Hello everyone - lots to catch up on!

Well the Tasmania trip is now just a memory, except that once I get my new computer sorted properly I can finish the blog posts about it.  I'd love it if you visited http://SandraFromSydney.blogspot.com.au and left a comment on some of the posts.  There've been some comments via emails but virtually nothing on the blog :( so I'm not sure what exactly people enjoy or what not to blog about when we travel.

After returning from Tasmania we had a few days in Sydney: enough time to visit my mother, have a problem with the water supply to the caravan fixed and pack for Grey Nomads Camp on the north coast of New South Wales.  We had a wonderful time there and enjoyed seeing three other couples with whom we camp each year.  One of them was the couple that travelled around Tassie with us.

Happy News
We had only been home from that a couple of days when I came down with a nasty tummy bug but the following week we had two new additions to our family in the form of 6-month old kittens who we called Max and Chloe.  They were the second litter to the ginger male and female cats next door and despite it not being good timing I just couldn't resist these two.

 Aren't they gorgeous?  Max is the ginger and Chloe is the tortoiseshell.  At first they were both very shy because they had been outside all the time and only handled a little bit when they were fed.  They were hardly socialized at all.  We are keeping them inside until they are used to us and we have them desexed, microchipped and vaccinated so the surroundings are totally strange to them.  They spent all their time hiding on the dining chairs behind the tablecloth.  But I made a point of patting them when I fed them and after two days Max became quite sociable and this became his favourite perch.  Chloe still wouldn't have any voluntary contact when these photos were taken.

Spoil my cats?  Me?  Never!  They just rule the house, that's all :)  We persevered and after a few weeks Chloe started to watch Max on our knee, as though wondering whether she was missing out.  She began rubbing up against our legs and asking to be petted, especially around the face and under the chin.  Finally about a week ago (ie after 5 weeks) she started tentatively putting one leg on our lap.  And eventually she became really game and now sits on our laps too.  In fact sometimes we have both of them on our lap at once and they wonder why they run out of room ;)

Sad News
In that week after getting over the tummy bug I was able to visit my mother a couple of times and promised to come back again on the Friday.  It was distressing to see how much she had deteriorated in the time we had been away.  But on the Friday I came down with a very sore throat so was banned again.  It quickly turned into bronchitis.  On Sunday 22nd June a week and a half later I was still quite ill with a very bad cough when we had a phone call from the Nursing Home to say that they were worried about Mum's condition.  I was getting ready to go when we had another call to say that she had passed away.

So the next week was very busy with funeral arrangements and preparation, clearing out Mum's room at the Nursing Home, designing and making the Order of Service booklets and the Guest Books, and all the things that have to be done.  My family and friends were wonderful and so helpful and supportive.  I still feel quite numb and detached from everyday happenings, and find it hard to be motivated to do anything.

Trying to do 'normal' things
I ran out of funeral-related things to do then I had had the computer tech fellow here to show me how to move my laptop info from Windows 7 to Windows 8 (grrrrr!) , and during the school holidays we had two of our grandsons here for a couple of days the first week then our oldest granddaughter here for a few days the second week.  We bought her a sewing machine and I taught her how to use it.  She chose a pattern for a tote bag and one for a dress, and fabrics for both and I showed her how to follow the pattern and sew them.  She was so excited and proud of her efforts and we were proud of her too.  I'd post the photos I took of the end results but they are on my phone and it has the sulks after Peter drove over it with the car - twice.  Ooops.

Then I was trying to get my studio more organized, thinking that it would keep me busy.  When I am stressed that's my way of coping - just keep busy.  However I found that I couldn't concentrate on what to do, couldn't decide where to put things, couldn't think.  So I dug out some miniatures and started on those.  I am not getting the same pleasure from doing them that I normally do, but they are keeping me busy and that's the main thing at the moment.  They demand that I keep my mind on them as well as keeping my hands busy and that helps.

I have put off doing the painting on the studio until the weather warms up again.  We have had temperatures down to -2 here in the mornings and the days at the moment are quite cool.  July is our coldest month and we are having a fair bit of wind which brings the chill factor into play.  Last winter I nearly froze doing the main painting on the studio and I don't want to do that again.  After having had the bronchitis I have felt cold all the time unless I am in bed and the cough just doesn't want to go so I'm not going to work out in the wind.  But hopefully I will soon have some mini progress to show you.

We are on the move again

At the moment we are touring Australia's smallest state, Tasmania.  So for the next three months, please visit here to follow our adventures.  We are having a great time and I'd love to hear your comments on that blog.  If I manage to get some time to do any minis however, I will certainly be posting on this blog as well so stay tuned!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas

My apologies for not posting before the day, to wish you all a very happy Christmas.  So now all I can say is that I hope you all had a wonderful time with family and friends, celebrating this special occasion.

I have been absent from the blog for a while.  Family events have kept my darling husband Peter and myself rather busy lately.  It was thought for a while that our oldest daughter might have a brain tumour but we thank the gracious Lord that this is not the case.  However it did involve us along with our long-suffering son Nathan driving out to her home in the country to look after her two boys for a few days while she in turn drove the 6 hours to the coast to our good friend's house to stay with her and go to the appointment the next day (another 2 hour's drive).  A painful electrical test of every nerve in her body that determined that the problem is indeed confined to her leg.  So there is a diagnosis but no explanation of the cause.  Even a whole raft of blood tests have failed to find a cause.  But at least they have ruled out a lot of unpleasant possibilities!

My mother has also been in hospital twice  lately, with life-threatening conditions and is very frail.  We took Christmas dinner to the nursing home to her this year.  I reserved a large room there that has a stove, oven etc, and we took all her favourite Christmas foods.  One of the nurses helped my brother bring Mum along with her oxygen tank down to the room and Mum enjoyed having so many members of the family there: my brother Terry and his two sons; Peter and myself and our son Nathan, daughter Kylie and her two boys Cameron (11) and Luke (7).  Our younger daughter Kirsten is away camping with her family at the moment but visited Mum when she came down for an early Christmas celebration a couple of weeks ago, along with her four: James (12), Grace (11), Chelsea (7) and Michael (4).  Camping when 30+  weeks pregnant would not have been my idea of fun but Kirstie takes it in her stride!

I was very fortunate mini-wise this year and received the furnishing kits for 'Choices', one of the kits I have from Suzanne & Andrew.  So it will be great fun to put it all together: the house and all the furniture.

But the greatest blessing of course was spending time with family.  And today (Boxing Day here in Aus) we are having a picnic with some dear friends.  It is a 3-generation friendship now, because our daughters are still good friends and in turn our daughters' sons are as well.

So I wish you and yours much happiness, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.  And I pray for you all that 2014 will bring health, laughter, friendship and happiness too.

And now to pass on a Christmas giggle.  You've probably received this as an email, it does do the rounds.  But it always gets a laugh from me:

Merry Christmas To My Female Friends If I were ol' Santa, you know what Id'd do I'd dump silly gifts that are given to you And deliver some things just inside your front door Things you have lost, but treasure before. I'd give you back all your maidenly vigour And to along with it, a neat, tiny figure. Then restore the old colour that once graced your hair Before rinses and bleaches took residence there. I'd bring back the shape with which you were gifted So things now suspended need not be uplifted. I'd draw in your tummy and smooth down your back Till you'd be a dream in those tight-fitting slacks. I'd remove all your wrinkles and leave only one chin So you wouldn't spend hours rubbing grease on your skin. You'd never have flashes or queer dizzy spells, And you wouldn't hear noises like ringing of bells. No sore aching feet and no corns on your toes, No searching for spectacles when they're right on your nose. Not a shot would you take in your arm, hip or fanny,  From a doctor who thinks you're a nervous old granny. You'd never have a headache, so no pills would you take. And no heating pad needed since your muscles won't ache. Yes, if I were Santa, you'd never look stupid, You'd be a cute little chick with the romance of a cupid. I'd give a lift to your heart when those wolves start to whistle, And the joys of your heart would be as light as a thistle. But alas! I'm not Santa.  I'm simply just me, The matronest of matrons you ever did see. I wish I could tell you all the symptoms I've got, But I'm due at my doctor's for an oestrogen shot. Even though we've grown older, this wish is sincere, Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year.

Quarter scale glamour

I am fortunate enough to have four of Cynthia Howe's shops: 'Posies' the flower shop, the Chocolatier, the Patisserie and the Dress Shop.  So I've been putting them together, but not doing the filling part yet.  I have been 'talking' to a couple of people lately and promised them that I would post photos soon so here they are.

Each of them is done in the same way for the body and lighting so after the first one I was familiar with the procedure even though I did of course follow the instructions to make sure.  And the fronts are similar in their dimensions as far as depth goes but each has significant variations.  So here they are, first the Chocolatier or chocolate shop, with the front on.  The raised engraved panels on the door and below the window as well as above the windows is so delicate and pretty.  I have lightly brushed it with white to bring it out but didn't do as good a job as Cynthia did on hers I'm afraid.  I also have to tidy up the bronze paint on the columns.

For all of these shops I used sample pots of  Dulux Colour Solutions interior/exterior paint.  For the Chocolatier I used Placid Blue for the exterior and Bright White for all white areas.  Being sample pots these paints have a low-sheen finish, so they are not quite matt but not shiny.  For the bronze parts I used craft paint.

For the base of all the shops I used craft paint, first painting them with Ceramcoat Hippo Grey, then while that was still wet, using a coarse bristled brush to dab randomly with Americana Mississippi Mud, Americana Light Avocado, Apple Barrel Country Gray and Ceramcoat Norsk Blue, dabbing them so they meld together to give a mottled effect.  When the paint was dry I gave them a coat of Jo Sonja Satin varnish.

And now with the front open.  Isn't it pretty?  The wallpaper is so elegant and delicate at the same time.  The flooring is marble.

 I haven't added the hinges to attach the fronts to the bodies of any of the shops yet.  And no, the shop is not 'wonky' ;)  I must have been holding the camera at an angle as usual so it makes it look as though the shop is uneven.  I thought I had corrected it but apparently not.  I am also disappointed that having the shops against a white background has washed out the colours somewhat.

Here is another shot with the lights on.  It shows the pretty lightshades.  Each of these kits comes with a full lighting kit: all the LEDs needed, grommets to put in the ceiling to put the lights through, battery and switch unit.  The wires for the lights go into the top section of the body of the shop, and the top lifts off to allow access.

Then the second of the shops, the Patisserie, with the front on.  See the pretty panels under the front windows?  And the gold lettering on the sign?  I love the door too, and the trim around the large window and the door.

For the Patisserie I first used Dulux  Fairy Wings, which looked just the soft pretty pink I wanted when I did the first coat over the primer coat.  But when I did the second coat it was too bright and 'fairy-floss-like'.  So we went back and bought another pot of Fairy Wings half strength and that was perfect.  Again, I used the Dulux Bright White for the white parts.

And here is the inside. The pretty faux 'office' at the rear of the shop is built-in.  Isn't the fretwork shelving around the top delicate and pretty?  I seem to be using those words a lot but that's exactly what they are. The flooring for this shop came as self-adhesive squares that were put on individually.

And here it is with the lights on.  You'll note that there are four lights in this kit: two in the mirrored display unit at the rear of the shop and the two lighting the shop itself.  The glass in the door by the way is frosted, and engraved with the word 'Private'.  I think the 3-D effect of the wainscotting is very attractive too.  The area was first painted white and Sylvia had included the laser-cut wainscotting to go over it.

Now 'Posies', the Flower Shop.  Somehow I've managed to lose the little flower decoration that goes on the left upper section, which is a bother.  If worst comes to the worst I'll have to stencil another one on, using the outline of the original that was removed from the backing.  The decorations are 3D and really charming. It's annoying when things go 'walking'!  Don't you love the awning at the front?  Cynthia included some fabric and instructions for painting one's own.  I reduced the width of the stripes by half the suggested with, and used the same Reddish Brown that I used for the trim and name of the shop instead of the shop colour as Cynthia did.  I actually did two awnings because there was sufficient fabric for that, and did one with the green and this one.  I compared the the look of both and Peter and I preferred the appearance of this one.

If you look closely you might see that the window and door are both engraved.  The window has 'Flower Shop' on it and the door has a nice little stylized floral motif.  I tried hard to get a photo of the engravings for you last night but they kept coming out really blurry.

The green I used for this shop was actually chosen by Peter.  I had several dark green sample chips in my hand and couldn't decide.  He chose this one, Dulux Highland Green,  and I'm glad he did - it's really nice.  The cream is Dulux Pollinate (half strength) and the brown is Dulux Reddy Brown.

 And here it is with the front open, showing inside.  I notice now that I haven't put the trim around the window and door, so will have to do that.  The border around the top is optional but I thought that it was really appropriate for the shop and very attractive too so I was more than happy to use it.

And with the lights on.

Lastly, the fourth of the shops is the dress shop.  And yes, the trim on the large left window is missing.  As I removed it from the plastic bag that the trims were in only half of this one came out - and the other half was not in the bag, nor had it dropped out as I removed the sheet of trims because I opened it over something to make sure I caught everything.  I will write to Cynthia about this and one other item as well.

This shop is again painted in the Dulux Placid Blue and at first I did the trims in Dulux Pink Tulle, a soft peach colour.  However it looked washed out so I re-did it in Dulux Surprise which is the next darkest one on the colour chip and I was surprised when I was looking at the dresses supplied to go into the shop that the blue and the apricot ones match my colours exactly.  I hadn't taken them with me when I chose the paints, and only looked at them together last night.

And now with the front open.  Don't you love the trim around the windows and the shelves under the windows?  I'm not happy that the piece across the front doesn't meet the cover in this one - for most of the shops I realized that this was the case early in the process and moved the ceiling up a bit so that this piece would meet better.

And here it is with the lights on - so pretty.  I love this wallpaper.

I am really happy with the shops despite their shortcomings.  Being a perfectionist means that nothing is ever good enough really because nothing is ever perfect.  So I am never really totally happy with anything.  But I am learning to be accepting of a reasonable result.  Sort of.  They certainly do look pretty and if you don’t look too closely you don’t notice their shortcomings.  I have been 'talking' quite a bit to Sharon Goldsmith lately and her advice was to just be happy that things are done.  So Sharon, I am putting that advice into action ;)

I am also re-instating the quote for my email signature that I used for a while - and it prompted quite a bit of discussion from people who have the same problem as I do.  It says "Better to get the project done with plan B, than to never start because of 'perfectionistic paralysis'.  And that expresses me perfectly - I often avoid doing something because I think it will be hard or that I won't be able to do it well enough, and then when I do gather up the courage to attempt it I find it is easier than I thought it would be.  Or that it comes out better than I had thought it would.  And as I said above, I am also working on doing things even if the result is not the standard that I want it to be, and on being happy just that it is done!

Cynthia Howe shops are not cheap but they are just so well worth the money.  And remember, I pay a lot for shipping to Australia, and they are still worth it.  She includes so many beautiful details that the finished result can't help but be something special.

I have also worked on quite a few of the pieces of furniture to go in each of these shops and tomorrow or the next day I hope to show these to you in situ.

Welcome Sharon

G'day Sharon, so lovely that you have signed on as a follower of the blog - thank you very much indeed!  We have been talking quite a bit lately and I really appreciate the nice things you have said about my work.  I am so pleased that you enjoy visiting here.  I have enjoyed getting to 'know' you a bit better recently.

Sharon does the most wonderful kits in 1:48th scale.   You can find her work  here.  At the moment I am waiting for the arrival of the Country Comfort Bed & Breakfast cottage kit from her.  It is such a sweet little house and I look forward to adding it to my collection.  I already have several furniture kits from Sharon and am really pleased with all of them.

It is always such a pleasure to see that someone else has joined as a follower.  It is so rewarding to know that people are interested in the little projects I do and your encouragement means so much to me.  Thank you all, my friends, for your support.  It is so motivating to to see that you have visited and especially to receive your feedback.

Hello Leanne; and I will be back soon!

I noticed that you have also joined my blog - a huge thank-you for being so interested.  It is lovely to have you here and I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Please do come again, it is so motivating to have other people with whom to share my interest and little mini projects.  The feedback from all you lovely readers is just wonderful.

Azaelia in our garden

Real life has taken up pretty well all of my time lately.  My mother has been in hospital for the last three weeks, quite ill with an infection, along with her chronic breathing difficulties and her congestive heart failure.  It is quite a drive to get to the hospital so takes several hours out of the day.  It is difficult to see her degenerate mentally as a result of being so ill and I have to come to terms with the fact that she is 88 and has so many problems and probably won't be here all that much longer so I am emotionally drained by it all.

I have however been doing some petitpoint when I am able to do so, working on birthday items for our birthday swap group on Phoenix_Makesminis and the lucky message prize for Miniature_Haven.  I will post a photo of the gorgeous little crocheted doily and jug cover that I received for my prize for winning the lucky message.

Lots of furniture for Dandelion Cottage

Yesterday was very exciting.  A sizeable box arrived by courier containing two orders of furniture from Herdwick Landscapes (http://www.herdwicklandscapes.co.uk).  What fun unwrapping each of the beautifully labelled and wrapped packages.  Everything is so well packed that there is no problem with mailing all the way to Australia.

Now the cottage is full of furniture.  All I need is another set of shelves or a cupboard to go beside the dry sink.  The potboard dresser is larger than the chicken dresser so there's no room for the settle on the back wall.  I might try and see whether it fits on the front wall, otherwise I'll have to leave it out.  That's a shame because the little hedgehogs now won't have anywhere to sit ;)

For quite a long time I was put off 1:24th scale because the furniture often was so squat and out of proportion and I didn't like it but the Herdwick furniture is delicate and in proportion, catching the feel of the real life items so well.  They are extremely well made too, and the photos don't do them justice at all.

So here are photos of the lovely things. First of all the potboard dresser.  I have a teaset with blue flowers on it that I will display on here after I find my wax to keep them in place - they keep falling off at the moment.

Also downstairs is the cupboard with shelves above it.  This is a neat little cupboard.   I did order it unfinished wood because I was going to paint it blue like the sink unit but I really love the look of the finished furniture, although it's a lot of brown in the cottage.

The two rocking chairs are just darling, aren't they?  I think that Mr & Mrs hedgehog will be very comfortable on those at night after a busy day when  the children have gone to bed.

Some accessories for the downstairs area are the water butt that should sit outside the door.....

....the ash box with ashes for in front of the fire..................

....and a bread cart to string up somewhere.  I didn't realize this would be quite so big in the house but I'll fill it with different items and work out how I'm going to hang it and where.

Then there is a griddle and a kettle to go on the stove.

I already have a set of pots that need to be treated to get rid of their very silver look.

Upstairs there is this wonderful cupboard bed.  I fell in love with this bed and it is quite large but lovely.  Here it is closed, with the bed steps in place.

And here it is open.  It has little cupboards underneath too.

I'm sure that Mr & Mrs Hedgehog will be very cosy and private in their darling bed.

I haven't forgotten the children.  They have a double bed with a trundle bed underneath.  It's all properly strung just like a full size one.  When I can locate my fabrics I will make bedding for all the beds - I'm looking forward to doing that.

A chest of drawers and a mirror give the hedgehog family some more room for their clothing and also a place to make sure their spines are nicely arranged.

There is now a basin and jug on the washstand so they can all have a good wash and of course they have the towels on the towel rack that I showed you before, to dry themselves with.

I also bought this darling lamp from Chris (www.midiminis.weebly.com) at the online show last month.  She made it especially for me, doing it with a lovely white lustre finish.  I'm looking forward to getting the wiring connected and seeing the effect in the cottage.

And here is everything in place, more or less.  First downstairs....

And now upstairs.....

That's pretty much everything that can fit upstairs on the first floor, but on the ground floor I still need to get something else to go on the other side of the sink.  Not sure whether to order another cupboard or maybe a small table to go there.

With all this brown furniture it needs colour.  The blue and white china will help, as will some nice soft cushions on the chairs and pretty bedding and curtains.  Probably a mat on the floor in front of the stove. And of course some food and such.

 I have made up a phoenix kitchener stove to go instead of the fireplace, which I was considering moving upstairs but I'm not sure now whether there'll be room for it to go up there.  I hope there is because I really love the fireplace and grate that Carolyn had put in the cottage.

So now the cottage is nearly furnished and I want to get going on those extras.  But of course I'm still all packed up except for the few tools I've managed to dig out.

The studio is coming along though.  Peter has nearly finished the top shelves across the back.  He is working lots of 12-hr night duties at the hospital at the moment so it's hard to get to the shelving.  And my brother is flat out busy and can't help at the moment.  So it's a case of waiting.  Still.

Just making more UFOs!

All good intentions are leading just to the creation of more UFOs at the moment, it seems.  I started on the Seaside Cottage kit from Suzanne & Andrews and now it is finished except that I can't attach the roof permanently because I can't find my quarter scale scribed flooring to put down.  At first I had intended to just use the plain flooring supplied but now I want to add the scribed flooring - I've hunted through all my boxes that are packed, to no avail.  I know I have some, somewhere!  The house is sitting there waiting for this last step.  The furniture is done, all except for dressing the bed - my fabric containers are not in reach just now.  Then it needs more accessories.

Okay, while I am waiting for some paint I've ordered I'll start on the Karen Benson Toy Shoppe kit.  I have lots of things ready to put into the shop already so it will be nice to get it together. By the time I have it constructed the paint I've ordered will probably be here - Deb is usually pretty quick with the orders.  Well, that shop is constructed, wallpapered and - still waiting for the paint to arrive so I can finish it off!

So I started on Petit Chateau.  I had the paints which I'd bought previously, and have a lot of the furniture kits for this house too.  Got the shell constructed, started wallpapering the rear section - and ran out of Grandmother Stover's glue.  I know I have another container of it.  In the boxes, of course.  Can I find it?  You guessed it - no.

I rang the miniatures shop about 1 1/2 hours away.  Yes, they stocked this glue - and had sold the last containers of it on Saturday, just two days previous to my phone call.  It will take two weeks for her new order to arrive - the same as it takes for anything to arrive to me that I've ordered from overseas.

What about starting on the furniture kits for the Chateau?  I took them out - and a lot of them need staining.  I have two stain pens, neither of them the colour recommended.  Not usually a problem except that if I use them the furniture won't show up very well against the floor colour.  I did manage to make up a couple of items that are painted but as for the rest..........I will have to order some more stain pens.  It can be tricky to get these through customs, but I'll go ahead and order them.  So that's another two week's wait.  and of course I can't get them and the glue from the same overseas dealer, so that's two lots of quite expensive shipping to pay.  Oh well.

Okay, I have everything I need for the Petite Properties schoolhouse kit at least.  I had been spraying the pieces for this and for the church as well, with acrylic sealer to prevent warping if I used Creative PaperClay on them.  But I decided to use the ballast and sand on the school, to give a 'brick and flint' finish.  And it all went okay except I'm not happy with the job I've done on the exterior - the ballast goes on well but I have trouble getting the sand to stick to fill in between.  So there are lots of places where I've used paint fairly thickly to fill in as well.  The school is constructed, the playground is landscaped and I started to put the fence around it,  All fine.  then I began to put the railings in between the posts - and I was missing some, and also missing some little caps for the top of the posts.  I thought I'd finally be able to complete something (the furniture kits are all made up too) - but the UFO gremlins had other ideas (big grin).

However I did persevere, and now the construction is finished..  And today I actually have some progress photos to share with you.  I still have to decide what to do with the wires for the lighting and cover them up on the back wall.  Will I plaster over them or use a little annexe room building at the back to hide the wires and switch?

So here it is

I realized when I looked at this photo that the school had 'walked' and was now sitting over the path that goes from the back gate to the 'asphalt' area in front of the toilets. Obviously until I decide on what I am going to do with the wires I can't attach the school to the playground base area.  The roof is darker than it looks in these photos.

Here's the left end, with its lovely big window - I think it's beautiful, that window and wish I had one like it in RL - somewhere.

Here's a view of the right end, showing the side door that accesses the playground and also showing the toilets.

Sometimes I decide for some reason or other that a particular thing looks as though it will be difficult to do and I tend to put off doing it (or don't do it at all).  For this project, it was the toilets.  Or more specifically, attaching the wire to the toilets and the cistern.  But I got down to doing them today and they were fine.  As long as I let the glue dry really well between each stage it went together well.  Then I attached the cistern to the wall and the toilets to the floor so that the wire was balanced and held between the two.

So let's have a peek inside those toilets (sorry the photo is a bit blurry) - can you guess which one is the boy's?

And here is the right side wall (toilet block end)

And the gremlins are beaten at last! You might have noticed from the photos that the fence is also finished.  I found those pesky missing pieces.  I was short of one of the longer side 'railings', but had an extra one of the short 'railings'.  I didn't want to leave that stretch bare so after some consideration I decided to cut it in half and glue both halves in place leaving a gap in the middle.  To cover that gap I added a bit of vine growing up on the inside of the fence and draping over the railing (and the gap).  I'm happy with the result of that too.

I'm glad I put the tree in the grassed area, even though it's not the most realistic tree around :) 

A slightly closer view of the entrance will (hopefully) show the tiles I've put on the floor in the porch area.

This photo also shows that I went with a slightly more brown look to the building.  I am not entirely happy with the surface of the school.  I used medium-sized ballast from the railway shop, then while the glue was still wet I poured sand over it.  It did do that to a certain extent but not as much as I wanted - perhaps I put the ballast on too thickly.  Anyway, when I painted the base coat over the surface I did it quite thickly to fill the gaps where the sand wasn't deep enough.  Then I thought the whole thing looked too brown.  I was watching an old episode of Midsomer Murders at the time and there in the background was a church done in the flint and brick style, and it was in beiges and browns - much warmer.  So I added some Nutmeg Brown (Folk Art) to the base coat mix and redid it.  Then I sponged in a random way with the Nutmeg Brown, some terra cotta and different shades of the base coat.  After it was dry I distressed it by dry-brushing with black.

I did test the lights of course before I painted the roof, and they work really well.  They look a bit ugly though.  I hope that adding some shades and painting the wires will improve their appearance.

I put the furniture inside to check whether my plan would work out.  Nothing is glued down because I'll need to be able to get to things to add the accessories.

Now I need to get down and make those accessories.  The story for this building is that it is set in the present time but the students, who are in grades 3-6, that we call Primary (aged 7 or 8-11) here in New South Wales, are studying the history of their village and their school.  The old school desks have been brought out of storage so that the children can experience some of what school life was like in an earlier time.  There will be a display of  'historic' things on a table between the two bookcases on the large window wall, and some photos or such on the on the old chalkboard on the easel.

Speaking of which, I need a chalkboard for the front of the room as well.  There's only one place that has enought room for that, and it is on the right hand side of the back wall (which is the way the students will be facing, so it becomes the front of the room.  Is that clear as mud?  If you look at the photo of the interior you will see the space there between the smaller window and the teacher's cupboard (which I might move elsewhere).

What will I tackle next?  Some of the cottages that I want to furnish? But they need wallpapering if I'm going to do that.  Back to the glue again.  I have the bits for landscaping Pickett Hill, maybe that would be an idea.  But I'm in the mood for construction.  But I should do those accessories first or this too will become yet another UFO ;)

Welcome - belated again!

I must welcome Leanne and Preble, the newest followers of this blog (neither of you list your blogs, please let me know if you have one)

.  I apologize that it is rather belated.  But it is nonetheless sincere.  Thank you for joining our group. and taking the time to sign on as a Follower.  I truly appreciate it very much.  I am so happy to have people to share my thoughts and meanderings with others online.  I wish I had people to share with among my family but apart from them looking (sometimes) at the different buildings or showing them to the grandchildren, there isn't anyone with the interest to talk about those things that we miniaturists love to talk about.  So this is the alternative for me, and I really, really love looking at the work that so many of you show on your own blogs.

I am inspired by your lovely creations and although I can't dream of achieving the wonderful woodworking that some of you do, I aspire to improve with my miniature-making.  Don't always achieve any improvement, but I am trying.  Very trying, my husband would say if he wasn't such a kind and loving man! I look at the effects you achieve and am encouraged to try to make my projects more interesting.

So thank you, my friends, for your encouragement through your comments and your inspiration through showing your work on your blogs!

Where there's a will......

It's a shame that little things like earning a living or sleeping have to get in the way of important things like my miniatures studio ;) but while I wait for the menfolk to start again on the important things in life (she says with her tongue firmly in her cheek) I am preparing for something that my mother has requested.  She 'volunteered' me to put on a display of miniatures at the retirement village where she lives.  And the activities coordinator was very excited.  They have had various displays and exhibits and the residents find them very interesting.

Now that is very sweet of Mum, and of Christine, who is the Co Coordinator. but neither of them realize as you and I do, dear reader that while I have lots (and lots and lots) of miniatures, I do specialize in UFOs!  So no, dearest mother, the exhibit will not be in October - I will arrange for it to be a little later in the year.  And it presents a bit of a quandary: which of my projects will I concentrate on to complete and where are the bits required to complete them?

I am thinking that perhaps some that are near completion in the various scales would make up a display that represents my collection - there is no way I could finish everything off and take it or even finish all of those that wouldn't take too much to complete, in time to display them.  It might even be easier and quicker to do some of the kits from scratch if they are the ones for which I have all the accessories and furniture as well.. So I will keep you updated on how I go as I concentrate on preparing for the display.  At least it gives me the impetus to complete those UFOs in rather a hurry!  And to sort out those boxes in the studio that have had everything packed into them in the expectation that they'd be unpacked and properly sorted onto shelves - some were packed more with an eye to carrying the most in the available space in the boxes than with other considerations, though I did try to keep things that go together in the same box.  Now, where did I put that container with all the electrical bits............?  And will I order some lights for Dandelion as I had planned or not......?  And I know I've made all the toys for the toy shop, so perhaps if I make the toy shop for them to go into............?  Hmmmm, better do some sorting out and make a list, I think!