Friday 28 May 2010

A skivy day and a cunning plan !


Well, after my get up and go got up and left me yesterday, I decided to take a skivy day today !
I should be busy making dolls , but instead I decided to work on the Emporium instead, they say a change is as good as a rest and I do feel much better now :0)
So here we have UncleMort's workshop.
The first picture shows it undercoated and half assembled.
I have been painting it, one coat per night this week and today the final coat was dry and I was able to distress it a little.
I didnt want it to look too distressed, just a little worn and dirty round the edges on the outside.I will take some proper photos of the outside when the roof section is finished.
The inside is still clean for now, I will be adding workbenches and shelving and will dirty up the inside when that is all in place. I will also be putting in skirting boards with sockets for lighting.
In this picture I have just stained the floor and it is still drying out. There will be sawdust on the floor when the workshop is completed.
As the paintwork was completed, I attached the workshop to the back of the shop.
You may remember the tradesmans entrance leads to a cubby hole with a door inside.
Well that door leads to the workshop !
So I have placed a corresponding door on the outside of the shop and inside the workshop.
This pleases me, I know the door can't actually be opened but in an imaginary world it would open and thats good enough for me .
I am delighted that the whole building with workshop attached can still turn 360 degrees . From the front it looks like a shop, then you turn it round and surprise ! Its a workshop !
I love that it is almost two different houses now, front and back !

The roof will be tiled to match the roof on the shop and it hasnt got its windows in place yet but I have balanced it on just for show :0)












And now for my cunning plan.................................
Ta da ! here it is !!!



Hmmmm not very cunning I hear you say, its just an outdoor toilet, now what is cunning about that ?
Well take a look at the next photo.......................................
As my house is viewablefrom the front ,sides and back I was a bit worried about how to do the lighting.
My other dolls houses have lighting strips and wires on the back , this is fine when the back is against a wall but would look very ugly in this case.
Then I was tidying the shed and came across my miniature outdoor toilet................... the cunning plan was hatched :0)
I would simply hide the socket strip inside the toilet and the wiring would be hidden under the bricks that will go on the back of the house !
I havent attached this to the back of the house yet.
I want to purchase all my lights and make sure there are enough sockets on this strip, it may need an extra strip in there yet.
But I have taken a photo to show how it will look in place on the back of the house.
I love this plan as the living accomodation above the shop has no bathroom.
I know this isnt real LOL but I just have to have things with a sense of realism and Belle and Uncle Mort had nowhere to "go " !
So the addition of the outdoor toilet solves both that problem and my wiring one, a cunning plan indeed !


Tomorrow I will be back in the shed making dolls, I am exhibiting at ScottishMiniatura in just 2 weeks time so I am going to be very busy and may not post here until after the fair , but after that I have a little time when I can work more on the Emporium and I am really looking forward to finishing the building work .


julie xxx









17 comments:

Merry Jingle said...

It looks great and I love the electrified outhouse - just be sure that they don't "go" too wet there, otherwise Belle and Uncle Mort might have quite frizzy hair do afterwards :D

The Old Maid said...

Ira :D
Julie, I love this little conservatory building! It is so nice to see how different it is from Michelle's one! Different but beautiful! Can't wait to see the workshop ready - I know we will have to wait :) And the idea of the toilet being a little power station is cool:)

julie campbell said...

LOL Merry Jingle, it could be very dangerous !!!

Oh ! Ira !! have I been getting your name wrong for weeks ??? I am blushing now :0)
I'm so glad you like it, there is a lot of work still to do but I can see it in my minds eye :0)
julie xx

Michelle said...

WOW it's great to see your one coming together and so different from my own version. It just shows how versatile kits are! I hid my light socket strip in my witch's house in the outside chimney breast (I made a hidden door). You can't see a thing! :o))

I can't wait to see more progress and photo's!

Julie, Old Maid is Ewa and Merry Jingle is Ira. ;o)) No need to blush ma dear! lol

Michelle xxxx

Jain Squires said...

A very cunning plan Julie! It is looking so good, can't wait to see it in the flesh. Jain xx

onbeingaminimum said...

As you know Julie I am following in your footsteps with this shop...well a long way behind actually. So I am giving notice that I will be stealing all your fab ideas.
The outside toilet is pure genius it will hide all sorts of horrible things.
I am not having any interior walls but I love the idea of false chimney alcoves. I will not be doing this cos I am crap with wood! I am wimping out and going for stone everywhere.

Merry Jingle said...

Julie, no need to blush, I was just pointed out that I wrote by mistake a wrong persons name on a post - maybe my brain is also turning to a miniature :D

And yes, I love the house and the additions you've made to it.

And above all, I love your dolls, the minute I saw the Alice in Wonderland rabbit, it was love :) You do fab job, when I get these houses done, there will be some doll shopping to be done :)

Ira

julie campbell said...

Okay I have stopped blushing LOL
I think my brain has turned miniature too !
Ewa, isnt it great how different the same building can turn out in different hands ! I love that :0)

Hello again Ira,I just visitied your blogand it is fab ! I will be back with a cupof tea later to read back some more :0)
julie xxx

julie campbell said...

Hi Michelle,
There is somuch more work todohere but I think I need to fix it more securely onto the back of the house before I go any further. I will use some little brackets I think that will be hidden under the brick slips,
The roof is going to be quite heavy once tiled and dont want the whole thing dropping off the back and dissapearing behind my old chest of drawers where it sits LOL
what a fab idea with your chimney breast , those wires just have to be hidden dont they !
julie xx
julie xx

julie campbell said...

Hello jain, a cunning plan indeed......... I knew I would find a use for that little out house one day !
I think I need to buy the rest of my lights next week at York so I can get moving with this now,
julie xxx

julie campbell said...

Hello Janice..........we share the same woodworking skills LOL
This was the perfect solution for me,ready made,all I had to do was make a hole in the back and remove the roof :0)
Making holes I find easy LOL cutting wood is another thing entirely and all my shelving etc.is made with balsa strips !
julie xxx

Sans! said...

Took me a while to get their names straight as well- Ira, Ewa and there's Nina the diva :). Of course, good old Ara. Bad rhyme day? But their names are so pretty! :)

Anyhoo, I too think your plan is cunningly clever and very shrewd! I also love the workshop with a door to the toyshop. I am going to build a outhouse for my tribal house as well. Most village house wisely do not have a toilet in their home proper as water is a scarce commodity and you can't flush too often, if at all. :)

julie campbell said...

Hello Sans , yes I think an outhouse would be a wise idea for your tribal house !!
I think that names ending in "a" are very pretty, but oh my ! they are very easy to mix up LOL
julie xx

Whittaker's Miniatures said...

The cunning plan is sheer brilliance Julie! I am lucky I wont have to light mine being in Sweeneys time of lamps and candles :-) Laziness on my part! The conservatory looks really great up against the shop. I am looking to put a turntable on Lolas enormous 3 story house she has, I suppose you have to have quite a large deep unit to put it on to get the turning circle? Glad your day 'off' was fun and hoping your back into the swing of things for the fairs to come. Kate xxx

Irene said...

Just catching up here - excellent idea to use the loo to hide things in. I'll stop by and say hello at Miniatura (if you're not swamped with customers!).

Wanda said...

Hi Julie,

I just found your blog yesterday and read it from the beginning. Wow, what a wonderful job you are doing, and you are accomplishing so much in such a short period of time. I am very impressed. Thanks for sharing your work.

julie campbell said...

Hello Wanda,
thank you :0) so pleased youre enjoying the blog !
julie xx