A Saturday Funny

 

I came across this book the other day while looking up books for miniatures. 

While the author is serious as a heart attack I think it is hilarious. 

I reckon it's something to do with all the cat hair instead of sucking it up in the vacuum!

 

 

But wait... when I looked up the book cover to show you... it also showed some of the projects.  I've never understood how to felt but this book shows you how to do it with cat hair for sure.

 

 

If there is a fuzzy cat on my Christmas cards next year you will know where it came from!

 

HERE is a link to more pictures.  Wow... the things these creative people come up with are amazing!

 

 

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY EVELYN!!!!

lettucesubatus

I don't know where or why I made that word up... lettucesubatus.  It just goes together in my mind somehow... twisted I know.  I felt the need, and mainly since I have the covering over the back porch now at the DC, to begin lettuce seeds.  Some of them do great in the colder climates and don't go to seed as fast.  Especially if you can keep the frost off of them.  So I started what lettuce seeds I had hanging around the day care last week in little paper Dixie cups and a plastic zip up thing to make a little greenhouse.  This was towards the end of the week and by Monday I had completely leggy sprouts.  Not enough so that I felt I needed to start over.  I am excited for the new growth though.  I planted Red Romaine, Spinach and some purple lettuce that I saved the seeds from that I can't remember the name of.  It will be several weeks before they go outside.  Even them though if we have a bitterly cold night I can bring them inside.  Kind of a perfect little plant world... someone looking out for them.

One of my kids at the DC gave me this for Christmas.

I also started some wheat grass for Tommy.  It sprouted in just a day or so.  I took the seeds last year from my father-in-law's field by our drive way.

Woops!



around here

As I sit here, during naptime at the day care, with paint on tiny aloe vera leaves drying in front of me I felt I needed to check in.  I will admit that this blog of mine is not my priority hobby right now although I am anxious to share what I have been up to and my dollhouse progress.  Actually, the dollhouse itself still sits as it was on my last post.  I dare not bring it to the day care to work on the interior and exterior  because the kids would get away with any and everything and probably wouldn't eat lunch.  So, I am saving it for the weekends at home.  I have however managed to build up furniture and accessories and loads of ideas while here.  I have a bed frame drying as I type... I never really liked the old one... it was too clunky and too big for the bedroom so I hope this one fits.  And that's the other thing.  I am totally winging the little pieces I make and get so giddy to go home at the end of each day to see if what I made will fit.  I have currently made, furniture-wise, a farm kitchen table and one chair, a fireplace and a kitchen hutch.  All of the measuring sure has taught me a lot.  What seemed to be "too much trouble" before has begun to be fun.  Especially since I have been happy with the end results.  I am still getting a lot of the paint job ideas on CinderallaMoments.  Since she has tutorials on how to do things I figure it's ok.  Plus I don't intend to sell the work as my own creation through and through.  I am thankful to this lady because without her inspiration I wouldn't be having all this fun!  Here are pics of my latest things minus the clay items like plates, bowls and picture frames.

The hutch was my first big furniture piece.  I wasn't sure I even wanted a large item in the kitchen.  But as it turns out I do really like it.   I do wish the doors and drawer opened.  I found the tutorial for it HERE.  I finished the bottom half first and took it home.  I was disappointed at how large it was until I added the shelves up top.  Now it seems right for the room.

I admit I wasn't totally happy with my fireplace.  Another creation done without proper measurements. I was impatient with the glue drying too so it is crooked here and there.  Since I felt I might make another one I painted this one whimsy.  I like the addition of the yellow flowers.  I've only used pinks and reds so far.

I am aging most of the furniture in the house.  I like the shabby "used" look.

I found a table on etsy that I liked and winged the measurements from scraps of balsa wood.  I bought a pack of various sizes at Hobby Lobby and have used the fire out of it.  The little chair tutorial I found HERE.  It literally weighs nothing because I used some of my thinnest scraps.

Aloe Vera leaves before baking.  I found the tutorial on MiniEden.



my hand at miniatures

In an attempt to hand make everything that will be going into my revamp the dollhouse project, I decided to try my hand at making some clay miniatures to go in the house.  I want pretty bowls for the kitchen, flower pots, and whatever else I can come up with to sit here and there.

 

Last Thursday I was really craving this project but alas... as it happened I didn't have any flour at the day care to make salt dough.  So then I came across a recipe for baking soda clay... didn't have that either.  So Friday I brought the flour and made some stuff.  I was so proud... until Monday.  Over the weekend I went to Walmart and bought some clay that you bake for five bucks.  I love this stuff.  The other blogs keep saying things about "air dry" clay so that's what I went looking for.  Since I couldn't find it I bought the oven kind and like it!  My projects are baked and cooled and ready to paint in twenty minutes.  Who wants to wait for the air dry stuff to dry??  So Monday and Tuesday, in my own opinion, I kicked my own butt with what I made.

 

Here's what I made last week with the salt dough.

 

 

These were for the Barbie house at the DC.

 

I put this little crate together.  It weighs nothing pretty much.

I made these Monday with the Sculpey clay plus a little dog.

And this little bench.

It's a messy little Katie Bug!

All painted and weathered.  I made the little apples back there to go in it.

And here goes Tuesday.  I got braver.

I could have left him this color.  There's a lot on the interline that are left this way.  But I decided to blend paints and make it work.

Not perfect but I like it that way.

This is Skippy and his little pretty water bowl.  He's for the Barbie house.

I think my deer head turned out good.  I hope it's not too big for the dollhouse.

 

and for my next trick

Get ready... you are about to get as tired as my sister Mary Evelyn is of hearing about my dollhouse stuff!!!  But it is for sure what is going on right now.  I have thought about redoing the dollhouse that my Dad and I built together in 1988 for some time.  I was simply lacking the inspiration.  But now the time is here.  Things like part of the roof coming off, not enough shingles to finish the job, clunky door hinges and the fact that I gave most of my furniture to my neighbor when I moved, aren't really a big deal.  I reckon it's because I feel creative enough to make provisions and simply "make something" that will work. 

So Saturday I got my dollhouse down and started the clean up.  I want a total overhaul from top to bottom.  And apparently the previous attic renters left a mess when they moved out.  Why do mice have to poo everywhere?  It's rude.  I was glad to find that I had only taped the carpet down so it came up easily.  The wallpaper was a different story.  I started out my wetting it and while it worked it didn't come off like I wanted it to.  So Sunday I remember that I already had Downy fabric softener mixed up with water in a spray bottle so I got it out and went to spraying.  This worked a lot better!  I had to scrape and vacuum up the bits but it got things to a more comfortable and workable level. 

I have also been working with clay making things for the inside and for the Barbie house.  I'll show you that stuff a different day.

Oopsie!  Part of the roof let go.  It's actually a good thing because it allows me to access that part of the attic easier.  My hands are a lot bigger than they used to be!

All stripped down to a good canvas to work with.  I am going to plank the upstairs ceiling with small craft sticks.  Shaun suggested that I use corrugated cardboard to cover the roof to look like a tin roof.  Those wooden shingles aren't budging so I will build up and rest of the roof line to match with cardboard.  I plan to make everything that I can and get out of this renovation as cheaply as possible while still making it look the way I want it to. 

I did order a set of lights to finally light up this little dwelling.  I always wanted to do that when I used to play in it.  Another thing that excites me about making the furniture and things is that it won't get "played with".  When I put it there it will stay there.  Unlike the Barbie house which is meant to be played with.  This is meant to be looked at and I will know how gentle to be.