"Just put them away,they don't eat anything...." and a Bit of Tiling.

My mum has always been a great bargain hunter and was always coming home with items no-one in the house had ever asked for or could imagine ever wanting. 

When my dad would ask her what he should do with the four pairs of slippers she had found for £1.50 a pair down the market, her answer was always: "Just put them away,they don't eat anything...."

I was never sure what that actually meant until I started collecting miniatures.

With these words of parental wisdom in mind I have recently purchased these marvellous pieces from the lovely Victoria of Dark Squirrel  

 They will all be part of my vampire hunter's house.......one day..... after all they don't eat anything!

 Victoria's potion bottles are simply marvellously gothic. They always make me think of the old Hammer House of Horror movies I used to watch when I was a child. I am not sure why, but I love them.

Victoria also included a lovely card for a package being sent on its travels across the pond, two very glittery potions and a vampire bat parchment ready to be put with my vampire stash.

Thank you so much, I love opening parcels.

But I hate grouting in awkward areas......

 These are the false fireplaces in The Cauldron Shop. I have lined them with left-over brick slips from

Richard Stacey's product range.

 These bricks are really easy to work with as they cut and stick with no trouble at all.

The main draw back is the final grouting but usually I don't mind this part of the process.

This time I know it is going to be a right piece of tricky business as I will be working in a confined space at awkward angles.

Laying the grout will be ok, it's the washing off that I am dreading!

The most important think to remember is that these products must be sealed with a PVA/water mix before attempting to grout. Otherwise the cleaning off is much harder.......there is a woman speaking from experience I hear you say, and you would be so right!!

Tomorrow then, top of the list, grouting. 

The Cauldron Shop Interior......Lots of Red & Black

The colour scheme of my Cauldron Shop will be red and black alongside the dark wood. This has meant a lot of layering of paint the last few days. I am learning to take my time with each stage in order to achieve the best possible results and hopefully the effect I actually want!

 The shelving for the top floor has a cream under coat and then three coats of Paprika Red as seen here.

I am always grateful for other bloggers who share their techniques and I have shamelessly read and re-read the blogs of Michelle and Katie.

Michelle is the queen of distressing and Katie is the the queen of crackle!!

Thank you ladies your blogs have taught me so much.

 After the red layers I applied a generous coat of crackle glaze and then a top coat of black acrylic paint.

 Trying to achieve a heavy crackle is very difficult, or it might just be me, and I just could not get enough red to show through.

 So I rubbed the units down, again, to achieve a more distressed look. The problem being that having added a layer of the crackle glaze it was very hard work to rub off the top layer of black.

Finally I got the look I want and finished them off with a coat of modge podge glow in the dark.

With the shelving now in place I am having doubts about the fire place on this floor. It is all a bit squashed so I am not going to put anything more in this room until I have dressed the display shelves.

 I have also been working on all the 'wood' pieces for the outside of the shop. Same colours as you can see - a layer of cream, 3 layers of the red and a top coat of black. 

 This time I used a much more generous coat of crackle glaze and achieved a better crackle but still not enough for the distressed and weathered look I was after.

 With more sanding it looks just how I had hoped. 

All the pieces have been sealed with a semi-gloss sealent and are ready to be fixed to the carcass which means I can finish the two fronts and the outside of the carcass.

Then I will be back to layering the dirty water washes both inside and out, oh and the lighting, and the roof, and the chimneys, and the fireplaces..........

But soooo much fun when it works!!!

The Cauldron Dilemma......

Here you can see why I am spending a lot of time thinking about cauldrons.......

I want to be able make this tower!!!

When I was very young we used to make heads by paper mache-ing balloons. Lots of newspaper and flour and water for glue. When the 'head' was thick enough and fully dried we would prick the balloon and be left with the shape we wanted.

Just like this...

I will use tiny water balloons and blow them up into different sizes, apply the paper mache, make lots of cauldrons and create the tower!

I will also try the balloon trick with air drying clay too. 

Then today while I was mulling it all over I thought of.... Surely I can use the cast iron cauldrons I already have as moulds?

Plus I have a consignment of ping pong balls arriving tomorrow. 

Ho, hum paint all the wood work and then begin to play!

The Cauldron Shop......Thank Goodness for Indian Summers!!

Here in England we are experiencing the most wonderful Indian Summer which is proving to be a great help with the interior of my latest build.

The Paper Perfect walls and ceilings are drying rapidly.

 I have been able to fix in the false doors with their door furniture and left a gap for the fireplace.

 I haven't bothered putting in skirting board on two of the walls as they will be more or covered by shop shelving.

 I am really pleased with the door. I have glued them onto a thin plate of balsa to make them stand away from the wall slightly. This meant I could 'plaster' right up to the edge of the door as I am not having any architrave around the doors.

 Luckily I remembered to screw the hinges in before 'plastering' the walls. That is a first for me!

I have put in the wood for the false fireplaces. They will each be individually tiled, have their own lit fireplace and hanging cauldron.

On this side I will have a range with lots of pots and pans bubbling away.....not sure yet. 

Still trying to work out how I am going to make the cauldron towers. Michelle has suggested ping pong balls, which I like....I think water bomb balloons and paper mache? Hmmm, lots to think about.

I have also begun painting all the windows, doors, shelving etc. First coat cream, then at least two coats of deep red. Then eventually black to finish when I will rub them all down and hopefully all the different paint layers will show through in an aged effect. I did use a crackle paint on the first coat of cream but not a single crackle has appeared. I can never seem to get any of these crackle products to work, anyone know of a really good one?

All in all a good day's work for once and a whole weekend of sunshine to look forward to.

The Cauldron Shop.......And a New Hat For an Old Friend....

I have completed a little more on The Cauldron Shop interior including laying these wonderful oak floorboards. I bought them at the Kensington Dolls House Fair last December with this project in mind, and I am so glad I did! They come in 12 inch lengths to be cut to size. I chose a three quarter inch width strip and cut them into 4 inch lengths. They cut very nicely and have the most gorgeous grain. I wanted them slightly darker so I wiped a dark oak over them and the grain shows through even more.

 I bought them from Wood Supplies a fabulous company who specialise in wood for miniature projects. 

 I have laid them in the upper section of the shop. Including an attic/storage area for under the roof. I am not sure how this will work out once the roof is on but at the very least it will provide an extra dimension.

 I have also started lining the walls and ceilings. I have started this before adding all the wood features because it takes so long to dry. Days and days! Hopefully I will be able to work round this and begin placing the wood bit by bit now that it has all been stained and distressed.

I am lining the walls in a favourite of mine. It's called Paper Perfect and it is supposed to be for turning normal paper into mulberry-esque paper. Essentially it is paint with paper mache. You have to paint glue onto the walls first and then add the mache mix. 

The main drawback is it takes so long to try.

When I was making room for my Diagon Alley projects I moved my older shops upstairs into my son's room. As I was tidying up I saw some gaps on the shelves of my Design Shop.

This coincided with the discovery of this wonderful Etsy Shop. Luned2010 sells the most beautifully made hats and chocolates.

 When I saw this little set I knew it was perfect for my shop display.

 It fits well on the table top......

......bit that middle shelf is crying out for a stylish bag!

Then this project will be finished! Hooray!!!

One down, 15 to go!!

West Dean Chilli Festival.....Inspiration for Flower Makers

For quite a few years now we have been attending the West Dean Chilli Festival in Sussex. We make a weekend of it, stay somewhere nice in the area, have a nice meal and visit the festival on the Sunday. It is a fabulous day out for all foodies but especially for those who love spicy food.

This year I too lots of photos of the green houses to share because they are simply fabulous.

West Dean is an agricultural school as well as a spectacular venue so the walled garden is full of inspiration for anyone who makes miniature gardens, conservatories or flowers.  

This is a spectacular grape-vine. 

 These vines are trained within an inch of their life!

 This is the vine's main trunk. Just asking to be the model for a spooky tree!

 The whole tree in all its splendour.

 This green house is one of my favourites. I just love this arch of tomatoes!

 What a great way to grow the ever present summer fruit.

 Never seen a white aubergine before.......

 Chillis, of course....

 ......lots of them.....

 The most fabulous hanging plants. I think they are called pitcher plants?

 How great would they look in miniature.

 Lastly lots of beautiful flowers....

 .....in every colour.....

 ........every shape......

 .........large......

 .....and even larger.....

 Lastly, hanging melon plants.

 I did not know the plants were so strong.

 These lovelies are supported in their individual string baskets.

I would love to visit West Dean just to wander through the gardens but it is a horrendous journey from North London. If you do live closer have a look at their website as I think they have all sorts of events all through the year.