And so... back to the tower

Today I wanted to finally get the pieces in place and photographed.  That way I can say that one room is complete.

As you know, I had recently changed some of the furniture and put them in place in the tower.  Here is the room as it is now.

I am trying to make it look dirty and unkempt.  I have actually manage to sand the floor to give it a dirty look but, I may need to darken the layer to give it a more realistic look as it looks too light a grey...

I am pleased with the items on the pieces of furniture and am getting the right level of clutter now.

Ok, now that I have looked again at the photos, I really do need to get the floor sorted, that really is too pale to look dirty.  I have lots of paint through so, maybe a dry brush over with a dark brown/grey.

Hopefully, I will get chance later in the week to concentrate on it.  My son is coming to visit tomorrow so I am not planning on doing many crafts/minis so we have time to chill and catch up.  

Changing Furniture

I have been looking at changing and sorting some of the furniture in my tower.

I had plain wood furniture picked out and removed some of the drawers etc and took off a couple of doors to get the look I was after.

Here are the pieces of furniture partly taken apart.  (I had forgotten to take pics before I had done anything to them).

I decided to go for a darker wood look and make them look used and dishevelled with a base coat of black paint and then wood brown washed over the top.

Please excuse the mess behind the furniture, but, you get the idea.  I will take more photos of this once I have filled them and put them in place in the tower.

So, that has been some progress on some of my minis.... finally.

Branching out

I have been looking at other areas of crafting recently but I am not finding it that easy to decide which to learn first.

Probably like others, I need to use the internet and books to expand my knowledge as I do not have friends or family close enough to pop round for advice.

One thing I had noticed is that most books seem to rely on you having access to a way of increasing the size of patterns rather than providing you with the correct size for you to trace.  Although the argument of cheapness can be made, I find it rather lazy of them... Ok, rant over haha.

I am starting to look more closely at cloth doll making (although minis will always be my first love).  If anyone can recommend any books, blogs or websites that are useful for beginners, your advice would be very much appreciated.

Sorry for the repost of this photograph of my tower, I am also having to replace my camera so I have no up to date pictures yet.  I am hoping to borrow a camera in the next few days so hopefully I should be back up and running properly by then

A Face To Love

Apologies for my absence again recently, life just seems to be constantly busy just lately.

Ok, I have been unable to make any minis lately or even continue painting the units I have bought for the tower but, I wanted to show this beautiful item I bought from Magsnificent Miniatures when I went to Miniatura earlier this year.

He is sooooo lovely, bless...

I have decided he is going to live in the shed.  The shed needed a little more interest adding to it besides what you would normally expect to find.  He is going to be my first  'interesting addition'.  I think he will be happier there than the tower, especially at the moment as I have so much work left to do on it. compared with the shed which is mainly just adding bits and pieces and finishing touches.

Progress of the Tower Continues

Today it has been the turn of placing some of the items on the first floor of the Tower (I really must come up with a more original name than that).

Some of the differences from earlier are a little more subtle, moving things and adding to the fireplace, shelves and floor etc.

It is good to see it filling up but, I am still considering replacing the desk and the shelving.  It is a great feeling to see it all coming together though.

Finally I have the items on the mantle!  I will be filling up the wooden bowl with something at a later date.  At the moment I just wanted to get things I have so far in the places I want them.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Tower Progress.

Yes, that's right, I have finally got some of the items in place and things are looking like they are starting to get somewhere with the tower.

Here is how the ground level looked looked at the start:

And this is how it looks now...

I am pleased with it for now but I think there will be more of a move round in the future to show things off a bit more.  I have more that I want to do with this part but it is good to see things moving forward.

Well, I have a few bits to add to the first floor and then it will be planning and making for more items and on to the top floor.  Hopefully I will have some more photos to show tomorrow.   :)

Hmmm as a final thought, I think that perhaps the ground floor is looking a little too tidy and needs a bit of a grunge look adding to it.... now that is something for me to think about.

The Sorting Continues...

... leading to a lovely surprise.

I found some more items I had put away for my tower.

These were real sized objects just right for making look old, dusty and just right for minis.  They are on the larger size but ideal for effect in the tower.  I haven't decided on the exact position as there are still one or two more changes I need to make.

Some more of the metal and wooden bowls and plates that will be going in the main room.  The main thing now for the main room of the tower is to clutter and dusty it up.  Some more distressing will be needed and I still need to sort out the dresser, desk and hopefully a table to complete the overall effect.  Hopefully I will find something at the Miniatura when I go later this month.

Some more of the items to add to the 'clutter' of the main tower room.

Although I have had these items for a while, it felt like Christmas finding all the items and looking through them all.

And yet more clutter for the main room.  I know, I know, I may not end up being able to fit them all in but, all these things were picked up at the time with the tower in mind.

Finally, these will be filled, painted and messed with to add yet more effect to the tower.  I think some of it may end up as clutter in the top room.

But oooooh I love days like today.  Tomorrow I will post some pictures of some of these items in place.

Day off well spent

I swapped my day off with another lady at work and made the most of it by sorting out more of my minis.

Today it was the turn of the tower and although one of the units needs dusting, I am pleased with what I have decided to keep in.  The items I found the other day will be added once I have done the dusting.

I also have some wood pieces to put in the fireplace to add more detail to that part.  It needs more clutter too for it to be classed as finished. and now I can see the photo, I think I need to make changes to the walls to create more of a creepy effect although with how small the room is, I didnt want to go for stone walling so I will need to think about that more carefully.

I used a flash to take the photos because it was too dark otherwise but, it has just led to it looking wishy washy, however, this shows a closer look at the book case.  I am creating a neglected messy look on here and just need a few more books and maybe some scrolls to finish this off.

On here I just need one or two more jars along with a good dusting... haha, oh well,it just shows how much the poor tower is in need of TLC, my project for this year I think.  

Of course, now my week feels all over the place, changing days off really has made my body confused over where I am and what I should be doing...  Oh well, back to sorting for now before a well earned bath and rest.

Moving and clearing

Today I decided to have a break from thinking about how to make various pet items and had a move around in my tower.  So far, the first floor is most sorted.  I am happy with the general look and now just need to look for items for the wall, maybe shelving, a picture and a mirror.  This is it so far...

I still have quite a bit to do but, this is another of my ongoing projects.  Tomorrow is back to considering my pet stock and hopefully tomorrow starting on clearing the first floor of my pet shop