Sweltering in Scotland.....

We have had such a glorious week of sunshine here it's unbelievable. In recent years we've had glorious April, May and June's but the minute it hits July (and school holidays) it rains and forgets to stop. So I'm working outside.....

making, or trying to make lavender for some little pitchers and my little garden. I made the pitchers from an online tutorial which I've linked to. The two shown here are the best of the 15 or so I made. It looked so easy.... haha... shovel fingers...poor wee Tess our Spaniel is a real hot dog so she has been confined to the cool kitchen, as I will be too soon as son is cutting the grass...................

Beacon Hill and a new garden....

Whilst husband was away last week I noticed this house being sold as an 'undecorated Wooden House'. I recognized it as Beacon Hill immediately, and I've long wanted this American kit, however having costed it out on various sites it really was going to be way too expensive to purchase house from States (although kit price reasonable in comparison to similar sized kits in UK) but then add shipping and additional customs charges made it extortionate. Anyway, here it is. Enormous. Courier driver warned of a divorce ....lol...so much gluing, sanding and removing bits to get into stairwells will ensue, but dreaming of who will own it, how it will be decorated is such fun. Here in Scotland we maybe get two or three Dolls House fairs a year and depending on where or when it's not always possible to attend so the internet is a godsend if you want to find something a little different. Yes we have a few shops scattered about here, but best for me being Dolls House Emporium just outside Penrith but a two hour drive away, wonderful place and Museum vignettes to see too. However as I was trying to link to it just now I've read they are closing this concession and selling everything off :( So next year (or maybe later this year) I'd like to go to Miniatura in Birmingham, London's Kensington Dolls House Fairs, and the French SIMP show in Paris, so I'd better delete that link to that well known retail site!   Oh and here's a garden I bought, again online and it was so reasonable - the kits alone used to make the flowers are wonderful, such detail, whoever made them was so talented and the colour combination is lovely. I've added a few Pinhead flowers (Scabious) three Hydrangea heads, plus some pink and yellow roses, a dovecote, some pots, bird table, a hutch, table and chairs. It needs new fencing but lollipop sticks will fill that need. I had to stick all the lavender back in place and much was broken to might try to make some today outside, as my paints were drying up faster than I could apply it yesterday. This will be a lovely setting for my Crinoline ladies. I'm going to have a go at a rustic wooden bridge, a wishing well and some rustic twig furniture as the wire pieces don't look right.

My struggling Artist Claude....

Another Ebay purchase. An attic I'm distressing to make it look like a late 19thC Parisienne artists garret. It still has to get its paper wooden floor added, door fixed (debt collectors bashed it in) plus curtains and other furnishings and Art Nouveau themed images added to exterior walls. I think Claude has a problem with alcohol, definitely whiskey (how he can afford it I don't know) absinthe too - so he paints flowery pictures (which he hates) to pay for his habit . The bottle of Scotch is a real little glass bottle with real Whiskey in it, I think the shop in Ayr still sells these as miniature souvenirs, must check, the two wine bottles behind him is a fridge magnate. I painted the paintings, created the folio and book, stretched the wee boards ready for water-colours, but the easels, paint palette, and paint box are commercially bought - I've yet to attempt these myself.  

Margaret Tees made me these soft-sculptured dolls. Inspector Poirot and Miss Lemon are on the right with their maid far left. In the centre are my two elderly ladies who will be living in the double house behind and a tiny girl who is gorgeous, she's a granddaughter of one, storyline as yet to unfold!

As I was working in my 'studio' or 'the middin' - Scottish word for messy place - as my family affectionately call it :) I thought I'd let you have a wee look...

 This is a Triang Stockbrocker but it's not 16th scale, it's an unusual 10th scale so my 16th pieces look a little too wee, and 12th too big - I seem to remember it's a No.32? Can anyone advise?? The three storey Georgian is a house I bought from an elderly lady whose husband made it for her. I have considered getting a new front with new window frames and a larger door but feel guilty about changing it as I feel front 'belongs' to house?? The interior has an Oriental sea-fairing theme as the owner is a retired sea captain and the contents reflect his collection of 'stuff' from around the world, I'll show you the interior later.... Oh and all the wee folk are costume dolls I couldn't resist...

 This is a Julie Bennett double house bought off of Ebay and is slowly being filled with seasidey type things. The soft-sculpture people are shown in another post and are by Margaret Tees.

 One corner of my workroom 'studio' ...strangely and amazingly enough I have a fair idea where everything is ...lol... the teddies were from my teddy making phase which is still ongoing... and then there's the passion for strange kitschy vintage ornaments ...the little cowboy reminds of my son who loved dressing up when he was little...lol and a tiny room-box with bunk-beds for two wee girls (my twin daughters) and lots of toys mostly recovered from toys my children had when they were small from Kinder eggs, Polly Pockets.. .... mummy will look after this as they disappeared into the grass, was eaten by dogs........:)

more books - the box file shop window as shown before on shelf plus more doll and books.....I love books! As I'm an Art teacher I gather so much information for resources to use in school - great excuse - kids love looking at 'stuff' the more there is to look in relation to whatever I'm teaching their wee minds are getting stimulated - hopefully.

Progress of my late 1920s sitting room....

 I bought this room-box shell and thought I'd use it as a base for this room, but realised that the base was too shallow for my bright green floral carpet...........

 so to give me height for walls I decided to use floor as back wall, but still didn't have room for carpet....which wasn't really the reason I was making room - room is for showing 20s & 30s minis - but you know how it goes ..ideas change as you go and original idea gets lost. So back on track decided to make a floor base from card, created taller card walls, then printed a wood flooring to cover it. I painted the fireplace in typical 30s colours - magnolia and a soft (Nile) green and attempted to give some tiles a marbled effect. I papered area above the mantel in a soft cream floral print (paper from Jennifer's Printables), added a green dado rail and a green painted card die cut shape to give me a plain area to hang mirrors. I'm going for a mixture of country cottage, some Rococo elements then add a few geometrical Deco bits - I remember my Grans living room when I was small, lots and lots of flowers, in embroidered pictures, tablecloths, on the wall, carpet - a profusion all mixed together. Oh, and tried a more muted carpet but think I prefer the louder green one?