Club Meeting Makes

Hi All. First of all I have to apologise to my two giveaway winners. I had an opportunity to attend a miniature club meeting an hour away from where I live last weekend so I didn't get around to making the items to send to you. I will therefore be making them this weekend and will get them posted to you during the week after they have dried properly.

 

I don't usually attend the miniature meeting because I can't justify the travel cost but my daughter had a dance workshop to attend in the same city last weekend so I got my husband to get her to the workshop and take her shopping while I spent four hours with fellow miniaturists. It was only a small gathering of six people as it was Mother's Day in New Zealand so some people had other plans with family. My daughter Jamie paid the cost of the workshop for my Mothers' Day present. It was just a little workshop of a petticoat table and a little photograph album. After I got home I 'toadised' my table for Toad Stall by painting it green and adding a few bits and pieces. I want to find some little seed caps or something similar for little cups. 

The table is set with a jar of Tiberius T. Toad's Honey and Swamp Water Ale and some mushroom bread with toadstool stalk topping.

Then Tibs made some platters from dried pumpkin skins (made from polymer clay). I see a snail is trying to find a way into the ale.

 

 
This is the little paper photo album we made:

Well that is all for now from Myrtle Manor Miniatures and Toad Stall. I have to get making some planter pots. I have to get my daughter to another dance class this afternoon too so I'd better get cracking while I have the chance.

 

I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Giveaway Draw

First of all I have to share with you that I had a disastrous weekend miniatures wise. I spent all yesterday creating polymer clay fungi and toadstools etc so I could make some minis to show on today's blog. I put them in the oven last night and what came out - a melted, singed mess!!! I have no idea what happened although I suspect I may have had the tray a bit too close to the elements. I only managed to salvage a few of them and incorporate them into the miniatures I have been working on. I still have so much to learn about using polymer clay. Then this morning a tube of white paint exploded everywhere. After cleaning that up I thought I had better quit trying to make any more miniatures before I did some real damage and to just get on with choosing a name for Toad.

 

Well trust me that wasn't easy either. Thank you for contributing so many great names for Toad - some regal or mythical, some fun and others solid and befitting a woodland toad. I have listed all the names below so that if you are ever in the position where you need to name a toad you can come back to this spot on my blog for ideas!

Albert
Archimedes
Aristotle
Bellows
Cornelius
Darwin
Eder
Fred Puddles
Fredy
Gustavo
HH (short for Hippity Hop)
Irwin
Jiminy Hoppit
Johnny Longlegs
Jumpy
Pheleas Stomper
Phil
Puddles Hoppidy
Rodderick
Roger
Sir Theodore Toad
Socrates
Telly von Toad
Teodosio
Thadeus
Theodore
Tibbir
Tibbir the Toad
Tiberius T Toad (Tibs for Short)
Tibs Toad
Toadwood III
Toadwort
Tobias
Toby
Toby Toad
Todd
Toddy
Todsy
Touchwood
Trevor
Wembley
Wembley Wetfoot

There will be two prizes. The first will go to the person who provided the name I choose for toad. The second name will be as the result of a random draw of everyone who commented on my recent blog entries about Toad Stall.

 

Drum roll please... you may now address Mr Toad as:

Tiberius T. Toad (Tibs for short). The T standing for Titus, the name of his grandfather who escaped from a stork's beak.

And the winner is BiWuBar.

I loved this name the minute I read it. Not just for the name but also for the way it added to Toad's story. He is a proud toad - proud of his family's history, his grandfather and his own entrepreneurial abilities. I feel this name suits him.

 

 

Tiberius T. Toad (Tibs)

 

There were three other names definitely in the running but I kept going back to Tibs.

 

Now for the random draw:
 

Drawn by my daughter Jamie.

 

... and the winner is Miniaturista.

 

As for the prizes:

 

Option A: You can choose your favourite item(s) from Toad Stall (apart from Jane's hutch of course) - name your favourite item and also let me know if there are any other items on the stall you like;

 

OR  Option B: you can leave it up to me to surprise you if you can't decide;

 

OR Option C: if you are not into fantasy and toads I am happy to send you a red cart and some empty planters for you to fill as you please.

 

You might choose:

 

A red cart full of finds similar to this:

 

 

A chair planted out in fungi similar to this:

 

 

A planter of fungi & snails such as one of these:

 

 

Hollowed out pumpkins filled with fungi similar to these:

 

 

A toadstool stool similar to this:

 

 

Some little wall plaques similar to these:

 

A pennant banner similar to this:

 

 

A toadstool bread board and mushroom bread with fungi stalk topping similar to this:

 

 

A bouquet of fungi similar to these:

 

 

or Option C - a red cart and planters such as these:

 

 

BiWuBar and Miniaturista, please email me using the 'Email Me' on the side bar and let me know what you would like. I will complete your miniatures over the next week and hopefully get them in the post to you next weekend.

 

As we always say when drawing a giveaway I wish I could give everyone who took the time to provide a name and/or comment a gift. In any event I hope you are all having a great weekend.

 

Bye for now from Toad Stall and Tiberius T. Toad.

 

 

Giveaway Draw Is One Week Away

Hi there. Just a quick reminder that my giveaway is drawn next weekend with a closing date of 8.00am Sunday 3 May (New Zealand time).  I will post the results some time on Sunday.

 

I have decided there will be two prizes. Quite a few people have expressed a desire to be in the giveaway but have not suggested a name for Toad. The winner of the main prize will be the person who has suggested the name I choose to use for Toad - so please keep the names coming in. You can suggest more than one name.  There will also be a second prize drawn from the names of anyone who has made a comment whether they have given a name for Toad or not. So if you want to enter the giveaway but have not been able to think of a name for Toad please comment that you would like to be included in the giveaway. The only condition of the giveaway is to be a follower of my blog.

 

As for toad - he is still only a head!

The rest of his body will have to wait until I have made a few more things for his stall so the winners of the giveaway have something to choose from.

I have made a few additions to the stall items:

Little toadstool pennant string.

A couple of chairs ready for planting and planters.

A couple of little wall plaques.

 

A chair in progress as well as Jane's gorgeous hutch that started it all.

 

A toadstool stool, planted small hollowed out pumpkin, large hollowed out pumpkin still to be planted.

I have started giving Toad's cart a bit of a battering. He uses the cart to collect bits and pieces from abandoned cabins on the edge of the woodland to make items for his stall.

A general view of the cardboard mock-up of Toad's stall. I have decide it does need a bit of frontage for landscaping so have added a foam core base.

Anyway, that is where things are with Toad's Stall. I need to spend the rest of the afternoon making some toadstools and fungi so I can make some more things. Toad is getting very excited (he would jump up and down if he had a body). He can't wait to open his stall and in the meantime he is looking forward to next weekend's giveaway draw.



See you next weekend.

Easter Break Comes To An End

Well my extended Easter break has come to an end. Back to work tomorrow. It is currently 10.00pm on Wednesday 8 April. However, before I head to bed I thought I'd just give you a quick update on what I have achieved since my last post.

 

In between housework, spending time with my daughter and other every-day necessities I have managed to do a list of some things I want to try to make for the Toad Stall project. I don't have a lot to show for it yet but below you will find a little trial stool made in the form of a toadstool which is a footstall for the bigger woodland creatures or a seat for the smaller ones, a Del-Prado chair with its seat cover removed (I am going to use the chair as a planter), some fabric which I have painted 'swamp green' that I am going to use to make some bunting from with little pictures of toadstools painted on them and the start of some fimo fungi. I won't cook them yet until I have made some more. Not much to show, but it is a start.

Don't forget my giveaway - link at the top right of this page. I am enjoying watching the names roll in.

 

Now I want to jump to another project, my bookshelf project. This project has been waiting for me to make up a lot of Paper-Mini book kits - perhaps after the Toad Stall project! While I am trying not to buy any miniatures because of my current financial situation I couldn't resist buying two little books when I saw them on a local auction site. They are The Secret Garden and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. My Mum loved The Secret Garden as a child and as an adult she enjoyed watching the movie. We had both also recently read A Little Princess not long before she died. The books have blank pages inside but are lovely quality and came from TreeFeathers. The books have found their way onto my bookshelf as have a few books that came from Mum's place and a few I found when I was sorting through my miniatures recently.

Still lots of shelf space to fill.

Well I had better sign off and get to bed. It will be hard enough getting up to go to work tomorrow morning after having a few days off without having a really late night. It is already 10.20pm.

Toad Stall, Fly Agarics and GIVEAWAY!

Hi all. I know I did a post yesterday but I told you I was excited about this project.

 

Last night I did a cardboard mock-up of Toad Stall. I won't build the real Toad Stall until I have a feel for whether this size is going to be big enough for everything I come up with for the stall. I also have to decide whether I will add some landscaping around it. I will probably raise it off the ground and add a few steps to start with. In the meantime as I work through this project you will just have to imagine this mock-up is a rustic shambolic dilapidated cabin in a woodland environment! Of course I have no idea how I am going to create that look yet - luckily we live these days with a thing called the internet and I am hoping I will find a lot of handy tutorials on-line.

 

Birgit of Bi Wu Baren on the Blog made a comment on yesterday's blog post saying "Don't forget about fly agarics!" Do you know what fly agarics are? I didn't. Once again I am thankful for the internet which informs me that "Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric is... the quintessential toadstool...large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, one of the most recognisable and widely encountered in popular culture". Thanks Birgit - I love learning new things.

 

Birgit also commented with reference to 'Toad' - he must have a name! That I had already thought of. I had decided I would open it up for my blog readers to give Toad a name. While Toad has not been created yet I think it would be nice for him to own a name when he arrives. He will be a dressed character toad so put your thinking caps on and give poor Toad a name.

 

The person who submits the name I choose will be able to choose from some of the items for sale at Toad's stall - I promise there will be some goodies to choose from before closing date of 8.00 am Sunday 3 May (New Zealand time). Hopefully I will also reveal Toad on that date.

Conditions of the Giveaway are to be a follower of my blog and to just have fun with your imaginations!

 

Just as a teaser of what may be available to choose from, some of the things I have in mind are: toadstool planters such as the one pictured below; jars of honey and swamp-water ale; fungi bouquets; woodland wreaths, pictures, mobiles, little shadow-boxes with fungi set in them, baking and all sorts of 'found' containers and items planted with fungi and other woodland finds.

 

I look forward to hearing any name or names you suggest for Toad and any ideas you have for items for the stall.

Enjoy the rest of your Easter weekend everyone. I'm off to make some fungi!

It Was Supposed to Be a Pretty Flower Planter!

Birgit from BiWuBaren left a comment on my previous blog post this morning which included the words:

 

"And now I foresee an extraordinary increase of the miniature snail population in New Zealand...".

 

I had to have a little chuckle to myself as indeed yesterday some little snails did take up residence in my craft room and I am sure there will be more to come. Once again thank you Jane for the idea and inspiration.

 

Yesterday I decided to honour a challenge made by my friend Susan and create a flower arrangement. I decided to do an outdoor planter with some flowers - at least that was the direction I was heading in when I started out. This is what I ended up creating:

 

I am sorry it is not the best picture. It is very dark gloomy weather here at the moment. We had a good thunder and lightning storm last night.

  

I made two other little planters at the same time so hopefully some flowers might find their way into those today.

My Weekend

Woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit down with all the stresses we are facing at the moment. I've had to have a real think about my hobby with our current financial situation and have made the decision to sell a lot of my vintage miniatures. The good thing is I will now focus on making miniatures. Anyway, I picked up my laptop to check my emails, blogs etc and soon had a smile on my face. Look here to see why:

http://minifanaticus.blogspot.co.nz/2015/02/minifanaticus-hutchessssssss-giveaway.html

Yes, I am one of the lucky winners of a giveaway from Jane of Minifanaticus. The hutch she has made far exceeds the vision I had in my mind's eye when I put the idea in her blog comments section of her giveaway post. I will put some pictures on my blog when it arrives. I spent quite a bit of time after reading of my win looking at images on Pinterest planning out a little scene to house the hutch in. That will be my next little project.

Talking of projects I did do a bit more to the Upcycling Project as you can see below but my heart just isn't in that project at the moment so it will go on hold until I'm ready to carry on with it. It didn't help that after I had done all the grass area a box fell on it and took half the grass off and flattened some plants!

Sorry, I didn't realise what a bad photo this was until I loaded it. I have added some large plants at the back to give the effect of it being a little environment within a full sized garden, a cork with beer bottle top for a table and two golf tees for seats, some game counters for stepping stones and the frame of a pocket watch which will become a fish pond. I will get back to this when I have learnt a bit more about making flowers. My daughter won't let me away with not finishing this project as she loves it.

 

Talking of making flowers I had a lovely afternoon last Sunday with the only other miniaturist that I know of in my town. Susan and I decided to meet and have a go at making flowers. The truth is we mostly talked and used our punches to punch out flower parts. We didn't actually produce any flowers on the day. So saying it was a fabulous afternoon and we set ourselves a challenge to produce some flowers before we next meet.

 

Therefore today I thought I had better try and make some flowers. After a lot of failed attempts I did produce two delphiniums and one tiny rose that I was reasonably happy with. I then decided I'd better create something to put them in. While our challenge was to make a flower arrangement I chose to create a trug to place my flowers in.

 

 

 

I also produced a little jug which I filled with some little flowers I made a few weeks ago. I'm not very happy with either the jug or the flowers but there is potential in both with a bit more work.

 

 

Anyway I'd better go as it is way passed when I should have gone to bed but I was determined to get a blog post done this weekend. Busy with family commitments and Dance Mum commitments next weekend. Hopefully might find a little time next Sunday afternoon to do some minis.

 

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. Happy creating.

Christmas Swaps

I know it is February but it is only now that I can post photos of the gifts I sent my two Christmas Chain Swap partners. Fabiola and Drora. Unfortunately due to losing my Mum in early December and then with my husband's Dad having a major stroke two days later I was a bit late posting them. I posted them before Christmas but Fabiola has only just received hers a few days ago.

 

I did a post on the lovely swap gifts I received from Fabiola and Drora here:

http://myrtlemanorminiatures.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/back-to-work-tomorrow.html

 

From Fabiola I received:

 



and from Drora I received:

 

Below are photos of the swap parcels I sent Fabiola and Drora:

for Fabiola

for Drora



Just looking at these photos I took it has become obvious to me that I failed to put a little glass jug in with Fabiola's gift. Sorry Faby, it was certainly my intention to do so. I somehow must have overlooked it in my rush to get the parcels posted.

 

Adding to the delay in getting the parcels posted was my rush to get the little paper chains finished. Each link of the chain is made with little pieces of quilling paper 1/8 inch x 3/4 inch. I think they look effective and I enjoyed making them but they are fiddly and time consuming to make.

 

The Christmas stockings and the teddy bear are buttons, the vase of flowers is a bead with some paper scrapbooking roses in it and the angel and fancy cake plate and cake tongs are made from jewellery findings.

 

This is a close up of a cake plate and angel so you can see better the findings I used:

 

I do prefer a solid bead for the head as in the ones I used for the swap gifts.

 

I enjoy playing around with beads and jewellery findings to see what I can come up with - enjoyable play time.

 

Thank you to Fabiola for organising the swap. It is always lovely to receive miniatures from fellow miniaturists from around the world.