Christmas is coming.....

.....and I have been wrecking my brain for workshops.  I think I have one for a small group now and I am working on it, so no picture to show yet.  It's an item that I saw on one of the blogs, but can't remember where.  The list is getting too long. :-)  However, I don't think the person will mind, because I can't do it as well as she did and we're only doing this workshop with a small group of friends.  On Sunday though, I want to have a workshop ready for a larger group of people and this is what I have prepared so far.  My apologies for the quality of the picture.  I am not a good photographer at the best of times, but late at night, when it's dark and I am tired, it tends to be just a quick fix.  The picture was taken in the living room of my Del Prado house, which is still not finished.  One day.....

For a long time I have wanted to make those Christmas bells that my mother used to hang under the lamps every year and I finally discovered how to make them.  I've finished them of with a little bit of holly and that'll do me fine!

Off to bed I go.  Till next time.
Marion

A trip to New Zealand

It's been a while since my last update of October 17.  Back then I was preparing for my trip to New Zealand.  A special trip, because I was going to visit my friend and together we had planned to go to the biennial Dollshouse & Miniatures Convention in Albany, Auckland.  Dorothee picked me up at the airport and together we made our way to our motel in Albany on a busy Friday afternoon.  We dropped off Dorothee's exhibition item, met a few friends and enjoyed a quiet dinner and evening chatting the night away.

The next day we arrived well-prepared at the Convention, and with well-prepared I mean not with an empty purse. LOL  This year we didn't go as delegates, nor had we signed up for workshops, as there wasn't much we fancied doing and we wanted to spend our money on buying rather then on the registration for the Convention.  And this is my loot:

At the bottom you can just see some veneer, on top of that from left to right: a hanging lamp which works on a battery (handy for those roomboxes or vignettes that can't be connected to mains power), shutters and hooks (for my future shabby chic minis), terracotta pots with saucers in two sizes (for my florist) and underneath the veneer a packet of ten sheets of fuzzy paper.

At the bottom on the veneer: light bulbs, a few glass containers in various shapes and sizes, handy sticks in various grades for sanding, jewelry findings and a few fluorescent type of lights with holders.

At the top of the veneer: a punch, purple feathers, a few sets of glittering earrings (which were dirt cheap and I can use the parts for whatever takes my fancy), Venne yarn for knitting, and last but not least on top of the fuzzy paper a kit for an oil lamp.

It might not look like much, but as you all know, the price tag for miniatures is definitely not in miniature!! :-)  The main thing however, is the fun that you have in selecting everything and gloating over it all again when you get home....

I hadn't finished buying however, because during my stay we've been to some craft shops where I still discovered things that I could use, or indeed 'needed' to have:

I intend to make more flowers, so I have bought a few more punches.  Double sided tape was cheap in the $2 shop and some paper-covered wire.  For the dinosaurs I have something special in mind which I will show you when I get around to it.

Back to the convention, though.  Of course there were displays and after the AGM (I am a member of NZAME as well) we went on the moonlight walk.  This always is the best part of any convention as you get to see all the displays with their lights on in a darkened room.  I did take some pictures, but not of the moonlight walk.

As I don't have access to those pictures right now I will add them later.  I do have some more other pictures though, because I finally met up with Carolyn from Carolyn's Little Kitchen again.  She's such a lovely person.  While at the convention as a trader she even had a surprise for me.  I was dumbfounded and even more so when I opened the parcel:

Out came two sets of beautiful porcelain plates.  You may have seen them before on her site.  She makes them herself and you'll all know how she did it if you've read her tutorial.  However, I know I can't do it as well!!  Aren't they beautiful?  Thank you so much, Carolyn.

Of course I met more people that I knew, because I have been to the convention in Lower Hutt two years ago as well and to a Rik Pierce workshop two weeks before that convention.  It's so nice to meet everyone again, although there was little time to chat, because everyone is busy either with buying or selling. LOL

And to top it all off I also won something.  It never rains but it pours...  I automatically filled in a form when buying something at the Hathaway Cottage table and only half saw what it was for.  Hence my surprise when a few days later I received an email message from Donna Leddy to inform me that I had won the couch that they had on show.  In the meantime I have arrived home and the parcel had even arrived before me.  It didn't only contain the couch, but also a very handy, and sturdy (!) little container.  Thank you so much Donna!  I will find a good home for it.

Of course I stayed on with Dorothee for a week and a half more and we spent more time shopping (although no miniatures) and visiting friends of old.  I had a lovely time.  And best of all, what happens when you both have the same hobby?  Of course, we spent a lot of time hobbying together and were quite productive.

We made some cats to sit on a door frame.  I commented on Dorothee's real size cats and mentioned that I received one as a present from a miniature friend a long time ago.  This friend had done hers on the scroll saw, but since neither of us is very handy with it we decided to just cut them from thin card.  Dorothee searched the internet for a few appropriate images and off we went.  We had to cut the three times to get the correct thickness, but in the end they looked good enough and all we then needed to do is paint them black.

We also tried our hands at making tiles to fit in a shabby chic environment.  Although they are still a bit thick we were quite happy with the outcome.  We used paperclay and decals to make them.

I wanted to make a few things for my florist as well, so we made a few wreaths.  The results are quite different, as Dorothee's are more 'playful', but I like both styles.

The two wreaths at the top are done by me.  The one in the next picture was done by Dorothée.  The plant was also her work and both were her gifts to me.  Beautiful additions for my florist!  I bet you can see the difference in the wreaths.  Dorothée has clearly had more practice..... :-)

And last but not least, we've made a variety of baskets.  We were contemplating on doing something else when I spotted a beautiful basket, so Dorothée delved into her store of materials and out came the stuff we needed and we set upon copying it.  We were very happy with the results:

These are the two rectangular ones I did, and in the second picture above you can see a round one.  I still need to finalise the details, but so far so good...  I am sure I'll be making more of these.  Such satisfying results!  I might even put some tiles in one of the baskets and use it in my flower shop.  I should have a few tiles somewhere with flowers, so that might be appropriate to put in a corner somewhere.

So, what else can I say.  I had a great time with great friends and got to see the various cottages that the Katikati group built for the exhibition. They were marvellous and as always, much prettier in 'real life'!

To my surprise I discovered that I have a great number of new followers, not only since I posted my intention to do a draw for a Giveaway, but still more after the draw.  I am sure you'll all understand that I cannot welcome everyone personally when there are over forty (!) new people on the list, but will do so again the next time.  Be assured that I have had a look at all your blogs and I loved what I saw.  It's good to know that there are so many skilled and likeminded friends out there.  Welcome to you all!

The giveaway I won

Yes!!! The parcel arrived on Friday and the contents were wonderful. Thank you so much Annie. Your work is not only very detailed but everything has a perfect finish. I am very pleased and proud to now own a few of your miniatures. I enclose your own picture, because I can't do better then that (and I tried!):

And now I'm going back to my own miniature work.  We had club day today and I took a workshop hyacinth making.  It was a spur of the moment thing, because there were no workshops offered this month and I prepared all the kits in the wee hours of the morning before I had to leave home.  Got it done, but only just and the kits weren't really to my normal standard, although nobody did mind I think.  They said they had a good time and liked the workshop.  Well, that's the most important part.  :-)  Now I have to think of something for next month, but between your blogs and my magazines I am sure I can come up with an idea.

I do have a question before I go, mainly for my Spanish speaking followers/friends.  There is an online Spanish magazine that I have downloaded once, but I can't find the link anymore.  Could any of you help me, please?  It's called: Taller de Miniaturas.  I would be so glad if I could download a few more, because it is a marvellous magazine.

Thanks and see you around

Marion

We have a winner!

I was not going to be home today, so I had already planned a way to randomly find a winner without the use of my printer.  Instead of printing all your names and draw them from a 'hat', I have counted all the valid messages for the draw and used a random number generator:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About this generator


31


Random numbers generated Oct 10 2010 at 11:18:21 by www.psychicscience.org
Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, nr. 31 is the lucky number, and whose (valid) message was number 31 you may ask???

(Drumroll.........)

Tada.......

Ultsu aka Ulla, and I think Ulla is from Finland.  Congratulations Ulla.  If you send me your address then the giveaway is going to be in the mail tomorrow.  I hope you will find it to your liking.

At the same time I want to welcome I my new followers.  I was pleasantly surprised by the interest and the number of new followers my giveaway has created.  I hope you will all become regular followers and I would love it if you would leave a comment now and then.  It's so great to have so many likeminded friends and share this great hobby of ours. For now I wish you all the best.  Since there are so many of you I cannot welcome you all by name like I usually do, but be assured, I have visited all you blogs, insofar you have one, and have enjoyed my visits tremendously. As always, there's so much talent out there!

My next update might be on my other blog: The Florist, because at present I am into flower making again and I am also working on the spiral staircase.

Just for fun. When I was looking for some inspiration I discovered this picture on the web:

I can tell you, that's NOT the staircase you'll find in my flower shop, but boy, would I love to have a go on that one!!!. :-)

Bye for now...

Seeing the light and I won a giveaway!

Remember the display with the bar light that I mentioned in my last posting?  Well, today we've managed to film the bar light fluro simulator at work.  Here is the short video to demonstrate what it actually does:



Now to find a project where I am going to actually use this simulator, because I love it!

By the way, if you'd like one of these simulators, just drop me an email and I'll see that I can arrange something with my son.  I believe they would cost approx. US$15.00

And more good news.  I won Annie's (Obsidian Hall) giveaway.  I am really excited and looking forward to seeing her giveaway for real.  I bet it will even be better than the picture on her blog.  Thanks so much, Annie and I will let you know when the postman arrives.

That's all for now. It's about bed time.  See you all

Marion

Giveway, welcome en general news

Pfff, back from holidays and I had to get back into the swing again straightaway.  We had a great time touring with the campervan for a fortnight.  For whom is interested, the story and piccies are on my other blog: Young pups rond Australië (which is both in Dutch and in English).  We would have loved to stay away a bit longer, but our club had their Open Day on the 19th so I had to get my stuff ready for display and some items that I wanted to sell.  And as always, you have the greatest ideas the day before and work far too late into the night to get it al done...  Anyway, we had a great time.  My youngest son came over for the weekend and helped me with a few things.  I was going to offer my resin doors and windows for sale and Kevin had designed a module for special light effects that he wanted to put up for sale as well.  So, we made a little display set to show the doors and windows and his light.  Since this module can simulate various effects we decided that for the display we would have a sign with a simulated fluro (fluorescent light) in it.  As you know, a fluro starts up with a bit of flickering and then changes to steady.  I was going to show a short video here, but it's incomplete right now, so that'll have to wait till Kevin is back and we can get it going again.  However, here's a piccie to give you an idea without the light on (the light is in the BAR-sign):

I never have a table at the show, but sell some odds and ends at the club sales table.  Mostly kits that I put together and some knitted items.  It's my way to create a little bit of income so I can buy a few items without feeling too guilty. :-)

And this is what I bought:

I was so happy to finally find somebody who sold Aleene's tacky glue, because my old one was nearly finished and it has been quite difficult to find a new one.  They also had a different kind of glue, called: white craft cement.  Apparently ideal for glueing silk and other fabric without staining.  Worth a try!  Further a bit of ribbon in a colour I needed and some glassware.  Also handles for purses, castor wheels, locks and keys and somthing looking like little doorknobs.  All those things I don't need right now, but you know as well as I do that they might come in handy one day...

Then, while I was away, my number of followers had grown beyond expectation and hurray!!! I have reached 100!!!  More about that later.  I first want to welcome all those new friends:

First my daughter-in-law, Tori, who has nothing with miniatures, but is a fantastic scrapper!  No time for a blog yet, what with family, full time job and study.  So, welcome Tori. And further:
Sara at Minidreamz,
Ana at Mi Mundo en Rosa,
Rosamargarita at La Tapatia,
Rosella at Il salotto delle rose, and
M Carmen Casanova at Mini Shabby
Also Berri Jones, but I couldn't find a link for a blog or website.
Anyway, I wish you all a warm welcome and I hope you will find something of interest on my blog now and again. Thank you for following my blog.  And by the way, people, all these blogs are well worth to have a look at, if you haven't done so already. Such variety, such skills!

And last but not least, to thank all my followers I want to celebrate the magic number of 100, so I have been working on a giveaway while I was travelling.  Here it is:

Christening gown and rattle in a decorative box

I hope you like this Christening Gown.  I have done some knitting before, but I have never attempted a lace pattern.  Pffff, I didn't realise the concentration involved, but I did it!!!  And it's going to be yours if you want it and..... if you are lucky. ;-)

I guess you all know the drill by now: You have to be a follower and I would like you to leave a comment of course.  I also would appreciate it if you would copy the picture (the first one will do of course) and post it on your blog, but you don't have to to be in the draw.  I hope to pick a winner on the 10th of October.  Good luck!

And now it's off to bed.  Tomorrow I am hoping to update my other blog, the witch's cottage.  See ya

Marion

And then there was water...

For a long time I had this old little pond.  Some ten years ago I attended a workshop where we learned to make moulds with latex.  You know, that thin stuff that you paint over your item of which you want to make a mould, and you paint on coat, after coat, after.....  I think we did 24 of them!!!  We had made this little pond out of clay and then, with the mould we made one out of plaster of Paris.  Anyway, this was meant for a garden theme in a break-away box which I never finished, because I didn't like the pond.

I wanted to finish my witch's cottage and need water in the swampy area next to it.  Since I've never used clear resin I thought it would be a good idea to practice and what better then on this little pond?  I painted it, and luckily I hadn't done that until now, because I wouldn't have done a good job.  Since Rik Pierce's workshop I have learned to do things a lot differently, so I painted the rocks the way they should be done to look realistic.  I 'planted' some plants on the water's edge and fabricated a few goldfish from fimo and set about filling this little fish pond. 

And this is the result:

Perhaps I am going to finish that break-away box after all, but don't hold your breath. :-)

This'll be my last posting for a while as we are going on holidays for a few weeks.  See you soon and as always, thanks for reading my blog and for all your kind comments.

Bye for now
Marion

I take notice of your comments....

Just a quick piccie of the pram.  Sans pointed out that it could do with some paint, so I got the paint out and did the wheels (and a bit too much on the edge, but hey, nobody's perfect!)

Thanks for your advice Sans.  It looks so much better now.

Okay, off to bed.  It's waaaayyyy past my bedtime.

Bye for now
Marion

Wickerwork

We've been talking about wicker work and because I wanted to find out the thickness of my cane I thought I might as well try my hand at it and make a basket.  This was a kit that I've been sitting on for a while.  I really want to view it as some kind of practice, because it is quite different from working with waxed thread.  The kit was ok, but I couldn't work out the instructions for the top border, so I had a look around on the internet and found something workable.  Problem is, the stakes are thicker than the cane that you weave with, so they are difficult to bend and weave.  Also I broke one, although I kept my work damp at all times.  I would really like to find if there is thinner cane available, or if there is a possibility to strip it yourself.  Anybody with ideas or information?

And I discovered a new follower as well: Patty Clark at Mini Babies.  Welcome Patty.  I had just discovered your blog this morning and then the phone rang.  Will come back for a visit. For whom is interested in Rik Pierce workshops.  Patty tells you all about her recent workshop with Rik on her blog.

That's it for today.  The weather is perfect and I am going out for a ride on my bike.

Marion

Finally...

... I got a stand for my dolls house. It has been behind closed doors for a couple of years and then it's a matter of: out of sight, out of mind!  It's one of those Del Prado kits that you could buy as a series some 12 years ago now.  I have been working on it on and off, but hopefully it will be getting the attention it deserves from now on.  It will still have to compete with my other projects, which are many, but at least, it's close at hand now.

I've bought one of those cheap looking shelves stands meant for a workshop, but since I am using them for the rest of my workplace as well it's a handy addition.  Plenty of room to work on, and plenty of room for storage.  And who cares what the room looks like anyway?  Everybody entering is blown away by my miniature projects on display. LOL

The house still needs a lot of work done.  I was too impatient to build it completely first, so I started with finishing the kitchen, hall and living room first, before I started work on the other floors and the roof.  So, at least the ground floor looks good....

For those who know the Del Prado house, I have altered a few minor things so far.  Well, not all minor, a major one too.  Luckily I realised before I started building, that the house itself was not of crash hot quality, so I built a sturdy base first on which I sat the house.  The rest is minor.  I built a false wall in the kitchen, because I wanted the stove in the corner to create a more pleasant view and I left out the stairs in the hall (after I had constructed them), because they took up far too much space.  Instead I added a door at the end of the hallway to give the impression of more rooms behind the door from which stairs could lead to the other floors.  I haven't changed anything in the living room.  At a later stage I will go into more detail of the various rooms, but for now you'll have to be satisfied with this one picture. ;-)  And for those who are going to ask: no, the house hasn't got a name yet, nor do I have a specific plan or a family in mind that's going to occupy it.  This was my first dolls house and I have only concentrated on learning what to do.  If anyone can suggest a proper name I'll consider it.  Saves me having to put on my thinking cap. ;-)

In the meantime I have been making a few more things for my witch's house and I needed to print a few items, so spent all my day yesterday designing and searching.  I like to design things myself, but it can be quite time consuming and then I get impatient and just look for something on the internet that takes my fancy.  The Graphics Fairy is a good site for that, although dangerous when you don't want to waste time.....

Also I want to welcome a few more people who stopped by for a visit:
Jeannette Bashore at JRB Creations,
CM at My Realitty, who also has another blog called Left Coast Mini,
and Marie at Le Petit Monde Merveilleux de Marie

Welcome folks.  I hope you like what I am doing and will come back for another visit.

That's it for now.  I'm going to update my witch's blog and I am itching to find out what else I am going to make today.  I don't know yet....

Bye for now
Marion

Parcels in the mail

Is it really only a fortnight (or thereabouts) since I welcomed my 70th follower!?  Now there are already 82!!
Well, let's welcome all of you first and then I'll show you what I got in the mail the other day.....

A warm welcome to:
Carol at True2scale,
Daydreamer at About my Doll Houses
Jody at Jody's Miniwereld (you'll hear more about her if you read on!)
Kim Saulter at It's a miniature life
Marit at Black Cat Cottage
Clara at Lavida en miniatura
Fiver at Mini Menagerie (who's stolen my heart with her little critters)
May at May
Esther Sanches Dias at Mi Mundo de Miniatura
Muriel at le Coffre d'Emilie

There are two more followers who don't seem to have a blog or a website, but I want to welcome them anyway: Kim@FairytaleCottage and AnythingMiniature. If you do have a blog or website, please let me know and I'll add them here.

And another edit of this posting, since Shellby wrote in her comment that indeed she has a blog: AnythingMiniature. So, I'm going to check it out right now.  You too?

(I had to edit this post, because in the large black space the following was missing:)

All these blogs are really worthwile visiting, even if I haven't mentioned what they are about. Better even: some will be a nice surprise for you. ;-) It's just that I don't have the time to add descriptions for everyone of them. And a few you will know already, because the are following my other blogs, but that's no reason not to welcome them here as well. And to all of you followers: I hope you have a good time when you're visiting my blog. I know I do when I visit yours.

And on now to the parcels in the mail.  One I received because I'd asked a question about scoubidous and the other because it was my birthday last week (My 60th! Do I really want to advertise that? LOL).

I'd asked Jody about the scoubidous and the wonderful person she is, she not only sent me a whole envelope of them, but added the transparent pins I mentioned as well as some other goodies, like beads and things.
Look at this:

Of course I am going to get a parcel ready for Jody.  We've already talked about what she would like to receive in return, so when I get a moment to catch my breath this week it will go into the mail to the other side of the world.  Thank you again, Jody and as you mentioned before, it was perfect timing! ;-)

And the other parcel was from my friend Dorothée in New Zealand.  She doesn't have a blog, so don't go looking for one, but she makes wonderful miniatures.  Remember the wicker chair in my witch's cottage?  Anyway, this time the postman brought me this:

Aren't they cute?  And so realistic! They are meant for my witch's cottage, but I will probably use 2 of them there and save one for another of my projects.  It probably means that I have to try my hand at birds too???  Now, that's what I call a challenge.  Thank you so much Dorothée.  They are lovely.

And that's all for today.  I've been on the computer all morning.  Shame on me, there is so much else to do.....

Have a nice day (or a good night's rest)

Marion

Welcome...

...again to a new friend on my followers list: Christine from Queensland.  Christine can be found at Hollyhock Cottage – a miniature home in the 1940s  and has even found the time to give her followers quite a write-up.  I can only do that if I keep on top, but mostly I lack the time.  (Been following too many blogs!!!)  Anyway, a warm welcome Christine and as you seem to live so close (where exactly?) we are bound to meet one day! :-)  I will be following you on your endeavours to build that beautiful cottage.

And now I am off to do some casting and I am also trying to throw a little cabinet together for my witch's house.  Inspiration is lacking, but if I persevere it might come back.

See ya and have a lovely day (or night, depending on where in the world you are)
Marion

Paperclay workshop

I've done it!  On Saturday and Sunday we've finally done the workshop that I have been preparing for for so long and I must say, it was worth every minute I spent on the preparations.  I was nervous and had butterflies in my stomach, but in the end it was a fulfilling experience.  As you can tell from my witch's house, I love working with paper clay and it felt great to share this love with other people who now know how to use it to its full potential.  My younger son also came along and took care of part of the workshop.  We needed a flickering light for the fire place and he, the electronics wizz he is, had put a kit together for people to solder the parts and make their own flickering light.  I don't have all the photo's yet of this very pleasant weekend, but will show you here the few I have:

Saturday morning. We're all ready to get stuck into it.

Demonstrating how to score the floor boards.

No, that glass of wine isn't mine. :-) Like Rik I demonstrate parts of the workshop at each person's table in turn.

Checking if everything lines up.

The soldering class. The tutor is behind the camera. ;-)

This clever lady knew that stonemasons leave their mark in their work.

A room with space to move. (slightly bigger than the others')

As you can see, this weekend also was our 'Christmas in July' celebration. Here in Australia it's always very hot at Christmas time and for years now people have been celebrating a watered down version in July. For us the coldest time of the year, although up here in Queensland you can't even call a winter cold. Anyway, a good reason to have a nice Christmas dinner and presents. It was good fun. We always have a 'Secret Santa' after dinner. We all bring and receive a small present.

And who do you think received this cute little cradle??? Yes, my 36y old bachelor son! LOL Fortunately I received a beautiful 'silver' bottle opener in the shape of a dolphin, so we quietly swapped and are both happy.

"Santa" was also happy for a while. He gave out the parcels and received a hug and a kiss from every woman. He wasn't so happy anymore when the men got up to receive their parcels and wanted to bestow the same kind gesture on him!!!! :-)

After that we worked till late in the evening and most got up early on Sunday morning, eager to finish their work. We hardly stopped for lunch and morning- and afternoon tea, which was a shame, because the food, prepared by our hostess, was delicious. And then, finally, it was time for a last picture and our farewell BBQ.

The group proudly showing off the results of their hard work.

My 'Scrooge' workshop, as I call it, because my setting is going to be the abode of Scrooge (Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol) had an unexpected spin-off.  Did I think all the hard work was done??? Not quite.  Everybody liked the door, window and shutters so much (they were the resin casts for which I had been making the moulds a while ago), that they wanted to order extra sets, so I have presently gone back to casting. And dear son is getting some extra flickering light kits done and is soldering a few as well, because not everyone wanted, or had the time, to do the soldering themselves.  Never a dull moment in this household.......... ;-)  Mmmmm, should I start thinking about an Etsy shop?  What do you think???

See ya
Marion

Back again

I would have liked to post a little bit more often, but what with the workshop preparations and travelling I didn't get much done.  However, with the workshop out of the way (yes, it was last weekend!) I may be able to get a bit more done.  We had a great weekend, but I haven't got any pictures yet, so I will leave the story about that till later.  In the meantime though, I have been able to finish something I have been working on and I want to show you.  It's a little pram, and with little I mean a 12th scale pram for a dollshouse doll. ;-)

I'd put it together a while back, but didn't have the tools to finish it.  Looks cute, doesn't it.  I like wicker work and hope to do a bit more in the future, but then, my list of what I'd like to do is getting rather long.....

This was a kit, put together by my friend Dorothée in New Zealand.  She's the one that also made the beautiful chair in my witches house that I have made unrecognisable, because when she gave it to me it was pristine and white. She didn't mind though. :-)

I also want to welcome quite a number of new followers/friends, because in my absence the list has grown remarkably long.  I still can't get over it that so many people visit my humble blogs.  I hope I really have to offer you something from time to time.  I have visited all your blogs, people, and so I have been able to add a few feeds to my list as well, because they are all worthwhile a visit.  I don't have the time to mention what every single blog is about.  You'll just have to go and have a look for yourself.........

So, welcome to:
Mirel Korhonen from Helsinki at Minimami
Marleen from The Netherlands at Marleen's Miniaturen
Karin Caspar from Germany at Karin Caspar Handgemachte Miniaturen in 1:12 und 1:144
Lorraine at DflyCreations
Caseymini at Casey's Minis
Jonna "Rudoo" at Buggaboos
Glenda Howell at Peppercorn Minis
Lisa Johnson-Richards at Miniature Doll Artist & Couturiere
Sylvia from The Netherlands at Lotjes Dollshouse
Lainie Ball at Lainie's Little Things
Debbie from Wales UK at Tiny Treasures
Linda at Linda's Minis
Janny Warnaar from The Netherlands at Art of Mini

Again a warm welcome to you all and I hope I can keep you interested.  I am not posting very often, but will do the best I can.  There are also a few people that don't appear to have a blog or a website.  Please let me know if you do have one and I'll link your sites: doc, Shelly and Sibiha.  Of course, welcome to you too.

That's all for today folks.  I am going to add something new to my witch's site as well.  So, please come along......

Bye for now

Marion

A blond moment.....

It must have been the very tiring weekend, because I just had very blond moment!  I've just removed my posting for today, because it wasn't until I published it that I remembered that I had been repeating myself. Bad memory? Me???

Well, I'm off to bed now.  I'm knackered.  No posting, no pictures, no nothing......... LOL

See you tomorrow

Marion

A short break from minis

You won't see me here for a week or so.  Frank and I needed a short break and have packed the campervan. I have taken some kits with me, but knowing myself, I don't do a lot when I am "on the road".  If you want to you can follow us on Young Pups rond Australia.  We have also taken our little cat.  Hope she likes the travelling as much as we do!  See you in a short while...

Working hard and another Welcome

I've achieved more than I thought I would these past few days, although I am having problems with the batteries for my camera and can't take pictures at present.  To have a change from flower making I started on a kit for a doll's pram, which only needs a finishing touch that I need to do at home.  I lack the tools where I am at present. 

Yesterday we had our monthly meeting in Brisbane of our Dollshouse and Miniatures Club where I took the photo album workshop.  Since it was a repeat workshop and there was another one finishing off from last month there weren't many takers, although that never worries me.  With only a few one can pay more attention to the workshoppers and make sure they are going home happy with a properly finished mini.

Here are a few photos for the sake of your entertainment.   ;-)

Bettye, the lovely member and friend that gave me the black cat for my witch's cottage, knew that I was going to do Rik Pierce's market hall next year. She'd had a good clean-out at home and brought me some pheasants and a hare and a box with a few oranges made from Fimo by another member and friend who has passed away a few years ago. Very kind and indeed, these little treasures are very special for this reason. When my camera will be agreeable again I'll take some piccies and show them to you.

First I am going to give my eye a bit of a rest, because since the mishap with my little cat the other day a bruise has developed on my retina. I've seen my opthalmologist this morning and fortunately he could assure me that it only was a bruise and not (yet) a detached retina, for which I was very scared. I have to be careful for a while though, because things can still go wrong.

I also need to welcome a great number of new followers since I last posted some news.  I keep it brief this time, but I can assure you that all their blogs, insofar they have one, are very much worth having a look at (although you may recognise a few shared ones of course....).

Here goes.  A warm welcome to:

Oiseau deNim from Le Petit Monde d'Oiseau
Dora from Miniatures Dora
Bastrota from Bastrotas Blog
Alafosca from Altafulla Miniatures
Cockerina from Les Minis di Cockerina
Annie from Obsidian Hall
Heleni from Tres Petit Blanc
Michelle from Little Rabbit Miniatures
Lucia Gabriele from Case di Bambola
Debbie Lee from The Little Saints Nursery
Anama from Anamavesi Minis
Eva from Mini Escenas y Manualdidades
Nancy Mastwijk from Dollshousehobby
Marie Whomes from Witchwonders Dollhouse Miniatures

Please let me know if a link doesn't work.  I have been known to make mistakes now and then. :-)

Then there are two more followers for whom I could not find a blog: Garoldhart and Elis.  Please let me know if you do have a blog and I place your link here as well.  For all of you, thank you so much for your interest in my blog.

I am actually surprised to see already 53 followers.  Since I am a slow worker I'd better be prepared and start on a giveway, because I plan to have a giveaway ready when I reach the count of 100!!!  Please, not too soon. LOL
In the meantime I'll keep in touch and wish you all a nice day or a good night, depending on where you are out there. Nice of you to have paid me a visit in blogland...

Photo albums

As I mentioned before I have been preparing a workshop making photo albums.  I used to prepare the kits, including detailed instructions, but have noticed that it's rather a waste of time.  Nobody ever reads them. ;-)

Therefore I have decided that it would probably be more helpful to have a set of step-by-step examples ready.

It's probably just as much work, or perhaps less, then writing the instructions and taking photographs of every single step.  I am going to mount these examples on card and I am going to use my next group as guinea pigs. ;-)

They are really nice albums, because I have been able to get some real thin kangaroo leather and also faux-leather paper:

They should all have a leather strap to keep them closed, but three of these still have to be finished.

I have also been working on a photo album for myself.  I had a series of pictures of all my friends of a miniature group.  We had to send in one current picture of ourselves and one as a baby or toddler.  I have finally taken the time to put all these pictures together in an album.  That'll be a nice memory for later years.

And that reminds me.  Do you ever happen to come across nice people?  I do!  As I have also mentioned before, I have recently joined a woodcrafters club.  I am learning general skills, but while doing so I am making things for my miniature hobby.  People noticed this of course and since then two have already approached me and given me either copies of pages from a book on miniatures, or have lent me some books from friends or relatives.  I think that's ever so nice. (I didn't have the heart of course, to tell them that I had those very books in my bookcase.  That doesn't matter.  I just appreciated the gesture so much!)

And wait, there's more...........  Some nice people following my blog.  There are four more that I want to welcome today:

The first one is probably a blog of a group of miniaturists (my Spanish isn't crash hot yet!): Nuria, Rossana and Norma at Casitamini.  I haven't had much time to have a good look, but I am sure it'll be worthwhile to look around on this blog.

And next there are Meli Abellan and Miniaturemaid.  Couldn't detect a blog, so please, if you have one, let me know.  Also Maria van Woggelum from The Netherlands, who is a member of a Dutch forum I am also a member of and I have even met her when I was visiting the country a number of years ago.  Welcome too, Ria.

Well, I'm off to cut some leather for the kits, and then I'm finished.  I've rambled on enough for one day.  Bye for now

Too soon

I finished my former posting a bit too soon unintentionally because of a phone call.  I had in mind to welcome a few more friends that are following my new blog.  I am still very much humbled by the interest that my blogs seem to attract.  I have seen, and I am still seeing, so much talent out there.  Not only did I see so many real artisans, but also such well designed blogs and some people tell stories with such imagination.....  I know that I won't be able to copy them, so I am not going to!!!  I just hope you'll keep enjoying what I have to offer in my modest way.  And now, a warm welcome to some knew and old (from my other blogs) friends:

Gonda from The Netherlands at Gonda's miniaturen
Monika from Germany at Puppenstubennostalgie
Carolyn from New Zealand at Carolyn's Little Kitchen
Susan from Australia at Mini Crochet Mad
Cheryl from Hawaii USA at A Miniature Place
Karin from Canada at Mini Ramblings and Musings
Alienora at Miniatury Alienory
Maria Jose from Valencia at Bienvenidos a mi blog Marivigano
Anthoula (from Greece?) at A Miniature Life
Sans from Singapore at The Dollshouse Diaries - My Maharaja's Palace
Ingrid from Vlaams Brabant, Belgium at Mijn Droomwereldje

Welcome again to all of you.  I am happy to have you visiting here and it's lovely to read your comments now and again.   Thank you so much.

A little accident

On Saturday I had a little accident with my eye, so at the moment I cannot work on any of my hobbies.  I won't go into detail here, but if you want to find out what happened go to my personal blog Glaginye and read the summary in English at the bottom of my posting (That is, if you don't speak Dutch of course :-0)

However, I can just about manage to read the larger fonts on my computer screen, so I'll try and update my blogs in the meantime.  In the late 90s, when I had just started in the miniature world, we often used the IKEA 3D frames "BAS" as a small roombox.  There was also a smaller (half) size, but that was taken out of production even earlier than the BAS frame, which is no longer available either.  I made a little nursery in the smaller size for a friend of mine who had just had a new baby girl and also made little girl's room in the bigger one and used another to temporarily store all my plants and flowers in.

Unfortunately I don't have any good photographs of the nursery.  Back then I managed to buy a cheap digital camera (my first) which produced very grainy pictures, like this:

Of the other two I have been able to take a few clearer pictures:

Since I have joined the local Woodcrafters group where I am learning boxmaking (amongst other things) using the dovetail joining technique, I had a good look at one of those IKEA frames and thought: I can do that!!!  So I did.  I won't say that everything I make goes well, but this was good enough for me:

More pictures after all

I said earlier that I had forgotten to take pictures while I was working on the project, but that was not completely true.  I did take a few, but not exactly step-wise.  I took one, when I was busy mould making on the kitchen bench.  Lucky me, I have a huge bench, so I don't miss the space much that was taken over by my mould making equipment.  It is still in a similar state, because I had an additional booking and so I need to pour more casts.

Before I knew of the extra booking I realised I needed door handles. I didn't really feel like making moulds for such tiny items, and pouring resin in such little quantities wasn't attractive to me either, so I sat down and in a few hours I'd made these from polymer clay:

I have to be honest and tell you that I pinched the idea from the Internet. They looked so cute when painted. Now I have made moulds of them after all, since I need to do more casting and can use up extra resin if I have mixed too much.  They might come in handy somewhere else.  There are two sorts: for inside and outside and the way I have made the moulds I can use them on the left or right hand side of a door.

I also took a picture of the fireplace before I put it in. I don't know why. Perhaps I wanted to have a picture to remind me how I'd done it, instead of writing it all down. I have been taking notes while I was working on the project, otherwise I can not make a proper scenario for the workshop.

I wanted to keep it simple, yet effective, so I used left over foam core and balsa wood.  That's all there is to it.

Well, that's really all the pictures I have.  I haven't got anything else to show you today, because I am preparing yet another workshop.  We are going to make a photo album when we have the next club meeting in Brisbane.  I am busy putting the kits together and all it is is cutting paper and card. I do have a cutter for my card making, but it's old and worn out and not very precise when it comes to working with millimeters.

That brings me nearly to the end of today's posting.  All that's left is to say 'Welcome' to my friend Ria from Variaatjes WorkshopBoxes, who's now also following my new blog.  So, welcome again Ria.  Glad to see you here too.

And just as I had published this post I discovered I had another follower, so back to editing and saying: Hello to Sylvia from Spain.  Sylvia loves miniatures, but is also into graphic design, photography, interior decorating, cross stich and scrapbooking.  (Yep, my Spanish is definitely improving :-0)  Have a look at her blog: Miniaturas Natasylvia.

And now I'll have to think of something to show you next.

And before I can say "Jack Robinson" there are 12 more.....

.....friends to welcome: Christine, Naomi, Laurina, Debie, Beatriz, Susanne, Ascension, Jeannette, Klara, Janice, Norma and Alennka. Welcome on my new blog.  I hope I can keep it interesting. ;-)  I just need heaps of time. LOL

Welcome friends

I shouldn't be surprised, but I am! I've just launched my new blog and already I have 8 followers. Welcome:

Margriet, Ira, Carmen, The Old Maid (sorry I don't know your real name), Sonia, Nuria, Lara and Nina. Good to see a few 'old' friends. ;-)

I promised some more pictures, so here goes:

I can't quite remember who made the floor from airdrying clay and had it shrink so much that the whole floor cracked. Well, look at my walls! Lucky for me I wanted to build an 'old' house. However, if I would have used the more expensive paperclay I would have been able to cover them up and smooth them, like I do with the openings between walls when the clay has shrunk and between floor and wall. Now I haven't bothered, because I like the cracks where they are. I have used the cheaper version of paperclay that is used for pottery. I have found that the more expensive paperclay seems to be more elastic and if money isn't a problem I most certainly prefer the good stuff.