Learning the light

I spent the weekend mulling over how I was going to approach the tissue box challenge, while doing other things (including, you may be pleased to hear, finding my Filofax paper and passport).

Should I make it completely random: closing my eyes, grabbing a box, and making myself use it somehow in a scene?

Or should I be a bit kinder on myself, and preselect boxes that look like they might be a good jumping-off point?

I went with the latter option, and ended up a good handful of possibilities and initial thoughts to start with a box printed with small pictures of herb plants: easily framed (assuming, of course, I find my saw, mitre box, gluing jig and picture framing strips in time!) and I feel it could build into an interesting scene:

(It was at this point that it dawned on me that, although the light in my new place is quite good, it's different to what I'm used to. In fact, both my studio and the room previously known at The Room of Shame (now retagged 'The Library') face in the opposite direction to my old versions. So in the interests of getting things done for now, I took photos on my bed.)

I was particularly heartened when I found this chair in one of the first boxes of miniatures I unpacked yesterday, as it seemed to fit nicely with the chosen box and suggest a rustic kitchen or dining room.

But then, as I was taking the top photo, these heart-themed designs caught my eye and seemed very fitting for this week.

This one in particular...

Blogiversary and boxes

*Blows into the mic*

Is this thing working?

(And more importantly, can I remember how to use it?)

Today marks the 13th blogiversary of this blog, and I feared that if I didn't post now the whole thing might just fade away into the dusty corners of the internet. Which I thought would be a shame.

So a quick catch up: I finally moved at the beginning of December and have been unpacking boxes ever since. I have two desks set up in my studio, with one more to find room to erect (once I move the mountain of boxes that's in the way...).

Speaking of mountains of boxes, I had a mountain of boxes of dolls' houses in my bath until quite recently: I figured there would be a good spot to keep them safe from the shifters when they moved the rest of my belongings in.

I have no idea where my tools are (or my passport, or my spare Filofax paper, but that's a different subject...). These are the joys of shifting home: along with $300 grill elements (don't ask).

Back to miniatures: I toyed with the thought of trying to do Daily Dolls House December last year but realised that it was an insane idea on top of everything else that was happening. And since I've not made a scene for over a year, I figured I'd be very very rusty.

So when someone on my (newly) local Buy Nothing group offered a collection of tissue boxes for 'artistic types', I took it as a sign that perhaps a miniature challenge was in my near future: especially as the timing seemed quite serendipitous.

So now, to add to my collection of packing boxes both full and empty, I have a collection of tissue boxes (not, thankfully eaten by mice) to kickstart what will hopefully be a challenge to keep me going for the next year (once I find my tools, of course!).

The art of miniature

I've been fangirling over artist Lori Nix for a number of years (in fact I'm very tempted to say "since we exhibited together at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York", even though she was in the actual exhibition and I was in the online gallery add-on, Small Realities. So not really in the same league at all, even though I made it onto the Small Realities front page).

I bought the book that goes with the exhibition back in 2011 (the year the exhibition happened) but have been after a copy of Lori Nix's book The City ever since.

Alas it went out of print very quickly and the second-hand market soon had it into the hundreds of dollars (possibly due to a fairly constant flow of media attention), and thus well beyond my budget.

I'd pretty much resigned myself to never having a copy of the book, but still occasionally checked out Booko to see how stupidly expensive it was.

And then, one day in April this year, something amazing happened: I found a copy for under $100! And in Sydney, no less!

I snapped it up as an early birthday present, fully expecting to get the 'Oh sorry, it's not actually in stock' email, but instead getting the 'We just shipped it to you' email. I was gobsmacked at my luck.

(Of course, nothing birthday present-related will beat the buying of my first home, settlement of which just happened to land on the day before my birthday this year).

As part of the preparation for my shift, I realised there were some things in my life (and my home) that I could no longer justify.

Sadly, one of these was bette Noir, which had sat in my front hall for almost two and a half years before heading to its new home.

I was feeling bad about my lack of action during that time until I was reminded that it was destined for the tip before it came to me: so perhaps I was only ever supposed to be its caretaker, not its owner.

And when I discovered that its new owner (caretaker) was in the studio next to one of its creators, I was happy.

Taking stock

(Card stock, that is...)

Last weekend I caught up with a friend who recently visited New York.

'I brought you back a little something' she said. And added, almost apologetically 'It's really quite small'.

After assuring her that I really REALLY liked small things, she handed me a card. Not just any card, but a card she bought at the Museum of Modern Art gift shop. A card that could be turned into a one-sixteenth scale Ercol butterfly chair! 

If this isn't a good example of what the phrase 'It's the thought that counts' really means, I don't know what is...

Last night curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the package. Read the instructions. Punched out the parts (super-easy, especially as little arrows were printed on the backing pointing to where the chair pieces were attached to the card.)

Then realised that there were bits on the backing that weren't explained in the instructions. And the picture in the instructions of how to glue the chair together was very small. And very confusing.

Luckily, this morning I noticed the words at the bottom of the instructions: 'Further assembly instructions: www.onetosixteen.com'.

I checked out the website and found full, clear and easy-to-follow instructions.

 And pretty quickly my flat pieces of card turned into a chair.

 They've thought of everything, as included in the package is a floor and background to display your finished piece in.

The only problem? I want some of the other models. And they're not sold in Australia. :-(

Frugal and free: and then there were two...

The Belconnen Arts Centre's mid-winter market was on today, and I'd promised a friend I'd pop in to visit her and her stall.

And what did I find right next door to her stall, but Hillgrove Pottery: the people that I bought my tiny house from last year.

Having decided that I could completely justify a $2 spend for another, I was delighted when the owners decided that they would give it to me instead!

 So now there are two...

Lucky dip

I realised yesterday that the three white vases I bought cheaply from last month's show were the third of each vase I had in my collection.

Something had to be done. And just as I was drifting off to sleep the answer came to me and caused me to get out of bed, wander downstairs and rummage in the paint stash to see what I could do.

What I could do was have a try at dip painting:

Which worked a treat and turned into a new scene this morning, inspired by my need to create a miniature version of the white cotton waffle-weave blanket I got from Just Bedding back in February (and which I packed away this week as the weather is getting too cold for it).

(The wallpaper is from the same pad that the paper for Limited Colour came from: and one I never thought I'd use. The chair is from minisx2, the feather was a gift from Elvira the light shade from a pack of Christmas decorations I've had hanging round for years for just such a purpose, and the waffle-weave blanket is courtesy of an op-shopped dressing gown.)

A visit from the Easter Bunny(s)

Since I don't really 'do' Easter, it's a bit odd that today has been unexpectedly bunny-themed (for the first time since 2006).

 First hop was the odd impulse to combine the other rabbit from last weekend's farmyard pair with some glue and a the contents of a packet of modelling flock that I was given a couple of years ago.

But before I could get to that I had to answer the sirens' call of the newly-reinstated Typo Not Quite Right table (which has new rules which, though completely logical, I feel are not quite right...)

This meant I left the house for the first time in two days. And discovered these custom-painted Lindt bunnies waiting for me outside my front door:

 Once I got home from my errands (of the miniature variety, you may be pleased to note), I tested out the 'bunny dipped in green flock' idea.

Hmmm.... perhaps a second coat tomorrow before I call this idea a failure?

Waffling on the weekend

It's my last weekend before I start studying.

I have the latest issues of two of my favourite magazines as yet unread.

And a lovely new white cotton waffle-weave blanket from Just Bedding (long-time readers will know of my love of decent bed linen).

So what's a girl to do but make the bed and return to it for a day of luxurious languid reading?

Mini gifties

Today I was given two lots of mini-related gifts.

First up was a scrap of scrapbooking paper given to me by a card-making colleague. I'm looking forward to working with it to make something for Margell..

The other was a package of gingerbread and shortbread house (and tree!) biscuits made by a friend. She used the cookie cutters Cider Teak gave me to make biscuits for her workmates as Christmas gifts and I got some of the extras as a thank you.

Little in the big world

As promised, March is a bit mad and I haven't had the time or brain space to create any scenes.

 

But there have been a few little things in my life recently.

 

1. I went to Canberra Barcamp* over the weekend. Attendees were encouraged to bring their own nametags and invited to make it fancy or keep it simple.

 

I went for fancy, and knocked this up in the hour before the conference (after two other disastrous versions were put aside) :

It was quite an icebreaker and talking point.

(Image courtesy of Gavin Tapp)

2. The lovely Cider Teak returned to work today after a trip to Brisbane and presented me with this:

She suggests I could have quite a lot of fun with it for the ACTME Miniature Show. I think she's right...

 (*An 'unconference' where participants decide on the day what the program is going to be)

Giving away the goodies...

The happy news is that the winners are:

Calendar

Twelve months in miniature: a 2014 calendar by The Shopping Sherpa

Anna!

Bellabox of bits

Empty bellabox

Penelope!

 Chalkboard laptop toy

Adelaide Cann's modern miniature laptop toy kit, completed

 Susan!

Pile of pegs

Adelaide Cann's lasercut miniature peg kitset

Kikka N!

Poppy triptych

Dolls' house miniature poppy triptych on a wall

Rebecca!

(Well done guys, and if if I don't already have your address, can you email it to me? There's a link in the sidebar)

The sad news is I've been made aware of the legalities of giving things away on blogs, and think that future giveaways/sweepstakes/whatever you want to call them will be firmly put in my Too Hard basket...

February flowers

I visited the Old Bus Depot Markets this morning and discovered Sarah E Gallery3's work. I picked up a couple of sets of her magnets and an extra set to giveaway:

Dolls' house miniature poppy triptych on a wall

Want to be in the draw*? Leave a comment on this post before midnight on Monday February 3 (Canberra time).GIVEWAY NOW CLOSED

Pegged

Another set of  Adelaide Cann laser-cut miniatures picked up last year and not given away as planned.

Want to be in the draw*? Leave a comment on this post before midnight on Monday February 3 (Canberra time).GIVEWAY NOW CLOSED

'It was a long day and I lost the light' Thursday

But, look what I found to make up for it: an Adelaide Cann kit from the Sydney Show in May last year, which I'd planned to give away and got sidetracked before it happened:

Want to be in the draw*? Leave a comment on this post before midnight on Monday February 3 (Canberra time).GIVEWAY NOW CLOSED

Wonderfulness on Wednesday

My friend Cider Teak returned to work yesterday after a month-long jaunt around Europe with her family.

And she bought me souvenirs! Including minis!

 A little itty bitty Venetian glass angel,

 and bigger Venetian glass bottles

 (with a certificate of authenticity).

Plus, she recalled my lack of beer for poor old Santa and remedied the situation while she was in Germany.

 So, in the spirit of pay it forward, I've decided to offer the box that she gave me my not-really Christmas presents in as a giveaway.

Obviously, mailing an empty box to someone is a bit silly, so I'll fill it with random treasure from my stash that can be inspiration for making minis. What exactly will be a surprise but I'm pretty certain there'll be a lot of bits from Typo.

Want to be in the draw*? Leave a comment on this post before midnight on Monday February 3 (Canberra time).GIVEWAY NOW CLOSED

(Extra for experts: If you're the lucky winner perhaps you could then refill the box and do your own giveaway! We could then follow the adventures of the box as it travels around the world spreading inspiration...)

Almost eight years!

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? Next week my blog will be turning eight, so I figured it was time to start planning presents.

Since my second calendar print run arrived this morning, I thought it would be nice to put one aside for one of my blog readers.

Want to be in the draw*? Leave a comment on this post before midnight on Monday February 3 (Canberra time).GIVEWAY NOW CLOSED

(* The small print: Recipient must be prepared to send me a photograph of where their calendar ends up being hung for my mad plan)

Making a date

What I've been up to this morning, thanks to Vistaprint and their tempting discounts on custom calendars...

Alas there are no discounts on postage, so they're not due to arrive until January's almost over.

(Which is better than the last two years' calendar, which seem to have not been made at all...)