Busy, Busy

Where is this year going?

I want to take this time to thank all my followers for their patience.  I also want to congratulate all you wonderful bloggers out there.  I have found some wonderful people with wonderful talents and learned new skill along the way.

This is one of my latest purchases. It needs sanding, staining and filling  :)  Looks like I am going to be busy making many, many mini books again.  I realise it would be a lot easier to make mainly books that do not have pages and just have the odd book that can be opened and 'read'.  I just really like the thought of having book shelves in my mini houses filled with books that can be looked at.

I am also going to be taking pictures of my 1/24th cottage this week because I want to show the progress that I have made recently.

The cold weather is definitely working to focus my mind back on my hobbies.

Catching up

Hi again everyone,

First off I would like to apologise for it being so long since I last posted anything. Today I am just going to give a quick catch up with everything that has happened recently.

First off, I have a job and I am loving it.

Then I have recently had another new arrival and here she is.

She is the vampire Tangkou.  Her hair is a lot longer than I thought but, I am very happy with her.

Today I FINALLY managed to make it to my local Dolls House Shop.  I found another new bookshelf that I don't have a photo of but, it is normal looking and unstained wood.  I also bought a tiny floral bowl which I am using in my 1/24th cottage and a 1/12th first aid box and fruit bowl.  The fruit bowl is going in the terrace house and the first aid box is for the pet shop.

I am now off to have a catch up with everyones blogs.  It looks like everyone has been so busy recently.

A Wonderful Day

A few months ago I visited a local real life Dolls House Club.  I have been a member of a couple of online miniature groups and find they are lovely for learning new things and chatting to people who share the same hobby.  All of the women in the real life club and online clubs are so talented and can make such wonderful minis.  Today  the real life dolls house club had booked a workshop by Nicky Bott.

For those of you who know me, my hobbies and miniatures have had to take a back seat recently because my hubby lost his job and we are all busy applying for work left, right and centre all to no avail so far.

Today has been just the tonic I needed to lift my spirits and renew my enthusiasm for something fun to learn and do.  Today  Nicky Bott showed us how to make a 1/12th scale character male.  And here is my character male

We all had great fun and I managed to learn so much and completed him in one day.  He may not be the prettiest doll but, I am very attached to him.

All I need to do now is make him some clothes.  I was going to wig him and make him into a wizard but he doesnt look like a wizard to me now he is completed....  I think I may have to make another one to make into a wizard lol

Hi Again

Hi Everyone,  I hope you are all well.  Apologies I am not about so much just lately but normal service is returning over the next couple of days.

I am hoping to start dressing one of my dolls house dolls this week.  I have been thinking what style she needs to wear. And I am not sure what fabric I have that will be suitable to use.  Also, she has a 'look' about her that is making it difficult to decide, especially as my dolls house is modern and the 12th scale pet shop is also more modern.  Decisions, decisions.

I will post some pictures this week of what I am up to.

Little Jouet

A couple of days ago a new little doll came to live at my home.  She is is only about 4 1/2 inches tall.  I bought her from http://www.thethinkingdoll.com It is a lovely little site that has information on various collectable dolls and also sells preloved and new dolls and related items.  She is a Little dal jouet doll and I fell in love with her when I saw her picture on this site.

She came with no clothes and after hunting round the local charity and toy shops by me, I turned back to the thinking doll site to hunt for suitable clothing.  I dont mind making her some but, I also wanted something better than I can make at the moment.

I ordered her the dog suit and a little kimono.  She looks very smart in the kimono but, my favourite is the little dog suit.

She has such a lovely look on her face.  I have a feeling that she is going to be my favourite little doll of this size.  Sooooooo sweet.

Expanding Interests

Doesnt time fly?  This year is going by so fast and I cant believe how long it has been since I last posted on here.  My mini time has gone haywire the last few weeks.  My time hardly seems to be my own and I have been having problems finding time where I can just sit and do my hobbies.

Today I would like to start off by introducing new additions to my home.  They are Tangkou dolls.  Both are 1/6 so not my dolls house size but, I love them.

The first doll is the Aussie Tangkou.  My apologies because I do not think my photos do her justice.

I think these dolls have very pretty faces.  Also, their eyes change colour by pressing a button on the back of her head.

Next is the England Tangkou.  She is wearing a very feminine dress in contrast and has longer hair.

The eyes can also be kept closed with a different button press.  The eyelids have patterns on.  This is the England Tangkou eyelids.  I really need to find fitting names for them both now.

Tomorrow, back to minis but today I just wanted to share another of my hobbies.

Nearly There ...

Today I have been sorting through the mountain of stuff that accumulated while I wasnt keeping on top of things.  Isnt it strange that a mess takes such a short time to accumulate but, so long to tidy up.

I have been cutting up small pictures to use for various future projects.  I find that tiny pictures come in handy for so many things mini... cards, adding to book covers or pages, pictures, adding to labels etc.  And I have so much to do.  The next couple of days are busy in the full size world so I am planning Saturday to be my mini day.

I am still not smoking.  Woohoo, I am so pleased with myself.

I have also done a bit more painting on my market stall that has been sat there looking neglected for sooooooo long.

I really need to get on and make the items for it.  I will add that to my list... wow this todo list is getting way too long.  I really need to be good and get on with it all  :)

Hi Again

Hi everyone, I didnt want anyone to think I had abandoned my blog.  I have been attempting making a new mini.  It is to be a gift so I cannot post a picture yet in case the person pops on and sees it.  I will post pictures once the other person has seen it.

Other than that, I have started looking at some of my other craft ideas.  I love minis and am truly hooked but, I would like to expand my interests somewhat so, I have found out more material, paints etc and hopefully over the next few days I will have time to settle down to more making.

My garden has really come alive with all the recent rain but it is looking a bit overgrown so it looks like gardening is also on my to do list.  :)

I will be back to more regular posting soon with more pictures too.

Bedroom Picture At Last

Hi everyone, well what a busy few days it has been.  I have given up smoking.  I am now on day 10 of being a non smoker and am really pleased with myself.  I havent really had any problems but, my ability to concentrate has gone downhill.  I also finally have new glasses.  I had noticed when I have been crafting that I was finding it difficult and finally got round to having my eyes tested.  I now have new distance glasses and new reading glasses.  So much easier now I can see clearer lol.

The pet shop stock is in the shop apart from a few items that need labels still.  I still have loads to do in there so no photos yet to show.  I have finally taken a picture of the terrace house bedroom so far and with the bed in place.  My apologies for how long it has taken me to get round to posting this picture.

I am starting to get back to some of my other crafts as well at the moment which seems to have slowed my mini progress.  I have been knitting scarves while giving up smoking. I have also started sewing again.  I have started to plan my time better though the last couple of days so I should soon be running full speed with everything.

Back to the Pet shop stock

Sorry for my absence recently.  I am back, although I am hoping to be working on other crafts too till I am all caught up with myself.  The last month saw real life go from chaos to total chaos and things look uncertain for a while to come. But, the beauty of minis and all things crafty is the escape it provides so onwards and upwards.

Tonight I started making some more stock for my pet shop.  I didnt have any wood the right size so, I rolled some clay to roughly the right shapes for cans.  I am going to make my own labels and see how they turn out, they might be marked as worked in progress lol.

I also made a couple more bowls, balls and chews.

I am going to make more tins and will be hunting round for pet type printy boxes but, making my own labels for the cans and bottles seems the best idea at the moment and I could really do with stretching my skills to other things.  I am also going to trawl through some catalogues and internet pages to look for more inspiration to make my items more varied after all, I need to get together stock for birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, cats etc as well.

Missing mini motivation found at last

Hi everyone.  I am so sorry for having been gone for a few days, I am not sure why but, my mini motivation has been missing.  I am pleased to say that today I feel like I am definitely motivated.

I have found three kits that I bought when I was at Miniatura last year.  Unfortunately I was unable to go this March but I am hopeful that I will make it in September.  These kits make the most adorable little bears.  They are designed by Josephine Parnell.  I am hoping to make a start on Norvelle very soon.

First of all though I have one or two other little items to complete.  I have had a lovely time catching up with everyones blogs.   I will be back tomorrow

Inspiration in funny places

The last few days have been hectic here.  Real life took over all my time and I am looking forward to a quieter couple of days.  I have mini plans for tomorrow and over the weekend so, hopefully I will have some pics to post tomorrow night.

While I was busy hoovering, I found a bracelet I had been keeping off to one side.  I bought it at a charity shop.  It is not quite the right size for my wrist but, I didnt buy it to wear, I bought it because it caught my attention.  It is more colourful than shows in the pictures/  I love the mix of bright colours and simple designs.  Unfortunately I dont know the maker.  When I saw it I could see possibilities of similar colour mixes and patterns for a variety of mini occasions and mini items.

All the beads have different variations.  I am considering the possibility of adding similar effects to mini vases, plates...

I hope everyone is having a great day.

Bed now finally dressed

Well, I am really pleased to say that the bed for my terrace house is finished.  I am very happy with the look but not so with the photos that I tried to take.  Hopefully I will be able to do the bed more justice when it is in place in the bedroom.  Unfortunately, I didnt manage to complete it till 2:30am and everyone else is in bed so, I will have to wait till everyone is awake again before I can finally put it in place.

This has taken me a lot longer than I had originally thought but, I am glad I completed it.  Now I can move on to other things on my todo list which I am so far behind with lol.

Bed progress

The last couple of days I have very slowly been making the first pillow and bottom sheet for the bed.  I am pleased to say that it all went smoothly.  I went for the slower method of hand sewing the items.  I dont know what it is but, there is something about hand sewing that I find relaxing.

The next part will be working on the main colour but, I am still undecided whether to embellish the bedding or just stick with the turnover to add more interest.  Of course, if I have time, other colours can be added by using items on the bed such as a cushion or nightie.  At the moment, I may just keep it simple and add details when more of the bedroom itself is completed.

Looking, Looking.

Things have been pretty busy here the last couple of days and today I have been shattered.  I was having a look through my fabric stash and I think that I have decided to use some green fabric that is similar to stems on the terrace house bedroom wallpaper.

While I was searching through the fabric, I found a bag with items in that I was originally going to use in the tower.  I have had a rethink and I have decided that these items will probably go in the room box I am hoping to do when I have completed my other project.  The room box will be based around Angelica (the doll I dressed a while ago).

There are two small items in the photo that I am using in the 1/24 cottage.  The smallest jug and what looks like a watercan are going in the kitchen and near the front door respectively.  While I am talking about 1/24 scale, does anyone know of any good 1/24 scale tutorials? I have tried searching but, so far I have not had much luck.  Thank you.  :)

Bed re-do

I had a first attempt not long ago at making a pillow and duvet for a bed.  While it turned out ok, it is not really what I want to use in my terrace house and the mattress material is not what I want either.  I have decided to start again. I am not sure if I have posted a picture of what the bed looked like so here it is (again if I have already posted a picture lol)

I took the mattress off the bed and removed the fabric, replacing it with a plain white material.  I prefer the plain mattress and am now trying to decide what to make next.

I prefer the look of sheets on a bed but, with the terrace being more modern, I should really be looking at making another duvet... decisions, decisions.  I am going to make a bottom sheet and a pillow in white and then decide from there what to do.

A little bit of minis

Today I started working on a list of minis that I wrote last night in an attempt to keep me on track.  I get so easily distracted just lately, more than normal.  I made it through only three of the items but, it did involve making several of each so perhaps I didnt do too bad after all.

My apologies that it is not a good picture of the perfume bottles.  The coat hangers were made following instructions in one of the AIM magazines and they were really easy to make.

I have plenty more items on my list and I have realised that perhaps I was a little over enthusiastic when I was writing my list out.  Still, I know what else needs to be done.  Tomorrow it will probably be clay items and then onto items that need sewing.  I do love being busy  :)

Pet Shop progress

I have been sorting out the ground floor of the pet shop today.  First I emptied out all the items that were already in there and then I placed the items from Debbies giveaway.

Next, I added items that I had made/bought over the last few months.  I have so slow making progress with my shop.  I still intend to buy new shelving so these are temporary homes till I have saved up and found the kind of shelving that I am happy with.  I have bought on impulse before and always end up regretting it because it wasnt quite what I had hoped.

I am feeling like I have a lot more motivation now and am looking forward to putting more planning into it and making yet more books lol.

Think I surprised the Postman

T oday I saw my postman arriving before he saw me.  He had a parcel in his hand and I knew what it was.  I threw the door open before he even arrived at the door.  What can I say? My inner child got the better of me.  He looked a little surpirsed but quickly recovered and smiled.
It was a parcel off Debbie at http://makeminemini-makeminemini.blogspot.com/  as I won her giveaway.

Wow, there are so many items, all beautifully made.  I love them all and have decided where they are all going to live.  Thank you so much, I am one very lucky lady.

These gorgeous items are all going to live in my terrace house. Arent they beautiful?

These sweet pet items are all going in my  1/12 pet shop.  I dont think the photo does them justice.  I love them.  I am going to place them in their new home tomorrow and post pictures.  

How about these for more gorgeous pet items?  These items will also be living in my pet shop.  The dog coat is exquisite.  The attention to detail on it is wow.... Debbie, all I can say is, please let me know if you start selling the dog coat.  All the items are going to be loved for years to come.

Debbie also gave me these printies.  They are so lovely.  I have been truly spoiled in her giveaway and the time and attention she has given to all these many items is amazing.

Thank you so much Debbie.  The link to her blog is http://makeminemini-makeminemini.blogspot.com/  
More photos will follow soon of all these wonderful items in their new homes.

Quiet day

I removed all the books and bits that were holding the bits of wood in place in the room and took a photo of the living room of the terrace with the skirting boards and fireplace also added.

I am looking forward to when all the main pieces are place and there are just the finishing touches left to do in all the rooms.

Next week, I am hoping to get caught up with all the real life housework and start making more progress with some more minis.

Back again

First off, I wanted to thank everyone for their best wishes for my son.  He is now back at home with lots of medicines and painkillers to take so, hopefully we will see some improvements soon  and he will be back to feeling better.

Today I glued the skirting boards in both the 1/12 terrace house and 1/24 cottage.  All the rooms are at the moment in a terrible state with books and other objects holding the wood in place till the glue dries.  My apologies, I forgot to take photos but most people will already know the kind of mess that I am talking about  :)

I also remembered to fix the fireplace that I am putting in the terrace house.

It is a dolls house emporium fireplace that I saw and fell in love with.  I am looking forward to sorting out the rooms tomorrow as much as possible.

Busy Day

This evening my son was admitted to hospital.  We are all looking forward to him coming back home and hoping that he is better enough to come home soon xx  Get well soon Cody.

So today I have not done any mini-ing so, I am going to show some photos of the kitchen items I have decided will be placed in the kitchen.

I picked out my favourite crockery, I do need one or two other pieces and am now saving for the next trip to my favourite shop  :)

I  probably wont be using the bread board shown above because I have one that I made but, all the other items shown will be placed in the cupboards.

I made these items myself and will definately be placed in the kitchen.  I am hoping to make more foods soon because I would love to make my own clay foods for display.

The Good, the bad and the wonderful surprise.

I am going to start my post with my wonderful surprise.  I have won my first ever giveaway by this very talented lady  http://makeminemini-makeminemini.blogspot.com/  I am sooooo excited and it has not only made my day but, my whole week.  I will post photos of the items and their new home when they arrive.  I feel like a kid this evening after hearing this news and wish to send out a huge thank you.  :)

The bad part is that my youngest son is ill.  We have had trips to the doctors and on for blood tests at the hospital.  It could be glandular fever and we are waiting to hear but, like every other mum out there, I hate it when my children are feeling so poorly.  I hope you feel better soon Cody.

The good is that I have finally sorted out some wood for skirting boards.  Tonight while things were quiet, I have been measuring, cutting and staining the wood.  Tomorrow I should be able to glue them all in place.  I dont have quite enough for all the rooms but, I have at least managed to sort enough for most of my 1/12 terrace house and two floors of my 1/24 cottage.

I am looking forward to being able to post pictures tomorrow of the progress on the rooms.  I just cant believe it has taken me so long to get these sorted lol.

More books and how I am now making them

Today I played around more on the computer.  I am determined to make some of my books so that they will include my own photos of my minis.  I have managed to work out how to make totally personalised books.  I am still finding it fiddly and my youngest son is poorly but, I wanted to show my ideas.

Firstly, I used my pc word processor and inserted a table consisting on one cell by three.  Then I added a title and blurb on the back using the smallest print.  I also added a photo of mine from my pictures folder.  Then I altered the size of the cells to the sizes that I wanted.

I made a separate table with more cells for the pages (these will eventually contain more pictures from my files).  These will be cut into rows and folded concertina style and glued inside the covers.

Using this method, I plan to eventually make separate mini books for each of my projects and even photo albums etc.  I have really enjoyed experimenting and finding this out for myself although, I realise that other people may also make books this way.  I am sooooo happy.  I am just looking forward to practising some more as at the moment it is more time consuming than it would be if I was more confident on computers lol.

Where did the time go?

I spent a little (but not as much as I would like), time on sorting the terrace kitchen this evening.  I only had time to set out the main furniture and add a couple of accessories.  Real life can be a bit intrusive when I try and set time aside some days.  On a more positive note, my real life house is looking a lot cleaner.

I am now thinking that perhaps I need to make changes to the table as it isnt quite right for the kitchen.  I will have to put my thinking cap on for that.

The next few days I will be going back and forth between different projects as I have a few things I need to get done and I tend to make better use of my time spending a bit of time on different things.  I will be doing my best to make sure that I get the rest of my kitchen accessories set out though, I have 4 sealable bags with food and kitchen things in and it would be good to get them in place.  :)

Kitchen Progress

I spent the afternoon and most of the evening looking at then working on my kitchen cupboards.  I really like the effect but am going to think about what to do about the cupboard handles.  Tomorrow I am going to put them in the house and add the accessories.

This is a clearer before picture.  The black material is carbon fibre body wrap that was left over from work recently done on the family car.  I decided to use it for the work surfaces.  I also decided to continue using the cooker I had already got so covered the rings to make more work surface.

And here it is all done apart from the handles which I will probably end up painting  either black or silver.  So tomorrow is fun day, adding all the accessories that I have and I must admit, I am looking forward to it.

New Kitchen to work on

I am such a happy bunny today.  I went to my local dolls house shop this morning and picked up the new kitchen units I had been looking at.  I was a good girl, I only picked up what I had planned to get.  The kitchen units, two chairs and a plastic sheet of tiles. Unfortunately I forgot the skirting board again  :(  Luckily, I have got enough to do to keep me going for a long while to come, it just means it will take a bit longer before I can say that the kitchen is finished.

I plan on using some of the tiles on the splashbacks and paint the worksurface.  I have most of the accessories for the kitchen already.  (Silly me, I forgot to take a picture of the tiles).  The kitchen and chairs are Streets Ahead pieces but, I just want to customise them a little to make them a bit more mine and to break up the colour of the wood.

New month, longer list haha...

I can see that I have a busy few mini weeks ahead.  I have projects to catch up with from online groups I am a member of as well as trying to make progress on all my mini buildings.  Today I thought I would post pictures of my 1/12th terrace house to encourage me to concentrate on making progress here.  If all things go well I will be working on the kitchen next week.  I am still undecided whether to buy a kitchen set and make alterations to make it 'mine' or just buy one or two pieces like wall shelving and a unit.  I will see next time I visit my local dollshouse shop.  I also must remember to buy some skirting boards.  I keep forgetting when I get there and get sidetracked by all the lovely things they have in there.  Then I will move onto the other rooms.  First of all though I need to see if I can get a lift there as I do not drive.  I am hoping to pop there Saturday but, it might be later in the week.

As you can see, I have so much left to do but, I am looking forward to being able to see changes over the next month. Wish me luck!

Friends Blog and Day out

I hope everyone is having a great day.

First off I would like to say that Debbie is having a giveaway on this blog http://makeminemini-makeminemini.blogspot.com/ .  It is a lovely blog so, please take a look if you are not already following.

Today I went to Stourport with my parents.  Sorry I dont have any photos to post, I forgot to take my camera and never thought about using my phone! lol.  It was a lovely day out and the sun was shining but, unfortunately I was unable to find anything in the charity shops that I could use for minis.

Tonight I attempted to make two mini perfume bottles out of a couple of de-constructed necklaces.  I am hoping that the glue dries ok tonight and they are still in place in the morning.  If they work out then I will make a couple more tomorrow.  I have plans on recycling a couple more things over the next few days but, by Monday next week I am hoping to be able to concentrate on a different project on my todo list.

Fingers crossed for photos tomorrow.

Finished the easy one :)

The small shelf that I had painted is now completed.  I added a phone that I was going to use in the pet shop but I can soon buy another.  I made the books and a small mat for the phone to go on.  The Dolls House magazines were cut out from the printies section in one of the issues (sorry, cant remember which one).

I am going to put this shelf unit at the bottom of the stairs in my terrace house.  I was going to add more books that I had made but, I am going to use them on the large bookshelf.  I might make some more magazines but, for now I am happy that it can be placed in the house as it is.  :)

A change from books?

Yesterday I didnt manage to make any minis.  Real life kind of took over completely.  Today however, I have decided to make up for lost time  :)  So far I have made 6 more books and nearly sent my eyes funny so I am going to have a change and make some other items such as mats and jars.  All being well I will have some photos to post later.

If anyone has sent me an email, please forgive me but I cannot answer them as I somehow managed to delete all my emails!  I am still not quite sure how I managed to do that so my apologies and please can you re send them  :)

Lazy Day

It has been lovely and sunny today so, after doing a bit of housework, I have been sat relaxing and chatting with my family.  I did have a little mini play time, I just wanted a quick go with my new thin line drawing pen so, I quickly made a couple of books up.  The pen was definitely worth buying as it is going to make it really easy to write on the book covers and spines (when I take a bit more time doing it).

I have taken a pic though.

I have also had a little play on the computer, inserting and altering the size of tables in the word processor to make it easier to make the pages for the books instead of all the measuring.  I am hoping to make a lot more progress now for the rest of this week as I have plans to concentrate on one of the rooms in my terrace house next week.  :)

Finished Jellies

I took the jellies out of the moulds (finally) and I am happy to say they turned out well.  I put them on plates that I made myself at the moment.  That may change later.

This evening I started making some pages for mini books and choosing papers to use for the covers.  Most of the books will be basic but, I am going to plan how to make book covers to look like 'proper' books.  So far I have relied on printies for this effect so I thought it was about time to give it a go myself.  First off to make some basics though....

More items for my stash ...

Yesterday I went out with my parents to a garden centre.  I loved it.  It is huge and has a large Hobby Craft inside it.  Well, as you can imagine, I ended up buying one or two things lol.  My saving up for some 1/24th items went out the window temporarily.  Oh well, I  just need to start again  :)  Here are the items I bought

I tried to take a close up photo of of the beads that I bought but, I couldnt get it to focus on the details.  They are a variety of glass beads with various different patterns on them.  They are my favourite buys.  It was where you could pick up a tub and fill it with individual beads of your choice.  I am wishing now that I had had enough with me to get the larger tub lol.

When I got back home, I felt really ill so I didnt manage to do anything else yesterday.  I am feeling a bit better this morning though and I have started a couple of jellies and sweets and sweets using moulds from Miltons Miniatures.  I am just waiting for them to set now before I remove them from the moulds.

Unfortunately, they are not items for my shelves... I really must learn to focus on one project at a time :)  I am going to be going on a hunt later for some more printies later as I want to make more books.  Some of the books  I will make myself and some will be printies that I will make up.  Also, some of the books will open and some will not.  I am also going to be making some jars and perfume bottles for the shelves.  Hopefully I will make some progress with them today.

Woohoo I can take pictures again...

I am pleased to say I remembered to buy some battries while I was out so my camera is now working again.  Normally I am terrible at remembering to get them but, this blog seems to be making me very good at taking pictures of my minis so it was easier to remember this time  :)

These are the items I started yesterday.  As you can see, the paint was better this time.  I wasnt really expecting the problems I had this time as I have painted plain wood furniture without problems using this paint before.  Glad they are done though now so, I can finish making accessories for everything.

On to the next part now.  I have to admit, I am loving spending more time on my hobby this year :)