Goodbye 2013 and looking forward to the new year ahead

Well, another year is coming to an end and I am not sure where the time has gone.

I am making a promise to myself to make more of the time and forge ahead with plans. 2013 seemed to end up being the year of procrastination and side tracking.

I would like to wish everyone a happy new year and success with all projects and plans.

Little Glass Kitty

I recently went to the German Market in Birmingham.  It was lovely when it first opened but by dinner time it was extremely busy so we left.

Although there were many wonderful stalls with lovely items, I only treated myself to one tiny piece.

I bought this lovely little coloured glass cat.  He is so sweet and is just the right size for my 12th scale terrace house.

He fits lovely on the mantlepiece.  It is still in need of a couple more items and I am still holding out for a mirror to hang on the wall above it.  I have an idea of what I want the mirror to look like, I just havent found it yet.  I also want to give any mirror I choose, the effect of it hanging from a chain.  

As you can see, the spare books I have are still waiting to be put on the shelves.

It is surprising just how the little ornaments and clutter can make the house feel like it is someone's home.

My mini to do list just keeps getting longer and longer, although it really is my own fault.  I get sidetracked so easily so I havent focused and stayed on one task.  I really should.  Am I the only one that has this problem?

And so... back to the tower

Today I wanted to finally get the pieces in place and photographed.  That way I can say that one room is complete.

As you know, I had recently changed some of the furniture and put them in place in the tower.  Here is the room as it is now.

I am trying to make it look dirty and unkempt.  I have actually manage to sand the floor to give it a dirty look but, I may need to darken the layer to give it a more realistic look as it looks too light a grey...

I am pleased with the items on the pieces of furniture and am getting the right level of clutter now.

Ok, now that I have looked again at the photos, I really do need to get the floor sorted, that really is too pale to look dirty.  I have lots of paint through so, maybe a dry brush over with a dark brown/grey.

Hopefully, I will get chance later in the week to concentrate on it.  My son is coming to visit tomorrow so I am not planning on doing many crafts/minis so we have time to chill and catch up.  

Cottage update

Today I thought I would look at my little 24th scale cottage.

The first thing I noticed was that it is in need of a spring clean and dust.

The next thing on my todo list is to sort out the bedding. and try and fix the piece of furniture where the drawer is constantly falling out.

The saucepans still have no home at the moment.  I am currently trying to decide whether to keep all or some of them.  I also need to fill the book shelf.  I am hoping to make all the books so that they open.

I have started to work on a scene for the loft area as well.  We will see how it goes.  It is still in the early stages of planning.

I am now going to introduce you to the latest addition to the cottage

I havent got a name for him yet.  I saw him on a shelf in a junk shop and couldnt resist him.

In need of a sort... again

Today was the turn of the pet shop.

As you can see, it is feeling a little neglected.  I havent done much to it recently.  I must admit, I am starting to get more enthusiastic when looking at some of the ball jointed dolls.

I am hoping to have another push at getting some of the items and animals in place.  I had wonderful plans when it came to sorting out the shop.  I would like to make it even more over run with animals eventually.

As you can see, there are books on the floor of the shop.  I am thinking of using them to try and fill up the bookshelf in the living room of the terrace house and making books for the pet shop with proper petcare titles.  I keep having so many plans.  I really need to be a little more strict so that I can complete some of them.

I still have not found a person that I am happy with to run the shop.  I have a lady that I was going to use on the market stall but, I have had to put the stall away due to lack of space and my larger doll collection growing.

This was one of my newer guinea pig hutches.  It is a little big for the downstairs of the shop but, I am considering putting it upstairs and including more animals up in what was originally going to be the office area.

This is my favourite guinea pig hutch.  The photo does not do it justice.  I have had this hutch for a year or so now so you have probably seen it before.  I bought it from a Miniatura show I went to.  

Hopefully, I will manage to complete one of my projects by the end of next year.  

Tangkou Heaven

It has been a very chilly day today.  I only left the house long enough to sort out buying cards and even then I was glad to get back home.

I spent some time sorting out my Tangkou dolls today.  I was mainly looking at my Italia doll.  Since I bought her last Christmas, I have always slightly overlooked her as she is so similar to one of my others, the main difference being clothes.

She is still pretty though

Her eye change is better than the France doll, which seems to get stuck on one colour every time.

Unfortunately, I then made the mistake of looking online and there are more releases coming out. I must admit here that I did not do very well as I have ordered the Fairy doll.  She looks very pretty and according to the description, she has a removable wig and horns held with magnets.  I am going to be very interested to see what she is like when she is released at the end of December.

Changing Furniture

I have been looking at changing and sorting some of the furniture in my tower.

I had plain wood furniture picked out and removed some of the drawers etc and took off a couple of doors to get the look I was after.

Here are the pieces of furniture partly taken apart.  (I had forgotten to take pics before I had done anything to them).

I decided to go for a darker wood look and make them look used and dishevelled with a base coat of black paint and then wood brown washed over the top.

Please excuse the mess behind the furniture, but, you get the idea.  I will take more photos of this once I have filled them and put them in place in the tower.

So, that has been some progress on some of my minis.... finally.

Branching out

I have been looking at other areas of crafting recently but I am not finding it that easy to decide which to learn first.

Probably like others, I need to use the internet and books to expand my knowledge as I do not have friends or family close enough to pop round for advice.

One thing I had noticed is that most books seem to rely on you having access to a way of increasing the size of patterns rather than providing you with the correct size for you to trace.  Although the argument of cheapness can be made, I find it rather lazy of them... Ok, rant over haha.

I am starting to look more closely at cloth doll making (although minis will always be my first love).  If anyone can recommend any books, blogs or websites that are useful for beginners, your advice would be very much appreciated.

Sorry for the repost of this photograph of my tower, I am also having to replace my camera so I have no up to date pictures yet.  I am hoping to borrow a camera in the next few days so hopefully I should be back up and running properly by then

I am back... at last

Hello everyone,

My sincerest apologies for being absent for so long.

I am hoping to start showing you pictures now of my latest projects, including crafts that are not just minis.

I am off now to catch up with everyone's news , I have really missed the whole blog community

A Face To Love

Apologies for my absence again recently, life just seems to be constantly busy just lately.

Ok, I have been unable to make any minis lately or even continue painting the units I have bought for the tower but, I wanted to show this beautiful item I bought from Magsnificent Miniatures when I went to Miniatura earlier this year.

He is sooooo lovely, bless...

I have decided he is going to live in the shed.  The shed needed a little more interest adding to it besides what you would normally expect to find.  He is going to be my first  'interesting addition'.  I think he will be happier there than the tower, especially at the moment as I have so much work left to do on it. compared with the shed which is mainly just adding bits and pieces and finishing touches.

For your convenience

Before I get any further with what I have been up to, I wanted to show everyone a very special item that I have recently purchased.

Unfortunately, I do not know who made it.  There was no box or label.  I love it though.

I saw this outside toilet and knew I had to have it.  It is made of resin.  I haven't needed to touch it at all.  It is perfect just the way it is.

I love all the little details that are all round the outside and inside.  There is even a hole in the back pre prepared for lighting at a later point.  Something I think would be great for the future.

It is just waiting now for the right character to be found in here with a shocked look on his face.  Judging by the artisans that were at the Miniatura earlier this month, I should be able to find one next time I go there.  This building is just crying out for a more unique person I think.

Shed Progress

I sorted out all the little items I had bought from the Miniatura for the shed.

All these were bought from Teepee Crafts.  I haven't used all these items yet, some need a bit of planning and extra gluing.

I must admit, next time I go to another fair, this is one of the stalls I would look for again for some of the small items.

I believe I bought these from Magsnificent Miniatures.  I know I bought a lot from this lady, she had so many lovely things some of the things I bought are going to live in the tower so I haven't taken a photo of them yet. I believe the garden sieve came from a different stall, apologies, I will find the name later... I am tutting at myself but there was so much to see and some of the items were not put in bags and I had to put things together so they didn't get lost.

And here is the shed so far...

I am finding difficult to add characters to my buildings.  I want there to be people in them to add a 'story' but, I haven't found the right ones yet.  I think when I see the right ones, I will know straight off.  I would like them to be handmade rather than mass produced because I think there is that something extra about items hand made that is just missing from mass produced pieces.

I bought the garden tools from a stall called Olde Charm Crafts.  They are lovely quality.  There are some in one of the drawers that you cannot see but, those who have read my blog before, know I like drawers and cupboards to be filled.

Fun, fun and more fun...

Well, even though the snow had me worried for a while, luckily the train service kept running and I made it to the Miniatura!

Wow, ok, well... I saw so much and there were so many talented people there.  I spent more than I thought but came away a very happy bunny indeed and totally spoiled myself and my daughter (who also spoiled herself with many minis).

I am not going to show all the photographs all at once because I would like to show what I have bought and where they are going to live and I am having to fit things in round real life.  When I first arrived back at home I just looked through all the items I had bought.

I decided that even though I still have not completed my other projects, I would start another one... but, this one had to be on a budget.  So I bought a shed.  I bought the kit from The Dolls House Builder.

I also bought some plain wood furniture for inside

 I bought the table from Jennifers of Walsall and I shall have to try and remember the name of the stall I bought the chair and unit from later.




I have been busy the last couple of days and here is how it is looking so far.

This is the shed with a basic coat (no glass in the window yet etc).  It may not look exciting yet but I have plans...

Here is the furniture stained but, as with the rest of the shed, in its basic form.  I need to make the furniture more shabby and add a cushion/padding to the chair.

I have lots left to do but, for tonight that is all as it is getting late and I have work tomorrow.

Cant wait till I can go again... although I think it will be next year at the earliest before I can afford it haha.

Impatiently Waiting

Well, not long now till the Miniatura this weekend and I am keeping my fingers crossed the weather stays ok.  I have been a little concerned because they keep mentioning snow on the weather and that would make it difficult for travelling.  Oh my I am so impatient when waiting when I know I have such a lovely day ahead.  Impatience is not just for kids :)

I have been sorting out more mini items.  I have been surprised by just how much I have to sort through.  I am still feeling the excitement though.  

I love making bread with fimo, I find it so relaxing.  

These are my first attempts at making plates, bowls etc.  I think once they have been sanded, and possibly painted/varnished they will look ok and may be of use in a future project. 

The final picture for tonight is of eye shadow tins cleaned and ready to use as baking trays for maybe some cakes or buns.  I love the effect of using these for baked goods.

Does anyone else have stashes of useful mini items stored and ready to use?  How do you store them to keep them safe?  I would love to hear from people on this subject.

Change of direction

Well, after a short break, I managed to fit in a little time on minis today.  Unfortunately, no time was spent on the tower.  This is because I have decided the dresser and desk are going to be replaced.  I have decided they are going to have to be replaced sooner rather than later and I am hoping I will find the ideal pieces at a reasonable price.  Fingers crossed on that one.

In the mean time I started looking at material I have to make a mini bear.

This is the scheme I think I will use for the first one.

As you can see, I decided the first bear I will make is using a lyrical bear pattern.  I think I could end up being a day or two because I need to sort out my reading glasses so that I can see to sew etc.  

The other day I managed to finally get round to staining the plain wood book case I bought a few weeks ago.  I am quite pleased with the results.

Then I added all the books I have made so far.  Each of these books can be taken off the shelves and opened.  I have added my own small writing and doodles on some of the pages.  I want all the books to be like this and hand made by me.  

I am rather slow at making the books so it could be a while before I manage to fill all the shelves.

Progress of the Tower Continues

Today it has been the turn of placing some of the items on the first floor of the Tower (I really must come up with a more original name than that).

Some of the differences from earlier are a little more subtle, moving things and adding to the fireplace, shelves and floor etc.

It is good to see it filling up but, I am still considering replacing the desk and the shelving.  It is a great feeling to see it all coming together though.

Finally I have the items on the mantle!  I will be filling up the wooden bowl with something at a later date.  At the moment I just wanted to get things I have so far in the places I want them.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Tower Progress.

Yes, that's right, I have finally got some of the items in place and things are looking like they are starting to get somewhere with the tower.

Here is how the ground level looked looked at the start:

And this is how it looks now...

I am pleased with it for now but I think there will be more of a move round in the future to show things off a bit more.  I have more that I want to do with this part but it is good to see things moving forward.

Well, I have a few bits to add to the first floor and then it will be planning and making for more items and on to the top floor.  Hopefully I will have some more photos to show tomorrow.   :)

Hmmm as a final thought, I think that perhaps the ground floor is looking a little too tidy and needs a bit of a grunge look adding to it.... now that is something for me to think about.

The Sorting Continues...

... leading to a lovely surprise.

I found some more items I had put away for my tower.

These were real sized objects just right for making look old, dusty and just right for minis.  They are on the larger size but ideal for effect in the tower.  I haven't decided on the exact position as there are still one or two more changes I need to make.

Some more of the metal and wooden bowls and plates that will be going in the main room.  The main thing now for the main room of the tower is to clutter and dusty it up.  Some more distressing will be needed and I still need to sort out the dresser, desk and hopefully a table to complete the overall effect.  Hopefully I will find something at the Miniatura when I go later this month.

Some more of the items to add to the 'clutter' of the main tower room.

Although I have had these items for a while, it felt like Christmas finding all the items and looking through them all.

And yet more clutter for the main room.  I know, I know, I may not end up being able to fit them all in but, all these things were picked up at the time with the tower in mind.

Finally, these will be filled, painted and messed with to add yet more effect to the tower.  I think some of it may end up as clutter in the top room.

But oooooh I love days like today.  Tomorrow I will post some pictures of some of these items in place.

More To Do

I thought I would show a photo of my terrace and cottage exteriors.  I am hoping to start making the outsides look more authentic over the next few months.

I was thinking of plants and curtains but we will see, sometimes an idea comes along and it just feels right.  It happened when I was thinking about making changes to the kitchen cupboards and beds and I am waiting for the same this time.

And next, my market stall, waiting for stock still.  Last year I had plans to make it into a flea market stall but, I just cant decide for good so there it is still empty and waiting for inspiration and for me to make a decision I am happy with.