Chinese Tea Room part 1: Illustration Board wall panels

Hello everyone,
I hope you're all doing well. I normally create a post when a room is finished, but since it's been a while since my last post I thought I'd just give you guys an update on the Room I'm currently working on.

I'm working on one of the rooms in the attic at the front of the house. Originally this was going to be a walnut panelled office, then library, finally I decided it will be a Chinese tea Room the Dewell's use to entertain prominent guests.

In this post I'll just talk about the construction of the panels which I made using illustration board. I've been asked by friends accross the sea exactly what illustration board is. It's basically thin layers of cardboard stuck together. I took one piece and seperated the corner to better explain.

I get my illustration board from my local art supply store

After I made the plans for the room I cut out each wall section in the illustration board. It warps when you paint it so you have to back it with something sturdy. Many miniaturists use lumber, but since I live in Montreal and order all my miniature lumber from "Manchester Dollhouse and Woodworks" in the States, I use it cautiously so as not to run out of building materials...I found Balsa here in Montreal, but there are no words to say how much I hate working with wood that soft. Since I have many small pieces of mdf leftover from building the Manor structure, I just glued them onto the back of the illustration boards walls.

You can see int he picture above that I made the mdf shorter then the illustration board to accommodate the sloped of the roof. I glued everything using carpenters glue. Next I glued on small rectangular panels which will eventually be finished with chinoiserie like in my first picture. When they were dry, I covered everything in gesso.

The center section will be a mirrored cabinet with doors to showcase teapots and tea caddies

This is the Fireplace wall, the medallion is a jewellery bit I glued on before painting. Illustration board makes it easier to cut odd shapes like the fireplace opening...I know it's crooked, I fixed it later on

And this is the back of the room

Gesso just helps to cover any joints and protects the edges of the board. Once it set I sanded it and painted the background red and the panels black

3 coats of red all over, then 2 coats of black over the panels

I painted the chinoiserie, but you'll have to wait till my next post for the finished pieces. Oh well...maybe just one bad picture...

The narrow vertical rectangles that were left black will have 3 shelves on them which will hold white vases and chinese teacups with blue and orange designs on them...Yes, I will be learning to work with Fimo! Around the mantel, the black panels and the chinoserie panels I will attach a gold molding strip which is in the mail. The shelves will be gold painted brackets from Sue Cook which are also on the way. If the brackets and molding arrive soon I should have this room finished in 2 weeks...and I have a wonderful gold and white plaster ceiling for the top of the room. I'm working on a parquet floor design...

And that's my progress. There would be more, but I was sick at the beginning of the month, then had my mom and my father-in-law's birthdays, then Ozzy's..

Happy Birthday Ozzy!

...and last weekend our friends had a Blessing for their daughter. I had told them I would make the cake since I made the one for their son, but then they asked Jo and I to be her godfathers so naturally I had to make the cake special...

And that, my patient friends, was July 2012 in the wonderful world of Giac!

Before I go, Some of you chose me for a "You Inspire me" blog award. I thank you all very much for the great honor. I tried very hard to choose who to pass it on to, but there are so many of you I just can't pick. So if you don't mind, I thought I'd do it this way. While every single one of you inspires me...yes..EVERY single one of you ...I decided to mention certain blogs that have helped me, or that I wish I had come upon earlier to help prepare me for Dewell Manor...be it finishing techniques, history or collecting! I hope you explore them and enjoy them as much as I do.

http://www.modernminiatures-whitledge-burgess.blogspot.ca/
   Faux wood finish, illustration board walls, curtains, "The Ultimate Glue"...Without Ray's techniques I would never have made the Manor what it is

http://dollshousesandminiatures.blogspot.ca/
   I wish I had read Andy's posts before I started. His miniatures are wonderful, and his historical period guides are one of the best tools you'll find on the web. I could of saved a lot of time and energy had I read his posts first.

http://www.exquisiteminiatures.blogspot.ca/
   Martha has dedicated her blog to showcasing the artists that have made our hobby great. Each post introduces me to a new artist and she encourages everyone to comment and add information about the work.

http://petitpunt.blogspot.ca/
   Many of Debora's posts are wonderful construction how to's and I've learned a lot of great ideas from her

http://elgakoster.blogspot.ca/
   I just love furniture and look forward to the challenge of making my own someday. In the meantime, Elga's posts show you so many techniques and I will definetely re-read them all before I start.

http://john-merrimanpark.blogspot.ca/

http://miniatureenthusiast.blogspot.ca/
   John and Simon were amongst my very  first followers. Like me, they started blogging about their scratch built projects and I think our projects are very much the same in so many ways...My sign is Taurus and my ascendant sign is Scorpio, so I still get confused by the Gemini-Effect these two have, but the end results always speak for themeselves. ;)

Well, that's what I had for the moment. thank you all, old friends and new, for your support and encouragement. You all know how big miniature projects really are, and it's great to have the priviledge to get to know all of you and all your wonderful artwork...yes, we are all artists!

I send you all the best and look forward to seeing more of your wonderful posts.

Big hug,
Giac

Vacation, Carpet disaster and Chinoiserie

Hello everyone,
I hope all of you are doing well. It feels like I have so much to write about! First of all, we had a fantastic trip. I even found some great souvenirs for the dollhouse.

I found the Three graces staue in a shop near the Louvre, and the figurine in St-Antoni Basilica in Padova the statue stands 4 3/4 inches high and will go in the Gallery or the Music Room.

We flew into Paris for 3 days and it was great. Jo and I went there on our honeymoon and it was just as beautifule as we remembered it...even in the rain. We then flew to Venice to board the ship and cruise the Greek Islands. Corfu was amazing, Santorini and Mykonos were lovely but a little too relaxed and calm for me. Our last stop was Katakolon where we took a guided tour to visit the ruins of Olympia, the site of the very first olympics, and it was one of my favorite stops ever. We got to see the "Hermes of Praxitales", said to be the statue of the most perfectly proportionned man...I believe it. We got off the boat in venice and took  a tour to Padova which dropped us off at the airport...Had I the money Padova is where I would have an appartment in Europe...it was wonderful!.

That was the trip,and now back to mini-matters. Some people on cruise ships have all kinds of activities...Giac sits at the back of the boat and makes mini-tassels for Library curtains and works on dollhouse plans!
I should start working on the exterior of the Manor by the end of the summer. This means I had to figure out exactly what I want the house to look like so I can order the lumber I need. Here is my vision:

This first picture is of the side of the manor and opens into the Kitchen, Dressing Room and Morning Room. The Manor will be red brick, dark slate tile roof, and beige stonework. I love timber frame and decided only this wing would have it as I want the front of the Manor to look very solid and imposing. Naturally, the minute I finished it, I decided to lose the windows on the left and add a large chimney. I decided there was not enough cooking space in the kitchen so I'm adding a 5 " wide fireplace for roasting meat. The door to the kitchen will become a double door with large glass panes so the kitchen gets more light. 

This drawing is of the drawing Room Window and the Boys Bedroom. I will be using lead tape to make my windows and was not sure what pattern I wanted to use so I drew both onto the windows. In the end, I decided the regular square windows will get the square pattern, and the decorative curved windows will get the diamond pattern. Every window will have stained glass details, but more on that later.

I want a bay window for the Dining Room and Master Bedroom. I have a dremel and a regular 7 inch table saw, so I had to figure out the detail work in order to figure out how to build it since I can't make 45 degree cuts along the entire height of the panels. 

My last elevation drawing is of the Front Door. I want the entrance to be spectacular. while we were walking in Paris I saw several doors and doorframes that I loved, and I combined all my favourite elements of each door to create this design. I will use basewood molding and sculpy, and will finish it to look like stone. The swag detail over the transom will have a lion's head in the center. I know this project will drive me crazy, but I will make it happen.

I also took  the time to figure out my nursery. I decided to seperate the sleeping and play areas by creating a platform.  The platform area will be 8 inches wide and the crib will go next to the fireplace. The area will be seperated with banisters and curtains. The play area will have built in shelves, a built in puppet theater, and a chessboard inlay in the wood floors. I want to incorporate elements of Alice in wonderland without the room being too much of a theme room. This way the children can play with chess pawns as high as they are. Of course there will be a half scale table with chairs covered in lots of tea pots and tea cups. 

And that is what I got done on the boat. However, I had a few surprise when

I got home... Do you rememeber the red library floor carpet...the one that gave me such a hard time...well, the double sided tape worked amazing...but all the areas in between puffed up like a souffle. I think the basement is just too humid and the fabric expanded. I tried pushing it back down but it looks horrible. I've decided to take it out, make a wood parquet floor, and add wainscott to that room. Here is what the parquet will look like.

I will start by making the borders around the room, staining them almost black, then filling in the areas with light colored wood. The center will be a lattice pattern made from 2 tones of pine. I also want to incorporate wood parquet details representing the 12 signs of the chinese zodiac to go with the chinese patterned gold and black wallpaper in that room.

Also, I decided the Music room floor also has to go. It was my first scratch parquet floor ever. It looked great at the time, but the marble detail in the center doesn't look quite real and the large wood borders around the chevron pattern ruin the illusion. I will start over and glue the new floor over the old, and I also want to add wainscott in white and gold to the room. It was just missing somehting and I think I will be happy when it's all done...again, I chose a pattern from a russian palace for the floor..but more on that another time.

Since I've been back I've not really had much time or energy for the dollhouse, but I did decide on a  design for the attic library and had a test run. 

The room will be red and have black lacquer chinoiserie pannels. I hate painting with a passion, but I'm happy with the results of my first try. I will use a finer brush and the pattern should be a bit smaller, but I think I'll do a good job. I've printed out several panel details from furniture and am going to study the designs more carefully.

Also, I had 2 packages when I got home. The first one was the screen Jonquil http://latchkeyandjonquil.blogspot.ca/ offered in one of her giveaways and believe me, it is even better in real life. Her workmanship is spectacular and incredibly beautiful. Thank you so much Jonquil! I just LOVE it and will treasure it always.

The second package was me birthday chandeliers for the Library. They were totally worth the wait. The Metropolitan from the Getzans was the first chandelier I fell in love with and the only one I never thought twice about. They look perfect in the Library and go incredibly well with the style of the house...but you'll have to wait to see it until after the new floor is installed.

Another thing that has been on my mind lately and during the holidays were future projects.

I know I talk about deadlines all the time, but the reason is that I have several prjects in my head that are driving me crazy. I want to build a dollhouse for my niece and for the children of close friends of ours. I want to make town house type exteriors, and make the rooms individual roomboxes. They will have things like chalkboard walls so the kids can play, and if they want a collector dollhouse when they get older I will take out the children roomboxes and make higher quality realistic ones.

I also have a few roombox ideas for myself, such as my dream kitchen, and the project I'm most excited about is this:

This picture is my real life Dining Room. My parents bought this set the year I was born and I begged my mother not to get rid of it before I moved out. I want to make 2 copies of the China Hutch and the table with 8 chairs and a  sideboard for the Dining Room of Dewell Manor. I don't have the skills, but want to start experimenting with wood inlay furniture when the Manor is finished. I have started purchasing books on  making miniature furniture and will eventually start investing in  proper tools and equipment. John Davenport's book "Making Miniature Furniture is fantastic and I highly recommend it if you can find a copy.

The last big project on my mind is a family. Jo and I got word a month ago that we were officially on the adoption waiting list. We were going to keep it a secret, but figured we'd share the happy news since the wait will be long. We were told the wait is an average of 7 years. I know it's a while away, but I have to admit it is on my mind a lot and I would like to finish certain project before the tools and wood panels get put away and replaced, temporarily, by shelves of toys and games.

And that, my dear friends, is my back to reality post. I have been swamped with work since we got back, so I have not had time to comment on your blogs. I have read many and have to say I was in awe of the amazing projects and posts I 've seen. It seems like everyone is always getting better and putting out incredible work. I have not forgot about the prizes I was given and will talk about them next post as well as pass them on.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I will get to work on Dewell Manor soon. Just please be patient with me as I think my next project, the new floor in the Library, will take me a long time to do.

I wish you all the best and send a great big hug to everyone, old friends and newcomers, and thank you for taking the time to follow my work and for your endless encouragement and support. I appreciate it more then you can know.

Giac

xx

Attic: Morning Room and Sewing Room

Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well. First of all, thank you all so much for your kind comments on my last post. It really means a lot to me. Real life renovations have been keeping us very busy, but I did manage to make a little time for Dewell Manor. Yesterday I finished the 2 first rooms in the attic floor, the Morning Room and the sewing Room:

Morning Room

Morning Room

Morning Room

 The Morning Room is over the dressing Room, so the windows next to the fireplace look over the sea, and the other window on the opening wall panel will overlook the Rose Garden. Through the back door is a hall and the Nursery door, so the lady of the house could sit here and play with her children early in the day. Through the door facing the fireplace is the sewing room, so she'll be close by for morning fittings.

Sewing Room

Sewing Room

Working in the attic was an interesting challenge. Contrary to the 2 main floors, the structure went up before I had envisionned the rooms. Originaly the attic was going to be storage space and the morning room was going to house the electrical elements. So after I realized I would be wasting a lot of space, I decided to rework the attic floor and started making holes in the wall.

The Morning Room is in front of a window in my real life living room, so I wanted to add some windows to take advantage of natural light. I was going to make 2 small dormers, but in the end I decided to open up the side of the roof and add a section so that the fireplace in this room will line up with the chimney for the Dressing Room and the Kitchen underneath.

First I cut out the opening

next I added the back wall with the window openings and the chimney. This bump out will be finished in brick with battlements which will add to the castle-like look of the building

I used mdf for the back window wall, and illustration board with lumber strips for the sides of the bumpout. I figured cutting the mdf and getting the angles perfect was not worth the effort. Everything, inside and out, got coated in primer.

When the bump out was built, I painted the walls and  I made a false ceiling for the room. This hid the larger lumber I used for the roof structure.

I cut illustration board to the right size, then glued leftover pieces of Mdf tot he back so the ceiling would be solid, and most importantly it would minimize warping. I also used small pieces as supports

When it was dry, I used screws and glue to attach the support pieces to the roof structure. Now the ceiling was solid.

The next step was fix the bottom half of the walls. I don't like angled walls that go to the floor, so I cut illustration board to just about 4 inches high, then, using leftover mdf pieces for support and strength, I glued them all around the room. This was I have walls to push furniture against. When that was primed, I wallpapered.

The next step was to get my components ready. I made the windows and doorframes, faux marbled a Braxton Payne fireplace and faux finished all the lumber and baseboards I would need.

The first step was to finish the ceiling. I put the structure upside down and started gluing the lumber in place.

Ceiling beams and spacer

The first pieces I glued down, always using gel super glue and the Ultimate Glue, were to cover the gaps where the illustration board walls met the angled mdf roof panels. Next I added the cross beams. I decided how many beams would look nice and cut a spacer to help them all line up. When the ceilings in both the Morning Room and Sewing Room were done, I flipped it over and started work on the floors.

I was concidering making simple wood floors, but when I went to test fit the illustration board subfloor I realised , because the walls were angled and I had the nook to contend with, It was impossible to position it in one piece. I cut a 1 1/2 inch strip of the subfloor and added a border detail where the  section would meet. 

The final step was adding baseboards and lumber to the bottom half of the wall. If you look in the picture with the caption "Ceiling beams and spacer". you can see that the wallpaper was cut in sections instead of gluing around the room in large sheets. This made it easier to work with the angled walls, and all the gaps would be covered by lumber.

On this floor, only the Nursery and Bathroom will have doors. This way, you'll have a better view of the "hidden" rooms and hallways. And here are the empty rooms

And that is all for now. It's funny, but the whole time I was working on the attic rooms I was afraid they would be tight. I only realised how big they were when I put in the furniture...clearly, I'll need more pieces to fill the rooms.

 This might be my last post for a while. Jo and I are going on Holiday June 5th and will be back the week of the 20th. I'll make sure to catch up to all your blogs when I get back and keep working on Dewell Manor.

I said it before and I'll say it again, I'm incredibly touched and thank you for your support. I apologize if I don't respond to your comments, but I have to chose between responding to comments or visiting your blogs to keep up to date.
Also, a big thank you to those who chose my blog for an "Inspirational Blog" award. When I get back from holiday I will pass the award on and share 5 habits of mine. Be afraid, be very afraid.

A big hug to all of you, and keep up all your great work, you are all a source of great inspiration.

Giac
aka Honey Badger

Manor update and what I did not get for my birthday!

Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well. I'm sorry it's been such a while since my last post, but I've been rather busy with real life renovations and it took me a while to figure out how to put together the attic rooms, but I'm hoping to have a progress report by next weekend...even new finished rooms.
In the meantime, since the 2 main floors of the manor are 95 % done, Here is a tour of the house, from left to right, the way I see it. My camera is not working right now, so you've seen some of these pictures before...I promise only new pictures next post:

First Floor

The House

Kitchen, Scullery, Butler's Pantry

Dining Room

Great Room, Game Room

Great room, Drawing Room

Entrance and Grand staircase

Music Room

Second Floor

Dressing Room

Master Bedroom

Girl's Bedroom

Boy's Bedroom

Gallery

Library

Bedroom Hall and Attic Staircase

When I look at these pictures, the first thing that comes to mind is I have A LOT of accessories to buy to fill the Manor.

The timing for this post is actually perfect. Yesterday, May 2nd was my birthday. Unlike many I LOVE my birthday and make it a point to make it all about me! This year, I wanted to celebrate 34 years of existance and mischievousness (my idols are Calvin from Calvin and Hobbs and Daffy Duck)  by taking a weekend day to myself, watching episodes of "The Golden Girls" and "Keeping Up Appearances", while eating cheesecake and admiring my presents which I hoped were chandeliers. The reality was working on the real life  renovations and the chandeliers, which were ordered January 2nd, were not ready and we have no idea when they will arrive...after the dissapointment, I did manage to have cheesecake...lots of cheesecake, and even though I had a great time with my family, I swore next year my 35th b-day will have to make up for this one!

I make a big deal about my birthday because it's the one day of the year I like to reflect and think about what I've done, my accomplishements, what I want, making sure I'm still as childlike as ever... and obviously one of the biggest accomplishements was the Manor. I have to thank you all, very sincerely, for everything you have given me the past year. I always find fault with my work, am always afraid of failure andam always my cruelest critic. Your comments, support, suggestions and kindness have kept me focused, make me always want to outdo my previous work, and thanks to all of you I am starting to feel that no matter what life shortcomings I have, I know I'am good at one thing.

Sorry if my rambling made anyone sick to their stomach. So back to the Manor. my deadline of having all the interior rooms done is obviously not gonna happen, so in true Honey Badger form, New deadline: Finishing the interior and exterior for Christmas 2012...and if it doesn't happen, I am not a competitive person at all, so it will just be pushed back. HA!

Thank you all so much for everything, when I say I appreciate all of you very much, you can trust it is sincere and very heartfelt. Keep up all your great work, I might not always have time to comment, but I see all!

Big unbirthday hugs to all,
Giac,
Honey Badger of Miniatures