Monday, June 29, 2015

A Few Little Things....




Oh Those Details!

The Comings and Goings at my RL house are not all done, Dear Readers, and to add to the chaos in my RL World, I need to have extensive repairs made to my garage because last Winter was so brutal that it damaged the foundation! This requires that I clean out the garage so the repairs can be made.... and because they are starting next week.... I had to spend my weekend moving the accumulated detritus of several years.... yes, Nature abhors a vacuum.... so the space was not empty! And one of the items was a dresser that never should have stayed out there for so long after my move to this Much Smaller House.... I did not think there was anywhere inside that it would fit! But I measured it again.... and decided that it would Just fit into the space next to the Castle Dollhouse... if I shifted the Cupboard Dollhouse onto the worktable..... and you can imagine where we go from here...! Well, it is still a bit Unsettled in the work area, but the dresser Did fit Just Exactly into the spot I hoped it would. This means that the Cupboard Dollhouse is in the middle of the worktable.... and that means I Might get to addressing the structural issues that kept me from working on it for the last few years!
So, you can imagine that I did not accomplish much in the mini-making department last weekend, but I do have a few Tiny improvements to show you that have been accomplished over the last few weeks. The first is that I painted some birds on the walls of the Willowcrest bedroom murals... and you can see them up close in the picture above. I also added the lights which will go over the fireplace in that room....

There are still plenty of details I wish to add, so it is not yet done......

And I also decided that the windows for the Willowcrest 
needed to have wooden dividers added to cover over the fake 
painted ones on the plastic that came with the kit.....

As well as adding an additional crossbar at the top
which will allow me to add a "stained glass" portion to the top of each window.
I wanted to be sure we would be able to see through the 
windows themselves, as so much of this house is invisible 
except for glimpses through the windows.

Here I am testing the effect of the windows, 
in this case it is the "French doors" from the parlor 
onto the front porch of the Willowcrest.
You can also see I am testing the candelabra sconces
 and the placement of a few pieces of furniture.

Here you can see I have also started the attic wall construction.
None of it is attached, but I wanted to get a feel for the space...
and I needed to decide where the lights would need to be so I could plan the wiring!
You can also see that this kit has rear wall "side panels" which I am not liking at all! 
They obstruct the access to the rooms and make the small spaces feel even more cramped. 
I can feel some kit bashing is in order here!

The kitchen windows here have the 
added crossbars, but still no "stained glass".
(Sorry the picture is so dark)

And another Tiny Little Thing I was able to accomplish, Dear Readers,  
was thanks to Brae of Otterine's Miniatures blog, 
who recently posted a tutorial on how to make and print 
tiny reductions of all sorts of images....
(I know this is common knowledge to so many of you, 
but I had not managed to learn how to make these tiny minis!)
So I spent some time looking for things like old can labels, 
and printed myself some tiny labels 
and made a couple of tiny old cans for the conservatory.... 
to keep the paint brushes in, of course!
Thanks Brae!

I know this is just the beginning of Many tiny items I will now be able to make!

So while the dust has not even begun to settle around here, Dear Readers,
I know that Some of you are probably wondering 
just Where in my Mini Worlds have 
Buttercup and Marmalade and the Little Dreamers gotten to now?

You might recall that we left them staring off into the distance....


And you might also remember 
that they were watching a herd of horses go by....

But what you Might Not know is that 
Buttercup is fluent in several languages.....
Including "Chevalese"

And she "Whispered" to the Horses as they passed by!
"Phantom" stopped to answer her.
And so they learned that these were the Castle Horses 
and they were indeed heading back to the Castle stables for the night.
"The Castle!" said Buttercup. 
"We are trying to find the Wizard who lives at the Castle!" she added.
"Do you think you could show us the way?" she asked politely.
Phantom whinnied to the other horses 
and they all agreed that it would be simplest 
for the Little Beings to climb upon their backs 
as they were still some distance from the Castle 
and it would soon be growing dark!
They did not have to suggest it twice!

In no time Everybeary and even the Little Dreamers 
had climbed on the horse's backs....

and were happily riding across the meadows....

Led by "Ghost Rider" who carried Tiny Bear.....

And not One of them Noticed that they 
had completely forgotten the picnic basket!

And in case you were wondering what 
the other Fairy Bearys were up to, Dear Readers,
Brother Beorn is showing Sweet Pea 
the cozy Library of the Cloud Palace....

Where he is Happy to tell her 
there are several good herbal reference books....

And up on the top of the Lady's Tower, 
Blue and Sir Orion are keeping a look out for the Travelers....

That is when they are not Distracted by cakes and tea....

and delightful conversation......!

And Because Hamish Harry takes his work seriously....
He has brought in some more Supplies for the Kitchen....

Orange juice and toast have been added to the menu!
Oh..... and where is Hamish Harry?

He's trying to entice Lady Lavender 
into telling him what her Favorite food is!

So you can see Dear Readers, 
In spite of the chaos around me in my RL, 
I have accomplished A few Little Things...
And those little Details do make All the Difference!

16 comments:

  1. Good Morning, somehow lost my comment mid sentence!
    Just noticing you have achieved a lot. Cleaning out is a very positive thing to do but usually leads to more work ... In your case the moving of the cupboard etc " a domino effect.
    Replacing the painted divisions with the wood is a brilliant idea it will look so much more substantial.
    Glad to see you had time to play in the garden setting up the ponies etc.
    All the best
    Janine

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gosth Rider est très beau (et très prudent) avec le petit ours sur son dos ;-)
    J'adore la photo où l'on voit la maison en entier, toutes ces couleurs c'est féerique.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wish I knew "Chevalese" ! That would be fun and helpful sometimes too. :) Good to see all the Bearies in one post. ;) And all the progress in your dollhouses, and to read the dresser fits which means you will work on Cupboard Dollhouse soon too. ;)
    Good luck with the garage repairs!
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  4. Although you're so busy in RL you've achieved a lot... I really loved the total view on the Willowcrest - but (surprise) even more to see Marmalade's and Buttercup's search for the Cloud Palace continue with every beary appearing... *sigh* Looks like there's a lot of flirting going on up there in the clouds. And about Chevalese... as you know all those fairy bearies are very fond of horses... ;O)

    Hugs
    Birgit - who still has to thank you for giving me a good laugh... seeing Tiny Bear on that Shire's back was priceless!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Betsy! I too know how one thing always leads to another but in this case, it has lead you to making a few little things to go a very long way! Love the addition of the wood crossbars to the kit windows, it gives them far more substance and the painted bedroom wall with the birds in the tree is Lovely! I see by all of the activity in the Cloud Palace and with the Horse Parade in the meadow, that there are even More than just a few little things going on! :D

    elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi! It really seems that you have 'even more than just a few little things going on'!
    Everything looks so great!
    Summer greetings,
    piikko

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Betsy! I think you have achieved a lot :D! Cleaning out.......well, I fully agree with Janine for this subject ;O! I'm very busy in RL at this moment, so I can imagine how you feel, dear friend!
    I like the additions of the wood crossbars, it looks very realistic.
    It's so nice to see again all the bearies in this blog post. I wish you good luck with the garage repairs and a happy summer :D!
    Hugs, Ilona

    ReplyDelete
  8. You might not have had much time to mini but what you have done is impressive. I love your murals - they're beautifully painted and well done on mastering the reduced printing. I haven't gone there yet. Best of luck with your clearout - you never know what little surprises might be lurking there!

    ReplyDelete
  9. A wonderful blog - maybe you didn't have much time to build stuff, but bringing us all up to date on the bears was welcome. How real those horses are! Beautifully photographed, we can just feel them loping along in the meadow & conversing with Buttercup. Good luck with Garage...
    Love, Mom

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello Betsey,
    I'm sorry about your garage problems. I hope it gets done fast. The birds added to the Willowcrest are lovely and really look fantastic. I really love your painting. Good call on the windows. It looks so much more realistic then with the printed plastic panes. I am glad to see the story is bringing them closer and closer to the cloud palace...but I wonder who will find the basket???
    Big hug,
    Giac

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lol I was also wondering who will find the basket :D The birds on the wall are gorgeous. I love the pictures of the horses and all those lucky guys getting to ride them. Looks like you have done lots to me :))) Good luck with the garage and enjoy your summer.
    Hugs Maria

    ReplyDelete
  12. The first thing I thought was "nice progress" even if you probably don't think so. I like to see the house in full, really nice windows and beautiful painted wall. Who will find the basket?.....lovely story.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The first thing I thought was "nice progress" even if you probably don't think so. I like to see the house in full, really nice windows and beautiful painted wall. Who will find the basket?.....lovely story.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The first thing I thought was "nice progress" even if you probably don't think so. I like to see the house in full, really nice windows and beautiful painted wall. Who will find the basket?.....lovely story.

    ReplyDelete
  15. La pintura de los murales es francamente preciosa.
    Un abrazo
    Maite

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Betsy,
    I sympathize with your RW cleaning dilemmas. We are still working on our RW house, going on 6 months now! All 9 houses are now moved back into their respective places, but all the furnishings are still in totes. Too much work! Also beginning work on Beckett and Maureen's new home. (Shhhh...that's a secret for a later post)
    Thanks for the comments you leave on my story. Appreciate it! I'm never sure if anyone's reading.
    Vicki

    ReplyDelete