The Subject was - ROSES!

HELLO AGAIN!!! 
It has been a while, since our last visit but
taking some time off so that I could focus on the pressing and needful tasks related to my mother's passing last year, was exactly the right thing for me to do.   
I wish to thank each of you for your kind and loving comments and your expressions of sympathy and concern as well as your private letters of support and encouragement throughout this period of transition ... 
 You've all been an enourmous blessing to me and all I can say again, is
Thank you! 
***
moving forward....

After Christmas was over,  
I had time to relax and think about what I wanted to do next, regarding my minis.

My new year's resolutions are to actually TRY and DO 
some of the interesting mini tutorials which have intrigued me,  and which I have been saving via Pinterest, as future
"one day- someday" projects. 
Now was time to actually seize the day and begin making those minis, instead of only thinking about it.  
I am rather slow in getting started on new projects, but once I'm set in motion, I tend to make a LOT of whatever it is that I've decide to tackle. 
Thus it was that during my blogging hiatus, I spent much of my time 
making &/or modifying
many mini foods.  
I also tried out some new product "recipes"and almost all of them are of non-fimo sources.  I experimented with combinations of papers, inks, glues and embossing powders as well as tried out the old-fashioned salt dough recipe (which was  popular back in the 70's and 80's ) and from which I successfully made my first savory mini quiches! :D

I also put together some new designs for large perfume/vanity trays; which I'll feature in my next post.  I made mini butterfly soaps from a new type of translucent polymer substance which I'd ordered from Asia, and I made mini bath salts and luxury lotions from acrylic pegs.  
One evening I made 6 different styles of bird cages combining techniques from several blogs and youtube Tutorials.  The cages are made from paper, glue, beads, plastic, paint and florist wire.
Last but not least, I bit the bullet and ordered, 6 new Punch Bunch mini paper punches with the aim in mind to make miniature
ROSES
just for the fun of it!   

What you will be seeing in the following photos are some of the results of my playing around with much of what I've already mentioned and specifically featuring the results of those paper roses.
I made use of a variety of different types of paper products when constructing each batch of flowers.  The Orange colored roses are made of coffee filters, the Light Pink are from tracing paper, and the Velvety Red Roses were made from thin, cheap construction paper.  The leaves were made of card stock, construction paper, crepe paper, or photocopy paper.  Some of the leaves are a bit thick but since these are all first time experiments, I'm not too overly concerned.

Now this is how this post featuring these roses came about ..... 


 My sister Bev and I made a day trip down to Seattle to visit our aunt in the hospital. 
On the return trip home we made a "quick"stop at 
 THE HOBBY LOBBY
( a crafter's paradise, where I could have looked for hours! )

It was there that I found some 59 cent sheets of large patterned Toile scrap book paper which I simply
could NOT resist!  


Wanting to use this as wallpaper for my backdrop, as well as feature the arm-full of Roses, the 6 rusty birdcages, a few of the perfumes as well as some of my mini edibles, I began composing this scene adding and subtracting until
eventually 
it took on a look of its own and reminded me of something I'd likely see between the magazine pages of 
"VICTORIA"  
a semi-shabby and Romantic Pastiche 

I shall describe some of the sources for some of the props I used and I will try to be brief. 
However, I must say that this was one of 
THE MOST ENJOYABLE 
projects that I have ever photographed. 
 I couldn't stop taking pictures!

I LOVE THESE ROSES!

The set up:
 I used a few of my newer yet still homeless aqua colored perfume bottles to sit atop of a lacy
Stewart Dollhouse doily which came in the mail courtesy of Kat 
 (Kitty and Kat blog)
http://kittyandkatminiatures.blogspot.ca/
Her surprise parcel arrived soon after Christmas which included not only this doily but also a number of other mini goodies destined for LAND'S END.
thank you Kat! :D  
Kat is such a sweet lady and she has such a great sense of humor and I would encourage each of you to pay her blog a visit and see for yourselves, all of the wonderful minis that she is always busy producing- 
I think she's Amazing! :)) 

This delightful doily was the perfect size and color for the top of my French-style Dressing table which I have repainted yet again, 
(for the 11th time) 

For this photo, I'm showing my Monica Roberts silk chapeau bought in the 1990's.   
The patterned silk on both the hat and the dress, are vining bud roses in pale pink, blue on cream; 
delicate and pretty, and perfect for a summer party in the rose garden.  

This is the dress that goes with the hat...
and here they are together.

I just love them and I'm so glad that I found them again after having put both the hat and the dress away years ago,... 
for safe keeping

now back to the roses...

Initially, I was going to display the roses up-right in a glass vase.   They looked both stiff and formal and kept toppling over, so I tried deliberately spilling them onto the vanity and liked the resulting effect better.  But because the stems are long and the flower heads heavy, they shifted and slid off onto the floor every time I tried to arrange them.  So in order to anchor the roses, I poked the stem lengths into one of my new/old birdcages.  The cage kept the roses stable as I fiddled and fussed, and arranged and re-arranged everything else including the 2 tiered cake tray, around them. The two tiered cake tray is one that I made from 2 large paper fastener purchased at Michael's.  I had a surplus of them as well as some other craft materials and so I mailed a craft care package to our Aussie-based Miniteer-

Linda Park
(Linda's Mini World blog)
Miniteers of Vancouver 
and she sent me back some lovely photos of how she had used some of the items she'd received.  In one of her photos, Linda had a BEAUTIFUL cake stand perched on a table outside her 
Salon de Tea' and when I inquired about it she told me that she made it from some of the paper fasteners which I had sent her! Simply BRILLIANT!!!  


I'm hoping that she will show it and do a tutorial on it, because her results are Elegant & Refined

but in the meantime I tried a shabby version
 of my own.
Mine doesn't compare at all with Linda's, yet it still works well enough for this composition.
I took photos of my cake stand positioned on both sides of the vanity and you will get a better look at it towards the end of this post.

I removed the wide brimmed hat to make way for the chicken!  

Before I forget, this is the scrap book paper I used for the backdrop.
It has a tan colored back-ground with muted sage green and burgundy within the print, and I just noticed that there are chickens pictured in it too!!!  YES! 
Although I couldn't get a clear shot of the true colors of the paper, at least you are able to see the fabulous pattern. 

I didn't set out to match the roses to the wallpaper- that was a fluke!   The orange and pink roses began as one color- light pink. I used a variety of mediums including acrylic paints, ink pads and felt pens.  Soon the pink ones began looking more coral as I added more and more yellow felt pen to their petals. The pink ones became pinker with the addition of burgundy and the red roses got redder with layers of applied red ink.  I liked using them all.  I love the transparency of using the ink pads but 
Fair Warning: the colors bleed
 so I had to fix the stain into the paper so that it wouldn't smudge.  
For that I used clear Matte Nail varnish, Matte Mod Podge and/or liquid floor wax and sometimes a combination of all three! 

For this photo I found a metal angel which I had already painted and aged.  I laid it under the roses and draped some of the roses around it.  The vintage fashion picture behind it, is a magazine cutout, as is the large painting below...

I had saved this picture of a girl and her dog in my paper files.  I had clipped it from a design magazine and later I discovered that it was the PERFECT FIT for the carved gilt frame which I had found in a bag of craft junk from the thrift store.  The frame was originally a souvenir from Paris.  I removed the insert and replaced it with this print.  
This pairing,was obviously meant to be and I love the final results :D 

The candlesticks were failed attempts at Shabby Chic.  I made them about 3 years ago but I've never been happy with them.  Yet when I needed something tall for the left side of the vanity, these worked a treat, and now I think like them again! :))
The china sheep ornament I made years and years ago.  
They are model railroad livestock.  The rooster I bought from the Seattle Show last March.  This is the second time I have used this same bird.  His brother is also prominently featured in my roombox 
"Gothica"
http://studioeminiatures.blogspot.ca/2013/06/best-in-show.html

The blue robin eggs in a nest are the other half of a pair of bird nest earrings.  The matching one is on display on the fireplace mantle of my doll's house parlor - 
 #43 Green Dolphin Street.
("Changing my mind... Again!")

                      http://studioeminiatures.blogspot.ca/2015/02/changing-my-mind-again.html

Here are some more rusty bird cages which I made last week.  I have taken some photos of the process to share with you as a future tutorial.  They were fast, fun and very easy to do.
After I painted them, I aged them with the Cinnamon Rust tutorial which I posted in
("Meeting Rusty at the Game")
http://studioeminiatures.blogspot.ca/2015/09/meeting-rusty-at-game.html

The Hermes shopping bag with the trailing ribbon, was a gift from fellow Miniteer, Janine.  I love the injection of this iconic solid orange, which definitely adds "A Touch of Class" into the mix.

The bird cage on the left of the bag is another one of mine and the bird cage to the right was an old purchase which use to be shiny brass, which I've painted brown and aged. 

For this composition, I draped the Monica Roberts dress, and included the 2 blue enamel BEE vases that Janine made for me in back in the 90's.  I filled her vase with my loose- leaf version of meadow flowers 
( white sand glued onto grassy synthetic fibers)
My tall bird cage to the right was fitted with a set of "iron keys" which I found at the HOBBY LOBBY.  I gave a set to each of 
The Miniteers when they came by for our monthly mini get-together. You can see that I've aged my keys with the easy-peasy Cinnamon Rust technique. 

In Janine's ( Minworks blog ),
 French House Salon 
she featured a BEAUTIFUL matched set of burgundy eel skin luggage, cleverly constructed by using paper matchboxes as her base. 
I LOVE HER LUGGAGE! 

A few days ago, as I was looking at my mini grouping which was still under construction, I decided that it could use some blue.  (what about blue luggage?) 
I would have to give it a try.  
I used Janine's luggage as inspiration and a simple paper suitcase tutorial I found on youtube by
Cheers Charms/ suitcase video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcTmT6JwKAo
I cut up a worn out pair of faded blue Ralph Lauren leather gloves which I'd saved for ages.  I wrapped the match boxes with it top, bottom and sides. I sliced the suggestion of a lid into the leather with a craft knife, and added hardware made from earring bits and jewelry findings, which were later painted and aged. These were so easy to do and I had fun experimenting with aging the leather and giving the luggage distinctly beat up appearance. 
Not too shabby for my first try!  

The sexy slides are charms from some wine glass markers which I'd found at the thrift store ( of course) 
I cut off the jump ring that was attached at the heel and toned down the high gloss black upper with some Revlon Matte nail varnish.  I think that they look pretty good under the hot pink silk, ( lining from a man's tie)
vanity stool.

The clock face perched on a plate stand, is a button with the word Paris on it.
It is mounted into a brass button cover.  The brass was too shiny and too new so I gave it a coat of Revlon Matte Nail polish to dull the finish and when it was dry, I dabbed it with a brown ink pad over the brass and on the clock face, which served to tone it down to a more subtle and suitable patina.   

This poor plant is a rose topiary which I purchased in Seattle Washington  a long time ago.  It has seen better days. The leaves have faded over the years but the roses are still going strong.  I don't know who made it, but I've always liked it even though it has been bashed about from here to eternity as I have tried unsuccessfully, to find a permanent home for it.  
I have in mind, a future project for this topiary and hopefully by then it can actually put down its tiny mini roots and
 "bloom where it is planted"! 

The little round blue china dish, is by Tasmanian porcelain artist
 Margaret Crosswell. She sells only at shows down under and so  Linda Parks brought this over for me during her bi-annual Canadian vist last summer.
It's perfect!
:D

I had mentioned the tiered cake tray earlier on which I made from  large paper fasteners from Michael's. and this will give you a closer look-see.  I affixed some tiny leaves and a metal cherub to the top of the tray and laid some doilies on the plates.  Most of the pink dainties are made from styrofoam meat packaging, cut using a circle hand punch and then decorated. 

The plate of French Macarons were the result of our January Miniteer's meeting.  Linda brought our mini project, which Fatima, Janine and I were Absolutely DELIGHTED with!  These macarons were made from tiny, colorful paper brads and very thin craft foam.
Aren't they ADORABLE?!!!!  

  Well, that's all for now but in conclusion,
I hope that 2016 will bring all of my readers many Creative and Happy hours of Mini-making in whichever form they take. 
Personally, I feel that I'm off to a good start. 
I'm looking forward to producing more tutorials this year and I already have some waiting in the wings. 
 I will get to those eventually but for now, I think I am still in the mood to make flowers....
meanwhile here's wishing all of you a 
Happy Valentines Day!

eat chocolate, share love, and send 

ROSES


elizabeth 

China, 'LOST AND FOUND'

A few weeks ago my sister, Bev said to me, 
"Let's clean out your garage."

Now I will have you know, that my garage was SO dirty, messy and congested that I couldn't get from one side of it to the other without having to shift boxes and junk all along the way.  It would be take a few steps, move something, take a few more steps, move something else..... You get the idea.

So when I got this proposal, I did what I usually do, and that was to try

 and Stall.

"Hmmmm, okay", I said vaguely
(I didn't want to do it.)

    The thought of going in there voluntarily was overwhelming and the confusion that I felt and the anxiety that came with every visit into that Messy space was  

more than I wanted to think about.  But Bev, would not be put off and bless her heart, she KNOWS me like the back of her hand. 

 SO SHE SET THE DATE!
(now I was committed)

 When the fateful day arrived, she made a banana bread, first thing in the morning and I thought ....

("woohooo, she forgot")

 (No, she didn't ) 

She put that loaf in the oven and then went out and she got started.  Yes, She actually got busy and began hauling the stuff from the garage and out onto the driveway.  I couldn't just let her work out there on her own cleaning up my garage, so reluctantly,

 I  slowly,...   slowly,...    slowly... went to join her. 

  But once I got started.... !
 overdrive kicked in and the two of us, went through EVERYTHING!  It took us 8 hours, from the beginning to the end but  we got it done!  I went through every single box of junk ( and there was Scads of junk ) and bags of fabrics, and old furniture,  books and magazines, papers and lamps, cushions, toys, games, huge heavy rolls of old carpets, golf clubs, art work, canvases, art supplies, frames of metal and wood and broken glass,  and knickknacks, etc. and lots of old dollhouse trash and rolls and rolls of wall paper that I use to buy  for doll's houses, that I hadn't looked at in over 12 years.  I threw it out!   I was ruthless and I combed through it all tossing more and more into the discard pile out in the yard.  And still I kept going!
I had had the roof replaced about 4-5 years ago and the debris that had fallen down into the garage was compounded in equal measure with the accumulated dirt, dust and spider webs up in the loft.  I swept it up and out.   It was a hot day and the clouds of  dust kicked up, stuck to the skin like glue and  yet the 2 of us  kept on going.  I was on a roll and Bev was too.  At 4 p.m. we took a break and came inside hot and sweaty and ate that banana bread that she had baked earlier and washed it down with tea, and then back out to the garage we went. The pile for disposal was growing larger and wider and we were getting very close to the end of the purge.    I found 2 additional doll house kits up in the loft.  That now makes a total of  6!  Who knew?  I went through a ton of old fabrics used for my miniatures and threw out more than 2/3's  and found some nice surprises mixed in with them!  Bonus! While I was busy with the box of materials,  Bev was going through some other small boxes that I had  earlier handed down from the back of loft  to her.  They appeared to be a hodge-podge of forgotten junk mixed in with  layers of dirt.  "What should I do with this stuff?  Throw it out?'  she asked.  "Ya, but better look through it first, and then just get rid of it" I said.....

and that is when she found it!

The missing tea sets!
O happy day!
in the box of junk, carelessly stored but carefully contained were boxes of tea sets that I had entirely forgotten that I had.
 Don't ask me why I have 2 of these Kaiser sets but I do.  The top one was the one that was LOST.   It is without the cups and saucers.  I don't know which I bought first but I have a thing for tea sets so I probably have 2 because I am greedy.   
I was delighted that the great mystery was finally solved as to the whereabouts of this set.  If we had not decided to do a clean sweep of the loft, it would probably be up there still. 

This is the other set by Kaiser.  This one was already found but 2 of the cup and saucers were gone from it.  Lost but that day Found again in another small box in that box of junk.  Now this set is once again complete.   I remember buying these 2 coffee sets at an antique store in town and they cost a pretty penny at the time.    But I was enchanted by them and I still am. They are perfectly crafted and the little cups and saucers are wonderful!   Just Imagine, all this beautiful china in the junk box!

And this was in there too!  More china in the garage garbage.
This set of china is by a Canadian Artisan by the name of Marie Luce-Pelletier.  I purchased these at another Real life store back in the 80's.  I have lost the top to the teapot, unfortuneatley but the top from the sugar bowl fits.  This was not a set, when I bought it, but they look cohesive.  This was something I had totally forgotten that I had.

Then I found this set!
This I remember purchasing in Seattle and it is by Avon  miniatures , a British vendor that  specializes in pottery and china

These little piggy banks are also by Avon and also were lost
and now found

And These are by the Canadian Artisan Janice Crawley!
I bought these here in Vancouver long before Janice became an I.G.M. A. Fellow.
These were found in the box of junk too!

This was Not lost but I have decided to show it to  you anyway as it is favorite.  It is by a Canadian Artisan by the name of Paddy Culhane from Vancouver, and I purchased it at her store Paddy's Place back in the 1980's.  I use to sell my stuff through her store and usually I would spend what I made, on I wanted to collect and I bought this from her while she was still making teapots.  Isn't it cute?  I had built a small shop called
 "Two Bad Mice" and this china Hunca Munca, fit right in!

Signed and numbered

This was not lost but this found a place in my collection when I was down in Seattle last March with Janine and Fatima.  The vendor was selling a astonishing amount of miniature pottery that he threw on the wheel himself.  I misplaced his name, but Fats bought some of his work too and I shall get the info about him and insert it once I have it because his work is truly amazing!  

This little casserole is one of my favorite things

UPDATE!
THE POTTER'S NAME IS JASON FELTROPE of Feltrope Studio, Eureka Springs , Arkansas
 ( thanks to Janine for tracking down this information for me to insert here )

Then I found these in the garage in the same box as the rest.
This is sponge ware and they and the bowls were Lost and then Found

This beautiful glass cake plate was Lost and now found again.
  ( I am glad that these items were at least stored so that were safe from breakage even though they were tumbled about in their safety containers.)
  The tea service below, was another set that went astray.  I found it during my first foray into the garage last year.

This vase was tucked away inside a  miniature metal garbage can.  It was safe but also Lost until I lifted the lid of the mini trash can and wondered what was wrapped up inside of it.

This beautiful pitcher was lost for years and I hunted  high and low trying to find it and Finally it turns up in the box Bev was looking through.  It is by a French/ Canadian I. G.M. A. Artisan
Monique Jouvenel.  I recall when I bought them in 1990.   Monique knew a friend of Janine's and I went to Janinie's friends home and Monique showed us all her pieces.  I chose what I most desired and so did Janine.  I was enchanted with the delicacy of the patterns.  This was well before she became an I. G. M. A. Fellow.  I loved Monique's work and  I felt that I just had to have some of her china. I bought this pitcher and also the 4 plates that you see below.    Each one is signed and dated and numbered.  Janine from Minworks, has this pitcher too I think, and a bowl that she  also bought from Monique, and if you pop over to Minworks you will see that the beautiful bowl suffered  a dreadful fall.  Janine loved that bowl even after it got broken.  Not willing to part with it she still makes use of by blaming it on the mini cat, Cleo! ( but Janine is still is not over the disappointment. )

These are the plates that I had lost and now are found.
Monique, was a self taught artist and hand- painted each plate.  She did extensive research and so her patterns are authentic to different regions of France.

Below is the teapot I forgot I had

I not only Lost this little tea pot in the same box of junk, but I had forgotten that I ever had it!  When I opened up the box that it was stored in, then I remembered it.  I bought it also in Seattle and I remembered how delighted I was with it.  I love salt glazed pottery in miniature and I have some Mt. Vernon salt glazed ware  ( see below) that I bought to accessorize the American Country house that I had planned to someday do.  Now, I have found a doll house kit in the loft that I can use this in.  

I love the color and the quaintness of this little pot

signed "Trip" ???

And now this!

I had been tearing my hair trying to find this teapot!  Of all the pieces that I did forget I had, this was THE one that I clearly remembered. It is my very favorite but I could NOT find it till Bev opened the box and there it was!
This is by a potter by the name of Laurie O'Halloran.  She used to be a regular at the Seattle show for years and years.  I bought a number of contemporary lamps from her in the late 80's and also this teapot.  When I thought I had lost it for good I was so unhappy.  This little pot is eggshell thin and has the most luminescent quality to it when held to the light.  Every detail is extraordinary both inside and out.  The lid has a tiny pin hole so that the tea can pour easily and the pattern is as fine as gossamer.
Just look at the proportion of it and the teeny tiny grip of the lid.  The spout is in total harmony with the body of the pot and the handle is graceful and hold-able.

I am so happy that I found this again.  What a perfect treasure it is and I
 just love to look at it.

And last but not least I end with sheep.  2 of them recently recovered having gone astray.  These I made, and lost through  my own negligence but now I am going to be more careful with them.  I bought the little china house as a pair of earrings last year from the thrift store, wouldn't you know,
 I have no idea where the other one is.!?
so
  Here we go again.
 China Lost 
and then
China FOUND
and thanks to my dear sister Bev, my garage is Finally Clean
 and all
 this china 
can be found back, on my shelf once again! 

Anyone care for tea?

elizabeth