Book smarts and horse sense...

 ...I certainly needed a little of each of these to tackle my most recent project.  My last few projects included the Hearth and Home market stall which I gave to my daughter.  Before that, I had completed The Knit Wit – a yarn and knitting store for my SIL, Jean’s birthday.  She is a very talented and creative knitter and crafter.  The building itself was a mirror image of the Quilty Pleasures fabric and quilting store for I made for the birthday of my equally talented, quilter sister, Joan. 

After finishing and handing over the Hearth and Home market stall on June 27^th, I realized my SIL Marlene (Bruce’s sister) was approaching an important milestone of her own – her 70^th birthday – on July 11^th.  Did I have enough time to make something special and personal for her?  If yes, what should it be?  Two of Marlene’s favourite things are her weekly horse-riding sessions at a local equestrian centre and reading anything she can get her hands on.  Books have always been an important part of her life. 

So, should I try to make her a library or a bookstore?  How about a horse barn?  Hmmm – picturing these in my mind made me think that both concepts could end up quite large and, as she has limited space in her home, perhaps not practical.  Also – there was the other big factor – I had less than two weeks to make whatever I decided on!  Then, lying in bed in the middle of the night (when all my best ideas come to me), I landed on a solution:  combine both ideas in a footprint small enough to fit with her living circumstances.  A bookshelf insert was the answer!

Now, you have to realize that I had never made one of these before, but the concept intrigued me and we all know I like to challenge myself at least a little bit, so I took a day to look through examples of book nooks and bookshelf inserts and started to formulate things in my mind.  Then I did something I think we all know I NEVER do – I created a plan on paper to guide me!  What a novel idea!!  Then I got to work. 

I started the actual build on Wednesday, June 29^th.  I know – crazy, right?  I decided I would make the main body using just foam core.  Having decided on the height I then added the measurements of both sides and the back together and added half an inch to make up for the overlap of the sides to the back and drew and cut out a single large rectangle from the foam board.  I cut ¼” grooves into the foam board, carful to leave the bottom layer of paper intact, so I could then fold the rectangle into three walls without exposing any bare foam on the sides. 

I cut out a floor to fit between the two walls then started drawing out the plan for the interior horse stalls directly on the floor. Since I knew I wanted to add an angled mirror at the back to make it look like the stables continued around a corner, I planned space to hide a little bench and shelf unit in the corner that would only be seen through the mirror.

I then drew lines on the walls to mark a ¼” space at the bottom to allow for the thickness of the floor, another ¼” space to mark the top of the walls, leaving space above for the wires for the lighting and the battery pack, and drew in the double barn doors that would lead to the pasture.  I cut out the window sections in the barn doors.  

I painted the insides black, then started cutting the wood I had stained for the walls and glued them into place.

I trolled the web for pictures of horses grazing in a field and chose one to put behind the barn doors to look like horses off in the distance.  The plan was to include lights above and behind the doors to look like sunshine streaming into the stable block from the outside.

I built the stable walls using the same wood glued to strips of black Bristol Board cut to the sizes I had calculated in my planning phase.  Okay – you got me!!  I’m lying!!  I just figured each wall out as I went, then cut and glued.  (insert shameface here..)  I so wanted you to believe I had reformed my “fly by the seat of my pants” technique but, alas, some habits die hard!  Anyway – it all worked out in the end.  *smile* 

Of course, it is no use having stables if you don’t have horses so now I was on a hunt for horses that would work in a 1/24^th scale build.  That was much more difficult than I thought.  After searching through online sites for Amazon, WalMart, Michael’s and Etsy and dropping into our local Dollarama, I thought I was going to be out of luck and out of horses.  However, then I went back online and searched Toys ‘r’ Us, and there they were!  Perfect!!  I ran to the local store and picked up two.  Of course, to make them fit in such a narrow space, I had to cut their butts off.  Poor horsies!  Now I have two horses’ a*&es left over!  Hmmm – don’t see a need for them in the future.  That’s too bad.  Anyway, I cut the two horses using two different angles so that they would not be looking in the exact same direction when placed in their stalls.  I think they worked out well.

When the stalls were in place, I installed the mirror on an angle and began looking at accessories.  I built the little bench that would be hidden in the corner and seen in the mirror and found a 1/24^th scale pair of cowboy boots to place under the bench.  I also used some air-dry clay to make 3 small riding helmets and hung them on the wall beside the bench but, unfortunately you can’t see them in my pictures because they are hidden in the shadows beside the mirror. 

I placed a few small books (about horse care, one can assume) on the shelf along with a few containers holding miscellaneous goods.  I wanted to hang halters and reins from a small shelf above the bench.  I really had no idea what they even looked like so, after studying several pictures online, and making a drawing to follow, it took me 2 hours to make 2 tiny sets of halters!  And then you can barely see them way back there!  

The two sets of reins were so easy, I ended up making a third to hang from the cabinet at the front of the stables.  I used cloth-covered floral wire (2 pieces of green, 1 of brown), wrapped each around a skewer a few times, leaving two ends hanging down, which I then threaded through the eyes of eyelet bead pins.  I bent the floral wire back, then clipped the bead pins, leaving a vertical piece to bend backwards to look like the clips you would find at the end of the reins.  I know – that’s a long explanation for something that took seconds to make.  That’s to make up for the short explanation for the halters which took so long to make!

For the rest of the interior accessories:  in the little cabinet at the front, we have a box of vitamins, some rags, a box of horse treats and some leg wraps - and also the 3rd set of reins I made hanging from a hook.

On the bench below we have a small wooden tote which is holding a hoof pick, a stiff brush and a finishing brush while a rubber curry comb sits on a cloth hanging over the edge of the bench.  

To the right of the barn doors there is a broom and a rake hanging on the wall.  One of our horses is looking longingly at the basket of carrots and apples that is sitting on top of a bale of hay.  A large bucket sits outside a stall and contains a shovel and a hay fork, waiting to be used during the next “mucking out” of the stalls. 

I used flat tape-wire lights that I got from Dollarama for the ceiling lights and the lights coming in through the barn doors.  I poked two holes in the ceiling near the front of the box so I could glue on an on/off switch hidden on the underside of the ceiling and fed the wires through the holes to the top of the roof.  I cut the lights from the battery pack so I could splice the on/off button onto the battery pack.  This allows the battery pack to be turned to the “on” position permanently, and for the lights to be turned on and off using the hidden switch, rather than having to lift off the roof to reach the battery pack every time you wanted to turn the lights on or off.  I cut the light tape into lengths to match where I needed them in the barn (6 lights per length as it turned out), and a short length of 3 lights for outside the barn doors.  Then I spliced and soldered mini electrical wire to one end of the first strip and poked holes in the ceiling so the wires would go through and be spliced to the other end of the on/off switch wires hidden above the ceiling.  I glued the strip of lights to the centre of a piece of white Bristol Board which was three times as wide as the light strip.  I bent the sides of the Bristol Board down to look like a long white metal light holder, poked two more holes at the end of the strip and fed another short set of wires I had soldered at the other end up through the ceiling again.  I prepared the second strip of lights and soldered it to the wires leading from the back end of the first strip, feeding the wires through the ceiling in the same way.  Then I ran the wire across the top of the roof, over to where the barn doors are and down the outside wall to, once again, solder the short 3-light strip and install it over the window on the outside of the wall.  I tested the lights after each length was added and everything worked perfectly! 

Now with everything done within the horse barn, it was time for the second part of my plan: how to incorporate my SIL’s love of books into the project.  Simply put, I papered the outside of the box to look like a set of books, including using a paper on top that looked like book pages and adding thin pieces of wood, covered in matching paper, along the top to look like 4 different book covers.  I made two doors from foam core, which I actually attached using duct tap as hinging, before I papered the outside walls.  I made grooves in each of the doors to tuck the different paper into and continue the look of book covers.  I printed out the names of 4 well-known books onto clear labels and stuck them to the “book” fronts, then, in order to keep the doors closed when that is desired, I glued thin suede ribbon on the back and two sides, allowing it to be tied in front when needed.  This made it look like a stack of books tied together when the doors are closed.  It is much easier to understand when you look at the pictures.  A portion on the top is cut and has small finger holes in it so it can be lifted out to change the batteries whenever needed.

Whew – this is a long post to describe my first foray into making a bookshelf insert.  Bottom line – my sister-in-law loves it and is so pleased with how it combines her love of books and her love of horses.

Now I have to think about my next project.  I have a few things in mind but it may be a month or more before you hear from me again because we have a vacation coming up at the end of the week so it may be a bit before I can get started.  Until then, enjoy your summer, wherever you are.  

Hugs to all!  TTFN - Marilyn

P.S. - Just wanted to share my latest auction purchase with you.  Our local auction house was having an estate sale which included many pieces of Hummel figurines, which I really wasn't interested in until I noticed that one lot was for 2 Hummel figurines which were only 3/4" tall!  They are called "Micro Hummel" or "Micro Goebel" which I didn't know exist.  Perfect for putting into a mini scene. Score!!!