As I was trying to decide on colors and style direction for the tiny Hampton House, I found this lovely autumn photograph. It’s all over the internet, so the original source is impossible to guess. I was drawn to the red window panes especially.
I started with the window panes, painting them Alizarin Crimson by Americana. I’ve been told it’s easier to paint these tiny pieces while they are still attached to the frames, but with laser cut pieces, they often come apart easily. Good for keeping damage to a minimum but bad if you want them to have more stability for painting. Ah, well. I’ve dealt with warped boards before.
As an aside, I’m not doing a whole lot of sanding on these pieces…just a little as needed to remove the tags where the pieces were connected and to tone down the browned edges that I want to paint in lighter colors. I bought some Testors sanding films.
These are super thin and range from 150 to 600 in a single pack. I used the 600 on the surface of the pieces to remove any stray fibers.
For the exterior, I started with a coat of Warm White by Americana. I stippled the paint on instead of brushing it so the surface would have a subtle texture.
The color was rather stark in this scale, so I did the second coat Vintage White by Folk Art. This second color would have been too yellow on its own. Together, they make for a wonderful, vivid off white. Apparently, white chocolate and red velvet are my colors this year.
I painted the interior pieces Neutral Grey by Americana. I want the light to glow through the windows not light up the whole structure inside. Also, painting the backs helps keep the boards from warping as the fronts are painted.
Around the door on the interior, I painted some heavy layers to fill in the tiny gap that was allowing light to pass through. I might not use the front portico, so I wanted the door to appear solid.
No more draft! :D
The greenhouse will be painted Worn Penny by DecoArt. What a lovely color. I’ve always like the look of copper colored greenhouses.
I already had these brushes in my stash.
But, Michaels had a 30% off coupon for today only, so I went and picked up three more tiny brushes: 3/0, 5/0 and 18/0. Most of the window sections are less than 1/8″ wide. It’s so much easier to paint with the right tools!
