Monday's making (mostly made up)

I finished the cushions (sort of, they still need to be stitched up after stuffing).

I completed the squabs for the benches (well, not quite. I only finished one set and they're taped together at the back where you can't see). 

And the Bluebird Cafe is done.

 (You know, unless you zoom out and notice all the bits that most definitely aren't done.

Or, indeed, wait long enough and watch the 'done' bits slowly undo and the whole thing trash itself).

Maybe today I'll actually really finish it?

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!'

What I learnt yesterday

If you're using your new electric drill, and it seems to be taking ages to drill your hole, you might just have accidentally set it to drill backwards... :-}

#HBSCreatinContest2015 

A miniaturists' morning tea at Margell

My fellow Australia Miniature Enthusiasts Association stall holders popped in for morning tea on their way back home to Sydney.

Suddenly having a miniature school on my dining table made complete sense...

...followed by a crazy miniaturist's handbag reveal

I have felt my handbag getting more and more out of control over the past two days as I've dashed from place to place and stuffed various things into it.

Tonight I arrived home from setting up my stall at the ACT Miniature Enthusiasts Fair and Dollhouse Show and remembered that I'd been given a bar of chocolate. Could I find it in my bag? No.

There was only one thing to do: turn it upside down to empty it out completely and return it to some semblance of order.

And what did I find?

Yeah, that's not going to last me terribly long...

In the miniaturist's kitchen

I know I'm not the only one... :-)

(And no, the blender has not been used for paper mache. Yet.)

Scale silliness (when I should be studying)

(The TBAG box kit is coming along slowly, I decided to add a coat of varnish and am waiting for that to dry while I read the instructions for creating the tea bags for the umpteenth time and try to figure them out. Perhaps a cup of tea would help?)

And then, as the sun started to set...

Giant grass bunnies found their way onto the cafe patio.

Art or topiary? I'll let you decide.

I keep breaking wine glasses...

Not small at all...

(But rather fun)

While adding my latest read to Library Thing I noticed a message telling me about some new services.

One of them compares the height of the books in my library against the heights of various other things: (I feel the sudden urge to run off and find the thickest books I have waiting in my reading piles and add them to see if I can reach Cleopatra's Needle. Except I suspect that way madness lies...)

How to make ugly interesting

(Without using black paint)

Tonight after work, the Manager of the local toy shop picked up the houses they're going to use in their Lundby window display. But the window dresser isn't coming until late tomorrow afternoon.

What to do? Leave a pile of ugly looking boxes and empty houses in the window or whip together a "work in progress watch this space" pop-up display?

We chose the latter, of course. It was great fun and we think it looks fabulous...
(Before you ask, the Union Jack is left over from their last display)

Yesterday I cleaned three houses

(None of them, alas, full sized...)

A seventeen yearly tradition?

Looking through the window:

Oct 20 1994: (With the Bay Villa)

May 7 2011:
(With a random piece of cardboard...)

Night class

I have a Gen Y friend over, teaching me the joys of QR codes in return for use of my badgemaking machine...I think that's a more than fair swap.

That's not what I meant when I said "I should get the vacuum cleaner out this evening"...

(Yesterday's stripe, now in grey...)

I think I need more sleep

I've started seeing pink elephants...

Donkey, OK?

Yesterday something happened that I've been looking forward to for weeks (no, not THAT, although it fits the bill, too)

I got an email from Canberra Theatre Centre telling me about a show I didn't already know about. Bliss!

Even better, it was The Dancers Company, the regional travelling arm of The Australian Ballet. I had to go! I rang a friend who I knew would enjoy it too, to see if she wanted to join me.

I got her messaging service: one of those whizz bang ten second voice to text thingos. I left a message.

When she rang back she was a touch perplexed. Apparently the service had decided that I was asking if she wanted to go to the ballot of Donkey, Ok?

Not the ballet of Don Quixote.

I'm tempted to ring her again and spout a stream of New Zealand place names and see how it copes.

What else is there to do on New Year's Eve except make a video?

May your New Year's Eve

Not involve grumpy hosts (be it yourself or someone else) passed out guests (or music hoggers)

And may your tonight (and tomorrow) be free of this:

Hamming it up at Handmade

Tonight, at the launch of Handmade Living, there had signs that contributors could hold in their photos of the event. I couldn't resist taking this photo and chucking it through Photoshop: