Emporium's Exterior Part 3 ....and a local fair.

 

I have completed a little more on the exterior today working with balsa and Creative Paperclay. The shop has a clear definition between the bottom two floors and the attic floor. Instead of using the molding that came with the kit I have decided to make some long 'stone troughs'. I made a basic box like structure from long pieces of balsa with built in gaps for flowers, vines and the odd animal maybe. Very basic I know and my initial idea was to spray them with stone effect paint.

I changed my mind, however, and decided to cover them with clay 'pebbles'. I am not sure if I did this right as I stuck the 'pebbles' to the balsa using PVA glue. It seems to have worked ok.

I started with 'pebbles' that were too large but gradually got into the swing and made them less uniform. I textured them with a nail brush and will paint them in various shades of grey. Other bloggers have had a problem with the clay shrinking, this will not be too big a problem I hope as I can feel the gaps with moss etc.

At first I was a little concerned by the weight of these troughs but as the clay has dried they have lightened up quite a lot.

On Sunday morning I went to the only fair that is local to me. It was arranged by Dolly Daydreams in a village hall. I went along as I knew two of the stands were being manned by Mouse House Miniatures and Terence Stringer. Above you can see all the lovely food items I bought from Mouse House. I have long come to the conclusion that miniature food is way beyond my competence with fimo or clay and I will gladly leave it in the hands of artisans who know what they are doing.

I have a number of pieces from Mouse House from various shows and I love them. These are all for my witch's kitchen or potting area. The cabbages are simply superb.

I also bought this tiny little hand-painted cottage from Terence. It is a hand turned wooden 'box', the roof can be removed, with an elderly couple who live in the cottage. This is for my toy shop.

I couldn't resist these bits and pieces from another seller whose name I didn't catch at the time. The paint and glue will find a home in my toy shop, while all the ribbons, wool and cotton reels will be great in my emporium and Diagon Alley.

Not a bad haul for a local fair and only a 20 minute journey!