Mrs Puddifoot's Tea Shop...update

Whilst I collect and gather supplies for Sugar Plum's Sweet Shop and practise with ideas and methods, I thought I'd make a start on something more straight forward and which I already had supplies for! So, the tea shop it was!  

I had started some of the priming quite some time ago...well before I even thought about moving home!  

I gave all the decorative pieces two coats of white paint and then applied a thin coat of top coat. 

 I chose to paint them before clay work commenced...as the wood base is cleaner. 

 The plaster and brickwork will be blue.... not as pale as this....it's just a trial to be nosey! lol

I usually paint all my fancy and decorative pieces first and then glue them in situ after and most certainly after clay has been applied! Although I didn't glue these on, I wouldn't have gained any thing if I 'd removed them, the gaps were just too fiddly, so better to get a snug fit with the clay.

I was undecided what to do with the gap between the window frame and the column...pretend it's part of the frame and paint it a creamy-yellow or let it be the wall (because it was!). I decided it had to be the wall and thus added the clay! 

I didn't use Creative Paperclay nor my usual Art Mache that I make up. I instead used Hobby Crafts' own brand air dry paperclay. It's a cross between Creative's paperclay and Das...maybe more like Das. 

After I added those rather tricky pieces (between the window frame and column)  I added and sculpted my bricks. I wanted rough and rather aged bricks...so I tried another method and technique! Although I prefer my bricks to have more texture (the clay was unpredictable with all that), they are for most part fine. :o)

At this point the clay was okay to work with.....and I had no problems. 

After the last lower side done and I was happy...I continued on....bricking! lol

The nightmare began and I've had far better behaved clay! It was a bit of a monster to say the least! lol I am unsure if the clay was too dry or too wet...I think it was the former...and it was a complete nightmare to roll out! In the end I had to scrap each rolled out piece up with a plastic clay scrapper and rolling it over as I went...and apply that. Needless to say the bricking has taken me 3 times or more longer to do! lol  

I left it at this point overnight with a damp/to wettish tea towel laid over it so I could continue the next morning.

 All the bricks started off extremely rough and raw in shape etc., as  you see in the lower part of the photo. :o)

Each area or most bricks were worked on individually. I still have the upper piece to do (underneath the top pediment, by the way the shop is upside down!). 

For ease I turned the shop upside down to work on...parts of the clay kept moving up and down and thus so did my bricks...I had to keep redoing them. :o/

Ta da! One half almost completed, underneath the pediment still has to be done!  

This is the clay now and almost dried. So far so good...no serious cracking.

I will start this upper side at the end of the week...I want to try a few things for a slightly more aged brick this side...well, showing more deterioration and decades of wear and tear! :o) Another nightmare on clay street begins! lol :oP

I hope you don’t mind my ramblings and madness! :o))

Michelle xxxx