What a great afternoon!

Miniaturist Marijke from New Brunswick, whose blog several of us follow, has been visiting her family over the holidays and came over yesterday afternoon. We were joined by five members of M.E.E..

The afternoon just flew by as we had the greatest visit talking about all aspects of minis: our respective clubs, shows, brick and mortar stores and the lack thereof, Castine, Chicago, Camp Mini HaHa (where Marijke, Tina and I met). Marijke shared flower-making ideas with Teresa.Tina shared her ideas for using her newest piece of equipment.

Marijke gifted each of us with a beautiful poinsettia plant.

And she also gave me this lovely stitched Navajo  rug in a design she found in Arizona. She hoped the neutral colours would help me find a place for it. At this point, though, I think it may end up in one of my art galleries.

Now that Marijke's three children and spouses are living in Alberta, we hope that we'll see her more often.

Merry Christmas to All!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Mine was very quiet but most enjoyable!

I hadn't expected any minis this Christmas but my DS Marie gave me a long box filled with all these wonderful treasures!

More 1:6 than 1:12

The one on the right is 2 3/8" and the rest are 2".

All 1:12. The footed bowl is filled with glass fruit.

One of the fireplace tools is missing but the handle is there so I can fix it. Great little sail boat and two hand towel racks.

Nine mugs - or glasses (if I take the handles off). Also 1:12

1:6 deck of cards' tuba, coffee grinder; ????; tray probably 1:6

I am so thrilled with all these minis! Already thinking what/where I can use them!

Gift and Plan for the New Year!

Thanks to the wonderful contribution from Lorry Saunders' family to M.E.E., Luci Hansen from Oregon will be joining us as an instructor in May of 2018. She'll be teaching her LED light/soldering class AND her 1:48 Brooke Tucker Golden Christmas.

I still have some of my birthday pig money left. With that and Christmas money from Mom and Leanne today, I'm going to take Luci's Brooke Tucker Golden Christmas class.

Leanne was incredibly surprised that I had decided to take a 1:48 class as I have resisted that for some time. She didn't think I'd be able to get the same detail in 1:48 as I do in 1:12 but when I explained that (1) it's a matter of space, (2) even Joanne is doing a lot of 1:48 now, and (3)  I'm working from a kit in a class, I won't end up with a lot of extras as I do when I'm working from scratch in 1:12.

THEN she laughed and laughed! And said, "where did that all come from?" It always blows her mind when she is so knowledgeable about minis.

It's such a shame that she isn't interested in doing miniatures herself. She has a great sense of miniatures and one of the best miniature eyes I have ever seen. But it's not her thing so I have to accept that.

Tea set from Marie

While I've never worked in 1:6 (play/Barbie scale), Marie had told me she was bringing out this incredible tea set made from quail eggs for me. She picked it up at the Peace River Put and Take awhile back. (She even went back and picked up the broken cup in the hope that I would be able to use bits of it.)

Robert, bless his heart, said, "Now you have to make something to put it on and find something to put it in." I already have this lantern so think I'll make a 1:6 table to go in it, wallpaper the back (so the damage to the sugar bowl won't be quite so evident and that will be my vignette. Maybe put a picture on the wall....that's the plan so far at least.

Elizabeth's dollhouse 4

Well, I gave up after my post #3 on Sunday. Then yesterday and today were pretty busy with real life although I picked away at the roof a bit yesterday and some tonight with some progress.

BUT hit a major snag!The very top layer of shingles on both sides were nailed down with 5/8" finishing nails about 1/2" apart. The claw on my regular hammer is to big to fit in there and pull them so I've been using a combination of pliers and a small claw hammer DD Leanne gave me years ago to get them out. As you can imagine, this is slow going! Will just have to keep picking away at it.

I thought about just pounding the nails in but they're already poking through the underside of the plywood so that's not an option.

DS Marie and DBIL Robert (Elizabeth's grandparents) arrived here at 2 this afternoon so we all had a good visit with Mom. They'll come over Friday morning to see if the dollhouse will fit in their vehicle. If I can get it finished and they have room for it, they'll take it up with them. (I hope on both counts.)

A Christmas gift....Yay!

Just to take a break from the ongoing saga of Elizabeth's dollhouse, I have to show you my WONDERFUL Christmas gift from my BFF Joanne.

Looks like a usual tube of lipstick!

But when you open it and twist up the 'lipstick'

 this wonderful fairy appears!

This wonderful lipstick fairy was done by Sue Anne "Ladybug" Thwaite..

Thank you so very much for this Joanne.

Elizabeth's dollhouse 3

Applied a second coat of paint to the two pieces of molding. AND remembered to put on my gloves...and wouldn't you know it, not a speck of paint on the gloves.

Best laid plans and all that....

Well,, the back shingles came off pretty easily awhile back.

But the front ones are stuck! But I'm making progreaa.

My heat gun, chisel and what I've gotten off so far.

Ran into another slight snag in that the shingles across the peak of the roof are also nailed down so that will slow me down a bit more.

One of the reasons I had planned on replacing the shingles with felt was that I had a big piece of felt and had hoped that it would cover the roof without having to be pieced. Until I thought to measure the felt (a bit late in the whole scheme of things, I admit) and it's 36" x 36" and the roof is 38 1/2" wide.

So I guess I'll have to use the 1/8" composite wood product that Leanne and I bought originally for the roof. But I'm going to wait until tomorrow to cut that.

So, my job for tonight is simply  to clear the roof. Won't even hang the curtains until everything else is finished.

Elizabeth's dollhouse 2

Why do I never think to put rubber gloves on until  my hands are covered with paint?!? The idiot in me, I guess.

I got the two corner moldings cut first since I wanted to paint them first. Did not too badly considering it was the first time I've used a Skil saw in ages. Panicked a bit when I couldn't find my white spray paint but it was just tucked away behind some others so all was well.

Hung a plastic sheet in the bathtub so I could paint in there. I hate spray paint! But finally got them painted...but will need another coat. So glad I did that first.

Goo Gone took off most of the paint on my hands and  the remainder is dry enough that I can work.

Glued the upper stairwell in place with wood glue.

Now to go from room to room and fix all the wallpaper!

What a nightmare! Don't know how I would have managed at all without the glue spreader. Some of the loose pieces were by doors or the front edge so I could put in a piece of wood and clamp the wallpaper in place but some were in odd spots that required my fingers to do the clamping.

Not to mention that I have to take my glasses off to see what I'm doing!

Still have to tackle one more place in this corner.

Fortunately, the wallpaper on the first floor is in pretty good shape and the only pieces that need to be glued can be clamped.

All but one spot on the first floor is glued and clamped. Will get the other done when the glue has dried on the first pieces.

All the curtains have been washed and are drying. When that's done, I'll put them back on the rods and hang them.

...And pronounce the inside done.

Then I'll tackle the roof.

That will just leave the outside to wash, repair the front door, add the missing shutter and a few other odds and ends.

After that, I'll go through the furniture I picked up for it and see if there's anything to add from my stash.

Hope to get the roof done today.

Elizabeth's dollhouse

Well, I've procrastinated much too long and must get this done now. Fortunately, it really only needs cosmetic touch-ups - wallpaper reglued, curtains washed and rehung, stairwell on the second floor reglued. My glue spreader from Tina at the Christmas party will come in handy.

Most everything on the walls is glued in place so will just leave them. I've already taken out the toilet - I have a plastic replacement for it.

The outside needs a good wash, one shutter is missing and two corner moldings need to be replaced.

Curtains are in the wash and will be rehung. Wallpaper seams need regluing.

The stairwell needs regluing.

Glue down wallpaper.

I removed the light fixture as the wiring was shot. Again, wallpaper and curtains.

The front door needs work but the stairs are rock solid.

Curtains and wallpaper again.

Needs a good wash, especially the windows. Corner molding needs to be replaced on two corners.

Couldn't get a picture of the front but there is a shutter missing and the front door needs work.

The biggest and most difficult thing will be removing the rest of the shingles. Think I'm going to cover the roof with green felt.

More Christmas

Well, the time is just flying by! I have 11 copies of the book printed and bound - only 9 more to go. Have to mail 5 so I better get cracking and get them in the mail.

DS Marie and DBIL Robert will be here Tuesday of next week so I have to get working on Elizabeth's dollhouse.

Tuesday was the condo's coffee club Christmas luncheon and gift exchange. Wednesday was a visit from Rosalle and Barb R. from upstairs, catching up on odds and ends of condo business then a condo board meeting. And tomorrow, Joanne and I are meeting with the hotel to put the deposit down on next year's show and sale room, then meeting Tina for lunch then going to Paint for Joy so Joanne can pick up the paints she needs for her current project.

On the weekend, I checked out the Put and Take and found this little padded box.

With the lid removed and the box on its side, I have a wonderful roombox! The inside measurements are 7 1/2" deep x 8 1/8" high and 15 1/8" wide. It will go into my stash until I decide what to do with it.

Since our miniature club meetings are on Tuesday nights, I don't always have a chance to join the ladies for our craft night here in the building. But I was able to go this week and made three copies of my "City of St. Albert" book. It's an 18 page accordion style book telling about my hometown in words and pictures. It's 9/16" wide and 5/8" tall and about 1/8" thick. I designed it in January 2012 and made about 70 copies of it at that time to give away at the Camp meeting at the Chicago Show that year.

At one time I carried them around in my purse and handed them out to miniaturists that I would meet but I don't think I've made any for a couple years at least.

My friend, Marijke from New Brunswick, has three of her children living in Alberta now so she and her husband will be here for a week and a half at the end of this month. I'm hoping we'll be able to spend a couple of hours together while they're here. She is the author of her own blog and is a great miniaturist. Hope you'll check out her blog.

I mentioned that Rosalle Pinske (Needleart Treasures) came by on Tuesday afternoon to visit with Barb R. and me. It was really nice to spend some time with her as, since she's an associate member of M.E.E., we don't see her as often as we would like. Both Barb and I had ordered her new sock monkey at the Show and Sale so she also delivered them to us.

front

back

My favourite of her work is her angel, which at a shade over 1", makes a great tree topper. IIRC she also makes these in silver.

Her variegated afghans are absolutely wonderful! Don't think I have any pictures of them because I often use them to finish off Christmas rooms that I give as gifts. Almost all my work is modern, so I don't have much call for her doilies, etc., but they, too, are wonderful.

I highly recommend her work.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Doesn't look much like Christmas as the temperature has been above 0C for several days now but since three of my Christmas events took place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and I have 11 of the 20 copies of "The Book" that I give as Christmas presents printed and bound, it was a good week.

First, of course, was our M.E.E. Christmas party on Tuesday night. We meet in McClure United Church and the basement is always beautifully decorated for Christmas so when we arrived to set up, it was already quite festive.

Gifts from M.E.E. at each place

Gift from Barb S. of teensy beads

Two tables for the savouries and the one in the back for sweets and the punch.

As the food comes in....

The punch and the beginning of the sweets!

Each year, the club supplies three Christmas trees. Members who bring in six ornaments can enter their name in a draw for one of the trees and one third of the ornaments contributed. Many of the long-term members bring in ornaments, but having won the draw previously, do not enter their names.

The tree draw...

Some of us sitting around visiting....

Tina lead a trivia quiz about Christmas songs and movies. Our table won and each person received this wonderful glue package! 

Glue spreader, glue bottle, glue bottle covers and glue tips!

Oops! Marg lead another Christmas Carol quiz. Our table missed one answer and two tables tied and Joanne supplied the tie-breaking question. Was  very close. 

Our club is SO incredibly blessed to have Tina as a member AND that Tina has a laser cutter!  She has done so many wonderful projects for us (and gifts us quite often with laser poop!)

For Christmas, she made some wonderful RL Christmas ornaments and gave each of us half an ornament that we had to meet up with the possessor of the matching piece. When we met with that person and reported in, she gave us a choice of keeping the ornament that marched or a different one.

I received the doves, matched with Holly and she received another ornament.

 

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After the food and games, we moved our chairs into a circle for the gift exchange. In the past couple years, we have done the "left and right) story (or something similar). This year, Joanne found a "left, right and across" that involved much chaos and was great fun!

Then Joanne read us our annual Christmas story. This year's was Berkeley Breathed's "A Wish for Wings That Work".

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While Joanne was reading the story, Bev passed around a bag that contained gifts for each member.

 Mine was this wonderful inch tall ceramic piece.

My Christmas gift from Cheryl S. was two utility knives (with blades)

AND this wonderful LED magnifier! 

It has two settings of lights - one that is direct and one that is general!

 My dear friend, Cheryl H., won one of the Christmas trees and ornaments in the draw. Although she lives in Nova Scotia, she had left her Christmas angels with me to enter.

It was one of the best M.E.E. Christmas evenings that I can recall.

Wednesday:  Several of us who worked at W. D. Cuts School in the past met for dinner at Luisa's on Perron Street then four of us went on to the Arden Theatre to attend the St. Albert Community Band Concert.

Thursday: Almost all of us who have attended the condo potluck over the past year got together for a wonderful Christmas meal.

Just the beginning of the food!

 What an incredible "get-together" of friends!