Happy New Year!

And a Happy Birthday to our Darling, Newly wed, New Years Day Baby, Emma !
See you later ....

Off At A Tangent, Again.

It was back to work yesterday but considering it was an ordinary day, and my recent lack of mojo, I got a lot of mini-ing done, far more than the 1/2 hour I try to, at least, make every day. I made a bookcase  for my witch (more about her later) to store her potions in. I searched my stash to see what I could use, trying to keep the costs down again, I've said before I'm a Scrooge,. I knew I had the magical minis that Karin sent me a few weeks ago, which were the inspiration for this room-box, so they sat nicely on the bookcase. 

I then came across another prezzie, again from Karin, that I received last year, a little baking scene of making gingerbread men. Now here is where I wander off at a tangent, why would a witch be doing a nice homely thing like baking cookies instead of boiling bat’s blood or something as equally gruesome? To catch the children of course!! So a table was made for her to work at.

This is where the jumble of ideas on the back burner of a miniaturists' mind all come together. A couple of months ago Dollshouse and Miniature Scene mag reviewed a Sue Heaser kit for a newborn baby which they said was easy. Now dolls aren’t my thing really as I find some of them rather creepy but this baby looked kind of sweet and at £10 for the mould and enough Fimo etc to make 4 of him (or her) I thought it was reasonable especially if you weigh up the cost of a kiln if you wanted to make porcelain dolls. OK so there is £3 p&p, so to keep costs down, I ordered the man and lady moulds as well, is there a warped logic in there somewhere? I bet you’ve all done it, LOL! So I will also have the mould for a witch when they arrive. So the idea is to make a baby and put him in a cage on the floor while the witch checks her crystal ball to see when he is ready to ????

See you later....

What Is It With Photos?

Why is it cock ups only show in photos? There you are enjoying the fruits of your labours and then you take a piccie and all of a sudden something jumps out at you. So before any-one tells me, yes, I know the sticker on the right hand door on the Aga is wonky and I have rectified it!
See you later....

Today's Progress.

Another Bank Holiday so I've taken advantage and had another full day of mini-ing. I made an Aga,

Well, any witch worth her salt needs a stove to brew her potions on

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The kettle's on the boil but I need to make her some pots and pans to brew her potions in.

See you later....

A Whole Day Mini-ing

Due to the extra days holidays I've spent the whole day mini-ing, whey hey!! I got all the egg carton flagstones stuck down on the floor and painted it with Matte Varnish and I'm really pleased with the way it has turned out, if you poke the photo you should be able to see the flower-soft "moss" between some of the flags.

I also made a coffin out of card stock to house a skeleton I bought off  E-Bay a few weeks ago, 

OK, it's not a lot for a whole days mini-ing but considering the lean times I've had just lately with the wedding etc  I'm pleased. Perhaps my mo-jo's back.

See you later....

Just For Karin.

The Bride's parents.





See you later......

A Wonderful Surprise.

As the majority of us are eagerly waiting for Daddy Chrimbo to arrive you'll be familiar with the feeling of Anti-climax on Boxing day when we think, "Is that it?" we plan for weeks and then it is all over in a flash. Imagine how I felt on Monday having planned a wedding for 12 whole months, neither the DH or I were at work and I seemed to wander around the house, aimlessly, not really knowing what to do with myself. Yesterday was just as bad with the added pain of being back at work so imagine my surprise and delight when I arrived home and the postman had been, later than normal due to adverse weather, and brought me a surprise.

They were made by Elly, you may remember she made me the cross-stitch portrait of Bracken, well she also makes these little flowers. I saw them on her blog the other day and marvelled at them and now I have my own, Thank You Elly. They are perfect for in my Xmas room box which is the only decorations we have up and that is only there because it never got packed away after I finished making it!

See you later....

The Real Bride and Groom.

Yesterday went off without a hitch and our darling daughter got her wish, a truly white wedding.

Mr and Mrs Harrison.

The day was absolutely perfect.

See you later....

The Bride and Groom.

May I present the Bride and Groom, my daughter and husband's handiwork.

See you later....

Be Careful What You Wish For.

364 days ago our daughter rang me while we were at the van and said she and Joe had set the date for their wedding, the date she rang-  19th Dec 2009, the date they had set- 19th Dec 2010. As Steve and I set off for the Brown Horse, "Apres Shoot", it started to snow and we decided we needed to bail out and go home, as per 3 weeks ago, otherwise we would be snowed in, wise decision.Emma commented, off the cuff, "wouldn't it be nice if we had a white wedding?" to which I replied "Yeh, right!!" Fast forward to the present and this is what we have awoken to this morning,

My Car!

Hey Ho,....

On the mini front, last Sunday I got the Halloween box painted inside and started making the egg carton flagstones, I'm really pleased at the way they have turned out.

Please note the still tidy workspace after 2 whole weeks, my workshop acquired another double base unit this week so all units are in, although not fixed in place. As I was doing the flagstones last Sunday night I realised I would have to give it a rest this week as paint under the fingernails and dried glue on one's hands is not a good look for the mother of the bride so all I've done this week is smother my hands in Udder cream, yes you did read that right "Udder" as in cows. It is brilliant stuff and acts as a moisturiser and a barrier cream, great for me as my job means my hands are often damp. It's worked a treat as my hands are looking good.

Off now to get things ready for tomorrow, so much to do, so little time, but before I go I must show you my darling Bramble wearing this years must have outfit, a snowball coat.

See you later.....

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I'm On A Roll.

Yesterday was a really good day, I tweaked the hallway room-box and added a mouse, mouse trap (something I always put in my scenes) a couple of butterflies, (which were Fimo canes, a bargain find on E-Bay) and a clock (which was a button of all things) and then all I had to do was cover it with the double glazing film.Sorted!

This also turned out to be a bargain buy off E-bay as until yesterday I had never opened it and there is loads of the stuff and I could cover 100's of room boxes with it.

I also started my Halloween box, this one measures 12" x 12" x 7"  deep. I gave the outside of the box an acrylic wash of  "grungy" grey and splodged (if that's a word? spell check says NO) Polyfilla on the walls. It all took forever to dry as it was so cold yesterday, or maybe that was me being impatient! 

I am hoping to paint the walls today with a slightly off colour white and then "dirty" it with black pastels so it looks grubby. I have cut a piece of card stock to fit the floor and am going to use egg cartons to make flagstones, I've never done that before so it will be a learning curve. BUT , and there's always a but with me and minis, I must finish putting up the curtains (RL) in the back bedroom and make up the bed with the new bed-linen ready for Emma next Saturday night, OMG!!! 7 more sleeps to the wedding. EEK. 

See you later....

Update On Fern.

Fern was back at the vets last night and thankfully her blood-count was up 4 points to 25. It looks like reducing her chemo has done the trick, fingers crossed.
See you later...

It's Curtains For Me.

Just as Irene posted her comment yesterday I was watching the lunch-time news that was broadcasting about how bad it was in Edinburgh and now this morning they are saying that the Government are debating whether to bring in the army to clear the streets there. Why, Oh why does the UK grind to a halt when we have bad weather? Why are the side roads never cleared or even gritted? Why are there no Grit Bins on street corners? Why are there 7,000 schools across the UK closed? Why have I never in my life seen a snow plough? I despair, OK enough of my rant, back to mini-ing.

On Monday I said I had started my curtains for the "hallway" and they were drying on the radiator, I say drying, as after I have put them in the pleater I spray them with starch. Yesterday morning as I was having my first cup of coffee I removed them from the pleater but was disappointed as I felt the pleats weren't as crisp as they should be. I then remembered that I had read somewhere that hairspray can also be used so I put them back and re-sprayed them and when I came home from work I checked them again and success, so I think in future hairspray is the way forward.

Talking of work, as I mentioned yesterday, I am not snowed in so had no excuse not to go,  I reluctantly had to put the minis to one side and go and do some honest toil which also turned into something good as I had had an audit and I got top marks across the board."The girl done good"  When I got home, after having something to eat, I continued to work on the curtains. I seem to have got my mojo back and I think the reason it had gone was, sub-consciously, my mind wouldn't settle to it because I knew I had things to do for the wedding, now they are out of the way I am free again. Talking of free, last night I wan't really, as at 8.30 I had to stop, probably along with 3/4 of the UK population, to watch the next gripping episode of Corrie, OMG how much can go wrong? and then I had to watch 50 years 50 moments so mini-ing was slow but I did finish the curtains..

and I even picked up the "Tiffany" style lampshade that proved my downfall a few weeks ago and was the straw that broke the camel's back, it came together like a dream

After adding a mirror

And a mouse mat and mouse, I think it's finished!

I've got some secondary double glazing film, the stuff like cling film that you heat with the hair-dryer, to put over the front to keep dust out and I will put picture frame round it.

See you later.....

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The Weather and The War of the Roses.

There is always great debate between Lancastrians and Yorkshire men as to who lives the right side of the Pennines.With Britain being it the grip of the "Big Freeze" I think Lancashire has come out on top, again, as while most of Yorkshire is covered in snow, where I live in Lancashire has had virtually no snow at all. We had a very light dusting last Wednesday and that was it until this morning when it tried, but didn't get anywhere, again. Of course we've had the freezing weather, like everyone else, but it is just freezing the moisture, not piles of snow.

     Lancashire 1- Yorkshire 0

For all of you poor people snowed in, use it as an excuse to mini (as if we needed an excuse lol) and above all, stay warm and if you do venture out, take care.

See you later.....

Teapots.

Having got my workshop sorted out on Saturday it was a pleasure yesterday to get my sewing machine out and get the Ascot ties and handkerchiefs made for the wedding.

OK, so it wasn't mini but it was creative and they did need doing!

Those of you who know me will be aware that I make tea-pots out of washing-up liquid tops and I always have several on the go.

Over the time I have been making them they have been a great stand by, either as a diversion when I'm getting bogged down by a project or commission or just as something to do when I don't feel like starting a project. My teapots are always there in the background but since I fell out with mini-ing even they haven't been able to raise any enthusiasm  :-(  that is until today when I made one for my Halloween Room-box, yes  I know I haven't finished my hallway but I have to find my mojo somewhere, I'm getting desperate.

Boy those cobwebs were a pain to paint.

I even measured the window in the hallway, got out my material and started making the curtains,they are drying on the radiator as I type , Oh happy days.  

BTW, if any one wants the instructions for the teapot just let me know.

See you later......

Workshop update.

Steve's worked like a trooper this afternoon  and my workshop now looks like this

Finally, stash away and in cupboards and a relatively clear work desk to work at. Hooray  ;-) Just the other side to do now but it's a start and sooner than I thought.

See you later.....

Deck The Workshop With New Units,Tra,la,la,la,la,la,la,la,la!!

My New Years resolution is to get my workshop kitted out with kitchen base units and worktop so I can get organised, be able to put stuff away and keep it dust free.I'm a bit OCD about cleaning (it is my job after all!) and I hate things being "mucky". My workshop went up at the back end of last year but because of the wedding, and the fact my purse isn't a bottomless pit , not much has been done in it. It is basically a conservatory but without the double doors that lead onto the garden.

And the inside

Yes, yes, I know it's a tip but I do know where everything is and woe betide anyone, man or beast, who touches anything. The idea is to leave the right hand table in situ and have kitchen base units all around. The table is in an ideal position as it over looks the garden and fields at the back and as it is South facing it gets excellent light.But that's in the future, or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when I got home from work last night to find this on my living room floor....

A corner base unit and a double base unit  :-ooooo 

 Unbeknown to me Steve had been out and ordered them for me, whey hey!! Happy days.

So that is Steve's afternoon taken care of, although the air might turn blue, lol, and maybe while we're in there I will find my lost mojo and get my enthusiasm for mini-ing back. Some one kindly gave us a brand new length of work top a couple of weeks ago and when Emma had a new kitchen fitted at the beginning of the year we snaffled her old sink and taps so that is one side of the workshop sorted.

See you later with a progress report.....

The Vet Called.

Since Fern's blood-count drop last week we have been on edge all week waiting for this weeks visit and result, bad news it was down again to 21. :-((  It's so frustrating as she seems so bright in herself, take a look at the photo of her in the snow at weekend, does that look like a poorly dog? The vet can't understand it either as all her other results are normal so she decided to send the results to Liverpool Veterinary Hospital to see what they make of it all and we got the results today. Good news :-)))) at last,  we hope. They think her Chemo dosage is too high and as well as suppressing her immune system, which we want, it is also suppressing her bone marrow production, which is not good. We have to cut her dosage down and hopefully, fingers crossed, when we go back after the weekend there will be some improvement. Is it any wonder I'm not in the mood for mini-ing.
See you later....

Are You Following?

Even though we aren't doing Christmas this year (because of the wedding) I still like to see what Santa is up to.
Are you following him?


http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html