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.