Happy Halloween

HAPPY  HALLOWEEN  EVERYONE!

 

 Image from

www.freevintagedigistamps.blogspot.com

 

While we don't really celebrate Halloween in New Zealand, although it is starting to take hold, I do love Halloween images, especially vintage ones from old postcards. I think next year I might just create a Halloween scene for fun.



National Cat Day

I just saw a post by Margaret on her blog at Petit Parterre with a delightful photo of her cat wearing a hat:

http://petit-parterre.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/national-cat-day.html

 

She said it is National Cat Day in Australia. I note from an internet search that 29 October is also National Cat Day in the USA. I don't think New Zealand has a National Cat Day and International Cat Day was on 8 August but I will share with you photos of my two cats Dash and Squiggle anyway. I figure some of you cat lovers out there might be interested in seeing their progress. They are now about 7 months old and have grown out of that tiny kitten stage.

 

Unfortunately they didn't oblige me like Margaret's cat did. They were far more interested in snoozing on our bed, it being a rather wet and blustery afternoon outside.

Dash (male)

 

 Squiggle (female)

 

My three dogs are grumbling in the background about all the fuss over cats. Perhaps I'd better find out when International Dog Day is if there is such a thing!

 

Anyway, Happy Cats Day to all your furry feline friends.

Image from the Graphics Fairy





An Early Start

Lying in bed this morning I was determined to make a space for doing some miniatures even though we had a fairly busy day planned - but what to do?

 

I considered doing a little Halloween scene and entering a photo in Kyle Lefort's Halloween challenge. While traditionally we have not celebrated Halloween in New Zealand it is starting to be celebrated by some and I have always thought it would be fun to do a Halloween scene. However, as it is the 27th I have left it a bit late to do a good job - next year Kyle!

 

That led me to thinking about Christmas. Every year I say I will do a Christmas scene but again I always leave it too late. Not this year. I am making an early start. Today I started my Christmas scene. The box I am setting my Christmas scene in and around I purchased Christmas 2012. It is high time I got it out and did something with it.

 

As for the resident of the box, Edward Elf, he has been more than patient waiting for me to create his workshop. Edward Elf is the official Christmas decoration maker for Santa and also the decorator of the North Pole Christmas Tree.

 

I think the box is so beautiful I don't want to cover too much of it so he will just be sitting in the box with a few shelves and hooks inside to hold all the wonderful Christmas decorations he is going to create. Of course we will also need to create a North Pole Christmas tree eventually .

I have previously blogged about the box and about Edward here:
http://myrtlemanorminiatures.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/thinking-of-christmas-meet-edward.html

Edward Elf was made by Melanie Frank in Germany.
Melanie's blog is http://pippibaerenbande.blogspot.de

The front of the box.

Inside the box.

Edward Elf.

I love his oversized feet.

Edward is busy working on a paper chain (made by me).

I recently got a large jar of 'seconds' gems from an op shop. Some have little chips or are not quite the shape they should be but many of them are just fine for enhancing some of the lovely detail on the box.

Some of the gems.

 

 

 

Unfortunately it is a dark gloomy and wet day here today so very hard to take photos showing the gems but hopefully the above gives you an idea of what I am working on at the moment.

 

I need to think about what I am going to do for shelving and hooks now. Hopefully I will have solved that dilemma before my next post.

 

See you then.

Scullery Table

I had a play day today - for the first time in weeks I ventured into my craft room and created. I made a scullery table for my Del Prado house.

I grabbed a few items to put on the table to see the effect. I will probably make other items to 'dress' the table but this gives an idea of what it could look like.

Perhaps I need to have a go at miniature doll making. I think this 'busy' kitchen needs an equally busy cook.

I hope you are having a great weekend.

In Hibernation

Hi blog friends. I'm still here in case you are wondering.
Life is getting in the way of miniatures a bit at the moment but I will get back into it. We will see what next weekend brings.
I have to confess I am about seven weeks behind on reading your blogs at the moment with no chance of catching up so I apologise for not commenting lately. I have seen the odd blog entry over that time but not many. I am sure I have missed out on many fabulous photos and writings over that time.
I am also aware I have not entered anything on this blog for a few weeks.
I hope all is well with you all. I will definitely be trying to keep up with your blogs from today again and hopefully you will inspire my dormant creative spirit.

Kitchen Progress

So far this weekend I have avoided all the housework that needs doing but it is now getting the better of me and I really must get on with it. Before I get out the vacuum, cloths and cleaners though I want to give you an update on the Del Prado kitchen.

 

I have fast come to the conclusion I cannot keep the house true to the Del Prado original design. I just wouldn't be happy with it.

 

The hutch below is the kitchen cupboard that came with the kit:

 

It is quite sweet but it isn't going to hold much, especially as the doors are non-working. I will paint it white and keep it in the kitchen with some desserts on the counter.

 

Therefore my project this weekend has been to build some basic oversized Victorian shelves. At this stage I have gone through my stash and found some foods and kitchen items but I need to do a bit of research on what was available in Victorian times e.g. did they have pumpkins, cabbages, cannisters, mouse traps etc? Some things will come, some things will go, I will fill up the jars and make some more food and kitchen items.

 

I have also at this stage replaced the Del Prado sink kit with a ceramic one but I have decided I will make a large deep sink with sloping wooden drainer as were common in Victorian kitchens.

I have also thrown some foods on the Del Prado kit table.

This table will also be replaced. I have decided I want this as a 'working' kitchen. I would rather have a large food preparation table in the middle of the kitchen than a small dining room table and chairs. There will be a shelf under the table to house pots and pans etc. We will just have to pretend the dining room is elsewhere.

 

I will definitely be replacing the kitchen light and probably will re-cover the floor. Looking at the above picture I am now thinking the stove looks a bit small and I might have to scratch build a stove as well.

I think with the shelves it is starting to look a bit more like a kitchen. I will do a bit of research on Victorian kitchens later today but in the meantime it is time for housework!!!

I hope you are all having a great weekend.

By the way it is Father' Day in New Zealand today so happy (NZ) Father's Day to all you dads out there.

Kitchen Renovation

I've made a start with the renovation of my Del Prado dolls house. I am trying to just make do with supplies I have to hand and found a tile patterned piece of wallpaper that I have used in the kitchen on the bottom half of the walls. I have left the pale green wallpaper that was already there on the top half.

I have given the chimney where the cooker sits an undercoat of gesso after filling in some gaps with polyfiller and sanding. It will need a few more coats of gesso and some more sanding yet but I think I prefer the white to the cream colour. I think I am going to repaint all the kitchen furniture white, perhaps with blue accents. I have used the same tile wallpaper to back the chimney and have inserted a brick floor in the chimney using a bit of plastic brick sheet I found in my stash.

I was going to do up the cooker but then remembered I had one the same size in my stash so I replaced it with that. I can do up the other cooker another day for another project.

Anyway, here are a few pictures:

 The kitchen as it was.

 

 The chimney and cooker as they were.

 

The tile wallpaper added to the bottom half of the walls. 

 

 The new cooker in the renovated kitchen.

 

The cooker inset in the chimney with tile backing.

 The brick floor of the chimney.

 

The kitchen.

 

I really want to replace that light shade but I'm not sure how I am going to do that yet as everything is wired and glued in. I'm sure I'll come up with some solution.

 

Lots of gesso-ing and sanding for me this week while I work on the rest of the kitchen furniture.

 

I hope you are having/have had a great weekend.