Saving Terra Cotta...

 I fixed the screw up...  At least part of it.  I will do more when I get done here.

I made bricks and tile.

Actually, not in that order.  the bricks that you see are scraps from the tile, but I needed to show you the tools that you will need.  To make uniform bricks and tile is fairly simple if you have the right tools.

The all important thing is the quilter's cutting mat.  It is laid out in one inch squares with a ruler along all four edges.  With that, you can speed cut both tile and brick.

The second most important thing is the Wilton fondant roller.  I got mine at Walmart years ago and have never been sorry.  See those two little pink bands on the ends of the roller?  Those allow you to roll your clay out to 1/16" evenly...Caution.  Don't use it for food after doing this.  Food and clay don't mix!

Tools three and four are important to me for fast cutting....If you want to do it the old way, don't worry about these, but once you do it this way, you probably won't want to go back to the old way.

I thought this up in my sleep....That's where all of the good ideas come from.

I put about 1/8 of the clay on a piece of wax paper and roll it out to as close to a 4" by 10 to 12" as I can get it, using the roller with bands.  Actually the center photo is the one that I did first.  I trimmed it and fit the pieces into places where there wasn't any clay at the edge.

I am sure that there is going to be someone saying that the edge above the ruler isn't straight...I know.  This is Sautillo tile.  It is known for it's flaws.  I have even seen them with dog's footprints in the tile. I tried to get Spike to do that, but he refused to get his feet dirty.  They are never all one color either.  I am going to have to fix that with washes later.

When I was happy with the layout, I used my 12" ruler to pretty much cut through the clay.  I laid one end of the ruler on one of the 1" lines on the mat. The first two were to even the side and bottom and make it square.  After I was satisfied with that, I lined up the ruler at one inch away from the long edge. Then I lined up the other end with the same line and pressed down.  If this ruler didn't have the cork back, I would have been able to cut all the way through the clay.

I cut the long way first, then the shorter sections.

For the bricks I cut them 1/4" by 3/4". See first photo. That is close enough to scale for me.  At the edge, I cut some half bricks.  Usually you need quite a few of those, even on a fireplace.  If I were planning on doing any herringbone pattern, I would cut some of those into triangles for the edge.

Next you lay the tile out flat to dry.  I noticed that the corners are curling on these.  I will have to go flatten them.

I only used about a quarter of a package.  I have a ways to go, but it will go fast when I do it.

If you aren't going to use all of your clay at one time, seal it in a plastic bag inside the original package, with a wet paper towel.  That should make it last for a long time.  Just check it once in a while to see that it is still moist and the towel is still wet.

I am doing big basket weaving with one hand and cutting bricks and tile with the other.  This could get interesting...

See you tomorrow.

Fifty Shades of Gray....

 That's probably what I have on the bricks now.

I started on the left side and worked around...I tend to work like I read.  Left to right.

Here is one and a half panels done and the rest is like it was.  I found out that the bricks were painted with some kind of water soluble paint, so I had to be very careful.  There wasn't any kind of sealer on the bricks at all.

 I didn't do a lot of changing.  I just darkened the grout a bit.  Now it looks a lot more like the half timbers that we saw in England. 

As for the chimney, I think that it blends in with the rest of the house better now. 

I am still wondering why it was built so that it hangs about a quarter of an inch above the bottom of the building...

I got a pretty good match on the bricks on the chimney. Not perfect, but close enough.  Maybe a few touch ups after everything is put back together.

Some of you are wanting to know about the wiring....I wouldn't advise you to follow the route that I am taking for wiring this.  I am having to cobble together some of it because of the single wire that they had in the original.  I am going to have to do some splicing here and there to get five different things lit.  It was only wired for one ceiling fixture.

There will be two wall sconces, one candlestick and a fire in each fireplace.

The little blobs that you see on the floor are English coal fire fixtures.  I am not sure if they will be workable.

The three other fixtures blew out when I tried them in the Bloomie's box.  I have cut the candles out of them and am in the process of rewiring them...I am not sure that the English wiring is compatible with the US transformers.

Hang in there until I wire something else and you will see how I normally do it.

I have to go see if I can, once again, do wiring without electrocuting myself...

See you tomorrow.

Brick. Brick. Brick....

OK.  Does this look like mortar to you?  Nope.  Just messy paint.

It is a mixture of mostly white, a little black and a bit of Georgia Clay Ceramcoat.  Just slopped on any old way.

I didn't  want the mortar to look new or all the same.

Next I did the same thing with the bricks.  I took a small flat brush and put on individual bricks.  Some are light and some are darker.  Depending on what color I dipped my brush into.

Step three was putting highlights on the top edge of the bricks...And here and there a little shadow at the bottom.  Again...The brick area is completely flat.  There are just a few little flaws as you can see in the first photo.

I still need to do a bit of work with my Prismacolor pencils.  Then it will be sprayed with a coat of sealer.

After that, I have to do the dreaded electricity....Bah Humbug!

 Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

Silk and Brick...

Yesterday, after a lot of looking, I decided that the George III chairs were composites of known examples.  So anything George III or earlier would qualify as an acceptable pattern.

I started with some 16th century and earlier patterns from one of the Dover books and went from there.

This is actually a border pattern.  I have used the design in rugs before. 

I started messing with it on #40 silk gauze and I think that it will work into a nice chair seat.  I will probably do some more pattern in it.  Designing as I work....

Now, about that chimney.  I pried off a bit of the plaster that came off before. 

I also started poking and prodding a spot further up on the chimney. I will either do bricks with the file folders that I used on the Rusty Needle quilt shop or...I may just decide to paint it.

This is the side of Walter's Above Par golf shop lamp.

What you see here is all completely flat. If I did the same thing on the chimney, I could match the bricks on the house itself.

It will probably have to be a bit darker to make it look old and used....I am contemplating putting a bit of soot here and there on the rest of the house.  Just don't tell the guy that built it!

It is just too new and pristine looking for my taste.  London was not a clean place in Tudor times. 

Anyway, that's it for today....April and Amare are on their way over.  Only one mini to play with...That's Amare.

See you tomorrow.

"Now All I Need Is a Mouse..."

OK. Time to add some color. This is the boring basecoat of Trail Tan. It's pretty much the color of sandstone, but if you look closer, you will see that sandstone varies greatly in shades of gray and brown.

I started doing washes and dry brushing with Territorial Beige, Burnt Sienna, Hippo Gray, Sage green, and Antique white. I mix them together as I go. I seldom use only one color straight. Usually at least two and a lot of colors on top of colors.

I go over it again and again at random. A bit here, and then a bit there to balance it.

Sometimes I notice something missing as I go....Hmmmm...What happened to the hearth?

Back to the egg cartons.


I laid the stones for that and started painting those too....Then I decided it was Dr Pepper time. Remember those commercials from way back?

Anyway, Tessie had been poking about while I was painting and when I got back from the break, there she was...


She threw something across the room to keep me from seeing it....Didn't work. I went and found Zar's hammer and chissel in the corner.

It seems that she decided to add a detail of her own...

"Tessie! There's a hole in the fireplace! What are you doing?" That was me.

She stuck her nose in the air and replied, "My mouse needs a warm place to sleep. The hole is just right for him."

Silly me. I asked, "When did you get a pet mouse?".

She always seems so logical when she answers my questions...

She pulled herself to her full 5 1/4 inches and said. "I am on my way to the back yard right now to find one. I will have one by the time that the chimney is finished!"

Oh goodie! Mice. Just what I need. I am now off to build myself a better mousetrap as they say. It will be a no kill one. Little cage that I can carry far, far away to let them out. Thank goodness, she doesn't like badgers!

See you tomorrow.

A New Technique? Maybe....

This morning I started bricking the chimney with egg cartons....As I worked, I kept trying to think of an easier way to do all of the brick and stone work that I do with egg cartons....Light bulb over the head moment....

I stopped cutting tiny bricks and started playing. Mad scientist experiments are much more fun than bricking.

I have done bricks and tiles with illustration board, just cutting groves for grout into the board with an Exacto knife. I wondered if I could do the same thing with egg cartons?

First, I tried just doing half inch brick in the egg carton, rough side, with a tiny stylus. It kind of worked, but not as well as I wanted. I don't think that 1/2" scale will be possible because the egg cartons aren't as hard pressed as illustration board.

Next, I tried 1" scale stone work. First I painted a mottled, all over pattern with my Hippo Gray and Trail Tan. I left some egg carton showing through.

Then I took a NEW BLADE in and Exacto and started cutting a V shape into the carton for grout lines between the stone. Not bad at all for a first try. If I do it again, I will probably draw the lines on the painted carton first. I think that I am happiest with this application.

To take the experiment a bit further, I decided to carry on to bricks in one inch scale.

The first one is the lighter red. I just painted the egg carton with shades of brick and then carved the mortar lines in. Unfortunately, if you don't let it dry thoroughly, the lines can be a bit ragged in places. It looks pretty good though.

The third try was the darker brick. I first flooded the piece with hippo gray. Then I painted over that with the dark red. Again, I carved too soon. I was anxious to see how it was going to look. I like the mortar better, but next time I will soak it better. The gray didn't penetrate the carton as deeply as I would have liked it to go.

I am going to try again and wait impatiently for 24 hours before carving. As with the stone, I will mark the lines before cutting for the next try.

You MUST use a fresh blade in your knife for this technique to work. The egg cartons chew up blades quickly. I probably should have changed blades between the second and third example.

When I do the bricks with illustration board, I go through a LOT of blades. The tile floor in my Southwestern Roombox is done with this method and I think that I used 3 or 4 blades just on that floor.

I need to go back to work now...More experimenting....

See you tomorrow.