On to next project

Although I have not finished the French shop. A few stumbling blocks there!

I loved the gingerbread house that Teresa Layman did and more so her mini gingerbread houses that she was teaching at the Philadelphia Miniaturia I think. Very sweet. I decided that the Duracraft Lafayette was crying out to be a gingerbread cottage. So I have commenced down that road!



I hadn't intended for it to be too Christmasy but then I scrounged out some metal minis I'd painted a couple of years ago and so will put them into the cottage. These are dollhouse-size ornaments so a maximum of about an inch high.





I am still waiting on some furniture and will need to order more, but unfortunately I only get paid so much!! Also the wood trim that is supposed to go around the windows is too wide, so I need to trim some of it down. That is a real pain. Never mind, I don't need much of it. Hopefully there may be more progress pics soon!

The lovely Daisy from Antique Daisy has given me this award:

Thanks Daisy! I am pleased that you enjoy my blog so much that you gave me this award! Now I need to give it to 6 other bloggers:

Julie at Diary of an Edwardian Dollshouse, because I love this shop and have found her diary very inspiring and useful.
Karin at Karin Corbin Miniatures because she not only makes gorgeous minis, she is full of fantastic tips, encouragement and patience, of which I am very jealous!
Nell at Miniature Miniatures, for same reasons as Karin - she is true inspiration.
Joanna at Joanna Thomas Art Dolls because her dolls are what little (and big!) girls dream of.
Gina at More Minis, because her blog is very comprehensive and provides awesome advice for building various kits.
And lastly, to Mariella at Muffa Miniatures. Her crochet darlings are so tiny and detailed. She is very talented.

French shop under way!

I did some work on my little shop over the weekend and here are some part-way-there shots. You'll see the chains of the lights dangling all over the place - I haven't fixed them to the ceiling yet!



The back room is accessable - the wall pops out!



I think it will be a gourmet foods shop. I hope to buy some Lisa's Little Things kits some time to go in it.

Lastly, here is a pic of my half scale chateau that I did for the 2009 Miniatures.com contest. It's not great by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps one day I will have the patience to finish it off properly. It is loosely based on Lea Frisoni's, which is the subject of her DIY book.

Long time, no posts

Hi everyone and merry Christmas! It has been a busy few months with lots going on. We married in November and so I thought I'd show a picture of my dress. I don't do it justice, but I can't do much about that!



And a picture of my ring! I love it so much.



We had our honeymoon in far north Queensland, which was fantastic. We sat in or beside the pool with or without cocktails! We spent the week relaxing but also spent an afternoon snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef which was amazing. Here is a photo of the view from our little platform/balcony over the pool. I think that might be me in the pool.



And here is a picture of an old chandelier that was in a 'rustic' pub there. It was so beautiful.



We ended up having to work over the Christmas weekend, so we didn't get to spend Christmas with our family and only opened our presents today. Which was lucky as I had ordered my husband's present a little late and it only arrived today!

I also finished my miniatures.com competition entry, so I will try to find photos of it to show you all (it's not good and by no means finished!).

Some awards

Just a quick post to say a big thank you to my followers - as of today, I have 111 followers!

Also, have received some awards recently which are just lovely. Thank you to Synnove and Maria Jose.


So first up, the rules:

1.Thank the person who gave this to you.
2.Copy the logo and place it in your blog.
3.Link the person who nominated you.
4.Name 7 things about yourself that no one would reall know.
5.Nominate seven "Kreativ Bloggers"
6.Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7.Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that you nominate them.

You don´t know this about me:

1. I am currently making my wedding dress - hope to finish it this weekend for my wedding in three weeks.
2. I hate my job.
3. I am obsessive-compulsive about plucking my eyebrows!
4. I long for a daybed on my front verandah to sit in the sun amongst feather pillows to read and drink cocktails as long as I like!
5. I have hang-ups about trading my old car in for a new one - she has given me good service for many years.
6. I was awarded a scholarship for my secondary school.
7. I am always cold, particularly at work.

Next award. I think it is supposed to go to 10 people.


I am passing both these awards on to all my followers and the blogs I follow. I find you all so interesting and inspiring, you all deserve a medal!

Just in time for Halloween

Thought you all may be interested in seeing Julien Martinez's dollhouse. Very very cool and detailed and grungy:




Check out all his custom Blythe dolls, if you're game! (My fiance is freaked out!!)

Quick update on French Shop

I have been a bad blogger of late. Trying to organise my wedding stuff (hating it) and working on my miniatures.com competition entry. But I've partially painted my shingles at long last! I think they need some more colour to give them some variation. Also need to paint the gutters and then add trim around the very top of the roof.



I have pretty much finished the kitchen I think, except for the addition of some very cute little crochet potholders I purchased. I need to make a little hook to hang one beside the stove.





I think when I get the roof painting finished, it will be time to move it off the work table and start something else. Something smaller and quicker this time though!!