Giveaway Winners!

And More Folly!

Dear Readers, Please forgive me for keeping you waiting for the announcement of my Giveaway Winners!
First, I want to thank so many of you for joining in the Giveaway, and even listing it on your own blogs! And there are many New Followers as a result.... and quite a few names written on small strips of paper....

And put in a little book box........ 

And then I had to ask Hazel if she would mind helping me with the selection of winners.....

She was only too happy to oblige!

So here we have Winner Number One.......

Iris March!...Please send me your address !!!!

And because there were so many entries.... 

we have Two Winners........

Ilona...!! Please send me your mailing address!!

Thank you ALL for following my blog and being so patient with my ever-changing projects!

Speaking of which....I HAVE been making some small progress on the new Base for "The Folly"! 

I realized that the solidity of the builders foam was not enough by itself for a sturdy base. I would need to make a framework for the foam panels. I started with some very thin and inexpensive plywood.... it is known as Luan...it is what is used to make those hollow-core doors.... anyway it is readily available in  this part of the world. For the sides I would want stronger wood... so I chose regular 3/8 inch plywood because I have lots of scraps .......

Here you can see the back "wall" with the opening for the "electrical cave" 

and another opening on the left which will be a Garden Gate... to nowhere.....

Here you can see the TINY Side Garden .......

And below you can see the base with the "Cellar" carved out of the foam.....

which I am calling the "Electrical Cave"....where the power strip will be hidden!

And here you can see it from the back side.....

And with The Folly in place........

And if you look carefully at the above picture you will see that I am testing out the idea of Chimneys for "The Folly"!! I am using pieces of the builders foam.... and will probably try the Egg Carton Brick method.....

Here's a better shot! I just can't accept a House with lovely fireplaces that has no chimney! 

And I do think it adds a whole lot of elegance to the structure.....

And while we are looking closely.... 

I have also painted the edges of the roof eaves to match the blue trim..... 

for the longest time they were the orange color of the walls and looked very ratty!

And this house kit does not come with trim for the outside corners.... which means that in certain conditions the sunlight shows through the crack into the interior room! So I have added trim made from regular stock strips...... which gives the House a much more realistic finished appearance!

The shingles' edges still need painting.... along with touch-ups in places.... 

and the Chimneys need bricks.....(I'm eating LOTS of eggs!)......

And the electrical wiring is still FAR from done.....

And the Landscape is barely begun...... So much still to do!

But at LEAST I can say we have 

Giveaway Winners!

What A Year!

Second Anniversary Review.... and Maybe A Giveaway!

Dear Readers, I can hardly believe another year has gone by, my Second year of this Blog!!! And as with many anniversaries, it prompts one to ask "what has been accomplished this year?" First let me assure you that just to BE in Mini-Blogland, building and sharing with all you other wonderful creative people, is SO MUCH FUN, that I almost hate to even raise the IDEA of Assessing Progress... or even Implying that such measuring of ones Works should occur! But perhaps it is inevitable that the comparison of this year with the previous arises, and sometimes the results of such an examination are revealing, so I will take a look at what I have accomplished this past year in my Mini world!
I will begin with The Lovely Old Dollhouse as it is my First and Most Beloved House......
The top picture shows that the Curtains I made for the window of the Parlor are STILL NOT Finished! The second tie-back is lying on the floor somewhere.....!
And the Lace curtains in the Chinoiserie Bedroom are still just Pinned to the curtain rod.......

(And I have not yet started to build the Bed for this room....)

One of my Very Old Original Paintings now hangs in the Hallway.....

but I am not sure that it will stay there......

The Kitchen cupboards are still not stocked... nor are the dishes washed!!!

And I think there is supposed to be another set of shelves built for the left hand wall....

And the hearth needs some bricks made from egg cartons......

The Front Hall is almost exactly the same as it was a year ago.....

Except that I added the China Jar by the door.....

Here is the Previous Year picture for comparison!

Same with the Bathroom...... Nothing has been done!!!!

The Master bedroom is only a little more lived in.....

But NOTHING has been finished!

There will be Curtains Someday!

And the Window on the Fireplace wall will get some glass.....

and the Fireplace will get some bricks..... For starters!

And When we look at The Folly.... the same is true...

Very Little has been done!
I Did add the plate shelf to the Kitchen wall...
with tiny cup hooks for hanging teacups...

And, of course, I built the shelves in the Book Nook upstairs......

and sewed the cushions......
But I have NOT Made any more Books!!!
Nor Have I added the lighting...... Or Curtains.......

When we come to the Castle Dollhouse there has been a Little bit of Progress!!!

I made a Start on the Lord's Council Chamber...!

I built and painted the Peter Paul Stained Glass Windows for the Chapel......

I Completed painting the Noah's Ark Paintings on the chapel walls.......

And I STARTED the Paintings on the chapel Ceiling........

Still SO Far to go!

And you will be Happy to know I Finished making enough of the painted Tiles for the Great Hall floor! Now all I have to do is glue them down and apply the Grout....

a step that has me rather Nervous.....!

And I did manage to attach all the Electrical wires to the Back of the Castle Great Hall and conceal the outlets in a Chimney buttress! So I guess every little bit of progress Counts!

And of course, if you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that last August I Started in on an Entirely New dollhouse...... the Victorian Brownstone I am building from an old Cupboard (so I call it The Cupboard House...)

Here you can see the beginnings....

a Building I have been planning to build for MANY YEARS!

Inspired in part by these Wonderful Kit windows that I have had Waiting For YEARS.....
I Finally got them out and stained them and assembled them!!
(I love these windows!)

Here is the Front mostly finished....

I added all the external wooden details.....

(Supposed to look like Brownstone...)

And Started the Murals in the Hallway.....

Still SO MUCH DETAIL to do!

And the Trompe l'oeil Painting of the extra room behind the hall......

And we had gotten as far as adding the plate shelves to the Kitchen walls...

and the drying rack...

And building the Fireplace and mirror for the Dining Room......
And painted details on the ceiling......
Before getting DISTRACTED by the Holiday Parties and the Wedding.....!

So all in all, I think I can say that Some Progress was made! While I could wish I had finished more...... I am aware that working on so many projects at one time Does have a tendency to scatter my energies. I am sure that some of you would recommend that I just concentrate on ONE 'til it is Done..... But I know myself well enough to be Certain that Trying to do that would only cause me to start yet Another House......!
For Now... I am sending all the Little People away on Vacations... (and Honeymoon) in the hopes that I will get more Building done for a while! But first I Must show you what my Dear Mother sent me for my Birthday.... an old Embroidered Handkerchief that had been lurking in her Bureau drawer .... that has the Most Amazingly Exquisite Embroidery I have Ever seen!!!
I have draped it over the bed I bought for Charlotte's bedroom in the Cupboard House....

(when we get to that room....)

temporarily set up in the Shabby Sister House......

Oh, Right... I forgot to mention THAT House!

One year ago I bought it as a used house.....

Rather in need of improvements......

But NOTHING has been done!

Here, you Must have a closer look......

And closer.... Isn't it Amazing?

And Don't tell anybody... but just when I was sending all the dolls on Holiday.....
I went to that very dangerous Miniatures Store near my home......

and came home with this addition to my Mini World...

I think her name is Hazel.... and she is a Gardening sort of a Witch......
I know.... I KNOW.... she is going to need her own House...!

But I think she is going to belong with this Kitchen Hearth that I already have....

At least she is very happy to sit here beside my Computer while I get it all figured out.....

And she's already good friends with Great Aunt Agatha....!

So now that we have had the Anniversary Review...

What was that about a Giveaway?
Well, Dear Readers, while I was Dis-assembling the Wedding that took so long to put together.... the only things I could not bear to take apart were the Topiary Table Decorations!
And now I just don't know what to do with them!

They are rather Rough and un-refined....

just being made for Props for the Wedding....

but they are rather Cute too.....

So if any of you out there are interested in having them...

just leave a comment on this blog post!

I think I will give away at least one pair of them....

maybe two pairs if there is a big demand.....
I will do a drawing on May 1....
Notice: I have extended the Deadline to May 4th Midnight!!!!!

What A Year!

Anniversary Giveaway!

It's About Time!

One YEAR, one Month, and one Day after I started this Blog, I am finally ready (sort of) for my Anniversary GIVEAWAY! I had a hard time deciding just WHAT to offer for my gift! So many of you fellow miniature lovers are so adept at making so many little items... books, pillows, needlepoint carpets, mini cupcakes.... and the list goes on and on.... and most of those things I have yet to ATTEMPT to make myself.... and so I feel very unsure of offering them as gifts. So I thought and fretted until I realized that there was one thing that I DO know how to do and that is PAINT! But then I had to decide WHAT to paint..... and How MANY to paint...... and so I fretted some more! But at last I have completed a couple of tiny painted Offerings. The first subject that came to my mind was Cherubs.... so you can see below the beginnings of the paintings.

And here is a closer look at one of them after I added the gold frame. I am not entirely sure I like the gold frames.... but they are the best I can do for now.......

And here is the other cherub....... these paintings are about one inch by one and a quarter inches.

But, of course, I wasn't content to have only a couple of Cherubs to offer.... so I made a couple of tiny painted Medieval Icons too. Here is the first and smallest one I did...... it is about three quarters of an inch tall.....

Here is another view of the two Cherub paintings.......

And here is the tiny Icon on the Altar of the Castle Chapel. It is shown with the Miniature Icon I bought on a trip to France. I was fortunate enough to visit the Pilgrimage Site at Rocamadour and this Icon is my memento of that Amazing place!

And here is a picture also showing the Larger Icon I painted. I was inspired by the Image of the Rocamadour Icon..... but obviously have not copied it exactly! Here you can see them both to compare......

This is the Rocamadour Icon, closed. It is carved wood with the printed images attached inside the open panels. The whole Icon is maybe two and a quarter inches tall.

Here you can see the Icon open.........

And a closer view of my two versions of a Medieval Icon......
They are painted on a wooden panel with the ornamental framework made from cardboard...

So here is the CHOICE I am offering you if you are interested....... you may choose to be in a drawing for the Cherubs or a drawing for the Icons...... or if you are like me and can't make up your minds.... you can be in BOTH drawings!!! Just leave a comment on THIS post with your preference. I will do the drawing on May 31 which is Memorial Day and a Holiday here!

And just one more view of the Icons on the Altar of the Castle Chapel.........

So It's about TIME I got ready for my Blog Anniversary Giveaway!