Trying out a few ideas

 Okay - I still have to put the mesh covering on the smallest of the three wrapped/lighted gifts in the corner of the stall and try to install the lights.  While I am thinking about that I moved on to try a couple of ideas I had.  

I do love the look of Christmas wreaths that are made entirely from ornaments and I remember a tutorial from an old AIM magazine - sorry - can't remember exactly which magazine but I think it was about 8 to 10 years ago.  I remember that they cut two circles for each wreath with 2" diameters and 1" holes in the centre.  When I looked at that size the other day I thought it was a little large for my needs so instead I cut my circles 1.75" with .75" centre holes out of regular white Bristol board (or poster board as some people refer to it). 

I glued a small piece of ribbon to one of the circles (with a small jump ring inserted for a hanger), then glued the other circle to it to make it a little more sturdy.  

Then I painted the circles green in case I didn't get them completely covered in beads and I didn't want the white showing through.  I gathered a lot of beads of different colours and started making choices.

I made two wreaths - a pink and green one and a blue and silver one.  For the pink one I followed the instructions as I remembered them from the old AIM article.  I first placed 8 beads evenly spaced around the outside edge of the circle, then 8 beads evenly spaced at the edge of the inner circle.  Then I started filling in around and between them.  At the end I found myself with several tiny areas showing where I had to fit little beads here and there so the background wouldn't show.  For the blue one, I glued the beads all around the outside edge with no spaces between them then did the same on the inside circle.  Then I filled in the middle of the circle.  I added some small beads here and there to add a little more silver and just because I wanted to.  *smile*.  

I did find the second method better than the first so, if I ever make another one I will glue the edge beads without spaces between them.  Here are the finished wreaths:

These will be hung on the inside surface of one of the doors to the market stall.

Next I moved on to another one of my thoughts for market inventory.  I wanted to make some pillar candles so I gathered some straws with the thought I would make my candles from actual wax.  I had planned to cut the straws a little longer than I wanted and stand them up on small spots of clay, or on dots of hot glue.  Then I would have cut pieces of floss to act as "wicks", secured them to a toothpick and hung the ends into the upright piece of straw.  Then I would have carefully filled them with melted wax and let them harden before removing the straw from the outside.

While I know that would have worked and made perfect little candles to add to the shelves of my market stall, I really was not in the mood to go to all that work.  I started thinking about alternative ways I could get the look I wanted and, thankfully, I had a "eureka" moment.  

I have a package of those sticks made by Modge Podge that are used in a hot glue gun, melted and used to fill molds to make decorative shapes.  They are exactly the diameter, in 1:12 scale, that a standard 3" by 6" pillar candle would be.  Hurray!!  The ones I have are pure white - exactly what I was going for.  So, I gathered up some supplies and got started.  I used only one stick, and in truth only about half the stick, and cut it into 1/2" lengths to represent the 6" height of standard pillar candles.  Then I took a length of white covered floral wire, dipped the end of the wire in glue, made a tiny hole at the top of each candle and inserted the end of the wire into the top of the candle.  Then I clipped the wire to the length I wanted for the wick and moved on to the next candle.

Okay - I absolutely love these little candles!  They look so perfectly like actual candles and took only seconds to make.  My kind of mini!!

I thought that I would like to make the stand in two levels so I could insert one level of greenery between the two, then another one on the top to provide more bulk and realism.  So, I cut out a series of 1/2" circles for the bottom and 7/16 circles for the top.  I doubled up each layer to make them a little thicker and painted them brown to be less noticeable under the greenery I was using.

I added a small clear bead between the two levels to allow space to fit in the bottom layer of preserved lycopodium.

These two have the lycopodium glued in two layers.  The one on the left has since been trimmed down to a smaller diameter and to even out the ends of the greenery.  

I glued some ornaments to these two candles.  Don't you love how I don't wait until the glue is dry to take pictures?  I am sure these will look much better when you don't see those blobs of white.

Looking at the others that are left I think I may start experimenting with other ways of decorating.  I'm thinking just the bottom layer of lycopodium and the top circle covered in ornaments?  Or perhaps a flocked greenery with simple ornaments?  Stars?  Pine cones?  Hmmm - I can see a playtime coming up!

I started to think about the overall look I want for this little market stall and, in my mind's eye, I always imagined a shabby chic chair in the corner with a blanket draped over it or a special cushion on it, some rustic/shabby chic decorative items or linens for the shelves, etc.  I looked through my "stash" and found the perfect chair.  This little item was one of the first things I wrote about when I started my blog.  I had painted the ugly brown stained wood and embroidered the seat for it.  It has remained in my stash, waiting for just the right place to put it.  I think it is perfect for this corner.

So yes, the shelves are still quite empty but I have so many ideas I just can't settle on how I want to fill them.  

I hope that the next time you see this little project it will be all decked out in its final condition.  Although we all know how unlikely that is since, let's face it, is a miniature project ever truly finished or do we keep changing it over and over???  I know the answer from my standpoint and I suspect we are all the same on that issue!

Until my next post - stay safe and healthy!  God Bless.  TTFN!! - Marilyn