Aint Technology Great????

Towards the end of last week my Laptop started playing up and, despite regular cleaning, it was telling me it had a bug, why oh why do people do that? I spent all Friday afternoon trying to sweep it but couldn't get the little blighter out and on Saturday morning could only watch helplessly as it fired off random E-mails to people in my address book! What it was sending is any ones guess as according to my Sent box nothing had been sent. By lunch time I had had enough and shut it down hoping that it wasn't for the last time, I've only had it 18 months. Steve took it to work and a colleague stripped it back and restored it back to factory settings which is great as it feels like I have a brand new laptop again but the down side is I have had to start from scratch getting it the way it runs best for me, as I was writing this post I realised I no longer had a dictionary, to correct my spelling mistakes, and had to download that and you wouldn't believe how many Microsoft downloads there were! The times over the last couple of days I have had to re-start it is mind boggling but hey ho "c'est la vie" technology is all well and good when it's working but a pain in the bum when it's not. Steve has gone up to the Lakes for the final shoot of the season so the day is my own again but what I'm going to do I don't know yet, I really must get back to working on my dh but I will have to see how the mood strikes me as I am reading a Stephen King that has me gripped so I may just read.
See you later....

January, February.

I don't know about you but I hate this time of year, it's dark when you get up in  the morning and it's dark when I am coming home from work at 6.30pm, and don't shout up from down under that it's Summer time, it's so depressing. Steve and Bramble went up to the Lakes on Saturday, to be on the shoot, so technically the day was all mine to do what I wanted but I couldn't seem to settle to anything. For the past few days we have had freezing fog so everything is white and driving is a nightmare and at this time of year I seem to have no motivation to do anything. Awoke this morning to dismal drizzle so although it is a touch warmer, it's damp. I decided a trip to Hobbycraft was called for as my stock of basswood is a bit low, that's the only shopping I enjoy, and I got a few bargains in the sale including their own brand of Fimo which was only 99p. The down side was as soon as I arrived home I could hear Bramble howling, she really isn't coping on her own, so the sooner the pup arrives the better. 10 days and counting!
See you soon....

I've Gone And Done It!

What a busy day Sunday was, I set about my workshop and boy did I make headway. I sorted though all of my stash, stocks and tools, and I mean everything! I found tools I'd forgotten I had, I found stock I'd forgotten I'd bought and so much stash that I wondered where my mind was when I decided to keep it  ;-)  ??!! It paid off as the workshop is now organised and tidy.

All stash and stocks were sorted through and put in zip-lock bags and then put in storage baskets so even the inside of cupboards are tidy and best of all I know where everything is and can locate immediately. I have 2 tool boxes, a metal one under my work table, the lid has never shut, it does now and a plastic, craft type one on my work table, the lid has never shut, it does now! so all in all it was a productive day. 

On the mini front, with the little time I've had the past two days , I've been making mice. A couple of years ago I bought some mice on traps that were really cute. I long ago did away with the traps and made my own as they were too big but I love the mice. I have tried to buy the mice on their own but nobody seems to do them and it seems a waste to buy them and dis guard the traps so I decided to make my own. I chopped the head off and made a mould from Milliput putty, which is a 2 part compound that, as the name suggests, mixes to a putty  but then air dries to a rock hard substance, so now, with Fimo, I can make a two part mouse, well three part really as the tails have to be made separately as they don't need baking as long as the bodies, or they'll burn.

I won't show you the back of them as they are a bit misshapen but they will only be seen in a scene from the  front so it's OK and it will save me money by not having to buy them (Scrooge, he he)

See you later....

Witches Hats.

Is it really a week since I last posted? I don't know where the time goes. The first full week back at work after the Christmas hols and things have been hectic trying to catch up and get things done that were neglected while I covered other peoples work. The only mini work I've done is to make a couple of witches hats and a basket, made from needlepoint canvas, filled with fungi.

I glued the cones of the hats onto tinfoil before I assembled them so that when I attach them to the wall of the box I can bend them over and they will stay in place without the need for starch, this is a good tip for tablecloths and bed linen so you can drape them well.

My biggest job this week has been to sort out my workshop, I got the units in before Christmas which was a great help in getting everything away and out of sight but everything inside the cupboards is a mess. Although it is messy I do know where everything is, honest! but I need to organise it so I can locate stuff straight away. My biggest revelation going through my stash was "What on earth made you keep that!!?" You know the stuff, a half inch piece of skirting board, a two inch piece of craft stick, shall I go on? No, you get my drift, we've all done it. So the time has come to be completely ruthless and throw stuff out, I think by the end of the afternoon my dustbin will be rather full but the workshop will benefit from it.

See you later....

That Darned Witch!

It has taken me all afternoon to dress and wig that darned witch, dolls are definitely not my thing!

Apart from a few bits and bobs it is nearly finished.

See you later....

Progressing nicely.

Yesterday Steve went up to the Lakes to go beating on the shoot so I had the whole day to my-self so of course I spent it mini-ing. I painted the baby's features and wigged it, it's not perfect but I presume the more I do the better I'll get.

I also made The Witch and I am hoping to get her dressed today. I found the doll kits really easy to use and the instructions were nice and clear so with extra Fimo they can be used over and over again.

Once I get her dressed that will be the box nearly finished apart from the lighting which I am going to order this week. I use LED's on small projects like this and as they run off a battery pack the box doesn't rely on being near an electrical source.

I put some moulding round the edge of the hallway box yesterday so I'm off to hang that up on the landing,

See you later....

May I Introduce...

I did no mini-ing today because of RL commitments and I haven't got any done tonight, BUT, there was a good reason. May I introduce Bracken (mark 2)

Five weeks old, ready to pick up at the beginning of February.
See you later....

At A Loss.

First things first, thank you for your kind comments. After what had to be done on Monday all of us feel at a loss as to what to do but the biggest loser is Bramble who in the space of five months has gone from having two playmates to having none.Their basket seems far too big for just one and we need to rectify that asap.

A lonely little dog.

It's at times like this that I am grateful for this great hobby of mine as I can completely lose myself in it and therefore don't have time to dwell or think too much. I've made quite a few things over the past couple of days and I remembered to take photos. I made cage for the baby to go in, which really tested my patience, but I got there in the end. A tagine, which  was actually the top of a yakult pot, because "The Witch" some times tires of boiled baby and some more potion jars. I made the jars from strips of laminating pouches which were then glued onto thin card for the base. The lids were made from the material I had left over from making the cravats for the wedding, waste not want not! A framed map of the world so "TW" knows where she is going when she zooms off on her broom stick.

Mini makes

The tagine needs a lid but I'll probably do that when I'm having my morning  coffee as I've realised that is the best time to get my 1/2 hour a day in and it sets me up for the day in a happy mood (God I need a reason to be happy at the moment) as long as I remember to stop, otherwise I'll lose the day and Steve won't have a meal to come home to,  he can't cook for him-self!!  I also made a cauldron filled with frogs legs and ogre's fingers but I forgot to photo that before I stuck it in the box. Steve thought I'd lost the plot on Tuesday night as I made loads of tiny severed fingers and on Wednesday morning put them in a mini RL jam jar with some liquid Fimo to make "Pickled Ogre's Fingers" This box is taking on a life of it's own.

Pickled fingers.

Yesterday morning the postie brought my Sue Heaser doll moulds so last night I tried my hand at making a baby, after a couple of shaky starts, I'm all fingers and thumbs with Fimo, I got to grips with it and the moulds were surprisingly easy to use.

OK, so he/she's bald and hasn't been painted but you get the drift. The ears went a bit wonky in the oven but I can disguise that with the hair and for a first attempt I don't think it's too bad. No minis today as Thursday is RL cleaning day, may be after work tonight.

See you later....

Fern.

With much soul searching and  very heavy hearts, not to mention a river of tears, we have decided Fern cannot go on as she is and tomorrow she goes over "The Rainbow Bridge" to keep Bracken company. 2 in the space of 6 months is heartbreaking but this poor dog needs some relief, we tried our best and if love and willpower could have saved her.
See you later....