Ivory and inconveniences

Hello dear readers,

this will be a short post without capitals.

first to my new followers: welcome aboard!
i hope you will like reading my blog and also hope you'll freely share your opinions and ideas here.

i have not been very active lately as i discovered pinterest and that took far more time than i had planned.

however, i found some ivory i bought years back and decided to play a bit with that.
just to get the feel of it and see if it is hard to handle.
i made a face shield to be held in front of the face when the wig was being powdered.

more on that procedure in another post.

i am typing this post using just the index finger of my left hand -while i am right handed- because i had a little accident while cooking meat.
to make a long dull story short: i burnt my hand and won't be able to use it for a while.

nothing serious but thought i'd let you know why i am not posting for the next weeks.
it takes forever to type this way lol.

take care and don't do as i do, dear readers, hope to talk to you again soon.

hugs,
Gee

Herbs!

Hello dear readers and a warm welcome to new followers!

Being  real fond of using herbs and spices while cooking and using essential oils for minor discomforts, of course I had to have some fresh herbs in the storage room as well.

After looking for a tutorial on making herbs for years, I never succeeded in finding one.
It just did not seem to exist.
That is, until two weeks ago when I bought the latest edition of a Dutch dollhouse
magazine, Dolls House Nederland, and there it was: a tutorial on how to make herbs.

I did not make all the herbs in the tutorial, but I managed to make enough herbs to also hang some to dry; did not show those in the picture, still have to figure out how and where to hang a thread in the storage room for the herbs to hang on.

I made a crate out of some left over scraps of wood, dropped it on my work
table from about a meter high, did that several times and glued the parts that
let loose back in a very sloppy way.
Then watered down some acrylic brown and black and painted the whole using that solution.

Next step was to fill the crate with paperclay (as my real clay turned out
to be hard as a brick), put holes in the paperclay where I wanted to place the herbs, paint it with black acrylic paint, and let that dry.
After it was dry, I smeared wood glue on the top side and covered the glue in coffee to imitate soil.
Then the herbs, roots dipped in wood glue, were planted and voila!

I think it turned out to be a nice little addition.

Next things I will be working on are a little powder room (think wigs!) and altering some tables into gaming tables using veneer.

It may take some time before I post again, 'cos when I first thought of these little projects the execution of it was very simple.
But the more I think about it, the more ideas pop up in my head and it gets more
labor-intensive by the day (and that's just the plans!).
Bet you all know what I am talking about.
Ah well, we'll see how it turns out.
Don't forget to have fun every single day, see you!

Hugs,
Gee

By the way: does any of you know how Ray is doing?




Next: the Powder Room

Storage room finished-or is it?

Warning: This is going to be a long post, so poor yourself a drink or a coffee before you continue.


First a word to my dear readers: sorry to have stalled this post for so long.
I've been living in a kind of  brain fog for the last 2 months, almost all this time the storage room has been as it is today, I just could not bring myself to making any pictures of it.
Tonight I decided it was about time I'd kick myself in the butt and finally make those pics, so here they are.
I did not keep up with all of your posts but promise I will try to read them all in the upcoming week.
Again: sorry!

I am very glad and relieved that our friend John returned to blog-land and is on the mend, welcome back John, you have been missed!

To my new followers: glad you have decided to join! I hope you will feel right at home here and that you will enlighten me with your ideas and opinions. Please don't be a stranger and let me know what is on your mind :).

OK, on to the storage room...

The ceiling and walls are from acid free cardboard, primed and painted.
The shelf supports are made out of molding and stained.
I believe I showed the terracotta tile floor before, I've smudged the floor and walls using chalks, then I made the scaffolding (don't know another word for it) for the wine barrels to lay upon.
The signs on the barrels (the swan, the crown etc.) are that of 18th century breweries.
When I laid my eyes on the little silver taps I was so enthusiastic about them I just had to have them; aren't they just adorable?

On fairs years ago I obtained the jugs on the top shelf, the little barrels in a lighter colored wood, the stone pots at the opposite side which ''contain'' oil, butter and brine fish, the little stone barrel at the left on the bottom shelf and the pottery wine bottle in the basket on the floor.
I've made a little wooden floor to put against the wall to keep the flour, potatoes and nuts dry from a dampened floor.

Glass work upside down on the bottom shelf above the wine barrels is from Gerd Felka, at least I am sure the carafes are. I bought them about 15 years ago so I'm not sure about the outer ones.
The domes in front of the carafes are so tiny and so beautifully made, it is a pity that does not show in the pictures.

                                                               

There are all kinds of vegetables on the floor, the shelves and hanging from the walls: red cabbage, celery, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, red peppers, mushrooms, leeks, onions, peas, beets, beans, asparagus, onions and others.
There are several kind of sausages, sliced and as a whole, a just skinned rabbit, a duck, roast of beef and bacon, several fishes, dried fishes as well, and scampi.
There also is a cold dish, deviled eggs, cheese, pickles, and bread hanging in a reed basket from the wall.
Further there are pies, pastries and pudding and of course there are fruit like grapes, oranges, plums, pears etc. and jams also. Most food has been made somewhat dirty using chalks to imitate them just being gathered.

I had to take out a lot of vegetables because there just was not enough room for it all.
Never mind, there still will be a dining room table and a kitchen to fill.
And it was a nice way of wasting time and still doing something useful; when you start at making food from polymer clay, you just can't stop the ideas popping into your head so in fact one could see it as a curse too.
The red cabbage and onions were made by Annette, who is a Dutch Fimo artist, the scampi was made by Angie Scarr and the pudding was a gift.

On the top shelf left to the (outside)door are glass jars containing all kinds of herbs and spices, there are miniature cinnamon rolls, real vanilla beans, and mini whole nutmeg. The jars are closed with a little leather patch.



I could not imagine that there would not have been mice in such a place, so I've made a mousetrap on the floor in front of the wine barrels from scrap wood and another mouse is stabbed to death with a knife.

repositioned the stabbed mouse:

In this era there would be a fence around the wine barrels and the meat to prevent the staff from stealing food, but to favor the visibility I left them out.
As you can see in the next pic I did make them so I'm not just saying this to weasel out, lol. Maybe I will still put them in at a later time.

On the far right there is a place for household and cleaning utensils.
Baskets are hanging from the ceiling as they would get in the way otherwise when not in use.
the brooms are from a McQueenie kit,  the giant glass thing on the right on the bottom shelf against the back wall is a wine bottling bottle with pressure overflow made by Dieter Dorsch.
A butter churn on the floor and on the shelf is a wooden crate that contains real pieces of soap.

To make a long story even longer:
The fun in decorating a room like this is that it is never finished.
Just an hour ago I found a workshop for making herbs, so naturally I will have a go at that, herbs hanging to dry: I could just picture that.
Maybe a cat hunting the mice or a mouse hole in the wall with a mouse trying to get out.
Probably more brooms and brushes will be added, as well as tools to clean the windows, clumps or whatever else comes to mind.
I still have to finish the left door and make the right door, but I'll do that once I'm starting work on the hall.

I hope you all liked the peek in the storage room!
Take care all,

Hugs,
Gee






I have put in a (not so good) picture of the stabbed mouse so John can stop his search ;)

Storage room floor

Dear Readers,

This weekend I've added another year to my curriculum and decided to use that day to finish the storage room floor.

I will work on the age-ing when the rest of the room is finished.


The next post will probably be when the room is finished.

First thing I will do now is working with Fimo to make enough vegetables and whatever pops into mind.
Fimo or polymer clay is fun and easy to work with.
For those of you who want to have a go with Fimo or another polymer clay, there are some how-to's on the tutorial-page on the right, and numerous to be found on the internet.
If you never worked with Fimo before, give it a try and amaze yourself!

Do not bake Fimo or another polymer clay in an oven you use for food, because of it's fumes.
I have bought a little oven for about 10 dollar, just to bake Fimo objects in.


Take care and don't forget to have fun!
Hugs,
Gee

I forgot to mention that I did the grouting with  a mix of Alabastine and grey chalk

Choices

Dear Readers,

Tonight is the night in which America chooses who will be their president for the next four years.
The television is on in the background, I hear the anchorman talk about exit polls and swing states; meanwhile I am occupied with other choices: what to do with the floor of the storage room!
Not of very much importance to the world, but I decided it is a dilemma that can't be postponed any longer.

Above is the wooden floor I made before

This is a slate floor, made from a paper sheet

As I like to have something to choose from, I also had a go with tiles again.
This time I made the tiles half the height of the ones I made before, and painted them in a terracotta color.

The tiles are of a darker color in real, the flash chances the color a bit.

I guess the wood floor is too dark, I kinda like the faux slate and I also like the terracotta.

I don't want the storage room to look all shiny and new, but old, used and neglected.
So I'll try the terracotta and when it is not to my satisfaction I'll go with the slate.

I also ordered the wine/beer barrels, but they did not arrive yet.
So far, so good.
As for election night, may the best man win!
Hasta la vista!

Hugs,
Gee

Amsterdam

 Hello Dear Readers,

As I told you in my last post I made a day-trip to Amsterdam last weekend.
Purpose of the trip was to check whether the measurements of the facades of the canal houses and their ornamentation as I remembered it agree with reality.

Amsterdam was *cold and windy and -as expected- packed with tourists.
We decided we'd rather take the tram instead of going by foot.
The tram is public transport, fast and easy not to mention cheap.
It has stops on numerous places in the city.

Being cold to the bone at that time, I took the majority of  the pictures from within the tram. You will notice a glare from the window in some pictures. So they won't win a prize for beauty.
In some pictures it's like the top of the houses tilt here and there.
And they actually do.

It seems the harvest of pictures is meager, but I renewed and stored quite some GigaBites on the hard disk in my head.

After having a drink we decided there was time left to look for fabrics.
Throughout the years I have collected quite some silks, small and larger pieces, because I have no definite idea about the colors I will use in my house.
Or, rather, I have made a LOT of ''definite'' choices regarding upholstery in the past, only to learn they always change with time.
Because you can never tell on forehand whether you will need it in the future, I
played it safe and purchased some silks.
And because I liked the print, for the first time also some small pieces of cotton.

Left, on top: again a green-blue silk (again because I already have several silks in this color, though every piece differs a bit)
Left, in the middle is a dark blue silk velvet, very thin, maybe for curtains or upholstery of chairs
Left, under: a black and gold silk; I think it has a majestic look, but maybe too fancy to use for curtains and/or upholstery in my dh. We'll see.
On the right, in pairs of 3, the cottons. In the upmost right three theres's a touch of the green-blue silk color, so maybe I will use those for cushions.

So far about my day-trip to Amsterdam.
Next post will be all about minis again.
I'll probably show you what I embroidered and when there is progress on the storage room I will keep you posted too.

Have a great weekend,
Hugs to all of you out there,
Gee

*footnote: this post was censored by my kids :))

shop stuff

Hello there, Dear Readers!

Welcome to the new followers, glad you read along, the more the merrier!

Feel free to leave a reaction, I really love reading your opinions and ideas.

I hope everything is well with all of you.

Time flies when you're having fun, don't you agree?

The days are already shortening, getting more windy and rainy and I hope you are all well prepared for the approaching cold days.

I for one, have warm blankets ready piled up in a corner of the couch and thick, warm slippers are on stand-by for the first real cold day that comes along.

Winter is not going to sneak up behind me and catch me in surprise this year!

Amazing how quickly everything adapts to the cooler weather.

The white roses still bloom, other flowers seem to find them show-offs and have given up the idea of getting another sunbath.

They  have pulled on their gorgeous autumn-colored coat.

Genuine diva's, those trees and plants!

I always feel blessed to live in a 4 seasons country, although sometimes inconveniences arise (for example if it snows), but each season has its own charm and splendor.

sooooo .... before I really get to sound like a sentimental old tart, time for a change of subject:

I've enjoyed your blogs, what creativity and how inspiring!

Pick a topic and everyone has a different approach to it.

What possibilities!

Meanwhile I weathered the front of the shop a little and made the cabinets in the shop look worn and dirty.

There is a floor, the walls are papered, there is light

and there are even some toys.

And everywhere filthy fingers of children ... Well, that can hardly be avoided ...

There even is a counter

There are still lots of toys to be made but eventually the shop will be loaded.

Until yesterday I was still in doubt, but then I dug up a sled and a sweet-faced doll in knitted garments and now I am certain I'm going to add snow to the outside of the shop.

I also used the time (or wasted, just how you look at it) to think about how I want the storage room in the dollhouse to look like.

Because that is the next room that I plan to work on.

While summer lasted my mind was set on other things, but since the day it is getting colder outside I love to curl up in a chair, having a hot coffee or coco, thinking of  pastries, hog heads, pheasants and preserved foods .

So I've been searching my stash to gather stuff to go in the storage room.

The walls, the ceiling and the floor are already primed.

Originally there would be a floor tiled with small tiles, but the tiles I ordered are plastic ones and quite hideous, so I have not decided about that yet.

Today I made a day trip to Amsterdam, will tell you more about that next time.

At this moment I am floored.

Apparently I just wiped my eyes, unknowingly smearing my mascara over my face, because my daughter just casually informed if we have raccoons in the family-tree.

Time to call it a day!

Hope you all have a great week,

hugs,

Gee