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!)

French facade - and a question

At last I can show you a little progress on the French project. The walls etc are just in 'dry fit' at the moment but at least you can get some idea of what the outcome will be. There is more trim to be added, the top floor is to have two small balconies and I might add an attic, or a roof garden.

Now... opinions please!! If you look carefully you can see that on the left wall of the ground floor shop there is a window, and near the back on the right there is an open door with a window in the top half (in the photo it looks as if the door is on the back wall but it is in the right wall and is opened into the shop) . The door is there because I can't imagine that the people who live upstairs would want to 'come and go' through the shop doorway when the shop is closed (and there wasn't room to add a 'private' doorway at the front), and the window in it lets in a little extra light. I'm not sure how best to describe why I added the side window - does it make sense to say it is to add another dimensional aspect to the space??? However I'm now wondering if I should rip that window out.

What is bothering me is that when I look at pictures of Parisian streets the buildings are almost all adjoining each other. The side door is ok because in my mind it's on an alleyway, but with the window in the other side as well it means that this building cannot be in a row of connected buildings. It must be standing alone with an alleyway, or small street, on each side which doesn't seem to be the normal thing for Parisian buildings. This picture below is my style 'inspiration pic' for this project, you can see how the buildings are all joined together.

So, what do you think, just be satisfied to have a 'stand alone' building even though it goes against the normal 'rules' of it's location, or pull out that window (it is glued and plastered in but it's not impossible to get it out and the hole can be plastered over). What would you do??

As an extra incentive to help me out here anyone whose comments include advice/opinion about whether or not to take the side window out will be 'rewarded' with an extra chance in the 200 followers giveaway that's coming up... :)

I have to leave my minis to one side again now while I concentrate on finishing my last university assignment for this semester (but I will be reading your opinions on what I should do about that window!). When I come back I've got quite a bit of catching up to do! There are Awards to be acknowledged and passed on, my fair purchases to show you (and I want to tell you about one of the vendors there too), gifts and swaps to be made, and a giveaway to be organised! It's going to be a busy break :)

(The Paris shop fronts image was sourced from ebay, a copyright holder is acknowledged but I can't find the name of the artist.)

Post amendment 1 July 2010 - I have made the decision about the window. What it came down to in the end was that if it was bothering me then it had to go - and it has now been removed. I appreciate all the information and various points of view of everyone who took the time to comment here and as promised all will receive an extra chance in my July giveaway draw. However that offer is now closed (the last commenter to be included is Nancy on 16 June). Thanks for participating!

Prizes and surprises

Firstly I should apologise to both Susan and Glenda for taking so long to post about these wonderful things they have sent me.

I was so lucky to receive these lovely little things in Susan's (minicrochetmad) recent giveaway, all handcrafted by her. The fine texture and perfection of Susan's miniature crochet really has to be seen with your own eyes to appreciate it. The little trug is so cute isn't it! The kitchen utensils were a surprise inclusion and really appreciated because they were just what I'd been thinking were missing from my kitchen. Thank you Susan!

A little while ago Glenda (Peppercorn minis) contacted me asking if I'd like some of her late mother's vintage cotton handkerchiefs to use for linen and clothing. I was so touched that she would think of offering me some things that had belonged to her mother. Of course I accepted gratefully (and I hope graciously) and waited for the package to arrive from New Zealand. When I saw the Customs Declaration I couldn't help thinking the Customs clearance staff must have thought it was very odd that anyone would mail a bunch of 'used handkerchiefs' :) They could never have understood that they are treasures! This is just one of the lovely handkerchiefs. Many are trimmed with beautiful lace. That's not all that was in the package - Glenda had included some of her fabulous handmade leather journals and woven baskets which I've admired on her blog many times. The little white journal (made from an old kid glove) is small enough to look 'at home' in the 1:16 house, as are the two smallest baskets. They would also be suitable for a 1:12 house too, in my smaller house they become 'medium/large' size where as in a bigger house they would be 'small/medium'. (If you would like to have a journal or basket or two of your very own Glenda has a link to her Etsy shop on her blog).

Thank you so much Susan and Glenda, I really appreciate all of these wonderful treasures.

If you don't know Susan and Glenda's blogs I encourage you to click on their names and take a look - you won't be disappointed!

Remember this?

A few weeks ago I posted this pic and 'spat the dummy' about how I was so jealous that Brenda at Cozy Litte House had been able to buy such gorgeous minis, especially the birdcage, at her local garden centre. Click here to go directly to that post.

Marit at Black Cat Cottage saw that post and has made this wonderful version of the little cage - complete with a bird!


Click here to go to Marit's blog for more info on how she made both the cage and the bird - and be sure to have a look around - don't miss the tiny wood turnings she's been doing recently.

And don't forget to check out Brenda's blog too which features her lovely home and gorgeous garden.

Photo credits: Brenda and Marit