The Story, So Far.....

OK. Now I am trying to think of different things to do with the kits that I put together. I started looking at some of my favorite furniture sites and landed at MacKinzie-Childs. I imagine that a lot of you know about MacKinzie-Childs.They are the most imaginative, expensive, hand painted, everything to do with decorating. If I ever get really rich, I am going to buy a piece or two.....You did hear the part about them being expensive, didn't you?

I have a MacKinzie-Childs hand painted berry bowl...In other words, one of the smallest bowls that they make. I bought it for 3.00 at a thrift shop. The cats now have the most chic food dish ever....I looked that particular dish up in their catalog....$35.00!!!! One little dish!

Anyway, sidetracked as usual....Tessie took her usual spot on top of the Universal Collage Dictionary. It's just the right height for her viewing pleasure.

When she saw the furniture, she almost fell off of the dictionary....Then when she saw the price of some of the furniture, she did it again! I had to catch her both times.

She immediately grabbed a pencil and started making notes...."I want.....I want....I want."


I told her that I would do something similar, but I didn't want to copy exactly.

She scowled at me and said, "I don't see any zebra stripes on this furniture. You can do zebra stripes. I want zebra stripes."

Well. That part was easy enough. I put on "The Pillars of the Earth" on Netflix and got to work.

While I was painting she disappeared. When she came back, she grabbed the led out of one of my mechanical pencils and went to work on the sides of the dresser. It's not easy painting zebra stripes with someone yelling,"Don't wiggle the furniture! I'm working here!"

When I finished, she turned the chest around and showed me the side that she had just finished. It seems that she wants something with vines and bugs on the side....Yes. Those were her exact words. Then she mumbled something under her breath that sounded like...."Hmmm....Poison Ivy might be good...."

No! I am not painting poison ivy! If she wants that, she can do it herself!

Anyway, that's as far as we have gotten today. If you want to see the MacKinzie-Childs site, it is here.http://www.mackenzie-childs.com/ It's kind of like going down the White Rabbit's hole and falling into a home furniture store where everything is designed by the Mad Hatter.

See you tomorrow.

I Want the Queen's Hat!!!

Did anybody else watch the wedding? I got up an hour too late to watch it the first time around...I am willing to get up at 4:30 AM each and every morning, but 3:00 AM is just asking way too much!

Tessie came in and watched the tail end. Then she insisted on looking at some of the lady's fashions on the net.

When we got to Queen Elizabeth's yellow outfit, Tessie looked me straight in the eye and said in an imperious voice...."I must have the Queen's hat!"

I explained to her, "There is no way that hat will fit over your bun. You will have to take your hair down if you want to wear a hat like that."

She just hissed, "I want the Queen's hat!"

Rather than argue with her, I simply told her that I didn't have any yellow silk....I thought that would end the whole thing.

She disappeared. When she came back, she was holding a piece of yellow cotton. It was sprigged with tiny ochre flowers.

I said, "This will never do. The Queen's hat is plain yellow silk."

"Turn it over." she ordered.

Leave it to her to find plain yellow on the back side of a piece of fabric. She informed me that cotton would do in a pinch.

Luckily, it is a very, very simple hat. Don't tell her that! Thank goodness she didn't want any of the other ones....Did you see some of those things hanging off of the sides of women's heads? I don't see how they could walk upright and still keep them in place!

Anyway, here's the pattern if you want your own version of the queen's head wear. I used plain old index cards as the basis for the hat.

The brim is a 1 7/8" ring with a 3/4" center cut out of it. The side piece is straight up and down. 2 1/4" by 1/2".

I covered the crown piece and pinked the edges, wrapping them to the back with glue. If you want to be fancy and line it, simply cut another piece the same size as the pattern and glue it over the back. The same goes for the other pieces. Trim flush with the edges if needed.

The half inch strip gets the top and ends of the fabric bent over with mitered corners and glued to the back.
The bottom edge of the fabric is cut a bit longer and pinked along the edge. This fabric is to glue inside and under the hat brim.

The brim is covered the same way as the crown. Cut the center fabric into about 8 wedges and wrap them to the other side with glue and do the same with the outer edge, pinked and glued. Don't forget to cut a piece to the size of the pattern to put on the underside. Glue that piece on last.

I looked on the net and the description of the flowers on the side are yellow roses with peach colored petals. I used some French variegated ribbon to make the roses and plain peach silk ribbon for the leaves. I covered the seams with matching yellow bunka.

When I was finished, Tessie took one look at it and said...."Thanks. That will look great in my closet....What?". Then she announced, "Surely you didn't think that I was going to change hairdos just for a silly hat!"

She flounced off to the closet and the last I saw of her, she was carefully trying it on each shelf. She insists that HER hat is the original. The Queen's is a copy.....

I am going away now and ignore the Royal pain....

See you tomorrow.

Furniture and Flowers....

OK. Yesterday I didn't get much done in the way of kits. This was the first one. It's a Chrysnbon hutch. I am still only putting together. It looks complicated, but it was fairly simple and straight forward.

I also finished the white rocker and foot stool in the next photo.

Today I got back to work and finished a china cabinet, a dry sink, two pedestal tables and the little plant stand that came with the china cabinet.

As you can see, I still have a few smaller accessories to finish, but most of them need to be painted before I can finish them. I still have a number of HoM kits in line, but most of the rest have to be carved and upholstered. I want to do some needlework to cover some of them.

Now about the flowers. Many people are under the impression that the desert around here is dry and colorless....I am here to debunk the myth. I took these photos in the front yard a few minutes ago.

This purple prickly pear was looking very sad after the frost. It is fighting back with everything that it has got. The perfume coming from these flowers is astounding. It is almost a strong honey scent.

The color on these is not exaggerated by the photos. If anything it is toned down. They are the brightest yellow I have ever seen. In a few days the whole cactus will be covered with them.


When I went out there, there was a whole swarm of bees to prove that they are irresistible. I had to dance around them. The neighbors probably thought that I was out of my mind....Heat stroke maybe? No. It's only 85 degrees.

Have you ever seen a drunk bee? I have. See the flower to the far left of the photo and the black line down the left center? That is a bee. They get in there and roll around in the pollen until they are covered with it. The have trouble getting back out and when they do fly away, they look like they are wearing little yellow fuzzy coats. They are really fun to watch. They look like they are having such a good time.

After the flowers fade, the remains turn into red fruit. People around here make jelly out of them. I have never tried, but I am tempted just because there are so many flowers this year. Maybe....

See you tomorrow.

"More Houses! I Need More Houses!!!"

That has been Tessie's anthem for the past twenty four hours....Well maybe twelve....

Yesterday, after I left you, I decided that since the bashing of the lowboy turned out well, I should go look and see what other HoM kits I had in the drawer. When Tessie saw the drawer full, she started chanting.... I should never open a drawer like that in her presence.

I started with the chest of drawers on the far left. Then the desk on the far right. Last night, while watching Glee, I did the two in the middle. I haven't decided what is going to happen to them next, but at least they are out of the drawer and built. It's like potato chips....Bet you can't build just one. The last kit, the one behind Tessie, was strange. It had never been opened, but evidently they made a mistake at the factory. One of the drawers had no back and another one had two fronts. I took advantage of this by eliminating the "three drawer" fake front on the top drawer. I think that this one is going to turn into something modern.

This morning very early, I went back to the drawer that contained the HoM kits. Then I went one drawer up, to the Chrysnbon kits. I discovered that I have a plethora of of both. What am I saving them for? Logic says that they will take up no more space when built than in the boxes. Actually, that's not true, but I am more apt to use them if they are already put together and ready to use somewhere. Soooo.......I am on a rampage to build the kits.

There are eight more HoM kits. There are five, six counting the chair, Chrysnbon kits. And there is a plastic box filled with parts for a lot of treadle sewing machines....No case parts, just the metal stand and sewing machine heads. I don't think that these count as kits. Just spare parts, with possibilities....

Anyway, if I get all of these put together, it will be a miracle. As my friend Judy says, "It should keep me busy and out of biker bars for a while!" I don't really do that sort of thing and neither does she, but I love the phrase.

I looked for Tessie to pitch in and help this morning. I couldn't find her anywhere. You know how she disappears when there is work to be done.....I finally found her in the back yard. The Mexican Morning Glories are in full bloom, once again. For a couple of weeks every year our back yard looks like this. I can't blame her for wanting to stroll through the pink carpet, rather than work on furniture.....No....I must build....I must build...I must build...

I am off to see if I can set a record for the most pieces of furniture built in one day.

See you tomorrow.

The Thrill is Not Gone....Yet....

I think that this may be the best gift that Tessie has ever been given....It has kept her out of my hair for the past twenty four hours!

She is contemplating joining a traveling circus....With some practice.... By the time the practice is finished, she will change her mind.

She has even managed to coerce Zar into helping out. I don't think that he is going to last long....He doesn't like being low man on the totem pole.

And Spike has wisely decided to sit on the sidelines and watch. I'm with him!

Whilst they were doing their thing, I decided that it was time to start doing something mini.

I spotted some of the House of Miniature kits that have been wandering around the house....However, neither Tessie or I really want any Early American furniture in the townhouse.

Tessie, while taking a break, put her foot down and told me she definitely didn't want any silly formal furniture. So I decided to see what I could do with a couple of the kits in question.

The first one was a lowboy dresser. If it were built just as it came from the kit, it would have three drawers on the bottom and one long drawer on top. Very boring.(Tessie's words, not mine.)

I put together the case and the top drawer. I left off the cabriole legs and put on bun feet instead.

Where the three drawers were across the bottom, I decided it should have three baskets instead. I used Penelope canvas and walnut bottoms.

After that was settled, I painted all of the wood parts black.

After it was dry, I slid the baskets into the slots and set it upright.

I put some knotted rope handles on the top drawer. I don't really like those, but I am going to have to think about that for a bit.

This piece will either go at the foot of the bed or maybe, with a cushion across the top, it could go in the front hall, downstairs.

As I said, I will think about it for a bit.....

See you tomorrow.

April and Tessie are in Cahoots!

I had to create shoe shelves yesterday....Tessie wouldn't let me have the day off. Holiday or not. So I turned on Netflix and got to work.

The closet shelves were already finished. I decided to add slanted shelves to the bottom two holes. It was pretty easy. I marked the half way point between the bottom and top. Then I measured up a quarter inch from the bottom shelf and from the center shelf.

I added strips of wood to hold up the back of the shelves and slanted ones on the sides. The top of the strips met with the marked lines.

Then I cut shelves to fit and glued them to the strips. I put a piece of quarter round molding at the front of each shelf to keep the shoes from sliding off.

When the glue was dry, I painted them to match the rest of the shelves. As you can see, Tessie filled them up as soon as they were dry.

"OK, now I need the pole to hang the clothes on. Hurry up...My clothes are getting all wrinkly."

I took a piece of 1/32" basswood and cut out pieces six inches long by one and a half inches wide. Then I fancied up the top edge, drilled a hole on each one, five inches from the floor for the pole.

That's as far as I can go on that project until I get the bedroom wall permanently in place.

This morning I went to meet April for breakfast at Beyond Bread. She is now in league with the devil....That is, she is buying Tessie things that will keep her amused and probably annoy me. When I sat down at the table, she handed me the latest....

Tessie is now the proud owner of a motor scooter. She has been zipping across the desk and back since I sat down to write this. Spike got in on the act. April thoughtfully provided a scooter with a back rack that is just the right size for him to sit on.

Brave dog that he is, or maybe just plain not very smart, he has been riding on the back.

She has attempted to run over my fingers a couple of times, but I am too fast for her.

Widget attempted to carry Zar away yesterday. If Walter had not caught him in the act, Zar probably would be headless.....That was a handy lesson....

Just a couple of minutes ago, I threatened to sent Widget after Tessie if she didn't take a break from scooting back and forth. So much for that idea...She is now following him around, trying to see how close she can get to his toes, without actually running over them....

Oh well.....I did warn her.....I am not responsible for missing heads. April! It's all your fault.

See you tomorrow.

Easter or Not....

Tessie and all of us wish you a good day. As you can see, she got into the spirit of things by making Spike wear bunny ears.

She got the idea from Claudia, over at Mockingbird Hill Cottage. http://mockingbirdhillcottage.blogspot.com/ Go see what Claudia did to Scout.

Tessie cut the ears out of cardstock and cut up one of my good envelopes to make the pink part....Remind me to keep her out of my envelope drawer.

Of course, she put on her best bonnet and found the Mad Peruvian Bunny to help out.

Happy Easter or Happy Sunday, whatever the case may be for you and yours.

See you tomorrow.

The Poor Cobbler's Children...No Shoes....

Here she goes again! Tessie read about the "no shoes" problem yesterday. Her natural response was..."I am just a poor waif. If I had shoes, I would treasure them. They would get an honored place in my closet. The one that you really should finish...."

You know that she hides them, so that she won't have to wear them. Then she forgets about them.....Until they are mentioned by someone else.

She spent last night and part of this morning haranguing me about the snow boots. "You found them! Why didn't you give them back? I needed them when it snowed." Mind you, she stayed inside all warm and toasty and would have had a fit if we had tried to get her to go out in the snow.

When she tired of the snow boot question, she started in all over again....This time for thongs(aka flip flops), sandals and other summer shoes. I still call the between the toes sandals thongs. After all, that was their original name and they only became known as sloppy flip flops when some designer took over the thong name for uncomfortable underwear.

Anyway, back to the subject. The first pair I made were more beach scuffs that really sandals.


Red, white and blue. Very patriotic....She can wear them on Independence day.....Sure she will....

These are so simple to make that it should be a crime.

This is the only pattern you need and the only supplies are either some fun foam or cardboard, some colored paper and some ribbon and glue....Oh and a sharp pair of small scissors.

Who needs fancy leather for summer?

With that one pattern piece, I made lots of different styles. I happened to have some fun foam that was self stick. For some reason, the only color I could find was white. That problem was easily solved. I have lots of ribbon that is about the same width as the thickness of the foam. I also have colored card stock.

I put the pattern under Tessie's foot and demanded that she hold still if she wanted new shoes. She did as well as could be expected, with Widget poking around behind her. I fitted a piece of ribbon across her foot and long enough to go to the bottom edge of the sole on each side.

I glued the ends of the ribbon onto the edge of the foam with white glue, starting in the center back. Then I ran another piece of ribbon around the edge of the sole, covering the ends of the first piece of ribbon as I went.

Of course, as I had anticipated, one pair was not enough. So, I did a pair of blue thongs with cream colored soles. I glued an insole of blue card stock to the top of each shoe. To do the thong, I took a tapestry needle and pulled the bunka down and back up through the same hole and glued it in place. Then I took each end and again, fitting them to her foot, glued them to the edges. The strap ends should go a bit further back than the other ones, so that they will stay on her feet.

Next was a pair of orchid colored ones. These I did, using the cardboard. I cut the same sole and then glued the back part to another piece of cardboard and cut out a heel.

The tops of these are made on the insole. The ribbons are wrapped around a piece of card stock or heavy paper, cut to the same shape as the sole. After they are glued around to the back, the whole thing is glued to the sole. You may want to clamp them until they are dry.

I thought that three pair should be enough for one day....Nope......"They don't match my dress! I need green! I went through the thong process, once more. I used green ribbon and beige insole this time.

Are you keeping count? We are up to four pair at this point.... I started putting things away. Tessie glared at me and said...."Where are my snow boots?"

I told her, "I have absolutely no idea where they are. I am not in charge of footwear in this house. I can't even keep track of my own, let alone yours."

"You owe me! I want my snow boots!" she wailed.

Out of desperation, I said, "If you will be quiet for a week about any kind of footwear, I will make you three more pair of sandals. You won't need the snow boots for the rest of the summer, but if I make you three more pair of shoes, you will have a different pair for each day of the week.

Tessie is no fool. She grudgingly agreed to the plan. She is now the proud owner of fourteen new shoes. Notice that I didn't say anything about her wearing them....I figure that it will take her about a week to misplace all of them. She will wear each pair for about three and a half minutes. Then she will make a fuss and say that her feet hurt. She will then take them off and wander away, wiggling her toes as she goes.

Then I will carefully put them in her new townhouse closet. She will never think of looking for them there....Thank goodness! The next step would be a new outfit to go with each pair of shoes.

I am going to go and put away the mess that we made for seven pair of shoes that will never be worn....I wonder......Is there a miniature recycling center anywhere in the area?

See you tomorrow.

Oh! The Excitement!!!

She told me that she would be a perfect angel if I worked on her townhouse.....You know how Tessie is. She left out the disclaimer. Perfect angel as long as I worked on the townhouse. Not a minute more....

By now I should be used to the quirks involved, living with Tessie.

But, no. I agreed to it without thinking and started on the closet, once again.

We worked out a charcoal gray and white color scheme the last time we worked on it. I painted the shelves in that combination a month or so ago.....It's been a while.

I dug out a piece of embossed wallpaper sample that looked like corded material. I painted it charcoal. It looked pretty good.

While the paint was drying, Tessie started pestering me about what she was going to put in the closet. The other day Kathi made a comment about poor Tessie not having any shoes. She has them, but she hides them so that she won't be obligated to wear them....I find them in the strangest places all over the house. I once found a pair of snow boots in the freezer section of the refrigerator.....Don't ask. I don't know how they got there. They were stuck to a bag of ice. I imagine the story went something like, "I was practicing for when I climb Mt Everest....."

Anyway, I went looking for some of her shoes to put in the closet and not one pair was to be found! She is getting better at hiding them.

I dug out my old pattern for shoes. Here it is if you want to enlarge it and make some. The sole should be about 3/4" long. Nine inches is a good size for a woman's shoe. The lines on the index card are 1/4" apart. That's a good thing to remember when you lose your ruler, like I do.

Enlarge the photo and the instructions are right on it. BTW, the upper pieces can be cut from thin glove leather if you have any.*
I usually use thorns from our Mesquite tree for my heels. I realize that these aren't available most places, but while I was hunting for shoes, I happened on these Tiny Turnings pieces. Most mini shops carry them and I can see both long and short heels being cut from sections of these. With a bit of sanding, I think that they would work.

I got as far as hanging wallpaper on the back wall, painting the lamp partially black to match the bed and laying the floor in to see how it would look.

I turned my back to get the other wall piece, where the door will go, and when I turned back around, this is what I found.

Tessie, couldn't stand it. The shelf was in place, with things being stuffed into it. Her apron and nightgown were hanging from the light fixture. Hats were starting to collect atop the shelf unit.

I am quietly taking a break now. It will be a while until she discovers that I am not working. Perfect angel, my left foot!

See you tomorrow.

Outside the Box....

This morning it was so nice outside that I decided to hide the mini tools and go out in the back yard and play with the big ones....Gardening ones, that is.

I am officially a happy camper now. What was left of my plants after the big, bad, hard frost are now making a comeback. Time to celebrate and show you what is happening.

The pomegranate tree is about 8 feet tall and full of blossoms. I love to watch these grow. The blossom doesn't really fade. It just magically turns itself into a fruit by turning green, then back to red as it swells. We are going to have a bumper crop this year.

I did have to replace my favorite patio plant. It is a Medusa Plant of the euphorbia species. The blossoms that it is covering itself in are less than a quarter inch across. This one is even prettier than the one that I started with.

This Burbank cactus was about seven feet high and all that was left of it after the frost was the few larger gray green pads. We didn't think that it was going to make it. As you can see, it is coming back like a champ! Soon all of those small paddles will be as large as the old ones. It is amazing how much this one grows in a year's time. I got a two pad piece from April and Seth's old one and poked it into the ground. The one that they have is as tall as their house and about eight to ten feet wide. These things are monsters! I am glad to have him back.

Now for what I have been doing in place of minis.....I made a cushion and pillow for the porch swing a week or so ago. I fully intend to use it later today when I take a break.

I know. Get back to the minis and where's Tessie? She's pouting because I'm not mini making. I keep hearing strange noises from the townhouse. They are coming from the vicinity of the closet...

Meanwhile, I am perfectly happy embroidering shoes....Yes. You heard me. I bought some new thongs. You know the kind that we all wear in the summertime. I hate switching to regular shoes for anything this time of year. It's toooooo hot! Well, maybe not quite yet, but it's going to be soon.

I got these at Walmart for about eight dollars. I was tired of looking at plain black, so I took some embroidery thread and used all six strands and a tapestry needle.

I carefully back stitched on the underside to start and finish the threads. No knots that way. Then I just started with the blue and winged the first one. With each color, I did both shoes before I started a new one. It's easier to make them match that way.

I imagine that you could draw on them with a piece of chalk to mark where you want to go, if you were unsure.

Anyway, I like them so well that I am going to go for it with the white and beige pairs that I have too.....It's something that I can do when taking one of those porch swing break. Maybe it will start a fad!

See you tomorrow.

Back to the Basics.....

Yesterday afternoon, Tessie announced that she needed a shelf in the workroom for her new TV. Mind you, all the TV produces is static and snow, but she has hopes for a satellite or cable hook up, so that she can watch Twilight Zone and The Gate.....It's another one of those "Hold your breath and wait." situations.

I humored her and made her a simple 4 board shelf to fit the TV. It's beginner stuff, but always handy to have in your book of tricks.

I used 3/32 walnut board to do it. You can use any wood or thickness. This is my personal preference. With walnut, it's not necessary to stain. I simply finished with Deft spray satin acrylic varnish. A couple of coats, with sanding between does the trick. This isn't going to be a show piece. Most people won't even notice it is there.

You can adjust this pattern to whatever size shelf you need. And you can change the shape of the boards to make it a fancier shelf.

The method is cut out the pieces by whatever means. I have done these with anything from an Exacto knife to a scroll saw. They are very simple and no trouble to cut.

Sand the pieces. To put them together, You lay the shelf face down and center the long edge of the back support on the back edge of the shelf. You then glue that and the two side supports together. Let them dry well, varnish and you are basically done.

Tessie is pleased. Zar, not so much. He says that the screen is so small that he needs his binoculars to see the picture from where he is sitting.

He dragged a small 5 board stool out, as close as he could without being in kicking range of Tessie's feet. Whilst he is sitting there, I may as well give you a pattern for that also. It's another simple but handy pattern.

The same instructions for cutting and sanding work for this pattern.

When you go to put it together, a gluing jig is handy. You want to get the four bottom pieces square. You do this part first, upside down. The two support pieces go between the leg ends. Then when that is dry you simply center the top and glue it on. This can be finished any way that you like. The one that Zar is sitting on is simply painted.

This pattern can also be adjusted to different sizes. The ones on the porch of Hubert's Haberdashery are the same pattern, but stretched to six inches. For those, I painted and distressed the bottom and stained the top.

Keep in mind, if you are wanting seating, the bench should be between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 inches high. In real life that would be between 15 and 18 inches high. That is standard seating height.

If you just want a step stool, it should be more like 3/4" to 1".

Everything was right in the world. Tessie and Zar, sitting peacefully on the bench together, above my head.....Until Tessie borrowed the binoculars, pointed them at me and said, "OK. Now. We finished the shelf in the workroom.....We need kitchen shelves, closet shelves, book shelves in the living room and a bench for the entryway of the townhouse. No more fooling around! I want my house finished! NOW!"

Did I say that it was a simple project? Oops! Not when it involves that many shelves!

See you tomorrow.

With a Little Bit of Help From My Friends....

By mutual consent, there are three of us in the workroom this morning. Zar and Tessie gleefully agreed to help clean, on the condition that they could keep some of the things that they found...We all know how that works.

The first thing that I did was clear off the desk, so that the two of them would have a safe place to work. If they tried running around on the floor, they weren't going to make it through the morning. Someone would be stepped upon.(not me)

I started with a large laundry basket full of stuff...I opened a box of unfinished bead work and sat it on the desk, knowing full well that it would keep them busy. Zar grabbed a finished pen. I forgot that the box was where I put the beaded "mat" that I took away from Tessie a while ago. She grabbed that and demanded that it be a finished project soon. There was a finished pair of earrings...Who knows why I put those in there? And a couple of other unfinished pieces. That kept them busy all of 3 minutes.

Then Tessie turned around and found something to keep her occupied the rest of the day. This was probably originally the lid to a little vanity jar. I found it in a thrift shop for a dollar. Tessie has been talking and cooing at the dog. She seems to think that she can spell it into life. Hey! Let her try. I am cheering her on. I want to see this one if she succeeds....And besides, it could take a while...

Zar made the best find of the day. I bought a sack of corn husks a while ago, with the intention of making some mini corn husk dolls. I used to make them to sell and I only have one left. They are fun to make.

Zar, it seems, had other plans. I don't know if anybody else has tried this, but we want to try making thatched roofs with them. I took about a 1" section of them and shredded them along one side with the points of my small scissors. Then I took the deckle edge scissors and cut along the shredded edge. I need to do a lot more experimenting, but I do believe that the idea has possibilities.

I made baskets from them years ago and I know that they will bend and curl with the help of a little water and manipulation. If push comes to shove and the experiment doesn't work, I will have enough left to make a lot of tamales. They won't go to waste.

I am going back into exile now to play with any fun things that I find.

See you tomorrow....Maybe with a roof or some tamales....

Housework and Minis Don't Play Well Together....

I am triple tasking this morning....I have laundry going. I am cleaning up from the weekend. The minis are coming in dead last.

I started messing with the wine cellar. So far, I am not impressed. I like the door OK. I made it out of a slab of 1/32" walnut. I don't think that I am crazy about the stone work. I did that with some embossed stone paper from the model train store. It doesn't have enough depth.

I put a few of the barrels in and they aren't bad for size, but I need to do some touch up on the painting.

Once I put the embossed paper stone trim on, I am not crazy about the fabric stone anymore. It is too flat and one dimensional.

In other words....One step forward. Two steps back....Bah humbug.

Tessie tried to help by suggesting wallpaper. Since I am going with Victorian, wallpaper would be in order.

The only problem being, this is the closest thing that I have to something that would go with either of the beds. I don't like it.

I don't think that this is a good day for working on the Tudor. Maybe I would be better off skipping today and going back to laundry and such....Tomorrow is another day....

See you then, with an attitude adjustment in place.

****Post Script.....I just tore out the floor of the wine cellar....I feel much better now. I apologise for being such a grouch.

Sometimes it just takes a piece of cardboard, a ball stylus, a black Pigma Micron and a few colored pencils to put me in a better mood.....More to come....

See you tomorrow.

Squirreling Away.....

This is what I get to watch when I look out of the computer room window. Sorry that the photo isn't great, but I had to show you why I get distracted a lot when typing. The only way I can get a photo is by pointing the camera down from the top half of the window.

This little guy,with no manners, is one of a family of Rock Squirrels that live behind our fence by the wash. They have been here probably longer than we have. We have probably seen more than 5 generations come and go.

They are still completely wild, but they know where to come to find food. They are probably the most well fed squirrels in town. Every day we put out unsalted peanuts, lettuce and carrots for them.

I feel that, since we basically moved in on their territory when the house was built, we owe them. Thus, lunch every day. It is very hard to concentrate on the computer when they are chasing each other around the yard and playing squirrel tag, but fun to watch.It is such a nice day that I would rather watch squirrels than do minis.

Consequently, I am not getting anything done. I did manage to finish the rugs for the quarter inch Tudor. Remember when I said that you could use hairspray in a pinch? That's what I did, because I ran out of Patricia Nimmock's matte.

I won't do that again if I can help it. There are a couple of spots on three of the rugs that faded because the spray was irregular. Notice the blue and red one on the bottom left.

You have to have a very regular and fine mist if you use the hairspray method. Every time I do, it seems that one or two of the rugs winds up with a spot or two. Oh well....There will be a chair strategically placed on that end.

Another thing that I forgot to mention is, check your muslin sheet before you put it in the printer for little thread ends that might stick to the fabric. When you finish, you will have little white spots where they went through the printer and caught the ink.

Lastly, I did paint some beads. I have decided that the house needs a wine cellar. I had some really pretty beads. They are now ugly brown. Soon they will turn into casks for the cellar......Oh! The sacrifices that we make for the miniature world...

See you tomorrow.