Shepherd's hut coming along

 I had a rather slow week this week but I did make a little progress on my little shepherd's hut.  But first, I want to show you my lovely vase of peonies.  My DH and I have been gardening for about 45 years and it was only a few years ago when I finally learned the secret of having beautiful cut peony blooms in the house without the danger of having a house full of ants!

I learned that you need to cut the flowers BEFORE they open.  When they are still in tight little balls, but with the colour of the petals showing at the end of the bud, it is easy to swipe away the few ants on the flower at this point.  Then, when you have removed the ants which are clearly visible (no place for them to hide since the buds are still quite tightly closed), you put the blossoms into a vase with lukewarm water (I actually slit the bottom 1" or so of stem to allow for better water absorption), and wait for the beauty to unfold.  It only takes 24 to 48 hours for them to be in full bloom.  Here is my vase just after I cut the buds:

They were fully opened 48 hours later and here are a couple of pictures of them another 2 days after.  I am so enjoying my peonies now that I can have some in the house too!

Now on to the shepherd's hut.  Last week I showed you the way I finished the interior.  With the limited time I had this week I worked on the exterior.  I cut 1/4 inch strips of Bristol board and applied it as siding around all four sides, including using some as trims where the siding met at each corner.  I used a watered-down black paint lightly on the "siding", then dry brushed with grey and a creamy colour called "putty" to make the siding look weathered and aged.  Then I painted and glued on the undercarriage, tow bar, and the axles and wheels.  I did find my wire cutters made a perfect support as the peaked roof fit in between the handles so I could keep the hut upside down for a couple of days to make sure the glue on the wheels was well cured.  I was happy with the end result.

I got busy with other things and didn't return to it for a couple of days but, when I did, I started on the roof.  I had already painted the inside of it and installed the small roof trusses.  I found a small-scale corrugated cardboard piece in my stash and cut it to fit the two roof pieces.  I was going to use a small round dowel as a "ridge piece" but my DH suggested I use another piece of "corrugated metal" instead.  I actually quite liked the look it gave. 

 Once the glue dried on that I again used the runny black paint, followed by dry brushing of "Quaker Grey", then Metallic Silver, then Burnt Umber.  I ended by painting a few places with Leprechaun Green" to look like bits of moss was starting to grow.  I followed that up with placing some glue in some of the green painted spots and sprinkling on some fine green landscaping material to show actual moss.  Again - I am happy with how it turned out.

So, that leaves the hut itself almost finished.  I just have to glue on the steps which I will do when I have the landscaping done so I can get them to fit properly.

As you can see I am trying out positions of the hut and the walls on the landscaping platform to see how I want to position it.  So, next week's post should have the landscaping, and the whole project. completed.  If I were a more dedicated miniaturist it would not have taken me a month to finish this wonderful, tiny little project.  

In closing, I would be remiss if I didn't provide you with Bruce's latest contribution to my blog - another crazy cat lady commentary on the wonderful creatures that are cats!

Have a good week everyone and keep safe!  TTFN!!! - Marilyn