Spring is in the Air!

While I am waiting for deliveries of balsa wood and slate tiles for the Cauldron. I decided to have a try of one of my new kits from Pascale Garnier. I have only made kits from Katherine of Templewood Miniatures in the past which I have found brilliant but having seen lots of lovely work from Pascale's kits I was keen to give them a try.

 Although Pascale does not have a website I finally tracked down her email address and asked her for a list of kits. She has a huge selection of all types of flowers but only a few have English instructions at the moment. Pascale was so helpful and following a number of emails, one of which included some photographs of Pascale's wonderfully chic home, I chose a number of kits.

 Here is the first I have tried so far. It is an Imperial Crown kit. The English instructions are very clear and although it was slightly more tricky than previous kits I have made I had no difficulty in following the steps. I would say it helps if you have made other flower kits in the past and don't mind playing with very small pieces.

Sorry, the pictures are not great as I took them too late in the afternoon when it had become really grey outside but I hope you can see the tiny stamens poking from the flowers which are all provided with the kit. You even get sand, grit and a foam pad for curling the petals and leaves.

Although I made a couple of mistakes and they do not quite look the same as the photograph I am really pleased with the finished plant and the flower is more unusual.

As I had the flowers pots out I decided to pot some other plants that have been waiting a while.

 Again, the photos are not great, they are not shiny but I had to use the flash. The flowers pots are from a wonderful US company Braxton Payne who have a huge selection in all different sizes. 

I tried out different soil this time, I used poppy seeds rather than crushed tea leaves. and that turned out quite nicely. I always mix the 'soil' with PVA and then pack it in the pots, the stems then stand solidly.

Today I have also been playing with the fireplace of the Cauldron bedroom and finishing off the slate floor but it is now much too dark for photographs. 

Time for a cup of tea and After Eight mint I think.