The Study

Hi everyone,

OMG I am another year older in one day, on Friday!! I have given up adding years on! I now will say I am 44 plus VAT!

This is the Study in my Dollshouse. I made the floor raised at the back to create a 'Library' area. The bookcase, desk, chair and shell pictures are all my Balsa wood makes. The chair I covered with leather and as Balsa wood is so soft, I was able to sew straight through it, to create a button back effect. The shells we collected on Denia beach in Spain. We had a competition to see who could find the smallest perfect shell!

The fossils on the desk are real and were found in Dorset. The books I made and are covered with leather, as is the top of the desk. I also have paneled the walls with wood.

In the picture below, the centre piece is a telescope I made from a drinking straw, cocktail sticks, and a round piece of Balsa. Topped it with a brass washer my husband found in his works car park and screw with a split ring attached. Oh, and beads for the feet and 2 eyelets for the ends of the straw. Total cost, 10p at the most!! The telescope does also slide in and out!

One of the things I like about this room is that there are very special things in there. Behind the chair you can see the top of a brass coat rack and on the book shelf, there are a two brass ducks. These belonged to my best friend who sadly passed away 9 years ago, aged 54. Her husband found them amongst her many collections and asked me if I would like them for my house. They fit in perfectly.

Back to box making at my desk and no early night tonight!

Thank you for popping in and Happy Birthday to anyone who shares the 2nd September with me.Lol!!
Luv, Carol S. xx

Merry Christmas x 2.

Hi everyone,

Well we had an amazing day at the Craft Market. We had our best sales day ever!!

One of the first items I sold was my Fairy Mirror. In fact I sold 3 mirrors and a button clock. We sold so much, I have loads to make for the next market on Friday 9th September. I feel a few late nights coming up!Lol!!

The Christmas cards below are made using LOTV new stamps. I love the detail, as it makes them very quick to colour with my Distress Inks.

The shaded areas make it very easy for you to shade, even if you can't paint. Add a little Star Dust Stickles to the background and berries and it brings the card to life. The birds on this card are sooo cute. They have been drawn beautifully.

I think some people are put off stamps that have very small colouring areas. They think that they are too time consuming to colour. They are so wrong, as they take no time at all. There is very little blending of colours, or shading to do, so in fact they are very quick to colour.

Unfortunately the photos don't do them justice, as they look much better in real life.

Well back to my desk for another couple of hours.

Thanks for stopping by.

Luv,

Carol S.xx

Poppy Clock!

Evening All,

Just before I go to bed (it's only 22.45!!), as I have to get up at 06.30 in the morning, I thought I would do a quick post.

This is a clock I made this afternoon.

I just did a quick sketch of a Poppy with a pencil onto a canvas. I then used Eco Acrylic paints to paint it with. I did try the Fusion method but my sketch was much too big. The canvas is 10" x 8".

I made a hole in the canvas with a pokey tool. I had to glue a piece of mountboard at the back of the canvas, where the clock mechanism was to go for support. After fitting the clock, I then used card candy for the dial.
Another item for my stall tomorrow. I have wanted to do this for ages. I have loads of ideas in my head but not always the time to do them.
Have a good weekend.
Thanks for visiting my blog
Luv,
Carol S.xx

Fusioning!!

Hi everyone,

Finally a glimmer of light this afternoon! Not for long though. Here in West Sussex, the rain this morning was stair rods for hours!

I am afraid, as I thought I wasn't going to be able to take pictures of my pot and candles, I had already wrapped them in cellophane. I hope you can still see the detail of Sheena's new stamps.

I particularly like the Ivy, as it can be used all year round. I also bought the Wreath and the Holly but as yet I haven't had time to use them.

I have done 2 candles. On the other one, I used pale cream and green but this is my fave. I am taking them on Saturday to the Balcombe Village Craft Market, where I have a stall for my charity. I would like to keep this candle myself but feel compelled to take it!

I was surprised how well the white paint showed on the white candle. These two items were my first try with this stamp. I have done them on card twice since and they are getting better. Typical of me, I just go for it and don't practice first!!Lol!

I am just hoping that it is not raining on Saturday or Monday. It is my Husband's birthday on Monday. Last year it was his 60th and we had a lunch time garden party. It stayed dry until 4.30 and then the heavens opened! Fortunately we have a very large conservatory, so we all squeezed in there!

Hope you all have a good weekend.
Thanks for popping in.

Luv,

Carol S. xx

The Sitting Room

Hi all,

I still haven't taken pics of cards and Fusioning bits, as the weather has been so bad and the light very poor. I am hoping tomorrow I can get them done.

My Grand daughter came for the day on Monday. She spent a couple of hours playing with my Dollshouse. She hadn't seen it complete since she was 3, so couldn't remember any of it. She was so excited and when it was time to go home, she said she wanted to stay with me. My Daughter had to come and get her!! I then spent an hour putting everything back in it's place!Lol! It was lovely to see her playing with it again.

So I thought I could post the next room in my Dollshouse. This is the sitting room. The first pic is the staircase that nearly drove me mad! Getting the spindles to fit in the slot in the hand rail and then sit on the stairs, was a nightmare. I could get 3 or 4 ok and the next one would be floating in the air! The carpet I cross stitched. I think I scaled down a pattern for a cake band.

This is Mother and Grandpa below. I bought the sofa and chairs in Spain and the big dresser behind them on Ebay. I made the tea trolley and the cakes. The firescreen also was cross stitched and the frame and stand I made with scraps of Balsa wood.

The picture below is one of the cushions on the sofa. I scaled down a small cross stitch pattern for a basket of flowers, from 3" x 3" to 1" x 1". I did have to use a magnifying glass to do these. Really good for my eyes! I had just come out of hospital, after having had an operation on my knee. I was bored laying on the sofa with my leg in the air!Lol!! I decided I needed to be doing something.
I used one strand of embroidery floss on a piece of linen.

The cake stand below I made with a Victorian button glued onto a small bead and then glued onto a part of a necklace I bought from a car boot.

The cake slice that you can just see the handle of is actually silver and was a gift from a friend. The cakes, scones and jelly I made with Fimo.

The last picture is Grandma with her knitting, which I did on sewing needles with sewing cotton.
The bell pull on the wall is cross stitched. In a spate of madness, (my friends say that is quite often!!) I bought the Grandfather clock. It actually works and is another clock to change twice a year!!

I hope you are not bored yet viewing my house. Back to cards and candles hopefully tomorrow!

Thank you for stopping by and your lovely comments.

Luv,
Carol S. xx

Room 2 - The Hat Shop

Hi everyone,

I haven't had time to take pics of Christmas cards but hope to do so over the weekend. So here is the next room in my Dollshouse.

Thank you for the lovely comments on The Kitchen. I have always been fascinated with miniatures and soon found out just how difficult making something so small can be. The rewards, however are immense.

The Hat Shop is in the basement, alongside the kitchen and has its own front door. I have made all the hats, gloves and parasoles in the shop.

The 2 ladies in the picture below I bought undressed and made the clothes myself. All the fabrics, trimmings etc I use, are also 12th scale.

The display cabinet on the back wall, I made from Balsa and acetate. The hat boxes I make, always seem to look too big but they are the size for the hats. I then saw some in a hat hire shop near me and some of them are huge!Lol!

The silver coloured stand with the pink hat on, is actually a salt pot I bought in a car boot sale! The pepper pot is in following picture with the purple set on. The table is made from acetate.

In the picture below, the purple parasol is a cocktail umbrella I covered with silk fabric and yes it does work! It also has a matching hat and handbag. In the little blue box on my Balsa wood shelf, is a pair of leather gloves I made.

The cabinet below I made from 2 plastic boxes. They came with some German porcelain items I bought for the bathroom. I covered the center join with a strip of wood, which also holds the boxes together. I made the base separately, so I can lift off the top. That way I can change the display items.
In the right hand side box is a red leather bag and matching gloves I made. They go with my red hat standing on the cabinet.
In the left box, the bottles I made from beads and findings. I used to go to car boot sales, looking for suitable jewellery that I could take apart.

The hat below is actually purple but for some reason looks dark blue! The folded parasol is just a circle of fabric, which I added some trimmings on. I then rolled it around a cocktail stick and tied it on with a piece of silk ribbon. Added a small flower, a bead as a handle and an eyelet on the other end to hide the edge of the fabric. The stand is a cotton reel I painted and trimmed.

Like most crafts, you can make things very cheaply by recycling. You will be surprised by some of the things I have used! In doing so you get a great deal of satisfaction. I must add it doesn't always work out though!!
Thank you for visiting my blog and I really do appreciate you lovely comments.

Love,
Carol S.xx

The Kitchen

Hi everyone,

I have my Grand-daughter tomorrow for the day. She will be so excited to see the house at last complete with furniture etc. Every time she comes she asks if it is in yet!

This is the first room in my Dollshouse, the kitchen. A typical Victorian house, very cluttered.

The first picture is the Inglenook fireplace I made from Balsa wood, covered with the brick plaster, with the centre beam stained with oak wood stain. The little shelf above made in the same way.

The stove is made in Germany and has candles that you put inside the oven, the hotplates get warm and smoke will come out the chimney!

I made the clothes airer from cocktail sticks and Balsa wood. It does go up and down on the string. The also made the maid's clothes. The cook is making Marmalade with oranges I made with Fimo. The Cherry pie on the table is also made with Fimo in a Budweiser bottle cap, as is the meat on the butcher's block.

I used Balsa wood for the table and the plate rack behind the cook's head. I also made the cook's clothes.

The butcher's block in the foreground was the first piece I made, followed by the large set of shelves on the wall and the table.
To make all of the furniture pieces, I just used a craft knife set I bought in a pound shop, sandpaper, mitre block and Balsa wood. Stained with general wood stain or wax.
Most of the items in the kitchen I made from Fimo, bowls, pots etc.
The fruit and vegetables were rather fiddly to make but worth the effort. You make them the same way they make 'rock' that you can buy at the coast. The boxes were just scraps of wood.

Oranges and lemons made the same way.

My next post will be some Christmas cards I have finally got around to making. The new Lili of the Valley Christmas stamps are just so nice. I will be buying more at Alexandra Palace next month.

I must have an early night tonight as I have to get up at 7am. Yuk!Lol!

Thanks for stopping by,

Luv

Carol S.xx

The Secret Fairy Garden.

Hi everyone,

This is a mirror I designed in my head some time ago. Last night I finally got around to actually making it!

I covered a plain pine mirror frame with some papers from Papermania Secret Garden collection. The fairies are of course Lili of The Valley stamps and coloured with Distress Inks and Watercolour pencils.

The red and white toadstool was made with a scrap of red card, with white Card Candi stuck on. Now for the technical bit. For the stalk, I cut a scrap of cream coloured Co-Ordinations card, making a slightly wavy line with my scissors! Lol!! Rolled it over my finger, then edged it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Attached it to the mirror with 3mm foam pads!

The flowers are from my flower stash. The foliage was originally bought for my Dollshouse garden. I just chopped it up in small pieces.

This pic is a bit blurry, as I found it rather awkward taking pictures of a mirror, without getting my own ugly mug in the glass!! So I had to hold my arms out in front of my body, without anything to support them.

This last fairy was from the free pack that I got with a magazine. I coloured her with watercolour pencils.

There is a bit of me in the bottom left corner of the mirror. Can't make out which bit!

Answers on a post card or comment please!!! Hee Hee!

Thanks for stopping by,

Luv,

Carol S.xx

At Last!!

Hi everyone,

At last I have finished unpacking! We moved into this house 2 years ago next week and I finished unpacking on Saturday!

My Dollshouse has sat in my craft room empty and gathering dust. Now I have decorated my room and 'A man who does', put a shelf on top of a cupboard my Dollshouse, I was able to put the furnishings into it. It took the whole of Saturday to complete it.

It stands 41" (104cm) high and is 28" (41 cm) square. It started life as lots of pieces of MDF that I glued together in 2003. The brickwork is done with a plaster type powder laid on with a stencil. I then painted each brick, as all bricks are different. The top cream colour is textured paint.

I also put in the electrics myself. Got a few burns from the soldering iron, as I had never used one! Lol!

The climbing rose I made from hole punch waste. Each piece was 1/8th of an inch (4mm) and each rose took 9 pieces. I made 60 roses and I don't know how many buds! The leaves were made with a punch. No, I didn't count them!!

This is a quick view inside. For the flooring I used Oak veneer strips, which I laid like wooden floor boards. All the ceilings have been papered, as have the walls.

The stair carpets and rugs I cross stitched to 12th scale.

I think the hardest bit to do were the banisters on the stairs. It was so hard getting all the spindles in the hand rail so they sat on the stairs properly.

I made a lot of the furniture and fittings myself using Balsa wood and Fimo clay.

I will give you a tour into the rooms over the next few days.

It makes a change from cards or budda nuts!!Lol!

Luv,

Carol S. xx

Phew!! What A Week!!

Hi everyone,

What a week I have had. Up and down on my ladder, hanging lining paper on the walls, filling in cracks, painting ceilings and walls!! And I have only done 3 walls in my craft room.

It was more difficult, as I was unable to empty the room completely. Just covered up everything with dust sheets.

Other than the horrible smell, the room now looks lighter and cleaner. Now I have to wait for 'My man that does', to come and fit worktops and shelving onto 2 of the walls and then I can do the final wall.

I made this card last week. It was a set of Lili of The Valley pics which were free with a magazine. I have coloured them with my Copic Pens. What!! I hear you say, no Distress Inks!! Well, with the Little Claire sentiment stamp I used Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The card would not take the inks and water.

I must tell you that I sold my Buddha Nut butterfly house last Saturday! I was thrilled, as it is now in Scotland! The lady was down here visiting her sister and as soon as she saw it, she said she wanted it! I now know I am not the only one with strange vision!Lol!

I am now doing my friends' wedding invites etc. I am thrilled for her, as she really deserves a more settled life. She is one of lifes' 'nice' people.

I have had a few of LOTV Christmas stamps delivered, so can't wait to find my Distress Inks again! I'm just never happy with my colouring with Copics. I suppose it would help if I had more shades of each colour. Then I could blend them better.

There were loads of LOTV images to do, so will keep my Copics to hand, or might even use my water colour pencils for a change.

Thanks for visiting and as now I can get to my desk, I will try to get back to posting more often!

Luv,

Carol S. xx

I Have Returned!!

Hi Everyone,

I have finally got back into crafting mode. I haven't just been doing nothing! Lol! I needed something to occupy my mind and body a bit more than sitting at my desk. I think too much in that position!

My friend's husband made me 2 fantastic storage units (he is so clever!), to go on my walls in my craft room. He has made them to measure, to take the storage boxes and sets of drawers that I have lots of my goodies in. So before they could go on the walls, I had to remove the awful wallpaper and paint the walls. I also painted the units white. They have made such a difference to the room already. I now have to remove the horrible wallpaper from the other walls and paint them before stage 2 can be done. Wanted to start them today but it was too hot.

This is another new LOTV stamp. I have 3D'd the big flower, which was the obvious thing to do.

I have used Distress Inks to colour the image, around the edges of the backing papers and the flowers.

She is soo cute as you would expect from LOTV.

Did you see the LOTV images, free with a magazine? Can't remember which mag as I just bought it for the free gift!! I know it's not free then but I may look at the mag when I can find where I put it!

I actually got out my Copics to colour them with, only because my Distress Inks would not work on the card! I will post them when I have done something with them.

I hope it's not going to be so hot tomorrow. I know I shouldn't moan but it zaps all the energy out of me.

I hope I can get to sleep tonight as I need lots of energy tomorrow to get up on my ladder.

Thanks for stopping by and I will not leave it so long to post again.

Luv,

Carol S. xx