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DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

Re: Work In Progress--Deryni Action Figure Project (was Duncan Action Figure)

Started by Evie, March 11, 2012, 08:52:30 PM

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Elkhound

Quote from: Evie on July 17, 2016, 04:15:45 PM
Quote from: Elkhound on July 16, 2016, 09:54:28 PM
Quote from: Evie on July 07, 2016, 11:11:14 AM
I think he might just be using it as a place to hide from the extroverts for a bit.  LOL! ;D

As an introvert myself, I quite understand.  I have a good friend who has a large extended family and he's sort of 'adopted' me.  They're all nice people, but they're all such extroverts---I like them, mind you, but sometimes I just have to get AWAY!

Fortunately, they understand that when I go off into a corner and sit down in a comfy armchair I'm not being rude--I just need to recharge and they know to leave me alone for a while.

I'm the same way.  Fortunately I have my family mostly trained to respect my need for quiet time and space now, and I have enough friends who are introverts or are close to one, so they also are pretty understanding when I need to withdraw at times during social situations.  I like being social, just in much smaller quantities than they do.

Exactly.  I almost wish, sometimes, that I were a smoker.  It would give me an excuse to periodically step outside and get away.

Evie

OK, I've been working on the dollhouse furnishings again today.



This old washcloth is wrapped around two layers of corrugated plastic cut from old political signs to soften the edges and give more of a look of a padded mattress without being too "poofy" like a stuffed pillow mattress can get. It's a bit thin, but I wanted to keep it fairly low so it doesn't entirely hide the headboard once I put pillows on it.  I will cover this mattress "core" with white sheeting and put use more of the same white fabric to make a flat sheet to go on top.



Looking at possibly using this fabric for the comforter.  It has subtle gold accents to it, which will tie in well with some other gold accents in the room such as picture frames on the wall.



The room will be papered in the tan with white spots (possibly above a chair rail with white wainscoting below), and the light woodgrain will be cut into floor planks and attached to a posterboard backing for the floor.  I'm checking the fabric color palette against the room colors, and I think it will work together.  I was originally going to use these fabrics in the living room, but I think I want to keep the black and white sofa that is already in there and just add a strong accent color to that scheme (possibly green, to tie in the verdigris legs of the glass-topped coffee table with the rest of the decor.)  The gold fabric will mainly be used as an accent color in this room (pillows, maybe), since I want to keep most of it for use in the master bedroom.



I used some of the leftover sign plastic from making the mattress to do a desk prototype, mainly checking the height it would need to be.  I think this works, though I'm not sure if I want to make it quite this big.  If I keep this desk, it will be covered with woodgrain Contact paper (or perhaps plain white, but that will depend on whether the white paper will completely conceal the dark blue lettering from the old sign).  I may also experiment with building a slightly smaller table-style desk with legs rather than solid sides, to make the space look just a tiny bit roomier, since it's a very small room and serving a double purpose.  I still have no idea what to do with the walls and floor, aside from knowing I need to keep the overall color scheme light in here.  I may just keep the walls white, but add some light woodgrain paper to the floor and an area rug.



Testing how the bed will fit in the guest bedroom space.  It is barely small enough to fit lengthwise, so I'm glad I made it just large enough for my 12" males and no longer!  There is a narrow strip of exposed floor for the guest to walk along, with enough floor width for a nightstand.  I may put a small area rug beside the bed for those cold mornings.  The wooden words that inspired this color theme can go on the wall above the headboard as word art.  I may put a faux window on the left side wall.  I have some bamboo "shades," but I may use those in the master bedroom instead, so maybe a window in here could have some sheer or lacy curtains instead.



I still don't have a bathroom sink, but I may be getting a doll toilet from someone in England who saw a photo of my prototype toilet on one of the Facebook doll pages and decided she had enough spares to save me the trouble of making one.  If I get that and if it will work scale-wise for my male figures as well as my ladies, then all I will need to add is some sort of sink.  I want to keep the black and white theme for the most part, with maybe just a few bits of accent color from items like towels and shelved items, and a bath mat beside the tub.  If I do any sort of wall treatment at all, it might be a pearly white-on-white patterned wallpaper, possibly with white wainscoting below.  Not sure what to do about the floor.  I have the tub on a slightly raised platform of miniature tiles, but I don't know if I can get any more to match, as the store I bought those from sells leftover bits and bobs salvaged from other home improvement stores' old stock, I think. Maybe some sort of stone colored paper could be cut into square "tiles" and put on poster board for the main part of the floor.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Laurna

Patric and Eilonwy's house is coming right along. I really like the tan fabric with white dots for the wall paper, that will look real good with the comforter fabric. I like the black and white tiles under the tub; makes me think of Deryni mosaics enchanted with a protection spell. Wouldn't you want to be able to relax and let your guard down will in a hot bath. Hence the protection spell. What if you get a sheet of small white hex tile with black corner dots for the rest of the bathroom floor?
I noticed R2D2 was visiting Morgan and his puppy dog in a picture in a previous comment. Does that mean Luke will be a regular guest at Eilonwy's house too?
P.S. tell Morgan it is only polite to take your boots off before taking a nap in some one else's guest bed. lol
May your horses have wings and fly!

Evie



The mattress layers and towel padding have been glued together and enveloped in a crisp, white bottom sheet/mattress cover.  I've also measured how long and wide the top sheet and comforter will need to be, and will cut out and hem those pieces tomorrow once I've had a chance to iron the creases out of the fabric.  Jen says if Morgan puts his boots on this clean sheet, she'll smack his feet right off again!  (I just hope she means off the bed, and not off him! ;D)

One of the members of the Facebook doll group I belong to has just posted some printables of common medications, toothpaste boxes, etc. that can be printed onto cardstock and folded to look like the boxes for items one would normally find in a bathroom and/or medicine cabinet.  I have downloaded them and hope to get them printed onto cardstock tomorrow so I can glue those together and start stocking up that bathroom shelf.  They'll also need towels and toilet paper.  I think I've figured out where the towel rack will go and where to put up some wall art, but that can all wait for another day.

"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

Amazing Evie, and I agree with Laurna; I like the black and white tiles under the tub.

So when does "Modern Little Renovations" debut on HGTV?  It will be one of my favourite shows.  ;D
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Evie

Hm.  I've got a flatscreen TV in the bookshelf unit, but my Mini-Deryni are currently watching The Onion's news channel.  Maybe I should switch it to HDTV instead.  (Homes for Dollies TV.  ;D)

Here's some of today's items:



Today I made a few printables.  The items were printed out on cardstock and glued together using an Elmer's Extra Strength Glue Stick.  Today's completed items included two phones, an iPad, a toothpaste box,  and several medicine boxes.  At some point I will need to look up some pantry items to print out and stock the kitchen cabinets with.



I found two printed windows with "frosted glass" in them on a doll dioramas tutorial blog.  I'm using museum wax to test fit them in the room without gluing them up permanently, just in case I decide to change their location later, or add wallpaper to this room.



I've folded up a few of the boxes to stock the bathroom shelves.  I am thinking I might end up putting these items on the bottom shelf and put my folded towels on the top.  Or if a solid shelf can be fitted on top of that horizontal black support bar above the lower shelf, I might put my medicines on that and save the bottom shelf for things like cleaning products, extra toilet paper, etc.  If I can find some printable decorative baskets to store the loose items in, that would help keep them organized on the shelves (not to mention less likely to get knocked onto the floor and lost if a cat jumps into the room!)



Some additional items I cut out and glued together while at the SCA meeting tonight.

And in other news....



Sophia's blue shoes rubbed dye all over her poor feet, so I have slathered them with Clearasil to bleach the stains out.  Keeping fingers crossed that it won't take too long to remove the discolored spots.  Fortunately she has pale skin to begin with, so any over-bleaching shouldn't be too obvious.  I'd be more worried about leaving the cream on too long with a tan doll.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Laurna

Those boxes are super realistic. Very cool.

I'll bet the SCA members were saying, "But Evie dear,  Gwynedd in 1125 could not possibly have Tylenol PM or Aim toothpaste." To which Evie replies  'True, but Gwynedd in 2021 does."  To which the SCA member would shake their head not willing to imagine such a distant future.  Well, except for the displaced steampunk gal who whispers to Evie, "That is so cool. can I have one."
May your horses have wings and fly!

Evie

LOL, Laurna!



I finished the top sheet last night.  Now I just need to add the comforter and pillows. I am toying with the idea of sewing some lightweight washers to the inner comforter lining (if I line it) along the side edges, so that it will drape properly rather than just being a flat piece of fabric that has to be coaxed to bend over the sides of the bed.  This sheet is a single layer, but even that thin fabric wanted to lie flat until I made it drape properly.  I could just do a single layer of fabric for the comforter, but to me it doesn't look quite comforter-like if it's that thin, so I'm hoping small weights sewn into the edges will help.  If skirt weights keep the Queen's skirts hanging properly even during a stiff breeze, surely something similar can help a bed cover behave also!  :D

I also found out my original glue was not quite strong enough to hold the bed together with the linens on it, and the headboard came off, so I have re-glued it using hot glue this time, and hopefully that will work out better. 
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Evie

Well, I'm definitely going to have to find a stronger glue.  It turns out that hot glue is perfectly fine for holding the weight of a mattress and sheet, but not when an 11 pound cat decides he wants to jump on top of that!  Grrr....   >:(   My husband suggests wood glue (no surprise there!  I'd have used it to begin with, except he's got it over at my mother-in-law's house), so when I get my hands on some, I'll reglue the headboard and footboard on.  Again. 

So here's what I've gotten around to today:



I'm considering making the comforter with the green fabric as lining, and making it fully reversible so that it can be used with either side up.  My hubby had the idea of using BBs as weights sewn into the side hems to help the double layers of fabric drape more naturally over the sides of the bed rather than just lying flat across it.  I'm going to give this a try.  I really liked the harvest gold fabric as a lining for the patterned brown, but there wasn't enough of that color to use on this comforter and the sheet I need to go with my Asian fabric in the master bedroom, so Eilonwy gets to keep the gold fabric for her room.



I have a bed pedestal (actually the two sides of what used to be an expandable drawer organizer, although I took them off the central portion, which is the "wooden bookshelf" featured earlier in the living room) which I can use in one of two ways, depending on whether I put them in with the back side up or down.  In this version, the backs of the pieces are facing up, providing a platform for the mattress to rest upon.  This results in a higher bed.   I haven't hung the blinds yet, but I'm holding them against the wall just to make sure there would still be room for them with the mattress elevated above the entire height of the pedestal. It looks like there will be enough room for them, though I'll have to hang them very close to the ceiling.  I would probably also put a padded headboard on the rear wall.



In this photo I've flipped the wooden pieces upside down so that now the mattress fits within the cavity between them.  This lower the mattress a little bit (possibly a bit more than this picture shows, since right now the extra fabric is just stuffed under the mattress instead of being glued snug against it), but this gives the blinds about an extra inch of clearance, I think, which in a room this small makes a big difference. And yet I think the mattress will still stick up far enough above the frame for Patrick to sit there comfortably.



While scouting around downstairs for the bed platform, I found a box of furniture I forgot I had down there.  It was fortunate I found it when I did, since it was beginning to get a light bit of mildew damage from being down in the basement for so long.  And that would have been really tragic, since these weren't simply thrift store finds, but furniture that KK used for her own dolls as a child, which she has graciously passed on to me now that I'm doing the Mini-Deryni project!  This is a lovely doll wardrobe with built in drawers, sliding doors, and a hanging clothes rod.  Fortunately the mildew was just on the surface of the paint, so I was able to eliminate it by wiping the wardrobe down thoroughly with a vinegar/water solution.



This was a find I made at World Market several years ago and bought to use in the Rhemuth Castle dollhouse once I had one.  Again, it has sustained some mild mildew damage, so it also needed a thorough wipe with vinegar water.



These two miniature cabinets also came from KK.  Fortunately they appeared to be more dusty than mildewy, although to be safe, I also gave them a thorough wipe down with the vinegar water.



Here is the red and gold cabinet in Meraude's solar.  After zooming in on the cabinet in this photo, I can see a few areas along the top edge that I should probably wipe more carefully with the vinegar solution, but aside from that, it's much cleaner and hopefully all of the spores have been killed.



Here are the pieces KK sent me, after they've been cleaned.  They look so much better!  They won't really work in the castle dollhouse (the green cabinet is too modern and the smaller pieces are too obviously Asian in addition to not being medieval in style, and I'm not sure if Kelson would have been able to acquire imported furniture from the Far East in the early 1100s), but I think with a little bit of shuffling things around, I can fit them into Eilonwy's flat.



I replaced the bookshelves (which were a bit big and overpowering for the room, not to mention rather wobbly) with the two cabinets.  The flatscreen TV and a few knickknacks fit on the larger one, and the smaller one can hold the aquarium.  At least I won't have to spend endless hours making enough books to fit that huge bookcase now, and there's more wall space for the watercolor paintings that my Mom is making for me.  All of the drawers and doors open, so I can have fun filling those with various odds and ends.  If the bedrooms had been wider, I would have liked these cabinets for dressers instead, but unfortunately even if I could have squeezed them into the remaining floor space, we'd only have been able to see one side of each, and the drawers wouldn't have been able to open because of the bed being in the way.



At first I was afraid I wouldn't be able to use this piece, but it occurred to me that, as much as I like my little sewing table, I can't really imagine Eilonwy does much of her own sewing, so that piece might work better in a temporary diorama than in a permanent dollhouse such as this one.  And I already had this green bookshelf that I wanted to put in this room, but it seemed a bit out of place without any other matching furnishings to tie things together.  I will need to make a smaller desk for this space, but I think this will work better.  I can use the cabinet for miscellaneous storage, and perhaps put a coat tree and umbrella stand in the nook where the mannequin currently stands.  Or perhaps I can find a tiny file cabinet that will fit in that space instead.



Here is a toy aquarium I've had on hand for a while.  I have no idea if the fish will stay this size or if they are the sort to grow overnight when water is added to the aquarium, so I guess we shall see.  I am hoping they will stay the same size, but if I walk in tomorrow and find huge fish and a dry tank, then I'll just empty the water out and wait for the fish to shrink back down.  I really like the look of the filled tank, though!



In the bookcase, the shelves were too shallow for me to use the TV stand, so the screen was just propped against the rear wall.  I like the look of it much better with the stand.  I also have a small "TV" that is actually a photo viewer that cycles through whatever photos you download onto it.  But I might end up using that as a computer monitor instead, or save it as a bedroom TV if there's a place I can put one, since it's only half the size of this one.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Jerusha

I also like the little fish tank, but let's hope Luke doesn't want to go fishing.   ;)

I almost missed the rubber ducky in the bathroom - was it a gift left by the Duck of Corwyn on his last visit?  ;D
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Evie

LOL!  Fortunately the tank has a tiny rubber stopper on it, so hopefully there won't be any cat-assisted leaks.  Unfortunately, I've done some reading up on that toy, and it is the sort with fish that expand to a much larger size overnight with water added, so I may have to empty out the tank and let them dry out so it doesn't look too ridiculous.  There might be a way to refill it with clear resin instead to get the same look (I really like the look of it with some sort of a "water level" inside), or maybe I can find a toy aquarium that I can fill with liquid without the fish growing to Herculean sizes.

As for the duck, yes, I think we can safely assume that belongs to the Duck of Corwyn.  Maybe it was a gag gift from Jen, or maybe he bought it for her instead to remind her of him during his absences.  Come to think of it, that's probably more likely. ;D  A friend of mine has some tinier (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long) magnetic ducks meant to be used as refrigerator magnets, and if I can ever find a source of those, they would be a perfect size for an actual bathtime rubber ducky. 

"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

revanne

I like the mattress sitting in the bed frame - it looks neater.

Re the chests from KK - I'm just wondering whether they could have been gifts from Azim to Kelson. Azim seems the sort to have links all over the known world, and as there is silk in Kelson's time there must be some sort of trade with an equivalent to the real world near east or even further afield to China. That would work, I think, as KK's world is about two hundred years ahead of our world.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
(Psalm 46 v1)

Laurna

OH! How did I miss the rubber Ducky!  :o
Thank you for mentioning it Jerusha.  I can so see it being a memento to Jen from the Duck of Corwyn. Proves the man has a sense of humor.  I really like the world market cabinet. It could easily been a gift from Azim or from the Hort of Orsal to Kelson.
May your horses have wings and fly!

Evie

You'll be glad to know that the Clearasil has removed most of the blue stains from Sophia's feet, although there are still a few faint shadows left, so I may reapply it for an extra day or two.  (Did I already tell y'all that?  I'm losing track of what I've posted here!) 

OK, here are today's updates.  I'm glad you like the "mattress set in" version, revanne, since that's the look I ended up going with.  However, Kelson might have to fight Eilonwy for the Asian chests, as she has become quite fond of them, so I think it's safe to say they won't be leaving her living room now that she's seen them.  (Kelson, on the other hand, is happy with his new red wardrobe, but wonders if Azim has any contacts who can set him up with that nice flatscreen TV Eilonwy's got....  ;) )



The fish had noticeably grown when I checked this morning, and look like they might expand even more before they're done, so I think I will empty out the water and let the inside dry thoroughly, then eventually fill it up again with clear resin if I can manage to do so without ruining it.  (There are lots more toy aquariums at Publix just a mile from my house if the resin ends up looking bad.)  Eventually that pink top will probably get a repaint to black to make it look more realistic.



I have glued magnets in place for the chandelier.  Here it is with the lights turned on.  I moved the table in the meantime until the glue cures, just in case the chandelier comes tumbling back down, because I didn't want to risk breaking the glass top.



I cut out several pieces of white cardboard to make the desk and shelf.  Both pieces will require 3 layers of cardboard glued together to make a thicker piece of laminate.  Edges will then be sanded and possibly painted white later to match the flat surfaces of the desk.



The cardboard had a slight tendency to curve, especially once I spread the wet glue thinly between each layer, so I weighed it down to help keep it flat while it dried.



In the meantime, I found this round table down in the basement stuff, gave it a vinegar wipe, then set it up on the upper right corner of the dollhouse, which I will eventually wall in and turn into a dining room.  I am in dire need of some dining room chairs, not to mention a pretty tablecloth.  Maybe I can find a pretty lace doily at the thrift store. If I ever put my wine cabinet together, it may go in here too if there's room.  I originally bought it intending to scavenge it for parts to make shelves for Duncan's study, but it's not really suited for that purpose, so I might as well get some use out of it.



I added the bottom sheet to the master bedroom's bed and placed it down inside the pedestal.  This helps hide the fact that I didn't do that neat a job of hot gluing the fabric to the foam mattress.  LOL!



Hey, you guys, get a roo--! Oh.  Never mind.  ;)



I hope Patrick remembers to pick up after himself later!



Checking where the desk will fit and approximately how high it needs to be.



It's a good thing the desk will take a few hours to finish, because it doesn't look like I'll be able to continue working on the bedroom anytime soon!



I've added support posts and an under-shelf divider to the desk top.  I think I'll put a few reference books under the shelf and whatever other desk items I might find, and maybe something like a pencil cup (filled with pencils) on the shelf above.  Possibly also a cell phone and tablet.  I've had some ideas on how to make little power cords that can stick to the wall outlets (by using museum wax, which is translucent white and easily wipes off) when the phones need charging.  (Hey, if I'm going to print up little power outlets and add them to the walls, I might as well show them in use!)



I originally glued the legs on and then tried to turn the table back over after a few minutes, thinking the weight of the top pressing down on the legs would help keep them from shifting as they dried.  Boy, was that a flop in more ways than one!  So I've re-glued them and left them to dry upside-down.



I still don't dare put anything heavy on the desk until it has had time to dry overnight, so that's why the laptop and lamp are still on the floor, but this gives the general idea of how the desk looks in place.  In the excitement of trying to get the legs back on after the table flopped over and scattered loose legs everywhere, I forgot to pay attention to hiding my seams from view, so you can see the edge of the rolled paper on the near front leg of the chair.  Oh well.  Cheaply made student apartment furniture, what can I say?  ;D

I've been thinking I can use this flat to tell some prequel stories, such as tales from Sophia's, Jen's, and Eilonwy's student days together. Maybe this was the flat they used to share, which Eilonwy remained in after the three of them went their separate ways, and Patrick just moved in with her once they married.  So there could be several tales to tell revolving around this tiny flat:  student escapades, Patrick getting to know Eilonwy after that initial blind date that Alicia and Maureen set up for them, etc.  And of course if Eilonwy and Patrick still live there, then there could be more stories set during the times when Eilonwy isn't required to be at Eirian House. Jen would enjoy revisiting her old home from time to time, and I'm sure even Sophia would welcome a chance to get away from her duties for a few hours every once in a while and stops by there on the occasional evening, though I suspect she'd use Heather's shapeshifting trick for anonymity on her way over.  Wouldn't want to have the paparazzi hounding poor Patrick and Eilonwy because the Queen turned up at their flat in one of the official royal cars!

Hubby texted a few minutes ago saying he was picking up some (vinyl) tile samples for me, so hopefully I can use those to finish the bathroom floor, and also get the bed sheets and covers finished. I have just enough of the white sheeting left over to make pilows for both beds.  Last night I found a photo online that I think will work for the view from the two bedroom windows, so once the wallpaper is up in the guest room, I can print that out and make a window to go up in there to see what that looks like.  There will also be a window behind the blinds in the master bedroom, though if Eilonwy and Patrick are going to continue being so...active...it might be best just to leave those blinds down!  ;D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound