Workspaces

While the rest of the ACT had the first of two long weekends in a row this weekend just gone, I spent the weekend 'working',

The quotes are because I spent the weekend visiting people's workspaces as part of my role as co-Editor* of The tiny Times. Which didn't feel much like work at all...

Our workspace for the weekend, Saturday afternoon:

Visiting on Sunday morning:

and Sunday afternoon (part one):

(and two):

 Finally, a Monday visit to the printer to discuss our options for future issues...

(*Yes, I've had a promotion.)

Stuffed at work

Paid parking is being introduced in the area around where I work on October 1. At the same time, our staff parking charge is going from $40 a fortnight to $75 a fortnight (and, in a few months more than probably to match the full local price of $120 a fortnight).

Because I live in a spot with good options for buses (I moved here before I owned a car), I have the option of taking a bus to and from work ($56.80 a fortnight). This week I decided to lend my carpark to a colleague and undertake The Great 2014 Bus Experiment to trial the public transport option before I have to decide one way or another on keeping my car park.

It's been OK. Yes, it takes a lot longer to get to and from work (up to 55 minutes in the evening instead of 30 minutes in the car) but I have enforced exercise and up to an hour of bonus reading time a day.

But it does mean less time at home to do things.

Yesterday morning I decided to follow Mitchymoo Miniatures' lead: I took my unstuffed cushions in to work with me to stuff at lunchtime:

Hmmm.... I wonder what else I can achieve in ten minute chunks stolen from my lunchtimes?

...and in other half-finished news

I sewed up the cushions from the fabric I bought at the Craft show last month.

Haven't stuffed them yet, though...

Well, that didn't work out quite how I expected...

Our department has just gone through a major restructure, which has meant that pretty much everyone has moved desks (and, probably, jobs). There was a major clean out before the changeover happened, with large rubbish hoppers appearing all across the building.

And I can never walk past such things without having a quick peek inside to see what might need to be rescued. This caught my eye, for instance

and screamed 'bathroom window' (instead of 'rubbish' which is apparently what it screamed to its original owner...)

In yesterday's post, I alluded to a plan to turn my existing French doors into something more mid century.

Using a chunk of the folder cover instead of the plain glass supplied was part of the plan. 

But then I got too clever for my own good, and decided that it would look ever so much better without the muntins.Except I didn't stop to consider, before sawing them out, that they might have been notched in place. So I ended up with this:

Dammit! So close and yet so far.

I guess, if I want to rescue this, that I need to cut inserts to fit from the muntins I removed. And then paint the whole thing to try and cover the mess.

Or I could just go with the 'close enough is good enough' approach and add the new opaque panels to my other set of French doors and leave the muntins in place.

I'm not holding my breath for the second option...

The bellabox is back

There were two packages waiting for me at the Post Office this morning: one turned out to be an Etsy purchase that I hadn't made (I suspect the seller sent my purchase to the person who bought what I received: hopefully I'll hear from her overnight.)

I had no idea what the other one was and was very strong and refused to open it until I remembered what I'd bought. Finally, by midday, I gave up and opened it. And realised why I had no idea what it was.

It was the bellabox I'd sent to Penelope in February, returned to me with new goodies inside.

 Which means I must empty it and send it on again, right? (Thanks Penelope!)

In other news, I've not got much further with anything I blogged about last week (learning All The Things for my (latest) new job is taking it out of me and I spent good miniature-light time last weekend at the Lifeline Bookfair and the movies.)

Here's my completed La Gardo Tackett garden sculpture:

which I think will work really well in my scene: except I seem to have decided that since it's outside on the terrace, I need to have some lovely white weatherboards in the background (back to the spray can) and try and turn my existing French doors into something more mid century.

The pink sparkly bathroom tiles have got this far and no more:

And there was a bit of a disaster with some white spray painting I did at the same time I sprayed the garden sculpture:

(I need to clean off the pieces and try again. Soon. Before I lose interest.)

Silver star

Examine the stash and remove two silver trays, bought at this year's ACT Miniature Enthusiasts Association show.

Spy the perfume bottle sent to me by Kikka N in April and a Rement frangipani flower from who knows when in amongst the stash. Realise that the trays would work rather well as deco-esque wall boxes.

Do some more stash rummaging and add some other pieces that work with the theme, which now seems to have become a luxury bathroom (and discover that it's been a very long time since I've done a bathroom scene).

Remember the rub-on chandelier silhouette decal I bought from Kmart a couple of years ago and have never found the right home for.

 And have a giggle as I realise I've just accidentally created the perfect home for the star challenge piece bought by Roruu for me last month at the Trash and Treasure markets (I'm still working out how to use last year's challenge piece: a large purple plastic octopus).

And also some pieces that Mitchymoo and  Elvira sent me. 

Did you notice the pink sparkly tile? It's from a mosaic play set I picked up from the op shop for a couple of dollars a few years ago and have tucked away for the perfect scene:

In a mod mood

I chose this sofa that Mod Pod miniatures sent me back in February as the starting point for a scene.

While digging through the stash I realised that the Jens Risom chair that was in Elvira's parcel went rather well with it.

I added a few gifted and purchased accessories

and a stone floor (last seen in January last year).

And then I had an 'Aha!' moment as I remembered the box of op-shopped beads I picked up in April 2012 and tucked away. And how much they resembled the La Gardo Tackett garden sculptures I'd admired at the California Design 1930–1965: Living in a Modern Way exhibition in Brisbane back in January.

 And so it was off downstairs to the spray can collection for a makeover:

Now I have to wait 24 hours before I can do the second coat and then another 24 hours until they're dry,,,

Finally finished!

I vaguely recall that, back in January, I was feeling all proud that I had opened my Little Building Co kit and done a dry fit. Thus, I believed, ensuring it didn't get buried in the pile of things to be done.

Look what I dug out and finished yesterday:

*Blush*

Back to school with red white and blue

I rounded up some secondhand treasures for Margell School this weekend...

Ask and you shall receive...

When I posted on Monday about my new Xavier Pauchard Model A chairs, Kristine from Paper Doll Miniatures commented that she was hoping they were making more models including the tall bar stools.

I'd already planned to contact the maker once I'd checked the quality and scale of the chairs, suggesting just such a thing. And I did so on Monday night.

After a couple of messages back and forward, where she asked which version I might most be interested in, and warning that it would take a week or two to finalise designs, I was shocked and delighted to wake up this morning to this message:

There are a handful of Pauchard designs now available here: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/prettysmallthings?section=1%3 A12+Furniture&s=0 Most are also available in 1:24.  

 Which to choose? The low stool?

 The high stool?

 Or the high stool with low back?

You can thank (or curse!) me later...

(All photos shamelessly lifted from Shapeways)

Framed

My friend Ruth loved the story I created about her visit to Margell back in June, and particularly the Two Chooks tote bag I'd made to include the scene.

Since the bag was a fairly ephemeral piece for me I offered to give it to her. And then I had an idea.

I printed out a copy of the photo featuring the bag, sized to fit one of the small boxframes I have in stash, then positioned the bag (and a book on knitting farmyard animals I'd made to go with it) between the photo and the front of the frame:

This gives my non-miniaturist friend a way to display the bag which includes the back story, rather than it potentially getting lost in the back of a cupboard.

Brilliant! (If I say so myself...) 

We call it acieed (aka: the convoluted process that is inspiration...)

Last night I was watching a couple of videos by Hurts on YouTube, trying to decide if I wanted to buy their second album or not, when the colour scene for one of the videos hit me as one that could work well in a miniature scene.

 So I pulled out the swan chair that Elvira had sent me, a vintage German table and a tiled placemat to see what happened.

What happened was there needed to be some white.

And then what happened is that I pulled put my stash of pictures,and this Avant card was on top, It was a simple thing to swap the red tile sheet for the purple one.

(I don't use purple much, partially because it can be difficult to photograph, so figured this would be an interesting challenge).

An eraser from a December 2013 shopping trip, a jar of beads from Mod Pod Miniatures, and sweets from, I think, Elvira but I can't actually remember. I found them in stash anyway!

 And a book light from the Typo Not Quite Right table. Too small to use next to the desk, I decided to try it attached to the wall.

And then the name came to me in a(nother) song.

Starting at the end

Yesterday's mail brought me this beautifully stitched black and white lattice cushion, from Judy Foster in New Zealand (and also some Whittakers L&P mini bars, but that's a different story...)

Judy had been inspired to stitch a range of black and white geometric cushions after I'd facebooked a link to the Typo launch of their new Hall homewares range

and had let me chose one as a thank you.

Since I'm off work today with a dodgy tum, I decided it was high time I made a scene (can you believe it's been almost six months? I blame winter plus being sidetracked by Margell School and The tiny Times), using my new cushion as inspiration.

I originally wanted to make a bedroom scene but realised that the chevron fabric I'd planned to use (from a scrap bag picked up from Addicted to Fabric one lunchtime many months ago) was too short. So I used it to recover one of my day beds instead. I made the red cushions from another scrap of fabric from the same bag, and the wall is an IKEA placemat I bought in March.

The light shade is a bell off a Typo alarm clock (of course) and  the rug is from my stock.

On the side table (a gift from Elvira) is a London bus from an op shop haul almost a year ago, a bead from stock, a vase made by Ann from Victorian Dollhouses, a fern (from the 2012 ACT Miniature Enthusiats Show) and three books (two made by me).

It feels like something you'd find featured in MidCentury magazine...