Christmas Wishes.

This is Nick all dressed up for Christmas with a bow in his hair. I think it suits him, I'm not sure what his opinion is but he looks happy enough. He's probably dreaming about what he might find under the tree.

CHRISTMAS TREASURES.

I thought you might like to see some more of my Christmas decorations. I bought this little break-away box a few weeks ago. It lights up and looks really sweet on the coffee table.  I would like to make a break-away box "one day".

 I have several music boxes but this is my favourite. You can see just how tiny it is, the figures are so pretty and the music is Silent Night. The case is soft leather,  the music stops when the lid is closed.

 I just love this Santa Claus and was lucky to find him in an op-shop ( thrift shop)  he's perfect and I felt lucky to be able to give him a loving home.

 I found this printie on the net so cut it out and put it together.  It's so small but I love it.

Welcome To My Home At Christmas.

I love the little houses that light up. The smaller ones in front are battery operated but I forgot to switch them on for the photo, oh dear!  My cat Harry still manages to jump up on this desk in the kitchen to see out of the window.I often discover his "re-arranging" efforts.

 The mantle-piece is a great place to display some of my favourite things.

 The crystal cabinet that my husband made me a few years ago holds one of several nativity sets and some trees that I made in a craft group last year.

 The large cabinet that my husband also made is in the hallway with our tree and old treadle sewing machine.

These are some of my beautiful lighted houses. Most are Lemax although a few are cheaper ones that I've been lucky enough to buy over the last few years.

Hello Again!

I can't believe just how long it's been since my last post.  I've been so busy what with one thing and another. 

 First there was the school exams. I'm a supervisor at a local high school for the V.C.E. exams.

 This is the Victorian Certificate of Education exams that are for year 12 high school ( last year of high school). They are held twice yearly and always using supervisors from 'outside' the school concerned.

 End of year exams are held over 3 weeks , I did 16 of them. I really love the work but it is very tiring as you must stay on your feet all the time and most importantly, keep quiet!!

 Some of the exams go for 3 hours so it's a long time without talking.

I have managed to make some new Christmas decorations though, there's always time for craft.

The little trees are very simple, two are made with paper and the other using suffolk puffs glued onto a foam shape. I've made quite a few trees over the years, fabric, felt and covered bottle tops to think of a few.
 

 I love this little angel, my lovely husband cut it out for me and I painted her and the standing angel with the beautiful wings.  I don't do enough folk art. Every now and then the mood takes me and out come the paints and brushes!

 We made these baubles at our last craft day for this year at my Probus club. I'm the president this year and also organise the craft group. We have lots of fun, laughing and talking and even managing to make some lovely craft items as well!

My Work Shed.

My first and only attempt at quarter scale so far. I made this shed at a workshop day a few years ago and loved doing it. We constructed the box and everything inside.
 Some of the tools are laser cut and so tiny but beautifully detailed. They were bought from Eclectic Echidna, not sure if it's still in business though.

I'm so nervous about starting another project in this scale but think I will order a small house from Petite Properties.    I hope to have a garden space for my beautiful garden arbour and flower filled wheelbarrow that I was very fortunate to win from Sandra at Snippets From My Studio.

The only other really small item that I've made is this castle.  The pieces were pre-cut by some-one else and I put it together and painted it.  I'm not really happy with some of the detail.   One day I might get around to fixing it.      Painting the soldier toothpicks was fun!     I'm not sure my eyesight would be good enough now!

No News.

Hello there!  I haven't really got anything to tell you, I just popped in to feed the fish.
 I don't know if I'm imagining it but the black fish always seems to get the most food, perhaps it's because he's a dark colour and stands out more.
 Anyway, I love my little fish and feed them often.
  If your feeding them as well, please don't overdo it because they will end up too large to fit on my blog page!!

 I might have something more interesting to talk about next time.  The sun is out here today so life can't be much better. Keep smiling. xx

Lucky Thirteen.

Hello and welcome to Julia,  thank-you for your comments.  I can't find a blog for you, perhaps you can send me details. I would like to see what you make and your interests.

   I spend more time than I probably should reading about what other fantastic, talented miniaturists are making.  I don't know what we did before the internet.   Probably waited to ask for information or visited the library.  But now it's all here at the click of a button!!!

An Even Dozen.

Goodness me! A warm welcome to my 12th follower Ingrid from My Dreamworld. I love reading your blog and admire your work very much.  The detail on the antique camera is truly amazing.

I can't believe that it's October already.  What happened to the last nine months I wonder.  What have I been doing with my time?  When I really think about it or read through my diary or more importantly, read back through my blog, I can see that not all the days have been wasted.

Apart from a "crook" back and the usual creaks and groans of my ageing bones,  I'm very fortunate and I do thank God for all the wonderful, positive parts to my little life.
  Fantastic family, good friends, a comfortable home filled with all the crafts, books and other bits and pieces to fill my days.  What else could I want??
I wouldn't say no to having much more money to spend but then I don't think I could squeeze many more mini's into our little house.  Would I like to be 30 years younger?  I'll think about that one and get back to you.

The Forgotten Groceries And More.

Hello to Carmen from My Little Escape, welcome to my blog.  I really like what you have done with the red lantern that you bought at Ikea. I hope you will enjoy reading what I do here.

At last! Here are photo's of the grocery items that I mentioned in my last post then forgot to include.  Since then I've made more but still sooooo many more to make before the shelves are full.

 I have already bought quite a lot of packet and tin items as well as lots of bottles and jars to fill and label.  I know some of the items aren's strictly 1950's era but they can go at the back to make the display look fuller.
It's going to take a while to make enough as I have three shelf units to stock then I can put the "shopping" away and start on something else.

My shop will be in the  1950's and I'm going to sell hardware  things too such as pots, dishes, mops, buckets, as well as fruit and vege's.  There is also a post-office section.
 I'm hoping it will look like one of those country stores that's crammed full of all sorts of interesting bits and pieces.

I thought you might like to see some photo's of my cats. I must be honest and tell you that I've got many to choose from, they always seem to be doing something cute or funny so out comes the camera again!

Bella, on the left and looking like she's whispering to Harry, is as her name suggests, beautiful in nature as well as looks. She was one of a litter from a stray cat and was born in my daughters back garden.  I'm not sure what breed she is, perhaps Calico.

This is a favourite photo of Bella. She was washing her whiskers but it looks like she's laughing.

Harry is a street kid in more ways than one!  I got him from a cat rescue place. He took quite a while to settle in when he came home. He climbed and jumped up on every surface and piece of furniture in the house and was so full of energy that we wondered if we had done the right thing in getting him.  Now I wouldn't swap him for the world.  He's settled down although he still loves to climb and has a couple of favourite places on window sills.

My Tenth Follower.

Hello and welcome to Andrea of A Mini Obsession.   I hope you like reading about me and what I'm up to.   I've already seen some very interesting plates and other items on your blog.

As I type this, we are having the most incredible storm.  The sky has been dark for over an hour and it turned to night for a while,  the rain poured down,  we even had hail.
 My little dog Nicholas  does NOT like thunder and lightning,  neither do I, so we huddle together and are both tempted to hide under the bed!  My husband loves a storm, he flings open the drapes or goes out onto the verandah to watch,  frankly I can think of better things to do that aren't so noisy or dangerous!

My beautiful gifts.

Look at what the postman delivered this-morning.   My lovely but oh so tiny give-away gift that my friend Sandra from Sydney made.
  Wrapped so beautifully I couldn't wait to see what was inside.   You have to be here with me to see the detail but when you see the photo's I know you will understand how excited I was to receive this.   Thank-you again Sandra.
 I'm now busy planning just what I will make to display my new gifts in.  several ideas so far.

New Followers to Welcome.

A very warm welcome to three new followers but also an apology for not doing it sooner.

Gemma from Blog-Doll-Dollshouses.
karolyn from Little Lifestyles
Gillian from Make It Small.

I enjoy reading all of your blogs and find some-thing new and interesting in all three.

I am really loving this blogging. Some lovely new friends and from all over the world. It's great to share such a fantastic hobby ( or passion ) with like minded people. Long may it continue!!

Grocery shopping?

I had a burst of energy recently and made these tins and packets for my grocery store.

The tins were kits with the "tin" turned on a lathe.  They have realistic circles on the top and went together very well.   Most of the packets are from printies found on the internet but a few were kits as well.   Fiddly to glue up but I'm happy with the results.   I think I will brush a sealer coat over them  as well.

I spent hours working on them but was surprised when I finished  that there weren't more of them.   It's going to take me a long time to fill shelves in my shop!
My husband has a mini lathe that's for turning metal.  He's already said he could make some tins for me, I just need to find the right labels so he can figure out how thick to turn them.

I re-organised all my mini's recently and found things that I forgot buying. It was a bit like a birthday surprise, even found doubles of some items. Oh well,  I must have likes it enough to buy it twice!  I can't believe just how much I have.  We will need a much bigger house to display all of it if I ever get around to finishing projects.

A Warm Welcome.

How lovely. two new followers.
 Welcome to Drora Hed, I can't find your blog yet but will keep searching.
 It's lovely to have Rosamargarita too, your blog is very interesting.  I especially liked the little computer that you found.

  Also I'm not sure if I welcomed Kez, if not I apologise and say that it's lovely to have you on my list too.

My New Mitre Saw.

This is my latest purchase.    A hobby size mitre saw that I got in a " Buy It Now" on Ebay.

It's a fantastic little saw that will do everything that I want.

 No more wrestling with small lengths of timber while I try to cut straight using a hand saw.  No more sore hands and arms,  no more nearly sawing off a fingernail!!

I bought it from    www.woodworking.com.au   It's a Melbourne business, in Preston. They are fantastic to deal with.  The blade that it came with is on the large side, ideal for thicker timber but not good for finer cuts. I rang up and ordered a fine tooth blade that will be just right.

The saw is a Sonic Mini Mitre Saw and it cuts all angles up to 45 degrees. The blade has a safety cover and the handle is on the right side for easy viewing. There are other, cheaper saws available but this one seemed the best and safest to operate and it gives more flexibility as well.

I think the Ebay site is called   Bills Bargains Online.  Worth a look.

Nick's birthday today.

Just a quick post to say happy birthday to our dear little dog, Nicholas.   He's 12 years old , a Maltese Terrier and even though I love him dearly, he tries my patience quite often.

He's very close to me and suffers separation anxiety when I'm out of his sight.   He's also getting very deaf.

Because he just wants to be near me, he's always right under my feet and I've tripped over him several times. He gets on very well with one of my cats but doesn't like the other one.  He barks at anyone who comes to the door and some-times at imaginary visitors too.

I have to be honest and say that I love him dearly and he's great company, loves a cuddle and loves to eat too.

September 11th.

This year is the tenth anniversary of one of the most horrific deeds that man ever did to his fellow man. The day will live on in the memory of all who hope and pray for peace among peoples of different cultures.

I however also remember September 11th with love and happiness because it's my beautiful daughters birthday.

She was born at 7 minutes to 4pm and I ring her at exactly that time of day to wish her happy birthday. It started as a little joke but now even at 41 years of age, she looks forward to my call so this day is firstly a happy day for me and my family.

As I type this , I see that the time is 11:11pm in 2011, my daughters lucky number is 11 so I wish her joy, good health and happiness always xxx

Some Chairs I Have Made.

I made this wing chair several years ago from a pattern in one of my Venus Dodge books.  I own quite a few of her books, they are my favourites  for ideas and patterns.

 I really love these books, the style in most of the rooms is country cottage and cosy and the patterns are very easy to make up.

 After I made the chair I decided to make a foot-stool in the same fabric. The cushion is mine as well.

I love this little bedroom chair.   A friend gave me the one you can see in the bedroom of my florist shop.

 I made the red one and was happy that it turned out as pretty as the gold one.

The back is just as pretty as the front don't you think?

This chair was a real challenge.  The man who taught me how to make it is a fantastic miniaturist and is also an upholsterer in real life so the chair was put together the same way a full size chair would be made.

 It does make a much better finish but also lots of time and detail too.

Making a Bamboo Planter Stand.

This was my first attempt at making a  piece of bamboo furniture. It's a bit fiddly and it tested my patience because I'm not the most patient person at times.

 The pictures are prints on paper but fabric glued to a backing could be used just as well. 

  The "hinges" are sewing cotton wound round several times and cut off close to the sides. The trick is to do the centre first then the top and bottom.

This little Victorian sewing stand was lovely to make. Same technique as the screen but fabric lined front and back.

 Little pockets were made to hold all the sewing needs that I also made.

Here's a quick lesson on how to make a bamboo planter.

 Firstly, you will need thin wood skewers. Cut four pieces 2 inches long.   Cut another eight pieces 3/4 of an inch long.  Cut two pieces of timber or thick card, 3/4 of an inch square. I used balsa but it's not as smooth as I wanted it to look.

Give everything a light sand then paint the pieces either after they have been cut or you may find it's easier to paint then cut as it's hard to know where to hold the short bits!

 I mixed up some acrylic paint "till it looked a bit like baltic pine or a honey colour.

Lay two of the long pieces down and glue two short pieces in between. Do the same with the other side.

Next, glue the shelves in leaving one side open, it's easier to fit them in.

 Then glue the last two short pieces on to make a stand.         Leave to dry.

 Don't worry if the glue looks a bit messy, it all blends in once it's finished.

Put a small amount of glue on a dish and taking a tooth-pick or similar, run glue around the pieces.This should look a bit raised up or thicker. Try not to make everything even,   bamboo's not like that in in nature.

  All will make sense shortly.

When this glue has dried, take a fine brush and carefully paint over the glue rings with dark brown paint. Also touch lightly all over with the paint, you will see the look of  bamboo magically appearing.

Seal the whole stand and it's ready for a pot plant.