Dollhouse Miniature Front Porch pt 8

Watch the video here.

This week we are proceeding on with the front porch project by adding the base. I decided to use two layers to make up the base because I really wanted to have a base that would support the project but I still needed to be able to easily add the landscaping. So I dug out a piece of ¼” MDF (at least I am fairly certain it is MDF) which I cut the size of 11” by 15”. I then cut a piece of foam core to the same size and glued the two together.

Now the size I chose might seem to be a bit random but I had my reasons. Well, kind of reasons. You see I had to move the porch project the other day and I happened to set it on top of my tablet of watercolor paper. I really liked the size of the tablet as a base so that is the size I went with for the base. Before this happened I had been going back and forth about what size I should use.

When you cut the layers don't stress about perfect cuts, we are going to be completely covering the layers and adding a trim piece around the outside edge so these pieces will not really be seen when we are finished.

Once the glue has dried draw a pencil line a ½” from the back and side edges to help you line up the porch structure.

I used tacky glue for the project today mainly because it was within reach. Any liquid glue that is foam friendly will be fine for this part of the project.

Once you have the porch structure glued onto the base add some weights to help hold it down flush and let the glue dry thoroughly. I left mine overnight to be sure it was dry.

 

That is all we are going to get done this week. I am still using my old laptop and I am bit afraid to try to edit a video that is very long.

Next time I hope to get the railings on the porch.

Dollhouse Miniature Front Porch pt 7

Watch the video here.

This week we are finally back working on the front porch project. This is actually the second I filmed part of this video because my computer crashed a few weeks ago and I lost all the footage I had. I talked about it in the blog just before this one on here. If you are interested and want learn more about what is going on there be sure to read that blog too.

Anyway, back to the porch. I decided to make a porch and the foundation look like it is made of poured concrete. To this I used some of the pink insulation foam (sometimes called “builder's foam” by crafters) I did have to make a run to Home Depot to get more since I had used up my supply in the footage I lost. Here's a link to product on the Home Depot site so you will know what to look for if you are not familiar with this stuff.

As for the cutting sizes here is the list of pieces of foam I cut

All pieces are cut from 1” thick foam insulation

5 ½” by 11” - porch floor

1 ¾” by 13” - foundation piece 1

½” by 9” - foundation piece 2

½” by 4” - step

To turn the pink foam into something that looks like concrete you will need some craft paints.

The first coat is done with black, this not only acts as our dark base color but hides the pink color of the foam.

Next we layer on 3 or 4 (or more) shades of gray craft paint. You need at least a dark, a medium and a light shade. I ended up adding an additional very light shade of gray to really get the look I was after.

You can use any three colors of gray as long as they are in the 3 shades.

Working from the darkest to the lightest use a sponge to apply the colors being sure to leave some of the colors underneath showing. You will use less of each color as you move through the colors.

Try to not have much paint on the sponge when you paint with it, dab it off until there is very little paint left.

The last step is to glue the structure we have been working on for the last several videos to the foam “concrete” I used tacky glue for this. 

 

I love how this is turning out so much, I hope you do too.

Missing in Action

I know I have been absent for a while again. I had some stuff going on in my life and took some time off from all my blogs and youtube for a while. Oh, in case you didn't realize I have multiple blogs and Youtube channels. The links for all my blogs are at the top of this blog so if you are interested you can go check out the rest if you haven't before. Anyway, I had taken some time off them started posting on most of them again. I had been writing and filming for all the blogs/channels then my computer crashed. I had somewhere between 10 and 15 blog posts/videos in process. Since I normally don't backup posts or videos until they are complete I lost all of the ones I was working on along with all the photos to go with them. YIKES!!

I am still without my main computer. My son, Erik, (my IT guy) says he is fairly sure he can get my files off my old hard drive later. In the meantime he is working on putting together a new system for me. But because he is working full time and trying to keep the price as low as he can it will take a while. Currently I am using my old (previously) retired laptop, it is really slow and not terribly reliable (it tends to shut off randomly)

I am doing my best to get back up to where I can post on all my blogs and channels but it might take a while yet before I get back on any kind of “normal” schedule. Please be patient I should be back soon. In the meantime I will be posting when I can with what I can.