Friday 3rd September & Sunday 5th 2010

Fourth in the Town Square series.....

…….is a bookshop, aptly called ‘Dickens’ Books’. It is a building with real character, stucco finish with and timbering outside and one of my favourite wallpapers used upstairs inside.

The kit this time came with a desk and chair to go upstairs, and kits for two wooden bookcases and a sales counter as well as the till. Sunday was Fathers Day here in Australia, and Kylie and the boys spent the day with the boys’ father so I was happy to have the day to work on the Bookshop and I certainly got a lot done.

Here are the ground and first floors with the stucco and timbering on the outside. The door and windows are put in without glue while the timber is added. Then the stucco goes right up to the edge of the openings for the door and windows. I did get stucco on the timbering, and scraped it off. But I still needed to touch up the wood with paint again. And then I needed to touch up the stucco again as well vbg. Which was fine because I decided that I wanted the stucco a bit lighter anyway – it had dried slightly darker than I expected.

I chose to do more of the exterior and interior decorating than the instructions said before joining the two sections together and it certainly made it easier to wallpaper the ground floor. This next photo shows the inside of the two sections. The side walls and ceiling of the first floor had not been papered at this stage. They are done in one strip. The ground floor has been done in the co-ordinating paper supplied.

Here you can see the two sections joined. You might be able to see that I dry-brushed areas of the exterior with a bit of brown to ‘weather’ it a bit. This is an old building, so it can’t be pristine but it is occupied and I don’t want it to be decrepit either.

When I sprayed the windows and door I first did them with the plastic primer, than absent-mindedly did them with white spray paint as well. That was on Friday, so I left them over Saturday and today (Sunday) I sanded each of them and did them the correct colours: brown for the outside windows and door frame; blue for the outside of the door; and latte for the inside of the door and the inside windows.

And here is Dickens’ Bookshop. Well, so far anyway. Still a few things to go.

 I want to make a sign in slightly different lettering than the one provided but haven’t chosen the font yet. The wooden sign is painted and ready though. And I feel that there needs to be a ‘scroll-y’ metal arm holding the sign rather than just putting it up on the front, but I need to experiment a bit. I think I could make that from a sliver of tea-candle holder metal, and being away from home I might have to buy a pack of those to get some.

The Spaniel at the front is from Grace Shaw, who showed the most amazing patience with me when I was working out an order for animals to put into ‘Feathers and Fur’ Petshop for the Town Square. She really is the most amazing supplier! Grace painted this gorgeous Spaniel for me
specially. I am more of a cat person than a dog person (apart from loving the little white fluffball that has adopted me) – hence having a cat or several in each mini project I do, but I do also love spaniels and have been owned by two in the past.

Today I also constructed the bookcases and serving counter and painted and ‘aged’ the desk and chair. I have glued the desk and chair in place upstairs but haven’t glued the bookcases or counter yet, hence the bookcases are on a lean and look crooked. I need them to

be accessible to add the books and the things to go under the counter.

On the tall bookcase you can see the grey cat that has climbed up so she can look down and observe all the happenings from her lofty perch among the books; and upstairs a pretty white fluffy cat is enjoying a snooze on the warm chair seat – perhaps the shop owner has just risen from that chair and the seat is nice and warm. Finishing touches needed of course: books, books, books and more books; something to go on the wall; some vases of flowers; paper to wrap purchases in; paperwork for the desk; ornaments perhaps for the desk etc.

This one is another really satisfying little building for the Town Square. It is now 5th September, so the invoice for the next in the series will be arriving probably tomorrow or the day after. I wonder what that one will be?