Cleaning House.....

Monday is my day for cleaning the real house, so I don't get a lot done in miniature. This morning I was doing my thing and when I got to the big bookcase in the family room, I realized that there was a mini in there that needed sprucing up badly.

I have two Ballhagen display boxes that are where I store a few minis that haven't found a home but need a place to live. One is set up as a kitchen and one as a bedroom or living room most of the time.

When I looked into the bookcase this is what I saw..... This is all that is left in the kitchen box! Xander and Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a draped table left from New Year's Eve, a tray of cold cuts on the floor from the same time and various other odds and ends of kitchen ware. It's a lovely display to have in the family room....Not. I used everything else for the Mystery house and the Clockwork Cottage. OK.....Some of it went with Tessie.

I went into the workroom to see what the bedroom box looked like. It was better. At least it had a nice bed in it.

I quickly pulled a few things from around the house and put this together. Granted, it's not a full scene, but I stuck to the rules. Anything that goes into the box is something that doesn't really have an official home elsewhere.

The bed is one that I made for a miniature show display one year. I think that I have shown it before, but I get to show it again because it qualifies as homeless.

Here's a closeup of the headboard and pillows. It is my own design and hand carved walnut. If you poke the picture you can see it better. This bed is a real one with mattress and sheets , not ceiling tile like Zar's. I have kept Tessie away from it so far. Please don't tell her. She will want to test it. It is more fragile than the ones she is used to jumping on. She will also be tempted to pull all of the pink roses off and replace them with puce.....

There are stories with the swan bassinet in the corner. One year I found these swans as displays for some kind of perfume. I made this one and then put the other four swans in a drawer. Someday........ The base of it is good old ceiling tile and the curtains are on a wire frame that comes up from the rear of the base.

Anyway, to the rest of the story. We used to have a mini garage sale every year when I was in the Tucson Miniature Society. We would all bring goodies to sell. One of the first years that I participated Pat Arnell brought various items and in the mix there were some antique German porcelain babies. I stood glued to that spot of the table until the sale started as we couldn't pick out items before hand. I have never been much of a baby doll person, but the ones that Pat put on the table fascinated me. One was a pouty little girl. The other two that you see in the photo were cast together in one mold. It was love at first site. As soon as the sale started I grabbed those two pieces. They have been a couple of my favorite pieces since. I know, she had some other things at the sale, but the only two I remember are those. The twins are intertwined and motionless, but each has an outside arm wired so that it will move. I built the swan bed for them and they have been there since. The mother that I added later was a kit from a show. She takes very good care of them, so I think that she deserves the fancy bed.

I will tell you a secret. This is pointless. It's just something to keep you busy until I finish the drudgery of household chores. At least now I have something more pleasant to look at in place of the empty kitchen. That is going into the workroom for the time being.....I guess I will have to start replenishing that now. I have another chrysenbon woodstove that needs building. It's a vicious circle!

See you tomorrow with actual minis.