And Even More.....

No End In Sight.....

I Am Certain you will get bored, Dear Readers, if all I show you are Teeny Tiny updates of the Petit-point stitching project, and endless updates on the lilac blossoms! I have managed to add a few stitches (maybe as many as 60) to the cream background, and when held in front of a dark surface, you can actually see where they are! There is a long way to go still with this project, but I enjoy working on it in little bits. And I managed to get Almost two blossoms of the lilac finished this week... I was really hoping to manage two... but real life gardening got in the way. At Last I was able to work a little more in the real garden, uncovering the beds after this very long Winter! So the mini projects were fit into the spare minutes this week, and there is not much to show! As I said, I finished one more blossom and florets for the second, but did not get it assembled.

I am gradually getting the "production line" figured out...

making the clusters all at the same time...

But still, the gluing and waiting for it to dry takes time....

 and I have yet to figure out just how much time it takes

 from beginning to end for one blossom!

So rather than Bore you with Blossom production lines....

 I thought I would "revisit" a few more of those Old Unfinished Projects.... 

because Birgit was kind enough to remind me

 that I had not mentioned ALL of them!

Well, one of them that Most of you are familiar with is Hardwick Hall....

 and my Mother mentioned that it is also

the name of an ancient House in Britain.... 

which I was aware of... 

and must say that this House is No Relation

 of That Hardwick Hall....

 or if so, is of such distant and diminished cousinship

 as not to matter at all!

 

Here it is in its current unfinished state....

But I wanted to show you more of the Kitchen.

My Mother had also recently mentioned the Fridge...

saying it was exactly like the one she remembers

 from her childhood home back in the thirties!

I wasn't sure I would be able to find a fridge

 small enough to fit in this kitchen..... 

and was prepared to try to build one...

But I really think this one is perfect!

I will need to build a small cabinet to fit in the corner beside it.

This is such a wonderfully detailed miniature... 

heavy cast metal... with working door and removable shelves!

 

And there is still room for a work table too!

(And we won't mention all the unfinished wiring

 that still needs to be done before

 the hearth wall can be fixed in place....)

And you also have recently visited Rose Thorne Cottage.....

Which sits beside my drawing table.....

(For the Winter at least....!)

Where a teeny bit of light has been

 cast into the incomplete kitchen..... 

with the discovery of the perfect hutch...!

(Who knows how long it will take to complete this...!)

And speaking of Kitchens, Dear Readers, 

perhaps the most complete kitchen I have

 is the one belonging to Sally May and Chip...

In "The Shabby Sister House"....

Which is very similar to "The Lovely Old Dollhouse"

only it needs even more work done than 

"The Lovely Old Dollhouse " ever needed!

But don't worry, Sally May's husband Chip is a builder, 

and he assures her it will not be long before it is all fixed up!

And in case you wondered, this house

 has a remarkable ability to live in two different "eras"...

 it also houses Tommy and Beatrice and Caroline's Family

 while their "Town House" (The Cupboard House) is under construction!

They are Living in 1852, in case you wondered!

I am afraid the living conditions are bit primitive....

 there is still no electric lighting and no indoor plumbing!

And let us not forget that the Glass House 

beside The folly is also still unfinished....

No hardware on the doors, no trim on the roof windows...

And I need to run the wiring for the light ....

 which is one of those after-thoughts

 that can cause all sorts of problems!

But we will leave that for another day...

Because that is not all!

Surely you remember the incomplete Gypsy Wagons!

Both still under construction.... 

because the interiors really need to be done

 before you glue them together!

 And the interiors need to be so different...

The Fortune Teller's Wagon....

And The Tinker's Wagon....

The Interiors are only just begun.... 

with the Fortune Teller's having a Night Forest

 painted on the Sleeping compartment walls.....

And The Tinker's Wagon has horses frolicking in a meadow....

Yes, there is a long way to go before these Wagons are complete!

 

And let us not forget that Pollyanna herself 

has a few unfinished projects....

Piling up in her Not Yet Finished Attic Workroom.....

And there is even a whole Wagon full 

of Teeny Tiny Ladies seeking their Homes....

They were hoping to find something suitable

 amongst Pollyanna's projects....

 but now they are not so sure...

And need I remind you that the two youngest sisters

 of Lady Evelyn de Paradise are still awaiting their gowns?

And as for forgetting (or overlooking)

 a Project or two....

 I sometimes have trouble determining

 where one project ends and the next begins.... 

So the Wizard's Cave under The Castle... 

is or is not part of The Castle Project...?

And yes... the Stories....

They seem to have No End...!

(Will Tiny Bear Ever find the Little Dolls....? 

Will the Little Dreamers Ever find their Home...? 

Will Daphne's Story Ever be finished...?....) 

(Who knows these answers...?.... Not I!)

Ah Dear Readers, I hope I have not bored you

 with this little Tour through Time!

 

And did you want to see the fourth completed lilac blossom?

 

These tiny blossoms might be taking up all my Time, Dear Readers,

But I can promise you there will be More and more... and more!

And There's no end in sight!

(Because I wouldn't want you to be Bored!)

Ceilings And Trims

Oh Those Details....

In Case you need reminding, Dear Readers, I left you last week with my realization that this "Secret Christmas House" kit has no pre-printed decorative papers for the ceilings of these rooms! And if you know me at all, you will understand that I have trouble leaving the ceilings unadorned! So the first thing I did was begin to paint the ceiling of the "Library" with a lovely cloudy skyscape.

It is really difficult to take good photos of these tiny scale rooms, 

so I hope you can forgive the occasional blurry pictures!

 

The pre-printed floor paper is glued in next.

 

And then when I tried to add the printed papers for the walls, 

in this case the "floor-to-ceiling book cases", 

I really felt that they needed both a baseboard

 and a ceiling crown molding too!

I painted a border of gold along the edges of the ceiling 

and then added a gold strip to the top of the wall paper bookcases.

 

 

 

I had to cut and paste a little bit with the shelves 

so the books would not be half covered with the added trim. 

But I think it looks so much more realistic with the trim!

Then I did the same for the side wall with the false door to the other rooms.

It was only later that I realized I should have added the trim around the door too.

Maybe I can still add it in.... I think I will try!

Of course, as soon as the Teeny Tiny Dolls heard that 

there was a "Library" in one of the houses, 

Theodora and Halcyon had to come take a look!

They were rather impressed at the number of volumes.... 

and dismayed that it was all an illusion!

(They wanted "real" books!)

But there was still the "window wall" to be added, 

and that had its own layer of challenges!

 

The kit comes with the trim for the window interior as well as exterior 

and even a tiny pre-cut plexiglass window pane!

But figuring out just when which parts are attached is not so easy!

There is a chance that I got ahead of the plan, Dear Readers,

by starting to add the interior wall decoration 

before doing the exterior wall papering.... 

but I'm not sure.....!

The Instruction pictures don't really show

 when the "glass" windows are added. 

And the outer wall paper covers over a little of the window edge, 

so the windows probably should be attached first!

But before any of the windows get attached, 

I wanted to paint the edges of the openings

where the laser cutting scorched the wood.

If you look carefully you can see all the window openings 

have been painted white around the edges.

Here you can see it close-up! 

When the window pane is in place, 

you will be able to look in 

and see the Library bookshelves!

Well, Dear Readers, I can't believe it, 

but that is all I accomplished over the weekend!

Between the ceilings and the trims, 

I can tell this is going to take a bit longer that I thought it would! 

But it's those details.... all those lovely teeny 

tiny details that make this so much fun!

Just a Tiny Project....

Falling Behind.....

Well, Dear Readers, We turned our clocks back on this side of the Pond, Falling Back they call it, but somehow I just feel like I am falling Behind! We are now into the Dark Season, when all thoughts turn to the Holidays, and what better way to get in the mood than by starting a little Holiday Project? Every year I plan to try to make something "Seasonal" and never seem to get very far before I am overtaken by the looming deadlines for my major yearly project, and here I refer to my Annual Christmas Card, which I have drawn every year now for more than thirty years, so I dare not skip a single year! (And so far this year, I have no idea what my drawing will be!) So to make myself feel as though I am making Some sort of progress on Something.... I have started a New Project! (Don't Laugh!) It is just a Little project.... it is a kit for making a 1/144th scale Dollhouse which is all decorated for Christmas! It is called the "Secret Christmas House" and is a kit made by Robin Betterley who makes marvelous tiny things! I bought the kit last Spring at the Sturbridge Fair and have been itching to get started ever since! Of course, I forgot to take pictures until the project was well under way...

All the pieces are laser cut from very fine wood. 

They go together with very little adjusting needed.

The central framework for the house holds two slide out sections.

Here you can see the main house frame and the left hand section partly done.

Here they are a little closer....

Here the wing sections are tucked inside the framework.....

Here they are pulled out.

And there is a table too....

And here they are together....

But I will not attach the house until it is finished.

And just so you could see how Huge this house is.....

Salome came by to have a look at it!

I am sure she will be telling her sister Lady Evelyn de Paradise 

that it is yet another unfinished property!

Certainly Not ready for Habitation!

Well, I don't know about you, Dear Readers, 

but I Love to start new projects!

And whether I am Falling Back or 

Falling Behind remains to be seen!

On A Midsummer's Night....

 Whereof Do You Dream....?

It is that Magical Night, Dear Readers, the Longest day is slowly fading and a Full Moon is rising to cast it's silvery beams over all below. Fireflies are winking in the hedges and and birds are chirping their evensong as the breezes rustle in the trees. Is there time for sleep at all? Or do you find yourself gazing out the windows and Dreaming of all things Magical? Have the Fairies whispered in your ears or rubbed potions on your eyelids? Are you led down the paths of the Forest Mysterious by the calls of your Lover? Have you set out for the Midsummer's Eve Ball, prepared for an evening of Enchantment? Do you wish to Dance until dawn in the Gardens under a bower of Roses? Whereof do You Dream Dear Readers?

Yes, Magic is in the air and even the Tiny Lady Evelyn

 was not quite prepared to find herself and her Sisters 

wandering in a Strange Enchanted land!

Alas, Dear Readers, I cannot tell you

 whether they are on their way to the Midsummer's Ball.... 

Or whether they have strayed into another Enchanted World.....

the Night is still young.....!

 

But I can show you where My Dreams led me the other night....

It was probably because I had mentioned making all those bricks 

for the Foundation of Hardwick Hall 

along with mentioning that I was going to finish

 the Trims on the Porch Foundation.... 

that I Dreamed of that Porch. 

And  when I awoke I realized 

that there would have to be some serious changes.

The porch foundation was all wrong! 

In this part of the world where houses are made of wood 

and sit on a brick foundation, 

the porch is always built with wood not brick. 

And wooden foundations need "ventilation" 

to prevent them from rotting right away. 

And that is usually provided with inset panels 

of latticework between the supporting posts.

I was going to have to revise the porch structure!

I had intended to start making those egg carton bricks 

for the house foundation.... but the porch came first.

Here you can see I have cut away on both sides.

And then I painted the interior wall of the house foundation 

to look like brickwork 

(rather than make the egg carton bricks 

where they would not be visible...)

I also added back in a central "post"  

so that there would be two lattice panels 

on the front side and one on each end.

I made the lattice panels from small coffee stirrers...

Here you can see I am testing the fit of the first panel.... 

and you can see I have also finished painting the trim for the porch posts!

And while I was painting all that lattice work and waiting for it to dry,

 I also finished painting the bricks on the kitchen fireplace!

A Task which I should have done ages ago!

Here you can sort of see it in place... 

the hearth still needs painting.....

Here you can see the lattice on one end....

There will need to be trim added to cover the porch corners.

Both the front panels being tested for fit....

And the close-up view....!

Here is the other end of the porch.

I carefully carved away at the bottom trim board 

where it would be likely to rot a little...!

And I painted a hearth for the kitchen fireplace!

The kitchen side wall.... the porch just looks so much better now!

And who knows.....Something might even live under there!

As for Lady Evelyn and her Sisters, Dear Readers,

Their Stories are as yet untold!

Because Who knows What Adventures they encounter 

while we Mortals are sleeping... 

Straying down Strange Paths...

Dreaming of Tiny worlds.... ?

And in the Morning Light....

Who could say whether they had been anywhere at all?

Certainly This fellow would never tell...!

On A Midsummer's Night, Dear Readers,

Wherof do You Dream?