Thursday 13 February 2014

By George She's Done It!! Well Nearly........Honeydukes Window Update.

I have been working very hard since my last post with the three round bays for my Honeydukes project. It has been two steps forward and one step back, a lot of tweaking and painting plus a couple of 'put it down and think moments' but I believe I am nearly there.
 I chose to use plastic sink mats to provide the 'panes' for my tall Georgian windows which meant I had to fit all the other elements around the height and width of these mats.
My attempts to make my own circular plinths were not good enough so I had been waiting for some ready cut 3mm/10cm and 6mm/12cm circles to arrive. These were then cut, sealed with PVA/water, painted with brown paint mixed with PVA and the painted with 3 coats of my paint mixture.
 The bay 'tubs' are Chedders tubes cut to size and then covered with a top skin of thin cardboard cut from a cereal box. These then were sealed and painted and given an edge of very thin bass wood to give a panelled look.
 The 6mm depth of the panels was accommodated by cutting one of the larger circles and then topping the ledge with a 10cm circle. I made life harder for myself by choosing to have a lighter shade of the green inside the shop. This meant I have had to paint all the interior showing pieces a different colour.
 I have also built the two front bays sitting on a 1/32 piece of balsa to allow the front panel to open without too much scraping.
 The plastic 'pane' has had a number of coats of paint and been given a final coat of spray varnish.
 The pink shop sign has been cut to fit snugly over the window pane and reaches the top of the window opening.
 To finish the outside a top lid. 
 The almost finished look of the front panel. 
 The side window has the finished panelling detail on the bay tub but I have yet to finish the front two strips.
Internally I have carried the ceiling moulding through the top of the windows as this will not be seen from the outside but be hidden by the pink shop sign. I wanted the bottom bay to carry on into the shop to provide display ledges and there will be a display shelf under the moulding. I will probably have a tidy up around the windows once everything is finally glued in.
 So all is going well but I now have to get over the final hurdle.....the shop signage. The pink strips need HONEYDUKES in big dark green letters. I have decided to go with the Gloss Medium method after lots of research on Pinterest.
I used WordArt on my computer for the lettering and remembered to print it out as a mirror image. Then I made a photocopy of my lettering as my printer is an inject. I then painted a layer of the gloss medium onto the wood and the cut to size lettering. Made sure there were no bubbles and then left overnight.
The next day I sprayed the paper with warm water and rubbed off gently, very gently.
 Three bays, only one has come out well and even this has a few blimps. I am not sure what I did wrong so I have had to rub them down to start again. This time I have made spares so I am hoping to get the final two done in the next couple of days........more time wasted.
This will be the final, final look! I am hoping to start the exterior stone work next week if I get the windows done and finally glued in. I am hoping that this part of the project will be a lot less time consuming and progress will quicken up as I am off on holiday in a few weeks time and my daughter is also preparing to go abroad for nearly a year to work so I won't have all the time I want to play with my toys.

29 comments:

  1. I love what you've done and the lettering is good

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  2. You've done a superb job Janice!! Tenacity and patience always pay off! :o))) I bet you are chuffed to bits and so you should be! ;o))

    The cardboard tubs didn't work for me, they weren't wide enough, so I had to adapt! It didn't help that I have to accommodate a rather large man in the window in mine! lol

    Well done!! ;o)

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    1. Hi Michelle, I bought some postal tubes that were too big even though I thought I had cut the windows to the right size. Then I bought more tubes and cut them in half and re-joined them to make them fit.
      I am on the home straight now I hope!!

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  3. It's looking Great, Janice! Your perseverance is paying off! The dishmat for a window pane is Brilliant and you are making it all look like it was made to go together! Keep up the great work!

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    1. Why thank you for such kind and encouraging comments. So far, so good.

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  4. They look absolutely amazing Janice. Well done you. I know how difficult those windows are..xxx

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    1. Nearly there Debbie, gosh it seem to have taken an age. So many different stages but I am liking working with card.

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  5. It is always so satisfying when you manage to come up with a solution to a problem. Well done on the bays. They look great and give a good display area inside. The wording looks great so hopefully your next attempt solves that problem as well. I like the way both the floor and bay windows are checkered.

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    1. I really like the black and white floor too. I am glad I made them ready made and didn't attempt to make them myself. Have another batch of lettering resting overnight at the moment, fingers crossed.

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  6. Fabulous!!! :D Very creative and the end result is perfect.

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    1. Thank you. I am learning a bit more every project.

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  7. Replies
    1. Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed the photographs.

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  8. O wow, spectacular work on these windows! They turned out great. I can't wait to see them finished. I'm sure that with the stone facade they will look even better. As for the sign I actually like how it turned out a little imperfect.... perhaps it shouldn't be perfect :)

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    1. I think you might be right Ilyria it needs to be a little weathered I think. I have started the stonework today and had a rest from the windows.

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  9. LOVE IT! Just looking at your blog makes me feel like Ive done crafts. Keep up the good work, its looking brilliant. :-) xx

    Fribitt

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    1. Ha, ha I am so pleased you are enjoying it. I feel like that when I watch a baking programme!

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  10. Hello Janice,
    Well done! I knew you would come up with a great fix for the problem. I6t really looks fantastic and adds a lot of interest to the structure! Awsome!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Oh Giac, I am learning with every project but I still have a long way to go. They have taken much longer than I thought and I haven't weathered them in the way I had wanted because I am frightened they will collapse but hey ho.......

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  11. I like how they have turned out! once you get the lettering done you'll be golden :) I can't wait to see the stone work inside

    Marisa :)

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    1. I started the stonework today and have had another attempt at the lettering. Taking very small steps with this project!!

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  12. Hi, love the windows soo much ;0). have you considered using waterside decals for your signs. You can buy ones you print onto yourself from craft computer paper.com, you seal them with spray varnish, then they act just like the water slide decals you use for model making.

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    1. Hi Natalie I will have to investigate this method of transferring too. It sounds interesting and I can never resist a new idea!!

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  13. Wow these turned out amazing! Well a little strife and the second trial looks perfect.

    These windows are really unique it makes the whole side angle with the windows wonderfully magical ;P

    Have a great vacation and come back crafty and renewed!

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    1. Hi Jane, I still have a few weeks to go yet so I am hoping to finish off most of the donkey work before I go so all the pretty work is left when I get back.

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    2. Oh good I can drool a bit more then ;P

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  14. These windows are amazing. Great work.
    Bye, Faby

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  15. WOW thats really special!

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I really appreciate all comments that readers take the time to leave. I try to reply to all of them.