Still Working Away....

These items are finished, except for candles in the candlesticks (that will be a polymer clay workday), and the rope handles on the wood box. In my stash, I have another wall box that will also need candles, like the little blue candle box. And I think the candle box in my Tudor house has no candles left in it. The candle cups are small belt rivets, painted to match the wood they are on.

On the gluing jig right now is a colonial cradle, from an old kit - I hope everything fits together, the trial fit wasn't entirely encouraging! The fairy house planter is just about done, but I still have to paint the cat butt birdhouse. The garden trellis is done, painted in white chalk paint. The tray is now painted black, but I still have to do the design.

In the meantime, I have managed to sort and empty two boxes and a bag that have been sitting around for, well, years....

I am working on embroidery and knitting (full size, for now) upstairs in the mornings, and move to my work table to make wooden minis in the afternoon. If I can find my cyano-acrylate glue, I will start a "wicker" doll cradle, a partial kit that is missing its rockers, for my eventual toy shop. The rockers should be fairly straightforward, I hope! I also have a cat bed in wicker to do, as well as some pet accessories; these are intended for the steam punk loft which also needs finishing. Sigh! May I please have another eight hours each day?

More Work in Progress

Thank you. blog commentators, the Carpenter-in-Chief went cider shopping yesterday (Sunday) for a dish he was making, and came home with a jar of gel stain for me. It is rather more golden than my favourite Ipswich Pine, but it will do beautifully for the undercoat of my miniature "antiques". The tray is supposed to be black with flowers, so it is sitting around until I get to painting again.

On my storage shelf is a basket with "unfinished kits" - so I hauled that out yesterday, with a view to finally completing these things, emptying another box, and perhaps having some more items for sale.



So we have a trellis (I foresee a morning glory vine!), a planter, a "cat butt" bird house, and a bathroom shelf (which is upside down - the round bar is a towel rail. More painting in my futute!



I am particularly proud of this peculiar item; it is, in fact, a very early form of adjustable lighting. The design showed up at my volunteer job (I do museum accessioning) in one of the reference books I was checking. It is an adjustable candle stand; the holes allow one to move the shelf to four different heights, depending on where you are working. A peg through the hole holds the shelf in place. The candle cups in the original were removable, by pushing up  the peg under them. You could thus move your light from this unit to a pierced shelf in another space, pop the candle and peg into that hole, and there you are, one candle in use at a time (or two!). The original post was round, but I just can't drill holes into something as thin as a skewer or toothpick, so my post is a narrow plank. This, once it is painted, will go into my Tudor apothecary workshop.



This peculiar item is a birch twig fairy bed I started many years ago, at least 10. I decided to try and finish it, just to be able to say I did. The headboard is done, the footboard still needs some gluing, and then I can add the bed base. Perhaps this will become a flower bed..... (for those who have never seen one of these, people here sometimes use an old metal bed frame and plant flowers in it, for out of doors).

In between, I am doing some cross-stitch and some knitting, while trying to whittle down my stash of stuff - I'd have to live to 150 to be able to use it all up, so away it goes!

Two Days' Work....Well, A Day and a Half or So!

It's fun every once in a while to dig into my scrap bag of wood bits, and see what I can make with them. Well, we have a pipe box, a candle box, a foot stool or bench, a tray, a candle stand and a wood box.

I've written about the difficulty of getting good wood, since Michaels is the only supplier here; when I was in Maine this fall, I picked up a bag of jumbo craft sticks, and some of the items in this group were made using them. They tend to be quite straight, most of them, and they yield quite a bit of good wood. The wood box was made from less than two of them. It will get leather hinges and rope handles, once the box is stained and painted.

They all need painting, of course! But first, I have to find a colour of water-based stain to use as the base coat. I used to use Varathane Ipswich Pine, a lovely rosy brown shade, but the water-based stains have been discontinued. My local hardware store dealer suggested I look at Min-Wax water-based; although I won't find an ideal match, there may be a colour there that I can deal with.

I'm making things that could sell, but if they don't, can be incorporated into one or another of my mini projects. There are more small bits I'd like to try....

The "fancy work" is done with files, sanding sticks and sandpaper, as well as my trusty knife. My sanding sticks are worn out, and I don't know where to find more of them; the ones I had were purchased some years ago at the NAME National in Nashua, NH (USA). I have people looking out for them for me, though. They are so handy for making nice curves in basswood pieces!

Things Are in Process

Today at our mini get-together, I shaped and sanded a number of wooden Colonial-style miniatures. Now I have to glue, paint and age them. If tomorrow's storm happens as promised (tghreatened?), I'll work on them then; otherwise, I'll get back to them Friday.

I've already made two pairs of candle sconces; they just need their candle cups and candles now. If I remember correctly, there are at least 5 other pieces ready to finish....

Messing About with Prototypes

In about 3 months, it should be another miniature show and sale; I'm awaiting the forms any day now. So, I decided I should perhaps try my hand at a few new items. As my sales public is limited (there are very few people in this province), new ideas are always needed. Since I never know if what I decide to make will actually sell, I try to make things I could use in case they hang around forever.

Today, at our mostly weekly mini get-together, I worked on some lightweight prototypes for this year; some are original, some are from old, out-of-print books; whatever I make, I will add my own touches to the finished product.



Four of the pieces are from The Colonial Dollhouse, by Phyllis Gift Jefferson, published in 1977. If you can get hold of a copy of this, it is just chock-full of wonderful ideas in a very wide variety of media and aimed at a wide range of skill levels. I am attempting to make some tinware and wooden ware from file folder cardboard, with faux finishing to suggest metal and wood. These are the lightweight (recipe card from the $ store!) first attempts. The wall hanging box I hope to make to represent old enamel ware.

From left to right, back row: enamel wall salt/sand/soda container, wooden firkin, wooden bucket and front row, wind-proof candle holder and one of several varieties of wall sconces. I will have to find some heavy-duty foil for the sconce, as it really needs to have frilly edges on the back. (I cut them in scallops to give the idea.)

Another storm is forecast for tomorrow; if it happens, I can't get to my volunteer job safely so I hope to work up some real versions of some of these items. Fingers crossed!