Doll Club of Edmonton Show and Sale

On Sunday, Tina, Fay, Erika, Joanne and I took turns manning the M.E.E. table at the Doll Club Show and Sale. It was well-attended by both dealers and buyers.

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of the displays that Tina, Fay and Erika brought but I did take a few pictures of Joanne's and my displays.

M.E.E. has been gifted with years of miniature magazines that we are able to give away at shows like this.

Joanne's display highlighted some of her "miniature in unusual containers" which was out last year's theme.

From the left: a miniature library in a mint tin (from N.A.M.E.'s Gazette, a nail polish box that she turned into a nail salon, a mint box and a key chain from 2000 that was turned into a New York City scene, and this wonderful wine tasting scene over casks of wine in a basket.

 Here are the free magazines that we offered.

I displayed my jewellery shop

and I took in some of my book kits and made this sample to display.

We spoke to several prospective M.E.E. members. Many weren't quite ready to commit to full-time memberships (due to job demands and/or distance - such as those living in Calgary) but several were very interested in our Associate membership.

A MEE Associate member will:

1.    be over the age of 18.

2.    be unable to join MEE as a regular member because of distance, health, employment or other commitments.

3.    pay membership dues of $20.00 per year.

A MEE Associate member will not:

4.    be a voting member of MEE.

5.    be counted as part of a quorum for voting purposes.

6.    be eligible to stand for any MEE positions.

7.    be a member of any MEE committees (e.g. Show and Sale committee, Nomination Committee, Audit Committee)

8.    have borrowing privileges from the MEE library

A MEE Associate membership includes:

9.    attendance at all MEE-sponsored all-day workshops. This does not include the cost of any kits or materials.

10.  receipt of the monthly MEE newsletter.

11.  attendance at the MEE Christmas Party.

12.  One additional evening workshop at no additional charge other than the cost of the kit and/or materials.

A MEE Associate member may:

13.  attend additional workshops/general meetings at a cost of $5.00 per event. This does not include the cost of any kits or materials.

14.  bring one guest to a workshop, at a cost of $5.00 per event. This does not include the cost of any kits or materials.

A MEE Associate member is expected to (if at all possible):

15.  display their miniatures at the annual Show and Sale.

16.  contribute time and effort to supporting MEE activities (e.g. assisting in putting on the Show and Sale ).

One woman, in particular, that we met has been making the most incredible miniatures on her own so we're really hoping that she'll be able to join us in some capacity.

There were a few dealers who had miniatures for sale but nothing that I really needed (as if I need anything LOL) but I did pick up this little chaise longue for $2.00.

It was a very good afternoon. Saw a lot of friends and hopefully made some new ones.

Doll Club Show and Sale September 29, 2019

We're lucky here in Edmonton (and area) that the Miniature Club and the Doll Club get together occasionally and share ideas and resources. One of my favourite events is "Driving Miss Dolly" when our two clubs meet with the Calgary Doll Club in Red Deer. At least three of M.E.E.'s members are also members of the Doll Club so that helps.

Unfortunately, due to venue booking problems, sometimes our two Shows and Sales are on the same day. But this year, we were fortunate that they weren't so the Doll Club had a table at our Show and Sale and some of their members helped us out with security.

Their Show and Sale is tomorrow and M.E.E. will have a table with membership information and displays of some of our work.

DOLL CLUB OF EDMONTON

SHOW AND SALE

Italian Cultural Centre

14230 - 133 Avenue

Edmonton, Alberta

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Occasionally there are some minis at their sale but mostly it's just fun to spent time with similar-minded people and get to know them.

Hope you'll join us.

Mirabel's roombox - Finally finished!!

Over the years, I have bought some roomboxes thinking I could take out the pieces and re-purpose them only to find that everything was SO glued in that to remove anything would damage the piece.

On the other hand, if you don't glue things in place, you can't move a roombox without constantly putting it back together again.

So...when I finish a roombox, I try to get that 'twix and tween' situation where the room is stabilized yet not totally permanent.

Rather than glue everything in, I try to use double-sized carpet tape (the gauze type), poster velcro (extremely thin), and repositionable  mini glue. The mini glue doesn't seem to be available anymore but I still have one bottle of it. I've been told that Aleene's "Tack-it-Over-and Over" works much the same.

Here I've mini-glued the bottoms of all the furniture pieces and the fireplace tools. The rug and the clock have double-faced carpet tape.

Here's the right side of the room. (The cushions are not glued/tacked down.). I'm so excited that I have to keep mentioning that the clock is a working clock!

The left side of the room. All the pieces on the table and the corner piece had been put in place with miniature movable glue awhile back.

Now everything is in place....

Marie won't be out soon and Carol probably won't be out until I'm in Ontario so I will call Diane at Mission Hill Village and arrange for a time for Shirley and me to present it to Mirabel sometime next week.

MEE workshop Tuesday

We are probably one of the luckiest miniature clubs anywhere!

Many of our members have been doing miniatures for years. So we have a lot of old skills.

BUT some of our members are newer to miniatures and have have new skills and new tools!

And most are a mixture of both!

Most importantly, all are willing to share their knowledge!

Last Tuesday's workshop was a night stand taught by Jillian who is a wonderful instructor.

Jillian has a Cricut Maker and designed this wonderful piece on her phone and cut it out of matboard on the Cricut Maker.

That is a working drawer.

I bought two of the kits but have only made one so far. I won't do anything more at this point because I don't know what colour I will want to them to be. You could stain it, or paint it, or even colour it with markers. You can trim it with gold accents or decorate it with flowers or other things with fine tipped markers. So many possibilities.

Next month's workshop will be a vanity to match the night stands. That will be designed by Tina and will be made of wood and the pieces made on her laser cutter. (Tina's son, Fraser, has a 3-D printer so we also get his expertise.)

Jillian brought her Cricut Maker to the workshop and demonstrated its use. Carol K. also has a Cricut Maker and brought several examples of things she has made with hers.

Pictures by Teresa (used with permission - on file)

The petals and leaves of these roses were made on the CriCut Maker.

Gardening tools - Still need to be painted.

 This is my absolute favourite of the pieces Carol made. I'd buy this bird cage in a New York minute!

So we have an incredible amount of new technology available to our club in addition to all the old skills.

Barbara, who is a benefactor of the club over the past couple years, has donated a Cricut Maker to the club. This is in addition to the cash donations she has made to the Children's "Make and Take" Table at our annual show. We have been very blessed to have her support. Thank you, Barbara.

Couple personal things:

Now that I've caught up with the blog and have our Condo AGM tomorrow, it may be awhile before I get back to minis.

I have to get all the Show and Sale information together to pass on to my successor. Of course, I won't get away from it completely but need to have some backup.

My vision has deteriorated over the past couple months and, today, my optometrist advised me that my cataracts are 'ripe' and he is referring me to a cataract surgeon so I'm expecting that that will be in my near future.

I also have a trip to Ontario at the end of October to stay with my grandchildren while Sean and Julie go to Mexico with friends.

Mission Hill Village bazaar

MHV was my mother's home for almost 20 years. They have had a bazaar/bake sale/white elephant/craft sale for years. The white elephant sale is wonderful BUT nothing is priced - which I absolutely hate.

BUT I went over this morning (Saturday) and found this perfect display piece:

Love it but hate the mirrored back so have taped over it.

It's 12 1/2" wide by 8" high x 7 1/2" deep.

I think I will make a room for their next bazaar.

My purchases 2019

Two things I bought that I used right away...

I meant to buy a range hood from Joanne Davies last year but didn't get around to it. But I knew I needed it for Ann's kitchen and, fortunately, Joanne was back this year and had some left.

I removed the trim and painted it with the charcoal Cottage Paint I used for Ann's cupboards.

Here it is in place. Makes a world of difference I think.

Everything in place once again.

Was thrilled to win People's Choice for the roombox!

For Mirabel's roombox, I had the incomplete set of fireplace tools that DS Marie had given me last Christmas. Unfortunately, that included the handle but not the shovel. But Hoanie had the set on the right so bought it. Colour's not quite right but it'll work.

Clipped the circle off...

and glued the shovel inside the handle from the set on the left...

And, voila! Have the set of fireplace tools that I need.

Got this china cabinet, table and chairs (with bonus flower arrangement) from the Doll Club table. They're perfect for the scenes I give away at Christmas.

Spotted this fireplace on Linda Austin's table and fell in love with it. Have to clean off the price tag but I'm visualizing it in a couple scenarios already.

Louise Zawada sells these beautifully wrapped gifts. I always pick up some for 'special' gifts. Kicking myself, though, as Kristy Wipf had some lovely little gift bags made with the same silver paper at the front centre gift. Should have bought a couple.

Got this beautiful cake plate trimmed with Swarovski crystals from Hoanie. It's so pretty.

A lovely (opening) suede handbag from Sue Lefebvre. She had several green ones that I would have liked but I wasn't sure what shade would go with my green and white bedroom so went with the black.

Picked these up from Karen Mohr's table. You can never have too many pitchers and glasses!

Shoot! I can't remember who I bought these candy polymer canes from. Some great all-sorts candy here. For years, I put licorice all-sorts in almost all my scenes. I may start again.

I first used this little glue bottle when I took Linda Austin's jewellery class. Since then, I've used the one she gave us in the class constantly. So I stopped by her table and bought three more.

My friend, Margaret Clark, stopped by and gave me these two tweezers. Looking forward to using them. Thanks, Margaret.

For years, I have been meaning to copy this piece of artwork from the hotel lobby wall. It's one of those projects that keeps niggling at the back of your mind and while you may think you're on the right track, it's never quite there.

Then I spotted these pieces on Hoanie's table. I think they may be the solution but even if they're not, I'm that much closer to being able to make it.

Wasn't planning on buying another light but for $3.00 thought "Why not?" Another bargain from Karen Mohr.

The piece-de-resistance 

Although Janet Harvie is a new dealer to the Edmonton Show and Sale, I've known her for several years and have purchased from her before at the old Bowmanville, ON, show and sale.

I absolutely could not resist this furniture set. My mind is full of ideas on how to display them in a room.

I have a friend who is so very kind to me each year at our Show and Sale and buys me a wonderful gift each year. This year, she bought me this wonderful display cabinet. It's 11 1/2" x 11 1/2" and 12" tall. At this moment, I'm thinking it might be a great setting for Janet's furniture and Linda's fireplace. But we'll have to wait and see. Thanks you very much, Barbara.

The Show and Sale 2019

Oh, my, what a wonderful day!

Packing up - ready to go on Saturday night!

Shot of set up before the sale started.

I must admit we were concerned that the loss of MiniLand (Alex Zohar) would be a death knell for our Show and Sale. It was tough. We lost 36 linear feet of tables and lost a dealer that had an online presence. It was a great loss but we made it through.

We had eleven returning dealers (two after a short absence), eight new dealers, plus our usual MEE tables (Children's grab bags, MEE consignment tables, and MEE donation tables).

Among our new dealers were Kim Stewart and Janet Harvie (our workshop leaders from Ontario); Marlene Hall/Sylvia Reiber; Aleeta Kent; Erika Baker; Karen Mohr and Debbie Marshall.

Marlene Hall/Sylvia Reiber came from Regina with wonderful selections of dolls, ribbons and trims, and flowers.

Aleeta Kent taught two workshops to our club. We were lucky that we caught her before Camp Mini HaHa this year. Cats, dogs, chickens and other things. Her Mr. Grinch was wonderful!

Former MEE member, Debbie Marshall, and her partner, Sheila, had a table of vintage dollhouse furniture. There were some wonderful things! BUT of course many vintage things are 1:16 scale so I couldn't use them. But Debbie and I did discuss the Venus and Martin Dodge books which are in 1:16 scale.

Erika Baker (a MEE member) had some wonderful roomboxes on her table. She had a shop front, a roombox and an attic. Prices were reasonable and the pieces were well-done. You can contact me
if you want more information.

Karen Mohr had great things on her table. Lots of kits and furniture. She won't be back next year as she was clearing things out and at the end of the day, she donated everything that was left to our club. Thank you so much, Karen

The Doll Club of Edmonton had a table this year. (I actually bought a few things there.) It's always a problem with the the timing of their sale. But we do try to have our sales on different weekends. It worked this year. Their doll sale is on September 29, 2019. We will have a table there to advertise our club. As with the "Driving Miss Dolly" trip in June, we want to keep the associated clubs working together.   https://www.facebook.com/events/2424845457589757/

The Workshops

The club sponsored two workshops this year on the Friday and Saturday before the Show and Sale.

Kim Stewart taught this great wicker trunk/blank chest on Thursday. Kim is an I.G.M.A. artisan from Ontario who also teaches at the Guild School in Castine, Maine. This is Kim's second trip to teach here.

Some pictures of work in progress.

Janet Harvie (Maggie Melinda Custom Miniatures) is also from Ontario. This was her first trip here as an instructor and a dealer.

Those who registered for the workshop told Janet in advance their colour choices.

Using the Pretty Pleater for pleat the bed skirts.

Using an unfamiliar sewing machine.

Some of the beds: