Happy New Year 2020

Happy New Year everyone.

I hope that 2020 has lots of NICE things in store for all of us. This year has been a dreadful one and awful things have happened that have touched us all. Lets hope we can all recover and find some peace and happiness.

I already have a project keeping me awake at night and keepiong Google very busy the rest of the time! I will have to add a new page for it all but here is the ambition.

For various reasons, the house I lived in from 3-18 has left a serious imprint. One or two ideas for miniatures came from this house, with many trials and tribulations in making them. I realised that much of the furniture would have been 'Utility' since my parents married in 1950. I am working on various bits but have realised that I could make the actual house, miniature of course! I am lucky to have the rare ability to remember things from about a year old or less! So that house I can layout quite easily. However the actual sizes are the snag.

I contacted the council planning department and explained what I wanted to do. I didn't think I would hear anything, but I did. All they could help with was a plan for an alteration of the ground floor kitchen of a house across the street and it was the mirror image. I scanned it and flipped it over and printed it the way round I need. However, there were not any sizes except for window, door and step which were to be changed. The company who did the plan, was on the page but they are defunked.

I thought it would be enough to give me a plan for the ground floor. I scaled it up on the computer but something seems to have gone wrong. Of course there are no height measurements either! I am hoping that a lady will send me some sizes. She lives in one of the same houses only a few doors up the street.

Here is what I have managed so far, although not right. But you will get the idea.

I have bought a real sink and made this to scale. I have made another and that is in my dolls house laundry.

I made the chair and the table is from a bought collection. This seems to be as wide as I remember but if the middle wall is a supporting wall, then the bedroom above is out of scale.

I am just using the same plan to size up. The kitchen wont have a bed in the pantry!

The bed is to scale and there was a gas fire and a gap between the foot and the wall, which was actually an airing cupboard. This cupboard had four doors. The bottom two concealed the hot water tank with the two above being the airing cupboard. I remember the bottom two would not open completely because of the bed.

(And Harry Potter thought he had a tight squeeze)

This is as far as I got yesterday. I will be making four utility chairs with drop in seats. I can use them to help scale this plan. I can't wait to get going.

Another update

It has been pointed out that I haven't updated this for a while. I know! I have had a VERY busy year and it's not over yet. I've made things at classes, for which I have to travel a long way so a 3 day course ends up 5 days away, at least. Then I've had to complete most of the things I've made before I go and do another class and have something else to finish. As well as all of that, I've been visiting family which are a long way away too. In between everything else, I have had numerous tests at hospital and bouts of being unwell. 

It has truly been a packed year.

I am trying very hard to finish stuff that has been waiting to be finished for far too long. I also have loads of ideas that need to be forgotten for a while. I've made a very long 'to do' list and as soon as I cross one thing off another 3 or 4 get added.

So these are my excuses. 

I'm off on yet another course and hope to finish this one before I come home. After that I have one more course in November. That is 5 this year! I will have to sit down and update this whole thing when I get back. I should set aside a day just for that. (If I can squeeze a whole day in between appointments etc.) I have loads of things to add and probably more when I get back from the next class.

Busy, busy, busy

I have been very busy. Ive been working on the old house, designing a miniature fireplace and away at the CMW Lite workshop weekend.

I have loads of things to update regarding the old house refurbishment. The main house is almost complete and the fronts now need to be worked on.

I came to point where I could leave the house and begin something I wanted to do. I was limited for time before I went away to build the Tudor house with Sue Simpson at CMW. I had homework to do before I went. I also decided to make a fancy fireplace. The one I chose was based on one at Anne of Cleeves House at Lewes, East Sussex. Since it was made from photos it wont be exactly to scale of the original. It also has to fit the room in the house. I'm now making a smaller version.

Then I began the build of the Tudor house. I've been really excited about it. But the weekend was right where the record for highest temperature was recorded. We were all finding it difficult in the heat. I was not feeling well by the end of day one. I began day two feeling awful. At the end of the 3 days we all had recognisable houses but a ton of work still has to be done at home.

I now have loads to update on various pages!

Day Three Progress

I took the balustrade, roof and chimneys off the house on day one. Yesterday I removed all the paintwork from the top as well as the pieces that were left behind on the 'original repair' that someone had done. It was sanded. I had to glue down some of the splintered plywood that came off with the removal of parts. The paint was used to fill gaps! Now the top of the house is ready to be rebuilt.

Today I am going to sand off the paint and rust from the front edges, strip the chimneys and maybe begin the roof section.

House Project

Began the 'wrecker ball' of the Dolls House Project #4. Boy was that an operation!

I will add the photos to the page for it. Its taken a couple of hours to remove the roof parts.

Busy, busy, busy

Here I am, back again. I have been busy trying to catch up on a lot of things that have been long overdue. Some miniatures, some real size.

Today, I have taken out a dolls house I have had for a long time, which was to be renovated. So today, I will add a page for this and try to keep a diary of what I do. It will take me a long time to fix this one.

I've made some furniture from You Tube tutorials by Julie Warren as well as something I designed and created myself. I still have loads of things to catch up with but I have to begin somewhere.

Now create a page for this next 'misson impossible'.

I have not been updating for a while, unfortunately health problems have been to blame.

I have just read the post that everything connected to Google will be removed from Blogger, so goodness knows what hiccoughs there will be now.

I have been trying to do things when I have felt able to and have jumped from one thing to another. I am going to update on here with a few posts. Firstly is the update on the shop. Look at the shop pages for that.