Truly Tiny....

It's All Relative.....

Life has been extremely busy recently, Dear Readers, between the visit of my Wonderful Mom and a new computer system at work coinciding with the end of the school year rush... leaving no time at All for minis! And because my house is quite small and rather full of dollhouses and partly finished projects, there was a fair amount of "shifting around" of piles of things.... the Castle Great Hall Ceiling had to return to the Castle Hall even though it is Not Yet Done..., The Cloud Palace had to move into the sunny window.... and "temporary homes" had to be found for the partly assembled Gypsy Wagon.... and The Park could not even come out of "Hibernation" until after all the visiting was done. Last weekend was the first time in Ages that I felt I could really dive back into my mini projects. And Perhaps it is because the Solstice had just passed and I realized we were already heading Towards Christmas, I decided to just have a look at all the furnishing kits for The Secret Christmas House.... just to find out how difficult and complicated they would be. Let me tell you, these kits by Robin Betterley are very well made and not too challenging to assemble! I started with the little Girl's Bedroom furnishings. They go in the smaller of the two attic rooms. Above you can see the dresser assembled and ready to paint.

But I quickly ran into a small problem.

My kit came with two dressers 

rather than one dresser and two side tables!

This room also has a small chair and a bed.

Here I have begun the mattress part of the bed. 

It is a block of wood covered with a layer of felt and a small linen sheet.

Here the corners have been trimmed.

And the Quilt is being added.

All the cloth pieces are printed in beautiful detail on cotton

 

And the "brass" head and foot for the bed assembled.

And of course, we have to see how they fit inside the attic room....

Even though the Dresser still needs to be painted, they look pretty cute!

And the pillow for the bed too!

Of course, once I was started, there was no stopping!

The chair needed the paint and the printed "cushions" added.

The dresser needed painting....

And the printed decorations glued on.

They look pretty cute so far!

But I had to decide about the bedside tables.... 

they are really necessary for the decor, 

and I didn't want to wait for replacement kits to be sent.

So I decided to "improvise" and make my own!

Alas, they are so much cruder than the kit pieces!

But I have no laser cutter, 

and I figured they would be tucked into the room

 and hardly anyone would ever notice

 how chunky and lopsided the bases are!

Especially once the printed details and all the decorations were added!

Oh, you want to see the decorations too....?

Well, I am only too happy to tell you I had to get out the Glitter!

There is a tiny Tree that stands on one of the bedside tables...

I apologize for the blurry pictures... 

it is really hard to get the camera to focus on the tiny pieces!

There are two tiny glitter houses and a church on top of the dresser.....!

There is a lace shawl draped on the chair....

And the other bedside table has a brass candlestick

 decorated with Christmas ivy....

And although it is difficult to see,

 I dipped the candle top in glitter...

and in the right light it "glows"!

But the best part, Dear Readers, is the Truly Tiny doll!

She is dressed in a pink gown

 (made from painted toilet tissue!) 

and she sits propped on the pillow of the bed!

Her name is "Clarice", 

and I simply cannot promise that

 I will Not tell you her stories...!

She is Truly the tiniest doll of my acquaintance!

Just How tiny you ask?

 

Well, here are the furnishings inside the incomplete Nursery of the Tree House.....

(again, I apologize for the blurry pictures...)

The Tree House is approximately 1:48 or quarter scale.

And just as I was taking the pictures, Salome showed up!

She was Very interested to see so many furnishings 

that seem to be just her size!

And almost right on her heels was Anna Maria!

She was wondering What all the noise 

in the long silent Nursery was about.....!

(Alas, it was neither the Family come home, 

nor the workmen to complete the room....!)

 

But I am sure you really want to know 

whether all those pieces of furniture 

can possibly fit into that tiny attic room....?

 

 Yes, they can!

It is a tight fit.... but they do...

even with a little room to spare!

(And I have some ideas about that!)

So you can see, Dear Readers, 

How Tiny it is 

is Truly all Relative!

 

And speaking of Relatives, 

I had a wonderful visit with my Mother 

and Sister and Nieces and

 Great-nieces and Great-Nephew.

It was a busy and boisterous and memorable

 time together with much coming and going!

And now that the dust is settling....

I have all those Teeny Tiny kits waiting....

And a Truly Tiny Doll....!

Little by Little.....

Progress at Last....

Every day, Dear Readers, I discover another thing that I can do that was much too hard only the day before! I attribute it to the miraculous healing ability of a good night's sleep! Some of you may remember the petit point tea cozy kit I was stitching earlier this spring which was almost finished when I broke my arm. It has teased me for all these weeks.... only a small amount of the white background at the bottom left to stitch, but alas, I could not hold the frame in my left hand and so I could not finish the stitching! But last Sunday I decided to give it a try and see if I could do the stitching.... and I could! It was a little awkward to hold it in the right position, and even harder to hold it steady enough to place the stitches correctly.... but I managed to finish the stitching!

It only took a little over an hour to complete... 

and then I decided to try to stitch it together while I was at it....!

Here are both the sides completed before cutting them apart.

I did trim them a little neater before I started to sew them together....

The edges of the gauze have been turned under 

and now the sides are being sewn together..

And here it is Done!

And the Cloud side...!

You can understand that I had to show it to Blue right away!

And of course, she knew what to do with it right away!

Tea for two on top of the Tower!

I felt so empowered Dear Readers, I could not leave it at that! 

I had to try another unfinished project!

A short time after I broke my arm, 

when I had not realized how little I could do, 

I had tried to make a small plant using a punch and floral wire...

All I needed to do was cut apart the petals and glue them to the stem....

And I managed quite a few before I gave up.

I was not going to be able to finish them until I could paint again....

So they sat there still on Sunday and I pulled out my paints....

First I painted the undersides a pale green....

It was a little difficult to hold the wire at the right angle... 

but the painting did not need to be precise!

Then the other sides needed two coats of a darker green....

Then I painted a pale stripe on each leaf....

and cut the stems apart and glued them into a bunch...

And then I thought I would just use up the rest of the leaves....

making another whole batch!

Adding the stripe to the leaves....

And finally, testing them on The Folly ground by the steps....

This is supposed to be "Vinca" or "Periwinkle" 

a lovely evergreen ground cover.

(Sorry the picture is so dark... it had gotten late!)

I am sure it will look a little better once the stems are inserted into the ground, 

and the bunches overlap in a more natural manner. 

I will wait until I have more bunches before I do that step.

The stems are bendable and can be positioned appropriately as needed.

I have a long way to go... 

a lot of ground to cover!

But I think it is a good start!

And the morning sun made it all the way over to The Folly steps...

Putting the Vinca into clear focus.....

I think it will do....

And I Do feel so accomplished!

I completed Two whole plants!

Little by Little Dear Readers,

I am making progress!

Shopping Therapy....

Sturbridge Miniatures Fair......

Thank you, Dear Readers, for all your kind and supportive comments on my recent posts. I am making good progress with my healing, but typing is still a slow and uncomfortable process. At the end of a day at work (which is mostly typing numbers) my hand is sore and my arm is tired. My comments on all your wonderful posts have been short or non-existent, even though I am trying to keep up with the reading. I am trying to be patient and let the healing happen, and I will be doing more exercises soon. So there is still no real progress on any of my projects to report. But last weekend was the annual Sturbridge Miniatures Fair, which is the only Fair that happens near enough to home that I can drive there and back comfortably on the day of the Fair. I debated not going this year.... but decided that I Needed the "Shopping Therapy"! And I came home with some sweet Treasures! Above you can see one of two tiny "house" boxes that were made as favors for one of the big minis conventions, and the dealer decided to sell hers at this Fair. It is smaller than 1/144th scale as the entire "house" is less than 2 inches tall!

And here is the other one... 

I didn't get a good picture of the front on this one...

 it is very detailed!

And in no particular order I will show some

 of the many little items I came home with....

Some metal platters and tiny glassware....

A set of Tinker Toys!.....

Some clocks and games.... 

all from "Wright Guide Miniatures"...

And yes, another Pony!

Meet " Copper"....

He was ever so eager to find his friends....

A beautiful dish drainer with colorful dishes....

(I think the house for this has not even been started yet.... 

still in it's box in the cellar...)

A Vintage porcelain bathroom set.... very cheap....

A handsome wardrobe....

A Lovely stoneware crock....

Two more Teeny dolls... each about 1/2 inch tall!

A couple of lovely old rugs made in Japan...

The one on the left is up-side down, so you can see the stitches...

Here it is right side up!

And last but Not least, another Robin Betterley kit....

 the Christmas Wagon in 1/4 scale!

(Do you think I will finish the Secret Christmas House before I open this kit???)

It did not take Copper long to find the other ponies.... 

(I apologize for the dark pictures... 

it has been dark and gloomy and rainy here for weeks!)

And here is a glimpse of the larger rug in Hardwick Hall.... 

I think it is perfect for this little dining area!

I hope you have enjoyed this little review, Dear Readers,

I am feeling so much better...

It is amazing what a little Shopping Therapy will do!

I am so glad I went to the Sturbridge Fair!