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Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM https://www.cardboardchristmas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=513	Page 1 of 4

Author:

BrianB [ Fri Dec 20, 2013 1:57 pm ]

Post subject:

Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM

Good Morning!!!

I had to take a break from working on my loggie while batches of coconut are drying, so I started a restoration project.
I recently bought a lot of houses in pretty rough shape, but I couldn't pass up the deal! I managed to snag a Grain Elevator House and small clock house for under $30. But do they ever need help!!

Im going to do a reproduction along side the restoration, and will be posting pics of its construction soon.

So far I have had to build a new base for the original and make a flower pot. I really liked making the flower pot, can't wait to do another one of those. I still need to make a small stair case and step for the two doors.

The only thing I've done to the original house so far is fix the sqaure magenta foil window, it was a little pushed in so I replaced it and reglued.

I don't think Im going to add new coco to the original house because it is still pretty well covered.
-Brian
P.S. My THANKS goes to Pete who sent me awesome detailed dimesions for this house that let me recreate a very acurate sized base!

Attachments:

GEH Restore.jpg [ 620.66 KiB | Viewed 19697 times ]

GEH Restore 2.jpg [ 346.14 KiB | Viewed 19697 times ]

Author:	PutzinVT [ Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:51 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
Hard to tell in the photo. What is the flower pot made from. Looks like cardboard. S

Author:	Howard [ Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
brian...excellent work...as usual...so nice to see vintage pieces brought back to life... i'm so glad you mentioned "magenta foil"...here's a question for you...and anyone in the putz community... do you think "magenta foil" was used in windows where it was difficult or almost impossible to illuminate?... the foil would "reflect light" and "look illuminated"... i can see this being done this to speed up production...and not have to fiddle with installing red cellophane in tight areas... any thoughts from the group?... my very best regards...howard...

Author:	BrianB [ Fri Dec 20, 2013 3:29 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
Steve, I made mine of Cardboard, but Im pretty sure the original was made of cardboard. Thats what Ted wrote on the HOM. I know a few people on here have originals, maybe they'll confirm for us. I made mine by making a cone out of chipboard and triming it down. Howard, Thank You! Not sure on the magenta foil, but I like your theory! Makes a whole lotta sense! As for replacing it, many of the group have suggested using candy wrappers. Which is what I'll be doing for the stuff behind the windows. Hershey Kiss wrappers to be exact. For the mullions I have a magenta foil card stock that is identical in color, but much easier to cut the mullion out of. I found the cardstock at Michaels in the scrapbooking section. Also if your looking to do big sections of foil for say a roof, I pulled it off successfully by buying a small package of light Pink large candy wrappers off ebay the come in a 6x6 sheet. I did notice that my local Michaels has a Wilton brand that would work, in the baking section, but they only carried them in Silver, Gold, and Red. Hope ya'll are having a great day!! -Brian

Author:	Lynn [ Fri Dec 20, 2013 8:59 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
Hey Brian, I can’t believe you are restoring this house. This is my next project, I love this house. Pete sent me probably the same great measurement he sent you. He is working on my coconut now. I am excited to see and hear all about your restoration, and I am sure I will be reaching out to you with question as I build mine. I have been searching out the foils I will have to check out eBay.

Author:	BrianB [ Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:47 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
Lynn, thats great! I look fwd to seeing your Grain Elevator house when its all done! It is SUCH A NEAT house!! Pete did mention he sent the blueprints out to another builder, but didn't say who. Definitely let me know if I can help in any way. The coco I made for mine just finished drying, but I got to finish my loggie first! Pete is awesome at color matching, so Im sure yours is going to look very authentic! I thought it was a weird coincidence that I found the house, and Pete had just made Blueprints for it. Can't wait to finish it and add it to the village!!!! Yes, EBAY has a bunch of candy wrappers, but if you can find the Hershey Kisses....you get the foil and there is a bonus inside!! I'm going to be buying some green foil off ebay soon because I need a bigger size than a small candy wrapper, there is a house I've been wanting to do.....so many projects!!! -Brian

Author:	Lynn [ Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:35 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
Hi Brian, right after dropping you a note Pete sent me an email my coconut is done and will be on its way. He does do a wonderful job matching the color and he has been so helpful with this project!! I will diffidently share my pictures but I wok much slower than most, I have a limited amount of time to work on my houses but relish every minute of it!!

Author:

Tom Hull [ Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:50 am ]

Post subject:

Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM

Great Job. Wish I had seen that listing! Cool building in every way. You have had the privilege of building two of my favorite cardboard house accessories. First the cardboard car and now the cardboard potted plant!
As to the foil mullions all that I have found whether lit from behind or not had red cellophane behind them. I suspect the windows were made up with the cellophane and the installer didn't have time to look to see whether it needed cellophane or not so they all had cellophane in them. Also all the other mullioned houses in my experience exhibited this trait and it seems reasonable to me. The foil mullioned houses that I have had experience with were just foil with no paper backing. NOT that easy to cut by hand though with a punch it would be a piece of cake. (Pete take note!) I believe though Howards theory is interesting to entertain I think the real reason for using foil on houses was to add a bit of reflective glitter of some kind. Sometimes a chimney is covered in foil and sometimes a roof. Foil roofs were sometimes covered with cellophane as well. I had one that the cellophane was long gone and really could not bring myself to cover the lovely purple foil with red cellophane. I present to you a house of little significance as a study piece.
The Japanese were MASTERS of color often combining what would seem to be odd choices such as pink and yellow green here or the purple and cheesy orange in this little house - not my pick but it does what the artist craftsman intended it to do and that was make the color cause this little house to stand out in some way from it's peers. Enjoy and have a good Christmas.

Attachments:

Putz wattle Coco HS 004.jpg [ 125.97 KiB | Viewed 19660 times ]

Author:	BrianB [ Sat Dec 21, 2013 2:07 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
Lynn, I can't wait to see pics no matter WHEN you finish! It is so much fun to come here and see the heart and soul people put into these houses! Thats what makes them so much cooler than the ceramic houses no matter how many times you see a house, each one is SO unique to the builder and era. Tom, MERRY CHRISTMAS to you!!! Thanks for the input on the windows and sharing the AWESOME little orange house, that purple foil is really cool!! Im really looking fwd to experimenting more with foil. I LOVE making the little odd accoutrements that accompany the houses too, the best parts of the build for sure. I just got a new supply of the little berrys in, can't wait to finish assembling it. -Brian

Author:	Pete R.Oehmen [ Sat Dec 21, 2013 6:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Grain Elevator House Restoration and Repro Jan 2004 HOM
Hello Putz People. Merry Christmas. For Tom H, I do make all the Window Mullions covered in foil. I matched up my vintage foil house mullions with a Pomegranate foil offered by a foil vender I found on the net. I have been putting different foils and papers though the clam shell press and they come out beautiful but nobody wants a modern look I guess. So other than the Pomegranate foil mullions I'm just punching them out in white. I even matched the vintage colored mullions on my printing press but nobody wants those either? That's OK by me because it adds a lot of work and cost. I don't know if everyone is painting the mullions they're replacing to match the surviving mullions? Anyway, to get the vintage look I crinkle up the foil first so they look like the originals. For Brian: How long did it take you to match the pink coconut? I worked at it for 3 days so that it would match my pristine Grain Elevator. But I gotter done and have made my notes for repeating the same exact formula. I found a great trick to create the Yellow Coconut. What color coconut are you using on the base? I mastered a Silver/Gray that's on the original. That mastery took 2 years but I love the results.

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