Building a tree house part 1

Welcome to this new blog!

Here I will blog about this new project I've wanted to start with since May :)
It all started with a visit from Stefan (from the FB group Magical Minds). He wanted me to take care of one of the elves he'd showed the precious week. Such a nice guy, he'd made a tiny letter, explaining the background he'd made for her, and also brought a trunk, a wand, a violin etc. 

We talked for over an hour about this amazing hobby of ours ;) He makes dollhouses and furniture from material he finds in nature like tree bark etc and you should definitely take a look at the photo's he has posted on FB's Miniatuur in Natuur. (Miniature in Nature).
Since my way of crafting is so totally different he challenged me to make a tree house myself and showed me a wonderful You Tube tutorial by Sharon Ojala. After I saw the 1st (of 14) video's on making a tree house from scratch I knew I wanted to make one of my own but it took me untill this weekend to find the courage to actually start ;)

I made a start in June when I started demolishing the doll house I bought at a thrift store last year :D
But that turned out to be to big to start with, so I've found something else: a 5 liter plastic container.

 

I cut out one side and made holes for a door and windows. And I used masking tape to cover the sharp edges.

With some card board it started to look like a house already, but  I want a stone chimney, a spiral staircase, a balcony in the shape of a mushroom and lots of ivy climbing over tree bark. Too ambitious? Probably ;) But if I don't try, it's never going to happen.

I used thin card board (from a pizza box xD) for a template for the floors. 

In case they might bend too much when I'll start glueing, I painted both sides of the two pieces with gesso/primer.

 

I took craft sticks, cut them in 5 cm pieces and glued them to the card board with wood glue. Be sure the wood sticks out a bit on the sides. After the card board is totally covered you can turn it upside down and cut away the wood that's sticking out.

So, this is the result after the first day. I'm starting to like working this way, without a detailed plan, just going with the flow, while things don't have to be perfect because it isn't supposed to be :)
I think it might become 1:24 or 1:48 but I won't take measurements (I'll try at least).

Next step will be giving the wooden floor a layer or two, three or more, of oak stain. And I have to decide if I do the ground floor the same or if I rather make a stone floor.