Better late than never!!

Yes - you're absolutely right - it has been well over a year since you've seen anything from me. You know how you always INTEND to do something but before you know it, it's bedtime again and you promise you'll get to it tomorrow?? I had a lot of that going on. *smile*

So, I have so many things to tell you!!! Where to start? Where to start? Hmmm....

How about if we work our way backwards - what am I working on now? What was I doing before that? And so on..

For those of you who also follow my friend Marijke's blog at http://pulchinellascellar.blogspot.com/ you'll already know that our mini group is working on a single project that we plan on donating to our local military museum when completed.

For our project we are following the instructions we found in the August, September and October 2014 issues of Dollhouse and Miniature Scene. Titled "We will remember them...", the project was designed and created by Celia Thomas and Robin Britton of Nostalgia in Miniature Workshops.

A very poignant scene, this project portrays a long-abandoned military bunker from WWI, lying hidden and forgotten, unbeknownst to the aging veteran strolling through the poppy fields above, many decades after his harrowing experiences of wartime.

Marijke, Louise, Susan and I will be following the instructions for the project but will change some of the details to better reflect our Canadian viewpoint. Since Canada went to war in 1914 as part of the British Empire, the Union Jack is appropriate in this project. At that time, Canada's flag, the Red Ensign, was basically changing every time a new province joined Confederation. The Union Jack was a constant and frequently represented all of the Empire. We will try to find other little ways to identify our Canadian theme.

So, our plan was to divide and conquer. Each of us will work on pieces of the project, then come together to put the finishing touches together. As I mentioned above, check out Marijke's blog for the accessories she's been working on. It will be these accessories that really bring the realism into the project.

As for my contribution, I've started by putting the actual box together. From the DHMS magazine, August 2014, here is a picture of the basic pieces.

While I could have cut out the pieces myself, my darling DH volunteered to do it and hey, I wouldn't want to disappoint him now, would I? I'm such a good wife! We used 1/4" MDF. Here, in the Fredericton area, the only place I can buy 1/4" MDF is at Kent building supplies. It's really inexpensive (around $24 for a 4 ft. x 8 ft. sheet) and I always buy a full sheet because I know I will use it up anyway so why not? I have them cut it in two at Kent's to make it easier to get home. This time I shared it with Louise who took one of the 4x4 pieces for her own use. That size goes a long way in mini projects.

And then the build began. I used my favourite Lepage's carpenter's glue to put the pieces together. Then I began the process of applying rough-cut boards to the walls, and added 1/2" square wall studs. Marijke's DH, Chris, cut out a bunch of 3/4" by 1/8" strips for me out of some rough wood. I interspersed these with narrow widths cut from craft sticks since the soldiers would have used whatever they could have put their hands on.

Once all the wood strips were in, I installed the doorway and glued in the last wall piece, which will be covered in faux corrugated steel. The doorway and small wall piece are installed at a slight angle, not just to provide a more interesting look, but also to allow for better viewing of the inside once completed.

Next step - rough up all of the boards even more than they already are, cut out some wood for shelves, roof supports, and a support post, then start painting the inside.

So - stay tuned! There is more to come. I will try to post every few days to let you know of the progress of our group project, and to catch you up on other things I've been working on in my long absence from posting. Until then...TTFN! - Marilyn