A Silk Purse From....

Nope. Not a sow's ear. Well it's not really a silk purse either. I was wandering around looking for something to write about. It is too close to Christmas to be thinking about starting a new project. It is too close to Christmas to be working on old ones. I should be working on presents. So I will combine thinking of something new to work on with writing. That's where the silk purse analogy come along and bites me.


As I was wandering and looking I spotted the following: a picture frame, an eighties style box for holding drink coasters and some gift bags. I made the picture frame into a mini display once before and wasn't happy with it. No silk purse that time. I need to try again. This is no ordinary picture frame. I found it at T J Maxx a few years ago. It is the perfect size for a 1/12" vignette. The window is 5"x7". All I had to do was build a box behind. I did. I never liked it so I tore it apart. I do that sometimes and I am proud of it. My philosophy is if it doesn't work don't try to force it. I still like the frame so I will try again.


The eighties style box has a sliding door like a roll top desk. I paid a quarter for it at a garage sale. It will make a neat little half inch scale room. Why not do a retro eighties room in it? I know it's not the thing to do right now, but in about 10 years that will be the in thing to do once again. Did you know that everything goes in 30 year cycles? I learned that in a history of fashion class in college. Think about it. If you are old enough to remember what you were wearing 30 years ago, you may not realize it, but your kids are wearing an updated version of it now. It's the same with home decorating. It has something to do with the coming of age of a new generation.


The last candidates for new vignettes are these. A friend found them in a shop in California and sent them to me. Yes. They are gift bags! They are somewhere between 3/4" and 1" scale and could be made to work. There are two shops and two houses. Each has windows with cello in them so that you can see inside. The back wall is fully illustrated and looks like the interior.


I have been holding on to these for when the mood strikes. One of these days it will. Until then, I take them out and unfold them. I look in the windows and dream about what could be put inside.......Some day soon......This is the garden shop. It almost seems a shame to mess with them. See the checker board floor and all of the flowers inside? It is almost like it is already done. Hmmmm.......I think I just finished four room boxes in one day! I am going now to unfold the other three and set them on a shelf somewhere. Then I am going to look at them while I work on Christmas presents.

I hope that you are further along on Christmas prep than I am.

See you tomorrow.