Bits and bobs.....

Okay - first off let me say how much I envy those of you who confess that you have the attention span of a gnat. Because at least you have an attention span!

Now, I know I'm supposed to be moving onto the Irish cottage - as well as finishing up the chimney pots for my Dorian Grey room box but, let me say this latest diversion really isn't my fault - it's Bruce's, my DH. Yup - that's my story - it's his fault. You see, he showed me these golf tees someone gave him. They're not ordinary golf tees and he was given 12 packages of them with 50 in each package. Even if he uses some of them - just think of how many that leaves for me to play with!!! I really like the top of the tees because, unlike your standard golf tees, these have three little "prong-like" sections that hold the golf ball. All kinds of ideas are flowing through my tiny little brain!! Can't you just see all the possibilities for these things?? I had to start playing with them. I just couldn't help myself! I know - not only do I have no attention span, I have absolutely no willpower!

So the first thing I wanted to try was a set of pillar candle holders. Cutting these little suckers straight was not the easiest thing but, keep in mind -- I have hundreds of these!!! So what if I waste a few of them while I'm trying this out? I have many tries left to get it right.

For the candle holders, I snipped them into three different lengths, then used Aileen's Super Tacky glue to attach the smallest size of my round "woodsies". Once the glue has thoroughly dried and "cured" I will paint them. I have been wanting to try making my own "chalk" paint because I really like the look of it and the store-bought stuff is really expensive. Plus, I'll be able to have a plethora of colours for many different uses if I make my own!

There are a few different recipes for home-made chalk paint but what I will be using is 1 part Plaster of Paris (dry - then mixed with an equal amount of water and mixed until smooth) to 3 parts of paint. So, if you were making a batch large enough to paint a life-size dresser, for example, and you wanted to paint two or three coats, you would use 1 cup of dry Plaster of Paris, mixed with 1 cup of water and beaten smooth. Then you would add this to 3 cups of your paint. Yes, I know that, once mixed, this mixture is now not 1 part to 3 but you get what I'm saying, I think.

What else am I thinking of for these golf tees? Well, I think I could use the largest of the round woodsies and the middle size to make a two-tiered dessert or hors d'oeuvres server. I'll be trying this out later this evening. The other thing I realized was that my crystal marbles fit perfectly into the little three-prong area of the golf tee. So, cut really short and installed on a base - crystal balls for my Wizard Emporium? How about making the overall height about two and a half to three inches and turning them into garden gazing balls? Maybe I could glue a mini cup and saucer into the indent and make tiny bird feeders for the garden? Could they be used as legs for three of four leg benches or tables? Okay - I can see I won't be getting any sleep tonight as I lay awake and try to think of uses for these things!


The other thing I've been playing with - because why would you want one distraction when you could have two?? - was a package of little wooden filigree pieces I bought a while ago. For one thing - they were pretty, for a second thing - they were cheap -and for a third thing?? - Hey - I'm a DIY miniaturist - I don't need a third thing!! It's enough just to know that it's something that I'm sure will come in handy some day!


I've been doing a lot of searching on Pinterest for French Shabby Chic inspiration, and for English Cottage style as well. With those inspirational ideas in my head, I looked at these fancy trim pieces, then I looked at the little frames I bought from Michaels and showed you in an earlier post, thought about my home-made chalk paint, and some ideas started to come together. The simplest of which was just using them to trim out the frames to make shabby chic mirrors or picture frames.

Testing the little wood pieces against the frames, I saw they would fit much better if I cut the bottom straight across for the square frame, and cut off the little end curlicues for the round frame. I glued one on with Aileen's Super Tacky and the other with a super-glue-type glue. Over time I'll be interested to see which one holds best and lasts longest. I'm going to let these two little frames alone for a couple of days before I paint them. One reason is to make sure the glue is well-cured, the other reason is that I want to finish experimenting with other little accents or pieces of furniture before I mix up my chalk paint so I can paint everything at one time.

As a final note - since I know how many brilliant miniaturists are out there - anyone have any other cool ideas for using those golf tees?? Did I mention that I have hundreds of them??? Okay - Maybe I'll actually let DH use some for golf - if he's really nice to me. So, until the next post - TTFN!!

Boxed into a corner!!!!

At least that's the way I'll probably be feeling by the time I'm finished! I decided I should probably start some tidbits while I try to make up my mind about what I'll make as "gifties" for this year's Camp Mini Ha Ha. I downloaded two different designs from A Lavender Dilly on Etsy. Now, this is a shop located in Australia so the recommended weight of paper to print these on was 200 gsm. Here, in Canada, even though our official units of measurement have been metric for decades, we're kind of schizophrenic when it comes to metric versus imperial measurements. For instance, when buying meat in the supermarket, we post the weight in kilograms, then advertise it as price per pound. When it comes to paper, we still tend to refer to the weight in pounds (per ream - 500 sheets). The biggest problem in converting the gsm (grams per sq. metre) to pound weight is that different types of paper comes in different sizes - 8 1/2 by 11 inches; 11 by 17 inches, etc. - so 500 sheets of one size paper does not compare to 500 sheets of another. Let's not even talk about how that then translates to gsm!!! Bottom line - it doesn't!! So, to make a long story short - and when have I ever tried to do that?!? - I made an executive decision and had the boxes printed on 65 pound card stock. It seems to be the perfect weight, thankfully.


My first attempt to put the boxes together, I decided, against the actual instructions, to score them on the inside, instead of the outside as recommended, before folding. As a result, the box tops did not fit over the bottoms. Once I actually followed the instructions and scored them on the outside, it worked fine. The only adjustment I had to make is that, on the two larger sizes, the ends with the tabs on them need the height to be trimmed a bit as, once all four sides are folded up, the ends are a little higher than the sides. Luckily I found this out after cutting out and gluing together only a couple of sets so was able to cut all the others out correctly.

My plan is to put together 4 sets a day so will have them all done in 9 days. Sweet!! Now if I can just think of what to do for my gifties...


Moving on, remember my Dorian Grey attic scene? When you last saw it I mentioned I was going to put chimney pots on top of the chimney I built to hide the wiring. I went online to a chimney pot manufacturer to find images of the various kinds of pots. I found this one:

They call this style "The Bishop". Now, why they don't call it "the Rook" is beyond me!! Anyway- of course that's exactly what it looks like to me so what could be easier than dragging out the old set of hand-turned and cut chess pieces I bought at Value Village last year? They're quite rustic - not a very practiced hand made these but. that's what I like about them. Measuring the length of the top of the chimney, I decided I would use 3 chimney pots. I want the middle pot to be taller than the other two so I chose two rooks and a king to use. I will cut off the top of the king, of course, then will paint them to look like natural terracotta. All in all I am quite pleased with them and will show you a picture when I have them done.

Switching directions again - anyone watch the latest video on "Creating Dollhouse Miniatures"? It's a three minute video showing a miniature dollhouse store. So cute - and very well done with all of the boxes of dollhouses, accessories, finished dollhouses, etc. Lots of inspiration here.

And, to finish today's post with more inspiration, I mentioned the two books of Brian Nickolls that I own and love. Each of them have about a half dozen plans for constructing different buildings along with detailed instructions for cutting, constructing and furnishing. The first is "Making Dolls' Houses in 1/12th Scale". I love all of the projects in this book but I think my favourite is probably the fisherman's cottage. Another one I would love to put on my list but even Santa doesn't have a list as long as mine is beginning to get!




The second Brian Nickolls book is "Making Character Dolls Houses in 1/12th Scale". Another great book with easy to follow instructions and lots of drawings and pictures - I like lots of pictures! I think it's a hold-over from my kindergarten days. Anyway, I do love the pub in this one, as well as all the other plans but, I think my favourite plan in this book may be for the cider house. He even gives plans for making the apple press and cider mill.


The last one I'll show you is a new one I just got in last week. I haven't had time to go through this one in any detail yet. Written by Julie Warrren, "Step-by-Step Dolls' House Furniture Projects in 1/12 scale" is, strangley enough, exactly what the title says it is!! Go figure!! Seriously though, it does seem to have detailed cutting, construction and finishing instructions for a couple of dozen projects which look like they should be fairly easy for even a beginner to follow. Whenever I get around to making something, or even reading through it in more detail for that matter, I should be able to give you a more informed opinion about it!


I end this post with another suggestion that everyone out there think about what inspires them most, in this mini hobby, and then share it with us. We can never have too much inspiration! TTFN!!!

Category: Things Sandra Bullock and I have in common....

Quote from Sandra Bullock:

"I like lists, I'm controlling, I like order. I'm difficult on every level!"

So....'Nuff said!

By the Way - Hi Liz D.. Thanks for joining us!

Remember the list of projects I want to do eventually - or things I'm currently working on? Well, I forgot to mention that I'm still finishing off my Camp project from last September, which I'll make sure I show you in future posts, and I totally forgot about the Irish cottage that Lousie McS. and I started and have to get finished as well. I have a couple of pictures of the cottage as it is right now. Louise has the windows made and I will be fitting them in and getting a door made and installed. Then we will be finishing the exterior, the interior, and making traditional Irish furniture to go inside. We will then be donating the cottage to the Irish Association for exhibit - or perhaps for auction - whatever they wish.
The pictures are a little dark but hopefully you can see it well enough to get the idea. The design is actually from a booklet put out by the Nutshell News many years ago. It was very easy to follow and put together. I'm looking forward to getting the time to put more work in on this.

One item I mentioned on my list was an IKEA greenhouse, or seed-starting frame that I saw on Maureen H.'s blog, St. Albert Minis. I loved the idea of it and I ended up buying two. The first one I will be turning into a greenhouse with attached potting shed. In the pictures below I included a 1/12th scale chair so you could get the idea of size. Again - sorry for the dark pictures.
My first challenge with the greenhouse was that I want the floor from the greenhouse to run continuously through to the currently non-existent potting shed. However, the base on the greenhouse has a border on it that would mean I have to raise the floor a little bit. While looking through my wood stash for something appropriate, besides finding pieces of 3/4 mdf that would be a good thickness, I also found two 12x12 sheets of 1/4" glass and stone tiles that, I thought, would look lovely as a floor.

So - step one - I will glue the pieces of mdf together to fit the length of the greenhouse, then will glue down the floor tiles and grout them. Of course, then I have to make plant benches, fittings, and lots and lots of plants and flowers. Luckily I have Marijke H. handy and will be able to pick her brain when it comes to the flower-making stage - yet another thing she does so well. It's a good thing that I have so many truly talented people around me given my lack of experience. I'm so grateful to have them around. I have plans!!!! I must go make another list. Sandra would be so proud!!!! TTFN!

But I Digress.......

...which, as we all know, is soooo unlike me!!;D

But, before I get to the thing before I get to the detailed pictures of the Mardi Gras lamp..., I have a message for Liz - Sorry I didn't say "welcome" to you (or to Maureen H. or someone from mini addiction (Kelly?)), but people who choose "follow by email" only, do not show under "followers". It's basically a service that allows people to receive the most recent posts by email so they don't have to remember to go to the site. I'm quite new at this and it took me quite a while after I received Liz's email to figure out how to find the people who are "following by email". It was quite a process. Bottom line - I welcome each and every one of you but the only ones I can see easily are those who also choose to be a "follower", even if they are following by email as well. I don't know why - it's a Blogger thing I guess. Sorry, I certainly didn't want to forget someone - Welcome all!!

Now, back to my original digression - Yes, I am going to show you close up pictures of the Mardi Gras room box but first -- and just to be perfectly clear, this is all Marijke H.'s fault - I have to show you something else! I was visiting Marijke the other day and she lent me a book of hers and one of her Dutch dollhouse magazines to have a look through. OMG!!!! Even though I could only understand one or two words here or there, the pictures in this magazine were very clear and the projects and ideas!! ---- I have GOT to get a look at the rest of her magazines!! There were several things that caught my attention in this one - the April/May 1999 issue of Poppenhuizen en miniaturen - but these are two that I have definitely added to my wish list of projects to do/ things to make. You remember that list, right? It's a good thing my lists are all computerized now because I don't think I have enough paper to write them all down, or the room to store the lists in if I did!

Anyway - take a look at these two miniature pieces of furniture. I HAVE GOT TO MAKE THESE!!!

The first is a campaign chair - something that a military officer would have access to in the field - no laying on soggy ground for them! The second is a campaign chest that would follow them on their military campaigns. It is basically two boxes, one that would hold clothes, etc., and the other would act as a writing desk and hold his private and military papers. Aren't they fantastic!!
They're on my list for sure!!!

So - these last pictures are close-up shots of some of the details of the Mardi Gras lamp. I'm not really happy with them as they are quite fuzzy. If I can get better pictures in the future, I will replace these. For now, I am showing you the masks that poor Martine was wearing when she was following her fickle fiancé, a beautiful set of perfume bottles next to a sweet little potted geranium given to me by Marijke the first time she and I, Louise and Susan met for the first time and formed our local mini club, a little incense jar, Martine's crystal ball, and of course - our lovely, innocent little doll still laying in the chair where he was tossed. All of these items, except for Marijke's geranium, were "tidbits" from the talented participants of Camp Mini Ha Ha however, I am very ashamed to say I cannot remember which I got from whom. Remember in an earlier post I mentioned about journaling your mini acquisitions and projects? This is why!! If anyone out there recognizes their work and will contact me I will rectify this embarrassing situation! Also, from one of the sellers at Camp I purchased the little basket behind the chair (that's where Martine keeps her doll-making supplies!). There were several of our participants who had wonderful minis for sale and, again I am ashamed to say, I can't remember who I bought this from! Shame on me! Someone please help me sort out the mysteries!
Below is a picture of the incredible Fererro Rochers made by Rhonda Lynn from PEI (yes, many real-life Ferrero Rochers were sacrificed in the making of these chocolates!) and, of course, the cocktail we each received from Liz D. Finally, one last shot of the interior and that's it for the Mardi Gras lamp. Next post we get to move on. Aren't we all glad about that! TTFN

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!