Hooks and Eyes

Hi everyone. I had a free weekend this week and was determined to get Manu's gift done (my swap partner for the July Christmas Swap). I am pleased to say I am well on the way to having the items completed. Unfortunately I can't show you what I have made or it won't be a surprise for Manu. Later this week the gift should be winging its way to Italy. I have to have it to Manu by 31 July. I still have a few finishing touches to do but at the moment I am waiting for things to dry before I can progress further.

I have to say it is today that I have managed to make progress with the gift. I spent most of the day in my craft room yesterday and my only achievements were a very messy craft room and a blood blister on my finger. Sometimes you have days like that where nothing goes right. Luckily after a tidy up of my craft room this morning I had a much more successful day today.

I am going to share one of my failures with you though because it is a fun idea with potential, I just didn't achieve it this weekend. I remember doing this back in the 1990s. Must have been a tip I picked up from one of the members of a miniature club I belonged to then.

The idea of the Christmas in July swap is to use found items or recycled items. This is what made me think of little coat racks made of ice cream sticks and hooks & eyes (that you use for sewing).

See picture below:

Now these two aren't particularly pretty, as I said they are my failures and are definitely not winging their way to Manu, but I think the idea has potential.

There must be so many household, sewing, garage items that we could use for miniatures. It is part of the fun of the hobby - using our imaginations to create full sized items in miniature using whatever it takes.

Enjoy being creative.

Bloglovin

Hi blog friends. With the pending demise of Google Reader I have now set myself up on Blog Lovin. There is a link on the right hand side so please click on it and follow me in Bloglovin. I really hope you will join me there.

Phantom and Bodo Hennig

Sounds a very mysterious title doesn't it, but if you are expecting some great mystery you will be sadly disappointed. However, I'd love to tell you about my weekend.

This weekend we travelled to New Zealand's capital city, Wellington (about 4 1/2 hours from where we live) to see the Phantom of the Opera as put on by the Wellington Musical Theatre. It was a fabulous show - the singing, the acting, the props, the special effects. Myself, my husband and daughter all walked out wowed. I had seen Phantom of the Opera 20+ years ago in London but Pete had never seen it and my daughter Jamie just loves theatre, especially musical theatre. The trip was well worth it.

We are hoping to travel back to Wellington later next month to see Stomp.

Now I find myself at home trying to catch up with washing and doing the unpacking before work again tomorrow, so this entry will be brief. It is Sunday about 8.45pm in New Zealand.

While in Wellington I picked up a Bodo Hennig dolls house (attic) that I bought through an on-line auction some weeks ago and the lady was good enough to hold it for me until we travelled there this weekend. She bought it in Berlin a few years ago for her daughter who had outgrown it - time for a big kid to take over! When I first saw it on the auction site I could just imagine a Christmas scene in it.

The Attic

 



 Lovely detailed wooden floor on the ground floor

 

 Floor and wallpaper design on ground floor

One of the corner posts

I just realised I didn't take a photo of the tile roof paper, but you can catch a glimpse of the colour in the bottom photo. These houses (attics) must come in kit form because a paper with instructions came with it.

Also, I now have 50 followers. As promised I will have a think about a giveaway, but first I have to finish my Christmas in July Swap gift for Manu which I will work on this week and hopefully get it in the post later this week or in the weekend.

I am concerned that I might lose my followers with losing Google Reader, but I will look into getting set up on Bloglovin during the week. I am also trying to work out how to use Google+.

My to-do list is growing.

Hope everyone has had or is having a great weekend.

Yann Pendaries

This isn't exactly a post about miniatures but about a blog I have stumbled across called Photography Project - 80 Days in a Hot Balloon by Paris photographer Yann Pendaries. I just love his photo art and some of the neat photos and items throughout his blog. I think many of us will find things of interest. Check out some of the amazing prints in his Etsy shop. I did enjoy dabbling in photography a few years ago and liked the more arty style of photography and working with photos in Photoshop. Yann inspires me to want to get back into that.

Karen and Donna I am pretty sure you will find this site interesting.

http://hot-balloon-photography.blogspot.com

Patchwork Quilt and Heidi Ott Baby

It is lunch time on Saturday in New Zealand. I'm really hoping to get some miniatures done this weekend but in the meantime I just want to show you a little Heidi Ott Baby I have purchased who comes with intricate knitted/crocheted outfits. Head to toe she is about 5.5 cm tall (2 1/4 inches). The lady I bought her off got her in Berlin a few years ago.

I made the little crazy patch quilt on the bed by ironing lots of little pieces of fabric to some interfacing and then zig-zagging around them. I then gave it a fabric backing and used a bit of green cotton tape to bind the edges.

I've had a thought on how to deal with the 'sticky' situation with the Selina Rose Gallery and hope to get some work done on the exterior of the gallery this weekend. Hopefully I'll have something to show you tomorrow.

I also need to give some thought on what I can make for a giveaway and what I can make Manu for the July Chirstmas swap.

Enjoy your weekend.

I'm Still Here!

Hi from New Zealand - where winter is definitely settling in. I'm currently sitting at my computer fully clothed and with my dressing gown over top and thick woolly socks on - so glamorous!

Just a quick message so you know I haven't stepped off the edge of blogland. I've just been busy (not with miniatures unfortunately). Hopefully I'll get back into miniatures during the week and will have something to post soon.

In the meantime just a couple of quick things to report.

Firstly, I am participating this year in Jazzi's Christmas in July Swap. This is the first time I've done something like this and I am really excited. My swap partner is Manu of Italy. This is her blog site:
http://miniaturemanulab.blogspot.it/
 The idea of the swap is to make something for your swap partner from found or recycled items and post it so they receive it by 31 July. I am using this as a stepping stone to participate in other on-line miniature events such as other swaps and competitions.

Secondly, I noticed this morning I now have 48 followers - so close to 50. I'll definitely have to have a giveaway soon to thank my followers. Perhaps when I reach 50 I'll have a think about what I could make as a giveaway.

Hope everyone is enjoying their respective interests and are hopefully being a bit more productive than I am at the moment!

 Our local mountain, Mount Taranaki, on a cold misty morning.