Inspired By Elvis-The Making of Memories, Part 2

To get a good idea of how I wanted to represent the house, I drove by Graceland numerous times, taking videos and photos. I also examined the thousands of images of Graceland online.  Finally, I selected my angle and began selecting fabrics.

For the home’s stonework, I used a golden mottled fabric similar to one of the fabrics I had used in the stone wall.  I used a white-on-white print for the woodwork areas.  I built the house in layers, stone first, then putting the woodwork behind it, just as it would be if you were standing there looking at the home in person.

Selecting fabric for the west-facing windows was tricky.  I knew I wanted them to appear as though they were reflecting the setting sun, as they were in my memory.  I auditioned several choices but ultimately decided on three and layered them for the effect I desired. 

The SILVER lame’ was put on the bottom layer, then covered with a glittery gold organza and topped with a purple tulle flecked with gold.  This top layer helps to emphasize the diamond grid on the REAL windows of Graceland.

Now it was time to put on a roof!  I used a darker mottled fabric from the stone collection, using a slightly less-dark area for the portico roof.

There is an area of siding (rather than stone) under that porch, so I depicted that with a very light version of the mottled stone fabric (I had purchased a piece of this fabric in every "stone" color!).

The facade of the porch was also layered, using two different white fabrics, to create dimension on the woodwork trim and columns.

I wasn't exactly sure HOW MUCH of the porch flooring would ultimately show, but I added it in there, just in case.  Turns out, NONE of it shows!

There is a little 'balcony' ironwork over the upstairs window on the porch, so I added some dark tulle there.

The working title of this piece was 'Tiny Graceland' for obvious reasons!  Once positioned on my cutting mat, you can see how tiny this home really is.  Those three-layer windows are only a quarter of an inch!  But everything matters...like the tiny dentil molding and round window/vent on the porch facade, which I added using a pencil.  I also used pencil to shade those two-layer columns to reinforce the 3-D effect.

There are several additions...annexes...on the main house and those were added, too.

I cut TINY shutters from some dark green fabric and carefully fused them into place.

I used pencil to emphasize corners and shadows...even the lattices against the far left annex!  I used fabric marker to add gutters and downspouts.

I applied an extremely diluted wash of grey paint to create a diagonal shadow on the upper part of the porch wall, then used some irridesent white paint on the trim and columns to emphasize the reflecting sunshine.  I really wanted this tiny Graceland to look in fabric the way it looked in my head! 

This is the final Tiny Graceland, temporarily fused to my Teflon sheet and draped over my iPad to give a sense of scale.  Those squares on the white cutting mat are one inch squares. 

NEXT TIME, I will show you how I made Tiny Elvis and his fans..and more!