Ester and I snuggled on the couch and watched the PBS mini-series Victoria on Amazon prime video yesterday, between small bouts of house cleaning and blog maintenance.
The Chantilly was on my bed temporarily while I dusted. Ester rubbed her face all over the roofline. I think it belongs to her now.
My not-leaving-the-house update...
I finished the wee metal model kit. It was fun. It's difficult to photograph because it's very reflective.
I cut my marker and pencil cases. The marker case assembled exactly as it was supposed to with only one design flaw; it's too large.
It was also more difficult to construct from paper than the prototype was from masking tape. It was so fiddly that it's not worth the effort of tinkering more with a paper case. It was good design practice and provided experience, so the attempt was beneficial.
I need to try again with the pencil case. I made it from card stock and patterned duct tape, instead of waxed paper and masking tape, which I suspected would be too rigid and thick to work. I was right. I need to experiment further with different combinations of materials.
I also got a fair bit done toward next year's Halloween present for Susan. No pictures. ;)
Those were the goings-on. The not-goings-on is the trip to the post office and movie theater I was planning for yesterday. After checking the weather I decided not to leave the house this week. Ester approves.
I am on vacation! I don't have to be back in the office until January second. Whoo-hoo!
I've got a few small projects lined up....
As executor of Charlene's miniature estate, I need to pack her fishing gear and send it to its new home.
I'm assembling a wee metal model kit.
Nancy sent me some play things.
I bought some feves from ValueARTifacts. I can see this becoming somewhat of an addiction.
We have a new dining room table to assemble. It was my husband's grandmother's kitchen table. It is believed that my husband's grandfather made it for her, but we're not certain. Matt's brother inherited it, but he died just after Thanksgiving. He was in poor health and much pain, so his passing was a kindness, though we will miss him very much.
I have a new toy to play with. Guthrie was a Christmas gift from a coworker.
I've finished designing the marker set and pencil case (I think). Lots of math and spatial imagining were involved. If they assemble as intended when I cut them out later today I'll do a happy dance.
Ester requires some extra attention. Now that it's cold outside she's staying in, and she's a bit stir-crazy. She'll be glad to have me home to play with and sleep on. For additional lap-time I bought a set of books that were some of my favorites when I was a girl, The Borrowers. Paper books, not e-books, because I can't relive a bit of my childhood with a reader app. I've always thought I'd do a Borrrowers build, perhaps next year's contest kit will lend itself to the concept.
I hope you all enjoy the holiday season and get to spend some quality time with your loved ones. Virtual hugs from me to you :)
The exterior is clad in wooden rustic siding strips, stained with Zar Golden Oak, and egg carton brick, painted Thalo Blue, not grouted. The additional exterior walls and planter boxes were built from foam core board, to keep the weight down. The signage was cut on my Cricut, from adhesive vinyl, placed on pieces of mat board. The sidewalk was made from cork, and the plants are plastic, from the craft store.
The wall hanging plant was a gift from a new miniaturist friend, Deborah. The birdbath was made by April Wright, I filled the basin with clear resin and mounted it on a "concrete" plinth so as not to obscure the base, though the plinth should have been a bit shorter. The tiki planter is from Charlene's estate (no maker's mark on it), as is the light fixture. The two garden orbs are a large marble and a metal lamp finial.
On the shelf above the room, the checkers board, lamp and folk art piece are from Charlene's estate. The little house was a gift from my best friend Susan. I made the smoke detector from a white button and two small rhinestone stickers. The two paintings to the right of the rare books cabinet are also from Charlene's estate. I meant to make a botanical print to go there but ran out of time.
Inside the front door is a coffee bar and a bathroom. You can catch glimpses through the bathroom door from the right angle, but that room is closed off. It was supposed to be lit, but I forgot to put the light bulb in the sconce before I installed it and didn't discover the error until it was too late to rectify.
Inside the entry, the broom is from Marquis Miniatures, the wastebasket was a gift from Nancy Enge, the clock a gift from blog reader and friend Bridget. The coat and hat are from Charlene's estate, the rest are mass produced pieces. The tile floor is made from paper rectangles glued to a cardboard template. I made the cupboards, counter, shelf and mini fridge. The shelves are inset into a window hole I didn't want to place a window in. The glass container holds peppermints made by Blake at The Miniature Bazaar. The most attractive mug was made by April Wright, as were the two in the main room. One of the sconces arrived broken, but instead of returning it I used it as is. I added colored resin to the coffee pot, as well as the two coffee cups in the main room.
The brass vent cover on the wall above the window was a gift from Pepper. The two wooden chairs, the white console table, the clock on the wall between the windows, the painting next to the brass lamp, and the black lamp on the center table are from Charlene's estate. The rest of the furniture came from my stash, with the exception of the two Chrysnbon chairs, which were a gift from Susan. The carpet is an upholstery fabric remnant, the wallpaper is textured cardstock.
The leather purse and suede backpack where made by Jo-Ann Shaw. The clock shelved in the bookcase is from D Tales Miniatures. I made the brass lamp, the modern lamps are from miniatures.com. The landscape painting partly obscured by the yucca was painted by Mike A. The yucca plants were made from Nancy Enge's kits.
The iPhone is from LiLu Minature. The Reese's was a gift from Deborah (that's my daughter's favorite candy bar). I made the pencils by coloring and whittling pieces of spaghetti. The coffee mug is from April Wright, the open books from Little Things of Interest. Nancy Enge made the open journal. The other journal, file folders and folio were made from Nancy's kits. I made the closed book.
I made the suede journal and the succulents. The file folders are from Nancy, the wooden tray the succulents are planted in is from artbase.
Susan made most of the books on the bookshelf. Kat made a few, I made the rest. The journals, folios and vertical file holders were made from Nancy's kits. Nancy resized the original journal down a bit to make some that would fit on the lower shelves, she now sells both sizes. Nancy, thank you (again!) for doing that so quickly so that I could meet the deadline! I made the majority of the books on the round bookcase because the shelves were so short only a few of the books Susan sent would fit.
Let's see, what did I miss?
Oh! There is a pair of wee red spectacles I bought the last time I went to the Bishop Show in Chicago, from Dollhouse Isako.
I hope you enjoyed the tour. Let me know if you have questions.
One last picture, because I really like how the electric and gas meters turned out.
Named for the two friends without whom this project would not have come to fruition, I present the Susan A. Nancy Horticultural Library.
More pictures and comments to come, but first I have to catch up on housework, etc.
I am on track to be finished tonight. Here's a bird's eye sneak peek...
We've had snowstorms this week, which quash my plan for taking pictures outside this weekend. I'll have to buy a couple of white sheets to set up a backdrop in my studio instead.
When did I do that?!?
I did not get the landscaping done yesterday. Dry time was not my friend. I did get the sidewalk installed, though I made it from cork I had in my stash instead of the linoleum scrap I found in my basement, as I had planned on, because the linoleum was too brittle. The cork got a couple coats of polyurethane to keep it from crumbling. I glued down soil/mulch (out-of-date cold-brew tea) and made a little pumice thing around the trio of rocks in front, which I hated. April's birdbath isn't as tall as necessary to compete with the plantings, so I glued it to a wooden plinth, which I hated. If I weren't under a deadline I'd order either a matching plinth or a taller birdbath, but at this point in the game I have to make due with what I have. I also got the rest of the large foundation plants installed, which, though you can't see in the picture, line the foundation on the two sides as well.
While I was waiting for glue to dry I colored the electric and gas meters while thinking through how best to install them. I'm planning to cut wooden blocks to fit them over (they have an open back), glue the blocks to the building, then the meters over the blocks.
This morning I covered the yucky white pumice area with soil, and put a coat of gray paint on the wooden plinth so that it will look like concrete instead. I also sorted through my remaining supply of plants. By the time I get home from work tonight glue and paint will have dried, I can give the landscape a good vacuuming, then glue down the rest of the plants.