A Busy Week, but Moving On Nicely......

The Leaky Cauldron and Potage's Cauldron Shop have both had rustic and distressed woodwork which mostly boils down to stained and distressed balsa. For the Apothecary I have decided to go for painted doors and cornices to create a slightly different look and atmosphere.

 This wood will make up the shelves, architraves and cornices for the interior of the shop. I decided to use a crackle spray paint that I had in the drawer from when I was planning a never to be seen shabby chic shop.

 I started with the base coat of brown, then the top coat of cream which crackles. Usually it would be left  with the crackled cream top coat but for my purposes I have given the wood an extra light spray of the brown base. I will now shabby them all up a bit more and finish with gold burnishing.

 I have not had much success with crackle glazes but with a bit of practice this stuff does work. I have used the black and gold previously and these work very effectively.

The main reason I decided to spray the wood rather than paint all the individual coats is quite simple...using a spray is soooooo much quicker!

 I have also papered the inside of both front panels, which was a bit of a challenge as I was running really short of the wallpaper. This is quite a big shop and I always forget the insides of the front panels.

My wallpaper was large in size but I used 6 pieces. Note to myself.........check you have enough for the bookshop!!

 I have also laid the gorgeous reclaimed oak boards from Wood Supplies one of my favourite suppliers at the moment. I love these boards. They look fabulous. They are well cut and they go down like a dream.

 They look quite light in these photographs but I have stained the oak a deep, rich brown. I have added holes and sanded them down to make them look less glossy and sleek.

 The real benefit of using such old wood, I think these were cut from a mid-Victorian floorboard-around 1840, is that they are already ripe with age. I love them.

I have carried the floorboards through onto the front of the kit as with the cauldron shop so that when the door swings open there is continuity. Again I just about had enough boards, I used 26 thirty cm lengths and had one 10cm length left, phew! Make 2nd note to myself re bookshop!

I had to make use of my not so better half for this job as I could not hold the pieces firmly enough to saw the different lengths. He was very kind and seemed not to mind being disturbed every 10 minutes as I handed him two or three pieces to shorten at a time. Ah, he's a good lad!

The small gap will be filled and stained as well as I can. It is very narrow and I simply can't saw that finely. I can live with this......I think!!

 The two ceilings are also coming along. The paper is quite sturdy so I have been able to mess about with it quite a lot without it disintegrating on me. I am such a coward with paint washes. I have taken on board the dirty water technique used by so many talented people but I seem to wipe off two thirds of what I paint on! 

I have also sprayed the ceilings with different colours as if various potions have exploded in their time.

Still another couple of dirty washes to go!

Have a sunny Saturday wherever you are, in one way or another. 

A Girl Needs Candles........

Planning any themed project over a number of years means lots of duplicate items. My wizarding Diagon Alley will obviously require many candles. In fact any spooky inspired project needs lots of candles.

So I was really excited when one of my favourite artisans began selling her own range of miniature candles. Of course I could not simply order the candles I had to buy a couple of Victoria's wonderful potion bottles.

 I then asked Victoria if she would make me a selection of wax candles ready to use anywhere in the Alley. As ever helpful and obliging Victoria agreed and I received this lovely parcel of goodies.

 Beautifully wrapped.....

 ......and the perfect mix of sizes and widths.

 And Victoria, ever kind also popped in a few extras from her varied range of colours and types.

Do visit Victoria's blog and definitely have a browse in her wonderful Dark Squirrel's Etsy shop full of a whole variety of fabulous items not just for us spooky collectors.

The on an Etsy browse I found these cute miniature 'chocolate' candles that I thought could also find a home in the Alley. They are from Betty's Minis and she makes the most gorgeous cakes and sweeties.

In the middle of Julie's fabulous owls is a gorgeous Halloween centre piece with delicately tapered witchy black candles by Lory.

I have been working hard on both shops today but the light was too dingy by the time I had finished today but a little bit of sunshine is expected tomorrow. Lots of flooring done and gaps galore in my PaperClay roof but the randomly placed additional tiles have worked a treat, thank goodness!

The PaperClay Experiment.....

The last few days I have been working on the roof of The Cauldron Shop. This time instead of opting for the usual shop bought tiles I have always used in the past I decided to play with PaperClay.

I looked carefully at various sites showing the work of the Paperclay King Rik Pierce and set to work.

Firstly I rolled out the clay to the thickness I wanted on a glass tile. 

 Then using a nail brush I stippled the clay, cut off the ragged edges with a fimo cutter and then marked out the rows of tiles. I then separated a row at a time and cut off each individual tile. 

 You can see on the bottom row where I started laying individual tile, unlike Art Mache you have to glue Paperclay to make it stick. I then had another look at Rik's models and worked out that he seems to attach the tiles in rows.

I started to mark out the tiles with the edge of my plastic protractor without cutting right through. This was much easier and quicker.

After I had laid a couple of rows I shaped the edges to make the tiles stand up a little. This was quite fiddly as my clay tools are a bit basic and clay is definitely not my forte!

I kept going a row at a time and eventually......... 

........I finished off one whole side. I was quite pleased at the end. It wasn't perfect by any means but it actually looked pretty promising.

 The next morning, however, I was a little less happy. One of the problems with Paperclay is that as it dries it shrinks, this can lead to cracking or, as in the case of my roof tiles, gaps.

 I think these have also occurred because I did not blend the separate rows together. I am also a little concerned by how fragile the clay appears and I am a little worried that it will chip very easily.

So the question is do I seal with a PVA solution to toughen it up? Before or after painting?

Hmmmm, a bit more research is required I feel.

In order to deal with all the gaps I have decided to add extra wonky tiles which I hope will make the roof look patched and not simply bodged!

What's In the Box?

While hunting for witchy recipe books I came across an artisan new to me on Etsy, Pat Carlson of Skywind.

I found a book of witch recipes and a Grimm's Fairy Tales that looked perfect for The Cauldron Shop and my Hogwarts girlie staying at The Leaky Cauldron. 

My parcel arrived and I opened it eagerly.

Oh no! I thought I have done it again. The books were too big, a mistake I have made at least twice before.

 On picking them up imagine my delight on realising these were the most wonderful hand-painted boxes, not the books themselves.

 Inside each box was the most scrumptious, perfectly to scale book.

 Gorgeously hand made and with the most delightful illustrations.

These tales were a childhood favourite and this teeny book is just a perfect addition to my collection.

Little Red Riding Hood simply jumps out of the book, demanding to be read!

Do take a look at Pat's work it is truly gorgeous.

Now I need to think of a project for boxes!!

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! 

It's Amazing How Much You Can Do.....

With one hand and all the usual chores out of the question!

A trip to the fracture clinic this morning resulted in a new ''full" cast in a rather chic red! I decided against hot pink, lime green or fluorescent orange.

I even got to see the X-Rays today and the extent of the break. I can understand now why it is still so painful but it is improving every day.

The good thing is I have a lot of free time for playing!!!

 I had already prepared the wood for the mantle/fireplace surround so it was a relatively easy job to put it into place. 

The top may be a little too deep but I wanted a shelf deep enough for cauldrons.

I will see how it all looks once dressed.

 I have also finished the grouting on the paviors for the pavement and steps. You can also see where I have made a boo-boo. The steps are upside down, take note for future kits!! This has left me with a very small lip, too narrow for a step. I am thinking about what to do with it.....

No rush, I will see what it looks like once I have sanded and grimed the pavement.

The quarry tiles have also been grouted and are ready to be dirtied up in line with the shop floor.

 As tiling seems to be something I can do at the moment I have installed the roof. I was going to leave this til last as I wanted to have an internal attic shelf lit and stocked with old stock and bits and pieces.

Putting on the roof will make this a bit more fiddly but it does mean I can move on with the roofing.

With so many fire places I obviously need more than one chimney. There will be three altogether and I am going to try and make them a little quirky.

 Along the edge of the roof I have glued a slim piece of wood (they are actually stirrers from my favourite coffee shop), these will lift the first row of roof tiles to the proper angle.

I have no idea why this works. or why it is necessary, I must have read it somewhere, all I know is it works.

I will also paint these in case they can be seen along the edges.

 So, what to do for the next couple of weeks?

A new project of course!

Here is my next shop, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, the Sid Cooke Regency Shop Kit all sealed and ready to be transformed.

This accident of mine is proving to be the best way of making me focus on the construction it is too easy for me to become distracted when I discover just the right piece by a fabulous artisan!

Now I need to find the wallpaper I bought at least two Miniaturas ago!!!

Feeling Much Less Broken!

Firstly I have to say a big thank you to all of you who have left such kind messages for me. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and all these kind thoughts made me feel so much better.

I was completely overwhelmed by how many of you took the time to pop by and wish me better.

Thank you so much, it was really appreciated.

A few days on and the whole arm feels so much better thank goodness and I feel confident that I will not have to have it re-broken on Friday. That will still leave another 5 weeks of wearing the cast but I am getting more used to it every day.

In fact I have been a busy tiler!

 The supplies I have been waiting for have arrived so I have been able to set about finishing off the exterior tiling.

 As this ledge will be seen when the front comes off I decided to use the same floor tiles I had used in the main shop. They have been laid and sealed (PVA/Water) ready for grouting.

It took me about twice as long as usual with only one arm but I managed it. 

 These paviors will be outside all the Diagon Alley shops but with only one arm they were a bit of a challenge today! 

Not thinking properly I made a mistake on the steps which means a bit of extra work to ensure the steps have a ledge but I hope I will be able to rectify it once they are grouted.

I had to 'cut' using sand paper only which means the muscles on my right arm worked very hard today!!

Still I can think of worse ways to spend the day.

I think my plan for the weeks up to Christmas will be to ignore all the small creative jobs for which I would definitely need two hands, which will definitely include the lighting I think but you never know......

So tomorrow the roof will go on and I will start that tiling.

Well I can't hoover, clean bathrooms, drive, wash up, cook, iron......can I?!!!!