Happy New Year!!

A couple of days ago I was searching through the bottom of my wardrobe when I came across my old knitting bag and lo and behold in the bottom were some Webster's needle punches. Let me explain, when I was first married, many moons ago, I made all my own clothes and knitted my own jumpers and then Emma came along and I saved a small fortune. When Emma got to 5 she suddenly became "picky" about what she wore and decided she wanted jumpers with appliqués on, hence I bought the needle punches. Having found them I resisted the urge to go and play with them, as that is fatal because I lose track of time. 

Steve has gone up to The Lakes today with Bramble, to go on the shoot, so I'm having a mini day. Out came the punch needles and embroidery hoop. I thought I better start with something simple as it's been a long time since I used them and after a few false starts I soon got into a rhythm Just under an hour later and I was nearly finished..

Can you tell what it is yet?

Another half hour and I had really got into my stride and it was finished! I can't tell you how therapeutic it is stabbing a needle in and out of a piece of material. If you had a bad day at work you'd make up pieces in no time :-) 

A quick and easy Bath mat.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year

See you later....

Christmas Update.

Well I'm glad to say I am all sorted for Christmas, whey hay! or should that be, if I haven't got it by now we can do without? With all the Christmas preparations not much mini-ing has gone on, apart  from one, which I am rather pleased with. A couple of months ago I bought a bulk order of strip LED lights off E-Bay, they were at a price too good to resist, as you do! and apart from installing some in my dollshouse to compliment the lights already in there, they went in my stash and were largely forgotten, until that is, I got my Christmas decs out. A couple of years ago I made a Christmas box, well to tell the truth I made 2, one was for Emma, and when Steve got it down from the  loft I realised it would look better if it was lit.Out came the LED's and  in they went. When I ordered the LED's I also ordered some battery  packs, £8.99 for 5 with free p&p, you can't go wrong at that price can you? only problem was they were coming from Hong Kong and I know from past experience they can take a while. With the Christmas post etc. I wasn't expecting them this side of Chrimbo but lo and behold they arrived on Tuesday. I think lighting in a dollshouse or room box brings it to life.

And of course, Santa and his sleigh are parked outside my dollshouse.

See you later....

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Merry Christmas to all my followers. Looking forward to a prosperous 2012 and may all our troubles be mini ones!

Santa's Finished!!

And so to the dressing... His trousers were made and went on with out a problem but then to the jacket, it wouldn't sit right. I fiddled about with it for a full night and even an "O" Level in dressmaking, earned a long time ago at school, wasn't much help. I knew the problem but rectifying it on such a small garment seemed an impossible task and so he was relegated to the dining room windowsill where he has stood, he stands up by himself without the need for a doll stand, glaring at me for over a week although how he can glare when he was headless I don't know but he did. When we got back from the Lakes last night I knew I had to get on with it but I was procrastinating and then Elly left a comment and it spurred me on. Two hours later he was finished. OK, so he won't win any awards, and compared to the dolls out there made by doll makers, he's a non starter but I'm not selling and he's only for my enjoyment and I'm really pleased with him.

See you later....

Santa's Progress.

So Kryten, sorry Santa, has had his head built up with some extra Fimo so it's not so square, although I think I would have got away with it with his hair and hat. Don't look too close at the photo as it's not perfect but I think it's passable although I can't help thinking of Henry VIII every time I look at him.

His body has been padded out with wadding, I hope I've made him fat enough, time will tell.

And his clothes are at various stages of making. Hopefully I will get him finished next week. Thursday is RL cleaning day and Friday is sorting food for our weekend in the Lakes.

See you later....

Talking of the Lakes, spot the deer

.

Kryten, aka Santa Claus!!

Or should that be Santa Claus aka Kryten? Two full nights of mini-ing and Santa is coming on very slowly, I told you dolls weren't my thing. I've got the basic body made with his leather boots and gloved hands but his head went weird on me in the oven and his forehead has slid to the back and given him a square head, LOL, hence the reference to Kryten the robot in Red Dwarf. With no features painted on he looks a bit spooky, like i-robot, hopefully I can build him up a bit with some more fimo because after all his head will be covered with his hat. If not I'll start again, DOH.

Oh, and as a footnote, it's official, I HATE superglue! I stuck my fingers together and to everything else so many times last night it was comical.


See you later....

Sleigh Update #5, Finished.

Despite having my hands full with the new pup I finally finished Santa's sleigh.

Next step is Santa but dolls aren't my thing so don't hold your breath!

See you later....

Sleigh Update # 4

Santa's Elves (that would be Chelle!) have been busily beavering away making toys and presents for Santa's sack.

These are just a few of them
.
It's been slow going with a young pup to watch, don't forget Bracken is only 11 months so in reality I have 2 puppies so I need eyes in the back of my head. On reading Moss' records it turns out she is 20 weeks old not 12 so she is not as timid as a younger pup would be, she's very feisty! She's settling in well. Yesterday morning the older 2 were asleep on their basket with Moss curled up on the rug at the side, when I looked again she had plonked herself on the basket curled up in Bracken's tummy, Arrgh!! :-)

Further proof that she is fitting came last night while we were watching TV,

Moss is the one in the middle, 3 fur babies dead to the world dreaming doggy dreams.


See you later....

Sleigh Update # 3 and Up Popped a Parlour Palm

Not much to show on the sleigh front. The sack is made and a variety of toys and presents are being made but they all need assembling. It's all rather slow going and while awaiting for glue to dry again I made another pot plant, this time a parlour palm.

I don't expect I'll get much done now as I have another mini distraction . May I present........

 Moss, a twelve week old Springer Spaniel.


Bramble decided if she averted her eyes it may go away and Bracken was scared and watched her every move.

See you later...

Sleigh Update # 2

I've just had 2 days of annual leave, because Monday was our 30th Wedding Anniversary, but things conspired against me and I got no minis done so I was determined yesterday that the day wouldn't be wasted.

After I decided on kitchen string for the decoration and waiting for the paint to dry I set about applying it to the sleigh. Patience is a virtue I certainly do not possess! Applying a line of glue and waiting for it to go tacky and then waiting while the string dried was doing my head in and as usual I got side tracked. Remember the gift I got for re-subscribing to my magazine well it contained some blue garden pots so I decided I would make a fern to go in one of them. That of course meant also waiting for glue to dry again so I alternated between the two, wait for string to dry make leaves, wait for leaves to dry glue more string and so on and so on. Eventually all string was stuck and dry and all leaves were made.

I apologise in advance for piccie quality but I'm having to use my old camera, the lead for my usual camera is in my laptop case and I've sent my laptop away for an up-grade. DOH!

 

.I just need to make Santa's sack and some toys. I'll have a good look through my stash as I'm sure I got things left over from previous Xmas projects.

See you later....

Sleigh Update # 1

Despite my injured finger the sleigh is constructed and painted. I decided to go with the green as it is only for my personal pleasure and therefore accuracy isn't crucial.

The black box like structure is the seat and cargo hold but I will put that in at the last minute because it is made from leather and I'm bound to get paint on it! I now have a dilemma as how to decorate the sides because my freehand painting skills are not up to the job. Maybe some cord painted gold or some stickers, I'll have to have a think over the weekend. 

See you later....

Thingmas.

Thing mas, I refuse to say the Christ bit until 1st of December but it doesn't stop my thoughts wandering there and related projects. Apart from some teapots and other small bits and pieces ( I now have loads of UFO's)  I haven't done any mini-ing for months,mainly because my head has been all over the place with work but last week common sense reigned, and a campaign to get me back by the staff,  I am now back in the medical block. So yesterday I decided to get my life back on track and get some serious stuff done. I have a beautiful Fibre Optic Xmas tree that I bought at the Dolls House Emporium at Houghton Hall, near Carlisle a few years ago, which always goes out side my dh at thing-mas but I wanted more of a scene and had a idea floating round about Santa and his sleigh loaded with presents. So last night was the night to start it. After finding the project

Santa's sleigh 

This is a printie but I planned to use it as a template and make a more substantial one from card stock and bass wood. Got all my supplies together and then realised I needed a new blade in my Stanley knife, replace it, check, but with what happened next I don't know whether that was a good or bad thing. Somehow I managed to twirl the knife in my grasp resulting in one rather nasty gash to my  index finger. Fast forward 45 mins and it is still bleeding, although abating, and I am beginning to wonder whether it needs stitching. Decisions, Ermm  a long night in AE or a chilled bottle of dry, white in the fridge. The wine won, but I still haven't had the courage to take the plaster/band aid off this morning. Do you know how difficult it is to work without putting pressure on your index finger? Right handed, right index finger, I think that is called Sod's law!! Anyway onwards and upwards, things went rather slowly and gingerly for the rest of the night and I didn't get as much done as I wanted but I did get the sides of the sleigh cut, I hoped to have it all constructed but Alas it wasn't to be.

I now have a dilemma, I want to dress Santa in Green, which was the original colour before coke cola got hold of him, and the question is "Would his sleigh have been green as well?" I've Googled it but am going round in circles so any suggestions or images would be gratefully received.

Going off topic, this unseasonally warm weather has produced a freak of nature in my garden. My lilac tree, which flowers in Spring, is shedding it's leaves for Autumn, but is also flowering. Albeit with small flowers but flowers never the less!!

See you later....

Teapot piccie.

As promised my third teapot.

It's up for auction on E-Bay     E-Bay

See you later....

My Mojo's back.

Finally, after over five months, my mojo has returned. I've spent most of the day sat in my workshop making my old stand by, teapots, three of them to be exact. OK so teapots aren't original or the most exciting but, quite frankly, anything that gets me mini-ing again is fine by me. It bodes well for next week when I have three days of Annual Leave, taken because it is my 50th, but Ssh don't tell any one, so hopefully I can spend it in my workshop. I hope I don't run out of steam before then.

There is a third one but the daylight ran out and I couldn't get a decent piccie.

See you later.....

PS. Welcome to my newest followers. Hope you like what you see.

How Long Is A Piece Of String?

Actually, the piece of string in question wasn't as long as I thought it was going to be.An hour when we came back from the van on Sunday night and an hour or so last night and voilà,  the flooring is down in my workshop.

                 No more concrete dust, whey hey!!

OK, so it's a boring photo but to me it now feels like a proper room and not just a add on to the house, plus a quick swipe with the mop and it is clean, good for my many allergies. 

 Thursdays are usually spent doing RL cleaning but as Monday is a Bank Holiday and Steve and I have taken tomorrow off as annual leave all my cleaning was done yesterday so today I can take it easy. A nice, lazy day.   A couple of hours at work and then jump in the car and head up to the Lakes for four days of well needed R&R, sheer bliss.  I'm hoping to make some peanut brittle today, a childhood favourite, so expect to come back slightly heavier, LOL but hopefully with all my teeth in tact.

See you later....

Little Things In The Post.

I don't know if any of you subscribe to any dh mags but I subscribe to Dollshouse and Miniature Scene. My subscription was due for renewal a couple of months ago which I dutifully sorted out and forgot, as you do, and my mag carried on being delivered as usual. On Friday the postie brought me a parcel, which I wasn't expecting, and upon opening it look what I found, my reward for re-subscribing!! 

How brill is that?! Whether or not it will re-ignite my mini mode remains to be seen, I have a serious case of lost mojo, but my mind is ticking over the garden area of my basement of the dh. If only I could get my mind and fingers to work together. LOL.

My workshop may be out of bounds for a while as we had another delivery yesterday, the flooring.

Although how long it will take for that to be laid is any ones guess, how long is a piece of string?

See you later....

I've Come To A Decision.

Many thanks for your kind comments on my job dilemma, although I will still be actively seeking out a new job, in today's economic climate I won't be holding my breath. I've decided I am going to stick it out and see what happens. . 

This hassle at work has been going on for over 3 months and as a consequence no minis have been done, BUT, as of Monday no more!! I am going to re-start my "Daily List" of things to do and then I can reward myself with half an hour of mini-ing at lunch time, even if it's just organising the cupboards in my workshop.


On a lighter note, my newest fur baby is coming on in leaps and bounds and although she is only 8 months old she will be ready for the start of the shooting season in October, bring it on! She is such a lovable little thing and has so many quirky little mannerisms that I am starting to believe she is Fern (RIP) re-incarnated.

Pin your ears back and listen!

Off to The Lakes in a couple of hours, 24 hrs of complete R&R without any hassles. Good company and best of all good beer. Bliss!!!!

See you later....

Bad Blogger.

First things first, welcome to my latest followers although I am a really BAD blogger at the moment and haven't given you much to read (hangs her head in shame). In my defense, if there is one, the garden and veggies are keeping me busy at the moment and things at work have gone badly pear shaped and I can't think straight, never mind contemplating doing any minis.After weeks and weeks of unrest and uncertainty I was told last night that I was definitely losing the building that I clean and was being moved back to the main building and doing the Chief Constables corridor and offices, those of you who know me will know that that was where I cleaned before! Although I have no probs cleaning the Chief's office I have been really happy cleaning D Block and the girls there are really nice and as well as me being upset last night so were they. One of them even told my 2 Area managers and my manager that when I am on Annual Leave the block is never cleaned properly and none of the other cleaners come up to my standard!! Go girl!! As a consequence my leisure time with my DH last night was not as relaxed as it should have been. I woke this morning with a splitting head-ache and feeling generally C**P. I had some errands to run and just after I got back at 11am the phone rang, Lo and Behold it was my manager who told me that the person who has been allocated my block is on long term sick leave, she wouldn't say who it was, and would I consider covering it within my contract hours and just do a small amount of time on the Chief's floor!!!!!!!!!!! Where is the logic in that? All that upset and hassle and now nothing changes, was it really necessary? 

On a lighter note things are moving along in my workshop and I now have all the new worktops in and hot and cold running water and a sink, no more messing up my kitchen washing my paint brushes.

Left side with sink.

Right hand side with work table over looking the back garden.

It still needs the kick plates at the bottom of the units and a floor covering but it is near as damn it finished. Whey hey!! It's only taken 2 years, he he. 

See you later....

Teapots.

Checkout my new Etsy listing.

spooky-handmade-halloween-teapot

Marrow Day.

First things first, welcome to my latest followers, Maria who has a great blog
diaryofaminiaturist. 
where she talks about her dollshouse. Also to Ron who has an hilarious site which I fell on by accident but boy am I glad I did, he sure brightens up my day.
The Old Geezer Blog.

And so to Marrow day. What, I can hear you asking, is "Marrow day?"  It's one of those quirky little rituals that happen in villages all over the UK. This one occurs on the second Sunday in September, in a little village called Underbarrow, which is near our van in The Lakes, and the villagers compete to grow the biggest marrow or the most peculiar shaped veg and the children join in with small veg that have grown to resemble animals. Competition is fierce and every one is very protective of their marrows when they are growing. They also have a giant duck race where 1,000 yellow plastic ducks are thrown in the river and people bet on which duck will win, a  Bar B Q , where's the ferret,  helicopter rides and various other side-shows all designed to get money out of you. Of course it has a serious side as all proceeds go to Cancer Research. Photos of a previous day can be seen here.

Underbarrow Marrow Day.

The photos at the end of the slide show show how beautiful  the landscape is around there and should go some way to explaining why Steve and I enjoy our weekends so much. Not having done much mini-ing just lately, I can't seem to settle, I decided I would enter the Marrow competition myself this year.

OK, so it may not win the category as the largest marrow but at just under 2" it may win the smallest, LOL, but then again, as it's inedible, it may not qualify. Who cares? it may raise a giggle and I had fun making it and it keeps my hand in with the Fimo, which I really should do more often.

When I say I haven't done much mini-ing just lately, that isn't quite strictly true as, although I have no project on the go I am always making tea-pots as I can't just sit and watch TV at night without doing something with my hands. This is my latest offering, a nice red one with pink trim.

That's enough internet time for today as RL is calling, Thursday is housework day.

See you later....

Giveaway.

Christine is having a give away over at Hollyhock Cottage. Why not check it out, become a follower and join in.

Hollyhock Cottage giveaway.

See you later....

Quick Update.

Just a quick post, life's hectic at the moment.
Why not check out my Etsy store.

Chelle's Etsy Store (tinyteapottreasures)

See you later....

The Internet, A Blessing Or A Curse?

Don't get me wrong, I find the WWW a valuable source of great information, but it can also take up a lot of time. Having connected with a great bunch of miniaturists on Facebook I now find myself with the same problem I had when I belonged to a Forum, too much time on the PC and not enough me time. So I have made the decision this morning to keep off the net as much as possible, apart from my blog and mini-makes (A FB group, yes I know it's FB but it's an advertising group) and concentrate on my minis and doing what I like doing. God forbid if I was on Twitter as well although I don't see the point in that one. I mean, please, who's interested in somebody tweeting "I've just had a cup of coffee" That, I do not understand at all????

What with BH's, Easter and Royal weddings it seems ages since Steve and I have spent a Friday night at home so, as he is working tomorrow morning and we can't go up to the Lakes until lunch time, I decided to indulge my other passion, cooking. I now have 2 pots of Morecambe  Bay shrimps chilling in the fridge, I just need to make the toast when I get home from work, and a nice full pan of Paella, the rice soaking up the chorizo oil and just needing hot stock and saffron. Yum.

The pup is now five and a half months old and is a complete joy. As you know I was uncertain about getting her as, after the tragic way we lost Fern, I felt it was too soon but we needed to do it to ease Bramble's pain. I was really unsure as to whether I would be able to bond with her but she has stolen a little piece of my heart ♥. Having kept dogs for 30 years I am well aware that they all have their own personalities and quirks but some of hers are so like Fern it's uncanny, and at times spook me, but she is also her own little self. Springers are very intelligent dogs and she is picking up her gun-dog training as fast as you like,she's eager all the time as to what is next, although I do think it's easier when an older dog can show them the ropes, so to speak. She's very feisty and will overtake Bramble and become top dog in the pack which will suit Bramble fine as she can be a bit timid. Bracken doesn't seem to be bothered by anything and just takes her lead from us, if we are unconcerned then she doesn't need to care either and she takes it all in her stride.

My workshop is progressing, slowly but surely, and has now had a sink fitted in there, although not connected to the water yet, but I will get there in the end. Now that the weather has warmed up it is a great place to sit and do my mini-ing and the light in there is fantastic and I find I don't need my glasses as much. When I finish this post that's where I am off to, to do some tidying and cleaning. I'm a bit OCD about cleaning but it never seems a chore in there as it is such a nice place to be. Bracken seems to find it fascinating as well but I have to be very careful not to drop anything as it disappears in a flash and will be found at a later date in the dog basket. :-D

See you later....

Note to self, I will not go on FB, I will not go on FB, I will not go on FB.....

Spring Time Apathy.

You may remember a few weeks ago I mentioned I was doing a swap based on Spring, well for one reason or another it didn't happen. I know some people were busy and couldn't meet the deadline but I think some of it was apathy so I'll show you the photos of my attempts anyway as I won't be spoiling the surprise for anyone.

 

I don't know what I'll do with then now so I'll put them to one side and wait for inspiration to strike. LOL.

Norma at,Make Mine Mini, is having a give away to celebrate 400 followers, check it out.

Make Mine Mini Give Away. 

See you later.....

Happy Dancing.

First things first, welcome to my latest follower, Marisa, sorry it's taken so long to welcome you but I have been ill for the last fortnight and haven't felt up to much. She has a lovely blog
 http://steinworks.blogspot.com/ 
charting the ups and downs of this glorious hobby.

I'm still happy dancing over my sale on Etsy, silly how a  plate of sandwiches can make someone so happy:-)))))  I'm a simple soul and easy pleased although it does go some way to easing the pain of nasty jibes in the past but that's another story.Thanks for all your lovely comments as it made my day that some of you had taken the time to leave me a message, they were lovely to read when I came home from work.
I'm off to the Lakes in a couple of hours and it is a beautiful spring day,we will be meeting up with friends and family  (Emma and Joe) to watch the Grand National, a friend of ours, who is a trainer, has a horse running so we will be cheering him on. I will also be thinking about what else to put on Etsy, he he, Watch this space.
See you later....

I'm In Total Shock.

If you're like me and are always mini-ing you end up with loads of stash. I have all sorts of stuff I have made in my workshop, duplicates and triplicates of stuff and I've been looking at it trying to decide what to do with it. On Wednesday I thought I would dip my toe in an Etsy store so I listed a teapot and would wait and see what happened, if it doesn't sell nothing lost.Last night I trawled through my bits and bobs and decided to make a plate of cucumber sandwiches as Summer is on the way, hopefully!! This morning I took a photo and went upstairs to put it up on Etsy, came down stairs, addressed a letter to a friend and checked my store and did a double take, my sandwiches had sold!!!!!

I'm off for a lie down as I'm in shock, my first sale.

See you later....

Lavish Dollshouse

Just sat at PC reading morning papers and came across this

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251123/Fit-king-The-16th-century-dolls-house-gold-crystal-silver-wood.html

WOW!

See you later....

It's Finished And A Rant.

As I mentioned in my last post I've been working on a Springtime swap and I'm glad to report it's finished.I've really enjoyed doing it as it has tested my skills and taken me down avenues I've never been before to make stuff that if it was a project for me I would probably have bought but as it is for a swap as much as possible has been "home-made". Of course then the self doubt kicks in as to whether it is good enough but I am not going to heart search over it and will leave it as it is, I will show piccies at the beginning of April because it's only fair to show them after they have been shown on the swap site. For one I don't have the time to start again and two I needed to finish it last week as I was aware "bad stuff" was happening at work and I knew I would lose my enthusiasm, the bad news was delivered yesterday and as predicted I have lost my mojo :-(((   To cut a long story short the pay rise we received last year has been wiped out as they have cut our hours!! Why they couldn't give us a bit more work to do within our contracted time and reduce the bill on the casual workers I'll never know. OK so I'm losing 2 hours a week, no big deal but when I only work 15 hours a week it is a big deal The only way I can deal with it is to think, yes I've lost 2 hours but I've still got a job but I think that's how the powers that be hope you will take it and therefore presenting you with a fete a complis. S**T happens! C'est la vie.Deal with it!!
See you later....

It's Quiet.

Some parts of Blogland have gone rather quiet of late, which is a shame :-(   I've been quiet but only because I'm busy, 
1: The pup, who is a bundle of fun and
2: I am working on a swap, Theme Springtime/Easter
I've got all my ideas down on paper and started with the prep yesterday, fully intending to start putting stuff together last night but, as is often the case with me if I make plans, it didn't work out that way and I got only a tiny bit done. Never mind onwards and upwards! For obvious reasons I can't divulge what I am making or show piccies but all will be revealed in time, watch this space!!
See you later.... 

Spring's On Its Way, Honest It Really Is!!

How do I know? No I haven't got a crystal ball, apart from a miniature one which is a bit cloudy and even if it wasn't, with my eyesight I wouldn't be able to read it anyway. I take my lead from Mother Nature, today has dawned bright and with a beautiful blue sky, a little chilly but hey it is only March but look what I found...

Can you see Mr Frog sat amongst the frog spawn in my pond? Mother Nature at her best.
See you later....

No Minis Because Of A Mini.

 The mini that is preventing me from mini-ing is the new pup, Bracken, she is taking up a lot of my time although I don't begrudge it as she is a little gem. After my burst of activity last week with the lights in my dh and my Halloween room box nothing else has been done. I had planned to do something yesterday but we are back at the caravan this coming weekend so decided to shoot up to the Lakes to put the van back together again after its Winter shut down. Roll on 6.30pm on Friday  when we can go up there for the weekend, I am really tired at the moment and think some of it is due to not having my chill-out time at weekends. I need to re-charge my batteries.
Bracken has now had all her shots so is able to go for walks which is great as it tires her out. She really enjoyed herself on Saturday afternoon in the woods at the back of our house. It was great fun chasing Bramble around with out a cat in hells chance of catching her!! but boy was she tired on Saturday night.

Her and Bramble have become great buddies and are like the terrible twins. This was them last night after our trip up to the Lakes.

With that cheery picture I will have to leave you as my mortgage ends in 2 months, yippee,  and I have loads of paperwork to wade through, eek. 
See you later....




Welcome to my latest followers.

How Pictures Tell A Story.

Just realised, on yesterdays post you can see the reflection of me in the film covering the Halloween box with my hair wrapped in a turban!! He he, I'd just had a shower and took the photo while I was waiting for the kettle to boil for my morning coffee. Note to self, Take more care in future.
See you later....

Let There Be Light!

I said on Monday I had got frustrated with the lighting system on my dh and had ordered the Easy wire system.

http://www.smallworldproducts.com/easywire.pdf

Imagine my surprise when it turned up first thing Tuesday morning.All hail Royal Mail! After a quick look I decided to leave it for another day, not because it looked difficult, but in the same package came my LED's and battery pack for my Halloween box so it was time to completely finish that. Oh how I love the Postie bringing me little packages.I installed them and covered the wire with wallpaper on the ceiling and covered the front of the box with secondary double glazing film to stop the dust getting in. For such little things they sure throw out a lot of light.I had made a Jack-o-lantern from papier mache which I stuck on the top of the box with a battery operated, flickering tea light and some picture frame round the edge of the box completed it. Voilà!!

 Yesterday I set to with the Easy wire and it did what it said on the tin, it was easy. 2 hours of removing 2 pin plugs, stripping wires and re-connecting the moment of truth came, switch the switch. Whey, hey all lights and fires burning brightly and first time too! It looked great last night when it had gone dark and I could peep in each window and see what the inhabitants were doing. Oops shouldn't have peeped in the bathroom, someone was having a bath.
See you later.....

A foot note, welcome to my latest follower Victoria who has a quirky little blog here
http://darksquirrelminiatures.blogspot.com/
be sure to check out her Etsy shop as well.

A Frustrating Sunday And A Dilemma.

Yesterday dawned grey, miserable and cold so there was only one thing for it,stay in the warmth and do some mini-ing. I installed the lights in the attic but hadn't connected them so that was the job to do, although I must admit I have been dragging my feet a little bit as I find it a really fiddly job, take the bull by the horns and get on with it. 3 frustrating hours later, much teeth gnashing and many, and I mean many, choice words turning the air blue I  finally admitted defeat and threw the towel in. A trawl of the internet was called for and as I haven't ordered the LED's yet for my Halloween box I paid a visit to  http://www.smallworldproducts.com/    where I have purchased them from before. No luck, they still haven't got them on their website so I gave them a call this morning, but while I was browsing the site I came across an "Easy-wire" system which consists of connection blocks which seem to do away with the socket and stupid 2 pin white plugs, during our conversation the nice lady on the phone confirmed my suspicions so I ordered one, she said it will be posted out today so I will let you know later on in the week how I get on.
After the battle with the lights I was restless but couldn't settle my mind to what mini-ing I wanted to do so I went to my old standby, Teapots! I have, in various stages of construction, nearly 2 dozen teapots but not one is finished, I remedied that last night, but only one!!  

So here's my dilemma, what do I do with them when they are finished? When I participated on a Forum I used to give them away but now I don't have an outlet so I was wondering whether to open an Etsy shop. Would anyone want to buy them? Decisions, decisions, my brain aches.

Welcome to my new followers Daisy Carpi whose blog can be found here   http://daisysminiaturas112-forsale.blogspot.com/   and to Ascension whose blog is here   http://ascension-misminiaturas.blogspot.com/  


See you later....