Things Are Multiplying.....

When I left for Wednesday Witches this afternoon, the Terrible Two were sitting around relaxing...

I left, knowing that they would probably be making plans behind my back... I went anyway. I figured that there was nothing I could do about it...

When I got back, I started checking things. Same number of hangers lying around on the floor... but... There were a few new hats, purses and other items scattered around in the basket...

Tessie had added her favorite pointy hat and a few other items... Including a new pair of blue high button shoes.  A couple more aprons. And another hat... Not pointy. That was in the pile on the roof.

This is getting serious! She has also thrown in a few more hats and all of the shoes that she had in the closet in the townhouse. 

This is going too far.  She says that she needs a small refrigerator to store her bug beer, wicked wine and some fruit.

I think that it is about time for her to quit hunting.  She has enough gear for three people and a dog... Not to mention the alligator.

I am going to tell her to hold on until we get the things that she has already collected in the closet.  If there are any holes left on the shelves, she can search some more.  For now we have more than enough.  No annex on this closet! No way! No how! 

See you tomorrow!

What's Up for Wednesday?

Once again, I am hosting the Witches.  I think that we are going to make mini jewelry this week.

I went straight to the corner box that has all of the accessories in it.

I am thinking that they can make necklace and matching earrings like the ones on the left door.

Or maybe a longer fancy necklace. 

All I have to do is give them some #32 gage wire and something to cut it with and they will be all set.

 While looking at the box, I noticed that one of my knitted beaded purses in in there... I am NOT teaching that.  My excuse is, I don't have enough mini knitting needled to go around.

I could teach them the bath basket sometime though.  That is a good way to start understanding what goes into wicker.

Then there are the bedroom slippers that I used to sell at shows.  Those whip up fairly fast.

The zebra bag doesn't open, but it looks good sitting on a chair or the floor...

Then there are always the fancy hangers made out of paper clips.

Not to mention the shelf that they are hanging on.

I don't think that I am going to run out of things to teach this week... Maybe next time...

See you tomorrow.  I will be sure to put in the instructions for the jewelry Wednesday... I will have to look.  There already may be instructions on an earlier entry.  Look under "jewelry" in the sidebar.

Back to kits.  See you tomorrow.

Behaving Myself...

 Isn't easy... I did a couple of rows of beading on one of the shoes before I could stop myself.

That was yesterday afternoon...

This morning I reigned myself in and went back to the bathroom fixtures...

I do believe that they are going to work.  Now all I have to do is decide on color. 

I will probably hang the tank higher on the wall... Or maybe build a box to sit it on behind the toilet.

I still have to find a sink that will fit in the space allotted.

I am thinking that I will simply pick a couple of other colors out of the shower curtain for the paint.

I need to design a mirror to go over the sink also.

Maybe something that curves around the bottom of the window.

Hey!  I just thought of something.  Maybe I could do a window frame and mirror that are all one piece to tie the whole thing together...

Back to the sketch pad.

See you tomorrow.

Sunday is for Shoes...

I have been trying to avoid seeing these shoes every time I enter the closet for about nine months. I bought them at the closeout sale on shoes at Walmart at the end of summer last year... Hmmm. Maybe it has been more like a year. There are sales going on right now.

I bought them for less than half price. I thought that I liked them.  I never wore them.  They were boring...

This morning I dragged them out and got out some beads, needle and thread and went to work...

This is what I ended up with.  The turquoise chunks are really turquoise...The rest are just plain old size six and eleven seed beads.

The elephants were some that I ordered from Etsy a while ago.

The fabric on the shoes has a pattern stitched in it.  I used that as a pattern placement guide.

Now... If I actually start wearing them, I have a few more ideas.

I went through the closet and found these.  Likely candidates for the bead treatment. 

I imagine that for the boots I will just do anklets that can be switched out. 

Now all I have to do is come up with something to brighten up the sandals.  When I put them on, they look like I have rags wound around my feet.  They definitely need improvement.  I am going to have to think of something. Back to beading.

See you tomorrow.

Fast and Furious....

This morning I finished the embroidery on the under dress for Nellie. 

It was simply two strands of embroidry floss woven through the open work on the skirt, sleeves and stomacher.

In the first photo, I had just started.  I ran the green floss around all of the edges and up the blocks at the sides.

Then with yellow, I filled in the curved design.  In the center of the design, I wove the thread through twice to make the center stalk thicker than the branches.

The last step was to put a center in each of the flowers.  That was done with a single wrapped french knot.

I have glued the stomacher in place and am ready to start the over dress.

But first I have to stop and get ready to go to the Wednesday Witches mini meeting.

Oh!  I did do one other thing.

Shoes.

They aren't very fancy.  I tried leather, but they just looked too thick.

I finally settled on the knit lining material from one of the gloves that I had been using.

I simply cut a U shape from the fabric.  then I put glue on the foot and wrapped the fabric where I wanted it.

I did the same for the sole, trimming it after it was on the foot.

The last step was to add a bow on the toe.

They aren't fancy, but they won't be seen much either.  With these on her feet, she will be able to balance more easily when she stands.

I have to go and get ready now...No more Nellie work for today.

See you tomorrow.

No More Bloomers...

When I wandered in, after not enough coffee this morning, I found this.

Zar pulled his boots off, not too carefully and was about to take off his pants.

I could tell that he was irritated, so like a fool I asked what was wrong.

"I am thoroughly tired of being called a sissy. I want long pants. Tessie keeps harassing me about wearing bloomers. I found one pair of old leather pants and if you don't tailor me some new ones, I am just going to wear the old ones. And besides, these boots are just plain uncomfortable."

It was too late to coax him into wearing what he had, but I did manage to salvage the boots. I glued them back together and they will be waiting in his closet, should he ever change his mind.


I talked him into keeping the shirt. He hadn't started tearing it to shreds. So it looks like new pants and vest, not to mention the shoes....

OK. I will mention the shoes. I am going to go back to the basics. Who knows how long he will keep them on?

Grab yourself a leather glove and come along. These are the most basic pattern I could make for shoes....Unlike the boots. Those were complicated.

The first step for these are to cut a U shape of flat leather. Hopefully you will find a pair of gloves that are soft and can be manipulated. The one lying over his foot is exactly the same shape as the one that I wrapped around his foot. I put white glue on the back side and pulled and stretched until it fit. I did cut a few little Vs out of the toe edge to make it lay flat, one thickness on the bottom of the foot.


The second piece was cut so the it flairs at the bottom. The top wraps around the ankle with a bit of a gap. You can make these as tall or as short as you wish.

This piece also wraps under the bottom of the foot and the part around the heel gets Vs snipped out of it too so that this piece doesn't overlap anywhere either.

I am not too particular about the tops on these, because they won't be seen, once Zar puts his pants back on.

He banned Tessie from the room whilst we are doing this.....Modesty.

For the soles, I glued a rectangle of leather to the bottom of each shoe. Let the glue dry and then trimmed it to the edge of the shoe.

For the heel, I glued another smaller rectangle to the bottom back of the shoe, covering about one third of the sole. Then trimmed that to match the other piece.

The shoes are now ready for trim. I am not going to do that until I put the clothes on him. I only decorate if it is going to show. Just lazy I guess. I will color the gray lines at the edges with a pigma permanent pen.

Anyway, now I have to go back and make pants and vest. I will show you that part tomorrow.

I have to go shoo Tessie away from the keyhole now. She is snickering at him again. Bad Tessie!

See you tomorrow.

Boogie Shoes.....

I knew that I couldn't get out of making Zar some new boots. He is worse than Tessie, when it comes to whinging and complaining. You would have thought that he had been going barefoot for the past two years!

And on top of that, he banned Tessie from the bedroom, where I was working on them.

You see, he demanded new clothing as well...I knew I should have hidden the Clockwork Cottage pages from him.

I had to strip him down the the bare minimum, thus you only get photos from the knees down.

I got out my leather gloves and found a pair of dark brown ones. The back of the gloves had the requisite three rows of welted stitching on them, so I decided to use that part in the design. It worked out pretty well.

I am not going to give you measurements for this project because each person's foot is different. I will give you general shapes and directions. If you want to work out patterns, I suggest that you use a scrap of fabric and wrap it around the foot. Then, using a pen, roughly sketch where the overlapping seams will be. Once you get that right, cut the leather a bit larger than you think that you will need.

As you can see from the photos, I am gluing the leather right to the foot. It will stay on as long as you want it to. If you ever decide to change shoes, it peels right off if you use white glue.

The first step on these boots was to cut a piece from the back of the glove with the welted seam running down the center. Then shape the part that will go over the foot in a semi circle. It needs to be long enough to go around to the bottom of the foot.

You don't want to overlap the leather, so carefully cut Vs in the outer edge that goes on the bottom. Also make sure that the sides are short enough that they don't overlap one another either.

the second piece goes around the back of the foot. The bottom edge is narrower than the top. It only has to cover the sides where the slit is. The top needs to wrap around the ankle and up the leg somewhat. This piece gets glued over the first piece on the sides. It doesn't meet in the front.

If you were making shoes that laced, you would cut a tongue and place it between and under the edges of this piece. Since I had the welting, I didn't need to do that.

Instead, I cut a narrow strip for the ankle strap. I had some mini buckles, but if you didn't you could use chain links from an old necklace.

The next step is to glue a piece of brown leather to the bottom of each foot. When it dries, carefully trim it to the edge of the foot.

The very last thing is the heel. I used the same leather as the sole and glued a square, a little less than half the length of the sole to the back of the bottom. Let it dry and trim all around, even with the sole.

I need to get back to work. Chaos is ensuing.

Zar is screaming for his clothes and Tessie is pounding on the bedroom door, tormenting him. She keeps saying...."Cover up, Zar! I'm coming in! You are making me miss my soaps!"

I know that's not going to happen. I barred the door before I came in here to write, but I had better go get Zar dressed now.

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.

Cinderella or Her Stepsister?

Did someone mention a tutorial for stilettos? Ask and you shall receive....

The pattern was drawn on 1/4" graph paper, so there shouldn't be too much problem for you to re size it. The only piece that you really need an accurate pattern for is the sole. It is 3/4" long by 5/16" wide at the widest part.

You will need colored card stock(Preferably textured scrapbook paper). One color for the inside and brown or tan for the outside sole. I find this easier to work with than leather for soles and it is thinner. That makes it more realistic.

The straps are simply cut from very thin leather in 1/16" strips. I cut the length as I assemble the shoe.

The heels are, for mine, mesquite thorns. I did try making them with the tips of bamboo skewers this morning to see how they looked. They work and look similar. I still like my thorns better.

1. Cut out two insoles from colored card stock of choice. Cut two outer soles from brown or other sole color.

2. Cut a piece of wire for each shoe a bit shorter on either end than the sole. Glue that to the center of the sole. I started with the yellow ones to show you that you put the wire in and how to bend them....Don't bend until later.

3. Glue straps in place starting on the back, wrapping around and fit the strap the way you want it. Cut off the excess and glue that in place on the other side. Let it dry for a bit and then glue the outer sole over the backside. Bend to shape. Clamp and let dry.
4. Apply glue to the leather for the heel and wrap around the tip of the skewer. Trim to fit. Let dry.

5. Position the heel, with glue on the thick end, on the heel of the shoe. You will have to manipulate the bend in the shoe a bit to make sure it stands.

If you want them to fit a certain person.....Don't let them tell you the size that they want. Measure the foot yourself.

If you let the person in question(Tessie), tell you the size, you will end up with the "Ugly Stepsister Syndrome" and they will end up with the "Pinocchio Syndrome". You get a shoe that is too small and they wind up with a lllllooooonnnnnggggg nose. Tessie's nose is growing as we speak......

When she couldn't get the shoes on, even with Zar's strong, capable help......She finally turned to me and had the nerve to tell me...."You made them too small. I told you size 5 and you made them size 2!"

I had an answer ready for her. I knew that she was fibbing when her nose started to shoot out as she told me the size. I, very calmly, told her, "Why are you worried? You will never wear them anyway. They are just for show.......And besides, when everyone sees these in your closet, they will think that you have small and dainty feet."

"My feets are small and dainty. Your shoes are.......are..... SHORT!"

I couldn't argue with that. Zar and I went off in opposite directions, snickering under our breath.

As I turned for one last look, there was Tessie. She had a mixing spoon in one hand, using it as a shoe horn. She was muttering to herself....."Some people are just plain mean....I could have worn these to the ball....."

See you tomorrow.