Putting a push on!!!!

I'm sorry I've been negligent with my posting lately but I cannot even begin to tell you how busy I have been - with non-mini things unfortunately. Well, I could tell you but, trust me, you really don't want to know. I think I'm going to come out of retirement and go back to work so I can get a rest. The problem with retirement is that everybody thinks you have lots of time on your hands and, if you're like me, you find it difficult to say "no!" when asked to volunteer for things. I need to become more heartless so the next time someone wants to tear me away from working on minis I can adamantly say "Hell, no!!"

So, today I got back to work on my FAME club project that I am turning into a memorial library in memory of my father. I have a lot of work to do but the Moncton show is on Saturday and I plan on displaying it there along with our other members' projects. Even if mine isn't done I figure I can display it as a "work in progress".

I buckled down this afternoon and started by staining the floor. In my stash I had a set of three stain sticks that are used for furniture repair. The three pens come in a package for $1.25 at Dollarama. I started by using the lightest colour first.

It dries very quickly. Then I covered this colour with the medium brown. I think you can tell the difference in the two colours in this photo. You could really see it in person.

Finally, I added the third, darkest colour. You can see the strip in the middle has only the first two colours on.

I really like the depth of colour achieved by using the three different colours. Once it was completely dry, I buffed it up some which made it come up quite nice. I will probably cover it with matte finish but I haven't decided yet. I better make up my mind in a hurry since the clock is ticking!

Now, about this time I decided I wanted a base that the room box could sit on to hide the battery packs underneath. My darling hubby measured, cut, and put the base together very quickly. Did I mention he's the best!!?? I placed the room box on top of the base and traced around it, then painted the top, outside where the box will sit, and the edges black.

Then I sponged two shades of gray on the edges of the base to make it look a little like concrete. I think I may dry brush some white in places to finish that off. Then I started laying bricks on the black area of the top.

The square in the from left corner needs to have a hole drilled for wiring before I finish the bricking there. Tomorrow I will finish putting down the rest of the bricks but here is what it looks like so far with the unfinished box in place.

So tomorrow, I will finish the bricking, seal the bricks, grout them and wipe off the excess, seal them again. I also plan on having the lighting all installed. I am putting some strip lighting at the inside top of the front wall which will light up the inside really well. I will also have a coach lamp on the wall by the door, and a street lamp in the front left corner of the sidewalk.

What's left after that? Well, let me see - the wainscoting, door and window trims, baseboards, furniture, and shelving. Then, I have to make the desk for the librarian, add the bookcase and fill with books, print out some signage and posters, set up a display in the bay window and, one thing I can't forget - I still need to finish off the front where the sign goes. OMG, I guess there's not much hope I'll have this done for Saturday morning. Well, in that case, the last thing I need to do is print a sign that says "work in progress". :-)

I've managed to tire myself out jst thinking of all I have left to do. Time to go to bed and rest up for tomorrow. TTFN!!! - Marilyn