Bearcabinminiatures

New Project, but a slow start!

2012-01-19T10:49:00.000Z

I have three new projects for 2012, but I must admit, I have had a slow start this year. Nothing seems to be working as planned, nothing I order online matches my colours and I am begining to think that there is a little someone telling me to take time out from my minis and have a rest!

I apologise for my lack of posts and tales of my new houses/shops, but I do promise to be back here in blogland as soon as my 'mojo' returns! ;0)

In the meantime, I will leave you with a photo of the very slow progress I have had on my turn of the century Bakers shop.

Back soon... hopefully

Julia xxx

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2012-01-01T10:34:00.003Z

Happy new year

to all my followers and friends

May 2012 be filled with good health, happiness and lots of miniature fun for all :0)

xxxxx

Merry Christmas to all....

2011-12-22T09:07:00.000Z

The mini halls are decked and Santa is getting ready....

for everyone to have a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our lovely followers.

We wish for you a wonderful christmas

Julia & Hywel xxx

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Christmas!!

2011-12-13T11:55:00.000Z

I admit it! Christmas is coming far too fast and I am in danger of not being ready, which isn't like me at all!!

My plans to decorate my new Santa House have gone awry and I really don't think any more work will get done on it this year now. At least the mini christmas tree is up though :0)

Something that I have managed to get done is the AIM Seasonal Celebration Tour on the Artisans In Miniature blog. I hope you will take a look, it is filled with christmas treasures and great links to some of our talented AIM Members.

There is also the free to view and download AIM Advent Calendar with a new door unlocked everyday, behind which is a fab miniature project for you to try.

I hope you are all more organised than me :0)

Julia xxx

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Dragons and a new year project!

2011-12-08T10:26:00.000Z

Hubby has been trying out new techniques lately and had a go at sculpting some dragons for my petshop out of fimo! This is the result! I think he is doing great :0)

They are large dragons with the biggest being 6 inches long, so he would equate to around 6 foot long in real terms! He is really enjoying making these, so I have a feeling that you will all be seeing alot more of hubby's dragon sculpts in 2012!

As for me, I am starting a new project. Moving away from wizards and witches for a while, this project will be a Grocers with living quarters above. Set roughly in the early 1900's, I have plans to model it around a favourite shop at Blists Hill Living Museum.

I already have some pretty pieces for the living quarters.....

and the wonderful Joy has made my shopkeeper; Hugo Orchard...

I also have my base for the project... a Sid Cooke High Street Kit, which I bought from The Craftpack Company. Unfortunately, this project did not start well, as I ordered and paid for the kit and then had an invoice for extra 'hidden' postage charges! When I queried them, the customer service was appalling, I had long whingey 'woe is me' emails from the seller and I was very disillusioned! Thankfully, they have now sensibly revised their item details and now make it clear that there is extra postage costs to be charged after the initial sale, as their checkout system cannot add postage correctly to their larger items!! Needless to say, I won't be shopping there again!

So, looking forward now, this will be my 2012 project. I hope you will join me on my journey into the 1900's with it :0)

Julia xxx

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1st December ~ lets do christmas :0)

2011-12-01T12:13:00.000Z

Well, it's the 1st of December already!

Wow, where has this year gone? For me, it has flown by in a flurry of recovering from illness, returning to work, moving house and finally settling back down to normality :0)

This December, we are going to make the most of christmas by doing or making something christmasy on each day up to christmas Eve and I will pop some of the mini related things on here for all to share! As you can see from above, I have already started by stitching a little christmas sampler for one of my mini houses :0)

In AIM, there is the 2011 Christmas Advent Calendar to look forward too.

Packed full of wonderful miniature projects donated free from some of the fabulously talented members, it is a treat for all you miniature enthusiasts out there.

Day 1 is open now and you can you view it by clicking here

Julia xxx

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Tumbleton Tower ~ part 2

2011-11-29T19:47:00.000Z

Following on from last weeks post for the making of Tumbleton Tower, today we take a journey with Bert around the finished Tower. As we travel down the winding path....

to the door of Tumbleton Tower.....

Where we can peek through and see the kitchen is now full of delicious goodies.....

and wonderful characters by Joy and Jain :0)

Upstairs, in her reading room Agatha sits writing letters, whilst she waits for company to join her...

and here they are... the Wizards of Hazel Hill... coming to celebrate the opening of Tumbleton Tower

I hope you enjoyed your little tour of Tumbleton Tower. You can see more on the making of Tumbleton Tower in the AIM imag here 0)

Julia xxx

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Tumbleton Tower ~ Part 1

2011-11-25T14:00:00.001Z

My regular followers may remember that at the beginning of this year, I was really pleased to be asked to run a fantasy series for the AIM imag

For the series articles, I decided to make a tower to add to Hazel Hill. This tower would be home to Agatha, my wonderful witch by Bellabelle Dolls

The great value kit with free postage was purchased from the Dolls House Emporium and it arrived the next day. So work began! After a dry run of the kit to make sure everything was there and fitted nicely, we began by adding some small square windows to one side of the kit and a whole extra back section.

Using Artmache, we gave the whole building a thick coat and allowed it to dry, before colouring the exterior walls with a tea and coffee wash!

Inside the Tower, I made two rooms; a kitchen and Agatha's reading room/parlour. I wanted this room to be pretty.. in as much as a witch can have a pretty room that is :0)

I drew my inspiration from a bag of pretty ribbon and old jewellery that my mum had given me....

I also wanted quite an ornate ceiling, so using a piece of anaglypta wallpaper, I cut a piece to fit the ceiling and glued it all in place.

When it had dried, I covered the whole ceiling in a tea wash, to age it... after all, it couldn't be too bright for a witch!

Then, liking the look, I did the same for the wallpaper for the walls....

and so here is the reading room, all papered and ready for carpet! :0)

Back downstairs, through the kitchen....

we built some stone, curving steps....

and I wallpapered with a green floral paper and aged this slightly too.

With plaster in patches to give it that slightly older look...

....and that is our Tumbleton Tower :0)

Join me next week to see how I 'dressed' the rooms..,

but, if you cant wait till then, you can read more on the making of Tumbleton Tower and see the finished kitchen in the AIM imag from issue 32 to date :0)

Julia xxx

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Peeswick Pets

2011-11-21T09:22:00.000Z

Welcome to Peeswicks Pets.. a little unloved kit I bought on Ebay some time ago and worked some magic on :0)

I began by painting and waxing the door, paper maching the walls....

.... and using air drying clay on the bays and marking out cobbles!

I aged the walls with my 'tea mix' and gave the bays a coat of brown emulsion, wiping it all off just before it had dried, leaving the majority of the paint in the gaps between the bricks.

After 'planting' some weeds and grass, it was time to start dressing the shop.

Regular followers of my blog may remember that Joy sculpted my fabulous Pet shop owner Alice Peeswick and her little mischievous boy, Neville :0)

I think they both look at home at Peeswick Pets :0)

There is still some filling of shelves left to do inside the shop, but I have started by making the cages look old and used.

Hubby has been busy making me some dragons to sit on the top of shelves and cupboards and of course, my three welsh coal red dragons are sitting happily on the windowsill.

For now, I think I have gone as far as I want with Peeswick Pets and it's time to move onto my christmas project. I am also making plans to start a large project next year, which won't be based on magical miniatures. I haven't totally decided on the era yet, but it is looking likely to be loosely based around the end of the victorian era. It will centre around a grocers shop with living quarters above and Joy has already sculpted the shopkeeper for me, he is just perfect and I will share his photo with you all soon :0)

AIM News

As most of you aware, due to the editors of the AIM magazine having other commitments at present, there has been no November imag, neither will there be a December imag.

But fear not, as the fabulous yearly Advent Calendar will be starting as usual on the 1st December on the AIM website

Every day upto christmas, there will be a new door to open, behind which will be a very special project for you all to try out at home.

The AIM magazine will be back in January 2012

For those peeps who have been following my Tumbleton Towers series in the AIM imag, there will be a special concluding post here on my blog soon :0)

Julia xxx

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As one door closes....

2011-11-14T19:42:00.000Z

... another opens!!

Its all change at Bearcabinminiatures, as we have decided to take a sabbatical from selling our miniatures online. I am going to take a break, probably for the whole of 2012 so we won't be taking on any more commisions. Neither will I be making new things to sell in my Etsy store. What is left in the store will remain for sale, but as it dwindles, I won't replenish it. What I will be doing is enjoying my miniatures as a hobby again when I have the time and I am hoping to start slowly on a new project purely for me :)

I also intend to occasionaly make one off special pieces for charity throughout the rest of 2011 and 2012. These will be sold via Ebay as it is easy to link the sale to my chosen charity. I am hoping to have more details on that for you all tomorrow :o)

Julia xxx

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Putting the Pumpkins away and moving on...

2011-11-03T15:06:00.000Z

So now that Halloween is over, it is time to tidy up, clear the pumpkins away and move on.... to Christmas!

I have a lovely new project on the go for Christmas. Hubby has been busy making me a special Christmas shop and I am looking forward to filling it and sharing it with you all when it is ready :0)

In the meantime, I am busy making real life size christmas presents and managing the AIM Blog, which puts me in an enviable position of chatting (online) with some of the fabulously talented miniaturists out there. One of these miniaturists is Sadie of Homewardflight and you can see her work on the AIM Members Showcase here. Sadie also has a blog here :0)

Julia xxx

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The Halloween Market Stall Finished and Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T09:51:00.001Z

Halloween is here and the market stall is 'dressed' and bursting with goodies for little witches and wizards to enjoy...

I have filled the shelves with lots of my handmade halloween goodies, hats by Kat and a little orange and Pumpkin cake by Oberons Wood

Happy Halloween :0)

Julia xxx

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The Halloween Market Vine

2011-10-26T21:08:00.000+01:00

Halloween is approaching fast, so I thought I had better get a move on and finish off my story about the making of my Halloween Market! :0)

With the market stall fully assembled, it was time to begin adding those little details that make a project special. I began by adding some fun halloween card embellishments. They were the perfect size for the front of the stall and being adhesive backed, they held firmly in place with little persuasion.

Once they were all on, the market looked a little bare on the left hand side, so I decided to make a vine to curl up the pillar. I love making vines, they are time consuming, but easy to make, you just need a steady hand and lots of patience! ;0)

I used florists wire covered in florists brown tape to make the vine stem. The tape is easy to apply, you just wrap it around the bottom of the wire and twirl all the way up to the top! ;0)

When I was happy with the shape and size of the stem, I glued and clamped it to the pillar and left it overnight to dry. I did 'plant' some grass at the base of the pillar whilst I was waiting... you all know by now how inpatient I get waiting for glue to dry!!!!

The next evening, I started to apply the leaves to the stem. I have a metal punch with three different shaped leaves to cut and for this vine, I chose an Acer shaped leaf. I had already cut lots of leaves out, so I started to apply the leaves, one by one, using a tweezers and a dab of PVA glue. After ten minutues of painstakingly, carefully applying each leaf, the tweezers got thrown, my fingers became excess glue wipers and the leaves went on in an hickeldy pickedly fashion... but ... it worked :0)

I decided to use two different sized leaves of three colours on the vine: a darkish green, a light green and a splattering of copper orange :0)

For each leaf, I decided to mark out leaf veins. I did this easily as I went along, just before applying each leaf, I used my thumb nail to create the 'vein' line...

The finished vine......

For this vein, I just used coloured art card with no special finish, but to make the vein even more authentic, you can handpaint the veins on the leaves using acrylic paints and then when dry, apply a thin coat of non- yellowing clear varnish. I have painted and varnished my Ivy leaves, so you can see the difference. I like the both looks, I think it adds variety :0)

and so my Halloween stall is finished, I just need to dress the shelves and front now...

Back soon :0)

Hats by Kat ;0)

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Halloween Special on the AIM Blog

2011-10-24T11:22:00.000+01:00

Halloween approaches and now is the time to be;

thrilled...

delighted....

spooked....

scared....

Head on over to the AIM Blog and feast your eyes on some of our AIM Members

Halloween Delights.

Click here to fly over to the AIM Halloween Special :0)

Bearcabinminiatures 2011 Halloween Giveaway Winner is...

2011-10-20T19:06:00.000+01:00

Bearcabinminiatures 2011 Halloween Giveaway Winner is...

Margriet

Congratulations Margriet :0) You were picked from my Halloween Hat as the winner. You can choose one set from the three shown below :0)

Margriet, if you can send me an email with your address, I will send your giveaway prize to you.

THANKYOU to everyone who participated in my giveaway and a big welcome to my new followers.

Dont worry if you didn't win this time, there will be another giveaway in time for christmas :0)

Julia xxx

Halloween Giveaway

2011-10-18T19:44:00.001+01:00

ENTER MY HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY IN THE POST BELOW

BUT

DON'T FORGET... TO BE ENTERED

YOU MUST FOLLOW THE GIVEAWAY RULES;

TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY, YOU HAVE TO;

Be a follower of my blog
Leave a comment here on this blog post
Pop a link to MY blog on YOUR blog
Become a follower to the AIM blog

All entries must be in by midnight on wednesday the 19th and I will draw the winner on Thursday 20th October, hopefully then your parcel will reach you before Halloween.

Good luck everyone ;0)

A little query/note.... if anyone is having problems with the AIM Blog Follower tab, there is a working follow link in the top header bar of the blog on the left hand side.

The Halloween Market Roof

2011-10-17T09:47:00.001+01:00

The market stall has a flat roof which slopes down slightly towards the back of the stall. Looking straight at the market, you can't really see alot of the roof as your eyes are always drawn towards the inside of the stall, so I decided not to do alot with the roof and to have it quite plain.

I started with a bumpy layer of art mache and left it to dry for a couple of days. Then I painted on a coat of Jacobean Oak Wood stain.

Once that had dried thoroughly, I played around adding a few patches of Burnt Umber and Holly Green Acrylic paint, mixed loosely together to give an uneven colour. Preferring this look, I decided to paint the roof with the acrylics instead, so wood staining the roof was a waste of time, but it's good to try out these different colours and methods. I have used this method on flagstones before and it worked brilliantly for the look I wanted in that project.

When the roof was totally dry, I added a vine which I will show in my next post, but here is a snippet of it against the new look roof colour.

HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY

In my last post, I promised a Halloween Giveaway and to be honest I have been so busy with other commitments that I haven't had time to sit down and decide fully what is going in the giveaway and to then take photos.

I have stitched some Halloween cushions ....

and I have made up some little autumnal and pretty pots, scrolls, envelope bundles, etc, but I appreciate that not all my followers have wizard scenes, so maybe they wouldn't be interested in scrolls and feather pens!

So, for my giveaway, the winner will get to choose one of my Halloween cushions and they will also get a 'Lucky Dip' bag of goodies, depending on their choice of scene... wizard or pretty.

TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY, YOU MUST;

Be a follower of my blog
Leave a comment here on this blog post so I know to enter you :0)
Pop a link to this blog on your blog
Pop over to the AIM Blog and become a follower to the AIM blog

I hope lots of you will join in with my blog giveaway. All entries must be in by midnight on wednesday the 19th and I will draw the winner on Thursday 20th October, hopefully then your parcel will reach you before Halloween.

AIM

Most of you will know that I am a very proud member of AIM... Artisans In Miniature. As well as their infomative Directories of artisans and their wonderful free Imag, AIM also has a blog.

If anyone is wondering why I have included the AIM Blog in my giveaway, it is because I have recently volunteered to manage the blog and post links to the AIM imag and showcase many of our lovely members and their collectors quality miniatures. So I would love your support there and to see you become followers. Everyone who participates in AIM gives their time for free, so your support is greatly appreciated :0)

Julia xx

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The Halloween Market Wall

2011-10-12T16:36:00.000+01:00

With the floor dry, it was time to play around with the back wall of the market. To the side is a nice open space, ideal for a wizards meeting place, so I wanted the back wall to look suitably old and realistic. I deliberated over whether to have aged wood, brick or plaster and whilst pondering I rooted around for something else in the depths of my mini DIY box and found....... stone wall effect PAPER!!!!

And very realistic it is too ;0)

Now, it's not your normal dollshouse paper, it is laser printed, embossed and even looks practically 3D in real life. I bought it some time ago at Hobbeycraft in the Card Making and Embellishments section. Not that I make cards, but you can sometimes pick up some pretty or useful bits and pieces that are meant for card making, but work equally well for miniatures.

As the market is for me and will not be going on sale, it didn't matter if I cheated and used paper for my back wall and I think it suits the look I wanted for the market totally :0)

With the paper glued in place, I fitted the market stall together and left it all to dry overnight.

So now that the market stall is coming together, I have stitched a few cushions for Halloween and this got me thinking.....

Is anybody out there interested in a Halloween giveaway? I think I may be doing one next post ;0)

Julia xx

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The Halloween Market Floor

2011-10-10T09:45:00.000+01:00

As the market stall has a side part where the floor is totally visible, I decided I wanted to go have a go at making my own clay tiles! Now I am venturing into hubby's domain here and I must say, he's only helpful when it comes to criticism LOL He will happily tell me where I am going wrong or how awful it looks, but he's not so forthcoming with advice on how 'get' the look!!! Men ;0)

Anyway, out came the clay (Terracotta colour Air Drying Clay) and I started to roll it out (like pastry) with a small rolling pin... only to find it stuck to the rolling pin and broke up in patches!! After half an hour or so of re-rolling again and again, and some not very lady-like words(!) hubby finally 'suggested' that I add some water to the clay!

Now this worked :0)

With wet hands, I could smooth and coax the clay into the bumpy and sloping floor I wanted and then I 'borrowed' one of hubby's shaping tools and marked out my 'cobbles'... which was met with fits of laughter from hubby! :0(

Ok, it's not as good as his cobbles, but he's had years of practice and I didn't think they were that bad?!

Anyway, my poor cobbles were so upset by his uncharitable laughter that they disappeared right back into the clay and I started again... this time with help of a Bromley Crafts flagstone template that I found buried in his workbox!

The templates are designed to be used with brick compound and not with clay. So I pressed the template hard into the clay and then gently peeled it back up. This gave me a feint line of the flagstones which I could use as a guide for most of the flagstones. Some didn't show through, but it was easy from here to judge how the missing flagstones should look in size and shape. I used the shaping tool again to mark out the lines and ok, I agree, they do look better like this!

I had intended to leave it dry overnight, but I was bored after an hour, so I dug out my Jacobean Woodstain that I had used on the woodwork and applied a coat to the clay, leaving some thicker areas in between the flagstones in patches. I was really pleased with look and this time I did leave it alone to dry properly.

The photo below, shows it the next day, when it has totally dried out :0)

I have left the side that is hidden behind the stall itself as plain stained wood. I may add wooden floor planks here in the future.

and this it with the market stall in situ. I think it looks ok for a first (or second) attempt at doing my own flooring... look out hubby... lock up your clay, I know how to do it now ;0) LOL

Julia xxx

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The Halloween Market

2011-10-06T19:42:00.000+01:00

Happy with the 'dry run' of the market stall, it was time to take it all apart again and begin decorating!

Our first job was to apply the paper mache to the roof and back wall of the market. As this market stall is the larger one, we have an open area to one side, so I left that plain as I have a little plan for a slightly different look there!

After applying the paper mache, I cleaned out the shelf grooves. I have found that this is better done before the paper mache dries as it is easier to scrape wet paper mache out, rather than chip out dry paper mache.

Happy that the shelves would slide back into their grooves nicely, I let everything dry overnight, then the next day, I applied a coat of 'Teabagging' to the back wall.

If you look closely at the above photo, you will be able to see that the teabag split!!!

Don't worry if this happens, it blows off nicely once dry and leaves some slightly darker patches which add to the ambience!! :0)

With the woodwork parts of the market stained with Jacobean Oak Woodstain, the market was starting to come together very quickly. So next I had to decide on a floor.......

Julia :0)

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The October AIM Magazine is out now

2011-10-02T14:35:00.000+01:00

Issue 38 of the AIM magazine is out today :0)

Packed with lots of wonderful articles by AIM members, this months edition looks at Granny's House :0)

Celebrating Grandma's with articles on memory boxes, favourite food and hobbies to name just a few, this month's edition is wonderful yet again and well deserving of a nice sit with a cup of tea for a long read.... and all for free!

You can also catch up with our latest installment of Tumbleton Towers and this month I share how I 'dressed' the kitchen with a little help from 'our Matilda'

So, make yourself a cuppa, put your feet up and enjoy a trip down memory lane with grandma :0)

Julia xxx

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A project perfect for Halloween

2011-10-01T17:34:00.001+01:00

Well, it's the first of October already and wow, has this year flown.

It's also been very busy with a house move of our own, a house move for our eldest daughter and the start of GCSE examinations for our son!

But.. now everything is settled (fingers crossed) it is time for me to settle comfortably into an autumn and winter of miniatures :0)

Both hubby and myself have been quietly playing around with new ideas for our miniature houses and peeps that 'chat' with me on FB will have seen our Christmas project under construction....

But first, let's have some autumn mini fun and make a special little project just for Halloween.....

Last years halloween project was the Halloween Shed, which I had immense fun making and really loved the finished look... then I went and sold it! So this year, I wanted to make something similar, but I also wanted it to 'house' my halloween cushions and pumpkins.... so........

During my recent visit to Miniatura, I picked up this large market stall kit by The Dollshouse Builder

Having bought from this seller previously, I knew that his kits are of good quality and the 'dry run' of the kit was perfect. This market won't be for sale, it will have pride of place on my dresser for Halloween and it will be the 'photo shoot backdrop' for my cushions ;0)

But... if you would really like a market stall of your own, then click on the link above and grab yourself a market (no... I'm not on commision LOL ) and follow my blog through October as I show you step by step how I decorated my market stall.

Julia xxx

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Miniatura ~ Part 2

2011-09-27T14:22:00.000+01:00

We had a lovely time at Miniatura on saturday, saying hello to fellow AIM members and meeting new sellers.

Our first port of call was at the Petite Properties stand, where we said Hi to Bea and I finally treated myself to one of her micro 1:144th cottage kits... watch this space to see how I get on with it ;0)

We also visited Jenny and Mike Kelm's table: Kastlekelm Miniatures, where I snapped up this ferocious looking plant, a little jar of mushrooms and some candles for Wizards and Wands

Then.. I spotted Scrooge, sitting on their topshelf!

Peeps who I chat with on FB will know that hubby is currently making me an Olde Santa Toyshop and Scrooge was just too hard to resist to sit outside the toyshop looking grumpily at the toys in the window ;0)

There are more photos of Scrooge on my showcase Blog

I also picked up some bits and pieces which are just perfect for the Toyshop...

a fabulous and very large fireplace.....

and some bits to go inside and out of the toy shop.....

Jumping back to magical minis, I treated myself to a large market stall which I will be showing under construction here on my blog....

and some little halloween bits to go in it....

Another lucky find was these barrels to go in the Apothecary

and thats it... a fabulous Autumn show and some great minis to join my collection :0)

Julia xxxx

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A little welsh Doll for Evies + Miniatura 2011 part 1

2011-09-25T11:26:00.001+01:00

Hubby and I visited the Autumn Miniatura Show yesterday and I picked up a special piece for my Welsh Shop; Evies ..... and here she is, a very special tiny Welsh Doll, hand sculpted for me by Julie of BellaBelle Dolls

She is tiny at only 2 inches tall

Julie has made her welsh costume and hat perfectly....

We had a great time and bought loads of goodies, which I will share with you over the next couple of days. As for today.. we are resting our aching feet and making a start on a litte project I picked up just for Halloween ;0)

Hope your all having a great weekend and if you are visiting Miniatura today, have a fab time and make sure you drop by Julie's table, her dolls are amazing :0)

Some of my favourite tables at Miniatura....

Bellabelle Dolls

The Giddy Kipper

Kastlekelm Miniatures

Petitte Properties

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An update on Evies welsh shop

2011-09-19T10:54:00.000+01:00

A few posts back, Irene asked how I was getting on with my little welsh shop. So, here it is, some updated photos :0)

I haven't done a great deal on it as I want it to have authentic welsh looking bits and bobs on the shelves and it is easier said than done trying to collect welsh pieces that will fit into 12th scale!!!

I have managed to collect some tiny welsh love spoons and a welsh dragon 'mirror' which is really a fridge magnet and I've also filled some shelves with lace and wool which you would find in the older traditional welsh shops.

Our lovely Kat made me some welsh hats and I'm hoping to be picking up a special piece in Miniatura next week... more news on that to follow ;0)

The Miniatura show is looming fast and we will be visiting....I can't wait :0) I have noted down lots of stall numbers and will be happily saying Hi to fellow AIM members :0)

I will pop a link here after Miniatura to let everyone know that I have done a new post, but the treasures I buy from Miniatura will be shown on my showcase blog

That blog shares details of what I buy and from whom, so it is a record for me and a links showcase for you. I hope you will like it and become a follower of that blog, sent from the old wet and windy welsh hills :0)

Julia xxx

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Miniatura and a little question

2011-09-13T09:50:00.000+01:00

The Miniatura Dolls House Show at the NEC, Birmingham is drawing nearer, our tickets are booked, my mum and dad are booked to house and babysit and hubby and I will be jumping in the car and heading off for a two drive up to visit the show and meet fellow peeps :0)

So.. my question???

Is anyone from blogland going to Miniatura on the Saturday?

If you are, it would be great to meet for a coffee and a natter :0)

Julia xxx

The AIM free online Magazine is out now

2011-09-05T10:43:00.001+01:00

Septembers Artsists In Miniature online magazine is out now, free for all to enjoy with a nice a cuppa, click here to be taken to the magazine.

A big thankyou to all who have given their time, free of charge as always writing articles for the magazine, it is filled with lots of mouth watering foody pages, which look good enough to eat.

You can also find our next installment from Tumbleton Tower in the magazine from page 98. This month we look at how I decorated Agatha's reading room and how I aged the papers for the ceiling and walls to give them that old, slightly dusty look.

In the room, there is furniture handmade by hubby from our Woodland Witches Range which I have loads of books to make to fill the shelves for!!

I made the old curtains from some red velvet which was taken from an old stool of my nans. She had made this cover many moons ago (70 years?) and over the years it had become threadbare in patches. So I have saved the re-usable parts of the velvet to make minis and I have recovered the stool in a crisp cotton fabric.

I think they fit the scene perfectly :0)

Have a great day,

Julia ;0)

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Introducing Alice and new projects maybe in the pipeline!

2011-09-02T16:38:00.000+01:00

The postman has brought me another wonderful parcel from Joy :0)

So may I introduce Alice Peeswick .... Neville's mum and wife to Angus... yep, Hazel Hill village now has it's first family in residence.

When I first began making miniatures, many, many moons ago, I never imagined that I would have any 'residents' in any of my houses!! But... one day whilst browsing through Ebay, I came across a fabulous purple dressed gypsy. She was wonderful, but I was adamant that I would not have dolls in my houses and I let the auction end without bidding :(

But I did save the seller to my favourites and I kept an eye on her listings, until I fell in love with another of her dolls...'The Flower Seller' and this time I bought her :) And the seller was? Well, most of my blog readers will know her and follow her wonderful blogs too, the lady is of course our lovely Julie of Bellabelle Dolls Now, some four years later, my houses have many residents and Alice is the latest edition :)

Alice will feature in my tales from Hazel Hill here on my blog and hopefully in the future in the brilliant AIM Magazine where we are currently running the Making of our latest building 'Tumbleton Tower' which of course is home to yet another of Julie's wonderfully sculpted dolls, Agatha.

When I am not working on the Tower, I am working on an Apothecary, a pet shop, a toyshop and now I think the Peeswick's could do with a home of their own... wow... I can see busy winter days ahead!! LOL

So, to speed things up a bit, I am going to cheat slightly on the Peeswick's residence and use a house that I bought as a bargain find on Ebay back in the summer. It was going to be a hat shop but alas, that will have to go on the back burner for a little while now!

So here's the house, ready to be adapted and aged.. etc..etc

The roof and the main walls are fine, but I think I will add a layer of real brick work where you can see the brick paper at present.

Inside, I can imagine a large kitchen cum sitting room on the lower floor....

Whilst upstairs, I am going to add interior walls so that there can be two bedrooms and possibly a small bathroom....

and here is the whole 'family'...

Angus, Alice and Neville Peeswick

Alice will be the pet shop owner and looks quite at home already with her little frog sitting happily in her hand :)

If you would like to see all the characters of Hazel Hill, I am currently working on a new blog as a showcase and link base for all my 12th scale dolls and favourite purchases. It can be found at:

http://wizardsandwands.blogspot.com/

xxxxxx

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Meet Angus and Neville :0)

2011-08-19T09:36:00.000+01:00

There are two new residents at Hazel Hill.... Angus and Neville Peeswick :0)

Joy has sculpted me two fantastic dolls again and I am thrilled with them, thankyou Joy :0)

There is Neville Peeswick.... my first little boy in Hazel Hill. He is amazing, with ginger curly hair, a shoelace which looks as if it is coming untied and his school shirt tails hanging out!!

He will be standing by the counter in Peeswicks Pets, holding up the jam jar of Newts he has just collected for his mum to see.

Then we have Angus Peeswick.....

He is the 'slightly mad' owner of Hazels Hill's Apothecary :)

Sporting tartan braces to hold up his grey checked woolen trousers and pointy shoes, I think he is one of my favourite dolls I have of Joy's. The photo's don't do him justice, he is brilliant.

As always, Joy's attention to detail is wonderful and I can highly recommend her work, if you click on Joy's name above you will go direct to her websiter or click here and you will go direct to Joy's blog, where you will see that Joy is about to start on a little dolls house shop of her own, after some coaxing from myself ;0)

Thankyou again Joy, I adore them both and I hope you will have great fun with your little shop, I'm looking forward to following your progress :)

Now I have to do is finish off all these bottles and start filling the shelves in the Apothecary! ;0)

Julia xxx

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An update on Peeswicks Pets

2011-08-15T16:57:00.000+01:00

I haven't had a great deal of time lately to work on Peeswicks Pets, but I have done a fabalous swap with Nicky for some of her delightful dragons to go in the shop.

When her parcel arrived, I was absolutely thrillled, Nicky not only had made me dragons, but she had made all sorts of animals for the petshop. I thought perhaps you'd like to see :0) ..........................................................

Here is a darling little dragon, waiting for that cage door to be opened, so that he can fly out quickly. Lets hope he doesn't bump into the wonderful little tortoise Nicky sent :)

On the shelves, there is an array of cages with Gunther and Vuuraka awaiting new owners...

Then we have some of my frogs in their jars....

and on the shop counter sits Rompold Rat, keeping a safe eye on the shop's invoices!

Whilst Casius Crow, keeps an eye on the window, looking out for new residents soon to be coming to look after the shop.

I love Nicky's creations and treated myself to one of her wonderfuly detailed 'Dragon and Gremlin Tic Tac Toe' miniature games. It now sits proudly in the window of Wizards and Wands :)

Then to finish off, I treated myself to Incognito... a little Gremlin popping out of a Wart Potion Barrell :0)

Nicky's wonderful Dragons and Gremlins can be found in her online store, so if you fancy catching yourself a dragon or Gremlin, click HERE

Julia xxx

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August's AIM magazine out now

2011-08-02T15:57:00.000+01:00

The free online Artists In Miniature magazine is out now :0)

So, if you have been following our Tumbleton Towers series in the AIM magazine then hop on over now for a peek inside the Tower kitchen.

If your not following the Tower series, pop over anyway. The free magazine is crammed full of wonderful articles from dedicated, talented artists. This month, the magazine explores 'modern' miniatures and wow, they are amazing.

So grab a cuppa, click the link below and settle down for a brilliant read

AIM Magazine

Julia xxx

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Summer sale in my Etsy Store

2011-08-01T17:50:00.000+01:00

Summer sale now on in my Etsy Store

15% off everything when you enter SUMMERSALE in the coupon box at the Etsy checkout

So grab yourself a bargain and help me to clear room for some new designs and stock :0)

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Peeswicks Petshop

2011-07-19T16:20:00.000+01:00

I had a good day working on the pet shop yesterday, which now definitely has the name 'Peeswicks Pets.'

Hubby had covered the walls in paper clay and Air Drying Clay, which is easy to use and gives a good effect. This clay is DAS Terracotta Air Dry and he rolled it smooth and carved the brickwork into it with a thin craft knife. (Don't mention that he forget to glue it first and it fell off... it's safely glued now LOL )

This wall will be the top room, which Hubby is doing himself.... with lots of guidance from me on what to put in it LOL and he has been busy sculpting faces for this room, which are surprisingly working out as he wants them!

Downstairs in my pet shop, the ceiling beams are in. Access to the pet shop is through the lift off roof, which also doubles as the top room floor, so the beams are ideal for holding everything straight and secure, preventing the top floor sliding when I lift the whole lot up!

The ceiling is plain papermache, which I have left white as it reflects the light a little. Theres going to be lots of little cages and baskets hanging from the beams and I happily discovered yesterday, that my tiny dressmaker pins will tap gently into the beams to look like old copper nails. You have to be very gentle with the hammer though, otherwise they just bend.

Outside, I have had a great time doing my favourite bit of all... ageing the walls :)

The woodwork has a coat of Jacobean Oak Wood stain and the paperclay has been suitable 'tea-stained'

The door has been distressed with Craig and Rose Chalky Emulsion, Oak Wax and then finally Clear Wax and the gold door knob will eventually get a coat of black or dark green enamel when I am painting the cages!

I'm not sure if you can see it, but around the bottom of the bays and in the corners by the door, the 'soil' has gone down ready for tufts of grass (not one at a time with a tweezers this time, Michelle! LOL ) and I have some lovely flowers left over from Janice, so they will going in as well :0)

My next job is too add the damp and 'staining' to the inside walls and then I can start adding some cages and animals :0)

Julia xxxx

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Petshop update

2011-07-17T16:19:00.000+01:00

We've managed to get quite a bit done on the magical pet shop this week :)

Well, Hubby has!!

He has plastered the exterior walls and added brickwork to the bottom part of the bays.

I've just wandered past now and again, adding a touch of paint here and there when I have had a spare 5 minutes!! The bricks are made from Air drying clay and he placed the shop on its side to do the slab of bricks. They went on great.... BUT promptly slid off when we put the shop up straight LOL Never mind, a layer of glue fixed that problem!!!

Thankfully we are used to working with paper mache, so no disasters there!!

The beginnings of the shop floor are down and it needs sanding now and then painting to look like grey slate flagstones. The smaller patches around the edge of the base will hopefully look like a cobbled pavement when finished.

Hubby has also made his upper floor which will his 'Whispering Walls' dark arts room!!

So, that's where we are up to and this afternoon I intend to dig out my bigger paint box and start adding the distressing and damp to the walls :0)

I have been thinking of names for the pet shop too, what do you think of.....

Peeswicks Pets

????

See you all soon, hope your having a great day :0)

Julia xx

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A magical petshop in the making

2011-07-11T16:25:00.000+01:00

I am jumping between projects at the moment.... one day I am making little balls of wool for the Welsh Shop, the next day I am knitting with full size balls of wool and I have also started on a magical petshop project to add to Hazel Hill. Today, I have done a bit on all three, but I am going to share my latest petshop project with you for now :)

I was really lucky to spot this little shop on Ebay recently and as luck would have it, the seller lived not too far from me... so I put on a bid and yep, I won it :) I drove down to pick it up and double luck, the lady was selling a Kates Cottage too, so I have 2 new projects to do now :)

The Kate's Cottage will be a fancy witches hat shop and the little shop will be the Petshop with a top floor for hubby to make into his 'Whispering Walls' .... more on that too follow...

So, today I have been busy painting the door and interior walls. I painted the door with a light blue, leaving patches of the natural wood showing through. I intend to sandpaper the door down when it is dry and then give it a coat of wax... hopefully, it will look old and worn, with just some colour showing through... we'll see!!!

Inside, hubby has put a thin layer of papermache on the walls and I have painted them using normal emulsion paint 'Malt Chocolate'

Its quite difficult to get into the corners as the shop was already glued together, but the floor and roof is detachable.

I plan to have lots of different little animals in here... although I don't think I will be able to find a pet Werewolf for the shop, which our little Meg wants!!!

But, I have started to plan the inside, which I hope is going to be very dusty with a slate and sawdust floor. I have bought some little cages ready to hang from the ceiling....

and this wonderful bronze owl will decorate the wall behind the counter... which I now have to nag hubby to make me!!

I will also be after a petshop owner... winks in Joy's direction and some pet dragons... winks in Nicky's direction ;0) Oh, and while I'm busy winking in people's directions, I need a little welsh doll for my welsh shop... wink goes in Julie's direction ;0)

So, with all this winking going on, I am off now to make some mini stuff to sell in my Etsy store... winks cost money don't you know :0)

Hope your all having a lovely week,

back soon,

Julia xxx

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Evies

2011-07-04T20:30:00.000+01:00

I haven't had time to make anything new for Evies... my little Welsh Shop, but on a recent visit to Mumbles, South Wales, I saw this little chap and thought how perfect he would be to sit in Evie's shop window. So there he is, a little red dragon keeping an eye out for Flora :)

and here she is... sorting lace in her little shop....

.....where I have now put some bits and pieces that I have made, alongside some crochet hats that I had in a box and the lovely crochet bag that Flora brought with her from Joys.

Then I filled some shelves with some little balls of wool....

Put up some welsh flags and love spoons

and popped my lovely Welsh hat from Kat on top of the corner dresser

So that's where I am with Evie's :0)

I think it will look lovely when it is finished. I have more balls of wool and button jars too make and I reeeallly want a little welsh doll to sit on one of the shelves with my bears, but for now, I have a new project about to start, so hopefully I will be around quite a bit more in blogland :)

Julia xxx

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Apologies and a new project

2011-07-02T00:07:00.000+01:00

Firstly.... apologies.... we haven't been around on blogger for what seems an age! A new house and garden... a new attic cum craft room to sort, work commitments and kids have taken up all our time!!

But... slowly.... we are getting back into the swing of things and some mini bits and pieces have been started....

Our first job was to plan out our not so little miniature village. Yep, Hazel Hill has finally come together... instead of being spread all over the 'big' house, it is now all in one place and awaiting its cobbled street and pavement to be carved out of polysterene and then covered in papermache! The drawing above shows my map of what goes where :0)

At the moment, there is a little gathering of witches and wizards waiting for their respective homes and places of work!

This cute little dragon is of course one of Nickys which I bought with Tumbleton Tower in mind....

but... when I opened the parcel, Nicky had included lots of lovely goodies, including a superb skull and bones and of course this got hubby thinking!!!

So.. a new project is now under construction!!!

There is nothing 'dark' in my wizards and wands... yet...

Hubby wants to do a 'dark arts' room, using these bones and skull and some of my Bone Collector mini makes, so we did a deal... he could have his dark arts room if he made me a magical pet shop!!

The Dark Arts room will be above the pet shop and will join onto Wizards and Wands, I will pop some pics of the construction on when I have some, but for now I will leave you with a photo of some of the things I have made so far to go in the room. I also have somewhere for my lovely chair from Angela to go now :)

Julia xxx

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10% off in my Etsy Store :0)

2011-06-16T20:54:00.001+01:00

Well, I can't say I have been busy making minis lately, what with house moves, a new garden to potter in and the 'real life' job, my time has been filled... but.... I did have a little potter around my favourite Etsy Stores a couple of nights ago and I fell in love with a little fella, just perfect for Bert, Tumbleton Towers gardener to chat with :0)

Alas the miniatures money box is bare... so I thought I'd have a sale in my Esty Store to raise some coppers :) If anyone's interested all you have to take a peek in my Etsy store hopefully see something that you fall in love with for your miniature scene, go to checkout and enter

BLOGSALE1

in the coupon code for 10% off your purchase :0)

Julia xxx

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Problem with blogger

2011-06-11T08:08:00.001+01:00

I seem to be having trouble leaving reply comments on my blog yesterday and today, as soon as I click 'comment', blogger asks who I want to sign in as and then lockes me out!!!! Any one else having this problem?

Thankyou to eveyone who has left comments, I will reply as soon as blogger starts liking me again! ;0-

Julia xxx

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Making a stool... for my new home

2011-06-09T12:45:00.000+01:00

Well, we have been busy making things for our new home and I thought you may like to see our attempt at making an upholstered stool for our living room... no miniatures here!!

Watched over by Maisey, our little dog, hubby cut the wood to size and together we upholstered the stool surround.

The legs are hand turned by hubby on his wood lathe....

I think he got him them match, but being hand turned they are not identical... close though!!

Once all the sides were upholstered, hubby attached the legs and we upholstered the stool seat using a wood base (my old desk cut to size!) The padding is upholstery foam and then we then covered it all with our fab Fuschia pink and grey stripe fabric :)

What do you think? I think it looks fab in my pink living room :0)

So... inspired, here's our next project... restoring this lovely old chair, picked up in a flea market for a song .... I hope you won't mind not seeing miniatures for a while... I have the 'bigtime' upholstery bug ;0)

See you all soon :0)

Julia xxx

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AIM's Summer iMag is out now

2011-06-03T23:42:00.000+01:00

The AIM Summer iMag is out now, so grab yourself a cuppa, put your feet up and click on the link to go to to the AIM website and have a great read of the online Magazine....

:0)

xxx

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Hi, are you all still there ? ;0)

2011-05-23T14:21:00.000+01:00

Well, it seems I have been away for an age, but here I am at last, dropping by to say hi :0) The move is done and I am happily pottering around our new home, wondering where I have put things and imagining the day where I can put my hand on something without having to try and remember which drawer it is in first!!

At least I have finally managed to get the broadband set up and I am now properly online and not relying on a very unreliable mobile connection :0)

My mini houses are all sitting patiently in my new craft attic and in a couple of weeks when both hubby and I have time, we will be able to arrange them into our little Hazel Hill Village that will feature occasionally in the AIM magazine.

Which reminds me..... have you had a good look at this months AIM free online magazine? I just took a quick peek and it is full of glorious castles, so tonight, I will be settling down with a cuppa and having a good read. For those of you who don't have the link yet, click here

This month our contribution on page 45 has been to share with you the residents of Tumbleton Tower :0)

Unfortunately, next month, we are having a little break because I just couldn't get my broadband set up in time to send in my article, but we will be back soon :0)

Off to read some of my fave blogs now :0)

Julia xxxx

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News here and on my private blog

2011-04-09T10:35:00.001+01:00

Just popped by quickly to say that we are just about to move not once but twice!! We are moving to a new home and so is our eldest daughter, so it's busy busy here.

Apologies for the uncharacteristic quietness on my blog LOL
I will also be taking a indefinate vacation in my Etsy store as from tomorrow.

We have plenty to do over the summer, but we will be back, hopefully brimming with new ideas and inspiration late summer / early autumn.

Don't forget, you can keep up with our latest installments on Tumbleton Tower every month in the free AIM magazine.

Hugs to you all, I will hopefully get time to pop by your blogs on times :0)

Julia xxxx

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April's AIM magazine and Tumbleton Tower

2011-04-01T22:03:00.000+01:00

April's edition of the fabulous AIM imag is out now.

Free for all readers to read or download online, with lots of great articles and projects, including the latest installment of the building of our Tumbleton Tower on pages 61-66

Click here to go the imag

Julia xxx

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The postman has been :)

2011-03-27T22:15:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, I signed off my blog after telling you all that I was waiting for a very special parcel to be delivered....and here he is :0)

Bert, my new gardener....

He is very special and destined for stardom :0)

He was made for me by the very talented Joy of Adora Bella Minis

If you click on the above link, you will go to Joy's website and I promise you will love what you see there :)

Thankyou so much Joy, I love him and have named him Bert, he will be getting on with 'bramble bashing' very soon :0)

Julia xxx

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Birthday presents :0)

2011-03-26T09:32:00.000Z

It's my birthday today and I have had some lovely presents from hubby and the children which I thought you might like to see :0)

My first present was from hubby and is the fabulous 'Old Fish Wife' by Julie of Bellabelle Dolls She is going to stand outside Wizards and Wands and sell her cockles and mussels :0)

She is lovely and her face has an wonderful expression. She reminds me of a lovely lady I once knew, so she will be her name sake... Wendy!

My next present was from the children and is a lovely new wand and stand by Lorraine

It has pride of place in Wizards and Wands Window next to my other wands by Lorraine.

I also had a parcel from Kat :0)
I had ordered some welsh hats from Kat for 'Evies' and when I opened the box, inside along with the welsh hats was 2 little prettily wrapped parcels.

Inside was these gorgeous hats :0)

They are wonderful Kat, thankyou :0)

Now I am just waiting on the postman, because I know there is another really special parcel on it's way to me and I am so excited :0)

A big thankyou to everybody who sent me cards and presents, you are a fab bunch :0)

Now I am off for a birthday morning and then I have to go work, we celebrated my birthday yesterday and had a family get together which was lovely and I have some special gluten / allergy free birthday cake left to take with me to work, so I won't be missing out today LOL

Hope you all have a great day too :0)

Julia xxx

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The Welsh Shop has a name!

2011-03-21T13:48:00.000Z

Progress on the little welsh shop is quite slow at the moment as I have many pressing developments in my 'real life' to keep me busy, one of them being moving house!! In the ten years we have lived here, we have accumulated so much stuff!!!! The man in the local charity shop hides when he sees me now, as I keep filling up his little store room with all my 'don't need any longer' bags!! LOL

Anyways, my little welsh shop won't be going to the charity shop and I am pleased to say that we have finally decided on a name for it. I found the name of the real life welsh shop that I had reminisced about in my last post. It was Simms General Store and the name above the door was Eirlys Simms. So, out came my embossed cardboard letters and I played around with the names and really liked the letters saying Eirlys on the top of the bay window. But... hubby didn't like it!! So, back to rearranging the letters I went! It wasn't so easy trying to get the names hubby was suggesting to fit on the top of the bay though, until... we came up with Evies!

Yep, I know it's not very welsh sounding and the shopkeeper is called Flora, so where does Evie fit in?

Well, Evie is the much loved, little spaniel belonging to Flora, so the shop is named in her honour :0)

I think she looks perfect for the shop :0)

and here is Flora, my lovely doll that Joy sent me just before christmas who finally has her own little shop to stay in :0)

Hope you all have a great week,

Julia xxxx

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Inside the little welsh shop

2011-03-17T09:23:00.000Z

Over the past week, hubby has continued to work on the little welsh shop. If you remember from my last post, he was waiting for the paper mache to dry enough to scour out the flagstone markings.

As soon as it was dry enough, he used a stanley knife blade to mark out the lines.

It's a very dusty job, but well worth it.

To colour the floor, he applied a coat of pure black acrylic paint, waited for it to dry overnight and then gave it a sanding down so that some of the white showed through in cracks.

Then it was my turn :)

I gave the floor a topcoat of grey acrylic paint which I had watered down 50:50. I applied the paint in 2" square patches and then with a damp cloth, I worked the grey into the porous papermache and flagstone cracks to give an old worn effect. Once this had dried well, I applied two coats of clear varnish to seal.

The next evening, I painted the interior walls with a chalky light green emulsion. The paint is from the Craig and Rose 1829 emulsion range, available at DIY stores and they give a lovely soft, chalky look to the walls. I then put the little patch of grey carpet down just inside the doorway to make a doormat.

With that all done, I sat back and had a good look at the shop so far and decided it needed skirting boards!

After a rummage around the garage, I found some old dark stained pieces of wood, which were left over from another project. They didn't exactly fit, but by this time it was nearly 11pm and I was inpatient to get it finished before bed!

So I figured the 'short' bits could be hidden behind furniture and in they went, along with two corner wall beams!!!

Hubby has made all the furniture to go in this shop and I think it works really well with the old welsh shop theme. I intend to put lace nets up at the window and some lace runners around the shop and whilst I was deciding on what lace to use, I rolled them up and popped them on the dresser.... and then thought... Oh, I like that look!!

So, the welsh shop will now being stocking lace alongside the welsh cushions, blankets, honey, jam and cakes :)

Hope your all having a great week,

Julia xxxx

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Tumbleton Tower

2011-03-11T17:58:00.003Z

Our Witch / Wizard Miniatures have moved!!

But....

follow the path to here

and you will find 'Tumbleton Tower'

our new Witches Tower series

featured monthly in the free AIM online Imag

Month by month, you can follow Tumbleton Tower as it progresses from a basic kit, to a Tower fit for a eloquent book keeper witch and her delightful staff!

But.....

If witches and wizards are not to your taste, stay here on our blog and follow our little welsh shop as it progresses :0)

Julia xxx

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A little update on the Welsh Shop

2011-03-08T12:31:00.001Z

Firstly, apologies for my lack of posts lately, I have been a little busy in other areas of my life and just haven't have time to call by 'blogland'. But, with an hour to spare now, I thought I would share some photos of how the 'Little Welsh Shop' is coming along.

Hubby has been busy putting the shop together and decorating the interior and exterior walls. For the exterior walls, he had a specific 'look' in mind, so using DIY Decorators filler, he made the stonework, left it to dry overnight and then applied a thick coat of black acrylic paint. The next day, he sanded the stonework down to get his black and white stone effect. I must admit, in RL it looks very good and it was a good idea... I'm not going to admit that to him LOL

Above the stonework, he has put a layer of papermache, which he did ask me to age, but I think it looks good white, so for now, it is staying as it is ;0)

Inside, the walls are smoothly covered with more Decorators Filler and I will paint these walls with a chalky White emulsion.

The floor has a layer of paper mache, which is drying nicely today, before being marked out as flagstones tonight. Can you see the bare arc area in the front? This, I hope will work.... it is going to be a little mat area, that you would always of found at the doors of little corner shops. Many, many years ago, my local corner shop was an traditional shop, owned by 2 welsh speaking sisters. It had the chunky wooden counters, stone floors, etc and I am drawing on my memories of this shop to take into my little shop. I just wish I could remember the name of the shop, I could name mine the same then!! The shop was only small and joined onto their home. Sometimes they would leave the door between the shop and their home open and you could just about peek a glimpse of their huge range fireplace, comfy chair with crochets blankets thrown on the back and the smell of welsh cawl would waft through the shop :0) It was lovely....ah .............................................

.... and now I am digressing and going on a trip down memory lane, when I should be concentrating on showing you the shop!! LOL

Anyways... here is the inside view of the bay window that hubby made. Don't look at the dust... he's not as tidy as me at clearing up after himself!!

So, that's as far as hubby has got with the shop. As for me, I have started doing a little stitching for it and I managed to grab myself a bargain... a wonderful black leather armchair... it is simply stunning and even though my old local corner shop wouldn't of had a chair like this... my little shop will :0)

For those of who follow my Witchy Miniatures, don't forget that they are now shown in the AIM free online Magazine This month, we are on pages 70-75 and we share our kit review on the Gatehouse, which will be become a Tower next month... 'Tumbleton Tower' ... so the real fun starts next month, I'm sure your going to love it :0)

Have a great week,

Julia xx

PS I promise to catch up on everyone's blogs throughout the week ;0)

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Happy St David's Day

2011-03-01T09:40:00.000Z

The 1st of March already! I can't believe how quickly the time goes! In Wales, the 1st March is St David's Day, so to celebrate I have stitched some little red dragon flags :0)

Some of these flags will go in our new project... the little welsh shop.

Hubby has made the shop...

but there is a slight problem.....

do you remember I asked him to make me a small shop, around 10 x 10 inches square? Well, off he went to the garage and came back with this....

all 15 x 14 inches of it!!!!

I just hope I can find /make enough welsh bits and pieces to go in it LOL

The window needs finishing, but it's well on it's way to being ready to decorate. So, today, I have to think of ideas on how I want the shop decoration to look.

Here is the inside with all the furniture he has made to go in the shop. Lots of shelves to fill :0)

I also have to think of a name for it, I was thinking of 'Welshwishes' but we'll see ;0)

Hope your all having a great day,

Julia xxxx

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The Bear Shop revamp and a new little shop

2011-02-26T18:51:00.000Z

Well, the little bear shop didn't get revamped into anything but a ..... Bear Shop LOL After pulling everything out and sorting through the bears, I decided I couldn't evict them after all and back in they all went! :)

So, with nothing inspiring to work on, hubby has finally convinced me to make his 'little welsh shop.' He is busily making the shop from scratch and has already made all the shop furniture to go inside. So, I am on a mission to think of lots of welsh goodies to make for it. Our lovely Debbie came up with lots of ideas for me on FB, so I will be on the lookout for welsh cakes (I'm hopeless at making food LOL ) and I have started to stitch some welsh dragon flags and cushions. If anyone has anything welshy that they would like to swap for something of mine, please let me know, I get the feeling that filling this little shop may be harder than hubby thinks!! I'm hoping this little project will keep me busy for a while alongside the Witches Tower we are making up for the AIM magazine, which will be shown here at the beginning of every month :)

Julia xxx

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Wizards Emblem

2011-02-25T08:19:00.000Z

Test post for the new Wizards Emblem

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A little revamp whilst I await inspiration :)

2011-02-20T17:00:00.000Z

I have found another project ripe for a revamp, whilst I await inspiration... though I think it is not so much inspirtaion, as a case of loosing faith at the moment....

Anyway... I was looking at this little shop, sitting and gathering dust on top of my wardrobe and I got to thinking.... it is very small, so easily carted around and is perfect for a revamp :)

So.. what shall it become???

At the moment it is full of my bears.. favourite ones that I have needlefelted and couldn't part with....

Like 'Sunny' here...

and my 'blue' bear :0)

This is how the shop looks now, full of my 'can't part with bears'... 'made but not good enough to sell bears' and the odd 'bought on hols bear' There's even a little doll in there that I used to carry around with myself every day when I was little... boy, does she need a wash LOL

Remember Flora? The wonderful little doll that Joy sent me just before christmas? Well, I was thinking that maybe this could be her little shop.... she has a lot of tidying to do though!!!

Even though the shop is small, it has plenty of space for shelves and there is lots of window space, so it's nice and light inside and won't need lights adding :)

I'm going to empty it all out and decide what to make it into. I am thinking of a small toy shop, but Hubby is nagging me to make a welsh shop with cross stitch dragons flags and daffodil cushions, so maybe it will turn into a gift shop! Decisions, decisions :0)

So, whilst I make my mind up on what this little shop will blossom into it... (now that's a nice name for a welsh gift shop ... Blossoms!!) The bears will sit and wait to see if they are becoming homeless!!

Hope your all having a good day,

Julia xxxx

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Still looking for inspiration.....

2011-02-17T13:12:00.001Z

Well, I'm still on the hunt for that elusive inspiration, but in the meantime, I have been having a sort out of my numerous 12th scale houses and shops!!! I have even dismantled one very old house and plan to dismantle at least one more! All the furniture and bits and bobs have been packed carefully away and when I have finished 'downsizing' I will decide which era to stick with and then I will ask hubby to make me one shop/house out of whats left! The era will either be victorian or the 1950's, but I can't decide, I like them both and they are a nice little change from the witches and wizards once in a while.... but shh... don't tell them!!

Anyway, during my sort out's I came across one of my old shops. I love the Georgian window and the grand door with the real brass lion doorknocker on this one. The walls are stone and really worked out well, so I am hanging onto this one and trying to decide whether this should become a shop with living quarters above to show my victorian bits and bobs.... or should it lose the shop and become totally a victorian house.... or should it be part of a victorian terrace with just the shop and a flat roof.... The possibilities are endless! Hubby reckons terrace.... with a house on the corner and two smaller shops, but... I reckon that's too big!!

Anyhow, here it is, as it is now, filled with loads of my early attempts at making miniatures...

from a potted tree.....

too tiny 32 count stitches...

and pretty hats :0)

Looking in, I had to smile at my little bears, made many moons ago...

it's nice to look back and smile.. but it's also nice to move on... so decisions have to be made... what shall this shop become? Any ideas?

One decision that has been made is too sell Meg's old fairy castle, as she wants a little shop of her own to build and decorate.

The Tower has stone compound on the exterior and the black roof isn't too bad, but other than that it needs someone to love and renovate it. Hubby was on about adding rough plaster to the exterior to cover up the flower climbers I painted around the door and on the side and I admit, I do agree that would look really good with the stone work. Inside, I'd take the paper off and start all over again! LOL

Have a great day,

Julia xxx

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Happy Valentines :0)

2011-02-14T13:18:00.000Z

Just popped by for Ernest to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day :0)

Hope you all have a lovely day :)

Julia xxx

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The Tower

2011-02-04T14:49:00.000Z

As you all now know, this year you can follow our creation a 'Good Witch' Tower in the AIM Magazine

We are thrilled at being asked to do a regular monthly slot and the series will begin with the kit review. We have purchased a Dolls House Emporium Gatehouse Kit for this, of course, we wouldn't be Bearcabinminiatures if we didn't alter it a little to make it into The Tower! :) The series will follow the construction, decoration and furnishing of the Tower, with everything handmade or adapted by ourselves or fellow AIM members. I have all my plans and ideas laid out, I just have to get busy making them all now!

I will be working on the Tower regularly throughout the month, but I won't be sharing until the articles are out in the AIM Magazine and then I will do a little 'extra' 'Tower' post here :)

So, to wet your appetite, here are a couple of special items that will feature in the Tower...

The AIM magazine is published for free online at the beginning of every month, I will give you all a gentle reminder when it's out :)

Hope you all have a great weekend,

Julia xxx

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February's AIM Magazine now out and some news :)

2011-02-02T12:16:00.001Z

AIM magazine issue 31 February 2011

The February edition of the AIM magazine is now out, free to read online worldwide. Packed with 140 pages of miniature delights, there is something for everyone to delight at. The main theme this month is Shabby Chic and there are some wonderful articles and photos that could easily tempt me away from the wizard themes! There are also 13 fabulous projects to get you all sitting around that dining table with your craft boxes at the ready :)

I am also delighted to announce that Bearcabinminiatures feature in this months magazine and will have a regular spot over the coming year. With the lovely Cee of Oberon's Wood, who is the creator of my wonderful wizards, Sambucus and Polemonium and who will be editing and working some magic on my articles, we will be running a special project series .. a little tower home for a good witch. It will be a little different from our usual projects, as with this one I want to try and integrate Victorian prettiness within a magical theme, so I will be detailing our progress, ideas, triumphs and possibly disasters over the coming year.

So now you know what was afoot in the last post and what the huge plan for a little project is about :0)

I hope you will join us over the coming months on our Tower creating journey within the AIM magazine :0)

Now away with you all to have that cuppa and a good read of the AIM Magazine, the shabby chic rooms are just pure delight for miniaturists :)

Have a great day,

Julia xxx

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It's a little quiet around here!

2011-01-31T11:42:00.001Z

It's a little quiet around here lately....

The doors are firmly shut....

and the wizards look as if there is a plan afoot....

Aunt Agatha is on her travels somewhere...

and over at Gertie's, one of the dragon's is anticipating great fun ahead...

Whilst the other is mediating and hoping for peace and quiet...

So what's happening at Hazel Hill to cause all this whispering and travelling?? Some new building work is on it's way, I think... :0)

*********************************

Apologies for my lack of substance to my posts lately, my posts of late have been quick and really just to say thanks to all you wonderful people out there for sending me gifts :0) The reason for me being quiet of late is that over christmas I was put on new medication for my illness and it wasn't that great in terms of side effects.. I spent alot of time resting up and just chatting on FB, or trying to manage with day to day household stuff and just 'dressing' some little bits for me. But, the medication worked (fingers crossed) and I am feeling better each day :) I am also now on a new Elimination Diet, which is quite an experience LOL

But, I do have plans afoot and very soon you will see the beginings of a new project, which I am really excited about and I hope you will be too. Hubby and I have spent the whole weekend putting together the plans for this new project, which will run throughout the year alongside my other projects and interests. Hubby don't half come out with some ideas!! LOL

Here is a sneek preview of a little added extra that hubby dreamt up ...

I'm hoping that those of you that can, will get involved again, as you did with Gertie's Cottage last year and there will be plenty of 'what do you think of this...' and 'do you want to swap....' posts for us all to have some fun with.

:0)

Julia xxxx

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Presents from Friends :)

2011-01-26T10:19:00.000Z

The postman has brought me some lovely surprises this week from two of my lovely blog friends :)

The first parcel was from our lovely Kat and contained 2 wonderful hats.

The way Kat has curled her feathers are just fabulous and I love the little ghosties :) Gertie has nabbed this hat and it now has pride of place in her cottage.

Also in the parcel was one of Kat's latest pirate hats. The leather on this is so soft and the shape is wonderful

It is the perfect shape for one of my little bears :)

My next parcel was from Karin and this parcel contained lots of yummy sweets for my Maple & Pear Confectioners :0)

The loose sweets look great in my 'fishbowls' and now sit on the top shelf

Whilst the smaller sweets are being bagged before going on the shelf by Oswald

But I think the little lollies are my favourite and they are taking pride of place on the lolly and cake shelf, under the watchful eye of Matilda :)

So, a huge thank you to both Kat and Karin, your gifts are wonderful :) Blog friends are so lovely :0)

Julia xxx

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The Witches Cottage is finished

2011-01-25T15:42:00.001Z

The Witches Cottage is finished! :) All ready to be packed up and posted, but before we do that, I thought it would be nice to share all the pics of it, that I took this morning.

Due to my recent ill health, I have not had alot of input on this cottage, hence to say, all I really did was paint and age the exterior walls and do a little wood staining, so hubby has to take the credit for this one...bah humbug LOL I think it's turned out great and any witch would be proud to call this little cottage 'Home' !

I'm struggling a bit with getting the lighting right today, so imagine the walls a little darker than the photo shows...

Upstairs...

Hubby's beloved 'worn' floors that he spent far too many hours getting to look just rightly old and worn!!

The corner fireplace ready for a bundle of twigs and some glowing embers....

All four rooms....

and some of my favourite photos...

imagine these a little lighter, but they aren't far off the true wall colours...

my favourite room... the little downstairs room.. this would make a fab witches library room...

I love this room too, it's a nice size and I like the fireplace and alcove :)

and that's it, all finished, onto the next project now :0)

A big welcome to my new followers, it's lovely to see you here and I hope you will enjoy my mini tales :0)

Julia xxx

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More work on Wizards and Wands Bookstore

2011-01-19T12:43:00.002Z

Wizard Polemonium had a complaint.... how could he manage a shop if there was little in it? The bookshelves looked bare and the counters were no where to be seen!! So he got together with his assistant Gibson and stocked the shop :)

He gathered all my handmade letter bundles, leather books, paper stacks and scrolls and filled the shelves.

He sorted out a delivery of wands from Lorraine Dollhouse Minis By DFLY Creations and from Glenda and displayed them neatly in and on one of the counters.

Whilst Gibson placed the prized 'Pumpkin Wand' in the window display.

Meanwhile upstairs in the library, Aunt Agatha is sitting by the fire reading, whilst Sambucus is telling the new baby dragons all about their ancestors

and reading to them from his favourite dragon book

So now that everyone is happy, I can go and list my excess bits and bobs in my Etsy store :0)

Have a great day,

Julia xxx

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The Witches Cottage

2011-01-18T14:05:00.000Z

Progress has been slower than expected on the Witches Cottage, partly due to drying times for the art mache and partly because I was unwell over the weekend and so nothing got done for two whole days. The roof is waiting one day before I start ageing and painting it, but other than that, it's nearly ready :)

I can't believe how long hubby spent on ageing and wearing these floorboards!! He has scraped, sanded and the waxed them to look really old, uneven and battered! I wouldn't of had the patience LOL

The walls are painted and the stairs and doors are in :)

Roof painting next :)

Julia xxx

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Maysage and Birch Staff Room

2011-01-14T09:57:00.001Z

A few months ago, I bought some lovely soaps and a HOME plaque for Woolembees from Looking Glass Miniatures (Photos to follow) and as is usual with us miniaturist people, we see something in everything that could be used as something LOL So, when I saw this lovely little thank you tag in my parcel, a little light bulb went off.....

and I made it into a pretty little table mat for the sideboard in my Maysage and Birch Staff room.

The sideboard is a whitewood piece, which I had stained with Jacobean Oak Woodstain. I was happy with the look and colour of the sideboard, but I really wanted a pale orange crocheted mat to sit on the top of the sideboard. I'd looked around and seen some, but none were just quite right! Then the lovely parcel arrived and I looked at the pretty tag, thinking the colour would be perfect and my little idea was formed. Trimming it down to size on the wall side, it fits perfectly and I think it looks great :)

Here the table is in place in the staff room. Still lots to do in here, but it's coming along nicely I think. I'm not in a rush with Maysage and Birch, as this little shop and staff room will have some of my favourite pieces that I haven't wanted to part with once I made them! But mainly, it is my 'display case' for my favourite artisans and friends treasures that I will collect over the years... hence a long project!

Can you name who already feature in here? :0)

Well, off for a hospital consultation now, back over the weekend with a update on the witches cottage :)

Julia xxx

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A finished bookcase for my Wizard and Wands Bookstore

2011-01-10T13:09:00.000Z

Last night, I treated myself to 2 little dragons (links and pics to follow) for my Wizards and Wands attic and it got me thinking.... I haven't actually got around to finishing anything for the bookstore in ages! The library room is looking quite full, but the bookstore itself is looking quite bare and the attic floor only has a telescope in it! So, I curled up on the sofa with my little TV dinner table (they are a perfect size and height to work at) and I finished 'Dressing' one of the bookstore floor bookcases.

I had distressed and aged the store bookcases last year and sort of filled a couple of shelves, so it was just a case of adding finishing touches to some shelves and making books, scrolls, envelope stacks, etc for the other shelves.

It was lovely to sit and make something a little hickedly pickedly looking and grungy in corners, because it is purely for me and will never be put on sale, it didn't matter if it got that little too dusty or if the book pages look a tad over used!

My wand boxes leave a lot to be desired LOL

I still can't decide if they look more like old bread loaves rather than dirty old wand boxes, but in the gloom of the bookstore, they work, so I am happy with them :)

On the top of the bookcase, there are some of my paper bundles and envelope stacks and Kat's sorting hat has a prize spot, perfect for keeping an eye on all the goings on in the shop! :)

This is the bookcase in situ in my Wizards and Wands Bookstore, blending right in :)

You never know, now that I have finished one bookcase, I may be inspired to finish the other one and of course when those little dragons arrive, they will need the attic to be started!! So, 2011 may see some progress on Wizards and Wands, unless I get distracted again of course LOL

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hywel on the other hand, spent last night working on the Witches house Commission.

The windows and door are in and are ready to be painted and aged once the roof has been art mached.

Inside, the main room is ready for painting and having the stair spindles put in. This is how it looks now, all white....

and this is how I am hoping it will look once painted... warmer and softer looking

The floorboards have been sanded, waxed, re-sanded, re-waxed then aged to make them look really old, bumpy and worn. These floorboards took all evening to do, but they look superb for a witches cottage and I have informed Hubby that I want him to do some like for me now LOL

Upstairs, in the smaller room, you can see the beginning of a corner fireplace ...

and that's how far hubby has progressed! I have promised that I will start painting it this afternoon, so no more nattering from me, I am off to get the paint pots and mixing palette out! :0)

Julia xxx

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Monster Miniatures in Etsy ~ a fabulous new store

2011-01-09T17:34:00.000Z

Looking for something different to add to your 12th scale dream settings? Then take a little peek at these fabulous modern mirrors and bed. They are handmade by Penni and she has just opened up her Etsy shop Monster Miniatures

I love Penni's mirrors and I think they would go in a fantasy theme as well as a modern setting. Penni also says that she make the etched mirrors and bed customized to your specification, :)

Here's the link again, well worth a visit :)

Modern Minis By Monster Miniatures Etsy Store

Julia xxx

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I finished the Bookmakers Cupboard :)

2011-01-08T09:57:00.000Z

After oodles of hours of work, I have finally finished the 'Bookmakers Cupboard' !! :0)

Hubby designed, made, carved and notched the cupboard and I made the majority of the items on the shelves. I didn't make the earthenware pot or the glass!

I really enjoyed making this one, especially the little envelope bundles and the silver ink wells and pots :)

The books all have individual leafed pages, but they are glued in placed now, so I needn't of spent all that time making individual pages...doh!

I least liked making all those scrolls, there are sooo many!!!

Anyway, it's all finished and available for sale on my other blog OOAK Bearcabinminiatures if anyone is intersted in it :)

Hope you all have a great weekend... back monday with an update and pics on the Witches Cottage Commision.

Julia xxx

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The Book Makers Cupboard ~ work in progress :)

2011-01-06T12:48:00.001Z

I have been slow to get back into my mini making this year... yes, I know we are only six days in to 2011, but I don't normally stop for a break at christmas. However, this year I stopped and found it difficult to start again! Oh, I have had plenty of plans and conversations via emails about ideas for new projects, but I haven't actually got the craft boxes out and made something.. until last night!! Put to shame by Hubby storming ahead on making me shelves to dress and working on the Witches Cottage, I curled up on the sofa for 3 hours and made some paper stacks, leather journals and scrolls... there is still alot to make for this shelf, but I thought you may like a peek at it in progress :)

If you look closely at the print on the scroll between the books, can you see the wizard house chimneys?

Hopefully, tonight I will be able to make a bit more... I am thinking of a shelf full of potions and pots? Some envelope stacks? One of my ink wells and some feather pens? and of course I have to finish filling that top scroll shelf.. my least favourite job!

Anyway, I'll see where my inspiration takes me tonight.. more pics to follow :)

Hope your all having a great day,

Julia xxx

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Witches Cottage - Commission

2011-01-05T09:37:00.000Z

In the last week or so, work has begun on a Commssion Sale 'Witches Cottage' and I am going to be cheeky and hijack some of my blog posts to show the lovely lady awaiting this cottage how it is progressing! :)

All the basic preparation has been completed and hubby is now at the stage where he has started to apply Art Mache to age the interior walls. In the main downstairs room, to the left, there will be a spindle staircase. On the back wall, you can see the fireplace opening which is designed to be large enough for a AGA cooker or a pile of glowing embers and wood and a hanging cauldron :) To the right of the fireplace, there is a alcove of handmade and 'aged' hardwood shelves... great for potion pots and leather books :)

The walls aren't at the stage for painting and ageing yet, but when they are they will look something like the pic below....

Upstairs, there are 2 good sized rooms and the furthest room will have a corner fireplace.. there's no room to put it in the larger room due to the placing of the doorway!

The exterior of the cottage has been started also and the windows have been stained to age with a dark wood stain. I have given the acrylic window glazing my 'dirty treatment' Well, witches don't have sparkling clean windows, now do they!? ;0)

Hopefully, hubby will get all the interior walls finished today and then he can begin on the exterior, the wooden floors, the roof..... lot's to keep him busy, whilst I go for a haircut.. hee hee!

Julia xxx

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Happy New Year 2011

2010-12-31T20:55:00.001Z

Happy New Year to all my followers and friends here in Blogland. May 2011 be filled with health, happiness and love for you all :0)

Julia and Hywel xxx

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A new Year... A New Look Blog???

2010-12-28T23:51:00.000Z

A New Year....

Well, 2010 is nearly over and I see here in blog land and on FB, people's thoughts are turning to 2011 and their miniature plans. At Bearcabinminiatures, 2011 will see changes to the way we exhibit our work, moving our General For Sale items away from this blog and onto our OOAK Bearcabinminiatures blog and into UK based Dollhouse Fairs... details to follow!! So, this blog will share snippets of my own personal collection of 12th Scale Miniatures and new techniques I am trying out for my projects... prepare to be in fits of giggles at my pathetic attempts at sweets and join me in an attempt to create better books for the Wizards and Wands Bookstore!! I also have plans for a couple more projects over 2011 :0)

I will also use this blog to showcase any commission cottages under construction and the first will begin in the next few days with the start of a Witches Cottage.

A New Look Blog....

As you can see, I have been busy tonight, re-designing my blog!! What do you think? Is it too dark, too dull? Is the orange too bright? Or is Okay? I just have to write the posts on a white page, it's you, my wonderful followers who choose to look at and read my ramblings, so it's important to me that the page is comfortable for you read.. so any suggestions welcomed ;) Which leads me onto my final ramble.... awards are wonderful, thankyou to everyone who has forwarded them onto me, I do appreciate them, but unfortunately what with being unwell and just with trying to keep up with everything, I find I do not have time to keep up with rewards... so please excuse me when I graciously request that you send me no more awards... your comments, emails and friendship are reward enough.

Well, that's me finished waffling on tonight.. back in a couple of days :)

Julia xxx

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A new Wizard and Witch for Maple and Pear Confectioners

2010-12-27T14:39:00.000Z

Well, Christmas has been and brought new residents for Hazel Hill...... may I introduce the sweet maker Wizard and his wife....Oswald and Matilda Pear.

They were both commission made for me by Joy of Adora Bella Minis but they were my miniature Christmas present from hubby and the children, so I wasn't allowed to see them until Christmas day... but, they arrived when Hywel was in work, so I had time to check the box contents and have a sneaky peek before he whisked them away to be hidden until Christmas! LOL

The brief was for a wild haired, rotund sweet seller, with goofy teeth and freckles and her equally wild haired wizardly husband! :0)

Oswald makes the sweets in the shop and he is wearing a sparkling white apron.. for now! It will eventually be covered in sticky sweet hand smudges, as Oswald always forgets where he put his towel and so wipes his hands on his apron after making his new sweets!

Oswald's wife, Matilda enjoys tasting the sweets, hence the teeth!! She will shuffle around the shop, tidying shelves and dusting her collection of pretty teapots, which I am going to collect and show on the back shelves behind the counter!

They both suit the sweet shop perfectly and all our visitors on christmas day, loved them :)

They are brilliant characters and really suit in with my ideas for the sweet shop. This is going to be a fun project, with many a learning curve if I am going to add any of my own sweets making attempts to the shelves... I may just stick to making boxes!!!

This is a longer term project for me to slowly add to over the coming year, so no quick results on this one, sorry, but it will pop up occasionally when I am on the hunt for someone to swap sweets with me (wink wink) or when I have added a little something to the kitchen area behind Oswald or bought myself a teapot for Matilda :)

But, for now, it is sitting happily on my dresser filled with christmas cakes and cookies, making everyone smile :)

Hope you are all having a wonderful christmas break and enjoying your christmas presents too :0)

Julia xxx

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