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.

Catching up.....

http://SnippetsOnTheMove.blogspot.com

We've been home for a few days now, arriving on Friday evening.  I had the sermon on Saturday, followed by lunch and the afternoon with my mother.  It is chilly back in Sydney after the warmth of Bundaberg and I've put the doona on the bed, dug out winter clothes and the ugg boots, and am putting the heater on in the house.  Need to go shopping for some decent track suits.  And this afternoon I finally got the last load of washing done - we filled our clothesline three times, between washing clothes, linen from our bed at home and in the caravan, and blankets. Most of it is dry and folded and put away.  The ironing basket is getting full again, so I'll have to spend some time catching up on that soon.


But I've spent some time over the last couple of days starting to catch up in a far more pleasurable way: catching up on the blogs I follow.  It has been a while since I have been able to do so, and what a lovely way to spend one's time! How inspiring too, to see what you are all doing.  I took the time today to read through a couple of blogs detailing the progress of building dollhouses  - if I've overwhelmed you with comments I apologise vbg.  


When I see the quality of work that is being done out there, I am in awe of your talent and patience.  Not to mention the technical skills.  Colour me green.


I have put in several orders over the last couple of days too - for some medieval furniture and tuscan furniture in quarter scale, some lighting but mainly for 1:12th scale items.  I seem to be getting the urge to tackle some of my 1:12th scale projects again.  I had planned to be working on my commissioned house as my Project of the Month for one of my online clubs but I am having difficulty doing so - I am still conflicted about the era I want to set it in and that makes it hard to decide on the furnishing and decorating.


Meanwhile I am catching up on sleep, getting over the fatigue from travelling 1500 kms or so in two days.  Peter was also tired, surprisingly so for him.  And he was waking during the night with pain in his hip.  On the day we left Bundaberg (Wednesday) he had suddenly exclaimed that he was being bitten - painful bites.  He couldn't find anything that was doing so.  But on Saturday morning he showed me his leg - it had several patches of angry, red, blistery areas about 1" across, over half the upper thigh.  By Sunday morning it had spread up his leg and across to the middle of his back.  He went to the doctor on Monday - and he has shingles.  No wonder he has been in pain and is so tired.  For once he is willing to rest - very unusual for him.  But I am insisting despite the fact that he wants to start preparing to build my new studio.  That can wait.  I just want him to get well.


So we will have a quiet time for a while.  Unless I keep him company Peter won't rest.  And he needs to rest and build up his immune system again.  


Hopefully I will also have a chance to catch up with more blogs, with the birthday exchanges I need to send out, and to finish catching up on that sleep lol!  

Welcome Ruth

Hello Ruth, thank you for visiting here and signing up to be a member of our mini community.  I hope you enjoyed your time looking at Snippets and come back often.   Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions - both are welcome.  I do love to interact with the people who are kind enough to spend time here.  

Black and White elegance

It's been such a lovely time here with my great friend Jan.  I have written more about our trip to Bundaberg and about Nathan and Peter's sightseeing on Snippets on the Move - click here to see. Jan has been working on her Tuscany Villa and I have fallen more and more in love with it.  Jan has completed most of the spackling, done the kitchen, done the tiles for the courtyard in Creative PaperClay and has learned how to copy and reduce tiles and make tile sheets and borders.  She has regained her momentum and I expect to see lots of emails (with photos vbg) about the progress made now.  Just a small matter of finally deciding on the colour scheme so she can go forward with decisions about which tiles, which carpets and colour of upholstery etc.  I have really enjoyed seeing this project almost from the beginning and look forward to seeing the finished house - I just know it will be special.


I brought the kit for Candlewick House with me, because it is nice and straightforward being an intermediate kit.  I worked on it on Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and I'm really happy with the progress so far.  It's not finished yet: the paperclay on the floor is still drying, and I've also added some to the roof to make it nice and wavy and that's nearly but not quite dry.  


I've papered the first floor, panelled the ground floor and lit it throughout with LEDs.  It is looking very smart indeed in white 'plaster' and black timbering, not worn and distressed this time but crisp and post-card pretty. Elegant in black and white.  I will be adding a little bit of shading to the white though, I can't resist doing just some lol.  Even a newly-painted house in real life doesn't stay pristine for long.


Just a peek at the exterior for now though:

When I get back to Sydney the clay floor will probably be dry and I'll be able to paint it, so I'll show you the interior then.  And I'll show you the lights on when the roof is finished so the full effect can be seen.  After that I will get back to Lavender Cottage.  
For now,

Another Bundy Mini Break

Last year in March, I flew to Bundaberg Queensland, to visit my good friend Jan.  She lives in an idyllic location, right on the water, and her daughter (Sandy) has a house just a few houses from her.  Since Sandy is working interstate she was kind enough to allow me to use her house while I stayed. 


We had a mini holiday together.  Jan started work on Tuscan Villa and I worked on the English Cottage.  You can go back and check it out by clicking  here .  This year Jan wasn't able to come down to the Sydney Fair, and since we were 'so close' to Bundy (only 837kms away lol) I persuaded Peter that it would be a good idea to travel up there after Grey Nomads Camp.  That way he and Nathan could explore a bit of the place while Jan and I did some minis again.  And so here we are.  


We are staying in Sandy's house again.  This time it is empty except for a lovely big corner lounge, because she is going to rent it out soon.  I am happy to be able to show Peter the house - it is  light and airy, a lovely place to stay and I enjoyed my time here so much last year.  It is great to be able to share it with Peter this year.  We brought in Nathan's folding bed that we use in the annexe, and our mattress from the van, the television and dvr, our car fridge and a few bits and pieces and we are set.


On Friday Jan and I set up some folding tables and got stuck into our mini projects.  She has brought out Tuscan Villa again, and I have started on Candlewick Cottage, a kit from Petite Properties.  I won't be here very long and I wanted a quick project to start on.


Most of the day for me was taken up with the preliminary painting of pieces so there are no very exciting pictures to show your:


Jan made a kitchen for her Tuscan Villa.  She showed me the beautiful furniture that she has made for some of the rooms.  I love the Villa so much and the furniture so much that I'm becoming convinced that I might just have to get one myself too vbg.  Here's some of the furniture - isn't it lovely?

 


Sorry I don't have any photos of 'Tuscany Villa' - I hope to get some but it hasn't been the right time yet.

Baskets from a Basketcase

If you have a look at Snippets on the Move you can read how Susan and  I went  to visit Lidi at Nambucca Heads.   Lidi makes the most wonderful baskets, using the traditional techniques  used for full-sized basket weaving.  Have a look at her work on Basketcase Miniatures by clicking here.  I just had to choose some to buy of course and Lidi insisted on giving them to me at very attractive prices.  I felt guilty.  Here they are:  

The small birdhouse is sitting on a tree stump that has been cast by Lidi's husband Peter from a real piece of timber.

And here we are, the three of us standing outside Lidi's shop in Nambucca Heads.

Next day was the drive north towards Bundaberg  - check out Snippets on the Move to find out more.

From the lows to the highs.....

It was hard to say goodbye to three sets of dear friends yesterday (see http:SnippetsOnTheMove.blogspot.com for more about this, I will be saying more there later.  One couple in particular are our very dearest friends and they are continuing to travel for the next six months, up through Queensland then across to Darwin and Kakadu.  I will miss them badly. 


But I had something special to look forward to - meeting a friend, just a short distance north from Yarrahapinni where we were at Camp.  We have been internet friends for some time, and now we met in the flesh and she is every bit as delightful as I imagined.  It is Susan, from minicrochetmad and she does the most amazing crochet I have ever seen!  I was bowled over that she gave me this gorgeous set of baby clothes that will actually fit a 1:12th scale baby doll

Showing front of dress

Showing back of dress - the buttons work!

The photo doesn't nearly do justice to the tiny stitches in the garments.  The booties are only 1/4" long, the dress only approx 1 1/2"  and I couldn't begin to estimate the size of the stitches - they are miniscule.


Thank you Susan from the bottom of my heart!  I will treasure these always, and display them with pride in the nursery of a special house.


I am embarrassed that my gift for Susan isn't completed yet - I thought there'd be plenty of time during Camp - and it doesn't measure up at all to the standards of this wonderful crochet!

If you want to see what I'm up to.....

Believe it or not - I have yet another new blog lol! I'm keeping it for our holidays.  Not the long trips like the one around Australia, just ordinary holidays.  And you can find it here - I do hope you will visit and join.


Of course I'll be doing minis on the trip too, and I'll post about those on this blog.  So I'll still be around, on both places, and will stay in touch.