Flourish and Blotts Wood Finishes.....Another layer of Varnish

I have laid all the floorboards in the bookshop and have begun colouring the boards. These are mahogany pre-cut strips with three layers of stain so far.

 The balcony floor looks much more permanent now the flooring is down too. 

I have also stained the skirting boards ready for when the bookcases can be fitted into place.

 Many layers of mahogany stain and varnish later I have finally finished all the bookcases. Phew! It did take some time but I am happy with the overall colour now. It is slightly darker than shown in this picture.

 The opening front panel will also be lined with bookcases and I have glued all these in place. I now need to decide what I am going to do with the windows. The top windows will have a book stack all along the outside edges so I am not sure if I should add architrave or not. 

Hmmmmm......also should the architrave be in mahogany or black and gold crackle to match the windows??!!

Decisions. Decisions.

Oh well I will have plenty of time to think about it while I am making books!!

All Kinds of Everything........

.......is keeping me busy!

I had always planned to have a couple of projects on the go at any one time but it has never happened because I always get distracted playing with the interiors. The broken wrist means that at last I have been forced to focus on the main construction and exterior planning of my Diagon Alley Shops.

This means I have many fingers in many pies at the moment as I work around drying times and lots of thinking time!

 This is all the woodwork and windows for my Apothecary, shop number three. So far they have all been given one coat of cream and gold acrylic paint. They are waiting for coats of black and brown and lots of distressing. This is a hugely time consuming and eye-crossing stage but worth it in the end! 

 The main carcass of the Apothecary has been totally sealed and primed ready for decoration. I have wallpapered both rooms in a dark brown paper I bought at Miniatura what seems like ages ago. It is by the same manufacturer as the paper I put up in The Leaky Cauldron and goes up like a dream.

This paper looks and feels like old leather and while it might seem a bit dark at the moment, the shop will be filled with all the vibrant potions and ingredients plus lots of sparkling glass.

 Here are the floorboards for The Apothecary. These are reclaimed floorboards in mahogany from the very enthusiastic and helpful Paul of Wood Supplies. I love the fact that so many of his supplies come from antique and reclaimed wood.
They now need to be sanded,cut and laid.

These are all the for the fireplaces....eventually.....stained wood chippings and glitter coal. 

The lighting of The Cauldron Shop has been put on sick leave for the moment so these will have to be put away now they are dry.  

The Cauldron Shop is still a work in progress too and I have switched my attention to the roof.

I have put lead flashing around all three chimney stacks and covered them in Art Mache to match the house.

This product needs quite a long time to dry but I can't write highly enough of it. Easy to make and super easy to apply plus soooo economical.

Still the tiling of the roof to do. I really want to try the Paper Clay method a la Rik Pierce but I am not sure if it might be a bit too fiddly at the moment.

Mmmmm, maybe I will wait until the cast is off. 

Last but not least, I have papered both room ceilings and have been adding layers of wear and grime little by little.

With the Cauldron Shop maybe having to wait for a roof I might move on to shop number four which will probably be the second corner shop and the Magical Menagerie, I think!