On Being a Mini Mum......

Diagon Alley's New Premises Ready For Opening......Well Nearly.

2012-03-07T22:27:00.000Z

I decided to have a line up of the four Diagon Alley shops I have 'completed' so far.

All the kits seem to sit alongside each other nicely and the brickwork seems to be forming the link between them all I was looking for.

Unfortunately placing them together has made one this glaringly obvious.......

...... The Magical Menagerie is much too 'red'. The other shops are brown/grey dingy and the different shade just looks awful. I don't know how this has happened or why I haven't seen it earlier.

The grey light of February probably.

Fudge and Fiddlesticks!!!

I have given it all a grey wash today but that hasn't worked so now I am thinking I will have to go right back and give all the ArtMache a white wash to start building up the dirty wash again.

Ho Hum.......

The roof of this kit is flat and it is supposed to fit snugly on the top. Well mine does not fit at all snugly, after a lot of sanding it nearly fit so I have edged it with balsa and filled the square with painted sandpaper. As you can see I then tore away some of the edging as I want it to have a roughened 'burnt' look as a finish due to all the low flying dragon activity!!

Too add a little more interest I have used Richard Stacey's twelfth scale bricks. These now have to be grouted then I will finish of the singed flat roof.

So I really am down to the last few jobs now on the exterior of this shop, these involve quite a lot of drying time which means I have also been able to work on the bookshop.

I seem to have had a lot of problems with this kit so I am hoping that "Flourish & Blott's" will be much more co-operative!!

The Sid Cooke County Kit comes with quite a lot of moulding and as I am having the bow windows on both ground and first floor windows I have gone for the crackle option.

Black and gold with Mahogany fittings is my overall scheme for "Flourish & Blott's". I see it as the most affluent of all the shops. After all they do seem to have cornered the market in Hogwarts set texts!!

The interior wallpaper is 'Burlesque' by Les Chinoiseries a fabulous Spanish site that has both wallpaper and gorgeous miniature fabrics. I love the full on luxury of the black and gold. It is so 'in your face'.

This kit has a back door and back window.

I am going to try and use both these openings to give the illusion of back areas within the shop some how. Lots of ideas, will have to see how I get on!!

I have these three unfinished counters that I bought ages ago from Maple Street Miniatures and I quite like the idea of using them here as a way of show casing some of the beautiful books I have set aside for this project.

The counters will also be a way of avoiding simply lining the walls with book shelves!! Very boring.

I have always wanted to have a circular staircase in this shop which is why I have not yet put in the middle floor. I am going to have a look at them when I go to Miniatura in a week or so, this will be about the third time I have looked at this type of staircase!!

Staircases take up so much room I usually avoid them, but..........I do like the spiral ones!!!!

The Magical Menagerie Has Walls and A Roof......Next Shop Unveiled!

2012-02-28T22:13:00.000Z

The exterior of The Magical Menagerie is almost complete. I have spent nearly a week Art Macheing all the walls. It was a long, long job.

Two reasons it took forever. Firstly, I like a smooth finish, so I have to make sure the surface is laid at more or less the same depth and it then has to be smoothed down with my fingers and various flat tools.

Secondly, I decided to glue on most of the moulding before applying the ArtMache for the first time with this kit. Usually I mark out where all the moulding goes and then apply the Mache. Why I decided to change I do not know.......It was a BIG mistake!!! I had to be so careful which slowed the whole process down dramatically. Plus it was much harder to do. Plus no matter how careful I was mache still went where it should not!!

I haven't put the windows in yet because I want to match them with the interior woodwork and I decided not to work on that part of the project at the moment. Once I start looking at the interior rooms I know I will get distracted by the fireplace, or the doors, or the cages..........

I am keeping to the master plan.

I have had a lot of trouble getting this kit to fit properly and you can see here the gap here. No amount of sanding or tweaking has helped but the double quoin strip has helped disguise the flaw.

I have decided to move on and put up with it.

I am trying to make all the roofs look different from each other so I have tried to slip these tiles a little as if the roof is suffering from dis-repair or low flying dragons!!

These are Richard Stacey weathered tiles and are very varied which was perfect for my roof. At the moment they look a little to bright so they will be dirtied up when I age the whole exterior

I will add lots of dirty paint to all the exterior walls to match it with the look of the other shops in the Alley.

A peek through the top window into the dragon room.

The street paviors are also down and ready to be aged. I will leave the front door panel all in brick but I have still some moulding to add. The two strips meant for this panel have disappeared, have absolutely no idea where they are so I am in the middle of painting two more. Gremlins on the loose again!!!

As one exterior comes to an end another one starts. I have put together the carcass of 'Flourish & Blotts'. This a Sid Cooke County kit that I was lucky enough to win on Ebay for half the list price. It was untouched and still in all its original packaging.

So here I am back to moulding painting!!

This will be my last shop for quite a while as I want to work on the interiors of the five I have started. There is all the lighting to be done and all the exteriors still need finishing off as well.

Plus I need to start emptying all the boxes of furniture and props I have lying around before my workroom explodes!!

A Magical Disaster! When a new products works too darned well

2012-02-20T21:56:00.000Z

It's been one of those weeks when nothing seems to go as planned. Not anything major thank goodness just time consuming and more than a little irritating! My lovely Lily went in to be be spayed which is a very standard operation these days but a puppy who doesn't feel well is much the same as a baby - or a man - who doesn't feel well. Very time consuming and surrounded by guilt when you just want to scream!

Anyway as we have been confined to barracks I have managed to get in some mini time all be it with a puppy on my lap.

I decided to try out a new product on the wooden mouldings after not having much success with the crackle products on the market. After four under layers I painted on the new product and then covered with the final top coat of black.

The effect was dramatic and almost immediate. In fact it was too good and too dramatic, no subtle crackle here.

Then as I looked closer I realised that the paint had been stripped right back to the bare wood. Straight through my four layers of cream and olive/gold.

I was not a happy bunny I can tell you.

This is what I used and it definitely works. It will be perfect for weathered floorboards and lots of other applications but not for my moulding. So I rubbed them down and more or less started again. Grrrrrr!

I have also laid the flagstones down in the ground floor room of the Menagerie. These are from Richard Stacey and although they lay beautifully they were quite difficult to cut with my meagre tool collection.

Now they need to be sealed, grouted and distressed.

My dragon room on the upper floor is going to be quite stately in a singed and sooty kind of way. So I have laid beautiful mahogany floorboards from Miniature Wood Supplies.

I have drilled lots of worm holes and then used a walnut stain so they are not too red in colour. Then I 'varnished' them with a brown glass paint to bring out a gorgeous shine.

Eventually the mouldings have been finished and they are now mostly glued into place ready for all the ArtMache to be applied to the walls.

The quoins supplied with the kit were only supposed to fit down one side but when I attached to door I discovered I just could not get it to line up properly. No amount of sanding or tweaking would get the door and signs to align. More grrrrr!!!

Luckily I had extra quoin strips from a previous kit so I have covered the gaps with the extra strips.

This kit seems to have required a lot more sanding and tweaking than usual. Sid Cooke kits are very snug, they require a lot of preparation before decorating and if you don't do things in the right order, or remember how painting the front door will effect its fit, they can prove very irritating.

Once I had put on all the mouldings bar one or two strips, I started looking at its shape and tried to work out how it would fit on the end of my Diagon Alley.

I then realised I had bricked the wrong side wall! The side I had bricked was in fact the back. More grrrrr!! So I had to get out the brick slips again.

It has always been part of my very long term planning to 'beautify' the backs of my shops, eventually! This will be my test case, all sides will be finished off. Apart from all the lighting wires of course, I will just have to remember which is the back!!

Just Had to Share.....

2012-02-10T21:33:00.000Z

One of the great things about Blogland is the chance it gives us to find out about all the wonderful miniaturists whose work is new to you.

The indefatigable Debbie Wright of Tiny Treasures is always ready to share the artists she has discovered and just recently she introduced me to the gorgeous work of Maunela from Germany.

Her Etsy shop has a whole range of witchy goodies including this tiny writing set.

It is beautifully crafted and was a must have for my Hogwarts girlie currently sitting in The Leaky Cauldron.

This absolutely teeny tiny wizard mouse is the work of Georgia Marfels who I first read about in the blog of Silke. I can't describe to you how incredibly cute this piece is.

The light was really bad by the time I opened my post today so the photographs do not do this piece justice at all. Georgia also makes amazing mushrooms/toadstools in all shapes and sizes, definitely on my wish list!

We are still up to our ankles in snow here and despite being a little bored of feeling cold, the photo opportunities are pretty wonderful!

Have a great weekend and if it's snowy and cold outside stay in the warm and play with your toys!!

Paper Clay Roof & Lots of Bits and Pieces

2012-02-07T22:01:00.000Z

The paperclay experiment is coming to a close and I am surprisingly pleased by the 'nearly end result'.

The tiles have now had their mixed colours added after the base terracotta coat.

I mixed up a selection of five colours: red, orange, brown, black and grey, in various shades and then just randomly touched up a few tiles at a time.

I concentrated on areas where the white clay was showing through first and then tipped the kit up each and every way to make sure all the sides, edges and bottoms of the tiles received a tickle from the paint brush too.

It was quite a fiddly job and I still need to finish off with 'soot' from the chimneys but it has turned out much better than I expected.

I think I will also cover with a matt varnish to protect the tiles as I have noticed that every time I knock the roof, even slightly, the paint does chip off or scratch. The clay itself though seems very tough.

The project I have just started is moving along slowly but surely. I am at that stage now when everything seems to take ages and at the end of a session there is very little actual progress to show.

I am not going to mess around with this kit very much and have decided to use the quoins provided for the first time. These are made from MDF I think so are very clean and flat.

I am going to match them with all the distressed red brickwork so they have had to coats of terracotta paint as a start and then I have smoothed on some Art Mache to give a bit of texture.

When this dries they will hopefully look a little more brick-like. Then it will be back to the paint palette !

The mouldings have all been primed, given two coats of cream and one coat of my greeny/yellowy accent colour for this shop. This layered look will all be sanded, waxed, crackled and distressed to match the look of the rest of the shops. Phew! Time consuming but I want to keep the same sort of look throughout the whole street.

Last job has been to start the open brick work with the same bricks I have used before from Richard Stacey

I lay them free hand because it doesn't really matter if they are a little off, using quite a liquid PVA glue as you can then slide them into place.

These still need to be sealed and then grouted before I finish the walls of with Art Mache.

I have also marked where all the mouldings will be placed as I have learnt from experience it is very easier to glue the bricks away from the wooden mouldings.

I won't add the Art Mache until all the mouldings are painted and distressed. I prefer to put them on the kit at the same time. This means a bit of forward planning and it can seem that progress is sooooo slow!

Still when I have had enough of painting I can always play in the snow with Lily.

The Magical Menagerie is on Fire!!!

2012-02-03T22:04:00.000Z

It has been full steam ahead with the interior of the Menagerie mostly due to the wonderful lady who runs the online shop Dolls House Wallpaper. I bought this Brodnax print a while ago at Miniatura but as usual severely underestimated the amount needed for the whole house and inside door panel.

I spent an evening tracking down the same paper and eventually discovered this fabulous site which is full of Brodnax prints.

The ground floor went in beautifully despite my concern about the windows. They are a very curvy shape and I always seem to get in a bit of a tizz with windows but at last I seem to have got it right!

The key for me seems to be in painting the inner sills and ledges of the windows with a complimentary colour. Then you don't have to worry about the wallpaper fitting absolutely perfectly. I made a template of the windows and then cut out the shape with a very sharp craft knife.

It took a bit of time and a lot of care but these are definitely my best attempt.

The upstairs is going to be a Dragon Wizard's room. In my post-Voldemort Diagon Alley dragons have become very popular, small dragons that is.....think of fiery micro pigs!!!

So I want the wallpaper to look a bit singed.

I tried matches....too powerful lost a few practice off cuts, joss sticks....not powerful enough and ended up using a disposible lighter to burn and dis-colour the paper.

Then I matched up my burnt wallpaper and where the holes are I smeared Art Mache as if the wall exposed.

I then had to wait overnight for the Art Mache to dry as I wanted to to distress it to look as if it had been burnt.

I tend to approach paints with a great deal of caution. I am always concerned that if I make a huge mistake I won't be able to rectify it. So I usually start off much too drab and add layer upon layer....

So one layer of my dirty water mix followed by smudges of black and brown pastel dust that I smoothed on with my finger.

I then dabbed on a tiny bit of glue and which I sprinkled with red and black glitter. I wanted it to look fiery, as if the walls were touched by a dragon.

Lastly another coat of my dirty water mix to finish off the edges.

Oh and I emphasised the burnt patches with the pastel shavings.

I was a bit concerned that having messed around so much with the wallpaper it would disintegrate once I tried to hang it but Brodnax paper is great quality and it went up nicely.

I know that a lot will be covered by 'stuff' eventually but I wanted to try and create the atmosphere of a room with a tale to tell.!

Did You Notice?........

2012-02-02T21:48:00.000Z

There were a couple of shoppers loitering outside my Diagon Alley shops in the photographs I posted yesterday.

These were must have pre-Christmas purchases from two of my favourite artisans.

This wonderful witch is actually a hanging decoration. I am not sure I will ever hang it on my Christmas tree but I am sure she will find a place on a room box one day.

She is the work of an extremely talented lady who as far as I know only sells on Ebay. Her work only appears a few times a year and gets snapped up very quickly. Her Ebay ID is wetpaintco and I usually find her items by pure chance.

I only have a couple of her sculpted pieces but I love them.

The dolls and characters of Silke Janas-Schlosser are absolutely gorgeous but like the previous seller are very rarely available on the Internet.

I know Silke attends a few very prestigious shows but unfortunately not in the UK.

Whenever her characters appear in her Etsy shop they are sold almost immediately so I was delighted to be able to purchase this girl witch just before Christmas.

What a great expression she has! I want to create some girlie witchy shopping for her eventually, definitely a basket full of cookies and sweeties I think. With that naughty look she may even have visited Fred and George's joke shop.

New Year......New Project......The Magical Menagerie

2012-02-01T21:52:00.000Z

The Magical Menagerie is my new project for 2012 and will be the fourth shop for my Diagon Alley.

I am going to build this corner shop from Sid Cooke to compliment The Leaky Cauldron corner kit.

Eventually they will sit at either end of the alley.

I am a very impatient builder usually and then I end up with all sorts of problems when I decorate. My New Year's Resolution was to read the plans and follow instructions!!

This time I read through all the instructions and matched up all the pieces to work out what bits I would be painting before sticking on to the kit.

I also spent much more time than usual sanding down rough edges especially around the windows.

These kits are very tight fitting and they become even more tight once decorated......

.........so I even sanded down the door, the sliding panel and the bottom edge of the front panel.

I am learning at last!

I also prime the whole kit. I will be using quite a lot of Art Mache on the exterior and I have found that using a good primer prevents warping and also gives a good base for adding acrylic paints.

It's amazing how time consuming this part of the process is but it does give you time to get used to all the pieces and plan what and where.

I also put shops 1,2 and 3 together just to get and idea of the final look.

The Leaky Cauldron, The Cauldron Shop and Mr Mulpepper's Apothecary. Of course none of them are finished but the main work has been completed.

The Leaky Cauldron represents 'ye olde' diagon Alley with all its weathered beams but the main street will all have a Georgian look with bay windows. The Art Mache rendering is much more weathered than it looks in the photographs but the brickwork still needs more dirtying.

I haven't done any more work on my paperclay roof this will be a continuing job as I work on the Menagerie.

I still need to work out how I am going to separate the shops to allow the doors to open. I will definitely have a dark alley but I am also thinking of narrow brick walls for posters or a resting pedlar.

Oh and a new house with a 15 foot workshop!!

Another World.........

2012-01-26T20:52:00.000Z

I thought I would post some photos that my family took while scuba diving off Koh Samui. They are so beautiful that I feel sure many of you will be inspired.....

......maybe to start a new hobby? Not me I am far too much of a scaredy cat!

Wouldn't he be great in miniature? I can definitely see him in a magical pet shop.

Playing hide and seek with the big people?

The anemones are so gorgeous. Great idea for miniature plants?

A very fierce looking cusomer.

These look like they are flying in a very blue sky don't you think.

A whole collection of anemones with a teeny fish in the centre.

There was lots of interesting and colourful coral too. Apparently it is very sharp so you have to be careful. My better half scraped his leg accidentally and his leg became quite nastily infected leading to some heavy doses of anti-biotics.

A goldfish for the garden pond maybe.

I love this picture. The colours are so retro, he's a very hip fish!

What a strange one this is. Great eyes.

Lastly, how cute is this. There is something so appealing about sea-horses and not just the fact that daddy carries round all the babies!

Back From My Travels......So How Did It Go?!

2012-01-25T18:18:00.000Z

Firstly a belated Happy New Year to everyone. I for one am looking forward to a mini-full 2012 and intend to work hard on my Diagon Alley. I have lots of ideas and intentions for my shops and it was nice to have so much thinking time on holiday.

We had a fabulous family holiday on the beautiful island of Koh Samui which sits off the Thai mainland.

This was our first complete family holiday for a long time. All my children, aged 22, 20 and 19 years were surprisingly keen to come with us even though it meant spending new year away from significant halves and all their friends. I think they were all looking forward to sun, sea and sand after a long, hard term at Uni. Plus my two youngest were going to do their PADI, a scuba diving qualification while my eldest would be able to add a couple of extra qualifications to his PADI.

My ever adventurous other half was very keen to dust off the PADI he earned last year in Borneo and dive with all the children.

No, there was absolutely no chance I would be diving with them!

Here we all are at our lovely resort on Bophut Beach. We stayed for ten days at the Peace Resort which was perfect for a chilled beach holiday. As you can see my youngest is not keen on the whole staged photo thing!

We stayed in a beach bungalow which sat right on the beach, unsurprisingly! It was wonderful waking up every day with a view of the sea plus we had our own sun beds which took away the whole towel drama. Why do people behave like absolute twits when it comes to sun beds?! The resort had more than enough for everyone but that didn't stop the madness.

Every day these ladies would walk down the beach with a portable BBQ. They would prepare corn, spring rolls and chicken satay. Absolutely delicious and soooo cheap. I didn't even have to move off my bed!

Then the boat sellers would pull up on the beach with fresh pineapples and mangos for dessert. Yum, yum!

The beach in the early morning. I thought the sea was a bit cold but I am a bit of a wimp. There had been a lot of storms in the weeks before our arrival which may have chilled the sea temperatures down a bit. The sand was not very compacted too which made it quite hard to walk on unless you were very near the sea's edge. How the ladies managed with their BBQ's I do not know!

You can see how deep the footprints are where you sink in. But hey, who cares, it was sunny and.....

........the cocktail shack was not far away for when I needed some light refreshment!

The beach sellers trudged past all day. All the usual tourist stuff as you can imagine and I thought they would be a problem but they were not at all. Unless you showed interest you were not bothered by them.

Of course all holidays mean lots of nights out visiting the local restaurants. My eldest son spent 6 weeks in Thailand a couple of year's ago and was keen for us to try all the Thai food he had enjoyed. I wasn't quite so keen to try out the typical backpacker's eatery so we compromised.....he could eat whatever he wanted as long as we got to choose the place!

Here he is enjoying a vanilla milkshake which he assured me was a Thai speciality!

After days of noodles we had to go to Zico's a fabulous Brazilian BBQ restaurant. Where you could eat all the meat and fish you wanted from the giant skewers taken round all the tables. Plus they had a huge salad station which made a really nice change to curries and rice.

Lots of cocktails with dinner. Never drink them at home but on a sunny holiday they are a must for me. Like mother, like daughter!

The family had a great time diving together with CSI Samui even though the conditions were not great. The sea was a little rough and on one of the days visibility was really poor. They seemed to do everything they wanted and the fish photos are amazing.

I was expecting the kids to go off and party after we had fed and watered them each night but they only went out for the New Year Full Moon Party on the infamous Koh Phanghan. To be honest I was a little bit worried and spent a lot of time laying down rules until my eldest told me off. He said I was making my youngest even more terrified and there lay the road to disaster, of course he was perfectly right.

They caught a speed boat taxi from the beach by the hotel at 10pm and returned home exhausted and happy at 7.30am the next day.......

50,000 revellers of all ages cram the beach and have a whale of a time. What fun it is to be young eh?! Me? I was tucked up in bed by 12.30pm after watching all the fireworks around the bay. Did I sleep? Of course not!!

Another Year, Another Adventure......

2011-12-20T19:43:00.001Z

Ok so I am not a redhead and I am not a size 10 but I am off to the beach the day after Boxing Day!

We are going to Koh Samui for sand and winter sunshine.

A whole ten days with my three 'children' and the husband, then five days with just the husband as the 'children' will be returning to Uni and exams.

Strangely for a non-traveller I am really looking forward to it. We haven't had a family holiday for a few years since my eldest started university so it will be fun to spend this time all together.

Of course I am hoping to discover lots of interesting items for my mini projects as I am told Thai night markets abound with lots of interesting things.

So I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2012.

All things being equal my next blog will be written a long way from chilly England and I certainly won't be drinking hot chocolate!!

New Residents for Diagon Alley........

2011-12-07T21:06:00.000Z

Of course I could not go to KDF and not visit the stand of my favourite doll makers Julie Campbell and Jain Squires.

They did not disappoint and I was drawn immediately to Julie's absolutely fantastic flying witch.

The photographs have come out appallingly but I am sure you can see what a original piece she is and perfect for Diagon Alley.

The dress flows beautifully and she looks like she has had a very successful visit to the Alley.

I love all the little details like the cameo.....

.......and fingerless gloves. I can't wait to display her on the roof of one of my finished shops. One day!

On Jain's stand I noticed this little character straight away. I have quite a few witches now so I knew this little chap was a must buy.

Jain's people always have so much character. This goblin just ooozes naughtiness...

Perhaps he lost that eye when Harry freed the dragon in Gringott's Bank?

I adore his star buttons and cheeky feather in his hat.

Both Jain and Julie are putting a few of their pieces into their Etsy shops over the next few weeks so do have a look at more of their wonderful work.

Last, but certainly not least, my next stop was to see Sarah Hendry of Pocket People whose cats I adore. This time I went for a Persian for my collection. He is looking very happy in his new home outside the Apothecary.

Such treasures will need a perfect back drop, so on with the building and construction work!

The Apothecary Just Needs a Bit More Tweaking.......

2011-12-05T22:33:00.001Z

No photographs of my new dolls I am afraid as the light has been awful here this afternoon. Instead here is the Apothecary with most of the hard work done.

The front of the shop has all been assembled, glued, grouted and art mached.

All the wood work has had layers of cream, gold and brown acrylic paint. They have been crackled and sanded for a distressed worn look. I do love these bay windows.

The shop door is made from MDF which is not the easiest of materials to paint and sand but I am quite pleased with the finish. Usual story with these Sid Cooke kits, there is so little room for manoeuvre, any paint added to the door surround and door means the door simply will not fit. I can't understand why they make them to fit so tight. So quite a bit of post paint, cross sanding went on here!

I have given this shop a 'lead' roof as the design seemed to call for it. I have bashed it around a bit and I will age it a bit more and then hope for it to tarnish naturally.

I wanted the windows to look aged so I laid the acetate on the cushioned pad I use for my flowers making and with a fine ball stylus punched in some old glass blemishes. It almost looks like the bulls eyes you see on really old windows.

I have also painted the acetate with a khaki porcelain/ceramic paint which also adds a slightly dusty and aged effect.

The interior shelving are two really cheap pieces I bought on Ebay and they are the perfect size for what I wanted in the main shop. Quite tall shelves and a deeper shelf at the bottom.

I will be using LED lights within the shelving to ghost through all the potion jars that will eventually line the shelves. The middle will have a very special opening door that will be surrounded by hanging herbs and barrels.

This counter has also been painted and will need a bit more sanding before restoring the 'glass' and drawers. I think this piece is ideal as a counter as you can add so many things to it, all of which can be seen either through the counter top or front.

Unfortunately I cannot remember where I bought it!

A close up of the paint work. This effect has come through a mix of sanding and crackle glaze over many days and layers

It just needs a tiny bit more work and then I will add some Rub'n'Buff in gold to a few of the edges.

The inside roof wall has been bricked and grouted too. I was initially going to ridge tile the edges but when I had a little play with a few I had they just did not look right, a bit clumpy, so I went with ArtMache rendering instead.

I have nearly achieved my goal of finishing two carcasses by Christmas. I will now start ageing the ArtMache and pavement paviors a layer at a time. I can't do the bottom bricks because I am waiting for some more to arrive to finish off the right hand side wall. It doesn't matter how many I order I never seem to have enough.

I tried to get some at KDF but they had sold out of the type I wanted. I hope they arrive this week because once the cast comes off on Friday, I will have to lay down tools and begin the great Christmas rush before my children come home from Uni and my family arrive to eat me out of house and home!!!

Plus I really will have to dust those skirting boards!

I Went, I Saw, I Shopped!!

2011-12-04T17:59:00.000Z

I had an absolutely fabulous day out yesterday at the Kensington Dolls House Festival in London. This is their one day Christmas show to compliment the 3 day show in May.

The exhibitors come from all over the world with a huge variety of miniatures. So much talent on show.

The day started really well as I met up with the extremely talented Nikki Rowe of Witch and Wizard Miniatures. Nikki had my parcel of minis with her including some really tiny, cute acorn fairy baskets.

We had a good chat in the queue about all things mini and it was so interesting to talk to someone so talented about their work.

We split up inside as Nikki had lots of exhibitor friends to see but arranged to meet for lunch after some shopping!

I have to hold my hand up and say I did a lot of shopping at this fair. Having not really done very much since breaking my wrist and having not been to the autumn Miniatura, I feel slightly less guilty. Hey someone has to keep the economy going!

Here are a couple of my favourite things. I have not quite dared to unpack everything while the husband is home!

These lidded barrels are destined for the Apothecary. They are beautifully made in rustic oak with proper steel rings around them just like real barrels.

They are made by S and S Eismont whose work is really well scaled and crafted. I always buy something from them as they have a very good range of small wooden items as well as furniture.

I also bought three tiny wooden scoops for each barrel.

My first port of call was to the stand of Annie Willis of Fine Design. Annie does not have a web shop so her work is only available at Kensington and Miniatura I think. This means her stand is very popular and you need to be there early as she has lots of fans.

I went to see her intending on buying another of her fabulous owls but when I saw this hawk I had to have him. He is quite stunning and I am sure any pure-blood wizarding family would love to have him. So he will have a place in my Magical Menagerie.

Next I went to see Linda Cummings of Lins Minis. Her food pieces are highly sought after in her Ebay shop and I have never been lucky to win any of her stunning pieces. Lin only shows once a year at Kensington so a visit to her stand was a must.

I was not disappointed. Her stand was full of the most gorgeous cakes, cheeses, meats and platters. With my glasses firmly attached I spent a long time looking at everything, so much choice!

Then I spied this wonderful piece which had my name written all over it, how could I resist this marvellous teapot and cupcakes?

Lin was so friendly and helpful too. Packing my items, yes I did mean items, with great care.

I did buy another piece but that is still to be unpacked.

I am sure one of my shop keepers needs a little tray of pumpkin tea to keep them going or it might find its way into my witch house drawing room.

The show seemed absolutely packed to me this year. Last year attendance suffered badly due to all that early snow we had. I am sure the exhibitors were much happier this year with so many potential shoppers coming through the door but it was much too busy for me.

Plus it was sooooo hot in the halls which made it seem even more crowded. After a couple of hours I was wilting badly!

Nikki and I headed off for a reviving latte and sandwich in the fresh air which rejuvenated me enough to head back into the crowd for another hour or so.

I did have a marvellous time and will show a few more pieces tomorrow. As it was so busy, I couldn't get photos of individual stands unfortunately, there did not seem to be any quiet moments even later in the day.

Hopefully the crowds have meant good business for all the exhibitors!

Woo Hoo!! A Whole Day For Me.......

2011-12-02T22:05:00.000Z

3rd December 2011 . Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London W8 7NX

......at this fabulous show.

Really looking forward to a day of shopping and inspiration.

Loads of fabulous artisans attend this festival. Top of my list are Julie and Jain of course to see all their fantastic new dolls and characters. Anne Fine and Sarah Hendry for their marvellous animals.

A very good look at all the building supplies, especially doors this visit, as all my projects need false interior doors.

Plus I hope to meet with the wonderfully talented Lory whose work I have been buying for a long time. Lory is attending this show for the first time so it will be really nice to say hello.

Rosanna will also be there for the first time and I know she is bringing me something gorgeous that I can't wait to see.

I am also meeting up with the ever so lovely Nikki who it will be a real pleasure to have a wander and lots of mini chat with.

Will try and get the courage up to take a few photographs this time as I know everyone likes to see all the different stands.

Soooo excited!!! I have a huge jar that I save all my coins in for the whole year for this show. They have all been bagged and banked ready so I can treat myself without too much of a guilt trip.

Early train and I am off to Wonderland

Bricks Galore! Mr Mulpepper's Apothecary......

2011-11-25T20:41:00.000Z

I decided that this Diagon Alley shop would be half and half. The top half exterior is cladded in Art Mache and waiting to be aged.

The bottom/ground floor is to be all brick. I had used Richard Stacey's brickslips on the exterior of The Leaky Cauldron so decided to stick with these to provide the link between the shops.

I like this product as they are reasonably light, which means the finished shop will not way a ton, plus they are very easy to cut, sand and glue.

I started with the side of the shop as I wanted to get into a rhythm before attempting the front which needed a bit of a think. I always apply the brickslips from the bottom up as I use the edge as my guide. A good layering of glue and you can slide the 'slips into place very easily. I pair of tweezers or a long darning needle are useful for this.

I don't paint the carcass as I always grout after washing with a 50/50 mix of PVA and water. This washing is very important if you intend to grout.

I have learnt that a it is also best to use a very thin PVA glue, I use Elmer's Glue All, as the tiles/'slips will slide into place much more easily.

This not a quick job but I think the results are worth it. I even got a bit artistic and added a little pattern! Quite daring for a Boring Betty like me!

I had to have a think about the front because of the window and door. I decided to add all the 'slips beneath the bottom window ledge first because I thought grouting these might be a bit too fiddly once the whole bay window was glued in place.

I have also decided to add all the wooden mouldings after gluing and grouting as I did not fancy trying to cut really small pieces of brick around the door way columns.

So now lots of grouting to do but nearly half finished, whoo hoo!!

By the by, anyone know of a UK stockist of Elmer's Glue All who do not want to charge 4 times its US price tag?

Have a great weekend wherever you may be.

The Cauldron Shop Roof.......The PaperClay Experiment Part 2

2011-11-22T20:49:00.000Z

The roof has now dried out completely. The shrinkage has come to an end and I have covered the caps with slipped tiles.

The chimney stacks have had additional layers glued on and need to be undercoated/sealed before I start applying the Art Mache. I think I have probably over worked the roof tiles. Looking back at Rik Pierce's roof work it is much less fussy. I should have left it alone a bot more and not tried to do something with every tile.

I have also sanded down the Art Mache on the main stack. Very, very dusty work but is has smoothed down perfectly.

These are all the extra tiles I added to cover the shrinkage.

I have now begun to paint the roof with the main terracotta acrylic mix/wash. I was pleasantly surprised by how hardy the clay tiles were. I started off very tentatively as I was dreading the clay cracking but they seem to withstand more than I expected.

I have given it a thorough wash bit tried not to get too neurotic about painting every nook and cranny as I will be giving the whole thing a number of different paint washes. This is just the main base.

This seemed to take forever though! The chimney stacks are definitely going to be a pain! Another note to self: next time mark where you want the chimneys sit and then make them up, Art Mache them, paint them and then glue them to the roof!

If I can I am going to prise off the quirky stacks and add them after I have worked on them.

For the first time ever I have managed to mitre the corner of a cornice! Well actually my ever patient husband did all the angles and sawing for me. I have to tell you this broken wrist of mine has had all sorts of unexpected benefits!

This fabulous cornice fitted perfectly and I have brushed it with my favourite gold Rub 'n' Buff.

Oh, and if you want to see how a chimney stack really should be made have a look at Brae's Blog, wow! Absolutely stunning. I must start saving egg boxes!

Mr Mulpepper's Apothecary All Stacks Up!!

2011-11-20T22:28:00.001Z

This is the main carcass of Mr Mulpepper's Apothecary all stacked up. It is the Regency shop kit by Sid Cooke and comes in two pieces which is very handy as it makes the kit much easier to move and lift.

I have painted all round the window edges in brown an gold so the wooden and window fixtures will blend in properly (fingers crossed!)

The front door panel has now had the brick paviors laid and grouted. I remembered to make sure I glued the steps the right way round this time which made the job much easier.

The key to grouting I have found, is the sealing coat of a PVA/water wash. A thorough coat, allowed to dry overnight means that washing off the excess grout is so much easier.

Just peeking out of the roof you can see the pewter sheets I have used to cover the roofing panels.

I have bashed the sheets a little but they still need to be roughed up a little more. I also want to add some batons and a couple of repair panels.

I had bought these floor tiles for the Magical Menagerie but I have played with one adding a bit of brown and gold, I quite liked the effect so I have laid them on the top floor.

This will be the potion and ingredients room so tiles seemed appropriate because of all the spillages!

They are much more golden than this photograph shows but they do lay and clean up beautifully. My next task will be to add the paint colours and dirty them up.

The front panel has a ledge for the steps and to allow for the bay windows. This means you have to edge the bottom of the kit too which gives you two rows of brick work. You can also just see the edge of the interior floor boards but I can accept that in the whole scheme of things.

This is the interior ledge with the floor board continuation. I have grouted the gap and it looks ok. I will darken it up a little to blend in.

Tomorrow I hope to move on to the exterior walls. Lots and lots of tiny bricks for the lower shop and art mache for the top floor.

I am definitely making the most of my sabbatical from housework and all the chores!!

A Busy Week, but Moving On Nicely......

2011-11-19T15:14:00.000Z

The Leaky Cauldron and Potage's Cauldron Shop have both had rustic and distressed woodwork which mostly boils down to stained and distressed balsa. For the Apothecary I have decided to go for painted doors and cornices to create a slightly different look and atmosphere.

This wood will make up the shelves, architraves and cornices for the interior of the shop. I decided to use a crackle spray paint that I had in the drawer from when I was planning a never to be seen shabby chic shop.

I started with the base coat of brown, then the top coat of cream which crackles. Usually it would be left with the crackled cream top coat but for my purposes I have given the wood an extra light spray of the brown base. I will now shabby them all up a bit more and finish with gold burnishing.

I have not had much success with crackle glazes but with a bit of practice this stuff does work. I have used the black and gold previously and these work very effectively.

The main reason I decided to spray the wood rather than paint all the individual coats is quite simple...using a spray is soooooo much quicker!

I have also papered the inside of both front panels, which was a bit of a challenge as I was running really short of the wallpaper. This is quite a big shop and I always forget the insides of the front panels.

My wallpaper was large in size but I used 6 pieces. Note to myself.........check you have enough for the bookshop!!

I have also laid the gorgeous reclaimed oak boards from Wood Supplies one of my favourite suppliers at the moment. I love these boards. They look fabulous. They are well cut and they go down like a dream.

They look quite light in these photographs but I have stained the oak a deep, rich brown. I have added holes and sanded them down to make them look less glossy and sleek.

The real benefit of using such old wood, I think these were cut from a mid-Victorian floorboard-around 1840, is that they are already ripe with age. I love them.

I have carried the floorboards through onto the front of the kit as with the cauldron shop so that when the door swings open there is continuity. Again I just about had enough boards, I used 26 thirty cm lengths and had one 10cm length left, phew! Make 2nd note to myself re bookshop!

I had to make use of my not so better half for this job as I could not hold the pieces firmly enough to saw the different lengths. He was very kind and seemed not to mind being disturbed every 10 minutes as I handed him two or three pieces to shorten at a time. Ah, he's a good lad!

The small gap will be filled and stained as well as I can. It is very narrow and I simply can't saw that finely. I can live with this......I think!!

The two ceilings are also coming along. The paper is quite sturdy so I have been able to mess about with it quite a lot without it disintegrating on me. I am such a coward with paint washes. I have taken on board the dirty water technique used by so many talented people but I seem to wipe off two thirds of what I paint on!

I have also sprayed the ceilings with different colours as if various potions have exploded in their time.

Still another couple of dirty washes to go!

Have a sunny Saturday wherever you are, in one way or another.

Lucky Me! Thank You NickyCC, Dragon Queen!!!

2011-11-19T14:16:00.000Z

I was recently the very surprised and extremely delighted winner of Nicky's Facebook prize draw.

My fabulous dragon has flown in and will find a place in the dragon room of my yet to be built Magical Menagerie.

He is beautifully crafted and shimmers in the light as all dragons should!

Thank you Nicky he is adorable.

I was also able to snap up this little duo from Nicky's latest collection of mini dragons and gemlins. Usually I see them too late as they sell out very quickly.

A tiny, sleepy baby and a mischievous, teeny gremlin both ideal for my projects.

Nicky's shop is closed for a couple of days but do go and have a look at the variety of pieces she creates on her gallery pages. Lots of interesting items for all us fantasy and castle collectors.

A Girl Needs Candles........

2011-11-16T21:39:00.000Z

Planning any themed project over a number of years means lots of duplicate items. My wizarding Diagon Alley will obviously require many candles. In fact any spooky inspired project needs lots of candles.

So I was really excited when one of my favourite artisans began selling her own range of miniature candles. Of course I could not simply order the candles I had to buy a couple of Victoria's wonderful potion bottles.

I then asked Victoria if she would make me a selection of wax candles ready to use anywhere in the Alley. As ever helpful and obliging Victoria agreed and I received this lovely parcel of goodies.

Beautifully wrapped.....

......and the perfect mix of sizes and widths.

And Victoria, ever kind also popped in a few extras from her varied range of colours and types.

Do visit Victoria's blog and definitely have a browse in her wonderful Dark Squirrel's Etsy shop full of a whole variety of fabulous items not just for us spooky collectors.

The on an Etsy browse I found these cute miniature 'chocolate' candles that I thought could also find a home in the Alley. They are from Betty's Minis and she makes the most gorgeous cakes and sweeties.

In the middle of Julie's fabulous owls is a gorgeous Halloween centre piece with delicately tapered witchy black candles by Lory.

I have been working hard on both shops today but the light was too dingy by the time I had finished today but a little bit of sunshine is expected tomorrow. Lots of flooring done and gaps galore in my PaperClay roof but the randomly placed additional tiles have worked a treat, thank goodness!

The PaperClay Experiment.....

2011-11-13T22:40:00.000Z

The last few days I have been working on the roof of The Cauldron Shop. This time instead of opting for the usual shop bought tiles I have always used in the past I decided to play with PaperClay.

I looked carefully at various sites showing the work of the Paperclay King Rik Pierce and set to work.

Firstly I rolled out the clay to the thickness I wanted on a glass tile.

Then using a nail brush I stippled the clay, cut off the ragged edges with a fimo cutter and then marked out the rows of tiles. I then separated a row at a time and cut off each individual tile.

You can see on the bottom row where I started laying individual tile, unlike Art Mache you have to glue Paperclay to make it stick. I then had another look at Rik's models and worked out that he seems to attach the tiles in rows.

I started to mark out the tiles with the edge of my plastic protractor without cutting right through. This was much easier and quicker.

After I had laid a couple of rows I shaped the edges to make the tiles stand up a little. This was quite fiddly as my clay tools are a bit basic and clay is definitely not my forte!

I kept going a row at a time and eventually.........

........I finished off one whole side. I was quite pleased at the end. It wasn't perfect by any means but it actually looked pretty promising.

The next morning, however, I was a little less happy. One of the problems with Paperclay is that as it dries it shrinks, this can lead to cracking or, as in the case of my roof tiles, gaps.

I think these have also occurred because I did not blend the separate rows together. I am also a little concerned by how fragile the clay appears and I am a little worried that it will chip very easily.

So the question is do I seal with a PVA solution to toughen it up? Before or after painting?

Hmmmm, a bit more research is required I feel.

In order to deal with all the gaps I have decided to add extra wonky tiles which I hope will make the roof look patched and not simply bodged!

What's In the Box?

2011-11-09T21:40:00.000Z

While hunting for witchy recipe books I came across an artisan new to me on Etsy, Pat Carlson of Skywind.

I found a book of witch recipes and a Grimm's Fairy Tales that looked perfect for The Cauldron Shop and my Hogwarts girlie staying at The Leaky Cauldron.

My parcel arrived and I opened it eagerly.

Oh no! I thought I have done it again. The books were too big, a mistake I have made at least twice before.

On picking them up imagine my delight on realising these were the most wonderful hand-painted boxes, not the books themselves.

Inside each box was the most scrumptious, perfectly to scale book.

Gorgeously hand made and with the most delightful illustrations.

These tales were a childhood favourite and this teeny book is just a perfect addition to my collection.

Little Red Riding Hood simply jumps out of the book, demanding to be read!

Do take a look at Pat's work it is truly gorgeous.

Now I need to think of a project for boxes!!

All Kinds of Everything........

2011-11-08T21:07:00.000Z

.......is keeping me busy!

I had always planned to have a couple of projects on the go at any one time but it has never happened because I always get distracted playing with the interiors. The broken wrist means that at last I have been forced to focus on the main construction and exterior planning of my Diagon Alley Shops.

This means I have many fingers in many pies at the moment as I work around drying times and lots of thinking time!

This is all the woodwork and windows for my Apothecary, shop number three. So far they have all been given one coat of cream and gold acrylic paint. They are waiting for coats of black and brown and lots of distressing. This is a hugely time consuming and eye-crossing stage but worth it in the end!

The main carcass of the Apothecary has been totally sealed and primed ready for decoration. I have wallpapered both rooms in a dark brown paper I bought at Miniatura what seems like ages ago. It is by the same manufacturer as the paper I put up in The Leaky Cauldron and goes up like a dream.

This paper looks and feels like old leather and while it might seem a bit dark at the moment, the shop will be filled with all the vibrant potions and ingredients plus lots of sparkling glass.

Here are the floorboards for The Apothecary. These are reclaimed floorboards in mahogany from the very enthusiastic and helpful Paul of Wood Supplies. I love the fact that so many of his supplies come from antique and reclaimed wood.
They now need to be sanded,cut and laid.

These are all the for the fireplaces....eventually.....stained wood chippings and glitter coal.

The lighting of The Cauldron Shop has been put on sick leave for the moment so these will have to be put away now they are dry.

The Cauldron Shop is still a work in progress too and I have switched my attention to the roof.

I have put lead flashing around all three chimney stacks and covered them in Art Mache to match the house.

This product needs quite a long time to dry but I can't write highly enough of it. Easy to make and super easy to apply plus soooo economical.

Still the tiling of the roof to do. I really want to try the Paper Clay method a la Rik Pierce but I am not sure if it might be a bit too fiddly at the moment.

Mmmmm, maybe I will wait until the cast is off.

Last but not least, I have papered both room ceilings and have been adding layers of wear and grime little by little.

With the Cauldron Shop maybe having to wait for a roof I might move on to shop number four which will probably be the second corner shop and the Magical Menagerie, I think!

It's Amazing How Much You Can Do.....

2011-11-04T19:38:00.000Z

With one hand and all the usual chores out of the question!

A trip to the fracture clinic this morning resulted in a new ''full" cast in a rather chic red! I decided against hot pink, lime green or fluorescent orange.

I even got to see the X-Rays today and the extent of the break. I can understand now why it is still so painful but it is improving every day.

The good thing is I have a lot of free time for playing!!!

I had already prepared the wood for the mantle/fireplace surround so it was a relatively easy job to put it into place.

The top may be a little too deep but I wanted a shelf deep enough for cauldrons.

I will see how it all looks once dressed.

I have also finished the grouting on the paviors for the pavement and steps. You can also see where I have made a boo-boo. The steps are upside down, take note for future kits!! This has left me with a very small lip, too narrow for a step. I am thinking about what to do with it.....

No rush, I will see what it looks like once I have sanded and grimed the pavement.

The quarry tiles have also been grouted and are ready to be dirtied up in line with the shop floor.

As tiling seems to be something I can do at the moment I have installed the roof. I was going to leave this til last as I wanted to have an internal attic shelf lit and stocked with old stock and bits and pieces.

Putting on the roof will make this a bit more fiddly but it does mean I can move on with the roofing.

With so many fire places I obviously need more than one chimney. There will be three altogether and I am going to try and make them a little quirky.

Along the edge of the roof I have glued a slim piece of wood (they are actually stirrers from my favourite coffee shop), these will lift the first row of roof tiles to the proper angle.

I have no idea why this works. or why it is necessary, I must have read it somewhere, all I know is it works.

I will also paint these in case they can be seen along the edges.

So, what to do for the next couple of weeks?

A new project of course!

Here is my next shop, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, the Sid Cooke Regency Shop Kit all sealed and ready to be transformed.

This accident of mine is proving to be the best way of making me focus on the construction it is too easy for me to become distracted when I discover just the right piece by a fabulous artisan!

Now I need to find the wallpaper I bought at least two Miniaturas ago!!!

Feeling Much Less Broken!

2011-11-02T20:07:00.000Z

Firstly I have to say a big thank you to all of you who have left such kind messages for me. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and all these kind thoughts made me feel so much better.

I was completely overwhelmed by how many of you took the time to pop by and wish me better.

Thank you so much, it was really appreciated.

A few days on and the whole arm feels so much better thank goodness and I feel confident that I will not have to have it re-broken on Friday. That will still leave another 5 weeks of wearing the cast but I am getting more used to it every day.

In fact I have been a busy tiler!

The supplies I have been waiting for have arrived so I have been able to set about finishing off the exterior tiling.

As this ledge will be seen when the front comes off I decided to use the same floor tiles I had used in the main shop. They have been laid and sealed (PVA/Water) ready for grouting.

It took me about twice as long as usual with only one arm but I managed it.

These paviors will be outside all the Diagon Alley shops but with only one arm they were a bit of a challenge today!

Not thinking properly I made a mistake on the steps which means a bit of extra work to ensure the steps have a ledge but I hope I will be able to rectify it once they are grouted.

I had to 'cut' using sand paper only which means the muscles on my right arm worked very hard today!!

Still I can think of worse ways to spend the day.

I think my plan for the weeks up to Christmas will be to ignore all the small creative jobs for which I would definitely need two hands, which will definitely include the lighting I think but you never know......

So tomorrow the roof will go on and I will start that tiling.

Well I can't hoover, clean bathrooms, drive, wash up, cook, iron......can I?!!!!

Happy Birthday to Me.......Look What I Got!!!!!

2011-10-31T19:54:00.000Z

Nobody warned me that dog walking is very dangerous to your health!

I am 53 years young today and have my first broken bone!

Yep, I have broken my wrist and have a nice brand new cast in which to celebrate my Halloween birthday.

The good thing is that it is my left arm, the bad thing is it hurts a lot!

The traction........which seemed a pretty medieval way to treat a 21st Century person, went well I am told so it seems unlikely it will require pinning.

I did get a couple of much nicer presents though.

Two cheeky mandrakes by Mags.

My husband bought them from her very well stocked and busy stand at Alexandra Palace.

Absolutely love them.

My lovely husband also bought me these fabulous pieces by Stokesey Ware from their Victorian kitchen range. They are so beautifully crafted in traditional earthenware.

I will definitely age and distress the corks ready for The Cauldron Shop.

Lastly I had to have the bread crock.

Who says that witches wouldn't have a few classy pieces in their kitchens? Not me! The collection is very extensive but can be added to slowly which I like.

Their fine china is simply to die for.

I had to begin a collection from this artisan as they are based in Stoke Newington a north London borough where I was born and bred. I only moved to leafy Hertfordshire on having children.

I can't believe that miniature fine china is now being made 5 minutes from where I was born!

My parents 'bought' me this tea set from Sally Meekins. It was made specially for Ally Pally and as I had purchased her pumpkin set a couple of years ago I knew it had my name written on it.

It has all been hand painted and is so delicately made on fine china.

This set is also destined for The Cauldron Shop. I am thinking of a round display table upstairs........

Happy Halloween to you and yours.

Lighting Up The Cauldron Shop........Another New Challenge

2011-10-26T21:14:00.000+01:00

While I am in total agreement that all the best dolls houses should have lighting I have always found installing it an absolute disaster.

A little while ago I made the decision to only install LED lights in all my future projects. With this in mind I ordered everything I should need from my favourite supplier, Small World Products

For the first time I am having a mix of LED lights and more traditional bulbs because I am going to attempt to light up all the fireplaces. This also meant I needed to obtain the materials for making the leads longer on all bulbs as they are sooo short.

This another of my big moans about lights. Why do they always come with such short wires?!

Well this is the main kit: a transformer (starting top left, down and across), a 3LED light strip, a dual unit connector (more on that later), a flicker unit (for both lights and fire places), extension wire, shrink tube and single LED lights.

I have also bought a heat gun that is used for paint stripping for the shrink wrap.

Wire strippers to expose the ends for connecting each length of wire.

Lots of red and amber lights for the fireplaces

Phew, seems like an awful lot of stuff for one small shop!! I have already installed the longer LED strips on the ceilings of the shop too.

The LED light strips do come with much longer wires than normal lights so I won't have to mess about with them thank goodness.

The first thing I had to do was strip the wires on the red bulb. It has the normal two wires and I have to say this is the hardest job of all. No matter how careful I am my wire gets shorter and shorter as I accidentally cut straight through the blooming wire! Patience and a very gentle hand are needed here.

The extension wire has to be carefully spilt down the middle and then pulled apart to make two wires to match the bulb wire.

This has to be done at both ends of the extension wire for finally fitting to the power unit/flicker unit.

You should end up with something like this at each end.

You need to have quite a bit of metal wire showing to make the next stage easier.

Next step is to cut a small length of shrink wrap tube, slide in over one of the wires and then join each piece. You have to wind the ends together quite tightly as you want to make sure you have a good connection.

The shrink wrap tube then slides over the join.

Last but not least comes the heat gun. A little blow over the wires shrinks the tubing and forms a very firm join........

I have never attempted soldering so I have no idea if this is an easier technique or not but it seems pretty pain free if fiddly. I will try and do a whole buch in one sitting I think as the wire stripping gets much easier with practice.

Now all I need to do is test the bulb.

A Dress Rehearsal.......The Cauldron Shop.

2011-10-24T22:14:00.000+01:00

Whenever I am about to attend a dolls house fair I always have a dress rehearsal of the current project in order to clear my mind of all the items I definitely don't need!

I have finished the shelving for the top floor displays and then remembered that I had a chimenea made by Nikki for her Kensington debut. It fits just beautifully against the wall and doesn't dominate the small space in the same way as the fireplaces I has tried.

I have also 'sooted' up all the individual fireplaces in the main shop using a mixture of railway modelling soot and glitter. I decided to dirty up the surrounding floor as we all know floo travelling wizards and witches are likely to make a bit of a mess!!

The upstairs is meant to be a sort of witchy kitchen shop.....A place for all those little pieces I love to collect really!! My Diagon Alley will only pay lip service to Harry Potter in many ways as I do adore gathering together items that take my fancy and then working them in to a scene.

Here you can see my wonderful collection of witchy themed teapots by such wonderful artisans as Nikki, Lory and Jaqueline Dunn.

I also want to add a few witchy recipe books and was pleased to find these by Pixie Dust Miniatures on Etsy. I quite like this little display with the brass cauldrons and Lory's gorgeous candle display but they may be moved in the final scene.......

I have also been collecting these marvellously witchy bisque pieces by an Ebay seller called Blue Sky Miniatures. He makes a varied range of pieces not just for Halloween at amazingly reasonable prices. They are extremely fine and beautifully hand painted.

Remembering this is a Cauldron Shop.....there are a couple of very special ones hiding on the top shelf waiting for a real place of honour!

The main shop floor where most of the cauldrons will be displayed is also taking shape, minus cauldrons......I know, I will get there eventually!

Here I will also display all the copper pots and utensils especially loved by the wizarding community. Mostly because I think they are stunning!

The range looks just right but I am going to enclose it in its own fireplace, not fully but I have tried out the structure around it and this will finish it off nicely.

I haven't done anything with the fire baskets yet as I have been waiting for some lighting supplies to arrive. I am planning to light each grate so that each.....cauldron, yes I promise there will be cauldrons.....can bubble away self-stirring and all.

The corner mantle is a perfect place for pots and pans and eventually I will hang the utensils and floo powder containers. Still lots of gaps but I am learning not to expect to finish each project completely but to wait........

The range will also have a couple of copper pieces but if you look closely you can spy.......a cauldron!! Made by the very talented Mags and bubbling away.

These pieces are what started me thinking of all things copper. They are the most beautifully made pieces with tiny rivets and brass handles. They are perfect copies of the real thing and bought them a long time ago now from a US site J. Getzan Dollhouse Miniatures.

My photographs do not do these pieces justice so do pop into their webshop to see the fabulous range of items they make. A real shop to browse and drool!! Still Christmas is coming. Hint. Hint to my family!!!

So What About Those Cauldrons?????!!!!!!

2011-10-14T21:59:00.000+01:00

The last couple of days I have been playing with all sorts of different ways of making cauldrons.

This is the collection of shapes and sizes I have got together. It includes a range of lids, various mini glass bowls, some lovely cast iron cauldrons from Sussex Crafts and some bubble floats in different sizes (I was given this idea by Brea, whose blog is a must for us dabblers!!)

Plus the water balloons for the paper mache idea.....Suffice to say Lily loves them!!

I tore up lots of newspaper and made up a weak PVA mix just like on Blue Peter many, many years ago.

Let me just say my preparations took longer than it took me to realise that my paper mache idea was not going to work. My balloons were too small and too slippery. My newspaper pieces were too big. My patience was running too thin......End of that plan.

So, I covered all my shapes with foil and moved on to plan B and C, using Paperclay and Fimo.

I would cover the shapes in my chosen material and the foil would stop any sticking.

I had some grey Fimo in the drawer so I started with that, thinking that if my first attempts by some miracle turned out fabulous I could always paint them.......Optimist is my middle name!

Here are my prototypes in the oven, no Nigella cup cakes for me!

Only three survived the baking. The tiny one simply refused to be separated from its cap.

Whenever I get out the Fimo or clay I am further filled with admiration for all the wonderful clay artists who make the most wonderful tiny pieces. I just find it impossible to get a smooth, untainted finish.

Maybe I will be able to refine the finish but the shapes work.

Impatient as always I did try to remove the inners too quickly which resulted in some cracking. Must remember to let them get cold next time.

Here are my Paperclay efforts. Even got a little creative here, woooo hoooo, tried a little pumpkin thingy idea with one of them! Once again they are a little rough and ready, maybe I can tidy them up when they are fully dried? Maybe they will look better once they are painted?

It seems as if the foil idea is working and the clay hasn't stuck fast.

I will be good with these and let them dry completely over night, and then sigh....

I have yet to try the ping pong balls. I might try cutting up the bubble floats and covering them completely in the clay or fimo, I might build a stack and then cover the whole stack in clay/fimo rather than build from individual cauldrons, I might.........

I know I'm burbling but maybe I'll get it right tomorrow!

Creative Station Art Mache Information

2011-10-14T21:03:00.000+01:00

Following the comments on my last Blog post I thought that a quick link might be helpful.

This is the type I purchased from my local hobby shop.

It comes in 1kg bags and I paid £8.99 I think.

It is very, very simple to make up and it goes a very long way.

I have found a website that sells exactly the same product Pullinger's Art Shop. In fact they are cheaper at £7.69 plus P&P which means I can have it delivered to my door in future!

I could not find any US sites but I did find a really helpful website with a recipe for this type of product,

Ultimate Paper Mache, which I hope will be useful for anyone not able to find Art Mache locally.

Using Art Mache For the First Time.....and a Kitchen Range.

2011-10-12T23:18:00.000+01:00

I have been spending the last few days applying Art Mache to the outside of The Cauldron Shop. I am using this product after reading about it on Michelle's blog.

I bought a bag of it from Hobbyland and I have to say it was remarkably easy to mix up, just add water and mix......Mine is a little bit wet perhaps but it did go on very easily.

I started with the front panel and marked out where the wooden pieces would be glued. Michelle suggested that this is a good idea as once applied the Art Mache is difficult to remove.

I have also learnt to start at the front as in previous projects I have run out of the necessary resources and a second batch is never quite the same as what you started with!

Once I had applied all the Art Mache I glued on all the extras. I did this while it was still damp which allowed me to push the window pieces into the mache rather than have them sit proudly. A look I prefer.

I tried to smooth down the mache as much as possible to give it a rough, rendered look.

As this kit comes in two pieces there will be a join between the two. I decided not to glue them together because they are so much easier to work on when divided. To 'hide' the join I am going to have a wood panel at the bottom edge of each unit.

Another reason for the wood edge. I have routed a channel for all the fire bulbs I want to place in the fireplace. This channel can be hidden by the wooden panel hopefully.

The top window frame slotted in very nicely.

Being a small carcass also meant I could apply the mache in one sitting. This is really helpful as it means all side are more or less matching in the way they have been rendered.

The continuing good weather here in England meant I could put all the pieces out in the garden to dry off!

I really liked this product. It was easy to mix and has worked out very cheap compared to some other products I have used. The bag I bought was £8.99 and I have covered the whole carcass with about half the mixture. The rest I have stored in an air-tight bag inside a tupperware box a la Michelle of course!

It does have quite a rough finish but it may be possible to sand it down?

It will take a couple of days for it all to dry off completely I think and then I will be ready to start colouring the walls. Must check if it needs sealing before painting.

During one of my sort outs I found this range tucked away. I had bought it on Ebay ages ago for a very small sum but was put off by all the pieces in the box and a set of very basic instructions.

I decided it could be an ideal piece for this shop and actually it was not too difficult to put together.

A good glue seemed to be the key.

Once it had all dried I painted it black and then highlighted it with Rub 'n' Buff Pewter. The knobs are bronze at the moment but I think I might darken them down a little bit.

I have filled the grate with coals sprinkled with red and black glitter. You can just see the twinkle.

It is just the right scale for the downstairs and I like it here I think. I have a few pieces of copper cook ware that will display quite nicely.
Oh, fireplaces have been grouted too, as you can see here. They still need to be distressed and 'sooted' once the mache walls dry.
And the cauldrons????? Don't ask, they are not going well.
Update tomorrow!

Owl Post......

2011-10-08T22:42:00.000+01:00

Quick post because I just had to share these fabulous fellows with you.

They arrived this morning from Julie of The Cottage Kitty.

I hope you can see the character in these cheeky owls.

I have been waiting a while for Julie to make more owls so I was so pleased to discover them on Ebay.

Thank you Julie I love them!

"Just put them away,they don't eat anything...." and a Bit of Tiling.

2011-10-06T21:54:00.000+01:00

My mum has always been a great bargain hunter and was always coming home with items no-one in the house had ever asked for or could imagine ever wanting.

When my dad would ask her what he should do with the four pairs of slippers she had found for £1.50 a pair down the market, her answer was always: "Just put them away,they don't eat anything...."

I was never sure what that actually meant until I started collecting miniatures.

With these words of parental wisdom in mind I have recently purchased these marvellous pieces from the lovely Victoria of Dark Squirrel

They will all be part of my vampire hunter's house.......one day..... after all they don't eat anything!

Victoria's potion bottles are simply marvellously gothic. They always make me think of the old Hammer House of Horror movies I used to watch when I was a child. I am not sure why, but I love them.

Victoria also included a lovely card for a package being sent on its travels across the pond, two very glittery potions and a vampire bat parchment ready to be put with my vampire stash.

Thank you so much, I love opening parcels.

But I hate grouting in awkward areas......

These are the false fireplaces in The Cauldron Shop. I have lined them with left-over brick slips from

Richard Stacey's product range.

These bricks are really easy to work with as they cut and stick with no trouble at all.

The main draw back is the final grouting but usually I don't mind this part of the process.

This time I know it is going to be a right piece of tricky business as I will be working in a confined space at awkward angles.

Laying the grout will be ok, it's the washing off that I am dreading!

The most important think to remember is that these products must be sealed with a PVA/water mix before attempting to grout. Otherwise the cleaning off is much harder.......there is a woman speaking from experience I hear you say, and you would be so right!!

Tomorrow then, top of the list, grouting.

The Cauldron Shop Interior......Lots of Red & Black

2011-10-04T22:05:00.000+01:00

The colour scheme of my Cauldron Shop will be red and black alongside the dark wood. This has meant a lot of layering of paint the last few days. I am learning to take my time with each stage in order to achieve the best possible results and hopefully the effect I actually want!

The shelving for the top floor has a cream under coat and then three coats of Paprika Red as seen here.

I am always grateful for other bloggers who share their techniques and I have shamelessly read and re-read the blogs of Michelle and Katie.

Michelle is the queen of distressing and Katie is the the queen of crackle!!

Thank you ladies your blogs have taught me so much.

After the red layers I applied a generous coat of crackle glaze and then a top coat of black acrylic paint.

Trying to achieve a heavy crackle is very difficult, or it might just be me, and I just could not get enough red to show through.

So I rubbed the units down, again, to achieve a more distressed look. The problem being that having added a layer of the crackle glaze it was very hard work to rub off the top layer of black.

Finally I got the look I want and finished them off with a coat of modge podge glow in the dark.

With the shelving now in place I am having doubts about the fire place on this floor. It is all a bit squashed so I am not going to put anything more in this room until I have dressed the display shelves.

I have also been working on all the 'wood' pieces for the outside of the shop. Same colours as you can see - a layer of cream, 3 layers of the red and a top coat of black.

This time I used a much more generous coat of crackle glaze and achieved a better crackle but still not enough for the distressed and weathered look I was after.

With more sanding it looks just how I had hoped.

All the pieces have been sealed with a semi-gloss sealent and are ready to be fixed to the carcass which means I can finish the two fronts and the outside of the carcass.

Then I will be back to layering the dirty water washes both inside and out, oh and the lighting, and the roof, and the chimneys, and the fireplaces..........

But soooo much fun when it works!!!

The Cauldron Dilemma......

2011-10-02T21:26:00.000+01:00

Here you can see why I am spending a lot of time thinking about cauldrons.......

I want to be able make this tower!!!

When I was very young we used to make heads by paper mache-ing balloons. Lots of newspaper and flour and water for glue. When the 'head' was thick enough and fully dried we would prick the balloon and be left with the shape we wanted.

Just like this...

I will use tiny water balloons and blow them up into different sizes, apply the paper mache, make lots of cauldrons and create the tower!

I will also try the balloon trick with air drying clay too.

Then today while I was mulling it all over I thought of.... Surely I can use the cast iron cauldrons I already have as moulds?

Plus I have a consignment of ping pong balls arriving tomorrow.

Ho, hum paint all the wood work and then begin to play!

The Cauldron Shop......Thank Goodness for Indian Summers!!

2011-09-30T22:59:00.000+01:00

Here in England we are experiencing the most wonderful Indian Summer which is proving to be a great help with the interior of my latest build.

The Paper Perfect walls and ceilings are drying rapidly.

I have been able to fix in the false doors with their door furniture and left a gap for the fireplace.

I haven't bothered putting in skirting board on two of the walls as they will be more or covered by shop shelving.

I am really pleased with the door. I have glued them onto a thin plate of balsa to make them stand away from the wall slightly. This meant I could 'plaster' right up to the edge of the door as I am not having any architrave around the doors.

Luckily I remembered to screw the hinges in before 'plastering' the walls. That is a first for me!

I have put in the wood for the false fireplaces. They will each be individually tiled, have their own lit fireplace and hanging cauldron.

On this side I will have a range with lots of pots and pans bubbling away.....not sure yet.

Still trying to work out how I am going to make the cauldron towers. Michelle has suggested ping pong balls, which I like....I think water bomb balloons and paper mache? Hmmm, lots to think about.

I have also begun painting all the windows, doors, shelving etc. First coat cream, then at least two coats of deep red. Then eventually black to finish when I will rub them all down and hopefully all the different paint layers will show through in an aged effect. I did use a crackle paint on the first coat of cream but not a single crackle has appeared. I can never seem to get any of these crackle products to work, anyone know of a really good one?

All in all a good day's work for once and a whole weekend of sunshine to look forward to.

The Cauldron Shop.......And a New Hat For an Old Friend....

2011-09-29T22:13:00.000+01:00

I have completed a little more on The Cauldron Shop interior including laying these wonderful oak floorboards. I bought them at the Kensington Dolls House Fair last December with this project in mind, and I am so glad I did! They come in 12 inch lengths to be cut to size. I chose a three quarter inch width strip and cut them into 4 inch lengths. They cut very nicely and have the most gorgeous grain. I wanted them slightly darker so I wiped a dark oak over them and the grain shows through even more.

I bought them from Wood Supplies a fabulous company who specialise in wood for miniature projects.

I have laid them in the upper section of the shop. Including an attic/storage area for under the roof. I am not sure how this will work out once the roof is on but at the very least it will provide an extra dimension.

I have also started lining the walls and ceilings. I have started this before adding all the wood features because it takes so long to dry. Days and days! Hopefully I will be able to work round this and begin placing the wood bit by bit now that it has all been stained and distressed.

I am lining the walls in a favourite of mine. It's called Paper Perfect and it is supposed to be for turning normal paper into mulberry-esque paper. Essentially it is paint with paper mache. You have to paint glue onto the walls first and then add the mache mix.

The main drawback is it takes so long to try.

When I was making room for my Diagon Alley projects I moved my older shops upstairs into my son's room. As I was tidying up I saw some gaps on the shelves of my Design Shop.

This coincided with the discovery of this wonderful Etsy Shop. Luned2010 sells the most beautifully made hats and chocolates.

When I saw this little set I knew it was perfect for my shop display.

It fits well on the table top......

......bit that middle shelf is crying out for a stylish bag!

Then this project will be finished! Hooray!!!

One down, 15 to go!!

West Dean Chilli Festival.....Inspiration for Flower Makers

2011-09-26T22:08:00.001+01:00

For quite a few years now we have been attending the West Dean Chilli Festival in Sussex. We make a weekend of it, stay somewhere nice in the area, have a nice meal and visit the festival on the Sunday. It is a fabulous day out for all foodies but especially for those who love spicy food.

This year I too lots of photos of the green houses to share because they are simply fabulous.

West Dean is an agricultural school as well as a spectacular venue so the walled garden is full of inspiration for anyone who makes miniature gardens, conservatories or flowers.

This is a spectacular grape-vine.

These vines are trained within an inch of their life!

This is the vine's main trunk. Just asking to be the model for a spooky tree!

The whole tree in all its splendour.

This green house is one of my favourites. I just love this arch of tomatoes!

What a great way to grow the ever present summer fruit.

Never seen a white aubergine before.......

Chillis, of course....

......lots of them.....

The most fabulous hanging plants. I think they are called pitcher plants?

How great would they look in miniature.

Lastly lots of beautiful flowers....

.....in every colour.....

........every shape......

.........large......

.....and even larger.....

Lastly, hanging melon plants.

I did not know the plants were so strong.

These lovelies are supported in their individual string baskets.

I would love to visit West Dean just to wander through the gardens but it is a horrendous journey from North London. If you do live closer have a look at their website as I think they have all sorts of events all through the year.

The Cauldron Shop.......I Think I Like The Tiles?!

2011-09-23T22:20:00.000+01:00

I have been a busy beaver today but it does not feel as if I have done very much.

I have laid the floor tiles on the ground floor. I have used Richard Stacey's 3/4 inch antique floor tiles but I will be distressing them a little more especially around the fire places. I do like his products as they are very easy to use.

I always use PVA glue to stick them straight to the dolls house..

.......wait for them to dry overnight and then I will grout the whole floor. This is the most fiddly part but it is worth doing.

I have started the two false doors which are basically pieces of balsa that I have shaped and then drawn in the panels. They will now need to be distressed, painted/stained and fitted with some cast iron door furniture.

I always struggle with shop fittings. Mostly because I never seem to be able to work out how to make the shelving look like it all belongs together.

So this time I purchased some very basic bookshelves. I have removed all the exterior moulding to create a very basic carcass.

I have glued two units making a piece for two of the walls. I want to use these shelves on the upper floor for the items every witch should have in the kitchen......

These will be tarted up with moulding and then painted in the Cauldron's colours. I am thing black on red, crackled and distressed and waxed.

Oh and I did cut all of the wooden mouldings for the inside of the shop including the full length fire place, which means I have a whole pile of balsa waiting to be sanded, distressed, stained and waxed!!

This is definitely the last project I am doing for a while that uses "wood"in this way!

Have a great trip to Miniatura everyone that is heading to Birmingham this weekend. Sooooo want to go!

Good luck to all the wonderful sellers that I know are attending.

Have a fun weekend everyone.

Woo Hoo, New Beginnings.....The Cauldron Shop

2011-09-22T22:41:00.000+01:00

After the grand sort out it is time to start work on my second shop, Potage's Cauldron Shop. I am using Sid Cook's small Georgian shop. Despite all the things about their kits that drive me mad, I do like the dimensions of these kits.

Just two small rooms but I have cut a chunk out of the ceiling of the upper story. I have done this to create a storage ledge for items that cannot be fitted into the shop. This will also be a good place to light up.

The ground floor will be the main cauldron display area. I am going to try and create a number of open fireplaces in which to hang my bubbling cauldrons. On the back wall there will be an arched false door and a large hearth/range. I am going to have a go at making both of these too.......

Upstairs I want to create a wizarding kitchen shop with brassware, teapots, floo powder and china. I also have this idea of a sleeping shop owner all snuggled up in front of the fire

This is an unfinished Bespaq fireplace. I have taken the insert out and placed it on the mantle for a double fireplace, I think it could look quite quirky.

All the fireplaces will be red brick lined but I don't think I am going to have individual hearths as this might look a bit too heavy. The ground floor is going to be quarry tiled so I am hoping this will look ok.

The walls will be a 'wattle and daubed' both inside and out and kept quite simple as it is a small shop.

I was getting a little obsessive about the film set of the shop but have finally decided to go my own way with a dash of inspiration of course!

Ooooo it feels so good to be back!

Had word from my number three child who I have just packed off for his first year at university. He has joined three societies today: football, surfing and.........beer pong.......hmmmmm the mind boggles!!!!

Time For a Change.......Again!!

2011-09-21T23:09:00.000+01:00

One of the problems with working, or not working, on a number of different projects at once, is storage. One minute I might buy a fabulous handmade book from Erika Van Horne for Flourish and Blotts.

The following month I will be tempted by something delicious from the wonderful Eve of After Dark Miniatures, because I just love her work and know I will always be able to find a place for something of hers!!

Then along comes Miniatura which means a visit to the stand of Annie Willis of Fine Design who makes the most realistic of owls. A must for Diagon Alley!

Then I get an email from Sally of Miss Sally's World, a cauldron full of frogs is now available.......Who could resist? Not me, obviously!

Too much football on television results in an Etsy browsing session and discover that one of my favourite sellers, the delightful and talented Peiwen of OiseaudeNim, has a towering, magical plate of witchy spaghetti. Just the perfect wizardly lunch.

I have been storing each piece in boxes for each project. Quite simply books go in the box labelled "Flourish and Blotts", potion bottles in the box labelled "Apothecary" or cauldrons in "Potage's Cauldron Shop".

All sounds very simple......except I have now got to a point where I can't remember what owls (flying or standing), potion bottles ( empty, full, fimo, glass, round, tall, tiny......), or toadstools (red, spotted, tall, short, dirty......) I actually have.

Which has lead me to have a complete sort out because I can never find what I am looking for when I do need a scroll, or a book or that pumpkin with the squinty eye that I bought two years ago at Kensington, or was it Miniatura......????

So this has been the state of my work room this week. I have moved out three 'finished' projects to create space for Diagon Alley.

I will clear away all the rubbish that has made a home for itself on my desk this Summer.

I have invested in some new storage boxes - my goodness, they seemed outrageously expensive, I am sure I could have built an extension cheaper!! - so I can see each individual piece. I have an animal box, a potions (filled) box, a spooky props box.......and so on. You get the idea.

I will still use my Fairy cartons for more specific and larger pieces. Tomorrow it will all be finished and I will be able to sit and contemplate actually making something.

Now all I need to do is remember where I packed the puppy.......

New Characters for Diagon Alley..... Aurors by Jain Squires

2011-09-19T20:38:00.000+01:00

Of course a busy summer with my household did not prevent me from doing a little miniature shopping!

These two wonderful characters were made for me by the oh so talented Jain Squires and they are for my Diagon Alley, Leaky Cauldron.

I had asked Jain to make me a couple of auror wizards who would look like they had been part of the battle against the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.

I wanted them to look like they had had a few adventures and may be escaped from some tight corners.

I also wanted them to be slightly younger looking than the usual wizard charcters.

I thought it would be quite funky to add a few steam punk touches, especially to the younger character, to make them seem a little more off the wall.

As you can see Jain has created two marvellous wizard Aururs who seem to ooze adventure and mystery.

Jain's attention to detail is amazing, right down to the cuffs and boots.

This second auror has a more cheeky look. Like he has seen a little bit more of life than his younger companion and is not quite so intense.

I just adore his trousers!

Jain always gives a lot of attention to the overall effect of her character's clothing. I love all the different layers that make up the whole.

A little steampunk rosette going on here.

Both aurors have great boots and hats.

If you are lucky enough to be visiting Miniatura this weekend go and see Jain's work. I am so disappointed I won't be able to see her new dolls.....

What Have I Done This Summer? A Weasley Shadow Box.......

2011-09-18T16:23:00.001+01:00

It has been a very busy Summer in my house what with a new puppy and the return of my two oldest children from their respective universities and trips to Europe. Then we had to wait for the A level results of my youngest son. Made even more nail biting by the strength of his offer and the awful prospect of having to re-apply in the year the fees would treble.

I am pleased to say that all his hard work and complete dedication paid off and he was a real star. On Friday we moved him in to his lovely halls at Manchester University where he will be studying Ancient History.

Phew!

Amongst all the general chaos I spent some lovely craft time with my daughter creating a Ron Weasley shadow box. I was asked to help create something as a present for her friend, who has had a very traumatic few months, for her 21st birthday This friend is very creative and crafty so their while group were all going to make her something individually.

Of course my daughter thought, I know I'll ask Mum........

Her friend is a Harry Potter fan and her favourite character is Ron, so we came up with a Ron Weasley study corner somewhere in Gryffindor.

Like all of us I have many bits and pieces that are ideal for a small project tucked away in drawers and boxes so we had a good sort through for Weasley-esque items.

A broken wand, a naughty rat, a ginger cat, lots of internet browsing and we had the bare bones.

The roll-top desk is a very cheap bare wood piece that we crackled and then highlighted with my rub 'n' buff favourite gold. I bought the desk from Maple Street Miniatures, who have a nice range of unfinished furniture. The books are mostly made up by me or come from basic little sets you can buy from dolls house shops in packets.

The scales are from Streets Ahead I think but very brassy, so we have aged and dulled them. Can you see Ron's rat? He is one of Mag's and just perfect for the scene. Now I will have to buy another one of course!

Ron must have a family photograph above his desk in a frame we aged and distressed.

A bottle of pumpkin juice which is a first attempt of an item I am planning for my Diagon Alley project. The green bottle is from Ray Storey, the label I found on the internet and the pumpkin topper is one of a number I asked the wonderful Lory to make for me. It was a little rushed but you get the idea.

Lots of printies plus Ron's broom that we sort of steampunked just to make it a bit funky.

Another of Ray's beautiful hand blown glass bottles, this time full of Butterbeer from Hogsmeade.

The shadow box is actually two deep picture frames glued together. I saw them in Sainsbury's a while ago at half price and like all good crafters I bought them with this type of project in mind.

Where the two frames joined we placed a strip of parchment with various Gryffindor and Ron quotes and then spray varnished the whole frame.

It was lovely working with my daughter, who followed all instructions and guidance wonderfully. A far cry from when we used to finger paint!!

2011-09-17T22:33:00.000+01:00

Miniatura®

The International Dolls' House Show

September 24th & 25th 2011

Birmingham

So disappointed I will not be able to attend this show as I love going to Miniatura. I will miss visiting all my favourite artisans as quite a few do not have websites and fairs are the only place to see and buy their work.

Oh well I will be able to save my pennies for the Kensington Dolls House Festival in December.

I have also discovered that there is a fair at Alexandra Palace in October which sounds interesting as I have not attended this one before. Plus it's in London so a nice easy journey for me.

So have fun all you lucky people going to Birmingham.

And the Winners Are............

2011-08-19T23:27:00.000+01:00

Thank you everyone for taking the time to leave a comment as part of my floral giveaway.

My draw was done in the most simple of ways.

I asked my husband to call out a number between 1 and 88 as there were a couple of duplicate comments and a follower who emailled me.

The first number called was 12 (the door number of his first house apparently) ......... Victoria of Dark Squirrel Miniatures

The second number was 68 ( Manchester United won their first European Cup in 1968 ) ...... Fatima of Las Mimis de Fatimay

And lastly, number 88 ( because 'two fat ladies' is his favourite bingo number, I didn't ask! ) ........ Doreen of Doreen's Miniatures & Memoires

Congratulations ladies. I will hopefully contact you in the next day or so to obtain addresses.

Have a fabulous weekend wherever you are.

Wow! The Big 300, When Did That Happen?!

2011-07-24T23:19:00.001+01:00

I have just noticed tonight that my numbers have topped the 300 landmark.

Wow, how did that happen?!

In celebration of this momentous and very pleasing occasion I would like to give all my followers an opportunity to take part in a floral give away.

As you know I am essentially a collector ( I like to shop, what can I say...), but I do dabble with various types of miniature making, including flowers and plants.

My 300+ giveaway will be for some of my potted flowers. All you have to do is: be a follower of this blog, leave a comment on this post and wait for the draw.

The draw will take place on Friday the 19th of August.

If you let me know what type of project you have eg. spooky, Tudor or shabby chic I can pot your plants in suitable pots or containers......hopefully!!

Anyway, the top photo shows some of my collection of plants by lots of very talented people alongside some of my own to get you in the mood for entering.

I am sure you can spot the wonderfully spooky plants of Tallulah Belle, Lory's magical toadstools, Tara's Wonderland rose and a dragon's circle from Nicky.

Here are some more of my past pieces to give some idea of what to expect. They are mostly made from kits which I buy from Fine Flowers in Miniature

It will give me great pleasure knowing that a few of my pieces will be part of another enthusiast's project so if you have a small space for a plant please join in the floral fun!

Not Much But It Was A Lovely Few Hours........

2011-07-21T19:04:00.000+01:00

When I make flowers I like to have the pots or containers ready and waiting to avoid them getting damaged. It also means I can match the foliage to the size of the pot. I will also try to co-ordinate the colours usually but this time I have done a whole batch in blacks, browns and gold all destined for Diagon Alley.

These beautifully shaped pots are from Braxton Payne a fabulous US company who make all shapes and sizes. I have painted them with black acrylic and then simply rubbed them with a favourite product of mine Rub 'n' Buff.

It comes in a huge range of colours and is so easy to use.

These two bottles will eventually have lids and labels for either potions or some witchy brew. They are teeny and I bought them ages ago from My Tiny World, who do a whole range of clay pots and vases, as well as a huge miniatures range.

I still have a few left for different colours.

I found a very basic blue and white ceramic set hidden away in a drawer. I must have bought it when I bought my daughter's dolls house 13 years ago. This large mug is one of the items, painted, rubbed and steampunked. I love it!!

These are two large 'flat' bowls from Braxton Payne. They are gorgeous even before painting and are perfect for cactus I think. Or maybe bones?

They have again simply been painted, rubbed and buffed or had gold detail added.

I am really pleased with how they have turned out. I was patient with all the painting, making sure each layer dried completely. I haven't sealed any of them as they will never be handled very much.

Now I must get down to flower making!

While I had all the stuff to hand I played with these little bits and pieces. Perfect for adding to the shelves of the Leaky Cauldron.

It's Been a While....But I Have Been shopping of Course!!

2011-07-20T21:10:00.000+01:00

I have long admired the work of Christine of Dandelion Fair but whenever I have looked in her Etsy Store I seemed to miss the listings.

Since the arrival of my new baby, Lily, I seem to collapse at the end of the day only fit for an hour of internet flicking and I was lucky enough to spy this teeny chap.

Many years my Great-Aunt Nell used to knit and crochet all sorts of wonderful toys and as we grew up she kept on knitting for all the children in her street. She was a real gem of a lady and I have a soft spot for knitted toys.

This little chap will fit in my toyshop nicely.

Now for something completely different.......we are taking Lily to the seaside! So exciting, especially as there will be no flying or foreign currency involved.

I am going to the North Yorkshire coast not far from Scarborough. I have never visited this area before but it looks beautiful.

So, where should we go? All advice gratefully received, remembering we will be travelling with a baby, I mean a puppy!!

We have rented a fabulous looking barn conversion from English Country Cottages a company that we have used quite a lot. Two priorities for me were Wi-Fi and a modern interior, so I think this place will be a success.

Not all of it! Only part......

but it looks yummy! Even if it pours down with rain we should be able to be comfortable.

Hard floors are also a plus, if it is really muddy and the puppy pees.

So, where are the best places to visit? Local dolls house shops would definitely be a big plus!!

A Few of My Favourite Things..........Part 5, Traci Howard

2011-07-01T18:39:00.000+01:00

A lot of us seem to have a soft spot for dragons, so I thought I would show my little collection of tiny dragons by Traci Howard of Feythcrafts

These hand carved baby dragons are all curled up in their own shells.

This one in a walnut shell.....

.......and this really teeny one is in a large acorn cap.

Traci also carves little eleven and goblin creatures. I could not resist this little chappie napping in his very comfortable itchy ball shell. Aren't his feet fabulous, I just want to tickle them!

This very special dragon was made for me by Traci after I saw her larger dragon pieces. She kindly agreed to make me a 12th scale creature. He is simply gorgeous and sleeps on the bed of my witch at the moment. Eventually he will be displayed on the window ledge so everyone can admire him.

After receiving him I knew I had to ask Traci to make me one more. I wanted a sitting dragon for outside one of my shops. He would be on a lead and waiting patiently for his witch to finish looking at all the wonderful dresses.

I know Traci was very worried about this magnificent beast as all her dragons are usually lying down. I am sure you will agree he is perfect

Look at that cute face. The perfect pet for a witch with aspirations!!! Plus by the look of the claws a serious guard dragon too.

Most of these pieces will find their way into the secret top floor room of my Magical Menagerie, where all things dragon will be tucked away for only the most trusted customers!!

Just What Every Post-Voldemort Little Witch or Wizard Would Want......

2011-06-25T22:16:00.000+01:00

Their very own cuddly Harry Potter.

Isn't he fun? And so teeny tiny. Mini Harry is the fully jointed crocheted creation of Lin from whose Etsy shop I purchased these cute characters.....

......for my son's birthday shadow box.

My mini HP will be placed in the trunk of my little witchy having a rest in The Leaky Cauldron, to keep her company at Hogwarts.

An Unwelcome Visitor......

2011-06-24T14:43:00.000+01:00

I was collecting unpainted flower pots from the step of Witch E.T. Grubb's Emporium and glancing through the middle floor window I noticed a couple of hat stands had fallen over. I opened up the front door and saw rather more of a mess than expected.

My display of shoes looked rather the worse for wear.

With a tattered shoe left alone on the shelf.

It's partner had been dragged to the other side of the shop next to a toppled light stand.

My gorgeous steam punk hat by Kat also looked slightly awry....I am sure that pipe went somewhere!

Downstairs there was the same sort of chaos but little or no damage.

Certain clues on the hidden staircase confirmed my growing suspicions. You would have thought the witchs' cats would have been a little more effective!

Time to see if this little shopper had decided to head down the high street in search of more appetising nibbles.

The modern emporium only had a couple of poops, all that chrome and white china I expect.

The florist shop showed signs of interest but surprisingly only a scattering of items.

The cake and bread shop.......

A whole single cake display chew scattered and chewed, right under the nose of this kitty!

Lots of bread and rolls seem to have been the object of interest. These fimo pieces have been mixed with almonds, semolina, poppy seeds etc. so they may have tasted slightly better than the cakes.

Another useless cat watches on....

I hope the cafe's customers were not too terrified!

The peaceful roof terrace looks as if it has been hit by a whirlwind.

Lots of tidying up to do and the main question is of course.....Where is the bloody mouse now?

So Nice To Be Back!......And My First EHag.....

2011-06-21T23:22:00.000+01:00

Oh what a lovely afternoon I have had today. Finally got back in my workroom after 6 weeks of puppies, vets, hospitals and children. Yippee!!

The first thing I did was prime these two little items that I found at a coffee morning a few weeks ago. A small framed room box and one of these little house displays.

Not 100% sure what I will do with them yet although the room box will make a great 'light box' for photographing!! I have a bit of a yearning to do a small shabby chic display using up various bits I have lying around. Hmmmmm, will have to think.

As a way of keeping my projects short and sweet at the moment, I sorted out some of my fabulous Braxton Payne clay flower pots and began painting them for The Leaky Cauldron. This US seller has the best range of clay pots I have come across but I would love to be able to find a European supplier.

Ah, so relaxing sitting with my paints and who cares about the rain.

I also dug out some pieces of china I have had sitting doing nothing, with a couple of coats of acrylic paint they will make perfect planters.

I have chosen various shades of brown, gold and black for all the pots and am going to have a little play.

I have also fallen in love......my very first piece by Shelia Bentley of Primdolly. A truly marvellous artisan whose work I have been drooling over for about two years now.

This is one of her EHags and she sits about 7 inches tall. So not a dolls house miniature which is one of the reasons I have not tried to buy one of her pieces before now.

But I just couldn't resist for any longer when I saw a whole range of these on Ebay.

The expressions of her characters are simply fabulous.

Having my own piece of Shelia's work makes me feel so lucky.

A day to be happy, I hope you have all had a good day too.

A Few of My Favourite Things..........Part 4, Lory Tonetti

2011-06-19T21:53:00.001+01:00

In my real grown up life I have always collected china pieces of all types which usually sit in the cupboard and come out as and when my colour schemes change. This liking has become part of my miniature world too as you could tell from my collection of Jacqueline Dunn pieces.

Lory Tonetti is also one of my absolute favourite artisans and although the first piece I ever bought was a basket made from a super large acorn cap..

......her work had the feel of the type I was used to collecting in my real world.

So this piece was the start of this little collection of Lory's wonderful work.

More teapots, although strangely I would never buy a collectible teapot for my real home!

The delicate detail of her work is truly wonderful. Each teapot is about the size of my thumbnail.

A small selection of her toadstools....

.......in tiny little acorn caps.....

.......and of course some mushrooms. I also have some loose toadstools for baskets complete with dirt from the wood.

Tea for one? How gorgeous is this?! I think I will put this in The Cauldron Shop as a treat for my hard working witch who has to haul around all those Hogwarts starter cauldrons.

The cookie jar should also be at hand to settle the nerves of any anxious parent.

The perfect place for pumpkin biscuits.

This beautiful shelf is from the kitchen of my witch house (still to be named....)

This witch likes a brew or two, or even three.....

Every detail is simple but perfect.

A scrumptious tray of woodland cupcakes destined for the shopping baskets of Diagon's witches and wizards.

Lastly, this yummy selection of Halloween cupcakes for my Hogwarts girlie still to be found napping in her Leaky Cauldron bedroom.

Hope you have enjoyed looking at my collection, Lory's work can be seen in her Etsy Shop or on the CDHM site.

An update too on how my most time consuming mini project is getting on...

....yep, we really should have called her Gizmo!

Feeling a Bit Caged?.......

2011-06-12T21:14:00.000+01:00

With a big project on the go I am always on the look out for all those little pieces that are needed but never to hand when you actually want them.

With this in mind I recently discovered these fabulous brass cages on Etsy.

This seller is based in China and sells a whole range of beads and charms. The delivery was a little slow but as I am not in any hurry this did not bother me at all.

The sizes are perfect for 1/12th scale and I decided to order them all in the antique finish. I especially liked the fact that most of them can be opened up for the addition of magical birds.......eventually!!

These are the best range I have seen too. Lots of interesting shapes and wire work. They will definitely look right in Diagon Alley's Magical Menagerie.

I also liked the look of these smaller charms which seem pretty useful too. In fact once I remove the ring on the top they will look quite cute as a little curio.

They could hold a special potion, or jewel, or magic dust? I am sure they will find a home.

Lastly are these tiny cages perhaps for candles? Or a single very dangerous flower? They will need rusting and distressing before they find their home I think.

Have had a great day today despite the non-stop rain, 'Flaming June' indeed!! I spent the whole day at home pottering about and spending lots of time with Lily and my two sons. No rushing about all over the place, no frantic phone calls........Just a day at home. Ahhhhhh, that's better!!

A Few of My Favourite Things..........Part 3, Jacqueline Dunn

2011-06-11T23:13:00.000+01:00

I have been collecting pieces by Scottish miniaturist Jacqueline Dunn for a long while now. I usually try and include at least one of her pieces in each of my projects.

The tiny bunny teapot was the first of her pieces I managed to win and it sits on the counter in my florist and gift shop.

I have a few witchy pieces including this tiny tuxedo cat pumpkin container. The lid is removable and so tiny. It sits in the fireplace of my witch house.

On the mantlepiece is this wonderful Halloween cake tea pot. All Jacqueline's pieces are all hand made from clay and are so beautifully detailed.

I couldn't resist this wonderful witch in the box. It is going with my Hogwart's girlie along with all her other goodies and will be displayed in the bedroom of The Leaky Cauldron

I have only ever seen her pieces on Ebay and they are extremely popular. Each piece comes with its own hand painted box.

Jacqueline's work is extremely popular and some of her pieces reach very high prices. I have had to learn to be very patient in building up my collection.

This box contained.......

......the tiniest little raven perched on his own teeny pumpkin.

An Easter box........

.......for the prettiest white bunny teapot.

The pansy box was home to.....

......an English cottage teapot,

complete with its own shingled roof.

A tuxedo cat....

.......peeks from within a beautiful rosy teapot.

A rather darker box....

.......for a wizard's pitcher. A piece destined for the Leaky Cauldron of course.

A cute house.....

.......and a delightful toadstool cottage teapot.

My long term intention is to collect enough pieces for a shadow box display as well as including some favourite pieces within my projects.

I now set myself a price I am prepared to pay for each piece and leave the auction to run its course. Then it is always a nice surprise when I get lucky and I never worry about the hundreds that go above my budget.

See I am learning to be patient.

Pop over to have a look at her work. My photos do not do them justice at all. It is amazing that each piece averages at about 5/8ths of an inch!

Nice to be back posting again. Dad out of hospital and recovering well following a slightly worrying time that end up with him being transferred to a coronary ward. Puppy did not react well to my many absences and it feels like we have taken quite a few steps backwards, so time for a deep breath and start again! The cat will have his six very dashing stitches taken out on Monday so that should be the end of that saga. My son has had his first A2 exam, so that's one down two to go!!

Who knows I might even get time to make something next week!!!

Hope the rain doesn't ruin your Sunday wherever you are.

Just When I Thought I Might Get In My Workroom......

2011-05-31T21:42:00.000+01:00

We went to Sheffield yesterday to see my daughter who is coming to the end of her second year studying Archeology. This visit was planned to collect most of her 'stuff' as she is off to travel around Europe as soon as her last exam is finished.

Very clever girlie. Get Mum to come up to see me, buy me lunch and then take home all my dirty washing!!!

We had a marvellous day. Took Lily in her new car crate

from Pets at Home. Marvellous piece of kit as she was driving me mad in the car. Now she sits in her carrier and doesn't jump about like a mad thing.

I also found a dog friendly pub in a nearby village The Rockingham Arms,

in the village of Wentworth. The village itself was so pretty and I would have loved to explore it more but it was pouring down all the time we were there.

These charming cottages were in the rightly named Paradise Square.

We will definitely be going back again. The food at the pub was great and the bars were full of locals with their dogs which made us feel very comfortable with our new addition!

So now I have days of washing, drying and ironing ahead of me. I know, I know, I should just pile it in her room for when she returns but I can't. I am just not made to leave a mess behind a closed door, it will bother me. Plus she won't do it properly, well not my way!

Ok, I'm controlling, what can I say.

My other problem for the week is that my father is at last, well my fingers are still crossed, going in to hospital to have a replacement hip operation. It has already been cancelled twice so we are not holding our breath until Thursday. Poor old sod has been waiting since last October, in pain and more or less house bound.

My mum doesn't drive so I will be on call for a few weeks to take her out and about. I am beginning to think I will have to get up with the birds in order to find some time to myself!!

Still I am enjoying reading everyone's blogs and even have some time now to post comments. There is life after Lily......and the washing......and the cat ( but that's a different story! )........and elderly parents......

Where Have All Those Years Gone?.........

2011-05-27T09:03:00.000+01:00

This morning I saw my youngest son off to his last day at school. I can't believe that my days of school reports, packed lunches and windy sports' fields have come to an end.

It seems impossible not only that I am 20 years older but that my children are all grown up.

I always thought that their first day at secondary school marked their first real steps out of the home but leaving school has really been the major turning point for me.

At their school it is traditional for the Upper Six to attend in fancy dress. They all meet at a playing field in the village and then do a last walk down the high street to school.

My son's group chose the "Where's Wally?" characters and Power Rangers. He got a great costume off Ebay and his grandad's walking stick.

A bit early for me to be taking photographs but they look ready for a good time.

Off he goes for the last time. I really could have sat and cried, he's my baby, he can't possibly be ready to go off into the big,wide world!!

Well in reality he is hoping to go off to the wonderful world of university and he'll still be costing me a fortune but you know what I mean!!

In a fancy dress mood here are pictures of his older siblings on their last day.

My eldest, now a very cool 22 year old who has a few more muscles! Their theme was "Super Heroes".

My daughter as a 21st Century Tin Man, following a "Wizard of Oz" theme. She is now a truly wonderful 20 year old.

Now I have got to find the cat and head for the vets, a task definitely designed to bring me back to the present!!

A Few of My Favourite Things..........Part 2, Lidi Stroud

2011-05-25T21:24:00.000+01:00

During a visit to Miniatura a couple of years ago I came across the amazing work of Australian artisan Lidi Stroud. Lidi's basket and wicker work cages were just what I was looking for and I have been adding to my collection a couple of times a year.

It was also a pleasure to meet Lidi at the Kensington Festival this year. Lidi has been travelling with her charming husband, Peter, and incorporated the show into their plans.

These are my two latest additions. The basket will be filled with lots of wizarding shopping and the bird house will find a place in the Magical Menagerie.

While shopping at another stand I caught up with the Stroud's doing their own browsing and much to her husband's concern I told Lidi of my passion for Sarah Hendry's work. Needless to say Lidi could not resist and one of Sarah's Pocket People is off to Australia!

These three cages, all hand-made in wicker, are all destined for the Magical Menagerie where I hope to hang them from the rafters.

Each little door opens so I should be able to place a small bird or animal inside.

I just loved the shapes of the smaller cages too. I hope to add to my collection a piece at a time especially now Lidi has an Etsy shop AbsoluteBasketcase.

You can see more of Lidi's marvellous work on her CDHM profile page.

Oh and here are a couple of pictures of Lily helping in the garden!

A puppy plant!

Now where's that hose?!

A Few of My Favourite Things..........Part 1, Erika van Horn.

2011-05-21T22:11:00.001+01:00

As there is still not any sign of me getting back into my workshop I thought I would start a series of blogs showing a some of the pieces I have been collecting for my current Diagon Alley project.

I hope you will enjoy taking inspiration from these marvellous artisan's work.

I have recently begun collecting pieces by Erika Van Horn of EV Miniatures from the US.

I have this marvellous vampire open book for Flourish and Blotts.

I especially like the the way the pages are aged as well as the book mark.

Of course this book of wands was a must for Ollivander's Wand Shop and will look perfect on the shop counter.

The delicate candelabra will probably find a home in The Leaky Cauldron.

The candles are partly burnt down and dripping candle wax a technique I have so far found impossible to emulate.

Erika has a whole range of butterfly items which have sold out really quickly so I was pleased to have acquired these two wonderfully fragile specimens.

These are for either the Magical Menagerie or the Apothecary.

Erika only produces a few items at a time and she has a lot of fans so I am delighted to have a few of her items in my collection. I missed out on the miniature reliquaries range recently which were very unusual but I will definitely look out for these in the future.

Erika also has an Etsy shop and blog where more of her wonderful work can be seen.

Better Late Than Never!........Kensington 2011

2011-05-19T23:15:00.000+01:00

Best laid plans and all that, but I can at last sit down and put a post together. As mentioned before I have a set pattern when I go to Kensington and Miniatura. First to Anne Willis of Fine Design for an owl before she sells out. Then on to Sarah Hendry of Pocket People for a cat and kitten maybe. Then to Michael Mortimer of Nine to look at his marvellous furniture.

Then I go to the stand of Jain Squires and Julie Campbell. This time I was blown away by the the huge range of dolls these two talented ladies had on show and my budget went completely out of the window.

I just couldn't resist buying these fabulous characters from Jain

and believe me I could have bought more!

I have included lots of photographs so you can see the incredible detail of each character.

My first choice had to be this pedlar witch. She is ideal for Diagon Alley up from the country to sell her wares.

I especially liked her back pack full of pumpkins.

Jain always seem to think in 360 degrees so her characters have interest from every angle which makes them even more special.

Her tray is brimming with all sorts of magical pieces and she seems a very happy witch.

I saw this wonderful character on Jain's blog a few months ago and thought it was destined for a lucky collector.

Now in her full glory on Jain's stand I could not resist her!

The only excuse I have is that I have learned that if I don't buy the ideal piece when I see it I may never get another chance......yeah, I know it didn't work on the husband either!

The truth is I just had to have her because she was so vibrant and colourful.

Even her hat is stuffed full of goodies.

I am sure that all the Hogwart students would be stocking up on sweeties as well as books.

A full tray of candies set to make your fillings tingle!

With two witches destined for the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley it seemed only right to choose a wizard to accompany them.

I chose this character because he was so different to the usual wizard with robes and beards.

My Alley is post 'He Who Must Not Be Named' so this scarred and troubled wizard is perfect.

Who knows what terrible events led to his injuries.

Perhaps the silver frog is a clue to his special role or skills.

I was also sorely tempted by the three 'Alice' characters that Jain had on show. I loved the darkness of Alice and could see her in a really surreal tea party........

But I resisted having absolutely no plans for any Wonderland projects and the whole of the fair still to get round!

I will probably regret my resisting in the future but I will hopefully still be married!!

A Day of Freedom!........The Kensington Dolls House Festival 2011

2011-05-17T22:14:00.000+01:00

I took a whole day off from the puppy on Friday to attend the Kensington Dolls House Festival. This is my favourite show as it doesn't take me too long to travel there and the range of exhibitors is amazing. There are always a lot of artisans from Europe at this show and I really enjoy looking at the different types of styles.

Two artisans that I do not remember seeing before were Gerd Felka from Germany who had the most beautiful collection of glass pieces, including some miniature bottles in very interesting shapes; and Elizabeth Causeret. I am not sure why I have not noticed Elizabeth's work before as it is absolutely perfect for the mini projects I have been working on for the last two years!

I had already been more than a little naughty by the time I got to Elizabeth's display so I only bought these three pieces but I could have bought a whole lot more!

The cask and drip cup were perfect for the bar of The Leaky Cauldron. The cup is so fine and delicate, amazing work.

The pitcher too looks perfect on my new pub table by Michael Mortimer. Unfortunately Elizabeth does not seem to have a website so you can't see the huge range of perfectly formed stoneware she produces but a lot of her pieces are sold by Swan House Miniatures in the US, the prices here are an awful lot more than I paid though.

I now have a collection of miniature artisans whose stands I visit as soon as I arrive at either Kensington or Miniatura.

There are two main reasons why I highlight where these stands are on my map: firstly, they are always very popular and can sell out of certain pieces very quickly, secondly, I know I will want to buy particular items from them and have learnt that cash can disappear very quickly from my hot little hands at these fairs. So I now make sure I visit my favourites first.

Michael Mortimer is always highlighted for me now as he produces such beautifully made oak pieces.

This pub table and chairs were just what I wanted for the front area of The Leaky Cauldron.

Again they are perfectly scaled and will soon be full of wizard good cheer!

Another artist whose work I cannot resist is that of Sarah Hendry of Pocket People. She makes both cats and dogs all of which are then hand painted in the most amazing detail.

This time I decided on a tabby cat and playful kitten.

Light was pretty poor today but I hope you can see the detail in the coats and expressions of these cats. I have been slowly building a collection of Sarah's cats for a while now and never tire of looking at them. For me she is the best miniature cat artisan I have come across because I like the sculpted look rather than the furry kind.

Sarah does not have a website but will always email pictures of the cats she has available and send by post.

As I have not made anything for a while now due to the new arrival, I did feel a little stir-crazy at the fair, which means I have lots of things to show......but at the moment I will finish with yet another photo of Lily.

Tomorrow I will come clean about my addiction to the characters of Jain Squires but shhhhhhh, please don't tell my husband!