Another Camp Mini Ha Ha has come and gone, leaving behind chocolate coated memories. Along with 29 versions of the Camp project.. For those not familiar with Camp, there is a project protoype (or two, or three) which Campers can choose to emulate--or not. In my case, I chose the latter. Using the materials supplied, I began kit-bashing the project right away. The storefront idea had not appealed to me as I prefer to have an interior to work with. The idea behind this year's project was to learn various tricks for reproducing exterior finishes. I'm not big on building room boxes to start with. I prefer to build the things that go inside room boxes, such as furniture and accessories, so this is always a bit of a stretch for me. The box is built from 1/2" foamcore so at least it's relatively easy to cut doors and windows. This year, we were a bit spoiled as we had a wonderful spouse of one of the Campers who used a table saw and scroll saw to make alterations and openings for us. It was a blessing for me as I tried to figure out how to build a dormer. I almost got it right. The roof was a little off but I managed to fudge where it met the slanted roof. Once the roof shingles are on, no one will know my terrible secret.
Then came the fun part, applying the finishes. First, I outlined the upper door with bricks. Then the outside wall was constructed of "stone" made from torn up egg cartons. I had no idea what a long process this was. Both sides of the wall are going to be "stone" and I managed to complete both before I decided I needed a break from tearing up egg cartons. I coated the remaining interior walls with spackling compund to resemble plaster. At least this was quick and easy, sort of. The lower floor was actually fun. I really liked the herringbone pattern and wanted to use it. So I used the rest of my supplied bricks to do this on the floor. The trick to doing herringbone is to draw guide lines so the pattern doesn't go astray, which is easy to do. It almost got away from me a few times but I managed to complete the pattern without really obvious flaws.
That's as far as I got during Camp time but I'm pretty pleased with it so far. Oh, and before you ask, it's going to be a pottery shop below with a potter's studio above. The door to nowhere will have an exterior stair. I had tried in vain to place it inside but there simply was no room. Stay tuned...
Then came the fun part, applying the finishes. First, I outlined the upper door with bricks. Then the outside wall was constructed of "stone" made from torn up egg cartons. I had no idea what a long process this was. Both sides of the wall are going to be "stone" and I managed to complete both before I decided I needed a break from tearing up egg cartons. I coated the remaining interior walls with spackling compund to resemble plaster. At least this was quick and easy, sort of. The lower floor was actually fun. I really liked the herringbone pattern and wanted to use it. So I used the rest of my supplied bricks to do this on the floor. The trick to doing herringbone is to draw guide lines so the pattern doesn't go astray, which is easy to do. It almost got away from me a few times but I managed to complete the pattern without really obvious flaws.
That's as far as I got during Camp time but I'm pretty pleased with it so far. Oh, and before you ask, it's going to be a pottery shop below with a potter's studio above. The door to nowhere will have an exterior stair. I had tried in vain to place it inside but there simply was no room. Stay tuned...