Monday, October 30, 2017

Weekend woodworking

(and more: in black and white, of course...)

On Sunday afternoon, while dithering about stuffing and sewing closed the black and white cushions I started last weekend, I found myself distracted by that amazingly cheap (and also black and white) wooden bunting I bought in New Zealand.

Which soon lead to this: 
Flat lay on a cutting mat, with black and white striped wood pieces, glue, toothpicks, utility knife, pencil, and gluing jig laid out.
and then this: 
One-twelfth scale modern miniature sideboard with black and white striped front, next to an Eames chair with a black and white spotted cushion on it, on a cutting mat with various full-sized tools laid out on it.
in the 'not perfect but done' basket. 

Which is fine, because the whole point of potentially wasting one of the six bits of wood I bought for a total of 7 cents (which makes them, lets see... just over 1 cent a piece), was to see if my idea was feasible.

(Especially as I find I have rather a lot more printed wood pieces than I thought (thanks to the joys of the Typo scratch and dent table...))

Speaking of the Typo scratch and dent table, my stash from there came to the rescue with my next completed project from the weekend:
Underside of a one-twelfth scale industrial-style trolley, showing rusted wheels and undercarriage. In the background on the cutting mat are two more wheels and a pair of (full-sized) tweezers.
 (You first saw it back here, and it's been kitbashed significantly since (with a piece of wood originally seen here back in 2013, from a crate now used to store cleaning supplies in my laundry (minus, of course, the missing panel!), and a number plate courtesy of Kitty and Kat Miniatures).
One-twelfth scale industrial-style trolley with rusted wheels and undercarriage and distressed white top planks.
 Also wood-related this weekend was a talk at the National Gallery on assemblage artist Rosalie Gascoigne, given by her son Martin. You may recall how much I love Rosalie Gascoigne's work, and I was heartened by this image he shared of her in her studio, surrounded by bit of wood that might come in handy sometime soon...
Assemblage artist Rosalie Gascoigne pictured in her studio surrounded by old Schweppes crates and pieces of (often stored in the crates).
Finally, unrelated (except for colour, timing and the fact there's one in an earlier photo in this post), I stuffed and sewed some miniature cushions.
Selection of stuffed one-twelfth scale modern miniature black and white cushions, with a full-sized spool of black thread, a needle and a pair of embroidery scissors next to them.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Tea tins on Tuesday

I know it was quiet around here over the weekend, but I did manage to get some creating done...

A variation of last month's tea caddy: this time with plants growing in them:
One-twelfth scale modern miniature scene of a kitchen bench with two Twinings tea tins with plants growing in them, a tea towel a framed picture of a New Zealand scene displayed.
Some black and white cushions half-made (ready for stuffing this week):
Flat lay of various black and white fabrics, scissors, pen and templates laid out on a cutting mat.
 And some rediscovered plate decals waiting to become plates:
Several sheets of miniature printed plates in an envelope with the instructions 'plates to make' written on it.
(Please don't tell me they've been buried in stash since 2011...)

Friday, October 20, 2017

Well I did finish it. And it is Friday...

Empty wine glass sitting on a cutting mat in front of a selection of bagged kits and a one-twelfth scale miniature wall with a metal clock on it.
I'm acting up this week and next, so this is the only sort off Finish-it-off-Friday action happening around here tonight...

Monday, October 16, 2017

Making time for miniatures on Monday

Industrial miniature scene of a large metal clock on a distressed wall behind a desk with various brass items displayed on it.
So that only took four years (and five minutes once I actually started)... *sigh*

In other, more heartening news, look what's finished (if, I now see, a wee bit wonky):
A miniature one-twelfth scale shadow box in the shape of a house displayed behind a tiny dolls house for a dolls house and a Toby dog figurine.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Saturday, and so many kits

After last night's win, this afternoon I felt the urge to return to The Tub of Undone and see what else I could complete quickly and tick off the list.
Cutting mat with a ruler, tweezers, cutting knife and tube of Weldbond glue arranged on it. To the right is a package of baking paper and to the back is a tub of miniature kits.
The first kit I pulled out was a Punch and Judy theatre by Jewel Lewis, which I got at last year's NZAME convention but didn't seem to blog about. Probably because I didn't actually buy it, but won it from a lucky ticket thingo.

You've seen Jewel's work on the blog before, and I'd obviously just dumped this kit into the tub when I got home, without opening it. Because today when I opened it I found that it included Punch. And Judy. And even Toby:
One-twelfth scale miniature Punch and Judy figures next to a card which reads 'Punch and Judy Toby A gift from Jewel'
(So much detail, as usual for Jewel...)
Close up of a one-twelfth scale Judy puppet.
I actually put this kit back in the tub because I have no need for a Punch and Judy theatre at the moment and figured I might need the components at a later stage. But I was feeling very happy to know about the figures!

Another Jewel Lewis purchase from last year's NZAME Convention that I did blog about is the Very Small Dollshouse.
'Very small dollshouse' in its packaging, on a cutting board with a cutting knife next to it.
Which, as it states on the packaging, is very small.
Pieces of a 'Very small dollshouse' and instruction sheet, arranged on a cutting board.
So small, in fact, that I found that my reading glasses weren't enough for working on it and so I had to go rummage in my embroidery stash and pull out my neck magnifier as well*.
Side of a 'Very small dollshouse' displayed on the tip of a cutting knife, and showing the details of windows, siding and chimney laser-cut into it.
While on the subject of very small houses, I started on Jane Harrop's House shelves kit.
Pieces of a one-twelfth scale house shelves kit and instruction sheet, arranged on a cutting board with a ruler, cutting knife and tweezers.
I'd been putting this off because I thought I could perhaps bash it into a miniature version of IKEA's FLISAT house (which, if you're wondering, is still sitting in my laundry half-built). I decided to just go with the kit instructions.

While waiting for glue on my two tiny houses to dry, I unpacked the Chrysnbon cookware kit I bought at last year's Sydney show and sorted out the contents (sorting and re-bagging them and putting them back in the tub for similar reasons to Punch and Judy kit).
Plastic one-twelfth scale cookware kit pieces, dumped on a cutting board with some still on their sprues.
Another kit sourced from the Sydney show (but the year before's), did actually meet the glue:
Pieces of a one-twelfth scale plastic storage crate, laid out on a cutting board.
And while I was pulling out the Jane Harrop House shelves kit, I spotted this:
Photograph of a one-twelfth industrial trolley kit, with the kit pieces laid out beneath.
Which seems far too clean and tidy for my tastes, but which I plan to grunge up rather a lot. Starting with the wheels:
Wheels from a one-twelfth industrial trolley kit mounted on skewers and painted black and rusty shades.
So in terms of completion, I'm not doing very well (what with waiting for glue and paint to dry), but I feel like I'm definitely making good progress...

(*Getting old sucks)

Friday, October 13, 2017

Finish it off Friday (and I deserve a drink!)

In the spirit of 'done not perfect', look at what I (finally) finished this evening:
One-twelfth scale modern miniature Alvar Aalto Trolley 900 set up for drinks.
There are still a few final touches I need to sort out, but for now I'm just going to bask in the glow of awesomeness I feel in wrestling it to completion.

Thanks Kikka N, I love it!

Monday, October 09, 2017

Monday (and the story of the missing metronome...)

Because I'd bought a Lori Loft to Love online from David Jones, those pesky Google algorithms kept throwing up ads for other Lori items offered by them.

Which (as you do) I basically ignored. Until the morning when my eye caught the prices on the advert. Which were much lower than it had been when I'd last been on their site (and, dammit, when I'd bought my loft...).

So I found myself clicking through. And discovering that the ballet studio was deeply discounted. Enough that I could easily justify yet another miniature edifice to try and find room for.

Soon after it arrived, I pulled the mirror sticker off the back wall and sawed off the barre. And (I'm not sure how) the space decided to become a piano studio with the addition of a bed I picked up half price from the Blue Star Kiwi stall in Wellington last month, an afghan from a 2014 Melbourne trip and the desk from Margell Public School. Plus a rug I picked up back in 2008 (used to cover the holes in the floor where the piano was attached for shipping) and the cushions I bought at the 2016 NZAME convention.
One-twelfth scale modern miniature piano studio with a grand piano in front of a bay window. On the floor are strewn several pages of music.
I contemplated adding a poster from the set I bought last Christmas (which seemed apt, as I'd decided that this was an early Christmas present to myself. Let's not even discuss the fact that I don't do Christmas, shall we?)

But if this was to be a studio for a dedicated piano student, there was something missing: a metronome!

I knew I'd bought a beautiful Alan Waters one many years ago: I just had to find it.

Many miniaturists will understand the frustration of looking for that one tiny thing. I checked Stephen's apartment (the most likely home for it). No luck.

I checked all my other scenes, with the same outcome.

I checked my storage boxes for 'Pastimes and hobbies', and 'Lounge decoration'. Still nothing.

Finally, I tried miniature meditation. You know the one. Sit. Relax. Focus on the object you're looking for...

And it came to me. The metronome was on the shelf of a music room. That I'd made for (and given to) my mum years ago.

So long ago, in fact that it hadn't (as far as my nifty search skills told me) been blogged about. And a search of the envelopes of printed photos from my film camera found nothing either.

I guess I need to make or buy a new one. In the meantime, I still need to decide what year my piano studio is set in. That will inform the choice of desk chair, among other things...

Tuesday, October 03, 2017

Big W, little W. What begins with W?

Wee things in Wellington, that's what!

As is the tradition, my mini friend and I made the pilgrimage to Pete's Emporium to check out what bargains we could find that could be used in miniature.
Stacked-up button containers holding various miniatures.
 (The metal trim is a new addition to their range, which made us quite excited.)
Poster displaying various metal trim pieces, with prices per metre, with lengths of the trims coiled on the table beside it.
While we were in Porirua we checked out what was on exhibition at Pataka Art+Museum, and spotted this Narnia-themed piece, Doorway to Narnia, by Yvette Keene:
Small wooden cupboard decorated with Narnia-themed items, on display in an art gallery.
 In Petone, while visiting the Alfred Memelink Artspace Gallery, I spied this:
Miniature art gallery, with various items displayed for sale and a counter in one corner. On the wall is a sign saying 'the Royal Albatross art gallery'.
 (The Royal Albatross Gallery, an art gallery inside an art gallery. Alas the gallery assistant couldn't tell me anything about its provenance). 
Miniature art gallery, with various pictures displayed on the walls. There is a bench in the middle, with a doll sitting on it looking at the art.
 Down the road, the Petone Settlers (sic) Museum had models aplenty, from those depicting the arrival
Model of long boats arriving at a wharf.
 and life of the first settlers to the region,
Model of settlers chopping down trees in the bush.
 to the area's industrial past: the Gear meatworks
Model of a line of industrial buildings next to a harbour, with the sea and a ship in the background.
and the General Motors plant at Seaview.
Model of the entrance to a factory complex. On the veranda to the left is a sign saying 'General Motors' and a truck is going through the gate.
Model of a factory. In the foreground are lines of cars parked outside it.
 Another model, this one in one-twelfth scale, was of the window of Carey's drapery
Model of a draper's front window with mannequins displaying frocks and hats. Several signs say 'Carey's'.
Model of a draper's front window with mannequins displaying frocks and hats.
Model of a draper's front window with mannequins displaying frocks and hats. Several signs say 'Carey's'.
 Finally, there were these wee houses made from bits and bobs from in and around Shelly Bay, for sale at Whirlwind Design Store in Miramar:
Three small assemblage-art houses on display in front of a picture of a stormy sea.
 (One of them may have followed me home...)