Gene Hackman's got nothin' on me!!!

I'm the Hackwoman!! The supreme Hackster! The Hackmeister!!

Accordingly I hacked, I cut, I banged, I gouged! I got 'er done man!

Working on the World War I bunker, after making sure all the walls were complete, it was time to rough it up even further. I used my knife and scissors to shave off chunks, slice a series of cracks, and bang in a variety of "worm holes". Then I went on to the next step - painting.

According to the instructions in Dollhouse and Miniature Scene, I was to first put on a heavy coat of raw umber over everything. Yes, it does look very dark right now but it requires a layering of different colours before we're done.

A few days before my hacking and gouging adventure, I went looking for a piece of burlap to use as a "curtain" over the entry. I wasn't worried because I knew I had lots of burlap in the garage that I use to cover some of my garden plants for the winter. However, when I looked at it, I realized the thread count was way too large to look scale-appropriate. So off to Dollarama I went. There I found a little cloth-lined burlap bag that looked perfect. I cut it apart, saving the lining for another project. I think you'll agree, it's the right scale. So now I just have to cut it to size, rip it up, dirty it up, put holes in it, and generally make it look like it's been hanging there for decades and decades.

I let the raw umber dry for about three hours, then went on to step number 2: using burnt umber, thinned with a little water, I lightly went over everything randomly, as they instructed. Question: If you plan to be random, is it really random???? Sorry, I'm in an existential mood right now. *smile*.

The burnt umber lightened it a bit and highlighted more of the rough texture of the wood. Can you see the difference??

I'm going to let it dry overnight before moving on to the next step which is heavy sanding of all surfaces. When that is done, I will dry-brush with white. More white will be added at a later step.

Just after I took that last picture, a hurricane hit my work table. You can just see its imminent arrival in the picture. Notice two little ears just beginning to show up behind the paint bottle on the table?!? She's such a joy!

After cleaning up the wreckage left behind by the retreating hurricane, I decided to call it a day. However, since all I gave you today was views of a dark brown box, I thought I would leave you with a couple of pictures of my very favourite subject - Christmas!!! This is a quick little project I did as a gift to my good friend Louise. I had seen a picture of one very like this a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I don't know who made the one that inspired me but I kept it in my head for a long time. If anyone is familiar with this project and can let me know who might have made the original one I hold in my memory, I'd love to give credit where credit is due. Anyway, I'm glad I finally made one - and may even make one for myself eventually. The light actually works and I have both Louise's and her DH's names on the mailbox to personalize it. It has hangers on the back so it can be put on a wall for Christmas, or it can stand on its own on a little shelf or table.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any little flamingos in my stash or I would have added one for my flamingo fanatic friend (I'm also in an alliterative mood tonight!). Surprise, surprise! Louise did have a little flamingo which she was able to set up beside the mailbox. I didn't get a picture of that but now it's perfect!

I hope you enjoyed tonight's post, even though it is quite short. I will be back after the next few steps of the World War I room box are completed. TTFN! - Marilyn