Porch Progress and A New Helper

I braved the cold long enough to use a hand saw in the garage.  It would have taken me longer to unearth the table saw, set it up, use it for the few cuts I needed to make, clean up, and put it away again.  Sometimes low-tech is just easier.

Now I have a base for the porch to set on.  It's big enough to allow me some room on the "inside" of the house to put a few things and still have a nice amount of room for the outside.  The front of the base will be covered with lattice, which will cover up the nail issues nicely.  In case you're wondering, the nails were just a nice way to give the wood glue some more strength.  I was really missing Brad's shop with heat and a nail gun....

As you can see, I have acquired a new helper.  His name is Jake and he used to be a Christmas ornament that I discovered in the clearance section at Hallmark Monday night.  FH wasn't certain he was the correct size until I got him home and proved it with a ruler.  Rottie dogs are (on average) 22"-27" at the withers, which makes Jake just the right size.  I really want to go back and get the other ones I saw since the scale is so perfect.  There was a German Shepard Dog that was the correct size too.  Maddie is really hoping I can bring them home too.  She's quite found of animals but thinks we already have too many mini cats.

Back to the porch. 

The outer walls, windows, and door have been coated in gesso.  The crackle effect on the walls has been covered nicely.  Now I need to decide what color to paint everything.  I'm going to stain the door, but I haven't picked a color yet.  I'm leaning towards rosewood though.  Once that's done I can start experimenting with ways to make the back wall section with what I have on hand.  I will also need to cut a new roof section as the original just is not long enough.

Oh and for anyone who is interested, the original kit is by Real Good Toys and is #1329, the Four Seasons Porch.  I think I'm actually only using the walls and step.  No idea what I'll do with the original roof and base.  They're made of MDF and not really useful for much else.  That's all for today.  I need to go through the paint and stain colors and then get back to Aunt Rose's cross stitch this evening.  More to come!