The day after my last post, my Palladian windows and front door arrived for the Windmill House, so I got to work making the left side wall. The window I ordered for the kitchen is huge, a 3 section window. I want to let in a lot of light, and most of the pics I’ve seen of French kitchens have a large window over the sink. This is a quality window built so the plexiglass slides out so you can paint it easier. I began adding strips of wood to the sides so it would meet my measurements for the bottom of the wall, and squared off the top. 
This is the window glued to the bottom and side walls when I realized I had left the plexiglass in the window and glued it all shut. Not a great start. I had to pry and whittle the two square wood strips off the top of the window to be able to remove the plexiglass. Let me tell you, wood glue is pretty darn permanent! 
So, with that accomplished and back at square one, I slid out the plexiglass and painted the window with the color Sage from the set of chalk craft paints I ordered from Walmart by Folk Art. I then reglued it to the bottom and side walls while considering what to do with the bottom of the wall. I decided I wanted a backsplash of stone, so I got my cardboard egg carton and started slicing strips and then cross cut into blocks. After gluing them in place, I plastered the remaining walls as well as carefully over the cardboard, making sure I got the plaster in between the blocks.
After the plaster dried, I picked off more of the plaster from over the top of the blocks, yet leaving some to make it look like aged whitewash that has chipped over the years. I also touched up the stones with some shades of gray for realism. The plain plaster was painted with two coats of Valspar sample house paint “Cream in my Coffee” left over from my Storybook Farm dollhouse. I want cream colored walls in this house. There will be 3 open wooden shelves in the space to the left of the window for storage. Below is the outside of the front wall.
I cutout the openings and painted the windows after ensuring that I would still have room for a fireplace inside, between the windows. So, here is the inside of the wall….There is finishing trim that gets glued over the window to complete the look, but I’m not sure if I want it in the wood color (to match the front door), or in Sage. 
The fireplace is drawn and ready for cardboard stones to be glued on. There will be a large mirror over the fireplace mantel, and the walls will be painted plaster.
By the way, I did seal the brick floor with Minwax Polycrylic in Clear Matte.
See how the top picture is a darker, more enhanced color than the unsealed bricks in the bottom picture? I have two French rugs that will define the dining room space and the sitting room, so not a lot of the floor will be exposed. It will really add interest to what could have been a boring floor.
I have started on the main entrance door – still have to finish the inside.
I’m anxious to get some walls up, but realize I need to put the stucco on the outside of the house before I glue walls together. It would make finishing them so much easier, but then there’s the problem of how do you tape it together to dry without ruining anything? Still pondering that.
Ah, prendre des decisions!
So, I added on the 2″ as shown on the right, above. That extends for 12″ from the front door to the back of the house. This will give me room to incorporate kitchen counters and appliances without taking up the main floor space as well as a larger vaulted ceiling. Hope to be able to do an island, as well. So, with the main floor finally decided, I cut a 12″ x 2″ piece of wood and glued it to the right side. Then I gave the whole floor a good base coat of flat white to prepare it for the brick stencil. After the white dried, I applied a coat of Light Mocha flat acrylic by Apple Barrel to mimic the grout. I sprayed the back of my brick stencil with adhesive, stuck it in the upper left corner of the main floor (I didn’t want my first attempt to be near the back opening in case I messed it up), mixed up some water with the brick material, and spread it over the stencil, scraping it off evenly with a small 6″ metal ruler, then carefully lifted the stencil off. This is what I ended up with.
Pretty impressive, eh? I love the Terra-cotta shade, it’s really a nice subtle, warm color. There are others on the Bromley Craft Products website, like red, two grays, buff, etc., plus other stencils so you can do stone or brick. It’s worth checking out at 
The thicker you spread the compound, the darker the brick will be. I didn’t want a textured surface, so I smoothed it out as much as I could. If I were doing the outside of a building, however, I might go for a rougher look. Which I might try in places on the outside walls since I have over half the compound left over. Here’s the finished piece except for a coat of matte polyurethane I will do tomorrow outside.
.You can pretty much tell where I had to overlap the stencil to line it up for the next area. You aren’t supposed to go over any areas already stenciled, but it’s hard to avoid, and I’m not equipped to be a perfectionist. So, the lapped places are evident by the darker colored bricks (because they are thicker). And, I did lightly sand a few places where it was too lumpy. But, bricks in real life aren’t identical and have minor flaws and color changes. If judged by those standards, my floor is pretty darn good! The sealer will also enhance the color as well as seal it to keep from chipping off. I’m excited to see the finished product. You can use acrylic paint to apply other colors if you want an even more “authentic” look. I’m quite happy with it the way it is.
See the loft in the upper left corner? And the kitchen along one wall? French doors? Palladian type windows? Transoms? Just one sofa for the sitting area? I’m dying here. It’s so perfect for a mini, isn’t it? It may not look French, but mine will. Sigh!!!! A la prochaine, mon ami!
Both very intriguing options. However, I fell in love with the windmill and French Country, so Loganberry it is. My enthusiasm dimmed somewhat when I realized how small the Mill House is. The stated dimensions are 15″ wide by 8″ deep and 16″ tall. Once I dry fitted it together so I could visualize the dimensions, I was even more discouraged.
I can’t even fit a staircase in there, let alone any significant furniture. A second story must have a staircase or ladder in my opinion. A lot of people eliminate them because they take up too much room, but why bother building at all if you don’t attempt to make it realistic? And if you eliminate a bathroom, the era must allow for an outhouse. Anyway, moving on. My other concern is that the rooms aren’t very tall. The downstairs is 7 1/2 inches in height to allow the floor to be 1/2″ off the ground (to allow for an entrance step?). I prefer 9″ to allow for furniture height and chandeliers and/or beams, etc. This upstairs is 8″, which I can live with, although it’s a curved roof and half the width of the downstairs because of the accompanying shed-style angle. To top it all off, my measurement of the width is 12 1/2″, not 15″. Where did the other 2 1/2″ go?
You can see, above, that I decided to double the depth to 16″ to give me more room to create, but the width remains at 12 1/2″. As compensation, I’ve decided to eliminate the top floor beneath the shed type roof, thus allowing for a slanted ceiling along one side of the house to give it the appearance of openness. I’m also going to attempt to raise the side walls on the extension to 9″ (and extra 1 1/2″) to give me more head room in the back half. This is because the standard door opening is 7″ high, plus you need room for the door trim. With only 7 1/2″ to work with, this makes planning windows and doors extremely difficult. I want a pair of French doors off the dining room to a patio, which I can’t do without giving myself more headroom. I’ve even drawn up plans on graph paper to help me visualize the house from all angles.
Have I made you drift off to sleep yet? That’s okay. I want to do this so I have a record of my ramblings. Lol. So, I’ve run out of 1/8th inch basswood sheet plywood until I get my order from Dick Blick (art & hobby supplies). So with my one remaining piece, I cut out the extension on the main floor and the upstairs addition.
I have received my order from England of the terra cotta brick compound and the brick stencils. One is herringbone for the main floor and the other is for arched windows inside or out. I hope to work on the herringbone brick floor tomorrow so I’m ready for the walls when the additional plywood arrives. It has been a slow start waiting for supplies.
I had 12 inch barbecue skewers on hand, and the size is perfect. I will attach it after I cut the openings for the windows – which I don’t have yet, either.
Au revoir!
The last to be completed, the exterior, gets to a point where you have to tell yourself, “Enough, all ready!” It can be overdone, but I think I stopped in time. If you want it to look realistic, you have to put in the details. So, from left to right, the chicken yard is enclosed by stone pillars connected by fencing, both of which I made myself. I also made the structure supporting the wisteria and strung fairy lights as well. The gate has a pointed arch over top.
The bears have a cottage enterprise where they are selling fresh eggs, apple pies, and honey from their own hive. The bubblebees are everywhere on the wisteria and roses. You can just see the little chicken ladder up to the coop, and their pet parrot perched on top of a pillar. I laid artificial moss in between paving stones for the entire patio area, and made the wreath on the screen door.
In the first pic, you can see the water fountain attached to the wall to provide water for the chickens and bees. The above pic shows, the little shelving unit I made to display the items for sale. There is a basket of eggs, jars of honey, and 2 apple pies (hidden, but there). In the bottom left corner you can just catch a glimpse of the hive. Of course, the chickens are wandering looking for bugs.
Here’s a good night time shot with the fairy lights illuminating the bee hive, and the chicken coop and chickens.
And another, a little farther away. I made the blue screen door, too. 
Here’s a closeup of the front of the house, with the lavender phlox, the flowering tree, the front porch with the hanging flowers, and the mailbox and front door wreath. I’ve since made little letters for the mailbox and some packages that were delivered on the front porch, as well as a shade for the front door. There’s also a porch light to show the way at night.
This is a pic of both my bear houses with their outside lights on. Now to the completed interior…
Here is the inside all lit up, with a view of the side patio from the back. Now I’ll take you room by room.
Two different angles of the kitchen. The turquoise screen door leads out to the chicken yard. I purchased all the components in this room, and painted most of them. I made all the chandeliers in the house ( 5 ). There are two here in the kitchen with bright white bulbs in them for more illumination. I wallpapered some walls with scrapbook paper, and painted the one wall yellow. I purchased the handmade tile behind the sink from Germany, glued beams to the ceiling, and made all the window coverings in the house, as well. Notice the cute corbels framing the door opening to the living room? Oh, and their pet dachshund, Dilbert, Dilly for short. Don’t know if you can see the tiny grey mouse under the kitchen sink, but he’s there!
I plastered the walls in the living room to add texture, and built the stairs from scratch. Not a great job, but I wanted the staircase to turn on a landing before continuing upstairs. The floors are popsicle sticks painted with a white wash. I built the bookcase, the fireplace, and the window seat, as well as the little desk (on the right) under the stairs. It has a battery operated pretend oil lamp and a little bench seat. The fireplace has the same tiles as the kitchen, and a switch up inside the firebox to turn the lights simulating the fire on and off. I did the little painting of a tree over the bookcase, but the working grandfather clock was purchased. I painted it. Still need some accessories on the bookcase and the fireplace mantel to complete the scene.
Upstairs, there is the bathroom over the kitchen. Everything in here was purchased except for the little bench I built and painted, and the chandelier. The floor is laid with diagonal popsicle sticks and some more tiles leftover from the kitchen and fireplace. I ran corrugated cardboard around the walls to simulate bead board, papered the two side walls with scrapbook paper, plastered the front wall and painted the area around the octagon window to match the wallpaper.
And finally, the bedroom/craft room. Once again, grey washed popsicle stick floor. The large dormer was made into a bed, complete with headboard and footboard. 
This is a detail from a previous post showing Squeaky and Sky in the bed. I made all the bedding, wallpapered two walls with scrapbook paper, painted the rose painting on the wall, and built board and batten on the bottom of the wallpapered walls. Back to the top picture, I made the toy shelves, the window treatments and the chandelier. Alice (another character from storybooks, thus the name of the farm) is seated at the craft table where she sews for the family and makes miniature dollhouses.
Lastly, a shot of the other side of the house showing the bay window, the lace curtains in the upstairs window, the stone trim which is all over the house, and the landscaping.
There you have it. Storybook farm. Did you notice the chicken weathervane on the roof over the screen door? Details. I can’t believe I did this, but I love it. My next project is an old Mill House done in French Country style. 
So, I hope to transform this into something beautiful. This could take awhile!! Thanks for following me on my journey.
The shingles were a job, as I learned on the last house. I think it took me about a week to color wash each shingle and hot glue it to the roof. I intend to count each one, but my estimated guess is around 800 individually painted and glued shingles. I will report back on the actual count. But, as you can see, the extra effort is worth it.
The above pic shows some vines and flowers I glued to the corners and wrapped around the sides and roof. I needed some inspiration to keep going on the chicken yard. I also glued down “moss” on a base board to mount the house on. There will be more landscaping once the chickens have a yard to roam around in, and the bears will be selling fresh eggs! You can probably spot that the gable on the left doesn’t have the grey trim around the roofline like the other ones do. I will get to that – I’m always getting pulled away by another thought I had before I finish what I’m working on! Oh, and I finished the front porch except for flowers, etc.
As you can see, I’ve already glued a small outdoor fountain/faucet to the side of the house by where the entrance gate will be. I made the garden fence pillars from 3/4″ pieces of balsa wood glued together, then covered in cement and flat paving stones. I’m thinking of having a tall post come out of each pillar so I can string battery powered fairy lights from them for lighting. And I’ll probably make some kind of arched trellis over the entry gate. I did buy the little chicken coop and there’s also a water pump as well. I’d like to place a bench in there somewhere, as this will be where visitors come to buy eggs. Then, except for landscaping, I’ll be done!
Oh, mousey was my very first attempt (she’s supposed to be sleeping), then came Snowflake, the polar cub. Actually, she was supposed to be a second mouse, but the head shape was all wrong, and she became a polar cub instead. My ultimate goal for my mice will not be realistic, but whimsical, like these examples I found on Pinterest…
I have to graduate to metal armatures as a skeleton to wrap the wool onto. There are so many cute tiny animals out there just waiting for me to try. I have to get the basics down first…..I really don’t know why I do this to myself. I just refuse to stop trying, I guess!
I finished mortaring the stone yesterday – what a job. I used powdered mortar I ordered, and it was a bear to get it inside all the little cracks and then try to wipe it off the stone. You can see I decided to make stone chimneys as well. There is only one fireplace in the cottage, but I will be hiding the wires and on/off switch to the five chandeliers inside the chimneys. You can see some wires coming out of the corner of the house by the roof, and more at the top (in the previous picture). The fireplace switch is up inside the fireplace itself, and the outside porch light switch is under the bed covers in the loft.
The interior lights are a soft white, while the porch light is a bright white, which is really bright. Thus the soft white on the inside. I still have to build the porch, but that will wait until after I paint the plaster with a base white to seal it, then a Valspar sample color called Cream in my Coffee.
Originally, I was going to shingle the gables, but decided it would be overkill with the shingled roof. So, I’ve opted for a very subtle pink in Desert Bone instead. Then I will “age” the house with greens, tans, etc. and moss on some of the mortar and stone.
So that’s where I’m at now. Working on stoning the eight sides of the chimneys.
The above picture shows so much more that I’ve done. I added the railings , leaving a walkway to get to the bathroom. The large alcove became the bed loft – I made the white comforter with the lace and ribbon trim, and the pillows as well. Sky and Squeaky like their little hideaway. I’ve placed some miniature toys around – the darling ship in front of the bed has wheels and soldiers, and there is a train set on the shelves to the left of the sleeping loft. I painted the picture on the wall, too.
See the red and blue wires coming out the left side of the bed? Those are for a porch light I hung outside . Need to run those to connect with other wires for the chandeliers that will hide in a chimney on the roof. More on that later….
I added all the trim around loft, the floors, and the ceiling, made lace curtains for the windows (with roses, too). The craft table I purchased bare wood and painted it shabby chic to blend with the floor. Alice is sitting at the sewing machine with her scissors at the ready – she still needs fabric and thread. There are two working drawers in the table, which I lined with the same wallpaper from the walls. I made the little bench Alice is sitting on. She also likes to make miniature dollhouses, and will start construction on one soon (the one on the shelf just above her head is made from metal, and the front opens. Bought it!) To the left is an iron and ironing board which I bought, as well as the soft pink rug on the floor.
Above is a picture of the whole inside of the house in it’s current state. As you can see, the fireplace in the living room is lit to take the edge off the chill. I rigged it up with a red and an orange bulb which I wired onto a battery and switch that is tucked away up the inside of the fireplace. I only have to press the button right inside to light the fire. Let’s try for a closeup….
It was easier just to take it out of the house – I didn’t glue it in. I gathered some sticks and bits and pieces from the flower beds to build around the two nano lights. So cool.
So, I’m making the two chandeliers for the upstairs now, so I can hang them and then put the backside of the roof on the house. I also have to make shades for the bay window in the living room, as well as a sofa and chair. I’ll also enclose more of the staircase.
Initially, I had to lay down the wires from the downstairs chandeliers, as per the first photo in the above series. I snaked them across the floor to the front corner so I can continue to snake them up the outside of the house to a chimney I will be making. The switch(es) will be hidden there. This last picture doesn’t show the tile section glued down yet, but as you can see, the tiles will be much more flexible going over the bump in the floor. I then laid the strips in a diagonal with a border matching the one around the tiles under the tub. Just because I wanted to do something different.
Of course, the grey paper didn’t want to come off the walls. I use this paste called YES!, and as long as you spread it evenly all over the back, it adheres beautifully without any bubbles or wrinkles. I suppose if I wanted to soak it, it would come off, but that’s not even remotely feasible. Anyway, I picked off what I could, and the new paper looks great! That left me with the muddle of what to do with the gable window. I couldn’t see myself wallpapering around an octagon, so I just papered the two sides, and mixed and splotched a bunch of paint until it mimicked the wallpaper. Pretty good job, huh? And I hand painted blue roses on the little bench. A medicine cabinet and a towel and TP holder, and it’s almost done. Except for teeny, tiny accessories which I don’t have now.
Oh – I installed wainscoting from finely corrugated cardboard, painted it white and added trim all around. I still might put a small shelf by the tub to hold bath salts, etc. And a beautiful blue-green chandelier, of course!…and a curtain, towels, soap…..
That’s it for now – I’ve got lots of work to do – better get busy!
Upstairs, I made a pink, bamboo blind for the dormer window, and cafe curtains in blue (to match the chandelier) for the front cathedral window. I used these skinny sticks that I found at Walmart to make the roller blind. I wrapped each end of a stick in a heavy beading thread and just kept adding sticks until it was the length I wanted. I had previously painted the sticks with white, then haphazardly hit it with pink paint. Wanted to keep that slightly imperfect shabby chic look.
Doesn’t it all look so pretty – inside and from outside. I like the pics showing how the battery operated chandeliers light up the space at night. As you can see in the above picture of the main floor, I still have to put sticks and logs in the fireplace, and I think I’ve decided to make it a “working” fireplace, with lights that will mimic a real fire. They are tiny LED lights (like the ones in the chandeliers) except you buy them in red, orange, or yellow. You hide the lights inside the sticks and moss and whatever you have in the base of the fireplace, and run the wires up the inside of the fireplace out of sight where they hook up to a cell battery that I will glue to inside top of the mantle. It has a switch hidden, too, to turn the fireplace “on” and “off”. I will be doing the same thing for the 2 fireplaces in the larger bear house I’m building now. (Still haven’t thought of a name for it).
Okay, that’s it for now. Like I said, I still have the fireplace to work on, and I need to make some teeny tiny letters to stick out of the mailbox. Then I’ll really be done…..unless I feel the need to decorate the cottage for Christmas!!