Spending Time in my Beach Hut Despite the Weather!!

"It maybe winter outside......" but I am fast finishing my beach hut by Julie Bennett. The interior of my Boudoir on the Beach is very nearly complete so I have lots of photographs to share. 

 On this unit are lots of pieces by one of my favourite artisans, Elizabeth Causeret, a French potter who does not have a website but exhibits at many shows. Eventually this unit will be full of her pieces as I collect more but for the moment I have filled it with bitsa and bobs. 

 As you can see the right hand wall still needs lots of prints. I thought I had made loads but I will be back to painting boards tomorrow as I have run out of prints. So annoying. I have not decided what to do with this front corner yet, I am thinking maybe a tall but slim mannekin, I will have a look at KDF at the end of the month. I might even buy a dressed one if I can find one gorgeously draped in a shabby chic manner.

 The back cabinet is by MollySue Miniatures who makes a whole range of pieces which she updates all the time. Her website is well worth a visit. 

I have filled it with all sorts of jewellery findings, beads, tins and Harry Potter left overs that I have painted or sprayed. The little lidded basket was a gift and I have filled it with the tiny pegs you can buy at hobby shops.

 I wanted the shop sign to look pretty distressed as this is a sea front hut so it would get attacked by salt and spray. Not sure I wanted it quite so distressed though. I used sticky lettering as stencils but when I peeled them off quite a but of paint came too!!

 An ariel view. I intend to cover the roof eaves with prints and frames too as I want the hut to have that really over-crowded look. The cut out words are from Hobbycraft they are just about the right size and came in mixed packets. 

 I also used up some old quoins, charms, buttons, tiny shells and candles that I had stashed away to fill shelves and make into art work for the walls.

 As you can see quite an eclectic mix including a quite set of hooks from an Italian seller I saw in Apeldoorn. At the back is a stack of three 'spools', these are wooden beads that I have painted and then wound with lace and ribbon off cuts. 

 I also made some pin boards covered with fabric off cuts I bought on Ebay which were all the perfect colours for this project. 

 This table is topped by pieces from Cinen Miniatures and the beautiful art deco lady was purchased at KDF. I made the lemon place mats using an image I found via google.

 Crate and wine box are by Cinen and I have filled them with rolls of material and 'wrapping paper'.

 These bottom shelves are a bit of a hodge podge with storage boxes I have made and some plain bisque bowls painted and filled with mini printies. You can just about see the spiral notebooks by Lolittle Miniatures, they are perfect little notebooks that I thought would go nicely on this very narrow shelf.

This piece will eventually house more of Elizabeth's wonderful pottery but it will have to do in the short term.

Lastly I have filled a little paper 'wicker' tub with bolts of material. I usually just fold, steam iron and glue bolts of fabric but with these I cut pieces of card and wrapped the material around. Much better method as the fabric sat more realistically. The little Beach Boudoir bands add a nice finishing touch too, strangely I think these bolts of fabric are my favourite things in the whole hut!!

I hope you have enjoyed a little walk through, now I must get back to painting and printing........again!!

A Day of Freedom!........The Kensington Dolls House Festival 2011

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!