Wee Cute Treasures

Miniature Needlepoint Tea Cosy

2012-01-07T13:59:00.000Z

This little tea cosy is my first attempt at making a miniature needlepoint tea cosy. It has two very different sides and was stitched on 32 count silk canvas. The flowery side features a bowl of summer flowers which is my own design.

All was fine until I was moving stuff around my workspace and this tiny little tea cosy flew through the air from the safety of a nice clean shelf into a cup of cold coffee on my desk underneath. I watched with horror as hours of my work plummeted into that murky puddle. Somehow - remaining calm - I fished the tea cosy out of the coffee and immediately under a cold water tap. Miraculously there was no real damage. I must have moved quickly enough to stop the coffee penetrating the body of the fibres of the embroidery thread. Considering these embroidery threads belonged to my long-dead grandmother and are at least 60 years old this is truly a miracle. Maybe my grandmother was somehow instrumental in seeing no lasting damage was done!

The bee design on the other side of the tea cosy is a modification of a cross-stitch pattern I found free online and was stitched specially with Honeybee Cottage in mind.

Mini Glitter Church for Christmas

2011-12-13T18:03:00.000Z

I have missed making miniatures SO much over the last few months. Last night I decided I needed a quick-fix, so dug out my True2scale ‘Glitter Church Kit’ (which I bought last Spring) and made this tiny little Christmas decoration for Honeybee Cottage. It is 1:144 and the detail is fantastic. The kit was so easy to put together and it is very festive. Because I can never resist putting my own touch to things, I added a little porch above the door.

Hopefully I will find more time to make miniatures over the next few weeks. I have a needlepoint tea-cosy that is half made and I look forward to finishing that next. And then…..maybe I will tackle the grandfather clock for Honeybee Cottage!!

Rollercoaster life

2011-11-13T20:12:00.002Z

Just when I thought I was at the end of a particularly difficult three years of struggle, I have found it is going to lumber on for another while yet. In the last few days things were looking bleak again and my faith in my life ever improving was being challenged. And then a couple of unrelated strangers showed me some simple and touching acts of kindness which have given me the strength to meet what may lie ahead.

There are some very unpleasant people in this world - that I know for certain, but thankfully there are far far more wonderful souls who are happy to extend the hand of kindness to others and look for nothing in return.

I am so touched that my followers have not abandoned me. I will (please God) be able to do some dolls house work again soon and look forward to sharing that. Meanwhile, thank you everyone for not deleting me!! I do not think I could cope with more rejection at this point.

Birthday Card

2011-10-11T14:24:00.000+01:00

There is something so satisfying about making greeting cards. I hope my friend likes this. Sadly I have not had much time for crafting recently.....but hopefully things will change in a few weeks time!!!!

Tara's Palace

2011-10-03T12:08:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago I became a volunteer for “ Tara’s Palace” which is a beautiful 27 room dolls house permanently on display in the stunning Powerscourt House, Enniskerry about 15 miles south of Dublin. I am lucky enough to spend one afternoon a week (with a good friend) showing people around this dolls house.

Let me bring you on a very short virtual tour. I apologize in advance for the quality of some of the photos – I will improve with practice!

This first cabinet is in the formal drawing room. This miniature lock actually works. The quality of the inlay in this piece is amazing.

The circular table in the centre has drawers that open – each one with perfect, teeny dovetail joints.

The castors work.

This portrait of Tara was painted by Thomas Ryan and is found in the library.

This table once again shows incredible workmanship.

Tara’s bedroom has a lovely four-poster bed.

The detail on the chaise longue is wonderful.

The dolls house is on display in a suite of rooms on the first floor overlooking the Sugarloaf Mountain. When my friend and I find ourselves with quiet moments between visitors we can look out the window at the view. It is such a privilege.

Powerscourt House is privately owned by the Slazenger family. They no longer live in the house which is used now for weddings etc. There are lovely shops and restaurants on the ground floor. My friend has a season ticket for the gardens, so we had a walk and picnic last week which was fantastic. The gardens are truly stunning. There are fantastic walks through majestic trees and then the surprise of arriving at the walled gardens.

This little 'folly' is just one of the delights in the gardens.

More details of Tara’s Palace can be found at http://taraspalace.ie/

Goodbye little Phoebe

2011-08-12T00:11:00.003+01:00

Four years ago we adopted two little rescue kittens who we named Phoebe and Hobbes. Phoebe was very much my cat and I really loved her. She has featured here in some previous posts. She loved the dolls house.

Last year an elderly neighbour started to encourage Phoebe into her house. I visited this woman on many occasions and begged her to stop trying to steal Phoebe. She was very difficult to deal with. Eventually she agreed that she would ‘mist’ Phoebe with water from a spray ‘mister’ to discourage her. But this was a lie. She continued to take Phoebe into her house and told me that to spray her with water was the cruellest thing she ever heard and she would not do it.

Phoebe wore a collar with a magnet on it to allow her enter our house through the cat flap. I saw Phoebe at our front door a couple of months ago with her collar on but the magnet had been carefully removed. I was very upset and bought her a new one and a little identity ‘barrel’ in which I put a note which said ‘I have a loving home. Do not steal me’ and our telephone number.

Last Monday night I was in Vienna (attending to some rather difficult family business) when I got a phone call from my son. He had been telephoned by the local vet to say that some old woman had brought Phoebe in to be ‘put down’. This witch claimed that Phoebe was her cat. The vet opened the identity barrel and found our message. He was furious with her for pretending she was Phoebe’s owner and told her he would have to contact us immediately. My poor son had to phone me to tell me that Phoebe was extremely ill, in pain and would have to be put down immediately. Obviously he wanted to get my view on this. I am so sad. Little Phoebe did not deserve her life to end this way. Evidently this vile woman was feeding Phoebe with food that was not suitable for cats and the little animal got all kinds of diseases and a tumour.

I am still trying to come to terms with how someone can be so cruel as to steal someone’s much loved pet, neglect it and then secretly take it off to be killed. Unfortunately the vet told me that this was not the first cat that this woman had stolen.

What a sad end for my little Phoebe. I am so sad that was not able to say goodbye or stroke her little head to comfort her on her last night. You will be missed my gentle, loving little friend.

I wonder.....?

2011-08-03T18:22:00.000+01:00

Last week I was sitting under a couple of birch trees in the centre of Dublin having a coffee. Things kept dropping onto me and I started to brush them off when I realised that they looked just like tiny ivy leaves. They come from the seed heads of the birch trees. I gathered a couple of the seed heads into a napkin and took them home.

I am going to let them dry and see if they remain stable. If so, I will use them to make a little trailing ivy plant. I would be interested to know if anyone else has used these successfully as miniature leaves.

Fruit Basket

2011-07-23T16:54:00.000+01:00

I was just not happy with my apples and plums from earlier in the week so made a new batch yesterday. I think these are much better! Subtlety is the key when making polymer food. This time no gloss! I will never be like the real food artists out there who do amazing work - but it is so much fun to try. When I have time I am going to try to make a bunch of black grapes.

Tiny bunch of grapes

2011-07-22T15:42:00.003+01:00

I am still learning how to make food with polymer clay. This bunch of grapes is built around a sprig of twigs from a thyme plant in the garden.

Here it is with the rest of the fruit. I will be changing this bowl as soon as the new one arrives. This is extremely rustic! Also I will probably have another go at the red apple and plums. It is only when things are photographed and magnified so much that all the flaws are screamingly obvious. I will re-shoot this bowl over the next month when hopefully it will look better!

Here is the whole dresser which has a bit more work left to do. I will photograph it in the living room of Honeybee Cottage once it is finished.

I love Toby jugs and was so happy when I found this little one in miniature! Finally a little peak at the tablecloths and baking items stored in the bottom of the dresser.

French Pastry anyone?

2011-06-29T17:19:00.000+01:00

At long last I was able to find time to sit down and continue work on my little shop La Vie en Rose. There is still quite a lot to do, but progress is certainly being made on the Patisserie side. I 'baked' lots of little French fancies and lined them up like they do in France. Then I tried my hand at making some gâteaux.

This little display is inspired (heavily!!) by a beautiful two-tier cake stand which I bought from the talented Sarah Maloney.

The space for the table and chair is very small, but big enough for an elegant French lady to sit at and enjoy a morning coffee and pastry during shopping!

Les deux Châteaux Margaux

2011-05-27T18:12:00.000+01:00

Today I decided to tidy up the files on my computer. And I was really pleased to find this photo of a magnificent dolls house made by Larry Osborn and Jon Fish of Good Foundations. It is called Château Margaux and was completed in 1998. What inspirational work. I don't know where you would even start with all that moulding! And the brickwork on the curved cellar ceiling is fantastic - and the simple lights there compared to the stunning chandelier in the hallway.

I then googled the real Château Margaux and found this beautiful photo from vinfolio.com.

What amazing talents the designers and builders of both houses had!

Just couldn't resist

2011-05-22T13:19:00.001+01:00

A couple more images from Queen Elizabeth's visit to Ireland last week. I don't think I have ever seen her smile this much in public. At 85 years of age she is simply wonderful and so glam!

Queen Elizabeth II visits Ireland

2011-05-18T23:00:00.003+01:00

I am Irish and I, for one, think she is wonderful. And I love that she wore this amazing crown/tiara to Dublin Castle this evening. The last two days of her visit here have been fantastic. I hope the next two are as good. She has received a great welcome here and her visit has put everyone in a good mood.

And next week we have Obama come to visit!!!

Wedding Cake Toppers

2011-05-17T20:59:00.000+01:00

Over these last years I have been lucky enough to be asked to make several wedding cake toppers. To me this has been a real honour. I almost feel I am invited to the wedding. My little creation will sit on top of the wedding cake, watch all the festivities and be there at the wonderful ‘cutting the cake’ ceremony.

Even though I have been paid to make these wedding cake toppers, I have felt a personal responsibility to ensure that I did all in my power to make the perfect wedding cake topper for each couple – something they would keep for years after the ceremony itself.

A couple of days ago I got a request to make one such topper. I am delighted to work with the wonderful bride involved, but at the same time am always nervous that what I produce may disappoint. To date this has never happened. Quite the opposite. But nonetheless a wedding is so important, the details are critical and so I have decided that from now on I cannot take on that responsibility.

My next wedding topper is personal. It is for my beautiful, incredible god-daughter who is getting married in Switzerland in August. It will be my wedding present to her and her fantastic groom, but for now – for everyone else – I am bowing out. But before I do, here are some of the toppers which I have created.

Keukenhof

2011-05-03T23:44:00.003+01:00

Everytime I think I am having a good run in my life something happens to reminds me that I am not free from all this personal hassle yet. At the moment I have zero time for miniatures and instead am trying to deal with my ongoing personal problems/issues and also build up my Etsy stocks as I really do need the extra cash!

But life has not always been gloomy and there will be sun again in the future - I am sure. I remember a few years ago, a dear friend Marguerite and I went to Keukenhof in Holland to look at the spring flowers. That was a day I will never forget. The beech trees around the lovely 'lakes' burst into bud the day we were there, showering us with their little bud capsules which fell around us like confetti. Pure bliss. Please God there will be more days like that ahead.

(These photos were taken by my friend Marguerite who is a brilliant photographer)

Please visit me!!!!

2011-04-22T15:58:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone, I am inviting anyone with a Facebook account to please visit my Wee Cute Treasures Facebook Business page and click 'like it'. I am trying to develop my Etsy business and need lots of people to 'like' my Facebook site before it gets up and running properly. Thank you! Meanwhile I wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Easter.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wee-Cute-Treasures/86655358508?ref=ts&sk=wall

Honeybee Cottage spring garden in full bloom....

2011-04-09T14:26:00.003+01:00

Thank you again everyone for your kind words. I am feeling more positive again and grateful that I got out of that horrible environment sooner rather than later. To cheer myself up I decided to continue with the work on the spring garden at Honeybee Cottage – which is now in full bloom.

The plants include – narcissi, tulips, grape hyacinths, irises, aubretia, alyssum, garden hyacinths, anemone blandas, agapanthus, primula, primula denticulate, cylamen and clematis with little touches of ivy. I used a combination of Pascale Garnier and Bonnie Lavish kits as well as many creations of my own Let me take you on a ‘tour’…

Here are some iris, yellow narcissus, white parrot tulips, anemone blandas and primulas in pots...

....white and orange narcissus, irises and ivy.....

...climbing up the wall on Honeybee Cottage is a lovely lilac clematis. Under this are pink and white parrot tulips, a clump of white aubretia, some white hyacinths, pink clematis, blue grape hyacinths, bearded iris and some narcissus....

... and you can also see a clump of white alyssum, red tulips and the little hedgehog who lives happily in the garden all year around.

Beside the door are purple agapanthus and a pot of pink tulips and narcissus.

And here you see it all together, with the little springtime wreath on the door. If you look closely you will get a little peek.....

through the window, where tea is waiting for the girls after all their hard work in the garden!

The little cake stand was made by Sarah Moloney. The vase of parrot tulips came from the garden. I hope you have enjoyed your visit. Please come inside now and join us for a nice cup of tea and a cake.....

Another set-back

2011-04-07T14:01:00.001+01:00

More wrecked set-backs, this time regarding a (much needed) job that was more or less offered to me - and then at the last moment withdrawn - in a most unpleasant and unkind manner. Alongside all the other cr*p that is going on in my life at the moment, this latest knock really hurts.

I wish I was tiny and able to move into Honeybee Cottage where people are not unkind and the sun shines everyday. Oh don't worry - I will of course 'pick myself up' and 'look on the bright side' and remember that there are people far worse off than me, but sometimes it is hard to keep being positive and upbeat. Am too worn-out at the moment to even turn to the joy of mini-making to cheer myself up.

Phoebe's dream come true

2011-03-28T13:21:00.001+01:00

Poor little Phoebe. She spends hours sitting on the table in the hall beside Honeybee Cottage. She must think that a family of mice live in the cottage and that if she sits there long enough – one day….she will be lucky and catch one when it comes outside.

But this photo looks like Phoebe’s dream has come true – and now she is actually INSIDE the cottage!!! What really happened was, I took the front of the cottage outside to the sunshine to make a ‘before’ photo of the flowerbeds. Phoebe was lying in the sun on the patio table and so when I put the front of the cottage down she could be seen through the little window.

Miniature Blue Agapanthus

2011-03-21T11:40:00.001Z

I was lucky enough to have plenty of free time over the weekend and spent many happy hours bring another of Pascale Garnier's kits to life. I adapted her design to include a little stem of unopened buds.

I placed the agapanthus into this little corner because in real life this is exactly how the plants flower best - when they have limited space. In my own garden I have a lovely old clump given to me by a dear friend and they flower really well because I have their roots confined.

Here is how the 'Spring' doorstep is looking so far. I have to change the wreath on the door which looks too 'heavy' now and the bare flowerbed on the left shows what is still left to do! (Loads!!!)

I think these colours look really pretty and spring-like together. And..there is still room for hiding Easter eggs later on!

Springtime and Miniature Primulas

2011-03-18T16:36:00.002Z

Spring has well and truly arrived in Ireland – and also at Honeybee Cottage. My spare time is still very limited at the moment, but for the next few days (thanks to the St. Patrick’s Day festivities) I have a little extra time. My real-life garden is begging for attention, so I will have to give it a little care before starting on making more spring flowers for Honeybee Cottage.

Yesterday I completed these simple primulas and also made the primula denticulatas (the lollipop ones!). Once again I used Pascale Garnier’s kits which I had to translate as best I could with my schoolgirl French and Google translator. I am happy with the results and think they certainly add a spring-like touch to the doorway of the Cottage.

My challenge is that I have a long flower-bed that runs the length of the cottage under the window. I want to make this like a cottage-garden and have lots of different flowers in it. My problem today is choice. I don’t know where to start or what to make next. And….I am looking for some help from other mini-makers.

Does anyone have any good ideas as to what I can use for foliage besides moss and lichen? I don’t want to have just a row of flowers. In a real cottage garden, these would be broken up with plants that come into bloom later on and so look plain green or greyish-green. I have tried drying various foliage plants over the year as experiments but they all seem to shed their ‘leaves’ or ‘bits’ once they are totally dry? Does anyone have any bright ideas or experience? Any help gratefully received!!

Nature's Own Minis

2011-02-26T11:58:00.000Z

Its spring-clearing time in our house again. De-cluttering is in full swing. And look what I found while I was clearing out…….

A few years ago we took a wonderful road trip round California. One memorable day we visited a magical place called Sugarpine, near Yosemite – a forest filled with amazing sugar pine trees. This cone came from there. It is HUGE – over 30 cm long. I lovingly carried two of these (that were abandoned beside the road) home from California to Ireland in my hand luggage. Until the decluttering they used to sit on my hearth – thousands of miles from where they fell from their trees. (They are now going outside to the shed).

The teeny cone came from a visit to Tuscany, even more years ago!! Just goes to show how even nature enjoys making minis.

Spring Fairies!

2011-02-15T15:54:00.001Z

Two more dolls in sweet spring colours - this time little fairies! They are being sent off to the US tomorrow. And that really is it for the moment. I am very busy with real life at the moment and am frustrated that I haven't been able to work on my Pascale Garnier kits. The little garden in Honeybee Cottage is crying out for spring flowers. Hopefully at the weekend I will have a few free hours.

Spring blossoms

2011-02-10T16:27:00.004Z

My little piggy bank was running low, so even though my spare time is very limited, I decided to open my Etsy shop and make some dolls. For some reason gingham dolls are popular at the moment and these colours were so spring-like that I thought I would share. Two are going to the US and one to Turkey!!

I am not taking any more custom orders at the moment because I just I haven't time. But I do have a few 'ready to go' dolls available. And, I now have some extra pocket money to spend on minis........

TULIPS from Paris!

2011-01-29T14:42:00.002Z

These tulips were made using Pascale Garnier's wonderful kits. I hand painted each petal of the parrot tulips to give them that distinctive striped appearance. The 'soil' in the little pot is the dried remains of a used tea bag!

These flowers were fairly straight forward to assemble, but now I am going to move on to something a lot more complicated. Fingers crossed that I can do Pascale's kit justice. Well on second thoughts.....better not have my fingers crossed while working!!

Some new accessories

2011-01-25T14:19:00.000Z

I have been busy making a few new things recently for Honeybee Cottage. Firstly there is the sweeping brush which started out as a freebie Perspex eyebrow brush. I like the fact that the bristles actually work!! I trimmed them down to make the brush more in scale.

We had a storm last week which brought down a lot of small branches and twigs from the trees in our garden. I knew these would make great logs for the girls in Honeybee Cottage. But they would need a log basket – so I tried my hand at weaving again and wove this little log basket.

I am slowly preparing for spring at Honeybee cottage so made up a couple of Bonnie Lavish daffodil or narcissus kits that I had since last year. These little flowers are going to be either side of the doorway – along with many other spring flowers – yet to be revealed. The hardest part is getting the weathered look to the terracotta pots. I need to work on this.

My needles have also been busy. I made a little cross-stitch ‘name picture’ for over the bed and also some needlepoint cushions but these are not sewn up yet.

And with St. Valentine’s day just around the corner, I made a little heart-shaped wreath for the door of red roses and ‘baby’s breath’.

My little shop – La Vie en Rose also got a little attention over the last couple of weeks. This chair was part of a set that a friend bought for me in New York. It was mahogany in colour to start with which doesn’t fit into my current projects. So I stripped it and repainted and re-upholstered it. I think the pale pink rose print fabric is much prettier and it now fits in well into the shop.

BEDROOM DETAILS

2011-01-07T13:34:00.009Z

What a fantastic start to the year……I had a couple of free days over the holidays and have been able to add some details to the bedroom in Honeybee Cottage. The bedroom is not quite finished but at least the bare look has been taken away.

I did some miniature knitting (the little bunny and knitted draw-string bag) and made lots of boxes using prints done on my brother’s excellent printer. My first attempt at a ‘silver’ photo frame could be better, but the photo itself turned out well.

I can’t remember where I saw the idea to make a little stool or chair from the wire part from a bottle of ‘champagne’, but thank you to whoever inspired me. I think it works quite well in this setting.

The tiny bundle of letters in a bundle on the top of the wardrobe is inspired by the talented Linda Carswell of Une Petite Folie. Her letters are absolutely amazing – and with practice I hope that I can improve.

Letters, magazines and books all make a scene come to life. So do flowers – and I will add a tiny posy of daisies to the dressing table soon. My free time will be limited again over the next few weeks, but if I have any more spare time I intend to start work on the living room of Honeybee Cottage which is completely bare!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

2010-12-22T13:26:00.010Z

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year!

Yesterday we were completely housebound because of the heavy snow that fell all day. I took the opportunity to make a couple of last minute decorations for my 'handmade' Christmas tree. This star is inspired by one designed by Gisela Graham. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season - and that 2011 is a good year for us all!!

Mr & Mrs Claus pay a visit......

2010-12-18T14:39:00.002Z

Now of course we all know that Mr & Mrs Claus live at the North Pole, but they decided to take some time out from their very busy schedule to visit the girls in Honeybee Cottage. I wonder what Mrs. Claus has in that present which will be put under the tree!

Christmas at Honeybee Cottage

2010-12-18T00:09:00.005Z

Today I found time to decorate the Christmas tree for the inside of Honeybee Cottage. I also made a wreath for the door which I will photograph tomorrow in daylight. The little Christmas tree looks so so sweet at night when it is lit up that I just had to share a photo. OK, the quality of the photo is not great but I am so happy with how cosy the tree looks that I had to post it!

Christmas surprise!

2010-12-15T15:23:00.018Z

Santa arrived early to me! Look what I got today from the mega-talented Paulette of Beedeebabee.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I opened the package. First of all there were some really cute red and white striped candy canes and candies. Then the fabulous card (so nostalgic and unusual) - and a perfect message for me at the moment!

and of course the amazing pink box which contained the incredibly beautiful white embroidered heart. Look at the detail of the needlework! Paulette is one talended lady with such an artistic eye.

But that was not all – Paulette had also included a beautiful cupcake brooch or pin. It is a perfect match for my new pink beret and will be worn with pride on my winter coat.

But there was more…..a sweet Lindt chocolate snowman. The whole thing was cheered me up so much and completely restored my faith in human kindness. What a wonderful way to start celebrating Christmas. Please visit Paulette’s blog and see what I mean about her talent.

Puffy Christmas Tree

2010-12-13T13:37:00.004Z

Years ago when I lived in Vienna a friend there had a puffy tree like this and I really loved it. She had made it herself and lent me her pattern. Every year this little Christmas tree comes out and last year a friend here asked if she could commission one. Well of course, I delayed and delayed until I realised that unless I hurried up Christmas would be over and it would be too late. I think this is called 'biscuit puffs'. It was very popular in the 1970s and 80s.

This year Christmas has had to be put on the back-boiler. There are too many other areas that are taking priority at the moment. So for the first time in my adult life I am not sending Christmas cards, am not having a large family dinner and have cut out all other non-essential things.

However, decorating the house for Christmas is a pleasure not a chore, so we have our Christmas tree up and the nativity scene out. I just hope that next weekend I will have time to decorate the teeny Christmas tree I bought ages ago for Honeybee Cottage. I even have a set of tiny lights. If I manage that I will post a photo or two.

Sorry for the long silence. It will probably resume again but for now I would like to wish everyone a happy pre-Christmas season.

Please Understand....

2010-10-23T13:04:00.002+01:00

My blog and my followers are very important to me and that is the reason I am going to ask for everyone’s understanding when I let you know that for the next few months I will be taking a break from my blog. If I have time I will still visit my favourite blogs to see what you are all up to, but I will not be posting any entries for a while :(

The reason is that the on-going personal difficulties in my life continue and are taking up more and more of my time. Every time I try to set aside some time to do something creative another urgent problem seems to arrive. So although I would love to continue to have something to blog about – at the moment I do not.

I had hoped to work on a little wardrobe and dressing table for Honeybee Cottage but had only started it when I had to stop. It looks so sad – but I still have high hopes!! Meanwhile, please do not abandon my blog, please keep following but understand why there will be no entries for a while.

Bedroom make-over

2010-10-09T11:53:00.004+01:00

At last! Time for Honeybee Cottage. The last few weeks have been very busy. In mid-Sept I returned to college...I am doing an 8-month go-back-to-work course which means every morning I am in class. It is quite a change from being a totally free stay-at-home mum, but I am enjoying it. The trouble is learning time management.

On top of this I have been busy making lavender filled fairies, hearts and greeting cards for a commission. But finally I have some time for me and am turning my attention to Honeybee Cottage. Before tackling the downstairs of the cottage I want to change the bedroom so that it looks more like a bedroom. I plan to make a wardrobe, dressing table and little stool and then add accessories. The Torquato tool kit in the photo above would be very useful but I am going to have to content myself with my trusty Stanley knife and sandpaper.

Fibs and Miniature Flower Shop.....

2010-09-22T17:12:00.008+01:00

I told a fib! The little basket of daisies I made last week was part of a surprise gift for a special friend’s special birthday this week. She reads my blog so I didn’t want her to know what I was up to!! Here are some photos of her new little flower shop….

I bought the shop bit itself in a local dolls house shop and the owner said these shop units are now discontinued. HOWEVER if anyone out there knows where I could get another one of these – or who makes them I would be truly grateful. I would love to make another one and have searched the internet to no avail. So any help would be very welcome.

New goodies for Flower Shop

2010-09-21T18:36:00.003+01:00

These little goodies for the flower shop section of La Vie en Rose arrived from the States. Opening the package was like Christmas in September. The teeny little shears actually work. I used to have a 1:1 size 'Chia Pet' years ago and just love this one.

I am looking forward to finding some time to play with my shop soon. The bakery side still needs LOADS of work. But somehow real life keeps getting in the way!!!

Autumn Daisies

2010-09-18T16:02:00.012+01:00

Everything seems to change in September - summer is over and autumn knocks on the door. Children return to school, older ones to university and the rest of us have to adjust to a different routine. I have been busy sorting my own children out and starting my Christmas crafting! At the moment I am busy knitting bunnies, gnomes and tea cosies. I always seem to have about 4 projects on different sets of needles all over the house!!

However, today I had the urge to make some miniature flowers, so made this little basket of daisies for Honeybee Cottage.

Still stocking my Etsy shop

2010-09-07T15:29:00.004+01:00

I have just added a couple of Halloween dolls to my Etsy shop. There is one more little witch in the works and then that is it for the witching season this year!!

Where has the time gone??

2010-09-02T23:12:00.007+01:00

Its September! Suddenly the summer is over and we are into autumn. I have been busy this last week getting things set up for the re-opening of my little Etsy shop. Here are two new little fairies who are designed for all who believe that wishes can come true.

Now that the Etsy shop is up and running again it is time to switch over to my little miniature world and start looking at what needs to be done next - both in Honeybee Cottage and La Vie en Rose. So much has to be completed it is hard to know where to start. But I will wait for inspiration to strike and be lead by that.

Meanwhile the endless sorting out and decluttering of the house continues. Wish the clutter was miniature sized!!!

Lemons and Shabby Chic Grandfather Clock

2010-08-19T17:31:00.010+01:00

I apologize for the long delay with no posting. The reason is simple. Sadly life is throwing a load of lemons at me again. Oh to have the motivation to make lemonade!

However, I am hoping that in a few weeks I will be able to be creative once again. Yesterday a friend, who is a watch-repairer, gave me a beautiful 'grandfather clock face' for Honeybee Cottage. As soon as I find time I will make a casing for the grandfather clock. What I love about it is that it is already distressed - ready made shabby chic! And it is in perfect working order. What a lovely addition this is going to be for Honeybee Cottage once I get around to making it!!

Meanwhile hope everyone is enjoying the summer and able to relax.

Lavender and Pincushions

2010-07-25T18:21:00.001+01:00

Does anyone else find that in the summer it is difficult to concentrate on any big project? My little dolls house and shop are crying out for more work but I just don’t seem to be able to get started – mainly because most of the work needs to be done inside and takes a lot of time.
Instead my crafting needs at the moment are being met by smaller projects. My local fabric shop sells my pincushions but has run out of stock. So I sat in the garden over the last week and made some up. I like having an area in my pin cushion specially for needles so that I can find them easily – so I have included a little extra heart on this batch.

The other job I did this week was to harvest my enormous lavender bush. Year after year this wonderful plant has given me masses of lavender which has the most fantastic fragrance. Sadly this faithful plant is coming close to the end of its life – it has become very woody and I will have to assess whether or not to replace it in the spring time. How sad am I getting sentimental about a PLANT – but this one is special. Here is just part of the harvest!

In the winter I make lavender sachets for my friends and to sell at craft shows. As I fill each little bag with the fragrant lavender buds I am transported back to the sunny summer day I harvested it and dream of the summer to come. Scents and smells are amazing at bringing back memories – just like snatches of old melodies.

Tea Cosy with Flowers

2010-07-19T18:14:00.009+01:00

Finding myself house-bound the last two days, I decided to dig into my stash of knitting wool, design and make a new tea cosy for my favourite white porcelain teapot. There was quite a bit of trial and error, but finally I got the look I wanted!

I always drink herbal tea from a bone china cup or mug because I think it tastes better! My favourites are a very old cup and saucer which belonged to my grandmother - and a newer mug - all of which are decorated with violets. So I thought it would be fitting to make the tea cosy in a deep shade of purple with lilac, pink and white flowers decorating the top.

This was so much fun to make and I am going to make another one for a tea-loving friend. She reads my blog so I don't want to give too much away - but it is going to be SO pretty!!!

Update on Honeybee Cottage

2010-07-15T16:25:00.008+01:00

My life has been a bit stressful recently – so the amount of miniature work has been almost non-existent, and I have closed my little Etsy shop for the summer holidays to concentrate on my family and other things. But I do have news on Honeybee Cottage.

Firstly, the gable trim finally arrived and together with the originally planned porch have now been added. I think it makes a big difference to the façade of the cottage and makes it much more ‘gingerbread’.

But still I was not happy. From the beginning the garden part of Honeybee Cottage had been annoying me – and yet I couldn’t figure out what was not working. Then suddenly it hit me –the grass passages down the sides of the house were wrong - they were drawing the eye away from the rest of the house and the overall proportions were not pleasing.

So – I got out my amazing circular plunge saw and simply sawed the side garden bits off!! I repositioned the white picket fence and am much happier now. There is still plenty of room to ‘play’ with the garden in the future – and I look forward to planning that. (For example, the flowers under the window are not right – and when time permits I will replace these with more suitable ‘cottage garden’ ones.)

Wedding Cake Topper with Violin

2010-06-24T13:18:00.006+01:00

I just could not resist sharing this wedding cake topper with you – it is for an American couple who met through their love of the violin. It has been such a pleasure to make – although the back of the bride’s dress was a challenge ~ bearing in mind the dress is only 3.5" long!

Time for a Clean Sweep......

2010-06-23T13:21:00.005+01:00

It seems to be this time every year. I wake up one morning and take a look around and can hardly believe my eyes. Mess and clutter everywhere. Baskets of laundry waiting to be washed….other baskets waiting to be ironed….

….things from the garden are in the kitchen.…..craft projects in various stages of completion dot the house…..

…….Himalayan piles of books seem to have grown on the landing…..and by my own bed more craft books and notebooks seem to have been quietly breeding…..

…..and the less said about the kids ‘den’ the better!!!

Time to take control. Time to get the black refuse sacks out and warn my kids that unless they are stapled to the ground they are in danger of being swept up and brought to the dump.

Thankfully the little flower shop offers a respite from all this chaos. Here are some little orders waiting to be sent out. (I made the little pitchers based on a fantastic tutorial by Marlies of marliesminis.blogspot.com and took inspiration from Mercedes of Liberty Biberty to 'age' them.)

200 HUNDRED FOLLOWERS.......

2010-06-19T13:12:00.006+01:00

200 followers !!!!!

….who would have ever thought !

So to each and every one of you a big ‘Thank You’ or as we would say in Irish ~

Starting to come together....

2010-06-17T15:16:00.007+01:00

Sneak preview of how the flower shop will be put together. The calla lilies are made from polymer clay and the leaves from florist tape. All the other flowers are made from paper.

Here is the little floral wreath that I made yesterday. Like the other flowers in the shop I hope to change this from season to season. There are lots more small details left to complete in the flower shop - but I think it is shaping up well. Before I switch my attention to the patissiere part of the shop I think it is time to spend some time working on Honeybee Cottage.

More miniature flowers.....

2010-06-16T10:47:00.005+01:00

Here are some more flowers for La Vie en Rose. The Stargazer lilies started off as a Bonnie Lavish Lily kit in white – but I painted the petals to represent one of my favourite lilies – the Stargazer. I also changed the original stamens.

I made the other flowers using some of my new punches. The cerise and pink black-eyed ‘daisies’ are modelled on flowers in a neighbour’s garden. I have no idea what they are – but they looked so eye-catching that I thought they would suit a ‘country-style’ arrangement in a little wicker basket.

The blue hydrangea is made using one of my new punches and the ivy leaves (which I painted with some white) are from Bonnie Lavish.

The summer flower display is now almost complete. One more vase stands empty and I want to try to make some calla lilies for it. And I want to make a little wreath for the wall.

The Flower Shop is coming along....

2010-06-13T12:42:00.004+01:00

Here are some of the flowers I have been making for La Vie en Rose. I used a kit to make the basis of the Queen Anne’s lace, but because there were excess ‘blossoms’ I cut more spokes by hand to increase the number of stems.

I have always loved Mulberry paper roses and have used them a lot (although I have modified them a bit). With the addition of some Bonnie Lavish rose leaves they take on another dimension – so delicate.

I made the gladioli (without a kit) but am not happy with the green colour – it should be much lighter and brighter. I am awaiting some supplies and when they arrive I will have another go – as well as trying out other varieties of flowers and plants.

HELP please all French speakers!!!

2010-06-08T19:53:00.005+01:00

I need your help! I want to make a label for the front of a book for the flower shop - a book where orders for flowers are written down. I need to know what the French would be for such a book.

In English we would call it 'Order Book'. When I did a Babelfish/Google translation it came up with 'Carnet de Commande' - which doesn't sound right to me :(

PS. Work on the shop is progressing slowly, but things are beginning to look sooooo cute. I have just received another batch of Bonnie Lavish kits today and cannot wait to start on them.

Pelagoniums (Geraniums)

2010-06-01T21:18:00.012+01:00

I bought this kit from Templewood Miniatures in the UK a while ago but only today had the courage to actually try to assemble it! Once I got going it was remarkably straightforward and I am delighted with the results. This experience means that I will be happy to use other kits to stock the flower shop. It is so pretty!

Here it is with some of the vivid pink big-boys in my garden!!

Sneak Preview of La Vie en Rose Shop

2010-05-31T11:31:00.007+01:00

Work on La Vie en Rose is progressing - but slower than planned due to our wonderful summer weather. I have no idea when the "grand opening" will be - but at least the bones are in place. I am looking forward to adding all the little details over the next couple of months and seeing the whole thing take shape. (Apologies for quality of photos - this is the best I seem to be able to do today!!)

This is going to be the flower shop side.

I distressed the stone step into the shop and have a 'worn down' area from countless customers crossing the threshold over the years.

Another Rainbow Cutie

2010-05-25T16:56:00.003+01:00

Another rainbow birthday cake topper! This time in softer more feminine shades for girly-girls....

The dreaded wallpapering is done for the shop. I used normal wallpaper paste which took ages to dry out. I was worried I would have to get the scraper out - but all is well and it is looking good. Work on painting the shop front is also coming on well. I hope to have something to show in the next couple of days. Fingers crossed I don't mess it up at this stage!!

Award time again

2010-05-22T19:48:00.013+01:00

In school it seemed everyone else got prizes - and I was almost always excluded as I was neither extra bright or extra sporty. But here in my creative blogland - populated by really lovely creative people - I have managed to get another award! This time from the lovely Tracy of Cottonpickincute. Thank you Tracy!!! I am taking a bow as I type! Please go and visit Tracy and say hello.

In turn, I am passing this award on to 10 other bloggers who inspire me. It is difficult to narrow this down to 10 as there are so many of you out there who just make me weak with your up-to-the-minute creativity and talent, but (in no particular order) here goes....

Sabiha at Sabs Miniinteriors
Anthoula at A Miniature Life
Roxanne at Baking in Miniature
Paulette at Beedeebabee
Chistel at Christeljensen
Kim at It's a Miniature Life
Marleen at Marleen's Miniatures
Lena at Miniatyrmama
Jody at Peach Blossom Hill
Synnove at Synnovesetdukkehjem

Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful weekend - the weather in Ireland at the moment is blissful.....sunshine, warmth and not a volcanic ash in sight!!!!

Hugs, Carol xoxoxox

AND THE WINNER IS ......................

2010-05-18T06:38:00.006+01:00

JODY of the beautiful Peach Blossom Hill. Congratulations. And for anyone who has not visited Jody's blog and/or Etsy shop I suggest you do!

Thank you to everyone who took part - and all new followers. I am really happy you come and visit - and am even happier if you take the time to leave a comment. Thank you again and Welcome to All.

Ongoing 'things' in my non-crafting life have settled down again (at least for a while!!) and so I re-opened my Etsy shop last week. I was lucky enough to get a good few orders - including some local non-Etsy ones - and have been busy working on those. This means that my starved piggy bank has a few Euros in it again......and no guessing what I will be spending that on! Yes, things for Honeybee Cottage and La Vie en Rose.

GIVE-AWAY TIME !!

2010-05-14T08:56:00.007+01:00

At last - I am able to organise the 'give-away' to celebrate 150 followers (which has now grown to 165!!).....

I made this cute clothespin doll, dressed in a beautiful Liberty print dress and carrying a little basket of pale pink millinery flowers, specially for this give-away. To be in with a chance to win her all you have to do is be a follower and leave a comment after this post. Entry closes on Monday 17th May when the winner will be chosen. Good Luck!

Stocking the Patisserie

2010-05-07T09:00:00.009+01:00

Earlier this week I managed to make some more little things for the Patisserie part of the shop. This is my second attempt at mini baking and I have to admit it is not easy! But...it is fun and so satisfying if it works at all.

The next 10 days or so are going to see me completely tied up with ongoing personal issues so apologies but my give-away is going to have to be temporarily delayed. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Shop Update and 150 Followers!!

2010-04-29T08:51:00.007+01:00

Yah Heh! 150 Followers - thank you all so much for taking an interest in my little world. I am so chuffed to think ANYONE would follow me - let alone 150 people. I think a little give-away might be in order, but it will have to wait until after the Bank Holiday weekend. Thank you all and especially all who leave comments - which I love to read.

One of the great things about following blogs is the inspiration you find and friendly help you get. In my own case I especially thank Kim of 'Its a Miniature Life' for her inspiration and encouragement to build a little shop. What I really liked about Kim's shop (besides the fact that it is super-gorgeous) is that it is quite shallow. I love this depth - which means you end up with something between a shadow box and full room box. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to buy anything suitable so I raided my 'wood scraps' box and built this from scratch. The only thing I had to buy was a door, sheet of acetate for the windows and lighting. The door has a glass panel but it is currently covered with masking tape.

But building it is the easy part - now comes the serious stuff - decorating it, choosing colours, etc. etc. My idea is that the left hand side of the shop will be a Patisserie and the right hand side a little Flower Shop. There is room between them for a tiny table and chair which I may include as a teeny tea-shop area! (Again thank you for the inspiration Kim).

I have been toying with names for the shop and would like a French theme - I have been thinking 'La Vie en Rose' because there will be lots of pink in the shop. What do you think?

I've been baking

2010-04-19T11:21:00.008+01:00

Over the weekend I tried my hand at ‘baking’ some miniature cakes and cookies for my little dolls in their dollhouse. I made a cherry tart, cherry cupcakes, carrot cake squares, chocolate chip cookies and some iced cupcakes.

Baking on this scale proved very difficult but also very addictive! I had no idea how tricky it would be until I began. I used Fimo soft for this batch (which was in my existing crafting stash) and last night read that Fimo classic is much better for miniature work because it does not go as mushy and holds its shape better. I must get some to try.

I was due to go away today for a couple of days, but due to the volcanic ash situation my flight was cancelled. Instead, I will be a good girl and get on with finishing my custom orders. Then it will be back to the Fimo bakery!!

(And...as a result of all this, I am now toying with the idea of investing in a dollhouse shop kit - one part of which would be a bakery and the other a flower shop....)

Greeting Cards

2010-04-15T15:22:00.011+01:00

Here are some of the greeting cards I made last week. (Apologies for poor quality of photos, I am limited on time and the sun just wouldn't come out!!). The cards are all made from bits and pieces of craft supplies I had already and so cost me nothing!! I have put some of the finished cards in cellophane bags and I am going to give them in mixed batches to friends as gifts - tied up with pretty ribbon and a personalised label.

The ribbon here is tied through the card to secure the flowers and not just stuck on.

This is a great way to use end of project materials - even small pieces of ribbon can be used, wooden shapes painted and hung on the cards and old wrapping paper cut with a zig-zag scissors and layered with some kind of focal point on top. In the past I have used pieces of old jewellery ~ for example odd earrings with the 'findings' removed. It is great fun to produce something out of 'nothing'!

The Sun is Shining - Spring has Sprung!!

2010-04-11T13:28:00.007+01:00

This weekend has been glorious in Ireland. The sun has been shining non-stop. The evenings are much longer now and the flowers are all starting to bloom.

Because of on-going difficult circumstances, I have decided to close my Etsy shop for a few weeks. But almost immediately - out of the blue - two very good friends asked me to make some things for them!! Of course I will be very happy to do so, but it means that I will have no personal crafting time over the next couple of weeks.

Honeybee Cottage is crying out for attention and I want to give it - especially as I spent some time last night browsing the wonderful 'Miniature' blogs I follow. When I see the super things other people are making I am very envious!!

I am sure that all other crafters out there will agree that in times of difficulty or stress, crafting is a great comfort. The other great stress-buster is walking. I have only just discovered this and again it was a friend who told me to get up off my b*tt and do a 30 minute brisk walk daily. I am feeling more positive already!!

Hope everyone is enjoying (or enjoyed!!) their weekends.

Stock-taking and New ideas

2010-04-07T13:32:00.007+01:00

Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing a stock-taking of all my crafting and painting materials. I found things I had forgotten all about and realised that I have loads of craft supplies that I hadn't used for ages. So....I started dabbling a bit.

I made the little bunny in the previous post and a girl version too. A stack of greeting cards (which I will post soon) and these little box-dolls which are similar in appearance to 'spool dolls' but have the advantage of being able to store little things like earrings, etc.

My knitting needles have also been busy - but more about that in a couple of weeks when I have something ready to show!! The rest of this week will be spent finishing off a couple of custom orders. Then next week I want to turn my attention once again to my little dolls house. I am ashamed of the fact that the little dolls have to live in a house that is so unfinished.

I would love to know if other people are as 'all over the place' with their crafting as I am.

HAPPY EASTER

2010-04-03T11:14:00.010+01:00

This little bunny joins me in wishing all my blogland friends a VERY HAPPY EASTER.

Easter Surprises in the Post

2010-04-01T13:48:00.007+01:00

Forget email, forget Twitter and Facebook - there is just nothing more exciting than getting real post from friends. This week the talented Jo from Salt and Pepper sent me some Easter goodies to brighten me up! It worked.

Look at this little wreath - isn't it the sweetest thing....and basket with little eggs and pretty blue ribbons ~ all so pretty.

The doorway of Honeybee Cottage now looks all set now for Easter. Thanks again Jo!

Dolls terrified to come out of Honeybee Cottage!!!

2010-03-30T14:09:00.005+01:00

The poor clothespin dolls had planned to work in their little garden today but are too scared to leave the house because of Phoebe who just LOVES sitting in the dollhouse garden. I think Phoebe believes she is much smaller than she is and thinks Honeybee was built specially for HER!!!

First Tiny Needlepoint Cushion

2010-03-26T13:40:00.005Z

This is my first attempt at miniature needlepoint. I bought the 22 count canvas from Janet Grainger in the UK and used my own design. The thread I used belonged to my grandmother and is very vintage - but still in excellent condition. She died when I was young and we didn't get to know each other as well as I would have wished. She was a great needlewoman and I still have some of her beautiful embroidered tablecloths. I like to think she would approve of this little cushion.

A slight change of direction for the rest of the weekend as I work on making a seat-pad for this chair and then a patchwork quilt for the bed in Honeybee Cottage. I hope you all have a happy weekend.

Somewhere over the Rainbow......

2010-03-25T13:47:00.005Z

This little doll is a special order for a little girl’s ‘Rainbow’ 4th Birthday Party I made a couple of weeks ago. Looking at her bright colours makes me smile.

The last ten days has been fraught with problems and family issues that needed a lot of attention. Over the coming weekend I am looking forward to some serious 'me' crafting and dolls house time. I have the materials for so many projects that I don't know which one to choose. THESE are the kind of decisions I love most!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS and GIVE AWAYS!

2010-03-19T13:21:00.007Z

A big thank you to all who left 'Happy St. Patrick's Day' messages. They were especially welcome as St. Patrick's Day is also my birthday. Can't get more Irish than that!!! These are some of the beautiful flowers one of my boys gave to me. I just love the colours.

But.....I am not the only one in Birthday Mood. Andrea of Popalicioustoo is celebrating her birthday today. She has just launched a gorgeous new blog and is having a give-away TODAY. Please go and visit her there and you may be lucky. After all who doesn't love the chance to win a give-away.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

2010-03-16T17:48:00.007Z

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day - and sometimes I think we Irish just take it for granted. I am amazed at the interest people from other countries have in our little Emerald Isle. For example, Dimitra of Amoronia has written a lovely blog featuring many beautiful items handmade by other members of Crafty Ireland. Worth a look!

I am going to be returning to my dolls house next week and making some minatures for it. Can't wait.

Have a great St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Birthday Boys - One made Front Page of Etsy!

2010-03-14T21:35:00.006Z

The last few weeks have seen a whole heap of orders for clothespin dolls. Because of the amount of enquiries about making BOY Birthday Dolls I have decided to list some in the shop.

(The little Blue Boy was featured on the Front Page of Etsy today - 24th March!!)

Obviously I am delighted to get Etsy sales, but in a way I secretly resent them because they take up time I could be spending working on the new dolls house. I wonder if it is an official syndrome yet - Miniature Withdrawal Symptom!!

First Holy Communion

2010-03-10T16:32:00.004Z

Last week one of my neighbours asked me when I would have some First Communion keepsake dolls ready as she wants to order one. Her enquiry encouraged me to start designing this year's dolls.
These dolls are perfect gifts for godparents, aunts, uncles and grandparents to give to any little girl making her First Holy Communion. The doll stands on a solid birch box which has been painted and decorated with six Christian symbols - many specifically associated with Holy Communion - chalice, cross, wheat, heart, fish and quatrefoil. The box is lined with white felt and is a perfect size for a pair of rosary beads.

Like the Birthday Dolls, these dolls can be semi-personalised. Hair and eye colour can be changed and there is room on the front of the box for the little girl's name to be included.

Honeybee Cottage - getting there

2010-03-08T14:17:00.013Z

At last! A sunny day and a chance to photograph Honeybee Cottage outside. Most of the structural work on the cottage is now completed. I still have work in the garden to do, and when/if I can ever get some gingerbread trim, I might add that. Let me take you on a quick tour.......

The cottage is surrounded by a little garden which will change as the seasons pass. There is outside wiring so we can have spooky Halloween lights, an outside Christmas tree etc.

The house opens by the roof lifting up (as shown) and the front part (with some of the garden) can be lifted away to reveal the little living room. I will show that another time.

It must be remembered that Honeybee Cottage is the home of two of my little clothespin dolls - and so is uber-cute! The flowers by the door are not to scale but I will replace them in time.

Here is one of the girl's friends sitting in the garden and waiting for a nice cup of tea!

Looking through the window into the living room you can see the tea things ready on the table. I made the chair and table but have not got round to painting them yet - or making little seat cushions. Likewise the truly beautiful filled 2-tier cake stand by Sarah Maloney has arrived but is not in place yet - until things are more organised in the living room.

These photos just show the layout of the living room but it needs so much work still - curtains, rug and loads of accessories.

I am particularly pleased with how the stairs worked out. I made these from some bought 'bits' which I reworked to get that turn. I think it makes the room look more interesting and adds a little intrigue. The door at the back would lead to a little kitchen, bathroom and second bedroom - if I had had the space.

Work on my Etsy dolls has been and will continue to be busy for a while. After that I am itching to get motoring on the 'serious' dolls house - which has been planned and measured up. Again it will not be from a kit. The little clothespin dolls look forward to inviting you all to tea once they have some more work done to show you. Hope you have enjoyed the little tour.

FRONT PAGE OF ETSY ! ! !

2010-03-01T00:50:00.005Z

I was just about to shut down the computer for the night when I got a message from a fellow member of Etsy Ireland to say that one of my little dolls had made the FRONT PAGE OF ETSY!!! I am so so chuffed!!

And the award goes to........

2010-02-28T17:35:00.014Z

I feel really really privaleged this week, three people have nominated me for the wonderful Kreativ Blogger:

Firstly I would like to thank the people who nominated me:

Gaye of My Small Obsession
Jody of Peach BlossomHill
Evelien of Ejacreates

The rules for the Kreativ Blogger award are:

1. Thank the person that gave it to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it in your blog
3. Link to the person who nominated you
4. Name 7 things about yourself that nobody knows
5. Nominate 7 kreativ bloggers
6. Post link to the 7 blogs that you nominate
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that you nominated them.

So, 7 things about me!

1. I rarely go to bed on time and sneak in an afternoon nap when possible.
2. I was in a TV beer commercial in my early twenties.
3. I cannot be trusted with any form of finance in craft shops or hardware stores.
4. Hot water bottles are like true friends – indispensible. I often have one on my knee during the day and have been known to use one in the car on freezing winter mornings!
5. I have a belt in Karate.
6. I prefer radio to TV and listen to talk radio while I work at home. As a wise little child famously remarked years ago – the pictures are better on the radio.
7. Finally I will admit that my sense of direction is truly pathetic. My children refer to my attempts at driving without a map as ‘mystery tours’. We have taken many over the years – but in hindsight they have all been fun!

I would like to nominate the following people (alphabetically!!!):

Bellaboo of Bellascountry
Elizabeth of Creative Breathing
Sarah of Dollhouse Kitchen Miniatures
Eli of Flutterby Patch
Mercedes of Liberty Biberty
Lissu of Lissu’s Dollhouse
Sabiha of Sabs Mini Interiors

Have a great week everyone! Carol :) xox

I couldn't resist..

2010-02-27T13:25:00.013Z

After the big clean-up on Thursday I treated myself yesterday to making some little accessories for the bedroom of Honeybee Cottage.

The little tissue box is from a printable pattern I found at Jim's Dollhouse Pages .The green jug is made from Fimo and glazed with Fimo varnish. The little perfume bottles are made from beads. The tiny slippers (seen in both Linda and Mercedes houses) are from a free tutorial by Lisette. I bought the little hot water bottle - essential kit for every girl living in Ireland!!

Next to be worked on is the roof and garden. But in the meantime I have some doll orders to get out ~ and Six Nations Rugby to watch!

Workspace clear out

2010-02-26T15:15:00.008Z

Does anyone else suddenly find their crafting workspace has become a complete mess - to the degree that to find anything becomes a real effort? Well this week I decided to put ALL work on hold - dolls and dollhouse - to concentrate on a major clear out and clean up. I threw out loads of stuff that I knew I would never use and which would be of no interest to anyone else. I sorted through all my fabrics and sorted them into type and colour.

I trotted off, pocket money in hand, and bought some little drawer units from my local hardware store. These are designed for carpenters but perfect for crafters. I took all my itty-bitty supplies out of the endless cartons, boxes and bags that they were in and put them neatly into the drawers - and then I labelled them all! I also bought some dowel and made a rail to hold the part of my enormous ribbon supply that is on reels.

The job is not over though - this space doubles as my home office and that end of things has yet to be tackled. I hope that by tomorrow morning I will have a really pleasant work space which will make life a lot easier. Now if only I could think of somewhere to put all my knitting wool......................

New Cupcake Birthday Doll

2010-02-24T15:45:00.004Z

Most little girls I know seem to love the colours pink and purple. So I have added a new purple gingham doll to my Birthday Doll range which currently is very pink biased! These little dolls are designed to be Cake Toppers for the birthday party and a little keepsake afterwards.

Work on Honeybee Cottage is progressing slowly again now that half-term is over. This week (and next) I want to get the roof and garden finished! Unfortunately real life has an annoying habit of taking up valuable dolls house time!

Honeybee Cottage

2010-02-20T13:24:00.009Z

I finally decided on the name for the dollhouse – Honeybee Cottage. It is half-term in school so I had plenty of time to work on the cottage this week. The bedroom is going well ~ I decided to replace the egg-cup bedside table with a small chest of drawers.

This store-bought chest of drawers started out taller

but I removed the bottom drawer to make it a more suitable height for beside the bed. I painted and lightly distressed it and added the little flower bead handles. (I used the drawer I removed to make a side-table for the downstairs room.)

There is plenty of work still to be done – adding many details and accessories - but these photos give an indication of what the bedroom will look like.

The downstairs room and outside of the house are also coming along well and I should have some photos next week. Have a great weekend.

Cute Simple Alarm Clock

2010-02-15T23:54:00.004Z

I made this little bedside clock from a small used watch battery with a printed clock face stuck on it! It is exactly what I wanted. The 'bedside table' at the moment is an upturned wooden egg cup which I will cover with a little white lacy table cloth until I can afford something better. I love finding clever ways of creating everyday miniature objects and love when other people share their ideas too.

Leaps and bounds and WELCOME!

2010-02-12T15:28:00.010Z

FIRST OF ALL - a big welcome to all new followers. It is so heartwarming to think that anyone would be bothered to follow my blog and I love reading all the comments you leave. I am not going to mention each person by name - but you are all most WELCOME!
The arrival of the dolls' cottage windows got things moving again. I was able to work a lot on the carcass this week. The outside walls have now been painted cream, some of the electrics have been installed and the internal walls have been wallpapered. This is my first ever attempt at wallpapering anything and I have learnt a lot. Especially what NOT to do next time! Below shows progress to date. The staircase has a lot of work to be done on it - but I am including it so that the wallpapering makes sense.

I also managed to put the wood strips down on the floors. Again a steep learning curve. This was not at all as easy as I imagined. But it will be fine once I give it another coat of varnish and/or beeswax it.

But now things have ground to a halt again. Building a house without a kit means that you have to source all the supplies yourself. In my case (living in Ireland) that means using mail-order. Gingerbread trim arrived from the States (4 weeks after initial order) and it is the wrong one. It is not only the wrong style it is the wrong scale. So until the replacement arrives (and some brackets) I cannot finish the roof or the front of the house.

This miniature world is amazing. Through blogs I am meeting some wonderful people whose talent is enviable. I just love to marvel at all the little details of their houses and when I visit someone else's house it is like I am being invited in for tea.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Making beds

2010-02-10T11:01:00.006Z

The windows for the dolls house finally arrived and so work has been progressing well again. Today I am going to paint the outside walls cream. I plan to have a grey shingled roof but am not sure what to do with the other paintwork and front door. At the moment they are all undercoated white and actually look really pretty – but it might all be a bit bland. I will wait and see once the walls are done and grass for the garden in place.

In the meantime, I made a little bed for the dollhouse. I knew exactly what I wanted so decided to make it myself. It was much easier than I thought. It even has little slats under the mattress. The moulding and little knobs are made from Fimo modelling clay which were then stuck on and painted with the rest of the bed.

I plan to make a little Liberty Biberty style patchwork throw/quilt for the end of the bed over the weekend.

Fits and Starts and Diversion

2010-02-06T12:54:00.006Z

One of the problems of building a dolls house without a kit is that there are no instructions!! So I spend a great deal of time trying to work out what should be done next. I am very aware that it is easy to finish one thing and then realise that something else should have been done first. I was feeling very pleased with myself at the start of the week. Things seems to have taken a big leap forward, but now I am back to dithering, fussing, pondering and stagnating.

So....what better way to cheer myself up than by going shopping for the dolls house! Yesterday I bought some 'grass' for the front garden and couldn't resist two sweet little dogs to live in the dolls cottage with the clothespin dolls. Here is one of the dogs.

Purists may weep but remember the dolls cottage is specifically designed to allow me play with my clothespin dolls! Have a great weekend everyone.

Feeling like a celebrity

2010-02-04T07:29:00.007Z

Crystal of Beadhappilyeverafter contacted me recently to ask if I would like to be 'interviewed' as part of her 'Interview with the Artist' series on her fantastic blog. Of course I jumped at the chance of promotion! The interview is in her blog today. Please visit both Crystal and me there.

For those who do not know Crystal, she has a gorgeous Etsy shop selling lovely vintage and unusual beads. I have already spotted a couple that could be easily transformed into perfume bottle, vases and decorative bowls for dollhouses!!

Dolls House Roof

2010-02-02T10:36:00.005Z

Decided to work on the roof of the little dolls house yesterday. Now that the roof construction is finished it looks like it was really simple to put together ~ but you would be amazed how many angles need to be included in that gable to make it fit snugly onto the roof! I know it looks like a giant birdhouse at the moment, but that is because I have modified the design of the front of the house and cut a new bottom section.

The design modification is to overcome one of the things I really dislike about front-opening houses. The front wall of front-opening houses usually comprises of one or two hinged doors which open to reveal the contents. I don’t know why – but I find the inside of the front wall (when it is open) very unattractive. There is something almost creepy and sad about all those little windows with no rooms attached, especially if they have curtains. I don’t have the same problem with the inside of the hinged roof.

But thanks to Linda of ‘Une Petite Folie’ I have found the solution to this problem. Instead of having a hinged front wall – I am going to have it lift away. This way the contents can be admired without any distraction.

Now if only those windows would arrive……

Liberty of London

2010-01-27T10:56:00.010Z

Ages ago I lived in London and loved visiting their big world-famous department stores like Harrods, Harvey Nicholls and Selfridges. But my favourite by far was definitely Liberty of London which was in a league of its own. I do not know what it is like now, but back then it was like an Aladdin’s Cave filled with magical treasures from all over the world. For me the best thing about Libertys was not the famous faces you would regularly see in there shopping ~ it was the magnificent fabric department.

Liberty Tana Lawn is one of my favourite fabrics – 100% cotton and almost as fine as silk. The colours and patterns are still as distinctive as ever.

I am making a little custom doll for a friend and she asked that it be ‘girly’. Well what a great excuse to use Liberty. I love this fabric so much I made a second little doll for me.

*#+%** and other bad words

2010-01-26T08:37:00.009Z

The new dolls house windows arrived today from American (via my cousin) and I could weep with disappointment. When they arrived with her they were already damaged, one piece was missing, but most annoying of all is that THEY ARE NOT THE WINDOWS I ORDERED.

I ordered sweet little louvered windows (selected specially for their size and shape) and instead got Federal style windows that are all wrong for my design AND too big. What makes things worse is that I even took the trouble to check with the vendor (on eBay) prior to purchase, that the windows were exactly as in the photo.

This will set me back now a whole month on this house. A friend is going to the US next month and I know she will let me get replacements (from another company!) sent to her brother and she will bring them home for me. I just wish I could order direct and save loads of time. I am amazed that so many American companies blankly refuse to ship outside the US. After all shipping to Ireland is not the same as shipping to Antarctica.

I am so so disappointed :(

A Grand stretch in the evenings.....

2010-01-25T16:26:00.004Z

At first we wonder if it is just hopeful thinking, then we think maybe it is just a particularly bright day....but then......there is no doubt left ~ the days are getting longer again. The snowdrops are out and Spring is not far away and maybe, just maybe, this year we will have a decent summer in Ireland. Fingers and toes crossed.

Roses are red......

2010-01-22T12:31:00.002Z

Valentine’s Day is on its way and these two little dolls are all set to celebrate! They will be in my Etsy shop later on today.

Because of requests, I will have new Birthday Dolls in my shop from next Monday. There is a limited number of styles but they can be semi-customised ~ hair/eye colour and age/name. My pre-Christmas decision to severely cut the number of full custom orders remains. I need time now for my dolls house(s)!!

And the award goes to.........

2010-01-20T16:15:00.008Z

I am so chuffed! I got a blog award today from bellaboo of http://bellascountry.blogspot.com/. Thank you so much! I am passing it on to the following blogs which always make me feel sunny:

Arranged alphabetically:

http://beedeebabee.blogspot.com

http://creativebreathing.blogspot.com

http://crickleberrycottage.blogspot.com

http://flutterbypatch.typepad.co.uk

http://julie-oh-well.blogspot.com

http://raggedysandy.blogspot.com

http://sabrielsdreams.blogspot.com

http://thecruetset.blogspot.com

http://thelongthread.com

http://twocrazycrafters.blogspot.com

Thank you again Bellaboo! Carol xox

Cat among the Pigeons

2010-01-19T08:06:00.005Z

Eeeeek! Choices have to be made. My father has offered to buy me a proper 1:12 scale dolls house from America. He, like me, LOVES the style of New England clapperboard houses (like these below) and said that he thought I should get a full-size house with lots of rooms and that he would like to buy it for me - including the shipping cost!!

Now what to do? My own little dolls house is no further on because I am waiting for windows. But the lighting and flooring is here - things that could be used in a bigger house! Decisions, decisions.

My first woven basket

2010-01-16T14:18:00.010Z

All this cold weather has resulted in me getting a sinus infection and cough. Not enough to confine me to bed, but enough to mean that I spent more time than normal at home indoors. To while away the hours (and to avoid doing any housework) I decided it was time to check out some new blogs.

I came across some amazing people who do incredible miniature work. One of them had a tutorial on how to weave miniature baskets. So I decided to give it a go. I didn't have any of the right materials so improvised and used garden twine that I de-stranded and used as thinly as possible. Here is the progress (apologies for quality of first two photos - this is why I never usually photograph anything at night!)

and because the final basket looked rustic, I decided to make it into a little hanging basket for the dolls house.

The tiny roses are made from Mulberry paper. I buy these on eBay and use them for my dolls all the time. Now all I need is to find the right materials to make more 'wicker-like' baskets and there will be no stopping me!!

Back to the Drawing Board

2010-01-14T10:34:00.007Z

I was so excited yesterday - at last I was going to do some construction work on my dolls house.

My trusty Black & Decker workbench and armoury of tools were dutifully assembled in the kitchen. I donned my old clothes, turned on the radio and set about cutting out the windows for the dolls house. From the start the windows have been a problem. Because the scale of the house has been reduced by about 20% (to fit my dolls) the majority of available windows are too big. I thought the windows I bought were fine but when I had finished the cut-outs yesterday I realised they are not right. They are too small and in the long-run I would be disappointed if I used them.

So........with weary heart I went back to the drawing-board (or in reality back to the internet) to try to source an alternative. Hours later it looks as if I have found a great alternative - but as always these windows are in the US and the company does not ship to Ireland. My dear cousin in Washington DC has offered to act as shipping agent for me and hopefully I will have the windows in a couple of weeks. Until I get them in my hand and re-size the cut-outs I cannot do any more construction work, so I will just have to be patient.

Thankfully I have a custom order for two birthday dolls to finish today which will stop me feeling too frustrated!

Handmade Miniature Armchair

2010-01-09T12:31:00.011Z

This wintery weather is wonderful – not if you have to travel, but as an excuse for guiltless crafting. Yesterday I was busy assembling the staircase for the dolls house AND making this little armchair. (Until the staircase is finished I cannot continue with the actual house-building - working from scratch means there is a lot of 'chicken and egg' stuff!!!)

I was browsing the internet looking for a miniature armchair but just couldn’t find what I wanted. I found one little chair which was the perfect style – but I did not like the fabric. Then I found this great tutorial from Jennifer and so I decided to try and see if I could actually make an armchair myself. Because Jennifer does not use any special sizes you can make it exactly the size you want. I made a few modifications in style and finish. Now mine is perfect for when the little dolls want to sit down and relax. This little fairy is demonstrating just how comfortable it is.

Of course no armchair is complete without a little cushion – and as I love gingham – I made a red one to pick up the colour of the roses. (I can see teeny needlepoint cushions being made later in the year!!) The whole style of the dolls house will be Gingerbread-like on the outside and country/shabby chic on the inside.

Now I have started to make furniture, I think that I will be making lots more things – like the bed, a table and (if I can) a working grandfather clock for the bottom of the stairs. I thought making peg dolls was addictive – playing with dolls houses is just as bad – but even more enjoyable!

Mocked Up Rooms for Dolls House

2010-01-07T10:59:00.010Z

The weather in Ireland continues to be very very cold. It went down to -12◦ C last night in some parts of the country. We had snow again yesterday and now it is frozen making driving (and walking) dangerous. So…..great excuse to stay indoors and work on the dolls house!

Still at the planning stage. Because the house will be a bit smaller than the standard 1:12 scale I have to be sure that I can fit the furniture I want into my house when it is finished.

So I have made up models of the two rooms together with rudimentary cardboard furniture. It doesn’t look pretty at the moment, but it is a very good exercise because it allows me see where I can position furniture, windows and the lights.

Today I am going to be spending quite a bit of time sourcing building components and supplies - not as easy as it sounds. Gingerbread trim for the gable roof is a real headache - no problem if I lived in the US, but in Ireland.......grrrrrr..........

Plans, plans and Pythagoras

2010-01-04T12:58:00.008Z

The New Year has started off with snow here in Dublin! We are having a really cold spell so I have a great excuse to stay warm indoors and plan the dolls house. I had no idea how much fun it would be ~ or how difficult. When the house is finished I am sure it will look really simple and uncomplicated, but there are so many things that need to be considered that are not obvious.

My first hurdle was to get the scale right so the house would be perfect for my little clothespin dolls. Originally I thought the classic 1:12 scale (or 1" scale) would be fine, but my girls are not very tall so I have decided to scale everything down so they can look out windows easily and not look like dwarves. I have moved to a scale closer to 1:14 but will get away with some 1:12 furniture etc. Here is a cardboard rough mock-up to show the basic design. It will be front opening - so the roof will lift up and the ground floor open with two "doors".
The roof gave me a lot of bother. I was getting things all wrong until one of my sons suggested that I use Pythagoras's theorem to work out the correct measurements for the gable. Who would ever have thought that geometry would ever be actually USEFUL. I feel like a proper architect now with calculators, compasses and set squares all over the place.
One of my good friends has a talented husband who builds the most amazing model gliders. He has been very helpful and given me some off-cuts of balsa wood to get me going on things like window-boxes. He also supplied a sheet of very fine plywood which is going to be perfect for the roof.

I am longing to get my saw out and start cutting, but feel I need to get my plans 100% right before I start. So, I'm off to put the kettle on - ignore the ironing - and return to my desk.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T16:56:00.004Z

Wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Also, a big thank you to all who follow my blog and especially those who leave comments. It is really great to feel noticed and connected to like-minded souls!

So - lots of best wishes and hugs from me here in Ireland xoxo

The Dolls House planning gets underway....

2009-12-28T15:51:00.009Z

I am not sure exactly where the idea started….was it from seeing the dolls house that Elizabeth of Creative Breathing is renovating, or from thinking that I want to make seasonal displays of my dolls for my own home……but no matter where the idea came from….it is now firmly rooted and I know me ~ I will not be happy until it is brought to reality. I am talking about building a dolls' house.

There are some wonderful dolls' house kits available in the US and UK but these are too deep for where I want to display my house. I want a house that is only half the usual depth – and I want it to be front opening (the traditional English style of dolls house). And I want it to be true to 1:12 scale.

So…..I have done some preliminary research and investigation and know already that I am hooked. Because I have good carpentry skills (built a lot of furniture and can run up a row of very presentable dove-tail joints) and because I am resourceful I have decided to design and build my house from scratch. Without a kit, but using pre-made windows and doors etc.

Being a 100% girly girl I want a real little gingerbread cottage for my little dolls to live it. Something along these lines.

This is a very ambitious project because sourcing the dolls house ‘bits’ in Ireland is virtually impossible – so I am going to have to buy online and unseen. I imagine there will be quite a bit of trial and error. But now that I have the idea in my head nothing is going to shift it!!

I am going to give myself a full year to build this. That way I can be patient and take my time and get it right. If I think there are some interesting photos and stories along the way I will post them. If this project is not mentioned for a good while it is probably because I am (a) too frustrated to mention it – or more likely (b) waiting for the postman to deliver supplies from the abroad.

To all you American ladies (and gents) out there – please take a moment and thank your lucky stars that you have access to so much craft and arty materials and that getting online purchases sent does not cost the same as having a grand piano couriered personally by three people!

Last Minute Christmas Cutie

2009-12-22T15:04:00.007Z

This year, in addition to our larger tree, I have to put a small Christmas tree in our kitchen/family room. It is decorated only with white lights, red and white fabric hearts and little angels and dolls a bit like this one. In order to avoid tackling an enormous basket of ironing I decided I needed just ONE more little Cutie to complete the tree! Who wouldn't rather craft than iron?!

But now I am going to be good and set up the ironing board and get cracking....well maybe I will just have a nice cup of tea first.........

Christmas Carol Singers

2009-12-21T13:02:00.003Z

Hark the herald angels sing........

This is a Christmas present for a really good friend who is the organist at his church. I hope he likes it - I love the snow effect and also like the use of a 'base' to group a few dolls together. I plan to make a few groups of seasonal dolls (for my own family!) throughout the year. I will post them as they are completed. Difficult to think beyond Christmas at the moment.

Big sigh of Relief......

2009-12-10T10:26:00.004Z

BIG BIG BIG sigh of relief. I am finally through all my custom orders – everything has been collected, delivered, packed up and shipped off! Over 25 dolls, 20 Lavender Filled Fairies and miscellaneous hearts, gnomes and key fobs later……all I have left to make are 6 dolls for family and friends. Then….IF I have time I want to make some hanging fairies for our own tree!

During the last week I have made a decision. I am not going to accept any further custom orders for the foreseeable future. Although I enjoy making them, I find them too much of a responsibility. There is always a time-scale involved and orders always seem to come in bunches. So from now on I will not be accepting any new custom work – except from my personal friends – and then only if it suits me!

Making the decision has been liberating and I now feel free to explore many other interesting craft ideas. The great thing is that I am so well stocked up that I will not need to buy anything further to make all the things I have in mind!

But for now I am taking a couple of days off from crafting to do some housework and bake the industrial quantities of mince-pies that my family demands each Christmas. Last year between them all they demolished an impressive 14 dozen over about 2 weeks!!! Thank Goodness mince-pies freeze.