How to reduce stress

While I have been waiting for the family to do different things so we can get going on what we had planned, I’ve been watching the 24hour coverage of the floods on the tele. I can't ever sit and just watch tv at any time, I have to keep my hands busy -. and if I am stressed even more so. So I've been keeping busy by making up some kits that have arrived recently from Karen Benson and from BJs Miniatures, all of them 1:48 scale. They are not completed yet, the horse needs the paint touching up, they all need varnishing and their knobs added, and there are still more to do but I've taken photos to share progress so far with you.

First, here are some things for the Toy Shoppe (from Karen Benson) that I haven't made yet.

A Butterfly Seat, also from Karen Benson Miniatures (#Q750A).


This is done in a metallic purple, and yellow contrast. The feelers are done in metallic antique gold.


I have a second Butterfly Seat, and am considering doing that one in burgundy and maybe metallic silver. It will depend on how it looks when the paint goes on – colours that look great when put together don’t necessarily look good when put on to the wood.

An Elephant Cart, also from Karen Benson Miniatures (#Q207). I have included the ruler in these photos in order to show the size of these delicate little things. There is so much detail for such a small object. The wheels turn on their axles. The blue on the cart needs another coat of paint, but I am happy with the colour scheme.

This is the second of Karen’s rocking horse kits (#Q109) I have made. The photo shows clearly that I need to touch up the paint on the poor fellow. The first horse is sitting outside the Town Square Toy Shop (Village Toys). There will probably be others in the future as well; every nursery needs a rocking horse so when I have a nursery…..

The buggy (#Q208) is also destined for the Toy Shoppe, if there is room of course. In Australia we call it a pram. Hopefully I will have some dollies for the quarter scale children in the shop as well. Now they will be tiny. Hmmmm…..

Naturally, every child needs a Toy Chest and this one is from Karen Benson, from her second site, The Quarter Source (#Q719) Not sure whether it is destined for the Baby Shop, which is in the Corner Shop, a nursery somewhere or the Toy Shoppe.

The artwork on the front of the toybox is really sweet.

Now for the furniture. First of all, there is a shelving unit kit with 5 dozen bolts of fabric. The cardboard centres are pre-marked and just need cutting apart, and the ‘fabric’ is cut out and rolled onto the cardboard. The full length of each strip doesn’t need to be wound on, so I’ve kept the leftover bits to fold and put on shelves or in cupboards for my quarter scale stitchers.

The whole 60 bolts of fabric can be squeezed in and on the shelves but as you can see I haven’t tried to do so. I have put 36 or so on the shelves and will put the rest in other places to spread the effect. I left two of the bolts partly unwrapped, as though they are in use. I have plans for those two.

A Cottage Window Seat, from Karen Benson Miniatures (#Q334). This is such a pretty piece, with the engraving on the front. I haven't decided whether to leave it this colour or to paint it with a wash. I think I'll pad the top to match the upholstery of whatever room I put it in.

The blanket chest matches it (#Q303). Isn't the engraving lovely? The drawer is removable and the lid is hinged. If you look closely you can see the tiny pins that go through the holes on each side. Those pins had a mind of their own, let me tell you!

The ice chest is from BJ Miniatures. I really love the attention to detail in this piece. Even the back has the same detail as the sides, and the little brass hinges add so much to the realism.  The handles are made from brass wire. It didn't take me long to shape the wire to the correct shape, but it took longer to get the ends through the holes than it took to assemble the whole ice chest .

Aren’t the Hampton dropleaf table and chairs elegant? They are in cherrywood and will be the perfect space-saving solution for one of my fortunate people!


This set will possibly go into Honeysuckle Cottage, though several of the cottages have limited space for dining.

The Hoosier Cabinet is from BJ Miniatures as well. Again, lots of clever detail in this piece. See the funnel under the cupboard. It has an oak finish, and I think I’ll simply give it a spray of satin varnish and leave it like that.

The Secretary Bookcase turned out well. I wasn't going to use the pictures of books in the bookcase section but when I had glued them to the blocks provided and pressed grooves between each book, they looked surprisingly realistic. I did add some thin plastic to the door. There is a problem with the mirror on the secretary section; half of it has a damaged surface so I have to work out what to do about that. Perhaps a vase of flowers to cover it up.

The chiffonier (BJ Miniatures) has a mirror at the top in a really nice decorative frame. It will provide good storage for my quarter scale people without taking up a lot of floorspace.

As you can tell from the ruler in the photo, the ladderback chairs and table set is larger than the dropleaf table and chairs. It has an oak finish and I hope it will fit in the English Cottage from Debbie Young. Probably with the other oak-finished kitchen furniture too. They all have the country cottage feel about them.  They look a bit wobbly in this photo but that is the pillowslip on the surface, not the chairs.

I’ve done two more rocking chairs (#Q109). They are identical even though I bought one from each of Karen’s sites and they have different codes. I have a great fondness of rocking chairs in miniature despite the fact that with my problems with dizziness and vertigo I can't bear to sit in one myself. They project a picture of peace and restfulness, and I like to have them in evidence

I am a little surprised that this lovely little piece from BJ Miniatures is simply called a ‘Cupboard’. None of the drawers or doors open which is a pity but the detail more than makes up for it. And the white ‘glass’ in the doors has a really nice geometric pattern on it.

 I thought Karen Benson’s Cottage Back Porch Cupboard (#Q124) was interesting and that it would make a good addition somewhere. Maybe a kitchen – or a back porch as its name suggests.

And this Winslow Hutch in oak (BJ Miniatures) is a bit different from the others that I have, so it's good to have a bit of variety in my furniture. I think it will go nicely with the ladderback chairs and table.
















I do have other dining suite kits to make up, and look forward to assembling them. They are much more formal in nature and I see them more in the John F Craig Mansion and other slightly grand or at least formal settings. There are also quite a few chairs and lounges to upholster and assemble. And of course there are flowers - there will probably always be flowers lol! I'll be very happy to start putting furniture into those empty cottages and adding accessories to make them look homely and lived in.

The orders included several of those accessories. I bought a few things to see what they are like and I am very impressed with them so will be buying more. After all, I have a lot of houses, cottages and shops to fill


The Sydney Fair is held on the first weekend in May. It is the largest Fair in Australia and the only one I get a chance to go to. I need to decide for sure which items I will be exhibiting and concentrate on getting them properly completed: furnishings, accessories and landscaping. So it will soon be decision time.  Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo.  It's like choosing a favourite child!


Stay tuned - hopefully I'll have those other dining tables and chairs assembled real soon to show you.

My constant cry: so many minis to do, someone PLEASE send me more hours in the day and more days in the week LOL!