Tuesday, November 17, 2015

I Made A List......




(And the Sun Came to Play.......)

Have I mentioned, Dear Readers, how much I Love it when the Sun comes to Play in my Little Worlds? Even when they are situated far away from the windows of my RL house, so the sunbeams have to stretch and reach way into the distant corners.... and there they are for the briefest moments before they have moved on, illuminating the Tiny Worlds in a way that is impossible to copy with artifice! There were a few such moments on Sunday morning, making me pause Life in order to capture the moments with my camera! And here I can share them with you.....

Alas these moments are so brief, 
If you are not there with the camera, 
they are gone before you blink!

And in the Willowcrest too, 
the sun filled the Parlor with radiance.....

Don't you just love the way this delicate lace is silhouetted by the sun?

And the way the sun shone into the bedroom, 
casting a pattern on the floor!

I know you can't see it from here with the curtains closed, 
but these are the very windows 
that are causing me such trouble on the exterior!
Fortunately, I have thought of a workable solution to the problem.
 
But first I made a List, Dear Readers,
 of all the things I needed to do on this house 
before I could glue all the walls in place.... 
and it was longer than I had thought it would be!
There were ten major categories of tasks to do!
Everything from planning the attic lights wiring routes 
to completing the painted details on the bedroom walls, 
to finishing the trees in the Parlor, 
to fixing the curtain rods 
to completing the window frames details...... 
to mention just the most obvious ones!
Yes, it is a good thing I have NOT yet glued the walls in place!
 
Meanwhile, I have tested an idea for the exterior window muntins. 
You might recall that I was bothered by the idea that from the outside 
the muntin on the lower half of the windows 
would abut directly onto the exterior window sill....
(See previous post for reference pictures!)

I found some very thin and narrow coffee stirrer sticks 
to use as the framing material. 
Above you can see the lower edge of the "window frames"
being tested on the windows. 
I think they succeed in making the windows
 look more realistic from the outside.

But you can see here what it looks like from the inside!
 
Here you can see a little closer......
(Sorry it is so dark.... it is night and it is hard to get
 close enough and not block all the light!)
 So you can see I am going to have to add 
small pieces to the inside window frame too.
And I think it will work if I conceal the "crack" between them 
and the outer frame by adding a little window sill as well!
(At least I hope it will look okay... and the curtains will conceal it too!)

And here you can see the exterior with the thin muntins in place....
At least it Fosters the illusion that the lower window 
is set back and can slide past the upper window when raised...
entirely an illusion, of course, as these are non operative windows!

I think it looks So much better with the bottom edge 
of the window frame visible!
And believe it or not, Dear Readers, that is the Only thing 
I got done this week in my Mini worlds!
That and Making the List!
So at least now I know what I need to be doing...

Besides capturing the Brief sunny moments, that is!
(I do Really Love it when the Sun comes to Play!)
Oh look! There's that little fairy again.....
I wonder where he is off to now?


33 comments:

  1. What lovely photos...I had to zoom in on the first one to tell if it was real or miniature! I think the new exterior windows look great. :)

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    1. Hi Farrah! Thanks for your lovely comments! It is always the aim of miniaturists to fool the eye... and the sun helps so much! I love the realism it adds even when it shows up the imperfections! I am hoping that the interior sills will work... once I figure out what materials to use!

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  2. Hi Betsy,
    Wonderful photos. I too love the way natural light makes magic of the interiors of our mini houses.
    Great solution for the window. Soon the interior sill will complete the look.
    Oh for more sunny days! BC is experiencing a string of storms bringing wild winds and heavy rains with snow in the mountains. We live on the water and the waves have been breaking over our wall.
    regards
    Janine

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    1. Hi Janine! Yes, I have enjoyed the sunshine in your little mini garden! And yes, I still have to figure out the interior window sill! Fortunately, I will have some time this weekend to work on it. I hope the Wild weather you are having settles down and that you keep safe and dry!

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  3. Hi Betsy! I can see how much you've enjoyed the sun, who softly caresses your mini worlds and this way show your pictures stunningly realistic. Especially the second and third photo are beautiful with the beautiful lace curtains for the window :D!
    I love the sneak peek in your conservatory, it looks so cosy in there. I also wonder where your tiny fairy is going to....a new story ;)??
    Cherish your moments with the sun, because here we've had a serious storm last night, for us thankfully without serious damage......
    I hope you can work on some of the things in miniature of the long list ;)!
    Hugs, Ilona

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    1. Hi Ilona! The sun is pure Magic! I hope the storms have gone and that now you have more sun too! We need to cherish the moments we find... at this time of year they can be rare! The Fairy is not telling me anything.... but I am keeping my eye on him!

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  4. C'est ça aussi la magie de la photographie: être là au bon moment et heureusement Betsy vous étiez là avec votre appareil. Les photos sont magnifiques!

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    1. Hi Jean-Claude! Yes, you are right... it requires the moment to be there.... and the camera ready ! LOL! Plenty of times when the battery is low or the camera not to hand.... I leave for work in the morning before the sun is up at this time of year.... so it is even rarer that I am there with the camera!

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  5. Miniature scenes always look so beautiful with natural light pouring in through the windows. Your photos look gorgeous. Great solution to your missing window bars too =0)

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    1. Thanks Pepper! I was having a hard time finding the right dimension of wood for the trim.... the coffee stirrers only needed a little bit of trimming and were already very thin slats. And I have plenty of them!

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  6. Betsy, what is that painting in the conservatory?
    The windows now look very realistic, with the tiny coffee stirrers. Much better.
    Wow, long list.
    Enjoy. Remember, It should be fun!
    Love, Mom

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    1. Hi Mom! The painting is just a small experiment. I am testing out the materials to make some mini paintings... not really sure what I am doing yet! I am glad you like the windows.... I think they make a big improvement!

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  7. Wonderful pictures. I love the one showing the lace curtains. Your windows are amazing. Fantastic solution.
    Hugs Maria

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    1. Hi Maria! Thanks for commenting! The windows are starting to look a little bit like I had imagined! The kit doesn't start with a very realistic window.... but the trim is very fancy! It is testing my ingenuity to make them seem realistic!

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  8. Betsy! I LOVE this room!! And the light works like magic. It's so hard to replicate natural sunlight.
    I am also in love with the seascape painting
    Hugs

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    1. Hi Simon! Thanks for your comment! I am trying to make a few mini paintings.... trying to decide on the materials and techniques... it is all just experimenting right now... but the sun does make it look good! LOL!

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  9. Lovely Betsy!
    I wonder if your fairy knows Maeve? She is Queen after all...
    Best to you,
    Vicki

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    1. Hi Vicki! Yes, I think there must be a Fairy connection there somewhere... but I am certain that my little imps are a Looooong way from the Royal Bloodline! Maeve is the One and Only Fairy Queen! I am enjoying your story!

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  10. Let's hope the tiny fairy didn't cause any mischief in your beautiful conservatory! Oh, we're lucky you had your camera at hand when the curious sunbeams dropped by to visit your wonderful scenes, your pictures are breathtaking. Great to hear you've solved your "window problems" - and it's also good to hear you have a list now! ;O)

    Hugs
    Birgit

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    1. Hi Birgit! Yes, the List is a Great idea that I should use more often! Or rather, I should Use the lists I have more often! LOL! No shortage of lists! I am not sure what the Fairy is up to.... only Time will tell! LOL! Hopefully he will let Christmas happen without interfering!!!

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  11. Betsy the spaces are beautiful, how inviting the spaces look, and truly lived in!
    Regards, Philip

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    1. Hi Philip!!! Wonderful to see you here again! I hope your little people are behaving themselves??? No more houses on fire? Runaway Brides? I do enjoy your stories so much! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

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  12. Super light! It always make the mini worlds alive.:) And yesss: where is this Tiny Fairy going???
    Hugs

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    1. Hi Ewa! You know I love the sunshine in my mini scenes! And I am trying to discover what the Fairy is up to! He keeps traveling from place to place! I am keeping my eye on him!!! :)

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  13. I enjoyed this "sunshine" post. I always think it's so amazing that the full-size sun can cast such perfect miniature shadows! The shadow of your lace curtains is beautiful; I'm glad that you captured that to show us. You found an excellent solution for your windows, and they've turned out just right. Nice work.



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    1. Hi Marjorie! I am glad you enjoyed the sunshine too! It is amazing how much it adds to the photos! I am making some slow progress on the windows now that I solved that one problem! Some of the windows can't be completed until the house trim is done.... so there are many more steps involved! Thanks for commenting!

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  14. Oh, so beautiful scenes and sunny pictures!
    Have a lovely Sunday!
    Hugs, piikko
    ps. We have snow. A lot of snow! :D

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    1. Hi Piikko! We don't have snow here yet... it has been warm and dry and sunny! I hope you stay warm and cozy!

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  15. Hi Betsy, what a joy those photo's are, just beautiful! It's just stunning how the rays shine throught that indeed very delicate (and beautiful!) lace curtains. I think you've done a great job on that brickwork by the way (know it isn't recent, but I notice how realistic you've made the brickwork of the arch in the conservatory for example. And those tiles, lovely! That is a wonderful solution for the windows, perfect I say! Oh my, that's quite a list.. me with my good advice last time about the fireplace, of course there's much more to be done, than just that to be able to glue the walls :D

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    1. Hi Monique! I also thought it would just be the fireplace... until I really started to figure it out! LOL! I am going to spend some time over the Holiday weekend (Thanksgiving over here) trying to make some decisions so I can move forward on this project! I want to get the house "built" before all the tiny kit pieces get lost....!!!
      I am glad you like the brickwork on the Conservatory.... it really adds a huge amount to the "architectural" feel of the place! So it was worth the effort. Also the side opening walls... yes, another project I need to make some decisions about! I think there is a pattern here! LOL!

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  16. Such beautiful pictures Betsy! Dreamy, magical lace kissed by the sun while the wind plays with the curtains...
    The first picture is amazing, I thought it was a picture of your own craft room!
    X,
    Veronique

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    1. Hi Veronique!!! so Wonderful to see you stopping by here! Yes, the sunshine makes the mini worlds look so life-like.... I adore what it adds to my worlds! I hope you are well and are still adding to the Ancestors house! And what of Art and Angelique? You have been missed!

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  17. Lovely photos - you've really caught the moment. The sun doesn't shine that often here - one blink and you've missed it!

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