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!