Yule Tide Shop Progress

Our son Nathan gave me the Petite Properties Yule Tide Shop for Christmas. Gorgeous boy that he is, he loves to give me minis as gifts. And I love choosing what he'd like to give me vbg! Because we have our daughters Kylie and Kirsten and our six grandchildren staying at our house at the moment spending time with them is our first priority so I didn’t hop straight in and start on the Yule Tide Shop on Boxing Day as I otherwise might have done.



However a few days ago I did spend the evening painting all the pieces of the kit. I chose to do the walls in Regency White paint – just ordinary indoor house paint. It is a colour that I use a fair bit for my minis. Sort of an antique white. For the timbering I used a burnt umber with a wash over it of extremely diluted black that was left on for a short time then partially wiped off.

Last night I did the floors with strips of paper, using the same technique that is described in Bea’s instructions for The Corner Shop and Washtub Cottage.

Floors done with 'floorboards', painted and aged

And I did part of the removable front section, the part with the windows, ready to attach to the front wall later on.

Window unit ready to add to front section

Tonight we came back to the caravan early after having a picnic lunch and afternoon at the river in Penrith. The children were all tired after lots of running around and riding their scooters on the bike track there, and their mothers were tired after a big day too. So I had longer to work on the shop and have almost finished it.  Didn't set out to do so, but once I started it things just took on a life of their own and I had to keep going. 

Parts of front section ready to join together

 With everything prepared ahead I was able to go ahead and assemble it quite quickly. While the glue dried on one part I could work on another part. When it was put together there were areas that needed touching up with paint, and while that was drying I worked on the tiling on the roof.

Here I cheated. I have lots of strips of shingles left over from the Town Square shops so I used those, snipping off just a few corners for a more worn appearance. I wanted them to be slates so they are painted a mixture of black, dark brown and white. The brown helped the colour blend better with the timbering and the colour of the exterior.

All parts constructed

The exterior is ‘weathered’ mainly with dark brown and the merest touch of black, using the dry brush technique. In some areas I then went over it with a stiff brush that was slightly damp because I wasn’t happy with the first result. This let me blend the colour a bit more subtly.

So here it is, with all the parts. As you can see, there is still snow to add, the pavement to finish and I’d like to put a fireplace inside. I’m also toying with the idea of lighting it but haven’t worked out what I want.

Yule Tide Shop - nearly there.

I know Bea put a lemon beside the Yule Tide shop on the Petite Properties site to give an indication of it's size, and I should have put a ruler there for the same purpose.  When I take the final photos I will do so.  No good putting a coin there, because if you don't live in Australia that won't mean anything to you lol!  Just as a US or British coin or a Euro don't mean anything to me.  So I will use a ruler.  But it is tiny!!

Finally at midnight my husband Peter insisted I leave it and go to bed, because every day is a busy day at the moment with all the family here.

I really am delighted with this little shop. I’m not sure what it’s function will be yet, but would really like it to be something to do with Christmas.