Things I've Made - 2

This is my sink.   I like this sink a lot!   I really surprised myself making this sink but I'd seen a picture of one and thought "I could do that", so after a couple of sketches and a check to make sure all  the bits were to hand, it didn't take that long.   All that required to be purchased for it were the two little taps.  This sink is now in the Butler's Pantry.

These are my pegs.  Thanks to this little tutorial here:   Sab's Mini Interiors  on making pegs from cocktail sticks.    I hadn't seen sticks of that particular style up here but fortunately for me a very kind blogger, namely Janice sent me some and this is how they turned out.   The bowl was bought specifically for them!   (Thank you Sabiha and Janice for the idea and the pegs).

What could this next item  be, I hear you ask?   This is a goffering iron (or Italian/Tally Iron).   It was used to create frills round maid's caps/children's bonnets/nightdresses or anywhere a decorative trim was required.   A hot poker was inserted into the metal sleeve on the top and the item was then artfully and skillfully move round the hot iron to give it it's lovely frills.   The process was made easier by the fact that often these decorative pieces were removable.   The irons were usually made by the local Blacksmith.

During a visit to a Stately Home last year, I spied this.   There was actually a run of them in a long narrow room that was situated down a few steps from the Kitchen.   The backs and sides were all wood and the tops, counters and dividers were made of slate.   They were used to store vegetables and each "bin" held stores of one form or another.   A quick drawing to remind myself when I got home and I came up with this.   There's only enough space for one in Netherton but I like the idea.   Again the marvellous Humbrol paint was used to get the "slate" effect.

This is another item that was spotted, I can't remember where now, but it certainly didn't look that difficult to create so... out came the balsa and some brick effect paper.   Two piers were made using scrap wood and covered with the paper then painted white.   A piece of balsa painted black for the "marble" top and some tiles on the back.   Solder was used to create the rail and the little rabbit was added (there are other bits there now too) - and there you have it, a cold slab.

Finally, this is the Hearth & Home sink shown previously, now in place with the addition of the goffering iron on the shelf along side a sleeve board that was put together from lolly sticks and a couple of pairs of stretchers (used to keep the shape of stockings and socks while drying).   These were made from balsa wood.

 In the meantime, the next thing I'm hoping to make is a rubbish bin - the galvanised metal kind that said "No Hot Ashes" on the lid- like this:

Unless of course anyone knows where I can buy one from.............

Things I've Made - 1

Firstly - a very warm welcome to all new followers. I'm very pleased to have you here and I hope you like what you see.    (Sadly, I didn't make the flowers).

I thought I'd interrupt the progress posts by showing you some of the little bits and pieces I've made for this property.    Ever since starting this hobby I was known for saying "I don't make, I buy!" but when I discovered I could make little tables from balsa and stair spindles, and enjoyed it, it wasn't long before I moved on to other things.

Some are kits but mostly I like fiddling with wood.

Firstly, a pump.   I'm not sure if I will use this item in Netherton.   I think I've had a better idea.

This is a little kit from Jane Harrop.   It was easy to make up and the instructions were very clear although one or two little bits of my own may be added to fill it up more.

The sink was purchased from Hearth & Home at a fair some time ago and I added a tiled back and side.   The draining board was also added to give it an extra little something.

These two items were made from bits and pieces.   The counter/unit was made to fit a specific space.   They have since been varnished and put in the Butler's Pantry.

The chair in this little scene was a whitewood item that was varnished and I made the cushion.   For some reason it took a while!   I think I kept changing my mind as to how it was to be created because it was originally meant to be a seat pad.   This chair and cushion now reside in the Butler's Pantry.   The Butler's Tray is made up from a Jane Harrop kit.

Here are a couple of my tables.   I like making tables.   They're so easy to make and you can get exactly the size and style you want/need.   The item on the right is a stove for heating flat irons.   The table at the back and the stove are now in the Laundry of Netherton although the stove has since been painted and polished using the Humbrol paint mentioned in an earlier post.

More to follow.............

The Basement staircase.

Now that they've got a spiffy new front door, I had to give the servants a means of access.   The stairs originally purchased with this property weren't really what I wanted after all so, and because there were stairs held over from another project, I had a go at putting together a couple of sets myself.

Then of course, they needed a handrail.   For some silly reason I got fixed on using spindles (obviously blinded by the fact that the picture I was using as reference had spindles) and I spent ages thinking about the best way to work that out until I had a light bulb moment when it dawned on me that I didn't have to religously copy the reference photo and that spindles were not absolutely necessary.  Therefore, with the help of some kebab sticks and skinny dowel, and only three spindles they now look like this although they're not permanently fixed in yet:

A view down into the area on the left:

A servant's eye view from inside:

and the right hand side.   I'm not sure if the coal bunker and log store will stay in that space but for the moment I'm happy to keep them there.

The Servant's Entrance

Remember this?   I showed this door first when talking about Humbrol Paint.     Well, that's the inside of this:

The Servant's entrance.   It sits beneath the main front door in the basement under the pavement walkway.

I've even given them their own door bell - how nice am I?

I'm Back!

I think I've managed to do justice to Netherton after this visit!   The majority of my purchases are for this property - it just worked out that way.   Despite taking a list I managed to find a lot of things that weren't on it (isn't that just the way?)

There's only one organiser who has fairs up here so I must admit to taking full advantage when I'm on my twice yearly trip to Miniatura - and I think it shows!   It was also smaller this time round (in my opinion) but the quality was as good as ever and there were some really wonderful minis to be seen.

Update:  Andy mentioned in his post that some of the items were difficult to see (I was obviously in too much of a hurry to get the pictures up!) so here are more detailed pics:   The little wooden item and yellow piece beside it is a butter pat from Pear Tree Miniatures, the two little black items are boot scrapers, the little box at the front of the second pic is a little watch case with a watch inside and there's a little pen and ink stand to the left on the meat safe in the first picture - that was another item from Danny Shotton.

The Basement

Although that's the exterior of the building dealt with, there's still the actual basement or the "area" as it was known, to decorate.   This is the servant's entrance.

As the basement is attached to the house, it opens in three sections with arches dividing each area.

The back walls were painted in the same finish as the house and a deep "skirting" with coving was added to give a bit detail and to match up with the outside of the basement. For the walkway fibre glass sheet flagstones were used.  

(I hasten to add, the raggedy edge shown is not there now - that was just a test piece put in to see the effect)

Once that was laid the walls had to be tackled.   To do this, and because of the arches leading through to each section, paper templates were cut and dealt with as individual pieces.    As luck would have it, I found an Edinburgh property on the market for sale with a picture of the basement area giving just the detail I needed.   This showed the walls as bare stone.   To do this I used Bromley Craft Products stencil and compound which I already had in my stash. That was the easy part!

This is the effect you get immediately after removing the stencil. It then had to be sanded and painted, using acrylic paint, to achieve what I hoped would be a realistic looking stone wall. This took some time, I may say, and heaven knows how many times this was repainted just to get the required effect but eventually I think I've achieved this and I'm happy with it.

There was just one little final touch - a pair of nesting housemartins.

The Exterior

This is Netherton as it stands at present.