Sugarplum Cottage to Monarch Cottage 17

 

The Monarchs have arrived! 

The Monarchs are enjoying the fresh spring growth on the sod roof. The pink flowers are blooming. (Click the photo to see an enlarged version.)

A few of them landed on the backside of the cottage.

The question of what to use for the baseboards has been answered. Half-inch strips from the cereal box were covered with Contact paper. 

One of the boards is turned over to show the back, which will take glue very nicely. The Contact paper is stuck to the printed side. Now all of the exposed wood in the cottage will match. The plain wooden boards fit the nature of the cottage much better than the milled skirting boards from the stash. Rustic rules. 

The floors needed to be touched up. When the paint is dry, the baseboards will be glued in place. 

The niche on the upper floor is an awkward detail. Cover it? Maybe put the bed in that corner to block it?  

Sugarplum Cottage to Monarch Cottage 11

 

Lots of fiddly bits are taking some time, but inch by inch we are heading toward the finish line.

Here are the furniture pieces. One of the two settees and the bench are assembled. A bed, table, corner hutch, and a second settee are waiting in the assembly line. The furniture could be stained but I think cottage furniture should be painted. When all of it is assembled, it will get a coat of gesso and then some color. 

When the furniture pieces were removed from the plywood sheets, it became apparent that the kit does not contain interior window trim. It also became apparent that the plastic windowpanes should have been sandwiched between the wall the timber trim. Oh, well.

The interior trim can be made from cereal box cardboard and covered with the same weathered wood Contact paper. The windowpanes can be sandwiched between the new inside trim and the wall. A Greenleaf Miniature Forum member suggested using cereal box cardboard for the skirting, too. 

It made sense not to install the windowpanes too soon as they would probably have gotten scratched or dripped with paint or glue It is also nice to be able to reach through the window opening while working on the interior.

Take note of the scale in this photo. The two benches on the porch are much smaller than the furniture for inside the house. The porch benches look fine with the overall scale of the house, but the inside furniture will be more comfortable for the 1:12 scale inhabitant, whoever she turns out to be. With one set inside and one set outside, the difference in scale will not be noticeable.