Greenleaf Day 18 - cutting cabinet parts

Today I started cutting pieces of basswood to build the built-in cabinet that will be in the corner. I still need to buy some more wood to make the cabinet doors.



I also put some more paint on the lower floor walls. I am not sure I like the Michaels brand of craft paint since it does not seem to cover as well as Delta's Ceramcoat paints. Ceramcoat is my favorite brand of craft acrylic paint, but I thought I would give the Michaels stuff a try.

Today's favorite tool: miterbox and saw

Greenleaf Day 17 - painting walls

Not much progress was made today, due to me making a card and spending time at home doing work for work. Gosh, I wish I could have a cat at work to curl up on my lap. A purring Tigger while working is much more pleasant than overhearing half of a phone conversation from the next cubicle. :-)

I did put some paint on the interior walls today. I was going to put some trim around top of the walls where it meets the ceiling, but I decided to try to be careful with the paint instead, and have the ceiling and walls meet without using molding to cover the transition. It is easier to make the corners look good when the walls are the same color as the ceiling, but I am painting the walls vanilla, and the ceiling is white.

I am thinking about trim color. Should they be painted with vanilla, with white, or stained wood? I think that the cabinet in the corner will be stained wood, but I am still thinking about it. I can make the countertop a different color. There are so many decisions to make!

Today's favorite tool: foam paintbrush

TCPTUES56

This week, Toni encouraged us to participate in The Cat's Pajamas Tuesday challenge, by providing this image of pretty glassware as an inspiration.

I was inspired by the colors, the white space around the glassware, and that the glasses were made of glass. Right away, I decided to use the Lava Lamp stamp. At first, I stamped them in the center of a card with an embossed rectangle in the center, but there was too much white space. I couldn't find a sentiment to my liking that balanced the card. Sometimes I want to make a card with no words on the front so that I can be used for any occasion. So, I looked at my small selection of patterned papers, and discovered, much to my amazement, that the DCWV Spring matstack matched the colors beautifully. So, I cut a frame out of the patterned paper and glued it to the card.



I arranged the lava lamps similar to the way the glasses were arranged. There is a 6th glass, a white one, in the photo. Glassware works well in even numbers but elements on a card work better in groups of odd numbers, so I did not stamp a white lava lamp. I put paper glaze over the lava lamps so they are shiny and look more glass-like.

Stuff used:
Stamps: Lava Lamp from The Cat's Pajamas
Paper: Papertrey stampers select white, DCWV The Spring Matstack
Ink: Palette Noir, prismacolor pencils
Other: Crystal Effects paper glaze

Greenleaf Day 16 - lower floor interior walls

There are pictures, since there is nothing new to show.

Today I worked out the design of the cabinet that will go in the corner of the lower floor. The cabinet will be built into the shack. Not only will it help furnish the room, but it will cover the hole in the floor that I made to accommodate the jack for wiring. I need to buy some basswood. Hopefully, the local Michaels store will have what I need.

I also started to paint/texture the walls on the lower floor. I covered the floor with paper to protect it from any wayward paintbrushes. I also covered the part of the wall where the cabinet will be, since there is no need to texture that area.

I think I will cut narrower trims for the door and windows. The half-inch wide strips just seem too large to me.

Today's favorite tool: CAD software (ancient, not fancy, was inexpensive, and it has been serving me well for years)

Greenleaf Day 15 - siding finished

The siding has all been glued onto the exterior walls! Weather-It has been applied to all of it too.

Woot!

I also installed the fascia board at the end of the 'rafters'. I had put veneer on the back side and bottom of the fascia board before connecting it to the shack. When I glued the board in place, I drilled holes through the fascia board into the rafters and pushed some sequin pins through the holes. I have a feeling that the overhang may get bumped around in the future, so the pins should make it a bit more durable. After it was glued in place, I put veneer on the outer edge of the fascia board, which covered the heads of the pins.



I vacuumed up the splinters that were on and around the work table. Now I am ready to make the next mess.

Today's favorite tool: hammer

Greenleaf Day 14 - siding

Today I spent quite a bit more time cutting and gluing siding to the shack. I decided to cover the back wall areas with the siding too, and it takes a while to cut the pieces around the arch, since there is a curve at both the top and the bottom of each of those pieces. Siding is also going on the small second floor wall. I want to get that part done before I start working on the interior walls, since I run the tape around the piece of wall and it is likely to ruin any finish that I would have on the inside wall.

I also started to age the siding. I am using a product called "Weather It". Model railroaders use it. It isn't a stain, but creates a chemical reaction with the wood. I like it because it has no odor, and there is no extra finishing to do. I like the resulting color, which is kind of a silvery gray with a hint of green. Since I knew I would be using this product, I could not seal the before gluing it to the walls, which may have helped with the warping. However, if any boards have minor warps when I am done, it will be a good thing, because they will look even more weathered.



In this picture, the wood is darker than it will be, since it was still wet when I grabbed the camera.

I have been thinking for days about what color I want to paint the trim that will go around the windows and doors, or if I should cut new trims and weather them too. The plywood pieces in the kit are darker than the birch siding, so I don't think it will look right to use them and not paint them. Plus, the pieces are from both of the sheets of wood in the kit, and with my kit one sheet is a lot darker than the other. Any color suggestions are welcome.

Today's favorite tool: Small 3x4 inch metal square rule (it is in the picture in the lower left hand corner, sitting on top of another ruler)

Greenleaf Day 13 - still siding

No pictures today, since there was little progress today. This morning, I did glue a couple more strips of siding to the shack before we headed out shopping. Shopping took the whole afternoon.

Wednesday evening, our microwave oven quit working as a microwave, and transformed itself into a noisy producer of bad odors. We had to haul it outside, open windows, and turn on the fan to get rid of the smell of fried electronics. And I had to figure out how to finish heating dinner. The next day, Ed told me he had heard on the news that microwave ovens are no longer considered a necessity. I can live without a cell phone (ranked higher as a "necessity"), but I cannot imagine daily life without a microwave oven. When I cook, I often cook for 4 and we save half for the next day. Some things just re-heat better in the microwave. Anyway, we now have a new microwave oven, and we found it at the 7th store we visited. We checked 4 stores in town, then 3 stores in a town 35 miles away. We also bought some new shirts for Ed at a store that is closing. We got a pair of socks for me. Like I need more socks. Then we went to the pet store and picked up a 6-month supply of cat litter (refills are cheaper than new tubs of litter, but are not an option at our local store), we stopped for lunch/dinner, then we came home. (Tonight, we will probably watch a DVD and eat microwave popcorn.) Overall a good day, but I didn't get much time to work on my shack!

Today's favorite tool: purse-sized tape measure, for measuring microwave ovens in stores

Greenleaf Day 12 - rafters, siding, back wall

Today I glued the 'rafters' in place, attached more siding, and adhered the back wall in place. I also glued the small second floor wall--in this picture, it is clamped in place. The short wall helps stabilize the back wall. I could have glued the back wall in place earlier, but I knew I would be twisting and turning the shack many times while I was attaching siding, and I did not want to risk damaging it.

When I attached the rafters, I first clamped a long piece of square tubing under the overhangs on the front and back walls to serve as a guide. This allowed the rafters to all be glued at the same height, and kept them square to the wall. I don't know how many times I have used this chunk of aluminum tubing as a tool. It usually lives in the garage, and used to be part of something that the Nerd built.



I have only 3 more pieces of siding to add to the front wall!

Today's favorite tool: 1 x 1 x 17 inch piece of square aluminum tubing

Greenleaf Day 11 - rafters and siding

On the left-hand side of the shack, the roof has an overhang. There will be a board glued to the outside edge of the overhang, and the roof will sit on top of it. I think that it looks a bit flimsy since it will be supported only at the ends at the front and back of the shack. I have decided to add more "rafters". They will be visible if you look up at the overhang from the the "ground". I like adding a few extra details like this to make the project more my own. Plus, I didn't even have to go out and buy any extra stuff to do it!

To make the rafters, I made a trapezoid template the same shape as the overhangs on the the front and back walls. I used the template to cut 3 pieces of wood from the scrap pieces that were left over after punching out the die-cut parts. Since they are made from the plywood, I figured they would not stain the same as the siding, so I decided to cover them with the siding material. I am essentially covering them with veneer, so that is what I shall call the siding wood for this application.



I started by gluing a narrow piece of veneer to the bottom edges of the 3 rafters I had cut, as well as the bottoms of the overhangs on the front and back walls. After the glue was set, It trimmed and sanded the veneer so that it was flush. Then I glued veneer to the sides of the pieces. (The siding was too narrow to cover the sides with one piece, so I had to have a seam in the veneer.) So, except for the areas where the rafter pieces will be glued to something else, the rafters have been encased in veneer. It should give the shack a more finished look, plus make it look a bit more structurally sound.

While I was making and covering rafters, I cut and glued more siding to the walls of the shack.
Cut, glue, tape, wait. Repeat.

Today's favorite tool: I'm still lovin' my blue painter's tape!

Greenleaf Day 10 - siding

I have been putting siding on the shack today. The siding is the stuff that Greenleaf sells, and they call it Clapboard Siding. It measures 3/4 inch wide and comes in 12-inch long pieces. It can be glued horizontally in overlapping rows, or attached vertically, as I have chosen to do. It is thin and can be cut with scissors, which is great if you need to cut a curve. Gee, the top of the wall is curved!

I have been gluing the siding to the wall with yellow carpenter's glue. Since I am gluing wood to wood, it should hold really well. Plus, there are no nasty fumes from quick-drying glue! It is a slow process, though. The glue warps the thin strips of wood, so I have been attaching the strips one piece at a time, and holding each strip in place with lots of painter's tape. The glue sets up in about 30 minutes. I started in the middle of the wall, and once the first strip was done, I could glue two strips at a time--one on each side. This is not a process that produces quick results, but it is great for a person with a short attention span, which I have. Actually, it was a good project for today. I had to bring some work home, since there is not enough time nor enough quiet at work to get done what I need to get done. Gluing siding to the shack was a good excuse to take a break from the reading for work that I have to do.



There are some things I should point out in the picture, that I think of as tips.

First, there is a strip of siding leaning against the wall. I have not glued it in place yet. It will cover a groove I had cut in the wall, which will hold a wire for an interior light which has not been installed yet. Some of the strips of siding held to the wall with tape are also not glued in place.

Second, I put narrow horizontal pieces of the siding wood above and below the windows and above the door. This is so that there is are neater edges along the openings. Trim will be added over the siding, but a thin layer of siding will show around each opening because I didn't want to butt the siding up to the window trim, and I didn't want to route out part of the trim to cover the edges of the trim. So, instead of having a bunch of board ends at the edge of a opening, there will be one piece of wood above and below each window. It will all be painted or stained, so it won't show too much, but the side grain will look better than the end grain of the siding, no matter what kind of finish is used.

Third, I drew part of a circle that same radius as the curve of the roof on a scrap piece of card stock, and I cut out the curve. I use it as a guide for cutting off the tops of the boards for the curved part of the roof. I laid a board in place, extending it past the edge of the wall, put the guide over it, lining it up with the curved edge of the wall, and traced the outline with pencil. Then I cut the wood with scissors.

Fourth, I staggered the joints of the boards where I had too butt them together. In some places, the boards were not tall enough. A funny thing is that I have seen real houses where the butt joints of siding were not properly staggered. Well, they were staggered, but not randomly. It drives me nuts when I see it done incorrectly.

Today's favorite tool: scissors

Greenleaf Day 9 - foundation

There are no pictures today, since there is nothing to see.

Today, I mixed up some dollhouse stucco and I textured around the whole base of the shack. Instead of running the siding boards all the way down to the bottom of the shack, where they would rot if they were touching real ground, I decided the structure will sit on a 'concrete' foundation. The stucco can look rough like concrete. I will put a couple coats of grey paint on it too, since it will make it more durable. I put the first coat of paint on it after the stucco dried. There may be time to do another coat later today.

Since there was fresh stucco on the shack most of the day, I could not do much else with it. So, I had time to made a card today for this week's TCPTUES challenge. (See previous post.) I missed the challenge last week because it required a stamp set which I don't have.

Today's favorite tool: Hmmm, blue painter's tape, again! This time for masking, not for clamping. :-)

TCPTUES55

Tomorrow is Earth Day, and I have it on my mind today.

This week's The Cat's Pajamas Tuesday challenge is hosted by Carole, who challenged us to make a card using a sketch. When I saw that circle, I saw the Earth, and that is where the card started. I printed the Earth image from NASA's web site. For all the papers, I used paper from my stash of recycled paper. I have a drawer full of card stock that was scrap from the printing and design department at work.

The card measures 6.25 x 3.5 inches, so it fits in a standard (non-invitation) envelope.

Happy Earth Day!! If you can, walk instead of drive tomorrow. Plant flowers or plan a garden. We have a beautiful home on the place we call Earth, so stop and take notice.

Here is my card:



Stuff used:
Stamps: All from The Cat's Pajamas: rocket and star field from It's a Mod, Mod World set, and flowers from the Spring Fling set
Paper: All from scrap card stock
Ink: Versafine Onxy Black, Palette New Canvas, Prismacolor pencils
Other: Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls embossing folder, Circle Nestabilities die to cut out Earth, dimentional foam dots to pop up rocket

Greenleaf Day 8 - glue, glue, glue

Today I glued the upper floor and side walls in place, plus the short strip that holds up the floor in the back. I used blue painter's tape to hold most of pieces in place while the glue set. It didn't occur to me to go out to the garage to find big-project clamps to use.

The glue bottle said to clamp things for 30 minutes. I waited longer. The glue bottle also says to not put strain on the joints for 24 hours. So, I will try to keep my hands off the thing until tomorrow.



While the shack was sitting there, I decided to try the lights to see how they will look. Here is a 7-second movie clip. (And a great shot through the door of a wadded up Kleenex. oops)




Today's favorite tool: Blue Painter's tape.

Greenleaf Day 7 - ceiling light, ceiling, and glue

Today I glued the "fluorescent" light fixture into the hole I had cut in the ceiling. Since it was not a snug fit, I glued some scrap pieces of wood around it too. (Not shown in picture.)

I cut a piece of of wire long enough to reach from the attic space where the fixture will be, down the wall, and across the floor. I used tacky glue to stick it into the groove I cut in the wall earlier. I used blue masking tape to hold it in place until the glue dried. The wire will be hidden under the door trim. It was easier to add it now than it will be later. The wire will be connected to the lights at a later time--probably when other connections are made, but certainly before the roof goes on. It will be awhile!

Next, I started to texture and paint the ceiling for the main floor. I tore pieces of tissue (Kleenex) into pieces and used a paintbrush to pounce the paint and tissue onto the ceiling. This is a quick and easy way to add texture to ceilings and walls. More paint will be added with a foam paintbrush after the paint dries.

I also glued the floor to the front wall. It shall stay in clamps until tomorrow. I clamped it to a piece of particle board. The board is smooth and level, and I can set the whole thing aside without disturbing things too much.



Today's favorite tool: foam paintbrush

Greenleaf Day 6 - floors and lights

I squeezed in some time to work on the Greenleaf project. I finished varnishing the floors, and I worked on the ceiling light.

For the light, I had glued the "box" for it yesterday. I painted it white today. I made a cover out of vellum and paper, and worked out a way to attach it to ceiling in a way that it can be removed, so that bulbs can be replaced, if needed. It works kinda like a real fluorescent light fixture, but without hinges. I may take a picture of it later, after the ceiling looks more like a ceiling.

I drilled holes for the wires, and talked Ed into soldering.



I tested the lights, and one would not work. Ed confirmed that it was the fixture, not his soldering. He was able to fix it.

The lights all work! So, I finished assembling the light fixture. It can sit in clamps until tomorrow.



Today's favorite tool: Electrical engineer, armed with a soldering iron

Sunny Saturday

Today was a fun day! The weather was summery, so it was a good day to go out.

We went to the quilt show. The place was packed, and there were more quilts there than last year. There were more vendors too. I suspect that the lower gas prices have helped attendance by both the vendors and the people who like to ooh and ahh at quilts.

I didn't spend too much this year. I showed restraint and bought only 11 fat quarters (buy 10, get one free) at Lyle's. I always buy stuff at their booth. They always have great batiks and fun novelty prints. The proprietor thanked me for the advertising-- he noticed that I was carrying one of their canvas bags.

I saw two of my favorite people at the quilt show--Dr. Naskali, and Judy C. Judy C was in my miniature club, when we still had a club. She told me that she is quilting now. (And still doing minis.)

After we were done viewing quilts and buying fat quarters, we headed over to the Hemp Fest. It was essentially like a smaller version of the Ren fair, which will be in May. (Fewer booths, and the attire of the attendees was different.) I bought a new t-shirt from Tye Dye Everything. I bought a shirt from them years ago, but I don't wear it anymore because it is frayed around the edges. The new one I bought has the same colors, but the pattern is done in a spiral, instead of a 'V'. The colors are very much "Alice" colors.

I talked Ed into buying me a necklace. It has a gorgeous glass pendant, and it hangs from hemp cord.

Greenleaf Day 5 - lights and floors

Much to my surprise, my HBS order arrived today. I have lights and doornobs! It seems strange to have parts ready and waiting for me, instead of me ready and waiting for parts. I figured I had enough things to work on to get me through this weekend and at least half of next week, before I needed the lights.

After I stained the floors (yesterday and the day before) I added more stain to parts of the floor. I used Minwax stain markers over some of the embossed "boards" here and there, so that the floor looks more like it was made up of individual floor boards, instead of it being created from one piece. I did the extra staining to both floors, but it is more obvious with the darker floor. Compare it to the picture of the floor from day 3's post.

BTW, I did not emboss and stain the entire second story floor, since some of it will not show when the project is complete.

Today, I started to put varnish on the floors. I also cut out pieces of basswood to build the box that will hold my "recessed fluorescent light fixture", which will be inserted in the rectangular hole that you can see in the picture.



Today's favorite tool: Miterbox (and saw)

Greenleaf Day 4 - walls

I had the day off from work today, so I played earlier than usual.

I put stain on the other floor. Both floors are staying in the garage until they are dry and no longer stink. Having warmer weather helps when building dollhouses, since the garage can become a workspace for using products that produce unhealthy fumes.

In my workroom, I can keep on working on the shack. Most of my wood pieces are full of worm holes. These holes will be on the inside walls, which I plan on painting, so I decided to fill them with wood putty.



The putty is a powder that is mixed with water. After it was mixed, I used my fingers to push and smear it into all the holes.



There were lots of holes to fill! After it is dry, I will sand it smooth.

While the putty dried, I got out the strips of siding, which I bought for the project, and I sanded enough pieces to cover most of the structure. The pieces will be cut to the correct lengths when I apply it to the walls. If I need more, I will sand more later.

Today's favorite tool: sanding block

Greenleaf Day 3 - floors

Wednesday, I worked on the floors. I made 'floorboards' by using a stylus and a straight edge to emboss lines in the surface of both floors. I made lines the other direction in random locations, to make it look the the butt joints between boards in the same row.

It is hard to get a good picture, but you may be able to see the lines I scored here:


Here are both floors. One has been stained. It was darker to start with, so the two floors will be different colors when I am done. So be it.



Today's favorite tool: stylus

Greenleaf Day 2 - Wiring prep

Tuesday, I placed an order for lights and I did prep-work for the wiring.

There are two ways to wire a dollhouse: tape wire, or round wire. I am a fan of round-wire. I have installed tape wire in one project, but that project is incomplete so I am not sure if I like using it or not yet. Tape wire is supposed to be good if you aren't exactly sure where you want to install lights and outlets. For this Greenleaf building, I know where I want the lights to be, so round-wire is a no-brainer choice for me.

Since I live with an Electrical Engineer, I wire my projects in an unconventional way. When my Nerd saw the prices of dollhouse transformers, he told me he could get me something cheaper and better. So, I let him wire my dollhouse. Boy howdy, is that house wired! Separate circuits for each room, plus dimmer switches to create a romantic ambiance! Even guys like looking at my dollhouse because the control panel. :-)

When I did my first room box with lights, the Nerd was consulted again, and he got me a transformer and a jack. A lightbulb went off in my head! I could use that one transformer for any roombox I made, if I used that same kind of jack on each project! As long as I kept my lights under 1000 milliamps, I was good to go.

This is what the jack looks like, when it is installed in a wall. Simple and cute, kinda like a silver-plated belly button. Radio Shack calls it a "Coaxial DC Power Jack".



The only problem with using this jack instead of stuff designed for dollhouse wiring (a transformer lead-in wire and a junction splice) is that it takes up volume. The jack is over 1/2 inch tall. The clearance below the floor in the Greenleaf is 3/8 inch. So, where to put the jack? Since I already know that I will be putting a cabinet in the corner of my Greenleaf, I can put the jack there and it the cabinet will be built around it. I cut a hole in the floor where the jack will be located, so that the prongs on the jack can be accessed from under the house and the connections can be made.





This jack system could be used with tape wire too, if you have a soldering iron or you can bake cookies for someone who has one. Pound some brads into the tape wire system, and solder wires between the brads and jack's prongs to make the connection.



Hard-wiring is not difficult, but it requires advance planning. I cut grooves in the walls where I plan to run the wires to the lights. There will be two wall sconces upstairs. Their wires will be run to the outside of the building and will be covered by siding. There will be one wall sconce on the outside of the house by the door, and a ceiling fixture which I intend to create. The wires for those will run inside the structure and will be hidden by the door trim. I plan to make the ceiling light look like a recessed fluorescent light. I cut a rectangular hole in the ceiling of the lower floor. The light will be recessed into the area covered by the shallow roof.



Today's favorite tool: X-acto knife with chisel blade

Starting work on the Greenleaf kit

Today I punched out the main pieces (walls and floors) of the Greenleaf 'bungalow'. I sanded the pieces and checked them for fit, then I clamped and taped them all together to make sure everything fits.



A couple of the tabs and slots needed adjustment. The tabs for one of the floor pieces were too long, so I trimmed them down. (It is easier to cut them now than to sand them flush after the pieces have been glued together.) The slot for the upper floor on the short side wall (see below) was in the wrong place. It was positioned about a half slot-width too low. I made the slot taller, and when I glue the parts together, I will make sure to push the floor upwards into the slot. I will fill/disguise the gap later.



I am surprised that everything fit so well. I have done die-cut kits in the past where I had to make many adjustments to make things fit to my satisfaction.

Today's favorite tool: Brass bar clamps

Woot!

When I opened the mailbox today, I found a pile of bank statements, a magazine, and a catalog, but underneath it all was a package! Minikat had told me to expect something soon, but I didn't expect that something to be here today!

Inside the package was a pretty card with a hand-written note. I love notes written out by hand. Handwriting is so seldom seen anymore!

After reading and being intrigued by Kat's note, I opened a small paperclip box. Omigosh! An exquisite red velvet cake! Complete with layers and frosting and decorative elements on top! My mouth actually watered when I saw it! Included was also a perfectly-formed teapot. I am Fimo-challenged, so I am in awe of Kat's talents.



Earlier, I had told Kat that I have a quilt shop in the works. I have a feeling that Kat would like to see me work on that quilt shop, because she sent me some bolts of fabric and batting. Perfect! I can always use bolts of fabric, and I hadn't gotten around to making packages of batting yet. I even have a space in the shop reserved for batting, so I can mark some things off my 'to make' list.




Thank you, Kat! You made getting the mail extra special today.

....After

(Be sure to view previous post.)

This is how the room looked on Sunday.

Not as scary!

Before...

I spent much of Saturday cleaning my room. This room is where I make cards and create miniatures. One area is for paper crafting, and the other area is for miniatures. The rest of the room is used for storage for things that are not necessarily mine nor craft-related.

This is how the room looked before I started moving stuff around.

Happy Easter

I made my Easter cards at least a month ago, but I saved posting them until I had mailed them, since one of the cards was being sent to MiniKat, and I wanted her to see it in person before she saw the card here.



I saw the stamp over a year ago in a scrapbook shop in Spokane. I didn't buy it, but I kept thinking about it, and I finally ordered it on-line later.

Stuff used:
Stamps: Bunnies Taking a Peek from Great Impressions, inside sentiment (which says Happy Easter) from Studio G
Paper: Stampin Up Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Orchid Opulence; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink: Palette Noir, Prismacolor Premier pencils in Lavender, Blue Slate, Pale Sage, Hot Pink, and Sienna brown; Cold Stone Prismacolor marker
Other: Fiskars Threading Water border punch, satin ribbon from Oriental Trading Company

It's here!

My order from Greenleaf arrived today!



It is Minikat's fault that I ordered this kit. She directed me to Greenleaf's Spring Fling Contest, and when I saw free shipping (available through March 31), I decided, "Why not?" After I placed my order, I started thinking about what I would put inside the structure. I came up with ideas, but I won't tell anyone yet. Even Ed does not know. He hasn't seen the Greenleaf kit yet, so he doesn't know I ordered it. However, he did see some sketches for a potential focal piece on my desk when I made him sit down at my desk last weekend and look at my week's favorite LOL cats. I am kinda bummed he saw the sketches, because now if I fail with my idea, he will know I tried and failed. Gee, I am setting myself up for failure, aren't I? Anyway, I don't know if I will get it done in time for the contest deadline. We shall see. Maybe I should brush up on my time management skills.

All the parts look okay. I ordered a couple of packages of siding too.



Everything was packed efficiently! One piece was popped out so that one large sheet of plywood could be broken down into to sheets. The third sheet was already a half-sized sheet. Included in the kit is also one other piece and the corrugated cardboard roofs, plus the instuctions and a sheet of window plastic.

Finally, signs of spring!

The flower bed along the driveway was covered in snow last weekend. But I knew that the bulbs were coming up.

The first to bloom are always the crocus.



There was even a bee buzzing around this clump of flowers. You may be able to see it in the flower in the lower left-hand corner of the picture.

The last of the snow

I have probably jinxed myself by using this title.

We finally had some warm days this week, so the snow finally melted. We had three patches of snow left on Tuesday.

North of the house:


On the driveway:


Near the front door:


It didn't quite all melt yesterday, and there was a tiny bit left today. Not even enough to make a snowball.

TCPTUES53

This week's TCPTUES challenge is hosted by Susan, and it is a color challenge to use Raspberry Pink, Pumpkin Orange, and Sunny Yellow. Yowza!

I don't have any card stock named 'Raspberry', but I remembered that a set of patterned papers I purchased recently had bright pinks, oranges, and yellows, along with other cheerful colors. So, I pulled out a sheet of this bright pink-on-pink floral paper, which is close enough to raspberry for me! I pulled out my Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie paper from Stampin' Up. My eyes hurt looking at it all. So, I pulled out the subdued Barely Banana cardstock, and decided to use it for the card base. It gave my eyes a place to rest!

The layout of the card is from this week's sketch challenge over at Splitcoaststampers.



Stuff used:
Stamps: The Cat's Pajamas Snail on Flower (Hearts and Flowers set), Life is Good (Spring Fling set)
Paper: Stampin Up Barely Banana, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, patterned paper from DCWV The Spring Matstack
Ink: Versafine Onxy Black, Prismacolor Pencils, SU Pink Passion marker