Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

At least that's how the saying goes, isn't it??  I hope so because, at the rate I have been posting this summer, you guys must really love me by now!!!  I do notice that several of us "regulars" have been a bit sporadic in our postings lately and I know that I still love all you guys anyway so I guess all is well!

I have been allowing myself to get distracted by other things - non-mini things - so have been a little lax but, it really doesn't bother me because with summer breaking out and Covid restrictions being loosened up, I am quite happy to get out of my house and do other things.  I will probably continue to wear my mask for a few months though, even when they say we don't have to.  I would like to wait and see what happens in the first month or two before I become comfortable leaving my mask in the car.  Fingers crossed we all stay healthy and can really get back to normal.

As for minis - I did get a request from my SIL in Prince Edward Island which I was happy to try to fulfill.  She loves to knit and has spent a lot of time in the last 18 months knitting 18 inch teddy bears for people who special ordered them.  She started with graduation bears, colour coded to the graduates' schools, of course and complete with gown and diploma.  After that came requests for front-line worker bears.  She has done so many nurse and doctor bears, including scrubs and face masks.  She has gotten requests for various sports - hockey player bears, etc.  The latest request was for a life guard bear.  She wanted to accessorize the bear with a whistle to put around the lifeguard's neck but couldn't find any small ones.

So, I started with the smallest size of round "woodsies", traced around the circle unto a scrap piece of Bristol board, and made the shape of a whistle.  I cut out six outlines and glued each one to a woodsie, then I glued two pieces together for the basic shape.

Now, at this stage, I am sure you have already spied my first mistake.  I have 5 of the 6 pieces all facing the same way instead of 3 one way, and the other three as mirror images.  On to the next step - pulling 2 of the woodsies off and gluing them to the other side.  I truly am an idiot!

I am sorry to say I then got focussed on making these whistles and didn't take any more pictures.  After gluing them together in pairs, it left a gap of 5 mm.  I cut a strip of bristol board that width and wrapped in from the bottom front, around the circle and part way to the top front.  I then left a gap and glued a small strip from the space I left to the front of the whistle.  That left gap which represented the hole at the top of the whistle where the air comes through to make sound.  Of course, these whistles do not really work but the hole is there to make them look like they could.  I also wrapped the little strip to half cover the end opening at the front so the hole at that end would be narrower.  Before I wrapped the 5mm strip, I took small pieces of wire, bent them in half around a toothpick and splayed out the ends so I could glue them onto the end of the woodsies to make something to hang the whistles on a cord.  When I was wrapping the 5mm strip around, when I reached where the metal hanger was, I cut little slits in the strip and it fit right over the hanger, which I had put on lengthways, not crossways.

Once all of this was done, I painted the three little whistles with a metallic silver paint, packaged them up when they were dry, and shipped them to my SIL.  I am so sorry I did not take any more pictures of the process and I hope you can understand my description of how I made them.

So, on to other things.  In my last post, I was just beginning to tackle the landscaping for my shepherd's hut.  I started by gluing down the pieces that form the rock walls and began to cover them with tiny rocks I got from the crushed rock that forms the base of our above-ground swimming pool.

I liked the look of having some of the rock "tumble" unto the ground in front of the wall.  Oh - I also used a facecloth glued over the base and pounced on, with a fairly dry brush, 3 colours of green, some brown and some gold.

I bought a variety of landscaping material from the model railway section of our local Michaels store and, after the walls were finished, tried my hand at landscaping.  For my first try at landscaping in 1:48 scale, I am satisfied with the results but, of course, hope to do better the next time.  Here are some pics of the end result:

You'll see I found a teeny lamb in my stash which I placed by the bush at the corner of the hut.  I really need to add some little details to the lamb so it is not just a little white "blob".  And I probably should try my hand at making a teeny mommy sheep to keep this little one company.

So there we have it - one project finished.  Although, between you and I, we all know that none of our projects are truly finished because we will go back every so often and say - "Hey, maybe I should add this, change that, ......"  But, for now, I will mark it as finished (details on the little lamb to make him look a little less plastic-y, and a mommy for him will come at some point, I am sure).

So, I hope you are all enjoying the little extra bit of freedom we are starting to have and that we all have a great summer!  I will try not to let 3 weeks go by without posting again but....I had better not make any promises.  *insert sheepish grin here*.  

As for Bruce's contribution to this week's post:

Continue to stay safe and healthy everyone!  TTFN!! - Marilyn

Shepherd's hut coming along

 I had a rather slow week this week but I did make a little progress on my little shepherd's hut.  But first, I want to show you my lovely vase of peonies.  My DH and I have been gardening for about 45 years and it was only a few years ago when I finally learned the secret of having beautiful cut peony blooms in the house without the danger of having a house full of ants!

I learned that you need to cut the flowers BEFORE they open.  When they are still in tight little balls, but with the colour of the petals showing at the end of the bud, it is easy to swipe away the few ants on the flower at this point.  Then, when you have removed the ants which are clearly visible (no place for them to hide since the buds are still quite tightly closed), you put the blossoms into a vase with lukewarm water (I actually slit the bottom 1" or so of stem to allow for better water absorption), and wait for the beauty to unfold.  It only takes 24 to 48 hours for them to be in full bloom.  Here is my vase just after I cut the buds:

They were fully opened 48 hours later and here are a couple of pictures of them another 2 days after.  I am so enjoying my peonies now that I can have some in the house too!

Now on to the shepherd's hut.  Last week I showed you the way I finished the interior.  With the limited time I had this week I worked on the exterior.  I cut 1/4 inch strips of Bristol board and applied it as siding around all four sides, including using some as trims where the siding met at each corner.  I used a watered-down black paint lightly on the "siding", then dry brushed with grey and a creamy colour called "putty" to make the siding look weathered and aged.  Then I painted and glued on the undercarriage, tow bar, and the axles and wheels.  I did find my wire cutters made a perfect support as the peaked roof fit in between the handles so I could keep the hut upside down for a couple of days to make sure the glue on the wheels was well cured.  I was happy with the end result.

I got busy with other things and didn't return to it for a couple of days but, when I did, I started on the roof.  I had already painted the inside of it and installed the small roof trusses.  I found a small-scale corrugated cardboard piece in my stash and cut it to fit the two roof pieces.  I was going to use a small round dowel as a "ridge piece" but my DH suggested I use another piece of "corrugated metal" instead.  I actually quite liked the look it gave. 

 Once the glue dried on that I again used the runny black paint, followed by dry brushing of "Quaker Grey", then Metallic Silver, then Burnt Umber.  I ended by painting a few places with Leprechaun Green" to look like bits of moss was starting to grow.  I followed that up with placing some glue in some of the green painted spots and sprinkling on some fine green landscaping material to show actual moss.  Again - I am happy with how it turned out.

So, that leaves the hut itself almost finished.  I just have to glue on the steps which I will do when I have the landscaping done so I can get them to fit properly.

As you can see I am trying out positions of the hut and the walls on the landscaping platform to see how I want to position it.  So, next week's post should have the landscaping, and the whole project. completed.  If I were a more dedicated miniaturist it would not have taken me a month to finish this wonderful, tiny little project.  

In closing, I would be remiss if I didn't provide you with Bruce's latest contribution to my blog - another crazy cat lady commentary on the wonderful creatures that are cats!

Have a good week everyone and keep safe!  TTFN!!! - Marilyn

Back in the saddle again!

 First I want to thank you all for the best wishes and words of encouragement when I was very much under the weather.  I'm so glad to say I have gotten over the hump and am getting things back to normal.  

Now I would like to show you a little more of the wonderful gift Louise made for my birthday last month.  My new little baby, made by Aleeta Kent from Alberta at Louise's request, has a name!  His name is Pakak.  This is a northern indigenous (Alaskan, Inuit, Eskimo) word which, loosely translated, means "one who gets into everything".  With that cute little face, he just looks like an adorable little imp so it does seem to fit.

Here are some better pictures of the sled itself.  Louise did an amazing job and I will treasure this forever.

This picture below shows the lacing on the side of the sled and the real leather padded seat and back cushion Louise made.  

She included so many details including the textured foot pads on the back of the runners where the sled driver would stand while holding on to the rounded handle at the back.  Isn't it amazing?

I'm such a lucky lady!  Another gift I received was a gift certificate from my son and his family to my friend Liz's miniatures business, Grandpa's Dollhouse.  Using the certificate I ordered two prep tables for future projects I have in mind, plus a few small pieces of jewellery findings which I hope will work for making a couple of 1:24 art deco-style outdoor lights for a project Louise is working on.  I sent Liz a picture of the inspiration we are using for these lights and Liz was able to come up with a couple of globes which should work perfectly.  I think I may have shown you the inspiration picture before but here it is again:

I know I will never be able to get the lamps to look just like this example but it is the art deco feeling we will be going for, not exact replicas.  Here are the tables I purchased from Liz as well as the findings and the globes we will be using for the lamps.  Wish us luck!

The last thing I wanted to show you today is some of the progress on my 1:48 shepherd's hut kit I purchased from Petite Properties.  This has been a lot of fun to put together so far and I look forward to moving ahead with it.  A couple of posts ago I showed you the pieces of the kit as well as the little wall cabinet I had put together from another tiny kit I had purchased at the same time.  I started by cutting very narrow strips of Bristol board, applying them to the floor and painting them with a watered-down burnt umber paint which I immediately wiped off to make it look stained and aged.

 Then I painted and aged the pieces for the inside of the hut as I figured it would be much easier to do this before I put it together.

Next I painted and aged the lamb box that also serves as a crude bed platform inside the hut and started to put the whole thing together.  And look what I found in my "stash"!  After all, the shepherd needs more places to sit inside then just the bed, right?

I was also able to use the little wall cabinet I had made.  It fit perfectly just to the right of the little shelf that came with the kit.  The tiny wood stove on the opposite wall also came with the kit.  I'm loving how this little gem is turning out.

Now I will be moving on to the outside of the hut before I tackle the landscaping of the base for the whole little scene.

I really am enjoying this little scale.  I think everyone should give it a try at least once.  You might be surprised with how easy it really is to do, despite how small it is.

I leave you this week with another of my DH's kitty contributions - because we all need a chuckle now and then,  Until next week, take care and stay safe!  TTFN! - Marilyn

My new definition of 'downsizing'

 Hi everyone!  I didn't post last week because I have been working on the landscaping and finishing the interior of the Post office and figured you were getting bored of seeing the slow progress.  I will post about it again when I finish all the building and landscaping and start to make the Post Office worker elves and customers.

In the meantime, I had such a pleasant mini week!  First, my latest issue of Dollhouse and Miniature Scene arrived, then I got two packages in the mail on the same day.  

Several weeks back I was fortunate to win Ricardo's (Mis Minis Libros) prize draw and his package arrived from Spain. Inside I found 3 of his wonderful books which open and are readable (in Spanish of course but that just adds to the allure!).  Also inside was a lovely table he made using marquetry.  He took the table apart so it could be flat packed for mailing which made it so much easier.  I was about to glue it back together but, while admiring the work on the tabletop and base I thought - wouldn't it make a beautiful centrepiece for a floor!  I could install it in my southwest room box then build the rest of the floor around it.  Hmmm, I will leave it for a bit while I think about it.  The work is so lovely I want to find the perfect spot for it, whether I put it back together as a table or use it for a very special centre medallion in the floor.  Either way - I'm so very grateful.. Thank you, Ricardo!

The second package has to do with the title of this post:  My new definition of 'downsizing'.  I have wondered for a long time now what it would be like to build in 1:48 scale.  First of all, just for the challenge, but secondly, if I finish all of the projects I have on the go now in 1:12 scale, there is no way I will have room for them - especially when we sell this house and move into an apartment within the next year.  So - I finally took the plunge and ordered from Petite Properties in England.  Having never made anything in 1:48 scale before, I decided to start with one of their smallest kit - the shepherd's hut.  It came with the base kit for landscaping as well although most of their kits have the building and the base sold separately.  Here is a picture from their website of the kit made up (before landscaping).

I also ordered a small wall hanging cupboard so I could also try out a small piece of furniture to see how I liked working in that scale.  I immediately opened the bag for the little cupboard and got started. 

The instructions were extremely clear and the pieces were cut perfectly and fit together in seconds.  The last part of the instruction was to glue the doors to the front of the cabinet but I stopped and thought about that before I went any further.  First of all, don't I want to at least paint the inside?  Shouldn't there be something inside the cupboard before I glue the doors on?  So, I painted the cabinet and doors and set them aside while I tried to figure out what I could put inside.  Thank heavens for toothpicks and tiny pieces of scrap wood.  This is what it looked like before I put the doors on (please ignore all the little bits of glue that have become visible in these photos.  I will be cleaning those off for sure.)

Here it is with the doors on - again, the messy glue will be removed.  However, I did forget to glue on the teeny door handles.  Will get that done too!

I like it much better with something inside - even though it's just a few little bits that give the illusion of boxes and canisters, at least it's not an empty cupboard.

And, in this picture, you can better see exactly how tiny this cupboard really is.

Yes, it really is that small and yes, it wasn't easy to figure out what to put inside and yes, I loved making it!!!

Next, I opened the packages for the shepherd's hut. I immediately dived in and put together the lamb box and attached it to the base of the hut, as per the instructions which, once again are very clear and include lots of pictures of how to put it together.  The next instruction tells me to attach the side and end walls.  At that point, I once again stepped back and have decided to paint the interior walls, floor, and ceiling before putting it together, then I will finish the outside and build and landscape the base.  

So, tomorrow afternoon is mini day for Louise, Marijke and I so I will work on this little project tomorrow.  So far, what do I think about this 1:48 scale?  I absolutely love it!!!  I can see many more of these little kits in the future.  I hope Petite Properties has a gift certificate option because I know what I will be asking my kids for upcoming birthdays, Christmas, etc.  

In closing for this week, I would be remiss if I didn't include Bruce's contribution for the week.

These would be funny if they didn't capture our cat's behaviour so perfectly!  Or maybe that's EXACTLY why they're funny! Oh well, I love our little Bridie anyway!  Have a great week!  TTFN!! - Marilyn