are just boxes, but I wanted to play around with some scraps of paper to get the size and design I need.

I will continue to make Fall items, but I am also planning on making Christmas items soon! I love Christmas, and with all of the things I want to make, I think I NEED to start soon. :D

Anyways, the box is just a prototype- so expect a better version of it the next time you see it! :)

I mainly wanted to let you guys know what was going on! I am not sure if I will have internet access over the weekend, so I might not get to blog again until Monday. O___O

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to let me know what you think by leaving a comment! I respond to them all, even if it is to just say Thanks!

-xo

Blake

Shingles and Moss! - Part 1

I have been kinda stuck the last day or so. I don't have any more egg cartons for brick-work and I don't have any enough wood strips to do the flooring right now! And I also haven't had a chance to get any wallpaper! Eek!

Well, it takes more than that to stop me! I remembered that my shingles have been drying for a while now, so I started hanging them on the roof last night! I am back at it today and it is a slow-going process...

Here is how she is looking so far! I have the front side of the roof done, and the glue is now drying. I also finished the top... err.... room? I don't know what to call this... Oh well. It will later serve as a storage room, so I will refer to it as the rooftop storage. :D

Here is an image of the front of the roof.

Here is how the whole thing looks so far. I like the variation in colors- it looks old and worn like I like it, but I do think it is a little too light. I think when all of the shingles are up I will go back over them with a couple dark washes. I think the overall look of the house will look better with a darker roof.

I also need to set some shingles aside for the trim- to clean up the corners. I want to bend them like this...

I will also make the ones on the corners rounded, like this. 

And this-

Oh! I picked up this the other day at Hobby Lobby. I liked the shade of green and this will be my moss! I am not sure what else I would use and I didn't see anything else in Hobby Lobby.

There are a few spots on the roof where I can tell the gaps in between the shingles is a little too wide, so I will just cover some of them up with the moss!

Now, as I was searching for patterns of how and where moss would grow, I came across "moss graffiti." Sounds weird, huh? Well it looks AMAZING. Here are some images I found.

Found Here

Source Unknown

Found Here

Found Here

I was thinking... wouldn't this be a nifty idea to incorporate into miniature???? I mean, I think it would look just plain MAGICAL if there was like... moss growing around the foundation of the house, and some on the roof, and then have moss graffiti on the side of the house! :D Don't get me wrong, I don't want to do something where it looks like a swamp monster rubbed up against the side of my house or anything- but something subtle. :) I just though I would share this with you guys! I thought it was very creative and I think it  will suit my house just fine. :3

Now I am back to shingles! I have the two sides of the roof to go, and then I can move on. :D I love the way they look, but GOSH. It takes SO long.

-xo

Blake

P.S. - I just finished one side roof, but I ran out of shingles... so... more staining!