What Happens.....

 

When Elves Come to Play....

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you will understand that I fully intended to get my work table cleaned up and "fully operational" for a New Year's blitz of project progress in every possible direction! (New Year's Optimism is going strong!) And step One of this clean-up required that I "Tidy away" a few incomplete little items I had added to the mess in recent weeks under an excess of "Christmas Decoration Mania"! I refer, of course, the The Teeny Weeny Secret Books kits by Robin Betterley that I had finally begun on Christmas Day itself. And there were the beginnings of those two Tiny Elves which I had rashly started to construct using the "glue trick".... just waiting for the paint.... and the tiny kitchen stove still didn't have the Teensy tiny gingerbread houses painted and those itty-bitty little plates that needed to be cut out and added to complete this tiny kit.... would I ever find all these bits and pieces, let alone finish one single tiny kit if I "tidied them away" now.....? (What a silly Question!) It was obvious that it would not take long to paint such tiny figures....(and surely then they would at least be visible!) So out came the paints... Above you can see I painted the heads and hands a flesh color.

                        And here you can (sort of ) see I started to paint their faces and legs.....

 Meanwhile I also started to paint the teensy-tiny gingerbread houses....

I placed them on a strip of double sided tape so they wouldn't get lost!

Here you can see I added some glitter to the "snow" icing on the houses!

 

Next the Little Elves got their tunics painted green!

 

And here I am starting to add the hair... 

it is just six strands of regular sewing thread... 

glued across the top of the head.

 

And here the second one is started.... 

You can see I trimmed one side of the first one...

 so I could use the remains on the second one!

 

And while the hair is drying, 

I cut out the itty-bitty tiny plates and "cupped" them...

see them there on the mat? 

I need to make sure they fit right above the "stove".

 

Now both the Elves have had their hair trimmed... 

they just need their "shoes" added....

which required a little bit more glue in the toes!

 

And they needed caps... 

these are just a tiny scrap of paper toweling

 cut in a cone shape and painted red.

While it is drying I shape it slightly into a rounded cone...

 and glue it to the head.

 

And both the caps are attached!

And then I got a bit carried away, Dear Readers,

 with the assembling process 

and forgot to take any pictures for a while...!

Here you can see the Elf on the Stove... (not the shelf!)

So it can reach the shelf-top of the Stove...!

As well as the Teensy-tiny Gingerbread houses in place, 

two on the top and one on the base.

Also the little plates have been attached to the wall.

And the Elves' "shoes" have been painted too!

 

I confess that there was some anxiety on my part

 about whether the whole arrangement

 was going to fit inside the Book Cover....!

 It is only 3/16 inch deep!

I had to flatten the Elf as much as possible

 and it barely slides in...!

 

Here is the decorated "Stove" inside the Book box...

And the little rustic stool positioned beside it...

All it needs is the second Elf...

(but first I had to give her a glitter frosting covered knife... 

because she is still decorating the gingerbread house!)

 

Like so...!

 

And does it fit inside the Book Cover....?

(Well, I had to bend her foot back a tiny bit...!)

But yes! It Fits!

 

Boy, that was fun!

 

But..... Wait a Minute....!

I looked over beside my shoulder and noticed a strange sight...

 

What's this..." More Elves...??? I thought?

 

Whoa.... ! Look at them all.....!

 

How many are there....?

 

Who started this Mischief anyway...?????

 

Well, Dear Readers, I suppose you can imagine

 that I did not get Any progress made 

on cleaning off my Work space for 

New Years projects...! 

Maybe that is just what Happens

 when Elves come to Play!