Getting crafty

After getting up at sparrow's fart* this morning, I spent an enjoyable hour rummaging through stash and pulling out and arranging all the bird-related bits I could find:

(I do rather enjoy this part of the process, even though it sometimes makes me feel quite overwhelmed with the options I have!)

Then it was time for breakfast, and a trip to the hairdressers. As I left after my appointment, the car seemed to take on a mind of its own. And I'm sure you know what the next stop was...

Yes. Kaisercraft. *sigh* 

(I felt slightly better when I realised that my last visit was almost three months ago (if I use slightly creating counting...)

Once I returned home with my plunder it was time to start building yet another scene in an old favourite room box.

I decided that the story is that the owner of Buzz Bar Cafe took on a business partner who was, shall we say, a tad dodgy: and the once-successful business folded, leaving at least a million dollars owing to staff, staff superannuation accounts and the tax office (I may or may not have been influenced by discovering last week, when I had a hankering for a twice-baked souffle, that Autolyse had closed a couple of months ago for just that reason...).

Therefore the parameters of the new build were that the space remained basically the same (although I had thoughts of removing one of the back 'rooms' in the renovation, especially once I remembered that there were two versions of the Buzz Bar: the much larger original, and the (smaller) What's in the toybox? exhibition version. Which is the one I'm working with).

Luckily, I had versions of most of the fittings in white, so could happily agree that the new owners gave things a lick of paint to save set-up costs.

And I had some dining chairs that I'd picked up as part of a children's boxed set for $2 at a previous Canberra mini show that (although supposedly over-scale) I thought might work quite well in one-twelfth (if the legs were cut down a tad, the stickers removed and, possibly, a spot of repainting happened...) Did I mention that they were blue, and the backs had an interesting Mackintosh tea rooms/birdcage vibe happening?

At which stage I started my first round of playing with the options I had...

Should I stick with the blue of the chairs ('Bluebird cafe'?), decide that the owner replaced the floors with tiles and channelled a mix of Terence Conran, local (ex) cafe 79 & Fine (slightly ironic since the original Buzz Bar referenced another local cafe, Lonsdale Street Roasters), and the Greek islands? (This actually expands on a previous scene I made).

I tried a less busy feature wall and suddenly I was craving cheap fish and chips... Maybe not.

Or I could go in the opposite direction, decide that the refurb was done on a shoestring (and many op-shop and trash-and-treasure visits), and stick with what I'm comfortable with?

I'm thinking not, as it feels way too much like the last iteration of the Buzz Bar Cafe space.

Except I'm worried that since I now have a photo of a scene which includes a glittery guitar, a flying duck, a slightly cross-eyed owl and two fried eggs, I may completely lose interest in the whole thing.

(*Note suitably bird-like reference...)

A glittery guitar, a flying duck, a slightly cross-eyed owl and two fried eggs...

Inspiration. It's a devious creature. Hibernating for great lengths of time then popping up when you least expect it (usually, I find, at around 3.30 am: when you thought you were fast asleep).

And so it was this morning, when it tugged on my pillow and whispered gently 'So, how about we make a scene which contains aforementioned glittery guitar, flying duck, slightly cross-eyed owl and two fried eggs?'

The whisper became a roar as it got more and more excited, jumping up and down on my head and spewing out a stream of ideas...

I: 'Could it be a version of the flat in A street cat named Bob? Except you'd have to paint the guitar and that seems a shame...'

Me: 'Shut up.'

I: 'Ohhh! Duck and owl! Don't you have some other new stuff with a bird theme? Can we do a themed gallery wall in, oh, I don't know a CAFE? Like the Hatter's Tea House you went to last month?'

Me: (Muffled, from under the pillow) 'Oh duck off'.

I: 'Here, I'll help you with names... "Song Bird." "Bluebird." "Black bird." "Birdsong." "Birdcage." "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep."'

Me: (Grumpily sitting up to check the time) 'I'm NOT calling a cafe "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep". Everyone will call it "Chirpy Chirpy Cheap Cheap".

I: (In a small voice, tinged with pleasure at getting some reaction). 'Not even "Chirpy Chirpy Cheap Eats"?

Me: (Glares)

I: (Looks hopeful and points at the clock, which now reads 5 am)

I: (Conjures up an image of a recent birdcage purchase from Daiso could be turned into interesting cage-shaped light fittings, and of the other cages I have in stash that could add to the theme)

Me: (Sighs). 'Perhaps we could see about going with a stripy theme to mimic bird cage bars? And I guess it is about time to give Buzz Bar Cafe a makeover...'

I: (Claps and leaps off the bed to fetch my slippers)

I: (In a small, hopeful voice) 'Does that mean we get to go to Kaisercraft today?'

Me: 'No, no and NO!'

Finding my focus

Here I was beating myself up because I hadn't done much in the way of minis last month (you know, despite the usual summer heat sapping my energy, a couple of weeks fighting something off (which, as I wander through my archives, seems also to be a late-summer tradition) and then, finally, succumbing to several days in bed to finally see it off. Oh, and that small fact that this is supposed to be my hobby, not an obligation...)

And then this evening I downloaded my Instagram photos and discovered that there had, indeed, been a stream of miniatures through my life over the past couple of weeks.

First up was the arrival of what I have now dubbed The Boomerang Box:

Which contained (amongst other treats) a custom rubber stamp (which I knew about), and a miniature Shopping Sherpa tote (which I didn't!).

In true Pepper-always-the-eye-for-detail style, itcontained a miniature wallet to pay for the miniature shopping that was going to be put inside...

Later the same week, J&M and I went to a Friday-night event at Gorman Arts Centre and stumbled across an intriguing-looking exhibit by Tom Buckland at CCAS:

Titled Constellation, each peephole contained a tiny scene.

 (Which turned out to be very difficult to photograph well with a phone camera!)

There's a much better photo of the scene below on Tom's Facebook page, for instance,

 and more photos of the scenes on his Instagram page.

The eagle-eyed amongst you (hey, if you're a miniaturist, that's all of you), will have noticed some of the peep holes had small buttons beneath them. If you pressed the buttons, there was light and/or movement in the scenes.

Once again, I did the best I could with the camera I had:

Finally, speaking of videos: I had two sightings of dolls houses on screen in the past week.

First up, was in the children's bedroom of the (rather excellent) movie Hidden Figures, which I took myself to see last Friday afternoon.

And this evening I spotted this beauty in the hallway of a house in the first episode of the 70s/80s TV show Sapphire and Steel (which I remember loving as a child, when I found it cheap on DVD at latest Lifeline Bookfair):

(See it for yourself at around 18:50 of this video on YouTube)

So, as I stare at the range of bits and bobs on my desk (accumulated since the beginning of the year, and waiting to be dealt with now that it's cooler (and I'm better)), I've decided that I need to stop being so hard on myself and just try to have fun. 

(Because, really, what says 'fun' more than a glittery guitar, a flying duck, a slightly cross-eyed owl and two fried eggs? Especially when they're small enough to stick in your pocket?)

Lori's Loft... light?

While looking for a fan to help me cope with the expected 40°C (104 °F) temperature predicted for the weekend, I was very excited to spot this display of Lori dolls and accessories at my local Kmart: 

Alas, the two items that were top of my wish list were missing, and I contacted their customer service centre to see if they were planning to get the loft, and if they had stock of the dining set in their other stores, and were just out of stock in my local branch.

Alas, it seems they are not 'ranging' either item in Australia* (and, as an Instagram buddy reported, not 'ranging' any of the pieces in all stores...). Which leads me to wonder if we're not being used as a dumping ground for unsold stock from the US.

Either way, I'm very tempted by that $49 caravan. Except I already have a (much more expensive) caravan kit waiting to be built...

(* to their credit, when I mentioned that it was 'sad news for both me, and for a number of other modern miniaturists in Australia who are interested in the house', they did reply that they had 'forwarded my feedback onto their Buying Department for their attention...')

One word Wednesday

Unexpected.

Blogiversary* at the beach

A friend held a birthday party last weekend at Ettalong, and invited me to share the apartment she'd booked for the weekend.

So I was lucky enough to spend the weekend at the beach,

with a fabulous ring-side seat for the spectacular sunrises (I snapped the picture below from my bed, by reaching one arm out the sliding room next to it which lead onto our (enormous) balcony!)

There was miniature inspiration: particularly at Hatter's Tea House, where we had lunch on Saturday:

and just up the street at Geoff's Boatshed, which sold mainly fishing and boating supplies, but also had a range of souvenirs including bottles of miniature shells, and tiny china animals:

So I came home with a selection of suitably nautical souvenirs (plus some not-so-nautical pieces).

Plus I may have managed a quick visit to Daiso while I waited for the train home and picked up a few more things not pictured.

(*Eleven years)

Away. Again.

Australia Day long weekend + super-cheap airfares to Wellington on Singapore Airlines = a last-minute decision to celebrate the event by leaving the country

(while also unlocking a long wished-for achievement of travelling internationally with carry-on luggage only!).

A trip to Wellington isn't complete without a visit to the Wellington Underground Markets, but this visit I bought nothing there

(tempted as I was by the miniature cakes 'iced' with the flags of Australia and New Zealand...).

I did manage to make it to Chow for a meal of my favourite blue cheese wontons:

and also discovered that Lloyd Cole was playing in town while I was there, so I had to buy tickets and attend.

And here's my mini haul from the weekend: the wooden craft shapes were a gift from Sandra, the other pieces were picked up at Pete's Emporium and Uncle Bills [sic].

I was hoping to find some empty white matchboxes in my Wellington travels so I can send out the rest of my mini 2017 calendars (they're not to be found anywhere in Canberra or Queanbeyan).

I can now say that I've checked 16 shops in two countries and have come up empty-handed, and may have to order them in from the UK. So much for shopping local, huh?

Finish it off Friday

Does this count?

(Especially if I pinky promise to try and finish my Finish it off Friday projects from the past two weeks before the end of this weekend. Or the end of this cool spell. (Whichever happens first?)

One word Wednesday

Plotting.

Monday: making a date*

It's been two years since I last made a calendar (which isn't so bad when you realise it was three years before that when I made my first). I've been tossing up if I should make one for 2017 and had almost decided that the answer was no...

Until a friend sent me a copy of hers. It was her birthday over the weekend just passed, and I decided that the least I could do is make one for her in return.

I was all set to use this year's Shutter Sisters template to create another one to fit in a CD case, when I spotted the matchboxes that I'd pulled out of a drawer to sort it out. And suddenly it made complete sense to make a miniature calendar of miniature scenes.

 (Much quicker, too!)

Of course it seemed silly to waste paper by only printing one set of pages on an A4 page, so there will be more than one calendar.

Now I just have to decide how many I can stand making before going completely bonkers. And who else I should give them to...

(*or two...)

Oh, the plans that I had!

This week was going to be productive, according to my plans at least.

I was going to finish the two Finish it off Friday projects that have been hanging round, and blog on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Since I had the day off on Friday it made complete sense to pull out a big project that has been sidelined for almost a year and commit the weekend to finishing it off.

But, as usual, I completely neglected to factor in the heat. And how tiring it is to train a new starter at work. It didn't help that I spent Wednesday and Thursday feeling like I was coming down with a migraine (although Doctor Google tells me it may have actually been a silent migraine, so the headache never arrived).

So instead of spending yesterday being super-productive, I spent it bumbling around. And napping. Oh well, that's what holidays are for, right?

I did get excellent mail, though:

My not-Christmas present to myself: a set of letterpress dollhouse gig posters from Starshaped Press

which should be great inspiration for some mini scenes in the near future.

A weekend in the country

(Which is why I needed a small and portable project to work on).

And I did: on the kitchen table

and in the garden.

The next step is to split the remaining twine into three and plait it: something I thought better done at home.

I bought miniature souvenirs while I was away: these three laser-cut panels by this papercut life at the Sturt Gallery shop are destined to turn into a miniature screen.

And the tea trolley? I'm still making slow progress (although I now note that the basket struts aren't straight so may need to re-glue them...)

Finish it off Friday: small and portable

Those were the parameters for this week's project, and this 'Quick and Easy Basket' kit that I picked up cheaply at the last AMEA Convention fitted the bill nicely.

I note that I planned to use some different thread, but since I'm not quite sure where I stashed that for safe keeping (and don't have the time to look right now) I'm going with the original thread followed, possibly, by some spray paint if necessary...

One word Wednesday

Slowly.

Monday: making a start

My excuse for not getting to this yesterday was that I'd banned myself from the internet. And my studio. Which doesn't actually make any sense (the excuse, not the banning), as I work on things like this downstairs on the workbench in the kitchen. Where I'm not banned at all.

 *shrug* I really just needed a break to focus on other stuff.

But now I've stained the wooden bits (but not the papery bits as when I did a test on the bottom of the basket it came out much darker that I'd planned: so I just varnished those to deepen the colour a bit), and undercoated one side of the wheels.

And then we wait for things to dry so I can deal with the other side of them. Then wait some more. And then, finally (and hopefully) glue it all together so I can admire its beauty, and make it a scene.