Morning with Joanne

Our club project this year is Joann Swanson's Magazin de Fleur from the March and April, 2008, issues of Miniature Collector. I'm not doing it myself but friend Joanne is doing it to have a place for all the flowers in her stash (which is on a par with my own LOL).

Joanne had had problems with building the inner box of the project so she got some extra bookboard and voluntold me to help with it. (Actually, that's not entirely true - I did volunteer - but I love that word!) Bookboard is great but it does take a certain amount of strength to cut and Joanne doesn't have that at the moment.

So she came over Friday morning and we had a wonderful time together while I cut the pieces required and we glued it together. Only got the one picture:

Getting ready to glue the back on...

but we got it done and had a good visit while we waited for the glue to dry.

Years ago, Vern bought me this wonderful tool for holding items at right angles while the glue dried. I've tried to find at least one more (and preferably 3 more) but have had no luck. Joanne and I decided we'd try Princess Auto (where it was originally purchased) sometime in the future.

We made plans to do some shopping then I remembered I had to be here to deliver keys to our cleaning staff. How disappointing!

Potluck Dinner

Once a month a group of us in the condo get together for a potluck dinner. You don't sign up for it: you just show up with an entree, salad or dessert and a looney to help pay for coffee. Sounds a bit chancy, doesn't it? But somehow, it has all worked out.

There was a bit of money in the kitty for a turkey so everyone who had attended since we started in September was contacted and this one time people were given specific things to bring.

We ended up with an incredible menu - WAY too much food - but a delicious meal and even leftover turkey to take home. (I love turkey sandwiches.)

Most of us also belong to the condo coffee club which has a luncheon with a gift exchange next week so we decided to forego a gift exchange.

I'm trying to downsize some of my minis so I decided I would donate a Christmas scene I made years ago for a draw. It has a false wall in the back with a scene outside the window.

The rough edge of the foamcore frame was visible...

so I found some ribbon that would cover it.

The top of the box.

The chair in the room was the first upholstered piece of furniture I ever made (probably 25 - 30 years ago). It's the wing chair from p. 62 of Joan McElroy's Dolls' House Furniture Book. Just wanted to make sure I had some pictures of it.

At the end of the evening, I made the draw and my friend, Jeanne, won it! You may recall that Jeanne is the great aunt of the two young people who sometimes come and make miniatures with me.

We all had a bit of a giggle because Jeanne had kidded about taking out all other names and threatening to replace them with hers! But she did win it honestly and I'm so pleased it went to a good home.

MEE Christmas Party

You must have thought I dropped off the face of the earth. I had good intentions. The Christmas party was on December 2 and I downloaded all the pictures on December 3. BUT in Windows 8, you can't do anything with pictures except look at them. So I had to download Windows 8.1 which took about three hours including 130-odd updates.

Then life in general kept interfering and I'm just now finding/making the time to tell you about it.

We started arriving at the church shortly after 6, set up and visited until about 6:45.

June putting some last minute touches on a gingerbread house from the Quarter Scale Houseparty in Portland.

Three trees and ornaments for the Christmas tree draw.

Barb S. brought in this wonderful Christmas display.

Closeup of the table in Barb's display.

 Each member brings an appetizer or dessert. LOTS of wonderful food!

Some of the food.

Some of the desserts.

 We had a good turn out.

During the meal, Joanne and Sunni entered us with readings and jokes. Then Joanne, Sunni, Barb R., Lorry S. and I sang a special song for the group. Didn't get a picture but you can check the song out on YouTube.

After that, we took our gifts and chairs and formed a circle. While Joanne read a version of A Visit from St. Nicholas, we passed gifts left and right until the poem ended. Then we had a ball opening our gifts

Joanne read Pippin the Christmas Pig to us. She capped the evening by telling the Wee Wee Chu joke with Barb R. Sunni and I joining in the punch line.

Some of the wonderful gifts that were exchanged:

from June K.

Teresa received this from Joanne R.

Lorry S. made this little birdhouse.

Marg W. painted this!

Tina MacD. was working with decals.

Barb S. made these wonderful Christmas ornaments (by Arnold Volker). Exquisite painting!

Carol K. made these lovely tooled leather pieces at Castine! (I'm SO envious.)

It was a lovely evening and got us in a holiday mood!

Not quite what I had planned...

but the right thing to do. LOL

When I finished making the little tables, I was tempted to put the box and bulletin board away and leave it at that. But after thinking about it, decided that the right thing would be to empty the box and put everything on the Christmas bulletin board. Took awhile and had to cram some things together but did get it done!

Glad to have that done but it leads me to think that my next project should be to bring out all the bulletin boards and sort through the three KIS boxes of miniatures that haven't been sorted yet. (Most everything is bagged but it's still a big project.) Would be wonderful to get it done but it's such a time-consuming pain in the butt.

My friend and neighbour, Pamela, has been after me to "Christmas" the hanging on my door. There is no room for a Christmas tree so my first thought was to hang greenery along the front of the fireplace. Tried that and wasn't overly pleased so just hung a wreath there.

I absolutely LOVE this hanging which was made by Joyce Buchanan who passed away last year. It's magnificent and I've actually had some people be annoyed when I open the door because they're still busy checking things out. BUT I have to be honest with people and tell them that I didn't make it ALTHOUGH I do miniatures. One of these days I have to make something of my own to hang on the door. (That's a LONG way down on the list though!)

We are in the middle of a humongous snow storm! And it is COLD! Right now it's -25 C. (about -12 F.) I have a 15" drift of snow on the balcony! Should warm up (a bit) by Monday.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Wow! Had this great idea!

Rather than giving the tables to club members, I'm going to donate them to Meals on Wheels! One of the condo board members drives and delivers to 14 people and she gave me the name to call to find another driver for the other 10.

This is something that the St. Albert club did years ago and I'm SO enthusiastic about it!

This is making me enthusiastic about Christmas!

Mini groove back (I hope)

Our club Christmas party is next Tuesday so I came up with this little project! I finished making the little tables from the styrofoam cups and cupcake liners:

Then I got out the Christmas stuff I had left over from the Christmas shop:

The box of leftovers from the Christmas shop.

My Christmas bulletin board. Hope what's left in the box will fit on here.

So here are the 24 tables I ended up with:

 Thought the table with the candlesticks was a bit bare so added a little tree.

There are only 24 which I really hope will be enough. Our membership has really grown this year (we're up to almost 40 although 8 are associate members).

Not a GREAT project but hope this means my mini-groove is coming back.

Joanne and I went to Dollarama to get more cupcake papers this afternoon but they were sold out :-( .
I still have another set that I bought for the children's "make and take"at our next Show and Sale but hope to keep them for that.

Then we went to Canadian Tire where Joanne got a great little three drawer rolling cart for under her upstairs work room.

A good day!

And I have a little project that I hope to get done tomorrow so maybe I can overcome this lethargy and get some things done.

Random Act of Kindness

On Friday morning, Joanne, Sunni and I went to the Make It craft sale at the Enjoy Centre.

Parking is such a problem that we went at 9:00 (got a great spot!) and looked around the Enjoy Centre and had some tea before the sale opened.

The last time we were there they had run out of the flamingos so I picked up a couple this time. (I finally spotted the one I knew I had in the plant stall I did for our Little Fair on the Prairie display two years ago.) But these are so much more vivid that I wanted them for my Christmas shop. Sounds like a strange choice for a Christmas shop but my DBIL Grahame has this thing for pink flamingos and even topped their Christmas tree with one a few years ago so had to have them! Haven't put them in the Christmas shop yet but will get around to it soon.

The Make It sale was good although I don't generally buy anything ... really trying to downsize.

The one thing, though, that I cannot resist is miniature art! Think I may have to make another Art Gallery. I have so much art that didn't make it into the first one and I keep buying new pieces.

This is a set of four 2" x 2" magnet sets by North Birch Grove. Love them!

BUT the highlight of my day was this pen and ink drawing by Lois Bienvenue of Vegreville!

With the mat, it's 4 3/16" x 3 3/16". Unmatted, it's 3 1/4" x 2 1/4". I fell in love with it! Lois was talking with a couple (my condo neighbours, actually) so I waited until she was free as the picture was framed in 3/4" barnboard and I was hoping to get it unframed. I told her what I wanted it for and she looked around...then took it from the frame and said, "Merry Christmas!" What a wonderful gift!
I am blessed/thrilled!

I have to think about another Art Gallery!

This cold has really got me down. I don't feel 'sick' but I'm just so tired....Definitely, my 'get up and go' has 'got up and went'.

Today I thought of a little project that might (1) use up some of my stash and (2) get me enthused about working with minis again. I hope that tomorrow I'll be able to show you something.