Spring Fling - "April Showers" - is finished (mostly) and submitted to Greenleaf.

Whew. Didn't think I'd get it done, but I did. Or, as done as it's going to be. For now.

I named it "April Showers." There's no way I'll win this contest, but it's the first I've entered, and I'm fairly pleased with the outcome.

That is, I am floundering wildly between "hey, that's not bad at all" and "oh my god I have no right to inflict my lousy dollhouse and crappy photos on the world." I am still at the point where I can only see the flaws.

That said, it's a good experience.

The three pictures I submitted:

 

The exterior shot.

 

The detail shot

 

The interior shot.

 

 

The lights worked out quite well.

 

The other non-submitted photos:

 

 

The farm stand addition.

 

Side view of farm stand.

 

Front view - The horse planter was a rather bizarre ebay purchase.

 

The welcome mat I made - not a great shot of it.

 

I had made the gem tree, thinking to use it on the haunted Fairfield. Seemed suitable here.

 

The dog likes the afghan.

 

Corner view.

 

The curtains are made of tulle.

 

I'd have used this shot for submission, but the inside of the roof trim is not painted. Dang it.

 

 

I made the enamel pitcher on the table.

 

I made about 95% of the plants. I did not make the hanging flowers in the basket, or the flowers on the table.

 

The picture my brother painted.

 

The Michael's hutch, painted, tulle curtains, filled with baskets and pots. I made the gladiolas, white and purple, beside the hutch.

 



Spring Fling - coming down to the wire

The building itself is as done as it's gonna be for Spring Fling.

I've started puttering around with the decorating, and it's a blast so far, Which is really surprising to me.

I did not ever have a clear vision for this build. Never really saw what it would turn out to be. That's why it's been kind of tough to muster up the enthusiasm for the project. At this almost-done point, I'm starting to see what it will be. Some of the techniques I've used have been very new to me - so my skills have been expanded.

It's looking way better than I expected. I will have pictures in my next post.

Update - Spring Fling

I have been frantically working/planning my Spring Fling entry. Tonight I got time to photograph a few things.

My Spring Fling is a sort of flower shop. Run by an elderly lady, on the beach/waterfront. When business is slow, she relaxes on her chaise lounge or in her rocker, drinking tea.

I made the polka dot cushions for these two pieces, and added crocheted flower trims from AC Moore. The furniture itself came from ebay.

The shop is the sort of place where romantic shoppers stop on impulse to buy flowers or a plant for their sweetheart. She sells baskets, vases, flowers, plants... Whatever strikes her fancy.

 

The pink and purple flowers in the yellow stein I made from colored paper and wire, as are the white gladiolas in the bronze vase. The orange flowers are silk. I painted wooden flower pots and glued in plastic flowers from AC Moore's.

 

 

I have made a lot of paper flowers for this project. I'll post more pics when it's closer to being done.

 

 

These were mostly ebay finds. The gnomes came from DHE.

 

A Michael's hutch, painted, with tulle curtains on the doors. The baskets and pots were mostly from ebay.

 

I've been trying some new techniques. I figure there's very little chance of winning this competition (I've seen the work some of the other entrants do), so I am trying to stretch my boundaries and learn some new skills.

 

The floor of the shop is tiles. I used card stock, cut in squares, glued to the floor, and then put on several coats of Mod Podge.

 

 

Not too bad, I think.

 

 

On the windows, I made the curtains from tulle. Not sure if I like this or not, but for now, it will do.

 

The roof I struggled with. Finally decided on a metal roof. I had to use what I had on hand - I came into this project with no budget whatsoever, and compounded that by basically not being home for two months. No time, no money.

What I did was use black card stock. Glued it onto the roofs. I took the little spacer pieces from the kit, and used those on the roof between the panels, I guess you'd say. I painted the spacers black, too.

I mixed up a batch of forest green and silver metallic craft paint, and painted the roofs. Finally, I Mod Podged the roofs. I think it came out rather well.

I used spackle to make the stucco on the walls. The shop is stucco'ed, and the farmstand addition is painted wood.

Two items I was extremely pleased with:

 

I used punch needle to make this welcome mat. I designed it myself (which sounds really grandiose).

This is the piece de resistance, I think. I made the frame from coffee stirrers, paper doily, and gold paint. My brother, who is an artist, happened to be staying with me for about a week. He came home one night after a drawing session, and I jokingly suggested he make a tiny painting for this project. He took me up on it, and in about half an hour he'd done up this painting. I'd requested something kind of beachy, with flowers,   and this is what I got. I think it's really lovely. The artist signed it, and I framed it the next day. It's done in watercolors.

Punch needle and Spring Fling

I decided to participate in Greenleaf's Spring Fling. I'm a bit intimidated by many of the awesomely talented forum members entered, but I figure, why not. It'll be fun.

If I can ever settle on a theme.

Before I got the kit, I had this fantastic idea to turn it into a mini version of one of the local creemee stands. I thought it would be fun, and since we live near there in the summer, what a good idea.

Then the kit arrived. Way too big to make a creemee stand. I'd never be able to fill the building. This place doesn't have anything inside except the kitchen. No sit down to eat areas, except in the outside on picnic tables.

My plan has tentatively changed. As far as progress goes, I've started the build. It's still in the taped together dry fit stage, but I'm working on it. In the summer, we're at camp most weekends. My mini time is Monday thru Thursday, after work if nothing else takes up my time.

To get more progress (and because with my broken finger, knitting is too painful right now), I'm working on mini rugs while I'm at camp.

I am working on a lovely needlepoint carpet, an Oriental style. Pics of that next week.

Meanwhile, I'd gotten a punch needle rug kit, and I made a lovely rug that is destined for the kitchen of the stone house.

The wallpaper in the stone house has chickens. I thought this rug would be quite suitable, and it came out better than I expected.

I finished another rug. Not sure where this one will end up, but it was fun to do. I used 28-count Aida cloth, and I very much liked it for punch needle.

Unfortunately, this makes a rug that is a bit too thick for half scale. I'd love to do one for the slightly scary Fairfield, if only the rug was more in scale.

The third punch needle rug I'm making (so far) is planned for the Spring Fling.