Help your fellow builder by leaving your feedback based on these three criteria:
- Originality: How original is this - never seen before?
- Building Techniques: How much skill do you think the creator of this MOC has, in terms of building technique?
- Details: Express how much you like the details of the build.
Your feedback is only shown to the creator as well as yourself. It is not available for other users to see. The creator won't see your user name.
Last Updated . Click "Updates" above to see the latest.
Hey there builders!
(I have updated this build and added the changes at the bottom, look for the *** section)
I have for you a shoe for a house and it is filled with children. I watched a movie with my children and saw a mouse living in a tin can which reminded me of the old woman who lived in a shoe as my inspiration for this build. Mother Goose, if you don't know, is a vintage collection of short stories which were often songs called nursery rhymes. A more popular rhyme is Humpty Dumpty, but I chose The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe because I wanted the challenge of building a house from a shoe concept.
The home is more like a boot and is large and full of rooms and books. I started with the sole of the shoe, and then built up the sides from there. As I went I added features and things for the children to do.
- The toe-section of the shoe has a cast iron stove with venting that comes up through the ceiling and out the long piping that bends and curls around.
- There is a big table in the mid section of the shoe that has 2 benches and a chair for the old woman. On the table is a large piece of bread and 8 bowls of soup. The old woman does all the cooking herself and from scratch. Supplies for all her creations are down in the cellar below the heel of the shoe.
- The heel of the shoe is the old woman's bedroom that can be reached from the hall to the kitchen and has a long elaborate rug which connects the two spaces. The old woman has a gold canopy bed and a patchwork quilt to keep her warm. She loves flowers and keeps a fresh pot of them near her that are picked by the children everyday.
- Below the heel is the cellar that can be accessed from outside of the house. The cellar doors are on an angle and open outward. Down the stairs is a black iron candle holder to light the space for retrieval of cooking supplies or for the children's hidden toy stash.
- Above the heel is the second story of the shoe that has 3 beds for the children. There are 2 small book shelves and a large painting of bricks that the children did.
- Each section of the shoe can be accessed by ladder and there are railings that prevent anyone from falling down.
- The third story has 4 more beds for the remaining children. There is a large bookshelf, candlelight, and a play area with pirate clothes and accessories for make-believe time.
- The final story of the shoe is a craft room with 2 easels and paint supplies. The 2 paintings were done by my 2 children. The black one is by my daughter (first time using paint program) who is also the minifig holding a teddy bear, and the other is inspired from my son. I had to help him because it was hard for him to use the paint program being he never had used a computer before. I made him into a minifig also; he is the one with a rocket. 3 of the other minifig girls are my older sister's children. It was fun to add them all in.
- The shoe is topped with a wooden roof that is slanted and has various color shingles, including some which look very weathered. Making the 3 angles was tedious but I'm happy with the outcome.
- Another feature that took a lot of trial and error were the shoe's laces. I ended up going with the hoses and gold stud plates connecting them together. I hope the final product is believable. Using hoses/string in building software is difficult but once you find that perfect slope the curves really make the whole thing pop!
- Lastly I added a farm with a well and a white fence. Overall I was going for an old timey feel, so I feel the farm is a cute addition in order to support the "from scratch" cooking that the old woman does. Chicken eggs, cow's milk, and a pig to get rid of scrap food...and then eventually provide some pork. The bunny is just for fun. The well is stone with a wood frame to haul up the bucket for all the water needs of the farm and home.
- Some other features around the shoe are a tree stump, growth around the well, a small blacksmith area for metalworking repairs around the shoe, and a wood stack and splitting block for the stove.
- The Old Woman has a boxing glove for a right hand. I turned it sideways and colored it tan to look like an oven mitt. I love that little detail.
- One of the children has a bow and arrow. I figure for the theme it wouldn't be so crazy to imagine a youth outside shooting arrows at a target. Who knows, she may even become a full blown hunter. The target is visible in the full view of the house and figs (it was added after my initial draft was saved when I had already rendered all my photos).
I think this would be a great set because it can inspire storytelling during and after construction, and it has a fun fantasy theme that can help anyone get away from their everyday grind.
Please share any feedback you wish. I had a lot of fun building this and hope it is fun for you too. I would appreciate your support but if you don't feel like it than let me know why. I'm always open to constructive feedback, it may just help me tweak this creation into something everyone will like better.
Piece out builders.
***Updated section***
Hey everyone, thanks for checking out this build. I have edited it since my first submission. If you are curious, the following are the changes:
- A large tree on the back side of the shoe has been added and if you look close you can see a boy inside and a beehive.
- Originally there was no barn so I added one, it reflects the one that I built for the animals when I made a snow update. You can check out the update for just the snow section on the updates tab below the pictures.
- I added a wagon for when things get rough on the farm or when there's low produce. The kids know how to hook it up to their cow and can even guide her to the general store to pick up more rice and beans, or sometimes...baking goods for the old woman to make some more cookies! In the picture of just the wagon you'll see two kids in it and the girl has a kite (I super like that little detail)
- There are flowers scattered about, plants, and some grass patches. I tried to show some wear and tear by keeping the grass patches few and far between and colored like it's trampled in the walk areas.
- Lastly, in addition to the barn there is a roof over the well and the well is in better condition than original.
I hope you like the changes! Thank you for your support! Keep checking back for more updates.
By
Ropnoj
Help your fellow builder by leaving your feedback based on these three criteria:
- Originality: How original is this - never seen before?
- Building Techniques: How much skill do you think the creator of this MOC has, in terms of building technique?
- Details: Express how much you like the details of the build.
Your feedback is only shown to the creator as well as yourself. It is not available for other users to see. The creator won't see your user name.