Friday, July 31, 2009

Made some slippers


Last Sunday ( this was what I was talking about earlier , but did not want to post them here as yet , as it was meant to be a surprise ) I finished some slippers : two pairs of mens'and one pair of lady's slippers. I neatly packed them into shoeboxes ( from Jims site ) and here they are !

They were stitched from kits by Bobbie Schoonmaker , who sells wonderful charts and kits, and silk gauze ,as well.Her instructions to finish them are very clear and even I could do it.....Stitching is the easy part , you know !!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

and a shop for all these flowers


Of course , I also need a place to put my flowers. For my paper flowers , I do have a shop, a garden , a flower stall ;and there are flowers are all over my houses (except in the pub , of course, I am afraid the local criminal gang is not very much into flowers ).
So I bashed this sweet shallow little shop. it used to be white before I attacked it with scouring-paper, paint and crackle medium.

Monday, July 27, 2009

some more flowers I made yesterday


( My camera died on me, i.e. the battery, so I had to wait till it was revitalized), but it is up and running now.
These are Colombine flowers. NOT the best flowers I ever did, but we hope to do better if we try again. First , however, I also want to make flowers from other classes which I did not make as yet. It is very fascinating to do.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Made wire flowers today


After I had finished some small petitpoint projects ( more about that later ) I decided I was in a mood to mini-play, so I did.
I made two bunches of wire flowers , as per Shelly Norris's classes ; I have several of them lying about , but make them on- and-off, as I find time and/ or like to dos ome playing. It is addictive to do , however ; one can easily sit in front of the tv or on the balcony and just twist quietly.
I tend to use nail polish if I can get away with it , sometimes I use glue, like Shelly does ( and paint mixed in or to paint over ), or sometimes a combination of the two. This time I used white nailpolish with a wonderful sheen to create this Gardenia. I hope teacher will like it.
For those who want to know more about Shelly's work , look at the DHMS magazine , issue 183.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

kitty in hiding


Last week I went to the vet with little Fluffy , my b/w cat, as he had an infection in one of his ears.
Of course he was prescribed eardrops. Now he is a very sweet kitty and not one to fuss, but he sure does know better ways to spend his time, so....
finding new hiding places ! This morning saw the latest addition : from the corner of my eye I saw him wriggling into the bookcase till he found this lovely enclosed space.
A shame his tail was showing !
( Still , I let him be; I will be able to get his eardrops in , anyway )...!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

How to adapt a clock kit, to make it work


This was something which came up at The Camp , a miniature- minded , very lively Yahoogroup.
The question was , how to make a working clock from a clock kit.

I did this some years ago. The trick is to substitute a piece of wood or cardboard for the clock face and to use an insert , like , f.i. from Teepeecrafts . Can probably also use a cheap watch , but I never see the right kind of watch to provide a clock face.

I did not glue the clock insert into the hole, it is just a tight fit.

I also left open the top of the clock ( just using min-wax , or you could use moveable miniature glue ) , so that it is easy enough to open the top of the clock and push the insert out when you want to change the battery.OTOH , you can also just make use of the rim of the clock insert.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Jojozon.co.uk . NOT MINI ; very MAXI



Sometimes I receive fun boxes from a well-known internet shop. The boxes they use are great for fat kitties,like Jojo here ; especially if they do NOT fit into them.....

A pity I cannot upload a soundtrack , too , as she was loudly purring while I took the second pic, obviously very much at her ease !

Friday, July 10, 2009

Oooops, I received an award

from Karin F ( Canada ) on her blog ( miniramblings and musings ). It is a wonderful blog with lots of info.

Thank you Karin ! I am a bit blushing and sitting underneath the table...

Meet Emma


Emma is a lovely little doll , created by Debbie Dixon-Paver , who lives in South Africa and makes incredible dolls. She was sitting with the cats in a vets' waiting room when I saw her first on Debbies website and I fell for her big time !
I named Emma after the daughter of Shelly Hawley-Yan ; this family does a lot of animal rescue.
Emma the doll does love animals , as well, so she often drops in at the cat- lady's house. Recently her own cat had a litter, but her mom sadly doesn't want to keep them all, or even worse ( don't we all know that story ), so she has taken the whole caboodle to rehome at the cat lady's house. She knows the kitties will be welcomed there !

some more cats' loverly things...


Trash cans are good treasure troves for the discerning cat..

An what Major Tom dug out and discarded ( or missed the can , I am not sure which ) is chewed on by happy other kitties ...

This canw as made by Alex Blythe, who alas now left the business. Another quirky and lovely miniaturist with a well- developed sense of humour !

The chewed fish I did make myself, from a feather ( slightly stiffened with glue ) and Fimo head and tail. Not a big deal to do , just try it !

Cats' lovely things in the kitchen


Four- and-twenty blackbirds, hidden in a pie....

Of course , cats do not belong on the kitchen table .

OOOOHHH? REALLY ?

But what about this blackbird pie , conveniently standing there and tempting every cat worth his ( or her ) salt to have a go at it ! I mean , really !
This wonderful pie was baked by Maureen Ballantyne, who was one of the first (as far as I know ) to make these kind of humorous miniatures.

Another lovely thing is the batch of fish lying there, and nothing be done with it for now. If I were a cat, I would be hanging about there, too....

Sunday, July 5, 2009

more friends gifts...

The beautiful bedspread and roll cushion made for me by Petra.
Somehow I can hold a needle to dress dolls, but do not ask me to sew anything alse, neither in mini or in RL ( ask the drooping buttons of my clothes)
The beautiful cat cushion was made for me by Joan Wareing from Upholland, UK, with the motto "Cattitude is everything " Quite right, too!!!




The beautiful tatted tablecloths Winnie made for me. She is an artist , and a patient one .



The scratching cat on he kitty sofa was also given to me by Joan W. She feels guilty ( or threatened by me ) as she once had the courage to say that she did not like life-size-cats, so she is making amends, I am afraid..... !!! Haaahaaa !!!

That beautiful knitted little doll, which was taken up as a bedmate by a Bridget McCarthy cat, was given to me by Tineke. Also such an artist with the needles....Isn't it a sweet combination ?

Wanna in El Paso


Meet another quirky miniaturist who is absolutely fond of telling stories - and does so quite well !!!
Wanna in El Paso .

Wanna does great jobs, creating stories , partly on her own , partly with her ( grand-)children. Fortunately she usually announces them on several lists.I am always careful to take some time to sit back , read and enjoy.

This is the latest creation she did with her grandchild Jenna...
A dragon who wanted a pet - the pet being a little girl. Dragon is devotedly studing a book on how to feed and take care of her (yes, it is a she-dragon , note the bow, the necklace and the painted nails !) pet. Bwhaahhaaa !!


The worst ( in my opinion ) she made is lady Fluenza, though. That story can be found here
It is one of the best stories I ever saw made up in miniature ! One gets the shivers reading this story and an immediate craving for aspirin.....

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Hot in Amsterdam...


But the cat lady is prepared for the worst , see ?
Flea powder.....

Friends in the cat lady's house: friends corner !


From time to time I receive presents or swaps from sweet friends. They ( the gifts ) often land in the cat lady's house, as they are often ( although not always ) cat-related, otherwise they just fit in so nicely that I want them to be there.

On the left : a cut- out three-D painting of two kittens that Petra , my friend in Bergen op Zoom , NL ,made for me

In the red basket : a Spanish kitten , made by Teruka in Spain; she also made the basket.A sweet guy - my b/w was really intrigued when I unpacked him....!

The basket with bunny was a very unexpected and sweet present from Anne Johnson in Ca, USA.
She also added a pic in mini of her grandchildren in Victorian clothes; it is hanging over the cat-lady's bed.

The beautiful line drawings were given to me by Shelly Hawley - Yan ( Canada ), for a swap session, as was the dark red cat pillow .Shelly does a lot of animal rescue work, so she knows I love kitties !

The dress with kitties was given to me by Petra, again , so lovely ! She also made this quilt hanging over the bed.( I cannot quilt to save my life ) Now here is a clever lady.....
The light blue cat climber and the kitty playing there came from Elaine,St Louis, USA, another PPer(petit-pointer) who visited me about two years ago ....

THANK YOU ALL !!