All Done!

Because I am a lazy sloth and of course waited until the last minute to finish up, I don't have as many pics as I wanted to have because I spent that time… you know, finishing up. :)

Anyhoo…

Now that I had the whole thing taped up, glued together and patched with tape and/or oaktag, it was time to do the fun stuff. Like putting "stucco" on the outer walls, using DecoArt Texture Terra Cotta (color is Santa Fe), applied with a small palette knife. I overlapped the exposed brick a bit.

Doesn't that look nice? Yeah, I don't like it, either. I'm going to have to do something about that.

Much better! I made a solution of brown acrylic paint and water (4:1) and sponged it on. I then immediately rolled a wet, wadded-up paper towel over the surface, unevenly removing the wash. And although I didn't get a pic of it, I added an antiqued bronzed brooch finding above the window.

So now that that's done, let's work on the interior.

While working on the bakery project, I discovered that the best source for wallpaper is the scrapbook aisle at the local craft store. Last time, I used regular scrapbook paper and had to apply it to white cardstock to keep it from wrinkling. I then glued the cardstock up with liquid glue. But if you're lucky enough to find an appropriately printed cardstock, you can skip the intermediate step and ModPodge that sucker directly to the wall.

I found a really nice piece of cardstock that looks like Venetian plaster that has seen better days. Perfect! I used dark green paint on the casement window, then added some of the leftover brown wash (I let it dry instead of wiping it back off). I then put on a coat of "weathered wood" texture medium and when that dried, I added a thin coat of green again. This gave the paint a slightly shabby look that didn't photograph as well as it looks. The window handles are from Houseworks (Houseworks is great; just don't buy their clapboard siding). I sealed the taped-up edges with Sno-Tex.

And now, the finished product… all furnished up!

On the walls, left to right: a miniature painted plate given to me as a gift, two jewelry findings connected by a twisted length of red embroidery thread, two enameled charms with the hanging loops clipped off.

In the window: a clay geranium purchased from Hobby Builders Supply.

On the floor, left to right: a terra cotta planter from HBS (filled with pieces of a floral pic purchased from a craft store), a basket and some grapes, both from HBS (I made the grape leaves from punched floral tape and fine-gauge floral wire), and a pair of pruning shears, also from HBS.

Furniture: balloon-back chair from HBS, handcrafted table (made from a mahogany wooden disk, a resized-and-printed image of a mosaic tabletop and bent-wire legs covered in DecoArt Texture Fierro).

On the table: battery-operated brass lamp, reading glasses, wine bottle and wineglass (all from HBS), and a miniature newspaper purchased at a craft store.