Blossoms And The Card.....

A Little Attachment....

Here is Blossom number Thirty-nine, Dear Readers, completed at last! But I must tell you that this is actually Blossom number Forty.... except that the first number Thirty-nine never got completed in the usual way, but got scattered to the World.... and so now this one is called number Thirty-nine... and I will be forever mixed up about which blossom I am working on now! Let me explain....!  You might recall that I showed you the florets for number Thirty-nine all finished but not assembled a couple of weeks ago. Well, as I was working on the Christmas Card Drawing one day, I decided to see whether the florets in RL were the same size as the ones I was drawing on The Card (because you can be sure they were to be included this year no matter what!) so I brought one of the florets up to my drawing to compare.... (Be warned, if you don't want to see The Card yet... stop here!)

I set the unfinished floret on the drawing.... 

and yes, the florets in the drawing were just about the size

 of the RL ones I have been making all year!

Can you see the little floret on the drawing here?

Or maybe you can see it better in this one?

Well, never mind.... I still had a long way to go to finish the card...

But it gave me an idea that wouldn't go away....

Here are the finished florets for Blossom number Thirty-nine....

but I had not had time to assemble them

 while I was working so hard on the card.

 But what if...... I thought.... 

What if I attached a floret to the finished card....???

Days and days later.... 

the idea still would not go away.

 I am testing the color here....

The Card still has days and days of work to do before it is done.

But somehow, Dear Readers,

 the florets refused to come together into one blossom....

 they went into a little dish

 and at great risk to their fragile existence

 they have been attached, one by one,

 to the first forty-eight cards I have sent out!

Can you see it there? 

A single three-dimensional attachment to the drawing?

(I have never done something like this before!)

I have been needing to warn the recipients

 so they will not accidentally brush the little blossom attachment away!

But yes, The Card is finally finished

 and on its way to many on my list,

 and hopefully the little blossoms will stay attached!

Oh, and you wanted to see the whole card?

I had a hard time getting a good picture... 

the printed surface reflects the light......

 but here it is at last!

(8.5x11inches pen and ink and watercolor on arches paper)

You will need to poke the pictures to see the details!

So there went Blossom number Thirty-nine... 

in fragments all around the World....

While Blossom number Forty...

 the new number Thirty-nine

 is waiting in the box with its buddies.

And The Card is going forth

 with  a Little Attachment!

New Year..... Same Old Story....

Patience.....

I am Sure you will Not be surprised Dear Readers, when I tell you that I am not quite finished with painting this (last?) year's Christmas Card! I have been devoting every spare minute of every day for weeks now... but it is a slow process. At least I can tell you that it is Nearly finished, and I am at the point where I am confident I will be happy with the results when I am finished, but I really can't afford to hurry the process and make mistakes...! (There is no "correcting" watercolor painting!) So I am stopping by here to let you know that it is coming along nicely and we just have to be Patient. But that doesn't mean we can't Dream while we are waiting. The Winter nights are long, after all, and the imagination wanders to all those Projects that are still waiting for an update. And most especially to the Castle, with those recently (relatively) acquired Doors..... which both conceal from and tease the Imagination!

They are so Raw and unfinished....

 yet at the same time they completely Define the structure

 in a way I could not imagine before I added them!

And those windows just Beg to be looked into...

or out of, it would appear!

Who have we here.....?

It looks like the Hounds are keeping guard in the Great Hall!

I am not sure who they are expecting to see....

But I was hoping to have a glimpse of that Still Unfinished ceiling.....

With those Patient Saints! 

Remember them?

I had intended to work on them last summer 

when I decided I needed to finish the structural parts first.... 

and hence the doors....

and I didn't get to the painting.

(Thus the Patience of the Saints!)

Oh, you want to actually See them, Dear Readers? 

And not just a dark and moody ceiling...?

Well, here is the view with the "flash"... 

although this view would never be seen in RL 

if this were a real Castle.....

The lighting would never have been good enough.

But we can imagine....!

And I can Hope I will find time 

to work on it some more sometime soon.

But not before I finish the Card....

and the lilac blossoms....

Which I confess, I have fallen a little bit behind on.

You see above the florets for blossom number thirty-nine.... 

not yet assembled.... and a week overdue.

But it is all in a good cause...

Because I am Nearly finished with the Card!

 So there you see, Dear Readers,

It is a New Year, but it's the same old story...

We can Dream....

 but we have to have Patience to see the results.

 

(And I hope to get caught up on all your blogs soon!)

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve....!

Looking Forward.....

I Am sorry to disappoint you, Dear Readers, if you were hoping to come here for a New Year's Eve Party at the Castle. It appears that our ever capable Host, Ken, has gone off to parts unknown and the Castle is closed due to ongoing repairs and renovations! When the locals discovered this the other day, it became clear that Someone would have to host a New Year's Party at their home, and Helen was quick to volunteer The Lovely Old Dollhouse for the occasion. So it is that the guests have been arriving since dusk and are settling in to enjoy themselves!

The settee in the hall is overflowing with coats and scarves...

The kitchen table is overflowing with delicacies and treats....

And the hallways are filled with dancing couples!

Pollyanna is showing Fleur her crafting room...

and while they are up there 

they are getting caught up on all the latest "news"....

The children are playing "hide and seek".... 

Jasper is looking for the girls.....

Amber went to hide...... 

but this room is the most beautiful room she has ever seen....

 

 

 she has forgotten all about hiding!

Charles and Chip and Uncle Albert have gotten very involved

 in a discussion of physics and construction engineering.....

Great Aunt Agatha is a little bit hard of hearing... 

so she is just smiling and nodding at everybody!

Blanche has engaged Fleur's husband Daniel

in a conversation about dog breeding...

(Not that he knows anything about it... but he is willing to listen!)

Even Harold and Celeste are here and are dancing together....

(And Ernie is wishing he were so young....)

Helen is resting her feet... 

in case she decides to dance the New Year in....

Sally May wants to serve the cake.....

Annabelle just wants a cookie!

Juliet has noticed there is an amazing dollhouse in the upstairs hallway....

And her friend Beth is looking in through the windows...

(But she doesn't reply or look away...)

Juliet takes a look too....

She can't believe what Tiny things she sees inside....!

 

 

And so Dear Readers, the Party is in full swing...

The hours and minutes are ticking away...

But nobody seems to be noticing at all!

Perhaps where you are the New Year has already been rung in.

I don't know about you, but I am looking forward

 to seeing what the New Year brings!

May you All have a Wonderful Happy and Peaceful New Year!

(And I hope you enjoy the Party!)

The Nativity.....

A Last Minute Thing....


I Hope you will not mind, Dear Readers, that the Nativity was not set up in the Lovely Old Dollhouse until nearly the Last minute. Pollyanna has been very preoccupied with her mini projects and was almost forgetting what day it was. Charles reminded her that it was Time to get the figures set up... tomorrow being Christmas Eve. But really, if we think about it.... this is as it should be! The Holy Family were traveling and when night began to fall, they stopped and searched for a place to sleep.  But the Town was crowded and there were no beds to be found at the Inn, so they had to sleep in the Stables with the Beasts. They could not know or predict when the Holy Child would arrive... and Suddenly it was Time...!

Pollyanna enjoys the ritual of setting up the figures... 

so well known... each with it's story and place...

Although by now you probably remember

 that it is difficult to recall on which side the Camel belongs...!

This year it is resting on the Left...

Perhaps you can see it way back there behind the Kings?

The Shepherds were the First to arrive after all...

And even over at The Folly, Will has set up the little Creche in the Window....

Although it is harder to see now that there are such Sumptuous Drapes....

Perhaps we will be able to see better in the Morn

When Christmas Day has come!

And though it is not related to the Nativity, Dear Readers,

 I wanted to show you another gift I received from Birgit... 

although she might have forgotten it by now!

Blue the Blue Fairy Bearey has set up the Silver Tinsel Tree

 in its usual place in the Cloud Palace Parlor...

And she has called all the rest of the Fairy Bearey Gang to come see the Tree.

"I have a surprise for you ..." said Blue The Blue Fairy Bearey.

"I don't see anything different..." said Brother Beorn....

 "It looks like the Same old tree to me!"

"Well, just wait a moment said Blue...."

And she waved her magic wand...

"Ta Da!" she said!

"We have lights!"

Everybearey gasped in surprise....!

"Oooh...." said Sweet pea.... "That is Brilliant!"

So the Bearey Gang all enjoyed cake and tea

 in the light of the Brilliant Silver Tinsel Tree....

 lit with a string of lights sent to me Last Year by Birgit!!!

(And yes, I remembered at the Last Minute and went to find them...!)

And lest you think I have been doing Nothing but the Christmas Card....

Here is blossom number Thirty-eight...!

And with it's buddies in the box....

My my.... we are running out of room...

Soon there will be No room to put them in....!

 

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you all

 have a Wonderful Christmas Holiday...

With plenty of room and plenty of Love...

Even if it is a Last Minute Thing!

(And yes... I am still working on the Christmas Card!)

Little Light(s).......

Another Gift....

This Will have to be a short post, Dear Readers, because I am running so far behind on my Other Seasonal Obligations...(otherwise known as The Christmas Card).... that it will certainly not get finished by Christmas at the rate I am going! But as we approach the Winter Solstice and the Darkest time of the year, I find myself Needing the beautiful lights of the Christmas Trees! I admit to feeling endlessly behind on my Dreams of Wonderful miniature Holiday scenes all decked out in tiny perfection, and believe that "someday" I will have the Time to make my wishes come true. But meanwhile I simply hurry around at the last minute setting up the little Tree in the Lovely Old Dollhouse... the same old tree in the same old corner of the Living Room! And yet.... when I plug in the lights and that mini tree shines with its own tiny colored lights... I am enchanted all over again!

 There is just something intensely special for me

 in seeing the Little Tree lit with tiny Little Christmas lights!!

I have not added any new ornaments in a while.... 

and all the ones on the tree were purchased years and years ago...

 back when I was still hiding these treasures

 in a closet waiting for "Someday" to arrive!

I know you can't really see them here

 because there is so Little light.... 

I will have to pull the tree out Someday 

and show you the real balls and glass birds

 and snowflakes and the brass pieces too!

And with the passing of the years,

 they somehow grow more and more special to me!

So I wanted to share them with you!

And I also wanted to show you, Dear Readers,

 the Wonderful Gift I received

 from Jodi of "My Miniature Madness" blog....

 

She sent me one of her Beautiful little chairs....

With all the little Tea Treasures that she made to go with it!

(I Adore Tea... and flowers.... and books and.... and...!)

I haven't decided where it will "end up" in my mini Worlds....

 but meanwhile it is beside me as I work at my Drawing Table!

Thank You Jodi!!! 

It is such a special Treasure and I absolutely Love it!!! 

And Lest you think that I have neglected my Lilac Blossom Program....

Here is Blossom number Thirty-seven completed!

And with the ever growing assortment in the blossom box!

 

 

 

But really, Dear Readers, 

it is those Little Lights.....

In this Season of little Light...

That bring me an endless gift of Joy!