Hopalong Hollow....

Hopalong Hollow, where the Blueberries grow sweet, and the moss feels soft beneath your feet.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Dabbing on the daub

Plaster work!  In other words....
 a messy job. I enjoy it.  Here, I am putting on the first coat.

This plaster is a mixture of Acrylic paint and coarse pumice gel. I mixed my paint to get exactly the shade I wanted. I did not want to go with white. Many original Tudor homes were actually plastered in quite bright colors, shades of pink and yellows. I want a more muted beige, tint of yellow, OLD look.  I had to mix in 6 different colors until I found the right shade. 

I used all these brushes while working on the plaster.


The plaster requires 2 coats, first coat must dry completely before continuing.  On the second coat, you can daub it in to create a texture.


The acorn cap roofing on this bay window doesn't look as tidy as the pinecone roofing, but I still like it for the house of a mouse. (She put those nuts in a barrel in the root cellar.)
The second coat really does the job.
The little bricks that show through the plaster are something of a trademark in my books. Everyone has this "problem" in the homes of Hopalong Hollow

I rather like it. Maybe that's because we had to re-plaster so many walls in our own home.  Our home is only 120 years old, so there was no beautiful old brick beneath, just lathe.

 The fabulous  British series, Restoration home, recreated the plaster on a 1613 timber frame house, and the plaster is quite smooth. But I like the bumpy look on Trimble Manor
 I made the chunky "axed" corbels to replace the skinny, cruddy ones in the kit.
  Tomorrow, I will be thatching the top roof.... hope you'll stay tuned!

35 comments:

  1. Beautiful! The color is perfect on the plaster.
    The acorn hat roofing is a good design decision. It looks cute.

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    1. Hey May, I really wanted the right shade. I mixed yellow ochre, brown umber, cream, burnt sienna and some other yellow...whatever I had on hand. Eventually, it turned the color I needed.

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  2. ...I am, quite simply,loving watching the Manor House come to life :)

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    1. ssc, So happy to have you along on this fun journey of mine!

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  3. Trimble Manor is quite a fine Tudor home! Your brick showing through the plaster is so charming, Jeri. And the korbels you made are substantial and look quite fine on the Mouse Manor. I love seeing you work with such love of detail! I do believe it would be at home in England. ♥

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    1. Martha, I love old house, all of them, but am particularly crazy about old English Houses. My next challenge is a chimney pot. I bet you saw a lot of those on your trip.

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  4. Jeri,
    The plaster work is looking great! I have enjoyed watching you build Trimble Manor, and I am stunned with the progress you have made thus far. It is just beautiful!
    Thank you for sharing your WIP.

    p.s. You have such beautiful hair! Makes me want to glue mine back on. haaa
    Cut it all off again.

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    1. Penny, It seems like I'm moving right along, but I started it the week before Christmas. My husband would love to have his Kitchen table back!
      My hair, the last of my youth!

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    2. But to see all that you have accomplished since before Christmas is truly amazing to me. It would have taken me a year to get to this point. Here I sit with my little bricks. haaa. And now my supplier is on break. Will need to find another or just wait.
      Well my dear friend, my hats off to you!

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  5. Seriously fascinating, Jeri. I am enjoying every step in the process!!

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    1. Hey Bev thanks for following along. Building can be a lonely project with no one there cheering you on!

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  6. Can anyone ever have too many acorn caps or pinecones? Not even!

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    1. Roxie, you always make me laugh! Of course one can never have to many acorns!

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  7. WOW Jeri! I love how the plaster on the mouse house has turned out.

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    1. Rainy, I was dreading the plaster work, and yet it has turned out to be enjoyable, though messy. Have to wash the brushes constantly, they get so clogged.

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  8. WOW.

    Swoon.

    I am humbled, I am in awe of so many of you. YOU with this to scale timbered manor, Penny with her pigs and brick house, this community of bloggers, you make me happy.

    Jeri, you are blessed with the gift of making ANYTHING you want, whether you draw it, write it or make it. WOW!

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    1. Anita, I try anyway, and sometimes can pull it off. This house has been an absolute blast! I can see how people get addicted to this small stuff. I see a tiny potting shed in my mouse's future...

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  9. It is amazing that the mouse house is turning out just like your artwork - your style. I need to get off my duff and start a project.

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    1. Donna, get off that duff! I'm sure you have plenty of great ideas to choose from.
      My art has certainly influenced the look of this house.

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  10. It really does look wonderful Jeri!

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    1. Thank you Kyra, I think this is your kind of world, very magical.

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  11. Jeri, it is so much fun to see how this house is progressing under your talented hands, head and heart. xo

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    1. Frances, I may hate to see the project end, it's been so enjoyable. Today, I had to figure out how I would make Chimney pots.. no tutorials in sight, so I am experimenting with empty toilet paper rolls.

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    2. Jeri, I wish that it might have been possible to make a documentary film of this project's various stages. Your inventive imagination is fabulous! xo

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    3. Frances, that would be a good idea and I do have plenty of pictures to put together a video for my You tube channel. Maybe I will do it! So glad that you are following along with the build.

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  12. O My Goodness...this is awesome...!!

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    1. Thankyou Dutchess, it's the sort of place where a Dutchess should live.

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  13. Replies
    1. Hello! I really would trade in my real house for one of this style, in a minute!

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  14. Isn't this a much easier way to enjoy creative decorating! In miniature!

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    1. Cathy, No kidding! All the things I wish I could create in my own house, are quite simple to do in miniature.

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  15. Lovely work-I am interested in every step your house takes. It'll be fun to see the inside work too...

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  16. Debra, The inside will be a slower going, over the months. as I draw the illustrations for the book. I'll be more attuned to how I want to design each room.

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  17. Jeri,
    Bebe wants to know if there will be a room for rent. She will pay top dollar!

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    1. Penny, There is a room on the third floor with french doors and a balcony. It is a small room, but has a wonderful view and the tulips grow right up to the windows. Of course, she needn't pay any rent,she can live here for the pleasure of her company.

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