Catch up again!?!

Writing this blog has been on my to-do list forever it seems but always got relegated to 'tomorrow'.

Louise Z., a founding member of M.E.E. and a regular dealer at our Show and Sale, has moved and had a garage sale to really downsize her stash...and what a stash...rooms of supplies, tools, and minis. Since I, too, should be downsizing, I knew I had to be pretty judicious in what I bought.

These are what I went to buy! During Covid, Louise made hundreds of these wonderful gifts and I knew I wanted to get lots of them as I was down to just a few in my stash and they make such a great addition to almost any scene.

Love this little painting. This is an artist that Louise and her husband liked in RL and she asked him to do some in miniature for her.

Mae A. the Executive Producer for Oniva, who borrowed Ann's kitchen for an upcoming show lives in St. Albert, so she was kind enough to return the kitchen to me after they filmed the show. Because of that and because she is so enthusiastic about miniatures, I made her this little scene which I made in a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 6" plastic box.

Bit of carpet on the floor.

desk with a vase of flowers, a laptop and my readable book about St. Albert

 with a wastepaper basket underneath.

and a chair

painting above the desk

and from the side.

Oh, shoot! Just looked back and realized that I missed writing about actually doing the potluck dinner scene. 

I needed a table to go with the chair and loveseat, so I threw this together. The end pieces are cut from an old fan and the top and bottom shelf are from scraps of wood. The whole thing is stained black with a felt pen.
 

I made cushions for the chair and loveseat from some ribbon from my stash. Cut three small strips of ribbon, folded them in half, glued the sides, then stuff them with some cotton cut from a cotton ball, then glued the final opening shut and held it in place with a clamp until the glue dried.

I my last post, I mentioned that Barb R. and I had brainstormed about the loveseat and chair and decided they would look better if they were green. So I coated them with gesso and when that was dry I painted them hunter green. Love the look. 

Still having trouble with working in 1:24 so the cushions were too big for cushions so decided to use them as seat cushions instead.

Needed something to put on the coffee table and I remembered I had some square 

plates I had made from square sequins in a class that Tina had taught so grabbed one for this.

Here's the finished scene.

And here you can see it hanging from its stand.

And I got this years "The Book" done! I finally cut back from 20 to just six for immediate family this year so it wasn't quite as daunting a task as it has been in the past.

Had a lovely call from a neighbour who won a miniature at a Christmas potluck. Her DIL was quite taken with it and wanted to know if I sold any of my work. I said 'no' but mentioned I had a front door and porch but that it was Hallowe'en themed. She had her heart set on Christmas so I told Marg to give me an hour or so and I'd see what I could do.

So I took all the Hallowe'en stuff off and replaced it with the wreath and some wooden holiday ornaments that my DS Marie had given me. Then I added one of Judy M's tea-light scenes and took it up. DIL was thrilled with it and I was glad to pass it on. Win:Win.

And the Hallowe'en stuff will go to Joanne for her shop!

My cleaning lady is a high school friend of my son Sean so I've known her for years. She's a scrapbooker so I got the bright idea to make her a scrapbooking scene for Christmas. I've done one before and I've saved most of the printies, etc., so don't have to start from scratch. But the problem is that she comes on Tuesday so if I want to have it ready for then, it's going to be a long night of cutting out printies. Not to mention a long day tomorrow putting it together.

So I guess I better sign off and get cutting.

Barb, the Potluck Dinner ornament, and Barb again, CBC

My friend, fellow miniaturist and upstairs neighbour, Barb, came by yesterday afternoon to see what I had purchased at the Show and Sale and see my displays. Had a great visit.

Later, I looked through my stash and purchases to see what I could possibly use in the Potluck dinner ornament and came up with these things:

Think these will work over the table and chairs on the right hand side.

Wanted to hand this from the ceiling for it's too large and blocked the tree so it's out.

Had thought to cut off the golf tee as a base for a table to go with the furniture below. The golf tee will still work but that piece of lazer poop will not. Need something a big bigger in diameter and thinner in depth.

Found these great 1:24 scale Christmas card on Jim Collins/Small Stuff 

 printie site. (One of my all time-favourites!) Plan on putting them on the left side of the room.

Maybe chair seats and/or cushions on the furniture.

In the meantime, Barb had gone through her stash and found some things she hoped would work for the scene. 

And I had gone through my collection of the first five years of American Miniaturist magazines and found several needlework patterns that I thought Barb might like to try as she does incredible needlework in both RL and miniature.

So I visited her this afternoon and we had a wonderful session of "What do you think?" Those brainstorming sessions are the thing that Zoom sessions will never replace.

One of the ideas that we came up with was changing the colour of the furniture from Debbie from the yellow/gold to a forest green. Another was making small cushions from the plaid ribbons and possibly covering the chair seats on the table chairs with the plaid.

So it's coming together in my head, at least.

In other news, I heard from the CBC and the filming of Ann's kitchen has been delayed until mid-October. Bless her heart, Ann has agreed to that and my daughter has that week off work so we will be able to take the kitchen in then. Looking forward to it.

The Show and Sale

Sunni had been kind enough to take my displays in on Saturday afternoon so all I had to do was go in and turn the lights on in Ann's kitchen.

Joanne and I arrived at 9 because she had made a lovely display in Joanne Prodor's memory and wanted to get it in the Show room before it opened. The first non-member face I saw was Diane who has attended our Show and Sale for years so we had time to exchange a few words. Lovely to see her every year.

Next I saw three members from Saskatoon who stayed in the hotel this year. (Last year they stayed in the guest suite in my condo.)

Once the doors opened, I headed to talk to two dealers who were having birthdays, then to greet some special out of town dealers whom I hadn't seen since last year.

Then went shopping! (In no particular order!)

Bought this lovely little kitten and carrier from member Loretta who flew up from Wisconsin for the S&S which she has done for some years. It's 1:48 but I plan on using just the kitten in my Potluck dinner ornament.

Got this luggage set from Gay. She had several kits for them but had two finished kits so, of course, went that route.

Picked up these kachinas from Marg W. who got them in Arizona. They're about 2 1/4" tall.

I have several pieces of Canadian First Nations' art so everything may become a museum display.

Got this great IKEA type miniature from Dainty Little Dollhouse from Saskatoon.

 All the drawers are removable. Not sure yet just where it will go.

Picked up these kits from Gay. The bedroom furniture in the Bombay dollhouse is mostly made from these kits. Will find someplace for them!

Debbie M., a dealer and distant member, joins us each year. She was kind to gift me with this set of 1:24 furniture, some of which will also end up in the Potluck dinner ornament.

Picked up this stand mixer to put in Ann's kitchen as a 'thank you' for Ann's lending me the kitchen for a couple weeks.

Also got this gorgeous brass easel from Gay and the light works!

Had an enjoyable conversation with Gay's mother, Gladys, and their table neighbour, Bob Frances.

The following pieces were from Donna of I Love Minis Canada. Her Etsy shop is here.

Bought this because I have it in real life. It will go in Ann's kitchen as a further 'thank you' for the use of the kitchen. (That's is own fitted packaging at the top of the picture.)

This set of mixing bowls also come in its own fitted case and also comes with a whisk, a spatula and six smaller bowls - two each in three sizes. Worth every penny!!
This purchase was personal. I have that set of mixing bowls which we received as a wedding present 52 years ago and which I still use at least weekly.

While the Show and Sale was lovely and, as you can see, I bought some beautiful pieces (some of which I actually have plans for LOL), the real joy is seeing friends, old and new, that I often only see once a year. And helping man the Membership table gave me a wonderful chance to talk with prospective new members and hear what they've been doing and/or planning gives me a new enthusiasm that I hope lasts for at least a few of my own projects.

And while I like that our meetings and workshops are now on Zoom, it's so nice to meet new members in person and talk one on one.

I must apologize that I did not think to take pictures of all the wonderful displays that club members brought in this year. There weren't as many this year as there have been in the past but the work was stellar and it's always a joy to see where members imaginations  and skills take them.

Show and Sale tomorrow!!!! YIPPEE!!

Thursday was a mad rush to get the Art Gallery completed. So much so, that I didn't take all the pictures I should have. 

A display stand made from a case a purchased miniature came in. The brass elephant was in a group of brass pieces my DS Marie gave me. The blown glass on top was an ear-ring.

I bought the Geode at the St. Albert Farmers' Market and the great little "ivory" piece on top was an ear-ring.

These two stands were purchased from club member, Liliane V., at our June members' garage sale.

On top is another geode from my stash along with some candles. The whale on the bottom was from my DS Marie.

The "Reclining Nude" is one of several pieces of glass "scrap" I got at a lovely glassblowing shop on the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia several years ago on a great trip with two fellow miniaturists. I painted her with red Gallery Glass and am finally glad to find a home for her. The geode is also from the St. Albert Farmer's Market.

I really like glass roomboxes because they're so open but, oh, my, they are terribly hard to photograph, especially when I'm not the best photographer to begin with.

I've added the art gallery sign (printed on brochure paper) along with
 the door (framed in adhesive aluminum foil) to which I've added  signs showing the store hours, credit cards accepted and a reversible Open/Closed sign.
After this was taken, I also added silver panels  to push the door from either side. I had two great half circles to glue on either side for handles but my E-6000, Quick Grip, Zap-a-Gap and my small tubes of Super Glue were ALL dried up so had to abandon that idea.

The left side

The right side

ANN'S KITCHEN

This is one of my all-time favourites of the rooms I have made. The fridge/freezer is full of food. The cupboards and drawers are pretty much full with food, pots and pans, kitchen tools, cutlery.

Even though you can't see them, Ann and I know they're there. (As do her grandchildren who enjoy it when they visit.)

Ann brought it in to work yesterday morning and I went over to pick it up. She was terribly upset as she had tipped it when she got it out of her vehicle and some things had fallen and moved. I reassured her that it would only take a few minutes to fix and not to worry. So I put everything back in place and put new batteries in the light (which surprisingly was still working, albeit dimly, after five years).

We were blessed to have Ann supporting us during a very difficult time in our life and I'm so glad that she was willing to share the room back for a couple weeks so I can enjoy it again and share it with others.

THE SALE TOMORROW

We have a great line-up of dealers for tomorrow. I really don't need anything (like that has ever made a difference LOL).  

However, I would like to find a few things to add to the kitchen as a "thank you" to Ann for letting me borrow it. And I'd like to see if I can find a few things in 1:24 scale to complete my Potluck Dinner door prize for this year. 

I'm unlikely to find anything to add to "Vern's Attic" for Jonah and Holly but will keep my eyes open. I've also been collecting pieces for a memory box for Leanne, so will keep my  eyes open for something to add to that.

Quite honestly, mostly I'm looking forward to meeting old friends whom I've met over the years, seeing our faithful dealers who have supported us through all these years, meeting in person newer members of the club that I only know through Zoom and doing my shift at the membership table (from noon to 2 p.m.) and meeting all the people who are incredibly excited to meet other people who share their enthusiasm, understand and support it.

R.I.P. Joanne Prodor

From Sunni Dixon:

It is sad news to announce the sudden passing of the founder of the Miniature Enthusiasts of Edmonton . In the cold winter of 1982 Joanne, along with a couple of her friends had the idea to start a club. She led and inspired us and organized us for many years. We met pretty much every Tuesday night ! Such wonderful times and friendships still existing to this very day.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family. 

As a latecomer (2002) to M.E.E., I only got to meet Joanne a few times but her legacy certainly lives on in our club. What Sunni didn't go into above was the fact that those die-hard miniatures who attended that first meeting had to leave their vehicles running in the parking lot as it was -40 degrees that night. Now that's dedication.

Back wall of the Art Gallery

 Well, I finally decided on the positioning of the art work on the back wall. Than I had to attach everything to the matboard. I've always used a web-type double sided tape to attach various things in my dollhouses and roomboxes. I used to get it at WalMart but hadn't been able to find it for quite some time. At one of our club garage sales, I did find a roll of double-sided carpet tape so I had a back up for the web style tape when I ran out. Managed to get these things in place with the web type until I needed to use the different tape for the three round red pieces.

While the back wall of matboard was dry-fitted to fit tightly against the back wall, I put a strip of the latest double sided tape across the top of the wall to ensure it stays in place.

So with the back wall in place, I'm ready to finish the room.

Have gone through my stash looking for things to fill in the round display pieces I bought from Liliana so will try out some of the possibilities tomorrow.

My DS Marie gave me this great number of brass balls lit by LEDs. I really want to use them somehow in this piece but just haven't figured out how to do it..