Bookstore

 

I was very fortunate to have no assignment in my course due this week, so it gave me lots of time to play in my workshop.  It's been my most productive weekend in about 6 months.  I got so much accomplished, and I have sore fingers to show for it. 

 

First I made lot more books.  I used a cutout page from Minaturas Magazine that I had picked up in Barcelona two years ago.   I am not totally pleased with the glossy finish on the books but once I finish aging everything I think I can cut back on the gloss.  One problem I ran into with these books was with the gold stamping I used on the edges.  I actually made these cores several MONTHS ago, but I couldn't get the gold stamping to dry.  I even tried spraying on a top coat of clear lacquer several months ago, when the weather was better outside, but I was still getting gold finish on my hands and the covers of the books as I glued them together this week.  I won't use this stamp again!

 

 

 

 

You can see I made lots of books, and I still need more!

 

Then it was on to making the old documents look older.  I had already prepared the edges in the tea dyed stamp I had showed in a previous posting. 

 

 

 

But they still looked to perfect, so I balled them up into little wads of paper, and let them sit for a few days.  Again another assembly line!

 

 

 

 

Once I unballed the paper they had a great look of old worn documents.

 

 

I had printed several pages of old maps and aged the edges several weeks ago, so now I had to roll them up to place them in the bookstore.  This was a relatively easy task.

 

 

 

 

I rolled up a lot of the old document pages instead of balling them up (and yes it gave my finger tips a risk, you can't imagine how badly up fingers were hurting by then!)  I like the rolled documents as well.  I also glued a pile of the maps and papers into an old wood box that another miniature friend had given me years ago.  It's a great little box that even has dovetailed edges.  You'll see a close up of the edges later.  I also have the stack of leather bound books that I purchased at The Little Dollhouse Store in Toronto.  I think I am going to use these in the window of the bookstore.

 

 

 

I also framed an old map to use on the wall.  You can see it below with the filled bookshelves placed in the store.  I had to remove the front wall of the shop to dry fit this in place.  I still haven't glued all the books on the top, because I wanted to ensure I had sufficient head room.  The floor is also not shown, because it's attached to the front wall.  I think I shouldn't have done this and I may try to unattach the floor and glue directly to the bottom of the room box instead.

 

 

 

Here's a shot from the top showing some of the detail.

 

 

 

And a front view looking down a bit.  I also filled the tall basket with lots of maps.

 

You can see the tall basket here.  I had soaked the basket in a dirty wash, which was probably not the wisest thing to do, because this basket is taped together with masking tape.  I had to glue a few slats back in after I did this.  The wash doesn't show clearly in the picture, but I know from experience in the past that it will get grayer and grayer each day.  You can also see the stack of books closer here as well.

 

Now you can also see the dovetail edge on the box.  It's so tiny!

 

You can click on the images to see better close ups.  You can also see the dates are still messed up on my camera.   Each time I turn the camera on it shows a different date!

 

Hope you enjoyed everything I completed this week.   I still got lots of leaves shaped and wisteria flowers made.  That assembly line is coming along as well.  I didn't want to show you more of this because I know you've seen it all before.   Next I have to work on the sign for the outside, some molding under the outside window, plus a vent under the window, and I have to dress the interior window sills.  Also have to do lots of aging to all these interior furnishings and accessories.

 

I also have to put some thought into the lighting.  I bought several lighting strips and one fixture from Grandpa's Dollhouse last September while at Camp Mini Ha Ha.  Wayne ensures me that they are really easy to install.  So if my writing looks a little more electrified the next time, wiring wasn't as easy as Wayne said it was going to be.  I love lighting in miniature settings but it is the most intimidating challenge for me.  Funny thing is, my educational background is in architectural engineering and interior design, which covered a full course in electrical servicing and another course in lighting, so I have a sound foundation, but very little hands on experience!

 

Wish me the best!  Until the next time......

Wanda