Just to prove I haven't been idle...

Some of the things I've been working on recently have now reached their destinations so I can post a few pics (some of you will have already seen them on the recipients' blogs).

This suitcase, packed ready for a trip to her favourite overseas holiday destination, Scotland, is now in the possession of Rosanna (La Casa Rossa and La Stanza Di Giuggiola) in Genoa, Italy. Unfortunately it doesn't contain flight tickets, sorry about that Rosanna ;)

Ira in Finland (merry jingle crafts) has also received her package which included an 'old and worn' carpet (actually a scan of a very old book cover) and made to measure bookcase for her dark house inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", plus some 'old' books and printies including portraits of Poe and his young wife. All photos courtesy of Ira - something has happened to my memory card and lots of my photos have vanished :(

I've had fun making these very diverse bits and pieces, and others that are about to go into the post, or are in transit - and then of course there's the holiday swap which is close to being able to be revealed too!

Sandy's Shabby Streamside Studio under mini construction

Caroline at "Shop Cinderella Moments" has started working on a 1:12 scale version of Sandy's "Shabby Streamside Studio" that I've posted about a couple of times. These pics are from Caroline's blog, she's doing a great job capturing the character of Sandy's unique little place - click here to go directly to Caroline's blog to check it out.

Giveaways (1:12 & 1:16) and welcome to new followers

Firstly thanks to everyone who has decided to follow my blog recently. I hope that from time to time I'll have something of interest to share although once the new university semester starts again in three weeks my free time will be very limited again and my blog will probably go into a state of semi-hibernation. Please bear with me during that time!

And of course a big thanks to all my blog friends, old and new, who make the whole exercise worth while. You're a great bunch of people and I appreciate you all!!! So now I'd like to give something back and have at last completed a few little things to offer in two giveaway draws, one for the 1:12 scale outdoor set and one for the 1:16 scale sofa.

For this little outdoor set (1:12 scale) I used the tutorial on Lea Frisoni's blog to make the chair, and extended the idea to construct the table. They're not perfect, and are still to get another coat of paint, but I hope they have some measure of charm ;) - and don't worry - the little table isn't really leaning like it's about to fall over the way it looks in the picture! :)


This 1:16 scale backless sofa could perhaps be suitable for a 1:12 setting also. Approx dimensions are: height 2.75cm (1 1/8"); width 10.5 cm (4"); depth 4 cm (1 3/8"). I wanted to include something in 1:16 (3/4) scale because I know that several of you have houses that are that size.

Entry is open to all followers who leave a comment on this post. Those of you who were kind enough to leave a comment on my May 28 post about what to do with the side window in the Brocante have a bonus entry as promised, and Ira gets another two bonus entries because she was the first to spot that I'd mistaken the bottom of Marit's birdcage for a work of art - which of course it is :) If you wish to publish this giveaway on your blog sidebar that's fine by me but it's not an obligation.

I'll do the draw on Sunday 19 July to allow plenty of time for all who are interested to take part as there seems to be an issue of late with followers not receiving all notifications of new posts - I've seen mention of it elsewhere and I know that I'm not receiving notification of all new posts on blogs that I follow.

Remember - please tell me in your comment whether you wish to be in the draw for the outdoor set or the small sofa.

Tues 6th - comments left here today by me, Flor, Minilisa and Sagrario have been forwarded to my email, but they're not showing here. However you can be sure that I'll keep these email notifications and will make sure you are all entered in the draw whether or not your comment appears here :)

(It will be interesting to see if they mysteriously re-appear - Blogger is an unpredictable beast!)

Design credit - the image used to print the little cushion is from Janet McCaffrey's blog Primrose Design. Thank you Janet for kindly giving me permission to reproduce it in miniature. Janet also has a website featuring pretty handcrafted gifts for sale, be sure to pay her a visit :)

Marit's tiny turnings & link to bird and cage making

Marit's little bird didn't arrive empty handed - he brought these lovely tiny tiny turned candlesticks, etc with him, part of a swap arrangement between Marit and I. The smallest piece is about 5mm long - it's so light and delicate that I'm afraid that if I should sneeze it would fly off never to be seen again! The package also included these pretty things...

Thanks again Marit!

My contribution to the swap will be some things for Marit's beach house.

Here is the link to Marit's post about how she made the bird and his little cage
http://blackcatcottage.blogspot.com/2010/05/bird-cage.html

Post amendment: if you look closely at the above pic, and those in Marit's post about making the bird and the cage you will see why I'm in the running for the award of IDIOT OF THE YEAR (if not the century)! If you can spot my idiotic bungle let me know in a comment! First to spot it (I hope there's only the one I'm aware of!!) will get an extra couple of entries in the giveaway that I promise is coming this side of Christmas!! ;) ["Quick as a flash" Ira's got it!]

Sandy's studio in spring, and a NY Times interview

In February I posted this Christmas time photo of this gorgeous little place in the Catskills, NY, USA that is the feature of Sandy Foster's blog My Shabby Streamside Studio - a 1:1 dollhouse if ever I saw one :)

The New York Times has just published a feature on Sandy and the studio at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/garden/24cottage.html?hpw

There are great photos of how the studio looks in the spring, as well as an inspiring interview with Sandy, a woman committed to following her heart no matter the obstacles that I admire greatly on every level. Take a few moments to check out the article and her blog, I guarantee you'll be inspired too :)

Oh yeah, and the challenge is still out there - which miniaturist is going to be the first to mini Sandy's studio?????

(Click here to read my February post about Sandy's studio)

Photo credits: Sandy's blog

Arrival secret revealed - look who flew in from The Netherlands!!

The sun came out for a few moments this morning so I could get my camera out and can now reveal the arrival in Sydney of this little fellow ...

You could have knocked me over with a feather (please pardon the pun!) when Marit told me that this little fellow was winging his way to Sydney!! I had admired him from afar but now he is mine, all mine - how lucky can a girl be?!! THANK YOU MARIT!!

This is the happy conclusion of a saga that began in March when I (jealously) admired a lovely little birdcage Brenda (Cozy Little House) had purchased at her local garden centre (along with some other lovely minis) and posted about it on my blog.
Then in May Marit posted on her blog (Black Cat Cottage) that she'd made a similar birdcage complete with little bird adorned in peacock feathers...

With Marit's permission I posted about her birdcage, including this photo, here on my blog and created a bit of confusion with several people assuming that the photo was taken by me and that I had the little cage, and it's occupant, in my possession. Marit thought this quite funny as she in fact was planning to send me the birdcage but wanted it to be a surprise and commented that perhaps a few bloggers may have psychic powers :)

Now, several months on from my admiration of Brenda's mini cage purchase I have this splendid cage, with beautifully plumed bird, of my very own. The skill that has gone into making this little cage and bird is simply amazing to me. I'm sure I could never make anything like them. It will be my pleasure to give them a home on this side of the world (eventually most likely in the French apartment above the brocante).

Thank you again Marit for your kindness and generosity. It is greatly appreciated.

Busy busy busy

Usually I have no minis to show because I'm so busy doing uni work, now I am busy making minis but I still have none to show because they're for other people!! Yes, at last I'm working on gifts and swaps and I'm having such fun but can't show you a thing until they have arrived at their new homes.

The other reason for no photos is that the light is so bad (too many dull cloudy winter days) that I can't get decent photos of a little surprise that flew into Sydney recently that I really really want to share with you ... all will be revealed soon I hope! So watch this space...

Treasures from Synnove

I fell in love with this pretty lavender Synnove (Synnoves Et Dukkehjem) made recently and asked if she'd like to do a little swap (click here to see the full picture including pretty potted lavender and gorgeous roses).

I haven't fulfilled my end of the bargain yet but Synnove generously said she'd send the lavender anyway - she didn't mention that she was sending a lot of other little treasures as well! ...

Thank you Synnove, they're all fabulous and will have special places in my mini world :)

Synnove has a very charming French house on her blog, make sure you pay her a visit!

Holiday theme swap

I'm participating in the holiday themed swap organised by Caterina @ 'Le Minis de Cockerina' - this is my postcard for my virtual holiday destination, Sanur Beach on the beautiful island of Bali. Oh how I wish I could visit my friends there for real but it's just not possible this year - however the upside is that I have lots of time to make minis during my midyear break :)

I'm waiting for my swap partner, Roberta (Il Boratorio di Pitosfora) to email me with her address so that I can send her the minis for our Bali holiday - they are all ready and waiting to go in the mail Roberta!

Amazing antique 1890s dollhouse, with a twist...

Click here to go directly to this post on my friend Tracy's blog to see more on this very special antique dollhouse - she's got lots of detail about it's fascinating history which I won't duplicate here. It's SOOO charming!!!

This chest is my favourite piece in the house but there are lots and lots of wonderful old minis to see. And I just love this printed lining -

Tracy's previous post has wonderful pictures of a 1900s lithograph dollhouse that you must see too -
Tracy's blog (clicking on her name will take you to her latest post) has a fabulous array of weird, wonderful, whimsical, and sometimes downright wacky! ;) old toys (and other interesting stuff)!! Don't miss out on visiting her, it's a real treat.

Thanks Tracy for permission to publish your photos here.

Now back to my university assignment .......... (I hope to be done with it in about a week so see you all soon!)