Finishing touches

Well, a warm welcome to Debbie P. and Kelly P. who have joined this blog as followers. These gals are both wonderful miniaturists who I first met at Camp in 2014 and am looking forward to seeing them again this fall!

Now that you've had a grand tour of our Camp activities in 2014 I bring the story back to my room box which, on leaving Camp, still had quite a bit of work to finish. In an earlier post, I mentioned that, because I wanted to hang my little demon mask above the balcony door, the door height was shorter than ready-made doors. Not one to be deterred by lack of experience, or even skill sets, come to think of it, I arrived fresh back home from Camp with a renewed determination to do it myself. How does one compensate for lack of experience and skill sets??? - They surf the internet of course!! In my case I didn't have to surf very far since I was already a regular follower of Kris Compass's blog "1-inch minis by Kris". There are so many wonderful tutorials on Kris's site, including one on making your own doors from paper products like mat board and card stock. Her pictures and instructions are so well done, they gave me the confidence to jump in with both feet and "just get 'er done"!

On Kris's site, the door in the tutorial is a regular six-panel door. I wanted French doors (after all - it's for a balcony in the French Quarter!!). So - very little experience, skill sets in early development stages, and tutorial for a completely different door - what could possibly go wrong?? Luckily, as it turns out - very little. I'm actually quite proud of the way they turned out. If I was doing a review of Kris's door tutorial I'd have to give it top marks for clear instructions, lots of pictures, and easily adaptable...and here's the results:

I took careful measurements of the door opening and built a door frame from thin strips of wood (the tutorial uses mat board). I dry fit the frame to confirm fit, then stained the wood to match the floor and trim colour. While the stain was drying I cut out three layers of mat board for the doors, cut out a mullioned section in two of these and a full rectangular opening in the layer that would become the middle of the door. I also cut out a square "panel" section in each of the two outside pieces of the "sandwich". Since I wanted to continue the French theme, I found some fleurs-de-lis charms in my stash, cut off the rings from the top of them, and installed them on the middle layer of the door - both sides. After putting the layers all together, with pieces of acetate on both side of the middle section for the windows, and letting the glue dry thoroughly, I cut them down the middle to form the two French doors. I used a narrow strip of card stock to disguise the edges so the three layers would not be seen, waited for all the glue to be thoroughly dry, then I painted them a shade of blue I see often in pictures of New Orleans architecture. When that was dry, I installed the two doors in the frame, using cut off pins through the top and bottom of the door frame into the corner of the doors, to act as "hinges". Then I used very short pieces of pins with small crystal beads to install "door handles" on both sides of the door. In my opinion, not too shabby - except for the degree to which I wanted them to look shabby, of course.... Did I forget to mention that I also stained some baseboard and started to install it and I also hung a set of wired sconces on either side of the mirror?

With this done, it took me some time to find something to trim the sides of the door because the walls were at an angle. In my wood stash I happened across a small section of trim that was at a strange angle too. What it is usually used for, I have no idea. But it worked well for me and that's what counts! I cut an upper trim as well as a shelf to go over the door, stained them and installed them.

Then I went hunting through my ever-expanding stash for furniture and accessories to finish this, my first full-size project. Yeah!!!!

And - you'll see those results on the next post.

Tip for today: Regardless of what level of expertise you think you have, or don't have - don't let someone convince you something is too difficult for you to even try. I went into this believing that I could make my own doors and, even though others may have been initially skeptical, I ignored that and went ahead anyway. They may not be perfect but the feeling of accomplishment I got when I finished them was well worth the effort. Just get 'er done!! TTFN

So much Talent.....

First - welcome to two more followers: Shauna D. and Louise McS.! Okay, one is my daughter and the other my good friend so maybe I'm cheating if I count them but hey - my family and close friends have always been counted as number 1 on my list so yes, they do count!!!

Onwards and upwards! I've been sharing with you my experience with my first trip to Camp Mini Ha Ha in 2014 and the title of this post says it all. I learned so much in the 5 days I was there, not just by the hints, direction and assistance I got on my own project, but by watching all of the truly talented people who surrounded me with inspiration. I'm sorry I didn't get pictures of all of the other participants' projects but I will show you the rest of those I do have.

In these next two pictures you can see the finished product of one of the dressed mannequin workshops. We each got to produce one of three different styles under the watchful eye of instructor, Judith Blondell. I have pictures of two of the styles but, for some reason, didn't manage to catch the 3rd one. Sorry! The photo on the left also showcases a hand-painted mini piece of art on the easel. I believe that is one of Sherry P.'s beautiful paintings and, if memory serves me correctly, it was a giftie received by the maker of this room box. Another giftie is found in this room box and shown in more detail in the picture on the right. This table was obviously made with the "Mardi Gras" theme in mind and the detail is phenomenal! It shows the workspace of someone getting their masks and costumes ready for the exciting Mardi Gras activities to come. Beautiful! So, you ask, - what's a "giftie"? One of the fun things at Camp is that each participant brings 5 items which would be worth around $15 - $20 if on the retail market and we have a gift exchange each of the 5 nights we are there. We also all bring enough "tidbits" (small items worth around $3 - $5), to provide one for each participant. Then, at lunchtime each day we receive a bag at our seats in the dining room with 6 - 8 surprise little "tidbits". We all get so excited about those little bags, we can hardly wait to get to lunch each day!!



Two more works in progress: the one on the left again shows one of the finished mannequins being temporarily put in place along with a beautiful hand-made shelf unit that was another "giftie", I believe. The insert on the right is shaping up to be very elegant. If I get the chance to find pictures of the finished product of any featured here, I will do a follow-up to let you see how they turned out.

The last example I have that used the kit as it came - with a back wall and floor only, belongs to Adrian C. It features a fireplace she carved and built with little niches all through that will be inhabited by all the little mice you can see in the bottom corner of the room's floor. I wish I had a shot further along. It was so well done with the owner fast asleep in his comfy chair while all the little mice carried on their everyday lives all around him. (I believe he was actually a bear, if memory serves me right but hey - it's been over a year and a half!)

Moving along to those of us who added an additional wall to our projects, the one on the left is by Jo-Ann S. It's early in the process here and she's left a space to add a stone wall behind her fireplace. The finished project is a cozy cabin that includes many of her own high-quality hand-made leather and other items. I'll try to get finished pictures for many of these at some point - they really need to be seen!

A couple of more examples:
Below is Aleeta's indoor/outdoor scene under construction, then looking very different all decked out! Included are items like her own hand-made luggage, the beautiful chair in the background, her dressed doll - all gorgeous!
I think Lynn, one of our Fredericton contingent, and a first-time Mini Ha Ha participant, was one of the few Campers, if not the only one, who actually managed to complete her project while at Camp. She did a great job on this indoor/outdoor room box (below).
To close off this long post, I bring you a couple of pics of our Saturday night dinner. Each year, participants dress up on Saturday night in keeping with that year's theme so - welcome to Mardi Gras!!! Sorry for the length of the post but I hope you got some enjoyment from it. TTFN!

My Mardi Gras journey continues....

First, I'd like to welcome Diane, from Florida, as my second "follower". It really is nice to know I'm not alone out in the mini-world! Thanks for visiting Diane.

Continuing on from my last post I'll show you the work I managed to get done on my project while at Camp, and give you a look at other Campers' projects to see how differently one project can be interpreted. There were some really beautiful ideas represented, that's for sure. Then we'll take a look at how I finished the project once I got home.

While I was at Camp, after I applied the textured brick paper I also wallpapered the right wall with a textured wallpaper - almost like a grass cloth. The colour went well with the dark stain of my floor and trims. Then, I managed to get the floor laid, sanded and stained. (The camera seems to make the colours look different than they actually are. The floor on the balcony actually is very close to the colour in the picture that it runs into. Here, in the picture, it looks more brownish than the grey it actually is.)I made a plant to tuck in the corner on the balcony just to add a sense of depth and continuity. I stained and installed a thick shelf and applied it to the main wall with a large sparkly mirror above it.

Lastly, I installed my little demon-looking fellow over where the French doors will be. I so wanted to use this little guy - he just appealed to me on some subliminal level and seemed perfect for an apartment in the French quarter of New Orleans! However, in order to use him above the door where I wanted him, the door opening is shorter than would accommodate a ready-made set of doors. That didn't bother me because I figured I would just make my own. As I was working away one of our wandering Divas - Iris - came to have a look at my progress. When I told her I would make my own doors since they were not a standard size, and since she knew this was the first full mini project I had ever done, she asked, with a slight skepticism, I'm sure, whether I had ever made my own door before. When I said no, I hadn't, she just smiled and patted me on the shoulder for good luck. Iris, who is an incredible artist when it comes to using chalks and paints to create gorgeous finishing effects, had showed me earlier how to paint my balcony floor so it would blend better with the floor on the picture, and to create shadows on it in the proper way by determining where the shadows would fall in real-life and creating those shadows in mini. (Love you Iris!)

So, with time taken out to complete the secondary workshop with Judith Blondell - the dressing of a mannequin in period dress - that was all the work I accomplished on my lamp while at Camp. Here are some more pictures of Camp Mini Ha Ha 2014 as well as other people's work in progress - sorry I don't have pictures of their finished projects for you but you get the idea, at least, of how very different they all were. I think, if you click on the pictures, they should come up in a larger size in a separate window.

	This is Marijke H.'s work in progress - I will have finished pictures of this you'll see in a future post.

Nancy's project (above): She made her own floor, piece by piece, and brought it with her to be installed in her beautiful room. the floor was absolutely gorgeous!

Well, I think this post is getting quite long enough for one day so, next post I'll provide pictures of other Campers' works-in-progress and, hopefully leave enough room to show you my finishing steps for my own Mardi Gras room box/lamp.

Tip for today:
When using narrow strips of wood, popsicle sticks, coffee stirrers, etc., to lay your floor, do not glue the whole piece of wood as it will be more difficult to make it lay flat after drying. Instead, place dots of glue, spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart down the length of the wood strip and press it in place. Trust me - the floor stands a better chance of not warping because you will not be wetting down the whole, porous, length of wood.

TTFN!

Laissez le bons temps rouler!!!

Okay - I know this is not grammatically correct in French (s.b. Prenons du bons temps!) but this post is all about my New Orleans/Mardi Gras, Camp Mini Ha Ha project from 2014 and that's how they say it in New Orleans! When in Rome, and all that...

...but, before we get to that...I have my very first "follower"! It's Marijke H.! Thank you Marijke. For those who don't know (I have mentioned this before in the "Canada's Minis" Yahoo Group), Marijke H. and I, and a few other like-minded souls, are founding members of the "mini lovers mutual admiration society". It is indeed a rapidly growing list of people who so much appreciate the talent and generosity of these wonderful people we meet while pursuing our hobby - or obsession.

Back to the topic of this post - When I first met up with the people who are now my F.A.M.E. cohorts, Marijke was the person who talked me into my first Camp Mini Ha Ha at the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre in Nova Scotia. I was somewhat reluctant for a couple of reasons:

1. The project for 2014 was to build a room box that would become a lamp base. The theme for the workshop was "Mardi Gras". I couldn't imagine why I would want a lamp with a room box in it, nor could I imagine why I would want anything dealing with Mardi Gras.
2. I have never been a person who goes for a night out or a weekend with "the girls" or to attend group activities - I'm somewhat of a hermit, truth be told. So, the idea of a 5-day workshop was a little intimidating for me. I was worried that I would get to Nova Scotia, feel uncomfortable, and want to come home, after forking over a lot of money to be there.

Well, were my eyes opened! I had such an incredibly great time, met so many wonderful people, and learned so much I can't imagine ever wanting to miss a Camp session again!

As for the project itself, I thought and thought about it for the several months between initial registration and the beginning of Camp. I had a really hard time getting my head around what I would do with a Mardi Gras theme that I would actually like (although the theme is always just a guideline - Campers are encouraged to do whatever they want with their projects). In the end, I came up with a whole "story line" and the room box ideas rapidly fell into place. I'll tell you the story as we go.

This could turn into a really long post so, sorry, but I will break it into two parts. Today - a little more about my Camp Mini Ha Ha 2014 experience.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and got settled in. After a great meal in the dining room we retreated to the lounge where our fabulous team of organizers (self-titled "Divas") put together an evening of fun to allow everyone to get acquainted (there were 5 first-timers in 2014, of which I was one, and 31 returnees) and get a feel for what we could expect.

Bright and early Thursday we were up, to the dining room for breakfast, then a short stroll down the hill to the workshop rooms. We were provided with our kits which included the wooden frame for our lamp base, the gator-board pieces for our floor and back wall insert, a lighting kit to turn our room boxes into an actual full-size table lamp, and the materials we would need for our secondary workshop - dressing a mannequin with Judith Blondell teaching. Everyone put their heads down, got their frames glued together and got started on their inserts.

I, on the other hand, went looking for Wayne D., our wonderful all-round craftsman and Camp assistant. I found him in "Wayne's World" - his on-site workshop and explained to him that, for my "vision" to work I needed to have a side wall cut as well as a wall that would sit diagonally across one corner to enable me to have it look like a 2nd-floor apartment with a balcony. Always polite and supportive, Wayne delivered exactly what I asked for, rather than pointing out to me how fine the line can be between a "vision" and a "hallucination", and I was on my way.

So, here was the beginning of my room box insert. The first picture shows the back and side wall attached to the floor and the lines I had drawn on the walls to indicate where the diagonal wall was going to go. The second picture shows the diagonal wall in place, a New Orleans picture installed with a view from a balcony, and textured brick paper installed. I laid floor boards in the balcony area which followed the angle of the floorboards in the picture. I will be staining that portion a weathered grey to match the floor in the picture. I have just begun to lay the floor in the main part of the room.

So I will continue the rest of this saga in my next post. I leave you with a tip for the day. TTFN

Tip for today: Having trouble deciding what your project should look like, or even what it should be? Stop worrying about the actual project and concentrate instead on the story you want to tell. Once you have the full storyline in your head, the project details will quickly fall into place. A room box or mini building without a story is just a static placement of architecture and furnishings. They need their own background story to make them shine!

Promises, Promises....

It has been said that promises are meant to be broken. As I don't actually subscribe to that theory I thought I would review the few posts I have made to make sure I haven't broken any promises already. Well, it seems I have promised to show you my first Camp Mini Ha Ha project today but I also promised to review the "wish list" I presented two years ago in my second post and see where it stands today. Today - I'll deal with a review of my old wish list.

So - my wish list from two years ago included:

1. a plywood box my husband made for me to do a Christmas scene in it - I actually did do that scene, displayed it for one year then didn't like it anymore. The next year, I took a few of the pieces and displayed them on top of my buffet. I had originally just taken a Chrysnbon table and chair set and one of my Michael's cabinets and painted it in "Christmassy" colours and developed a scene around it with Christmas pictures, a sled, etc.

Now, I think I'm done with that - not just the scene but the furniture as well. I'm probably going to repaint the furniture to cover over the Christmas colours and figure out something else to do with it. See the beautiful table of desserts next to the table? That was made by Kathy N. (from Wisconsin I believe). She is one of our Camp Mini Ha Ha participants and I was lucky enough to receive this at one of our gift exchanges. Beautiful work - and so scrumptious looking!

2. A replica of the image from "The Bookworm" by Carl Spitzweig". Okay - I love this painting and, some day would like to attempt it. I have some beautiful mahogany bookcases that will fit this scene well but, for now, it remains on my wish list --- way down on my wish list!

3. Christmas scenes like the beautifully decorated windows we used to admire in the Eaton's, Bay, and Sears stores in Toronto. Well, this idea is still very much on my wish list but, in my mind, has evolved into a series of 5 Christmas scenes. Three of these will be based on pictures I have of windows at The Bay in Toronto from a few years ago. The window scene I picture here would be the 2nd in the series. I WILL definitely do these! This series remains on my wish list - but quite high on my wish list!

4. A Paris bistro - still on my list but moving down in priority. Likewise number 5 - the Irish pub, and number 6, the lighthouse and residence.

I will get around to them all eventually but - there's so many ideas, so little time!!

By now you're probably wondering, if all of these things are on my wish list - is there anything I'm actually doing? Well, I'm glad you asked.

I have two Camp projects under my belt now - one completed and the other just needing some finishing touches. I will show these in posts over the next week or so.

Recently I cut out two shops that I will be making into quilt shops - one for me and the other for my sister. I will post pictures and descriptions all along the way for these. Also - I purchased a greenhouse from IKEA that will become a greenhouse with attached potting shed and I have the bare bones together of a building that will become a wizard's emporium for my granddaughter. And - because that can't possibly be enough, when September comes around I will be working on this year's project at Camp - just to fill in my spare time!

Okay - admit it - you're all just like me!!! Lots and lots of ideas, almost as many projects on the go. Isn't it all great fun?

Next post I will fulfill my other promise and show you the details of my Camp projects. TTFN!

Work in progress...

Sometimes I think my whole life is a work in progress. Remember the cute little sign you used to be able to buy and hang up in your child's bedroom? It said "Please be patient with me...God hasn't finished with me yet". Well, I think that's a great mantra for all of us!

Besides being a work in progress myself, I have a lot of works in progress that span a number of different crafts. So, taking the bull by the horns I decided to cull some of these out. Determined to cut down the mounds of craft materials I have stored in boxes, bins and bags, I sat myself down and gave myself a stern talking to! From that conversation with myself I came up with the crafts I feel I will continue to be the most interested in over the next several years. Of course minis was top of the list, followed closely by cross-stitch. So I then went into my workroom and started the cull. I got rid of all my scrapbooking material (but kept any tools as they would be useful for minis too), and got rid of all my fabric from quilting and regular sewing, except any pure natural fabrics in tiny prints - minis again! Then I hit my yarn bins. Oh, my goodness!! I had so much yarn in so many different weights... all gone now. My DH took all of these items to our local Value Village for donation. Then I gathered up all my quilting books and gave them to my sister who is an amazing quilter. Whew, I feel lighter already! So why is my workroom still such a mess? Minis - how does a hobby that's all about little things take up so much room? Having gotten rid of all of the other stuff, I will continue to organize and clean until I feel I can show a picture of my work space. Right now it's too frightening.

Moving along, just to show you some of the great stuff our group of "makers" has accomplished, here are some more pics of our exhibit at the 2014 Fredericton Model Railroaders' Show. So, now may be the time to discuss the difference between a "collector" and a "maker", at least how I perceive the difference anyway. Everyone probably has their own opinion about this. For many years before I actually started to actively pursue my mini hobby, I had collected so many pieces of mini furniture and accessories. Anything that caught my eye made its way into my collection. However accumulating many mini things does not make one a collector. In my opinion, a collector is someone who painstakingly gathers beautiful, handcrafted mini masterpieces for their beauty and perfect craftsmanship, often searching out well-known artisans in the field for the purpose of acquiring one of their mini pieces of art. They will often commission someone to build very special dollhouses or room boxes to properly showcase their collection of artisan works. A "maker" is more interested in the creation of the pieces and wants to do it all themselves. They collect building materials, accessories, patterns and plans and they are continually on the lookout for everyday items that, when looked at differently, could be useful in making minis. I am a maker. I get my thrills through the crafting, not the hunt. Sure, it's great when you can find those little things that bring your room or scene to life but it is even more fun when you can make them yourself. Don't get me wrong - even a maker needs to consider when it makes more sense to buy than to make. For instance, I know nothing about working with polymer clays and the learning curve, for me, would be too great to bother with learning just for the sake of a few pieces of food or other mini items. However, within my own club we have Marijke H. who does incredible work with clay and sells for very reasonable prices. Why would I try to make what would surely be an inferior product when I can buy a beautiful one from her for very little outlay? Same as Christmas items - Mable M., another of our members,(Mable sells under the name "Mable's Minis" on Etsy) makes the most incredible Christmas trees, ornaments, gift bags, etc. that I have ever seen. The trees take a lot of work and are absolutely loaded with the most beautiful hand-crafted ornaments so can be a little pricey but I will definitely be saving up to buy these items from her rather than ending up with an inferior product of my own making. So, generally, I am a "maker", not a "collector".

One last picture for you - Want to see my first major "make"? Here is a finished view of the Camp Mini Ha Ha project from 2014 - the first one I attended. In my next posting I will give more details on that project, from beginning to end, and provide more views of the fun stuff inside. Tip for today: Okay - this tip actually comes from a conversation Marijke H. and I had the other day. Since I am still relatively new to the hobby, with only a couple of real "builds" to my name, she gave me a very good piece of advice which I will now pass on to you.

Our memories are not always the best and this hobby will be one you'll have for years. When the time comes for our children to decide what to do with all of our mini builds and the leftover mini stuff, it would be so valuable for them to know some history - the stories behind the builds, the origin of the pieces leftover - which are from major, well-known artisans and therefore more valuable than the other mass-produced ones. So, right now, if you don't already have one, go out and buy yourself a journal - better yet, buy two. One will be used as a kind of running inventory to record when you buy something, where or from whom you bought it, the price at the time, and perhaps a little picture of the item, the other will be to document your projects, start to finish, story behind it, a description of the materials used and the items included in the scene/room/building. Yes, you can do this in an electronic file, making it easier to include pictures, but if you choose this route, make sure your children, or designated person, always have access to an up-to-date file. Fingers crossed, none of us are going to be hit by a bus tomorrow but, we will be prepared for anything!

So, until the next post - TTFN!

She's Baaaaacckkk!!!!

Okay, it's been over two years since I first tried to start a blog.. So - what happened? The short version? Technology happened! For some reason, after I posted the second entry, I was unable to load any pictures and my computer kept jumping out of the screen when I tried to type an entry. My computer was really old at the time and I guess I didn't have everything on it that would make it work properly with Blogger. Well, cut to the present - new computer, new opportunities!!!!

So, what's happened in the last two years, mini-wise? Well, where do I start??? First - I made the acquaintance of Louise McS. She had been to the Montreal Miniature show where she met Liz Dielman of Grandpa's Dollhouse. When Liz heard where she lived, and the fact that she was doing minis all on her own, she gave her my name because I had been a customer of hers. When Louise got home she made contact with me, I told her about Marijke H. (pulchinellascellar.blogspot.ca) because I used to work with Marijke's husband so knew his wife was into miniatures. Again, long story short, we all got together, along with Susan P., a miniaturist Marijke knew, added some more members....and the rest, as they say, is history. Since that initial meeting we have formed our own club: F.A.M.E. (Fredericton Area Miniature Enthusiasts), we meet monthly just to get together, work on our own things, and bounce ideas off each other.

Thanks to Marijke's encouragement, Louise and I, both "newbies" in this hobby, along with another new member of F.A.M.E., Lynn M., joined her and Susan P. at Camp Mini Ha Ha at the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre in Nova Scotia in 2014 and again in 2015. We've met so many new "mini" friends there and learned so much. We're all getting ready to send in our registrations for Camp Mini Ha Ha 2016 and can hardly wait!

In 2014 and 2015, FAME participated in the Fredericton Model Railroad show where we displayed some of our projects and introduced more people to the 1/12th scale hobby. The model railroad club was uncertain at first but we persuaded them to let us in since we had so few opportunities to show off our work. They ended up being thrilled by our display and invited us back for 2015.

So, bottom line, I will be posting much more regularly now. To start with, I'll share some pictures of the two projects from my Camp Mini Ha Ha workshops as well as provide an update on how my "wish list" of projects has changed since my first posting. Hey - I'm female! I'm entitled to change my mind! I thank you for being so patient and will catch up with everything over the next few postings. TTFN!