The awnings

I have just finished painting the awnings and I want to share it with you.

I am not too far from the real facades...

Ok, it's been a busy day with miniatures but for sure a lot of enjoyment!

Ageing the Chinese shop house

Morning!

Yesterday I started ageing the facade. Remember what it looked like?

 

I started with a gray tone with a little yellow in it.

Then I prepared a darker tone which I put with a sponge. 

Brushes leave marks but sponges don't.

Here is my first video tutorial:

A bit amateur but I promise I'll improve, LOL

Click on the arrow in the centre....

In the process, I often checked with the original pictures on my computer. 

Then, gradually, the building started to have its own life. Little by little, I added colours to angles and moldings as usually, in Thailand, because of the monsoons, this is where black stains first appear.

Of course, you have to be creative and not afraid to use too much color and then wipe it  in order to get the right tone.

Then I aged the door and the shutters using a white layer, then used the sponge technique again until the green painting gradually disappeared.

After an hour, sweating in the Thai afternoon heat (before the evening rain), the house started to look like what I had in mind.

 Now the fun part, adding details: 
Chinese always decorate their facades with votive posters to bring them good luck or money or both (LOL), so I added a few I had photographed.

The metal sheet for the awning for the door and shutters is ready and so is the wooden sign that shows the name of the family in Thai and in English.

And now the sign hangs above the door

Thanks for spending a few minutes reading my blog and I hope tonight I'll be able to show you the awnings.

If I dared, this is what one of the houses looked like

But I am afraid it would be too much....

Have a good day

From sunny Thailand.....

Patrick

Painting the doors

I have started painting the wooden doors and shutters. It's a combination of green and beige. The ageing will play an important part in that project.

I have used parts of a wooden fan that was broken to represent the wooden decoration in the windows

I cut and glued three pieces together on a piece of acrylic to give them strength and set them in the window frames

 The picture below shows you what I had in mind but I didn't manage to do exactly the same decorations.
(In Thailand, most windows have bars to prevent unexpected visitors from coming inside the dwelling, because the windows are often left open)

Now the painting needs ageing but I have to wait for the 1st layers to be really dry or else I'll wash them away.
This is how it looks now.

Flower arrangements

Hello,
There are in Thailand very skilled people who make miniature flowers with polymer clay or Saa (Mulberry) paper. I bought some last weekend and spent a couple of hours doing new presentations for my Etsy shop. I have found new varieties: sun flowers, cyclamens, irises and leelavadee flowers (frangipaniers in French)
This is what my work table looks like:

 I like the new irises. They are so tiny!

And now the arrangements are ready....

Some examples, more in my Etsy shop on page 2.

There are also many new bronzes that I havedecided to sell. I can't keep them all and I am happy if they can be yours and decorate your projects. They are all made of bronze and some are quite old and worn out. Remember Thai people keep them to protect them and bring them good luck.

Have a nice weekend !

A detail

On the pictures below, you can see the grooves on the shutters.
 This is important. It will allow the thread to run freely through all the parts. I did a groove on both sides with a cutter.
 You can also see a small pin like an L shape on the second picture. I did 4 of them.
When I applied the glue and set the two layers together, I inserted the pins in the grooves.That way I made sure the glue didn't prevent the pins from moving freely inside.
In the end, I removed the pins and inserted the nylon thread in the groove.
That will be a good idea if you want to make shutters, paravent (screens?), or even tiny boxes or trunks. We all know how difficult it is to use hinges. It'll work with doors too I guess if they are thin. For cupboards for example.

Nylon elastique

As some of you were interested in the 'nylon elastique" I used to replace hinges, let me give you some details. This nylon thread is used to make bracelets and necklaces I guess. Here is a picture and a link
http://www.cdiscount.com/juniors/jeux-et-jouets-par-type/fil-nylon-elastique-20-m/f-120062002-auc2009998760420.html
to one of the shops which sells it.
 I found mine in an Art and Craft shop in the beads department.
The purpose was to replace the hinges on the door panes which are to thin for real hinges.
The trick is to set the elastic thread between the two layers of wood,
to do so:
decide where you want to have the thread, groove a line where the thread will go on one layer. Then glue the 2 layers together making sure the groove is still there. Use a thin piece of metal to make sure the gap isn't filled with glue.
If you look carefully you can see the different threads on the picture below

When the glue has set, you should be able to insert the nylon inside the panel and add the different panels.
To insert the nylon string, cover the end with this glue that we call "colle contact" here as it can glue your fingers in 1/2 a second. I don't know what you call it in English. That way, the nylon thread can be easily insert between the 2 layers of wood.
Make a knot on each side if the thread so that the door panes are set together. Now you have an invisible hinge that works pretty well
I am sorry if I am not clear but feel free to ask me any other question about it.
Have a nice day!

The milliner's worktable

Hello,
Something you'll like....

I hadn't finished the milliner's bedroom but it's on its way now.

The lovely hat stands and the hat block were made by Roseline. She lives in Tasmania and followed my blog. As the wood lathe has no secrets for her, she has made these wonderful hat stands. I really like them all.They are so....perfect!

Roseline, thanks again! :) Now I need to find scissors, and other things that could have been found on such a table. Any ideas?

The hats were made by Luned from Justfor you miniatures Luned makes the most beautiful hats you can find. They are so delicate. Luned's from England. I wanted Victorian hats and they are just amazing. Visit her shop.

 The green hat is now ready to be collected. I need to make a hat box! Diego the French "bouledogue" (bulll dog) seems impatient to go out for a walk....
I found a little pastel portrait of a girl who could be the milliner. I just need to find the right frame for it.

Another nice view of the table

This is a global view of the scene now soon to be completed. Three more hats to come...