Lakeland Fun Day - Tres Chic

In June I went to the Lakeland Miniature Show and Fun Day.   It is always a great occasion and a chance to see my mini friends.   It's like an reunion and I love it.   The project this year was "Tres Chic".   It was a really elegant store front.

Let's go shopping !!!!

Scale is 1/12

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.

 

 

Victorian Dome House by Sharon Goldsmith of Sharon's Miniatures

I love domes and when I saw this Dome House for a project on Quarter Connection I decided I would have to have it.   Well I got it in late 2011 and in early 2012 I found out that the size of dome would be an 8 inch diameter dome.   Well,  I didn't have that sized dome and it took quite a while to find it on a trip to mid Florida for a miniature show.   Wasn't any reason I couldn't finish it then.   It seemed to linger on the shelf and I couldn't get it out to even think about it.   When the Quarter Connection started the "OMB" (One a month bunch) I decided I should make every effort for it.    This is a great program to get those projects off the shelf and finished.    This was a pretty easy project to fit together and I had been acquiring pieces I wanted to use for quite some time.    When you can see every aspect of a project, it's important to me to have some very special pieces in it.

 

 

Instructions out and ready to go.

 Pulling parts out trying to understand all the instructions. 

 First coat of paint on some of the parts. 

 The front.   I love this front and small courtyard.   I'd like to have this in real life. 

Close up of the front.   

 Guest room.   Black and White will always be one of my favorite combinations. 

 Bath room.  

 Front entry way.   Probably needs some additional pieces but so far it is ready to greet company. 

 Master bedroom.   I love red, white and blue too  

 Kitchen - ready to sit down and have a cup of tea. 

 Pool room.    

The kids rooms.   I love Raggedy Ann and Andy and thought my house would have to have that theme in at least one location. 

 Dining Room

 Living room. 

 The front of the house under the dome.   Sorry about the reflections. 

 The side with Master Bedroom, kitchen and pool room under dome.

 The side with RA&A kids' bedroom, dining room and living room. 

 I love this piece and I'm sure in the future I will find other choice pieces and art work to add, but I do believe I am ready for guests.

 

 

Kits and more Kits

I am one of those people who is aways afraid that a good kit will get away from me.   How do you fight that fear.   Buy the kits as you see them.   Well, even I was forced to admit that it was getting out of hand, so here goes my really good attempt at getting them worked out to a manageable amount.  

Pamela S. Junk did a clock kit a few months ago.   I blogged about it Here   As I said on that post, I already had furniture so I didn't use the furniture Pamela had included in her kit.   Well, I knew it would be cute, and I had to finish it.   Here it is.   I put a silver collection in the corner hutch.   I don't know where it will be used, but it will be used.  



 

I also bought a couple dolls from Pamela Junk through  her Etsy Store and with the little dolls came this little kit for little doll houses.   Aren't they cute.   The large one is slightly over 1 inch tall.  

The following little dresses on hangers were by Georgia Matuschak and I got them from The Mustard Seed.   Very cute.  

These are 3 kits for Party Dresses.     From Ginger Landon Siegel.   Very cute. 

 

These were in a package of 6 -  1/4 " clothing Kit and said it was by Georgia and copyrighted in 1996.   I only made up 3 of them. 

Now we are getting into one inch scale.   Everything before this point will be used in quarter scale scenes.  These were by Kaye Meldrum.   They are really cute. 

The back view.  

 

Watermelon Basket by Arlene Dennis.   Very cute and the picture reveals I need another coat of paint on the inside or fill it with stuff.   Probably will fill it with stuff, because I love stuff. 

 

Victorian Glove by Bonnie Lavish.   Very cute and very easy to make.  

Tea boxes by Stephanie Engeseth, SandSFurniture.com    I will use them in the tea shop I am planning. 

Butcher Block by Keith Long.   I've had this kit for what seems like forever.   I am planning on doing a meat market and this will be a central point.  

I can't resist anything Raggedy Ann and thought this yarn kit would be great in the Raggedy Shop I am planning.  This kit and the one that follows were by Dorothy Hawley of Monroe WA

Another knitting set for my Raggedy Shop

Bell Collection Shelves.   Two sets.   These are by Donna Jacques.

I bought these because my mom played in the bell choir at her church for many years before she was admitted to a nursing home.   I will probably use these in my antique shop.  

I've tried to give credit to all the creators of the kits.   Many of them don't have addresses, phone numbers or email addresses.   Some I've had for years, but I am making progress at getting them worked down.   Probably have several more batches to get completed.   

It's fun getting them ready to use.