Del Prado Dollhouse - Versailles Parquet for the hall

During the days of Twixmas, between over eating, and laying around reading books, I worked a little on the Del Prado house, and completed the hallway floor.
Following Elga's recommendation, I was a little bit more adventurous this time, and tried parquet instead of just wooden planks.   (Mini tutorial for plank floor HERE).

 This time, I did not glue the wood directly on to the floor.  Because the pattern was going to be on a diagonal, there would be lots of planks that needed to be cut at an angle.  'Angle' and 'mitre' are swear words around here, so I devised a work-around.  First, I covered the area to be tiled with cling wrap.  I folded it over the back of the board, and taped it tightly.

Then I cut a piece of tulle (net) fabric, and taped that over the cling wrap.   The purpose of the cling wrap is to prevent anything from sticking to the board, and the tulle fabric will become the base for my parquet flooring.  If you've ever bought small tiles from a ceramic shop, you will know where I got the idea ;-)

I drew guide lines on the tulle with a permanent marker, and tested the layout of my parquet pieces.  This is a traditional pattern of interlocking T's with a small square tile filling the gap.  It's called Versailles parquet.  If you look closely, you will see that it also resembles basket weave.

Thereafter, it was a simple matter of cutting and gluing tiny pieces of wood for several hours.  The guide lines didn't prevent me from going skew, but I just forged ahead and enjoyed myself. I made the floor a few centimeters bigger than it needed to be all around.

When I was finished, I peeled the tulle away from the cling wrap, and let the completed piece of floor lie upside down until the glue was completely dry.

It was a simple matter of measuring the floor for exact dimensions, and zipping it through the table saw to straighten the edges.  No pesky measuring and cutting of all those angles!  I'm very pleased with the result.

When I glued the floor to the base board, I glued straight planks around the edges to finish it off neatly.  I wasn't going to confess to the next step, but I might as well, because it might save you doing something stupid...

I didn't measure my wood super accurately when cutting, and was way too relaxed when gluing the pieces down.  As a result, some little gaps developed between the planks.  Not to mention the gaps left by the mitred corners in the straight plank edging.  I decided that the gaps bothered me enough that I wanted to do something about it.  I filled them in with wood filler, much like grouting a tile floor.  Once the filler was completely dry, I sanded it off by hand, till I thought my arms would drop off.  Here and there spots remained between planks that were not level, I just could not get in there with sandpaper.  When I decided to give up on sanding, and hope that no one would notice them too much, I wiped the floor with a damp cloth to get rid of the dust before varnishing.  With the first swipe of the damp cloth, those remaining spots of wood filler dissolved and wiped away.  Duh, try wiping with a damp cloth next time, before you sand for an hour!  The floor really benefited from all the sanding though, it came out beautifully level and smooth.

After that, all that remained to be done was staining and varnishing, same as with the plank floor in a previous post.

Next time, tiling the kitchen floor.

Striding on to 2018

 

On the eve of a New Year, when we think about the path we will walk in 2018, we examine our hopes and dreams and yearn for good things.  I would like to share this tiny piece of my life with you, to remind you that dreams can come true. 
Plant your dream seeds and nurture them with patience.  Great things could happen.

As a child, I dreamed of living in a forest, with pools and waterlilies.  I had some kind of fairy thing going.  I inended to plant trees all over my garden when I grew up.

 I made this drawing when I was 10 years old.

 Water lily drawing.  Also age 10.  

 

Many years later, one of my first dates with Henning was a trip to the Witwatersrand Botanical Gardens.  On that day he surreptitiously harvested seeds from a number of trees, brought them home and planted them.  Today, those seeds are the trees in our little forest.

Our garden is lush and green after good rain this summer.  In time, it has become a place of trees and ponds.  Because water is scarce, we do not cultivate flower beds and lawns.  Every evening, I take a walk with the dogs.  Walk with us if you like, and I will show you my favourite spots.

We are setting out from the gate, walking down the driveway along the eastern border.  

 

Next to the Irish cottage is the pot lady.  The dogs think she's a water bowl.

 

The Irish cottage staircase. 

 

I hang old birdcages in the trees here.  Some have ceramic birds in them.  

In this corner, there is a bit of open ground, we call it 'the meadow'. 

On the far side of the meadow, you can see the barn, and the mud pond.  

Whenever we reach this point in our walk, the dogs play a game of tag, then head to the pond for a drink.  Henning is doing woodwork in front of the barn.

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At the top of the secret staircase, is the koi pond.

Beautiful water lilies!

 

And there's the gazebo, a place to sit and look at the pond.

The trees we planted here are starting to make a green tunnel. I love this path. 

We are on our way back to the studio.  But there is more to see.  

First we pass Siegfried's aloe garden.

And the 'hut pond', which is overgrown and full of tadpoles.

The wisteria breakfast corner.  Always cool and quiet in there.

  The herb garden.  We should have figs to eat this season, if the birds and the monkeys leave a few.

The water tank next to my carport.  Colani often naps next to my car.

 Dino's favourite shade spot is the breakfast corner in front of the studio.

Clyde's hangout is the bushes next to the studio.

Attila crashes on the grass in front of the house, she's the only dog who sleeps there.

A fancy water bowl next to the house.

But they prefer to drink from the washing line pond.

 Black bamboo and moss next to the staircase going from the house to the studio.

 A peek at the pool, the fountain, and the studio.

This year flung a fair share of rotten tomatoes at me.  But there were also awesome times.  I would say it's a year in which progress was made and on the last day of 2017, I'm satisfied.

I continued my studies. I learned to set goals and follow the steps to achieve them.  As a result, good things happened in my business. 

I participated in an art therapy group, and spent a lot of time on self reflection.  I agonized an awful lot.  As a result, I've come to a place of acceptance, and I've laid some old issues to rest.  Honestly, after a year of this, I'm sick of feeling.  In 2018 I would like to get on and DO things.  

I regularly dragged a tutu over my middle-aged hips and went off to ballet dreaming that I'm a famous dancer.  I'm afraid that's a swan that has sailed, but the exercise is good for me.

What made 2017 memorable?  

War and peace with an awesome life partner.

Solitude and serenity at home. 

Fantastic, fantastic friends.

Growing my business.

Learning things.

Crafty projects.

Whatever your year's highlights were, may you have heaps more of it in 2018, and may all your dream seeds grow straight and true!

David and Rebecca

David and Rebecca are having an excited chat about all the cousins that will be born soon.  This week, I dispatched a large box of kits for a workshop.

  

They did not travel with the box, but they supervised till the last minute, checking every little detail to ensure that the box would arrive safely at its destination.  

You can make David and Rebecca too, the pattern is available to download in my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/62109841/teddy-bear-pattern-sewing-pdf-david-and

Wooden floor for the Del Prado House

 

It's starting to look like a house!

I've installed a wooden floor in the bedroom of the Del Prado house.  The kit came supplied with printed paper for the floors.  Not bad, but I wanted something more realistic.

 

Paper vs. hand made floor.

It started with a quest.  One day, long, long ago, an interior decorator gave me a load of discarded sample books.  Some I gave away, others I stored in my stash in the store room for 'some day'. I recalled there being a book or two of  wooden window blind samples and I thought there might be something that would make a floor for a dollhouse. 
Out came the ladder, and up went Megan to haul the boxes down.  Finding something in the store room is akin to slaying a dragon.  The space between shelves is so narrow one needs to go in sideways, and there are always a few dogs underfoot to make it more hazardous.  After numerous up and downs, lots of dust and sneezing, there was no sign of the books and I was about to give up.

Then my eye caught a box.  Dolls House, Raw Materials, Wood.  Meticulously labelled and I knew there were some Popsicle sticks in there.  Oh well, that would work too.

When I opened the box, I found the sample books, standing on end!

 Dino says "Duh, you could've just asked me.' 

I took them indoors, and dismantled the books.  Quite a job, they used some kind of glue protected by a wizard's spell. The loot was inspiring though.

Choices, choices. I can use these for many things!

I selected some straight narrow slats, and proceeded to snip the threads to free the floor planks.  Then I cut them into shorter lengths, and ended up with a pile of lovely straight, thin floor planks.  There were  not enough planks of one colour to make an entire floor, so I mixed some teak with mahogany.  Actually these 'planks' are made of stained bamboo, and I knew I would need to sand the floor, so I wasn't too worried about the colour.

 

Planks glued directly on to the dollhouse floor.

The end result was pretty, but quite uneven.

 

Pretty, but pretty uneven.

After the glue was completely dry, I used an electric sander to level out the uneven planks.  As I thought, most of the colour came off.

 

Whoa, that looks way too patchy! 

Some more rummaging in the store room, and I found Imbuia wood stain.  I would have preferred Oak, but I'm adhering to my plan of using what I've got.  

 

First layer of wood stain.

From previous experience, I know that one needs to be careful when using wood stain.  As a precaution against making the planks too dark, I decided to thin the stain with thinners.   Why do they put such nasty stuff in a bottle that can't pour without dripping?  Oh well, they said to make a test patch.  Mine is on the dining room table. 

 

Colour evened out.

After five layers, I was very happy with the colour.  My only complaint, it looked too new.  I recently read on Liberty Bibberty's blog how Mercedes rescued a floor that came out too dark, by painting over with grey acrylic paint.  I want warm tones for my dollhouse, so I selected French Vanilla acrylic paint instead.

 

Using acrylic paint to tone down the colour.

I diluted the paint with water, then used a rag to dab it on to the planks, and wiped away excess.  On the left you can see how this tones down the colour, giving the floor a more worn look.

 

Painted over with polyurethane sealer.

After the acrylic paint dried, the last thing that remained to be done, was to seal the floor with polyurethane.  Unfortunately, I only had gloss.  Shiny surfaces in a dollhouse can be disturbing, they create reflections, and will give the setting an unnatural look.  But once again, using what I've got, I let it dry, then wiped over with fine grit sand paper.  

 

Test fit in the dollhouse.

I can't tell you how pleased I am with the way this floor turned out.   It was also much easier to do than I thought. I chatted with Elga, and told her about my wooden floor.  She makes antique reproduction furniture for dollhouses, and is very knowledgeable about dollhouses, and the decorating and furnishing of homes during the ages.  My concern was that I would have to make all the wooden floors in the dollhouse the same, or risk ending up with a fruit salad of styles.  Elga says that the entrance hall of houses often had more ornate floors than the rest of the house, first impressions, ha ha.  So when I tackle the entrance hall floor, I might try one of the traditional parquet patterns, such as herringbone or Versailles parquet.  Nothing with mitred corners though.  Mitre is a swear word.

Meanwhile, I'm not making as much progress on the Del Prado house, or in real life, as I would like.  I did take some rather lovely pictures of the garden yesterday after the rain.  If time permits, I will share them later this week.  

Website Updates

This week I added new fabrics to the website.  I always start out thinking I'm just quickly going to... do this or that.  The end result is a studio that looks like a tornado.  Before every piece of fabric finds its place in the web shop, it needs to be cut, brushed, photographed, measured, and held between my fingers while I try to write an enticing and accurate description.  Once the touchy feely work is done, it's writing the strings of code that make the picture appear in the right place, and the links take you places when you click on them. 

Compared to my studio, the website looks so neat and tidy.  Maybe that's one of the reasons I love to shop on my own website!  I often think of the internet as a rabbit warren.  Alice in Cyberland style.  One tunnel will take you to another, and before you know it, you've been in there wandering around for hours.  Not that it's not fun.  If you feel like a little adventure this weekend, jump down the rabbit hole starting at the Creative Me website.