Unfinished.....

Tiny Progress....

I hope you don't mind, Dear Readers, if I skip about between my various projects, because I don't have a whole lot to show you on any of them! I apologize for the blurry photo you see above... the weather has been unrelentingly dreary, dark, cold and rainy for more than a week (until yesterday afternoon), making it difficult to take good photos of what little I have accomplished in my Mini Worlds! While I have been very absorbed in the Teeny Tiny Mini World recently, I have also been trying to make progress on the Exterior Trim for Hardwick Hall. Some of you might be familiar with this kit (The Willowcrest) and will be aware that it is Lavishly Adorned with ornate Victorian Woodwork... which I have to confess is a good part of its appeal! But Constructing all that Lavishly Ornate Woodwork Trim is an Adventure to say the least! It is all made up of layers of pieces you must punch out of the thin and splintery plywood sheets... and be sure to label them all carefully because they are confusing until you know how they fit together... and they all need to be sanded and sometimes glued back together because they are fragile and don't punch out easily! One of the sheets for this kit which included some of the skinny porch sections was badly prepared and the pieces were not easy to punch out. I had to use my exacto knife on the back side to cut through in places where the punching wasn't complete. Hence the parts needing to be glued back together... before I could even assemble the structure! But I managed to get it built to the best of my abilities, and fortunately the worst sheet was the one for the middle layer that would show the least on the finished porch. (And my story for the rough and broken parts is that any Old House must have very weathered wooden parts!) In the above picture you can see the assembled porch framework, still unpainted, propped in place to see how it will fit. This piece is not supposed to be attached until after most of the other trim is done... and it will need to be squeezed into it's spot between the porch floor and ceiling... a process that I only want to do once!

Here you can see I have painted the framework... 

first the primer, then the gray base coat 

and then the shiny metallic silver....

It will need more coats of the silver paint.

I had also recently finished the front gable ornate trim... 

and now I also attached the front attic window trim.....

Which also needed the exterior muntins added...

Which you can see here (sort of) 

along with the front balcony being tested for fit!

The balcony was much simpler to assemble, 

being mostly just one layer of plywood punch-outs.

It also needs another coat of the silver paint...

So it is not quite finished.

And while I was waiting for the paint to dry on all those pieces of trim, 

I was also trying to make the gowns for the Teeny Tiny dolls...

I started with a gown for Virginia in green velvet and silk....

(I apologize for the dark and blurry pictures... 

these tiny Ladies are really hard to photograph!)

With apologies to Lady Evelyn, 

I wanted her sister's gowns to have better sleeves.

So I cut a very narrow strip along the selvage edge of the fabric

(so one side of the cloth would have it's edge already "hemmed")

and glued it directly to the arms, starting at the back, 

and when that was dry, wrapping it around and gluing again.

Of course, I forgot to take any pictures of those steps.

And then I glued the green velveteen skirt around the doll...

(having already put glue on the underside 

to prevent fraying on the cut edges)

I am still trying to work out what material to use for her bodice....

 at the moment her neckline seems scandalously low!

I think I will try a thin strand of embroidery floss...

or perhaps just another piece of the selvage....

but at the moment this, too, is unfinished.

And while I worked first on Virginia's gown, 

it is on Salome's gown that I really tried some tricky cuts!

Here you can see her with just the sleeves attached.

Here you can see I have started with the gown itself.....

I spread glue on the underside of the cloth where the cuts would go 

before making the cuts, and let it dry thoroughly before cutting.

This way it prevents raveling, 

so I was able to cut a "v" neck for this gown 

and slits for the arm holes.

Here you can see I have glued the front part of the gown...

and am waiting for it to dry.

This is another angle... showing just the front part being glued....

(The sewing pin you see is useful for spreading glue in a very small space,

 and also for pulling apart the pieces that were not supposed to have glue get on them yet!)

Yes, another angle, showing the one side being glued in the back...

 letting it dry before the other side is glued!

This way you can get the pieces cut to fit as they are about to be glued.

And yes, Dear Readers, this gown is also Unfinished!

I think it desperately needs some delicate silver edging 

or a waistband at the very least!

See how Tiny she is?

Yikes, it makes the hand look enormous!

Of course, now they are eagerly waiting for their House....

(When they are not complaining about their dressmaker!)

Yes, Dear Readers, in spite of all the Unfinished pieces,

I have made some Tiny Progress!