A Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see,
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me,
to me

For the past couple of weeks, I have been feeling at loose ends and in a creative limbo.  

I have promised my sister that I would begin working on her bedroom roombox project so I've been mulling that over in my head, whilst simultaneously considering what I will be working on for myself.  
One thing I knew for sure- 

I didn't want to do another long term BIG DOLLHOUSE project; 
any time soon! 

Villa Leone is still sitting on my only work table in the middle of my Studio with nowhere else to go.  The updated interior photos I took of it using my phone are stuck somewhere inside my computer and I can't seem to get them onto my blog: I need my techy daughter to come here and show me all over again what I'm still doing wrong.  

ALSO

I currently have no more room in my studio to do any work, although I have been trying to thin things out, and getting things organized in order to make the space I have, more USER FRIENDLY rather than the Hoarder Horror that it currently is. 

ALSO #2: 

 I'm Unable to DO ANY major clean up of it until AFTER our Canadian Thanksgiving which is this weekend, which explains to me, why I'm feeling   STUCK creatively.

In the meantime: 

 I've been re-organizing my collection of mini furniture pieces which are stored on a couple of high shelves so I can SEE them and remember what I have. 
It was during the course of shuffling and grouping, that I was inspired by some of the furniture to play and to rough out a loose living room scene on my already messy desktop using some of my favourite and usually forgotten pieces.  

One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was flipping through reference books, rifling through storage boxes, and tearing through stuffed drawers: re-discovering many minis which had been tucked away for "safekeeping" never to be seen again!
It was like shopping second-hand- at home! 

And so, as things began taking shape, I started thinking of a story behind my one room scene which  could reasonably explain the presence of the various disparate furnishing as representative of a salvage/ bargain / and thrift-store shopper lived; 
mixing both old and new found items together as she saw fit- 

"Little High, Little Low" 

...doesn't really matter to me"

As it happens, I've been playing around with this scene for a few days (when I SHOULD be doing some REAL HOUSEWORK, i.e. vacuuming and dusting- for when my company comes for dinner this Sunday

But Hey!!! 

"I'm just a poor [girl],

 I need no sympathy" 

because doing 1:12 scale housework is much more fun!    

FYI

Scrapbook Wallpaper is only held upright by kleenex boxes, stacked bead containers, and Blue Tac, so if the paper "walls" of the room appear to be leaning funny-
 it's because they actually are;

now on with the show- 

I began my scene with an
old brown leather sofa
 clawed to shreds by the cat;
[naughty kitty!]
There are assorted old rugs 
which had been found languishing 
in the corners 
of various charity shops.
They're layered one on top of the other, 
in a bizarre mix of colours and styles
i.e.
 a blue Chinese 
on top of a graphic Arts and Crafts rug,
on top of a
multi colored
Persian carpet

a narrow drop-leaf mahogany table
 sits behind the ruined sofa. 
fyi
(I've balanced the unstable Victorian window frame by seating it on the table, 
which was the only way I could get it to stay upright,
so my green lamp from the early 90's
 is currently shadeless for lack of tablespace)  
A tatty lace shawl, is draped over the back of the sofa which the cat likes to sit on and chew on! 
Assorted needlepoint cushions
are casually strewn about.

 A lush bouquet of fragrant old-fashioned roses 
(from Linda Park's garden), 
are temporarily displayed in a handmade blue pottery bowl 
 and are positioned
between 
a reclaimed bust from the city salvage yard 
and a
wire nest of blue eggs by a local nature artist.

The view outside is of a misty country morning.

a peeling tea table on rusted casters 
was rescued from a city sidewalk.
It holds a collection of well-loved,
 mismatched china. 
A tiny ornament 
of a dog in a basket, 
was a gift from one of the homeowner's friends.

by the front door sits a
rusty milk can:
(garage sale find) 
soon to store   
 canes and/or wet umbrellas. 
 The owner's
dog, 
sits silently beside it
and
waits to go out-

What! AGAIN?

really!??? 

Fading vintage mismatched wallpapers 
adorn the walls

a TREASURED 
AND
 Very expensive 
side chair 
was a
bequeathed gift
 from a great aunt

A "new" unfinished  bargain desk 
was purchased from 
 a local discount dealer. 

 still waiting ...
Meanwhile-
the cat moves off of the battered old sofa 
and is later replaced 
by an exhausted toddler with his tiny teddy tucked underneath him.

( this house must be well insulated!)
FYI
I have had this boy doll since 1984/85  after my son was born.
 When he was a baby,  he used to sleep in the same way 
with his bum up in the air which was why
 I bought this little guy from  
 Jean Day 
who was making Wonderful porcelain dolls 
back then, 
and believe it or not;
it's the first time I've used this doll in a scene!


***
The huge and badly cracked 
stone fireplace surround,
is yet another of the thrifter's,
 "salvage rescues!"
*** fyi #2
I really did salvage this fireplace!
It was originally a tea-light candle holder 
I'd found at Value Village.
 I hand-sawed the thick resin hearth from the base of the fireplace surround -
and let me tell you-
  THAT 
was a job and a half! 

An ever evolving
 display of second-hand treasures
on the mantle.


******

The mishmash of  items you can see 
in the foreground below,
are just some of the many rejects on my desk 
which I haven't put away yet.
however
I don't dare show you the entire desk with its
piles of
papers, books, fabrics, boxes, minis,
 missing tweezers, 
my glasses...

"WHERE ARE MY GLASSES!!!!?"

whew! 
finally found them! 

And so there it is-
my
temporary
Bohemian Rhapsody
along with a tiny glimpse of
  the chaos 
Behind the scene!

*******
AND SO!
after I'd played with everything for a couple of days,
I began to wonder
IF
I could actually find a solid home for it. 
Hey! 
What about....?

...this old HERITAGE 
which I bought for $20 
at a garage sale last year?

It's in really rough shape-
it's filthy dirty-
it's badly damaged with parts missing.
the wood's very dry and quite brittle- 
in other words
IT'S PERFECT!!! 
yes
  I think that with some concentrated 
TLC
this wreck could be given a new lease on life  
and 
what could be better 
for a second-hand house which has seen better days,
 than to be filled with beloved, 
eclectic
Old Stuff 
from an inveterate and unrepentant mini collector;
[such as myself] 
wink wink! nudge nudge!

 And 
as QUEEN says

"Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?"

"caught in a landslide,
no escape from reality"

"Open your eyes
look up to the skies
and SEE.... "

that it's
another 
BIG DOLLHOUSE project

for me! 😎

elizabeth

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-sz-001&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=sz&p=Bohemian+Rhapsody#id=37&vid=b5bc500bc2e4821fc5deaa6191d2bb4b&action=view