Day Two at Camp Mini Ha Ha

We got to working on our castle today and we dry fitted all the Styrofoam pieces and then taped any areas that were not to be carved or painted. If paint were to accidentally be put on these sections, the castle would not be able to be glued together.







We had the option of doing some customizing with our castles, so I made by hidden staircase room a little smaller to give me more available floor space for furniture later. I removed the second level of stairs in the room, and added a door at the top of these stairs. In the original castle the stairs were twice as high, and you couldn’t see the wall at the top of the stairs anymore, so there was no need to add a door. The lower staircase exposed more wall space, so there had to be something at the top of the stairs, hence why I added the door.

In the tower room, the original prototype only had one larger window. My inspiration room for the castle had 6 smaller windows in the tower, which is what I will be doing. I just have to figure out the carving detail around each group of two windows tomorrow.

Lastly our staircases were customized for our particular needs. I tried several configurations but because I want to panel the back wall, I was very limited. I am still not totally please with the stairs I have built. They may change later.

Once I finished with the customization, I cut the round support for under the tower room. It took two tries before I got the circles right. In the prototype they have five layers of Styrofoam for the support, but we are only using three layers. We have the option of adding more, but for now I will keep it at the three, before final assembly, I may adjust if needed. I have a picture of the finished support and my cut section.

I am very pleased with my paneled wall I have laid out. I still have to build the fireplace to insert into it, but overall I like what I have dry fitted together. I still have to glue and clamp this section, but I am holding off until the last minute, in case I need to make adjustments.




Before proceeding we had to do a little research on the stone pattern we want to use in the castle and the molding pattern around the doors and the windows. Tomorrow we will have to draw it all in place before we start to carve each wall to ensure it will work out. I plan to draw my pattern on paper before I draw on the foam, just to be sure. They had all sorts of sample patterns, and lots of pictures posted everywhere for inspiration for everyone. At the end of the day, I also came back to my room and checked out Brian Long’s book on Tudor Miniatures to see if I can find other patterns as well. I did find a great window detail pattern I would like to use, I will have to sketch it tomorrow and see if it will work with my double window configuration.



It’s a very time consuming project, and it’s clear we will not complete the roombox in the five allotted days, so we will have lots of work to do at home when we return, as well as decorating the inside of the castle.



We received our first package of tidbits today and I got some wonderful little accessories for my castle. Many of the attendees made Tudor themed accessories, but since my room box will not be a medieval themed room, I may have to use them items in a future project. Some are adaptable to a modern room though, which is good. There was a spear that can cut to size to fit your project, a bucket of eels, complete with the recipe for eel soup!!, a brass wine goblet, two jars of witches’ potions, a “Faberge” egg, a crown for the queen of the castle, a glass ball (to see into the future of course!!), and a beautiful plate on a wooden stand.


At the end of the evening we had our giftie exchange again, and this time I received a beautifully decorated hutch, perfect for a sewing room or sewing shop.



It was an exhausting second day at camp, and I was only too pleased to get into bed at the end of the day!!



I am so far behind on my blog reading. There is only one building, the dining room, in this complex that has internet. So I have been writing my blog in the evening and when I go to breakfast in the mornings, I have been uploading and posting it to the internet. I have only had a few minutes to read a few blogs, and now I am about 4 days behind. I’ll have a lot of catching up to do when I return home.



I know I have new followers to welcome, and I do apologize if it appears I am ignoring you, I have noticed each and everyone of you. Once I return from camp, I’ll post a welcome note to each of you.



All my pictures are in the wrong place.  I've tried over and over again, and they place where they want, I don't seem to have any control today.  Sorry.  I think my posting today has been become a long winded posting. I hope it was not too boring and I’ve made you interested in attending Camp Mini Ha Ha in the future!

-Wanda





Comments

  1. Hi Sweetie! Looks like things are going well and you are having lots of fun! Enjoy the rest of camp! Love what you have done so far!

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  2. Wow! This looks amazing-I can't wait to see more of your castle!

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  3. Camp sounds great and what a wonderful project. I love the way you have posted so we can see it all come together.

    I love the camp name Mini Ha Ha! :-)

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  4. Sigue informando de todo lo que pasa en el campamento. Parece que todos difrutan :)
    Besos Clara

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  5. Wow it looks amazing already.

    it is styrofoam or that dense builders foam Wanda ? I've heard a lot about the builders foam but can't find it here.

    I can't believe how good it looks already.

    Off to the next post...I kind of like it like this as there is no waiting and I am terribly impatient :-)

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  6. Tallulah Belle, the builder's foam was found at Home Depot. That should be in your area. We used 1/2" foam.

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