Waiting for the stain pens....

Well actually I am wondering whether they have been confiscated by Customs.  But I have asked our nephew to post off all the parcels/padded envelopes addressed to me in a postal box, up to me here.  Hopefully he might not have recognised it for what it is.  If they have arrived I can go ahead and stain the flooring for The Avalon.  If they haven't, I will have to paint it. 


Meanwhile I have been keeping busy at night time, doing some secret books.  I had several that I hadn't made up yet.  In fact I had only made up the first one: Birchwood.  I've posted about it before, but here it is again.

I've also made up the bookcase.  I did it in a dark brown rather than the black that the model was done in and I really like the effect, especially with the 'distressing' that I did by sanding the edges etc. 

But the poor Birchwood secret book sure did look lonely sitting on there all by itself :)

So I packed the rest of the book kits that I've bought so far, and brought them with me.  This last week I brought them out and have been working on them; the first couple of nights I assembled most of the book interiors and covers, one by one and put each in a disposable food container with the label so I'd remember which one it was.  The next night I finished the last couple and started painting them with two coats of paint, which I mixed to fit with the colour of the artwork.  The fourth night that was completed and the ceiling inside was done with light ivory.


Here they are in process

I know I could have done them one by one, but I enjoyed doing it this way.  Then I went through and did the artwork on the cover and the interiors.

So here is each one, showing the covers and the interiors.

And here they are sitting on the bookshelf, keeping 'Birchwood' company.  I'm sure it feels much happier now :)

Jennifer, this part is because you asked on your blog how people managed to work in small areas.  Well, I actually have a large area to work on compared to my usual area of 2' x 18". folding table, where I have to store my supplies on the lounge beside me - and consequently get into a huge mess.  But if Nathan isn't sleeping in the caravan I can set up on the table. When he does he uses the long bench next to the table so I can't use it.  But here is a view of the table at the moment:

And beside me on the long bench I have the Avalon that I am working on (it's in the box under the second basket of paints with the baby wipes on top).  Since I took this photo I have put it into a plastic tub but it is still in the same place, with the basket of paints and bits on it.  And on the back of the couch I have a smaller basket with other tools in it.

For the secret books I obviously still have the interiors to fill.  You saw the detail of the Birchwood book, and the others have as much detail too.  Here is the contents of one of them:

And finally, the whole exterior needs a coat of 'dirty varnish'.  So there's quite a bit to still do on them.  I will show you how I go as I finish each one.


I also have a very tiny one, which I received as a Christmas gift from the Betterleys.  I haven't done that one yet.  I don't 'do' Halloween so I won't be buying that one.  That leaves about four more secret books to get now, until/unless they release more.

Finally started The Avalon

Last night I started on 'The Avalon', a lovely kit from Debbie Young.  She has based the house on a Sears Roebuck design from 1926,  influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement.  There are lots of houses similar in design to this in Australia, we call them Californian Bungalows and they were really popular from around 1913 onwards, especially in the 1920's.  


The paint colours are a bit of a problem for me.  We don't have the brand of paint here in Australia that Debbie used and when I looked up the paint chart on the web the colours that I could actually find were nothing like the colour the house looks like in the picture on Debbie's website or on the box.

Doesn't that look like a soft brownish colour to you? Like a pale milk coffee almost? The walls and stucco are Sherwin Williams Bunglehouse Grey and the shingles are done in Sherwin Williams Roycroft Bronze Green..

The first step was to lay the floorboards on the two floors.  These are laid individually, and it took all evening to do them.  Today I sanded them using several grades of sandpaper.  That took a long time, because the boards are not all the same thickness.  Only small differences but it is noticeable in quarter scale of course.  After a lot of work they have ended up silky smooth. The photo below shows one sanded ((on the right) and one before it is sanded (on the left).

 I don't have any 400grit paper though, and I need that to finish them off.  If I can get it - last time I went looking for it the best I could find was 320 grit.  And the starter motor on our car has packed it in, so we are without that until it is fixed, which will be an expensive business.

Tonight I have to decide what to do next: I don't have the stain pens I ordered here, if they have arrived they are at home.  So if I do go ahead and do the floor with paint instead of waiting for the sandpaper and stain pens I'm not sure if I'll be happy with the result.

There's not a great deal I can go ahead with until the floors are done though, so it is a bit of a problem.  But at least I have made a start :)

And now Cote has joined us too

Welcome - and thank you so very much for joining our little community Cote!  It was lovely to see that you had signed up too.  I hope you enjoy your time visiting here, please feel free to leave lots of comments.  I really love having the feedback and interaction with fellow miniaturists around the world. Your dollhouses look really interesting - you certainly have achieved a lot for someone who has only been doing minis for a few years.  This is such an addictive hobby, isn't it? Perhaps we'll convert you to quarter scale one of these days, maybe when you start to be over-run with your larger scale houses lol!  Meanwhile feel free to sit back with a cup of tea or coffee or whatever and browse through the different posts to get a feel of the site.  I really hope you'll come back often.

So pleased you found my blog Kabrina!

Hello Kabrina, and welcome to our little group here.  It is so kind of you to make such a lovely comment about my blog and to have read so much of it so quickly!  I am so pleased that you find it inspiring -- that is very encouraging and rewarding for me in turn, and gives me more enthusiasm to continue to share my mini world with you all.


As you read further you will find out that I have not quite completed construction on Pickett Hill but am getting close now, and most of the furniture is done.  So when the building part is finished I will be able to furnish a lot of the rooms straight away, ready for the final accessories.  And I am looking forward to landscaping it too.


I have visited you blog too, and will return again to catch up on everything you have been doing.  Thank you  for the lovely things you said on there about this blog as well as the lovely comment you left on the Pickett Hill post.


I hope you continue to enjoy visiting here, and will come again often and leave lots of comments, suggestions and constructive criticism.  I really appreciate the exchange of ideas in the mini world..

Welcome Elsa, Dulce and Valerie!

It was so nice to open 'Snippets' this morning after not looking at it for a week and to find that the three of you had signed on as the newest followers - a very warm welcome to each of you!  Thank you for joining our mini community; I do hope you are enjoying browsing through the different posts.  As you will quickly find out, I really love quarter scale buildings.  Most of the posts on here are about my quarter scale projects.  But there are other things I enjoy as well: miniature petitpoint, 1:12th scale minis, and 1:24th scale.  I also have quite a few things in 1:144th scale though I haven't done many of them or posted about them.


None of you have said whether or not you have a blog, so if you want to post a link to that it would be great!  I'd love to visit and see what you are up to.  I really appreciate the way the internet brings us together to share our love of miniatures no matter where we live right around the world.

Greetings from Western New South Wales

Sorry about the long delay in posting - I have been at my daughter's in western New South Wales for just over a week now.  Our youngest daughter is here too, so all six grandchildren are together - a rare treat for Peter and me to enjoy.  


I have no minis to tell you about.  I did a mini bookcase with Kylie's two boys, Cameron and Luke (9 and 5) while waiting for Kirsten and the other four kidlets to arrive last Sunday but we haven't done anything else together yet.  We will be doing some mini books to go into them but it appears it will be after the other family leaves on Monday now, because they are all being very good keeping themselves well occupied and I have run out of ink for my printer at just the wrong time!  It is half an hour's drive into the nearest larger town where I can buy some more cartridges and I haven't had a chance to do that.


 I have done a little bit of mini petitpoint (for long-overdue gifts) in the evenings, but haven't been able to finalise them yet.  


So I thought I'd just let you know what is going on, and say 'hi' to you all!

Welcome Anda

I have often commented how wonderful it is that through the internet people from all over the world are so easily within reach now, and can share this wonderful hobby of ours.  Anda is from Budapest and somehow found this blog and is my newest follower.  I'm so pleased that you found my mini world Anda, and that you have decided to join us.  I hope you enjoyed your visit here and that you'll come back often and leave lots of comments - it is so encouraging to have feedback, whether constructive criticism or affirmation that things are going well.  I appreciate both kinds.  And it is lovely to have another new follower.

What do you do when your back & eyes hurt?

....you prepare some hospitality of course!

And that hospitality is in the form of an hotel, a restaurant and a bed and breakfast.  In miniature that is.  

The cataracts in my eyes are only small as yet but they have made a huge impact on my ability to do mini petitpoint.  Light, whether artificial or bright sunlight, is quite a strain and so is using any magnification.  By last Sunday I found that I simply had to give the eyes a complete rest for a few days, and now have to severely limit the time I spend stitching.To add to that my back threw another tantrum on Sunday.  Though not as bad as the recent problem,  I have been hobbling around bent over and standing has been very painful, even long enough to shower. Thankfully now it is pretty good for walking a bit, so I am grateful for that. 

But it has all meant that I couldn't keep stitching nor could I go digging in the miniatures still packed from our trip,  I had left them because I wanted to concentrate on the stitching.  The two new kits from Petite Properties waved at me and said 'We're here you know' and being one who finds it impossible to sit and do nothing, and being more than willing to give in to temptation, I promptly did just that.

So out they came, and here is a progress report.  I am just concentrating on the exterior mainly for now, but thought I'd share them with you since it's a while since I posted.

First is The Railway Inn.  This is the second colour scheme for the ground floor.  The first one was more a caramel theme but it looked rather washed out.  You can see that there is a lot to still be done here, but this is it so far:

The paint needs touching up and the pavement hasn't been done with clay yet.  The door section also will be glued into place at a later date.

Here is the inside.  The walls are painted in typical Georgian colours, to go with the era of the building.  The floor tiles on the ground floor are typically Georgian too, but obviously haven't been glued down yet.  The other two floors haven't been glued in permanently because I am still considering the lighting.  The fireplaces still need their surrounds and mantlepieces etc.

I haven't glued the tiles down because I am working on a border effect for them - might not work out but I'll give it my best try.

Next here is the Traveller's Rest. I just love this building!!!  First a view of the exterior.  

You will see that the paving in the open section is white - that's because the Creative PaperClay is still drying and can't be painted yet.  The floors of the left and right section are also done from the same clay.

For this one I decided to make the timberwork a bit more 'weather-worn' than I did for Candlewick House.  These are the colours I used - a mixture of greys and dark brown 

Here is the interior.  Again, nothing is glued permanently yet because I haven't done the lighting.

The left section of the ground floor is, I have assumed, a cellar.  So I have done the walls with Spakfilla, a brand of spackle, a plaster-like material that you use to fill holes in walls.  It dries quickly and can be sanded, filed etc.I've plastered the three internal walls of the cellar with it, and the two walls of the open section.  Here is a view of one of the walls done with the spackle.

I love the way it lets me give it a nicely rough surface.  After it was dry I distressed it, dirtying it up by using the dry-brushing technique.  I used the same technique to age the exterior of the building.  Here is a view of one of the sides before ageing, and the other one after using the dry-brushing, plus a view of the front, to show the ageing on it.

Here is a view of the inside of the roof section. Aren't the trusses or whatever they're called great?

Lastly, here is an update on progress with Candlewick House.  The roof still isn't finished, but it is a good chance to show you how I've put some Creative PaperClay on the ridge of the roof to give it a nice wavy outline, like I learned for Barnacle Cottage.  It wasn't in the instructions for this cottage but I thought it would be good for such an old house.  If I don't like it, I will sand or chisel it off.

And now here's the interior, with the floor just sitting in there.  It is painted and ready to glue in place once the lighting is completed.  I'm really pleased with this flooring, I think my painting of it is one of the best effects I've done.  I'm improving - perhaps one day I'll get there vbg.

I will be changing the interior.  I think I'll be painting over the wallpaper with white paint, and adding beams.  

The brown part wall in the rear of the hallway is where the stairs supposedly come up from the ground floor.  In case you are wondering, I added an extra wall to the first floor - one wall came with the kit.

I also added the panelling on the ground floor.  As you can see, the doors need to be done or finished, the architraves for the doorways done and a lot of other things are to be completed but I'm so pleased with the progress so far.

In fact I'm delighted with the progress on all three of the kits, and love each of the buildings.  I have always loved both Georgian and Tudor styles and even though The Railway Inn has departed from Georgian style with the colour on the ground floor, I am happy to add it to my Georgian structures.

Even better in reality ....thank you Nina!

Before we went away I told you about my surprise at actually winning something in a give-away.  I never win anything!  But this time I did, and it was this beautiful bridal veil and bouquet from Nina in Finland.

I asked my nephew Mark to keep a special eye open for it, and each time I checked with him I asked whether it had arrived.  The answer was always 'no'.  So as soon as I came home I went through all the mail he had collected and left in the plastic tub that I'd left for the purpose: no, it wasn't there.  I was surprised and somewhat concerned.


But finally it has arrived!!! And it is even prettier in reality than in the photos.  Thank you Nina, a hundred times over.  It will be lovely in my Bridal Shoppe.  


And why did it take so long? The zero in the address had been read as a 6, so it went to the wrong address at first.  But finally it came to the right place and I am very relieved and happy.