Happy Leap Day! Curtain Call.....

Another four years down the drain....Happy Leap Day to you!

This morning I decided that Zar's Radio had to go somewhere besides the family room table.

I moved furniture and re moved furniture....That is, I put it back where it was in the first place. I tried it on my needlework storage chest first. It was just tooooo much wood. The whole thing looked heavy and dark.

After putting the chest back where it was, I looked around and found this small table from the 30s. Perfect. Now all I have to do is find a place to put all of the tools and paints that were resting on it when it was beside the townhouse. Please don't ask about the townhouse....I am on a sabbatical from that. I'll get back to it soon. I promise.

Anyway, I put the table in the hallway and plopped down the radio. It still looked dark. Then I remembered that I had put one of the LED lights in the cat tree at Christmas, when the party was going on there.

I tried it and it looks good, light wise. You might know it....It is about an eighth of an inch too long. I am going to have to do some adjustments. Then I think that it will fit behind the front arch.

I have to add books to the bottom ledge of this table because it is top heavy otherwise. You can't see it clearly, but the top of the pile is a "Better Homes and Gardens" from 1928...OK. So it's a little old for the table. Pretend you are in a doctor's office in the 30s. Then it would be up to date....Kind of.

Please note that Zar has solved the problem of keeping Tessie out. He has his guard dog with him now. No more Tessie. Unless she brings Beau a steak. Then all bets are off.

I woke up this morning remembering a comment that someone made the other day....They wanted to see more curtains. Four thirty in the morning is the best time to get new ideas. Well...for me it is.

One window. Small space. Hmmmmmm....

See the display case behind Tessie? I have five unused ones left.

See the books upon which Tessie is parked? Hundreds of curtains!

Combine the five boxes and the two books. Unlimited possibilities...On the right, in the open book, nine lambrequins! That will be the first box. One of those nine.

The book is called "The Encyclopedia of Window Fashions" By Charles T. Randall. It has a short history in the front and then page after page of curtain styles like the ones above.

The other book is one of my all time favorites for Victorian curtains, bed hangings and even dressing table patterns. It is "The Curtain-Maker's Handbook by F. A. Moreland, from 1889. It was reprinted by E. P. Dutton in 1979. Yes.....I have had it almost that long. I imagine, if you are lucky you might find a copy somewhere. It is wonderful, if you want to be historically accurate for American Victorian. It was first published in Boston.

Tessie is marching around with her sign again. Don't forget to vote! Thanks!

Today is Witches' day. I have to go get ready. Tomorrow I will start doing the curtain series.

See you then.

Being Ambidextrous Can Be Fun!

I use both hands equally for a lot of things... I have been ambidextrous most of my life. I used to drive my art professors nuts. In life drawing classes, I would sometimes use two pieces of charcoal at once. One for each hand.

I usually wake up before Walter by at least an hour, so I have to find something quiet to do until he awakens. It seems polite to do so...

Last night, I polished my nails with silver. This morning when I got up, they looked dull and kind of bare....So I tangled them. And yes, I did both hands.

Here's the proof! Now, would somebody please take this pen away from me before I tangle the stove and refrigerator in the kitchen? I think I need help.......Walter just looked at my fingers, shook his head and walked away. He has lived with me a long time and is used to such weirdness....

On to minis. A couple of days ago on the Creating Dollhouse Miniatures blog, http://creatingdollhouseminiatures.blogspot.com/2012/02/faux-enamel-flowers-tutorial-by-stacy.html there was a U Tube video on making enamel flowers in mini with wire and nail polish. I have seen this done a lot, but never tried it.

It looked like fun and didn't take a lot of supplies. I had them all on hand. Basically it is #32 gage brass beading wire and some nail polish or glue and acrylic paint mixed.

The only tools needed were some needle nosed pliers, some round items to form loops around and something to cut the wire with.

I sat myself down and went to work. Following what Stacy did on the video, I made a rose bud in just a short period of time. You just twist the wire around something(in my case, the handle of a crochet hook). After making a series of loops, you paint them a couple of times and then form the petals by using the needle nosed pliers after the nail polish is dry.



This was my first attempt. I think that it turned out pretty good. I am going to be trying some more of this.

If you have never been to the Creating Dollhouse Miniatures website, plan to stay a while and look around. It is completely videos of tutorials of miniatures. It's a great place to get ideas. I have been following it for a few years now and she always has something fun to try.

In case some of you are wondering about the blog birthday drawing, I have decided to wait a while...I have a few other things going on right now. I only have 12 more followers to reach 900....Maybe I will wait until then and have two at once.

I am going to go twist some more wire now.

Don't forget to vote. Just poke the URL at the top of the right column. It will take you to the site. Thanks.

See you tomorrow.

That's Not a Nook!

OK. It's Monday morning and the real world is sneaking up on me. So far I have done several loads of laundry, cleaned a bathroom, cleaned the kitchen and put up new curtains in the family room....Well not new. Just different.

I went to Dollar Tree a few days ago and found frames for some of the tangles. I hung two in the bedroom. I already have lots of black and white in that room, so they go well, but you might know it. Tessie caught me doing it.

She is now officially on my case for a nook of her own. Please don't encourage her. Maybe she will move on to something else if she isn't reminded.

While I was cleaning, I noticed this selection of pottery that I did years ago....They kind of remind me of the tangles. They hang in the big Southwestern room box,but aren't noticed very often because they are on a side wall, above the Shaker sell cupboard that is there.

Do you want to guess what they are made of? The large one is an actual mini blank for a plate. The others are all bottle cap liners from soft drinks that I painted white. Then with my Pigma Micron .005, I drew the designs on them. I don't think that the liners in bottle caps are made of the same material these days.

Not quite tangles, but pretty close.

In case you can't tell, I am trying to keep you entertained whilst I work on other things.

I did do just a tiny bit of mini-ing this morning.



I finished this gourd basket. I decorated it with feathers and on top of that, I glued one of the copper splashes. It's interesting, but I wouldn't say that it's one of my favorites. For one thing, it's too big. I need to cut up a few of the smaller gourds and make more.

I tried to start some seedlings for these gourds, but so far, I have had no luck....I am not always on the ball about watering them...Oh well. I have lots of seeds. If at first you don't succeed... and all that...

I had better get back to the real world for a while now. Lots left to do today.

Please don't forget to vote. Tessie is starting to nag me. Thanks!
See you tomorrow.

A Little Privacy Please...

Well, that was the idea anyway....The radio was meant to be a gentleman's alcove for Zar.

For all intents and purposes it is finished.

I put up the curtains, one layer at a time working out from the inner curtain to the draperies and then to the cornice box. I did add a bit of trim to just the edge of the box. Zar ordered not to fussy. So, that's what he got.

The portrait over the fireplace is an old, hand tinted, tintype from about 1860. It seems to be meant for that space. In case you are wondering, the lady is Zar's aunt Eulalia.

He kept the mantle simple. A replica of the Eiffel Tower, his clockwork rifle and I am suspicious that Auntie Eulalia's ashes are in the urn...Hey! She was his favorite aunt!

Zar wanted this cozy corner to meditate and be alone....You will notice that he seems rather animated and talking....Not to himself....

If you look to the right side of the room, you will see why. He purposely only put one wing chair and a small table, not big enough for two in the room....I had an extra wing chair that I did a few years back. I also dug around and found one of my rugs that didn't have a home. These two pieces seemed to go with the room pretty well.

The small table is one that Gary Larson made. It has floated from one place to another for years. I think that it has finally found a suitable home.

It didn't work. As soon as I finished, Tessie plopped down on the front edge, put her feet up and asked,"Where's the other chair?

Zar explained, in no uncertain terms that there was not now, or ever, going to be another chair in the room.

"It's my nook and you are not supposed to be here. Go find your own nook!"

I do wish that he wouldn't have said that...

Tessie, took a closer look around and said, "That's what I need. I need a nook. Mine should be bigger than your nook. I like nooks."

I think that I am going to have to do some brainwashing later today....No more nooks....

There were small screw holes around the edge where the back had been fastened onto the radio.

After I stained the arch, I glued small gear-like copper beads over the holes.

Now that I look at the photo, I think that the back edge needs a coat of varnish to make it more like the wood inside the room.

Back to work now.

Thanks for all of the votes for mini blog of 2012. Tessie says, "Keep them comming!" We appreciate your help!

See you tomorrow.

Too Many Puddles...

Don't ask me why. Sometimes the photos come out extra small. Sorry. Just poke them and they will get bigger...

I have the curtains finished, but not installed yet.

I have to do the rest of the walls first.

To continue with the curtain making... Above you can see the cornice boxes in progress. I apologise for only one photo. I accidentally erased the one that I took before this. I built the box from the front, two sides and top, cut from illustration board. Make sure that you trim and put the sides and top piece behind the front piece. Lay it face down on your work space and glue the top piece on first. Then glue the two side pieces below that. When they are dry, you can trim any extra from the bottom edges of the side pieces. They will be a little longer.

Also in the first photo, the way to get the pattern centered on the box. Determine what point in the fabric you want at the center. Line that up with the center of the front and stick a pin in. Then maneuver the fabric up and down and side to side to make sure that each side is equal...Where you see the pins on the left cornice, are spots where the fabric hits the key points of the cutouts. I made sure that they were the same on both sides of the center....It is much easier if you are using a random pattern. You can leave this step out and just do it.

I made sure that the two bunnies in the pattern were in the center, facing each other at exactly the same distance from the center and then I moved them up and down for maximum bunny showing above the edges.

Then I trimmed the fabric to 1/4"all around and wrapped the cornice like a box, clipping all of the inward curves and making Vs in all of the outward curves. Then I glued it around to the back.

This morning, I unpinned the draperies and then did the lining drapes. I used China Silk. I happened to have a piece (just) big enough to fill the gap when pleated.

I used the same method of pleating. Only this time I wen straight down. I puddled them at the bottom because I had plenty of length....When I tried them out in the room, Tessie grabbed a pair of scissors and cropped the puddles...I let her do it because three puddles on each window were just toooooo much!

I can't install them until I finish the walls. I need to go replace my Deft acrylic spray varnish. Either it ran and hid when I went to look for it, or it was empty and I threw it out when I last used it. I have reason to believe that it was the latter. Everybody knows that spray cans can't run and hide!

Anyway, This is what they look like so far. Not bad for nothing being stuck down.

I still need to do the tiebacks and the trim on the cornice box.

I am off to do that now...Then I am going to see about a chandelier...

See you tomorrow.

Playing in the Puddles.(Tutorial Time)

No. It's not raining here and I am not running around the back yard, stomping in the mud. It's curtain making time for the radio.

The first thing that I did was wander through my drapery books. I was looking for either valances, cornice boxes or lambrequins to go over the tops.

I know. Mostly, people think, what's the difference? OK. I'm picky. They are three totally different kinds of animal.

The valance is a soft fabric topper that is gathered or swagged across the top of the curtains. The cornice is a hard, fabric covered, box that fits over the curtains, front, sides and top. The lambrequin is also a hard box, but it extends at least half the way down the sides of the curtains. Most of the time it goes all the way to the floor. Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about curtain toppers. So much for definitions.

I started the curtains yesterday afternoon. I decided to puddle the bottoms. That's where the puddles come in.

When I do that, I have to have a "floor" on the pin board, where I can afix the puddles.

So, before I even started the curtains, I was starting the curtains....I am making the curtains five feet wide by 7 feet tall(mini feet). I cut a piece of foam core that was 6" wide and 8" tall. Then I cut a piece 6" by 1 1/2"(floor). I cut two right angle triangles as braces for the outside of the corners. I didn't measure them, but I think that they were about 2" tall by 1 1/2" from front to back. They do need to be an accurate right angle.

I then glued the back onto the top edge of the floor piece and the two triangles to the outside of the corners. It seems stronger that way and if you put them on the inside, they can be in your way while you are working.

I cut the drapery, two for each window, two inches longer than they needed to be for regular curtains(the puddle).

Next, I hemmed them 1/8"on the two long sides with white glue. I used regular Tacky. I leave it open on purpose, so that it will be thicker than usual.

I also hemmed the bottom in the same manner. It isn't necessary to hem the tops if you aren't going to leave them exposed. I'm not, so I didn't.

On the outer edge of each panel(see first photo)I folded and glued a pleat around a length of 1/8" by 1/16" piece of stock to keep the outer edge straight on a vertical line. That way they don't fan at the bottom...Did I mention that I don't continue the wood all the way to the bottom? In fact, it is about a half inch above the floor. That way it doesn't enterfere with the puddles.

Now....Always starting with the outer edge, I pin the first wooden pleat in place on the edge of the five inche area.

Then, one at a time, working from top to bottom, I pin the top, center and bottom. I leave the excess at the bottom free until last. Don't try to pin that part as you go. I did it in the photo for illustration purposes.

When you get this far, do the other curtain on the same board so that you have the set of curtains just as they will be when you put them on the wall. For the puddles, try to get them about the same width and depth and pin them randomly into a shape on the floor. be sure to have some of the edges curved under. This gives them the look of weight that they need.
With my method, you can easily put the curtains in place and see how they are going to look when you install them.

The last step is to spray them with extra hold hairspray. I use Suave Uncented Extra Hold. I do it twice. Let dry in between. Don't try to take them off of the board until they are really, really dry.

Zar and Tessie got in on the discussion of valances, cornices and lambrequins....It was decided, unanamously, that the cornice would work best in the space.

The lambrequin would cut the space and be difficult with the puddles.

I'll bet that you are wondering about the windows...I am going to cheat. There will be beige China silk undercurtains filling the gap...Sneaky...
Just in case you want to do some fancy cornice work, here's the pattern. If you copy it, be sure to fold on the center line to cut it out. That way both sides will be a mirror image.I cut out a copy and folded it. I couldn't quite put it as high as I will install it, because of the pins.

This will give you some idea of what it is going to look like.

Tomorrow, I will be back with the how to on finishing the curtains and the cornice.

Now I am going to go meet April and the baby for antiquing. We are starting him early.

Please don't forget to vote.

See you tomorrow.

Blog Birthday Number Four!

Now I have to start working towards number five! The amazing thing is, I am still having fun doing it. Thanks for looking over my shoulder and commenting. That keeps me wanting to do it.

Walter left for the Match Play golf tournament a couple of hours ago. He gets to follow Tiger around, among others... A friend gave him some passes and he is going to have a wonderful day.

That keeps him busy whilst I work on the radio. As soon as he left, I started again.

I took everything out of the case and Tessie climbed in. She still wants spy holes in Zar's wall.....Zar's wall makes it Zar's choice. No spy holes.

I am still mocking up walls and figuring out angles and curves. This is, to say the least, a fiddly and somewhat difficult job.

Luckily, yesterday at Wednesday Witches. My friend Sue brought a sack of gator board, foam core and mat board that she no longer wanted. Nobody else wanted it either, so I got it all!

I just ran out of illustration board and didn't know what I was going to use to do the ceiling and a few other structures for the inside of the radio....The sack fixed everything.

Sue also gave me parts of a pair of brown leather gloves that I think will work for the upholstery on a wing chair for the room. Thanks, Sue!!!


This is how the Terrible Two get things done when they can't find the ladder. I put it back in the Russian Cottage, where it belongs. They didn't even bother to try getting to it. It is still on the top of one of the bookcases in the workroom. Heaven forbid that Tessie would remember that she could zap it down if need be....So standing on shoulders is the norm. Thank goodness, no accurate measurements are required.

I plan to extend the fireplace to the ceiling...Only logical...The smoke has to go somewhere. The mock up will also serve as a brace inside the fireplace for the extension. I will cover the seam between the two pieces with molding. Now that I have the white board above, I kind of like the contrast. I am debating doing a plaster wall above the molding....We shall see.

At the same time, I stained the inside of the case the same color as the other wood. It came out pretty close to the same color.

A lot of it will be covered after I put in the curtains, etc. I am not too worried about a couple of places that didn't take the stain the same way.

That's as far as I have gone this morning.

I need to think on the Blog Birthday drawing for a couple of days. I have to dig up a prize or two....It has to be fitting for the celebration of 1,628 or 1,629 or possibly 1,630 posts... It will probably take me until Monday to decide. Let's see....With any luck, that will be post number 1,632.

I am going to go celebrate for the rest of the day, today...How? By doing minis of course!

Don't forget to vote!

See you tomorrow.

I'm Baaaack!!!

Since I am so late, getting back to do the entry, I will just show you some of the finished tangled cubbies in the printer's drawer.

Tomorrow I will finishe sticking them in more permanently. Right now they are just wedged in.
Don't forget to poke the photos to see them up close and personal...

After I took the first two photos, Tessie had to get into the act.

She has been bouncing around from one spot to another....The better for you to see more of the 98 finished drawings.

She keeps asking, "Can you see me now?" She somehow got the idea that the new apron makes her invisible when she hangs onto the frame and holds very still....I don't think it is working. I can still see her.

But she keeps asking.... I think that she watched one too many of those cell phone commercials where the guy keeps asking, "Can you hear me now?".

Sorry this is so late. I am playing catch up. Back to real live minis! The radio awaits.

See you tomorrow.

Reader's Choice Award for 2012

Let the voting begin! This morning I received a letter from Lesley Shepherd over at About.com. The nominees for the 2012 Best Miniature Blog were announced this morning and it seems that I am one of the five finalists.

Last year I, er ...I mean Tessie was nominated and won. It meant a lot that people liked what we were doing on the blog. Thank you again for the 2011 award.

I am thrilled to have people nominate the blog again this year and Tessie is already to start enthusiastically campaigning.

As a matter of fact, she already printed out the logo and turned it into a Vote for Tessie sign.

She was even too busy to change clothes before doing it.

This year, she bribed Zar to help. The sign gets heavy after a while.

The method of voting is a little different this year. You still go to the voting page.

http://miniatures.about.com/b/2012/02/21/2012-best-miniature-blog-finalists-readers-choice-awards.htm And you can still only vote once in 24 hours, but this year you can vote through your facebook account, your About.com account or you can just put your e mail addy in the box provided on the page.

I have a feeling that the race is going to be a close one this year, just like last. There are some good people nominated. Just keep the votes coming in every day until March 21, whomever you choose to vote for.

I am sure that Tessie is going to drive us all crazy one way or the other. Win or lose. At least it is keeping her mind off of the house maid's dress for the time being....

Four years ago, tomorrow, I started doing this blog. One day at a time. Literally. I haven't missed a day. There is one day missing somewhere, but that is because Blogger lost it somewhere. Not my fault. One of these days, I will go through every entry and find it. I have all of the entries saved on one of those little plug in thingies that you buy for extra storage. If I do find it, I will put it back where it belongs somehow.

Anyway, it is time for a blog birthday. I am in a quandary. If I have a giveaway, I fear that it will look like a play for votes. I think that I need some input. Do you have any suggestions? Should I wait until after March 21 or do it now? Help!

This is getting a bit long, so I will just leave this as is and add a regular post later today.

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings.

See you later.

"I Look Like a Psychedelic House Maid!"

I thought that you might like a report on how the printer's drawer is coming along....Twelve more holes to fill! I am so proud of the six year old's attention span hanging on for this long!

When I am done, I will take a few close ups so that you can see some detail. It should only take another day or two.

Now. About all of that screeching in the entry title for today.....Tessie finished doodling on the fabric. She followed me around all morning insisting that I make the apron.

When I did it, It was very white compared to her normal dress. That one is antique material and a little more cream colored.

"This will never do. I need a black and white dress to go with the tangles.


I didn't bother to argue. It doesn't pay.

Instead, I took down the tiny check fabric that I got at Cactus Quilts last week and went to work.

I wouldn't let her see it until it was finished and on her body.

As soon as she looked in the mirror, I knew that I was in a world of trouble.

She turned around, glared at me and stomped out of the room.

She yelled for Zar to come and see what I had done to her....That's always a bad sign. She wanted a witness and most likely someone to back her up in her next move.

Unfortunately, Zar took one look at her and started snickering behind his hand. He started with, "You look like.." and didn't get any further.

Tessie took over from there. "I know what I look like! I look like a psychedelic house maid." Then she turned back to me, before I could leave the room....She hissed, "Zar, leave the room. Casey stay. Change me back! NOW!!!!!!!". Did I mention that there was emphasis on the word NOW?

I was not nice. I didn't say another word. I had the photo of her and Zar that I needed, so I left. I came in here and started writing the blog, with her close on my heels.

As I wrote, her insistance turned to pleading....She got down on her knees and started to beg...

Then I knew I had her when she held up her right hand and said, "I will promise to never use your Pigma permanent .005 pens again without asking first. I promise....Honest!"

That was the most fun I have had in a long time. She can't really get mad at me. She told me what to do, every step of the way.

Since she asked so nicely, I guess I won't make her wear the outfit for a week before changing it.

Just before I said I would, she reverted to childhood and threatened, "If you don't fix this, I am going to be so mortified that I will go out into the garden and eat big, fat,wiggly worms and die! Honest I will...".

I was really tempted to see if she would do it, but she is no fun when she is ill with wiggly worm fever.

I guess that I should get back to work.... I am in such a good mood now, that I might even give her a new hairdo too....I wonder if she would prefer a Crew Cut or a Mohawk....

See you tomorrow.

Put Down My Pen!!! NOW!!!

First of all, I cut out the paneling for the fireplace sides this morning...Stained them red mahogany and growled a lot! It seems that the red mahogany that I have doesn't match the red mahogany on the fireplace. Not even close.

What to do? I tried putting some cherry stain over that. It didn't change the color even one little bit. More growling ensued.

I finally whipped out the Prismacolor pencils. It's getting closer...When I get it the right shade, I am going to spray it with Deft Satin Varnish so fast that it will make your head swim!

Using the pencils, I can keep the grain in the wood and still change the color. I am getting there.

I took a break a while ago and I may have to imprison a certain witch in a big mayonnaise jar. Don't worry. I will be sure to punch a few holes in the lid....

Why would I do this? She has gone through two of my good Pigma permanent .005 pens, trying to make a tangled apron. No....I didn't give her permission. Since when does she ask for permission to do anything?

Between lines, she keeps putting the point on the fabric outside the area where she is working... Dulling the point and wasting ink.... Still growling here!

If I go buy replacement pens, I am hiding them in a safe place...I'm not saying where. Somebody might take pity on her and tell her what I did with them.

Oh well...Now the question is, who is going to do the putting together of the apron? If she does it, there will be glue everywhere and needles in the rug for us to step upon. OK. Just so it will be over and done, I guess I will be making an apron....Somehow that seems like condoning her actions...

I do wish she had waited until I got home from Walmart this morning. She could have used this. It's from their "Quilt of the Month" section of fabric.

Granted, it's a little bigger than what she is doing, but at least I would have still had my pens.

See you tomorrow.

The Shoe Is On the Other Foot.....

Or maybe I should say, I turned them around so that you could see the other side. I am very pleased with the way that they turned out.

I went back to work on the radio this morning. I am doing the floor now.

I already had a piece cut out that fits the main part of the floor. I cut strips of some unknown kind of wood veneer that I purchased at the mini show in October. It isn't walnut, cherry or mahogany and I am not sure that I like it now that I have it stained.

I cut it with the Microlux saw into strips that were 3/8" wide. Then I cut the strips to 1 1/2" long.

I drew a line down the center and started at the front. That part is the least fun to do. It has to have pieces cut to fit.

I did fussy cutting on the pieces as I went. That's what they call it in quiltmaking and that's what it is when you are laying floors too.

It looks crooked in this photo, because nothing is fastened down. Nothing stays straight.

When I finished laying the floor in the herringbone pattern, I stained it with Minwax Red Mahogany. That is what someone used on the fireplace. That is made of bass wood and takes the stain nicely.

Unfortunately, the mystery wood doesn't take a coat as evenly as bass wood does.

I still have to sand it and then I will put another coat of stain on it to see if that evens it up and turns it a bit redder.

Anyway, that is about as far as I am willing to go today. I have had enough fun for now.

I am in the middle of watching a Korean series, called "City Hunter" on Netflix and it is difficult to read subtitles and work on minis at the same time. I think that sock knitting is in season again.

See you tomorrow.

First, Drink Lots of Coffee....

That's the first step in mini marbling.... No steady hands involved. I drank strong coffee whilst looking for examples of green marble on the net. I put "green marble" in Bing and got everything I needed.

I narrowed it down to these two. The one on the left was the one that went best for what I had in mind. The other one had too much blue in it.

I printed the two out just to be sure and taped them to the top of the fireplace, so that I would have something to look at as I painted.

Here you see my color pallet and the brushes that I used.

The colors were mostly greens, ochre, Old Parchment, white and brown in Ceramcoat Acrylics.

The brushes range from 1/4" flat, down to a 10/0 liner brush. A good liner about that size is essential if you are going to put fine veins in the marble. I also used a 3/0 and 5/0 for some areas.

I started with a base coat of Wedgewood Green and over that I used Black Green, Ochre, Old Parchment and Brown Velvet. mixing them as I went.

I use a lot of finger painting. That is, I put the color on with a brush and then dabbed at it with my finger to blend it into the background....This is not for people that don't like getting messy.

After it is really dry, I will hit the whole thing with Deft Satin Spray Varnish. Also Acrylic.

Last, but not least, I finished the shoes. I am going to have to go over the one on the top in some areas. My pen was running out of ink. There are a couple of labels on the shoes, but you can't read them without blowing them up. So don't forget to poke the photo.

I need to get back to the real world. The laundry needs changing from washer to dryer. Did I mention that I need a full time maid? I know....Dream on....

See you tomorrow.

Holding Out....

OK. I worked on the fireplace this morning and after taking the photos, I am going to do a little more to it.

Here's the before photo. I finished laying the brick and using the ball stylus on all of the lines between.

In the next one, I have added a lot of pencil work with the Prismacolors. I used mostly black and different shades of brown. I also did a bit of gray washing on the marble. I usually put that on in streaks and then move it around with my fingertips.

There is a grain to marble, just like wood. The veins tend to run and branch in the same direction.

When I finished with veining with a Pigma .oo5 pen, I tried it in the radio. I think that I need to do a bit more veining. Right now it looks a bit to regular and striped. I may add just a touch of light green to make it blend into the surroundings. It is a bit too stark white right now.

It is interesting that I don't see what's wrong until I look at the photos.

I am in hot water this morning!

I left one of the fat quarters of fabric in the car....

Tessie has been on a rant about it since I found it and brought it into the house.

It looks like a new apron is due.

She has been dragging the fabric around the house and will not put it down. She announced to all that would listen, "A dreadful injustice was done! Casey tried to abscond with the best piece of fabric! She didn't want me to see it. She was trying to hide it, so that I couldn't have a new apron!!!".

On and on. I have been having to listen to this all morning. I guess that the only way to hush her up is to start building a new apron.....Like she needs another one? I am of the opinion that she doesn't really like the fabric at all. She just wants to distract me from the radio. Jealousy is rampant!

Anything to keep me busy and out of trouble.

See you tomorrow.

Just Another Thursday....

Last night, April called and we made plans for today. Thursday seems to be my shopping day lately.


The mother of one of her friends, owns a quilt shop waaaay on the other side of town. From here, it would be a forty five minute to an hour drive one way. Therefore, I have never been there.

This seemed like a good day to go. It was a beautiful morning and she had coffee and home made raspberry lemon muffins waiting when I got to her house. I think that was a bribe to get me at least that far....It worked.

We loaded up the baby and took off. The name of the shop is "Cactus Quilt Shop". I was really impressed. It is a beautiful store and the fabrics are fantastic. Mini people, if you are in the area, be sure to go there. A lot of the fabric is just right for minis.

They have an amazing selection of mini prints that are copies of 1930s fabrics. I only got one small piece of black and white this time, but I am going to have to go back when I start working on the 20s/30s kitchen that I want to do one of these days.

The above selection is just a minute sample of all that is there. The fabric at the back reminded me of the Zentangles. Each strip of pattern is about 3" wide and most of them could be used in mini.The ones down front are fat quarters. They have boxes and baskets of them displayed all over the store. It was so cool. I didn't have to carry eight bolts of fabric up to the cutting table and wait. It was like picking a bouquet of fabrics.

April has been gifting me with these "bouquets" for Christmas and Birthdays for a few years now....This time I got to pick my own. It was hard to choose!

This one is the winner! I was looking for something that would go in Zar's new room box. They have a section of William Morris designs from the early 1900s. This one is perfect. It is going in the room either as draperies or upholstery.

No. It isn't going to be the rug! Tessie and Zar both liked it and both wanted it....I think, on Tessie's part, it was only because I bought it specifically for Zar's new room.

She will get her share of the fabric. Just not that piece.

Please note that I did the rest of the back of the fireplace and one side before I left this morning.

I worked on the graphed rug at the mini meeting yesterday, but all I did was put in more of the border. That part is easier to do when talking. So, I fulfilled my promise to work on it, but it isn't really worth showing.

Anyway, things are moving right along now. I will finish the brick tonight and show you how to do the marbling tomorrow.

See you then.