The Little Red Shrine - Not!

This was a very unsatisfying tiny construction project. I cavalierly slogged on a wet coat of red ink, using it like stain, over all the pieces planned for this little red structure.

This was my first mistake, since the wet ink warped all the jumbo craft sticks, aka, my tiny lumber. Also, I made the tray for it to sit upon out of basswood, which absorbed the stain differently and dried much more red than the craft sticks, so I threw on some chalk paint to give the tray an antique look.

That was OK, but, I designed the structure much like the first tea room (modeled on the YouTube tutorial that taught me everything I know so far about constructing Japanese Tea Houses) with single walls supported by little square posts, which was not enough to make up for the fact that all the boards were warped. Time to advance to more grown up materials - in this case, basswood and balsa.


There is no roof for this structure, because in the middle if its difficult and wobbly construction, I realized it looked more like a bat and board barn from the 60s rather than a Japanese Tea House. Suddenly, the black dragons I imagined painted on the exterior walls didn't make sense any more.

I also learned the hard way that if you are planning to install interior wall coverings, you'd better do it before gluing the box together.

So, in the next post, we'll explore tiny double wall construction. Also a step up.

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #8

These are not the final photos by any means, but this first Japanese Tea House is basically completed. There are a lot of things I will do differently for my next creations in the "Temples, Shrines & Tea Houses" project, but this is good for starters. Stay tuned for the next piece, The Red Shrine.

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #7

While we're waiting for the roof to dry, here's a look at the tiny lumber yard.

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #6

To make this roof I used craft or popsicle sticks, large and jumbo. Even with a tiny miter box it is hard to make perfect cuts. Balsa is so soft it kind of crumbles on the ends. And Basswood needs a surprising amount of muscle.

As you can see by the pile of debris, tiny slices are the way to go. Carving tiny sticks to create joists takes patience, good motor skills and very sharp blades. It is also a testament to my hobby motto, "No Hurry."  Waiting for glue to dry is like watching grass grow. Or watching someone play golf. Soon I'll need two projects going at the same time to ease my frustration. Once my mind gets on an idea, the fingers become like little machines, ready to go - tiny tools, yee haw!

I altered the final roof line and materials. The tutorial called for a piece of fake leather to simulate the roof, but since my joins weren't exactly straight, I thought they might be hidden better with a wood rooftop.


The roof will not be glued down and will just sit on top of the structure, so if the mood strikes to make interior detail, it can be approached from above and not through the sliding doors. 

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #5

 I found these tools while assembling my "Temples, Shrines & Teahouses" Kit. My husband David's father was a golf course architect, therefore collected these sets of marvelous tools. I don't even know what to do with most of the Xacto blades, still very sharp, but I love the set and the little blue box. And the carving tools on the right are overkill for Basswood and Balsa, but I love to look at them.

A regular Xacto blade will work for a carving tool when your medium is craft or popsicle sticks and Balsa wood so soft you could sculpt it with your fingernails.

Today I carved the pieces for the roof line. Each one has to be an absolute exact duplicate of the other or the roof will not fit squarely together. (The very accomplished artist's YouTube Tutorial I have watched about fifty times showed glueing the whole thing together with coffee stir sticks, but tiny trim board is more reliably straight.)

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #4

 Wow! I forgot how wonderful and fun it is to have little Xacto saws and a tiny miter box to use on Basswood and Balsa. Thanks to David for hunting them down. Now the tiny architecture and carpentry can move up a notch.

After creating the doors I made little troughs in which they could slide and glued them to the corner posts. The fabric that started this whole project, the quilters' cotton pieces with excellent tiny Japanese designs, was cut to make a curtain for the back room. All this trouble and precision just to hang that little curtain.

I made a little rod out of a skewer, punched holes in the curtain top, slid it all together and glued the rod to two pieces of trim wood.

 Next I'll be working on the roof.

Each part of the structure has to be measured and cut along the way. It's too late now, but I should have stained the "wood," but I would be sure to screw up the shoji screens if I did it now. For my next teahouse, I might choose all the wood materials and stain them red before I begin.

Ha ha ha. Red. Of course!

 All of this is reminiscent of the Gingerbread Farm I built in 2011, according to no scale at all - just another one of those projects that started out as an idea and went berserk!

Here it is below in progress. Note the toasted and dyed green coconut for the lawn, the pile of marzipan pumpkins, the pretzel chicken house, pretzel wood pile. Pretty proud of those two little marzipan doggies and the flock of chicks, too. The red door  on the main house is marzipan, too.

um

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Making Stuff - Japanese Tea House, Part 3

 I made these shoji screen doors entirely out of coffee stir sticks which cut easily with scissors. Instead of rice paper I covered the doors in muslin fabric.

Today I received a tiny Xacto miter box in the mail, as if by magic (thank you, David). While I await the tiny Xacto saw, expected on my doorstep Monday evening, I ponder and compare this experience to building Faerie Junction with my pals last spring.

First of all, my pals aren't here.

Secondly, our faerie scale was, "Whatever - just tiny. It's faeries."

Here, the measurements are a bit more precise. I want those corners perfect! I want those shoji screens to slide! Before I make my next cut (abashedly I admit to currently cutting with scissors and Xacto knives) I will have that little saw in my hand.

Next, I'll be making the sliders and  the roof. I want to put a tiny ceramic pot over a tea light for essentials oils. We'll see if the concept works. Stay tuned.

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