Cotton Top Candy Box

Post by **Lynn** » Sun Dec 01, 2019 11:46 am

The first picture is the original house. For my reproduction I created the stripped design that I printed on gold scrapbook paper, and the chimney on plain white copy paper (attached). The window and door are from Pete.

I used rolled cotton gauze for the roof applying a little tea dye with a brush to age the cotton so it wasn’t so white. Leaning against the chimney is a little vintage Santa.

The real story here is the base. The original is textured with ¼ inch squares and measures 4 ½ X 3 ½ inches. I was having problems making the “stucco” for the base, so Howard to the rescue! I am going to ask Howard to provide his instructions.

Hello…it’s Howard…I will be providing instructions and photos of what was used and how the textured grid finish was added to the base…it will just be a couple of days or so…believe me, it’s nothing complicated or high tech…stay tuned…

Post by **Lynn** » Sun Dec 01, 2019 11:49 am

A few more pictures.

Post by **Lynn** » Sun Dec 01, 2019 12:02 pm

Patterns

Post by **Lucy** » Sun Dec 01, 2019 1:26 pm

It is a delightful reproduction.

The base is so interesting too. It really completes the candy box.

Lucy

Post by **Howard** » Sun Dec 01, 2019 6:49 pm

update...12-1-2019...

Making Grids and Ridges Texture on Bases…

Note…there are probably other ways…and formulas for the texture mix…but this one works…

You‘ll need…

1/4” grid hardware cloth…
Two pieces of wood 3/ 4” thick…
(We’re assuming your base is 3 /4” thick which is a pretty standard thickness)…
Staples or small nails to attach the hardware cloth to the wood…
Spackling compound…
Putty knife…
Two spring or C clamps…
(Nice to have…but not necessary if you have an extra pair of hands to hold the wire and wood frame in place)…

Suggestions…
Do a couple of tests first to get the hang of it…even if just a small area…
You might want to mix a little white glue in with the spackling compound…
If you want to put the grids at an angle like Lynn did…use a larger piece of hardware cloth…

Place the base under the wire and wood frame…wedge base in place if necessary so it won’t move…smear the spackling compound over the top of the wire pressing down on the wire with the putty knife…

Let set for a few moments…then carefully lift the wire and wood frame straight up…if you’re not happy with the results…scrape it off and try again before it dries…

This will leave a series of grids and ridges…let dry thoroughly…

Repeat the process on the edges after the top is dry…let each side dry thoroughly before doing another side…

Prime, paint and decorate the surface as needed…see the close up of the surface in the test that was painted gray and then dry brushed with white…
(Disregard the yellow color of the surface as shown in the photo -- the picture is of a test piece)…

Old Howard has got to try this on a house roof!…

Hope this all makes sense…if not…let me know…

Howard…