Category: "Greenleaf 2011 Spring Fling - Baxter Pointe Villa"

Door to _____?

by brae  

So, say you need access behind a wall...what do you do?  You build a door to get there.  :D

I started with a piece of 1/32" thick bass wood cut to the size of the door I needed (my wall in this example is 1/16" bass wood).  Around this, I drew a rectangle in the area where I wanted the opening.

On one side of the rectangle, I cut an opening smaller than my door.

I painted the inner edge of the cutout.

Since I plan to wallpaper this wall, I needed to cut a template for the rectangle I drew earlier.

Using 3/16" framing strip wood, I cut a frame to fit the rectangle to cover the wallpaper edge.

I used a gluing jig to keep my frame square.

On the lead edge of the door, I drilled a hole to fit a small wood knob.

I left the excess on the back side of the door since this serves as a door stop.

I checked the fit of the frame over the door to make sure it would slide easily.

I then painted the door and the outer frame.  I kept the paint thin and out of the inner track of the frame completely so it wouldn't interfere with the door functionality.

Where does this door lead?

You'll need to wait until July 4th!  :D


click image to enlarge

Oly Studio Ichibad Side Table in miniature

by brae  

This post has moved to the new blog.

Spring Fling chimney, part 3

by brae  

The chimney has been painted and grouted (I used Mini Mortar) for awhile now, but today I got around to making the topper.


click image to enlarge

I did a quick google search for chimney toppers and found a fabulous photo from Mountaintop Construction (third row, on the right).

I decided to emulate the style using wood and aluminum mesh.  First, I cut a piece of 1/8" thick basswood to serve as a base.

I painted it with a mixture of Slate Grey by Americana and Mushroom by Folk Art.  I then painted the inner portion black.  When looking into the topper, I wanted it to look like there was a chimney opening.

To build the actual topper, I started with 1/8" and 3/16" bass wood corner trim.

I used an Easy Cutter to make 45° cuts in the 3/16" corner trim to form two frames.

I cut a cover for one of the frames from 1/16" thick bass wood and glued it on top.

I cut 3/4" lengths of the 1/8" corner trim and glued them into the four corners of the frame.

I then added 3/4" lengths of 1/16" x 1/8" strip wood in the center of each side of the frame.

While the glue was still drying, I checked the fit of the bottom frame to make sure the corner pieces were straight and level but did not glue the two assemblies together.

I painted both the upper and lower portions Pure Bronze by Apple Barrel.  It was a little glitterageous after the first coat, so I sanded that down before putting on a second coat.  Once the paint was dry, I finished it off with three coats of Delta Ceramcoat Gloss Varnish.

The aluminum mesh I used is by Scale Scenics.  It's old stock I bought at the recent Bishop Show in Chicago.  Sometimes it pays to dig through dusty bins of old miscellaneous materials.  :]

I cut the pieces of mesh to fit inside the assembly.

I then spray painted them flat black.

I glued the painted mesh pieces inside the frame at the corners and sides.

Then I painted the inside black.

I glued the bottom frame onto the assembly.

And, finally...I glued the topper on top of the chimney.  :]

Is it drafty in here?

by brae  

I love how the front door turned out!  I primed the whole assembly with white acrylic and then painted the front of the door with Robin's Egg Blue from Jo-Ann Craft Essentials (left over from the mirror in the Newport hallway).  The interior I left white.

But something seemed off to me...then I noticed the gaps all around the door.

To fix this problem, I cut strips of 1/16" x 3/32" bass wood to create an inner frame.


click image to enlarge

Could I have noticed this before I had the whole thing painted and sealed?  No, that would have interfered with my master plan to do things the hard way.  :D

I painted the inner frame white to match the rest of the door frame.  Ah, much better...

For the record, this door was a bit damaged and rough when I bought it...but I didn't repair it past sanding a bit.  I wanted it to look weathered but in reasonably good shape as though it gets a fair amount of wear but the homeowners try to keep up with the painting.  :]

Turning wood into porcelain

by brae  

I took an unfinished EuroMini's wood tub and did my best to make it look like porcelain.  I made the towels, scrubbie and bottle label (purchased bottle), originally shown in the Newport bath cabinet.

I've made wood look like porcelain before, with the Newport kitchen sink, but that was easy compared to this particular project.  I think it was so difficult this time because the unfinished wood tub wasn't in the best shape to begin with.  Had I wanted to turn it into an old rusted tub, it would have been much easier.

I painted the base with Bittersweet Chocolate by Americana, followed by a light coat of Delta Ceramcoat satin varnish.  That was the easy part.

To get the white porcelain finish, I first spackled the best I could to fill in the more obvious defects.  I then painted numerous generous layers of white acrylic paint to build up the brightness and even out the surface.  In between each layer, I sanded the paint down to a completely smooth surface.  Once I had the best finish possible, I put on two coats of Americana Triple Thick Gloss Glaze, letting the first coat dry overnight before adding the second.

The inside is still a little rough since there was only so much I could do with a flat bottom tub, but the outer surface and the overhang turned out as I had hoped.

I plan to add dual faucets, though I'll transform them from brass into brushed nickel.  :D

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