Halloween Market Stall and door prizes

I love miniature shows and especially like the workshops that are offered with them.   The Lakeland Miniature Guild hosted a show and a Fun Day in June and I also had an opportunity to take a workshop.   Jill Castoral hosted a Halloween Market Stall.   I had taken her Winter stall workshop at Sarasota in January.   You can view that blog HERE.     Jill is assisted by Pat Holstrom and together they make a great team to keep the workshop on course and mostly you walk away with a finished or very-near finished project.

My project came home in 3 pieces.  The bottom, the roof and the window for top.    It didn't take very long to finish it up once I got home.     Well, finishing a project is a very individual activity.   As you know, I've been doing miniatures for years and have quite a stash of things I like and I am just looking for a place to display them correctly.    On the back of this stall is a little sign that says "The Witch is In" and I had it from a Halloween swap done on an Internet group.   That triggered me thinking "where is my witch".   I've had her for years and altho she comes out at Halloween, she didn't have a permanent home.   Now she has it.    I got her out and thought she would be the centerpiece on this item.   I found all sorts of pumpkins, potions, signs, and added those to the shelves.   In the swap I had gotten two lovely spider webs and I used those too.    Once I had all the shelves filled, I added the roof.   

 The spider web on the right is plastic but the one on the right is thread and it is wonderful.   They both lend themselves to the Halloween feel. 

 The little cut paper haunted house was supplied by Jill and she spent some time telling us how it was assembled.   I decided I needed to do it while the instructions were clear and I'm glad she gave such good details or I probably would have pitched it, but after a little work with the parts, it all came together very well. 

 The candle in the witch's hand was a bead and i added a piece of wood and a piece of thread for the wick of the candle and I think it looks like a great candle.  

This project is 1 inch scale and  I am sure it will be a favorite for a long time to come.

I'm one of those people who always wonder why I fill out door prize forms because I never win anything.   Well, I can't say that anymore.   This week I got a box in the mail and didn't have a clue who it was from.   Opened it up and found a nice note and a lovely doll that I had won as a door prize.   The doll is by "Dolls by Nicolette".   Isn't she lovely. 

 

 

I still have to finish my Tres Chic Fun Day project and when done, I'll post pictures. 

 

 

"Fancy" The elegant lady's shoppe of choice. Quarter scale

You have seen postings before on the Quarter Connection OMB (One a month bunch) challenge of finishing a project each and every month this year.   So far I have been on target and it is such a great feeling to get projects off the shelf and out of boxes and have them done.

 Here's the box.   Sitting quietly on a shelf.

 Oh here it is with all the little things I've been making and collecting for this shop. 

 This shop nearly finished itself.    I pulled out a few more things and actually ended up with a few extras.  

 I think this would be a place that I would like to shop. 

You can see the French door on the left.    The Sew-Sew shop I did recently has the door on the right.   Both shops will open to a courtyard.  

As you can see, I have future plans.   It will either be a town square or a street of shops.  Still building towards that. 

 I love the shoes and the little counter where you would check out.   Might just have to buy some jewelry or a pair of shoes.   I also like the chair to sit for a minute and assess the things you need to purchase. 

I like the use of mirrors in the shop and continued that on the outside.  

One to next quarter.  Don't know what projects I intend to finish, but you can be sure I will do just that.   FINISH MORE PROJECTS.

How to Tap Your Creativity

Occasionally I post to both of my blogs and this is one of those subjects that will appear in both this blog and www.JunkandJewels.blogspot.com .   I think it's important to nourish creativity and let it flourish.   I am amazed by the number of people that I meet that say something like "Oh, I'm not creative.".    Generally there is an area of their life that is creative and they fail to see it - they are an outstanding cook, speaker, gardener, etc.   There are more ways to be creative than picking up a paintbrush.

This article was published in ROCKHURST, in Spring/Summer 2001.   The title of the article was Unmasking the Muse by William Sturgell PHD.

 

HOW TO TAP YOUR CREATIVITY

 

 

1. You must want to create:   Creative solutions come from intrinsic motivation, from the joy of working on a particular kind of thing, from the love of working in a particular field.
2. Identify a problem in the field or an artistic endeavor to work on.   It must be something that garners your genuine interest.
3. Commit.   You must believe in the value of your creative endeavor, that in the end you will produce something useful.
4. Surround yourself with friends who believe in you and your endeavor.
5. Learn as much about your endeavor as you can.  Not only will you learn, you will discover previously unrecognized problems, which in itself is a creative contribution.
6. Question the assumptions and presuppositions of everything.   Think critically.   Seek your biases.   Test your beliefs.
7. Let your imagination go where it may.   Get playful with your thinking.   Observe Carefully.
8. Get a hobby - Something to take your mind off your creative endeavor.
9. Schedule leisure.   Play.