May Online Show...!

The May online Mini Miniature Show is now open until Monday, and once again I have designed a new set of kits exclusively for the show.

This time, I've chosen a circus theme, and the kit comprises a vintage board game, with clown playing pieces, a set of 6 wooden picture blocks, and two illustrated books.

The picture blocks feature vintage circus illustrations and come in a box with illustrated lid.

The board game has cleverly magnetised playing pieces that can be moved around the board without falling over.  There is also a tiny dice and box with illustrated lid.

The two tiny books have illustrated pages, several in full colour.

The complete set of kits costs £15 plus P&P and is available via my dealer page on the Mini Miniature Show website.... HERE! 

I also still have some of the previous show's lockdown kits, including... 

Little Red Riding Hood Board Game £10

Set of 6 rocking toys £8

Boxed set of 4 cats and clothing sets £5

Set of 5 Punch & Judy themed toy kits £10

Catland Snakes & Ladders game plus two mini books £10

Beatrix Potter Board Game plus set of dressing up masks £10

Doll's house child sized masks

Tweedledum - Alice themed board game, plus masks £10

Alice themed dressing up masks


Lots of new dealers to browse too!

Unintended consequences.....

I've been in my workroom almost every single day since the lockdown started, and the extended occupation has taken its toll.

Things came to a head yesterday, when finally, unable to find a single square inch of free space on ANY surface (and yes, I do include the floor) I was forced to bite the proverbial bullet, pull up my big girl pants, roll up my sleeves and set to.

Many hours later, much colourful language, and a modicum of blood, sweat and tears, my workroom has been restored to almost pristine glory.

What?

You want proof?

Sheesh... it comes to something when a girl's word is disbelieved.....

OK... I give you.....

*insert drum roll here*

Tah Dah!

My upcycled bureau cabinet, with doors, drawers and drop-down flap all closed! 

*My 'thinking' chair has been excavated from beneath piles of boxes

 *Last year, when I bought this colourful little club chair, I fondly imagined sitting comfortably in it, with one of my lovely notebooks, jotting down ideas, making lists and generally channeling the spirit of Virginia Woolf (as in A Room Of One's Own).  Needless to say, Small Dog and our little granddaughter (pre-lockdown) have spend more time in it than I have, and it frequently serves as an extra shelf.

This never happens

Neither does this.... a clear table top

Nor this.... such a delight to be able to access all those drawers without having to relocate piles of stuff...

Except.... now that it's properly tidy for the first time in months, I can't bring myself to go in there to do any actual work, knowing that within a matter of minutes, as if by magic, Stuff will appear on every work surface.

I was surveying the room from the doorway earlier, wondering at the sunlight glinting off the miraculously empty surfaces, when I felt a slight nudge, and looking down, spied Small Dog standing on the threshold.

She glanced at me, then executed an overly dramatic, comedy staggering into the room, accompanied by much eye rolling.

Me: *miffed* Oh very funny.  Hilarious even. 
SD: *innocently* Oh. Mai. Dogg!  Whott has evin happinnd in hear?  Hav we bean burgld?  Whair is evrithing?
Me: *bristling* Pack it in SD.  You know full well I've been tidying up in here.  That's why you made yourself scarce when I asked you to help.
SD: *obliviously* Is.... is thatt.... a CHARE?
Me: *sighing* Yes. Yes it is.
SD: *exultantly*  A chare fore...... SITTEN ONN?
Me: *grudgingly* Yes, well, I'll grant you it has been used as a supplementary storage area for a while.....
SD: *interrupting* With kumphie kooshuns!
Small Dog strolls nonchalantly across the uncluttered carpet and stands expectantly by the chair.  Due to her advancing years she is no longer able to leap up onto chairs, so she has to be lifted, carefully.  
I comply.
She settles down on the chair and surveys the room.
SD: *incredulously* Yore kabinett.... the doars aktewlie cloas!
Me: *tetchily* Yes of course they do.  I normally leave them open while I'm working so that I can easily get to all my ribbons.
SD: *wonderingly* And youre nue tabell.  It hass a..... *pause for effect*  flatt topp?
Me: *firmly* Right.  That's enough of that.  It's impossible to do what I do AND maintain  completely clear work surfaces....
SD: *placatingly* Oh yess... ai kno.  Kreeativ kayoss and ol thatt.  Butt now yue hav a CHARE whitsh kan be aktewlie satt on. Ai mite kum inn to keap yue kumpanie.  Maibea when yue ar haven a kupp of tee and a biskitt?
Me: *defeatedly* Yes of course SD.  I'll let you know the next time that happens.
SD: *triumphantly* Fyne.... aill jusst settel dowun heer and hav a littel knapp.  Trie knott to maik too mutsch noyse.
Me: *sigh*

Fin

Creating during lockdown.....

We are now entering our 8th week of self-isolation and it's been a long, old haul.  Plus there's no sign of it ending any time soon.  However, not once during this time have I ever felt bored.  

I haven't been binge watching box sets, nor have I been espousing the frankly terrifying Joe Wicks workouts on a daily basis.

What I have been doing is creating.  I'm lucky in that I have a dedicated workroom, full of 'stuff to do', and while I've been concentrating on making, I haven't been worrying quite so much  about what's happening in the wider world.

I think that those of us with hobbies, interests and enthusiasms are probably faring better during lockdown than those who rely on social activities with others.  Yes, it's hard not being able to see family and friends, other than via video calls, but so long as they are all staying safe and well, that's a price worth paying.

I'm still trying to rise to the challeges of re-creating wonderful Pinterest dolls in micro-miniature and mostly enjoying them.  Here's the inspiration for my latest creation....

She 24" tall, so definitely a challenge to recreate in a tiny doll just 1  3/4" tall, but I took a run at it and after two days....

After a brief lie-down in a darkened room, I decided I'd make another, learning from the things I felt I could improve.....

I had fully intended to offer them for sale but I like them both so much that I've decided that they will go into La Mignonette.... my French doll shop.

I'd also like to share a work in progress.....

I came across one of these little plain wooden boxes in my cupboard so I decided to use some of the offcuts from my lovely bureau cabinet makeover to cover it.  Still some finishing off to do on the exterior.

On the inside, I've made a little doll in the same shades of blue, plus a tiny fan and small, illustrated doll book.  I'm also going to make a few costumes to go in the lid, plus a few more accessories.  

I have loads of different sizes and shapes of little boxes put aside to make doll presentation boxes and had forgotten just how much fun they are to make, so I'll definitely be creating more during lockdown.

April Online Show....

There isn't normally an April online show, but these are not normal times, so the organiser of the Mini Miniature Show has added some new dates to the show calendar including one which opens today and runs through till 19th.

Over the past few weeks I've been designing and making some new 'self-isolation' kits to help keep boredom at bay.
Of course, the current lockdown is also taking its toll on the inhabitants of our doll's houses, with the children in particular, seeking amusement.  Doll's house children are usually  particularly naughty and can get up to no end of mischief if not kept gainfully employed, so with this in mind I have created three brand new vintage board game kits*, and revisited another which was discontinued some time ago.

Tweedledum Board Game

Beatrix Potter Board Game

Cat Snakes & Ladders Game

Red Riding Hood Board Game

The kits contain everything needed to make colourful 3-dimensional board games, all based on vintage originals.  However instead of wooden counters, they have proper double-sided characters which can be moved around the boards and won't fall over! 

Each of these kits purchased at the show will also include a bonus kit of either a set of dressing up masks or a mini illustrated book, all themed to complement the board game kit.

There are also some other new kits making an appearance at the show and which you can find on my dealer page HERE! 

*Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for arguments, ructions, fits of pique, flouncing off in a huff or intermittent sulking from your doll's house children as a result of playing any of these games.

Called to account.....

Well.... it's taken me ALL DAY, but on the stroke of 5.30pm I finished the annual accounts up to today's date.  So just another week's transactions to go and they'll be finalised.

I have never, in the history of ever, completed the accounts on the final day of the tax year.  I don't think you realise just how momentous this is.

I can hardly believe it myself!

Now I'm going to pour myself a large G+T and sprawl on the sofa for a short while, basking in the unfamiliar sensation of being ahead of the game.

*shuffles off to the kitchen, still shaking head in disbelief*

*sigh*

Yes, go on.

Say it.

You KNEW I'd start faffing around as soon as I sat down to start the annual accounts.... didn't you?

And you're not wrong.

No sooner had I settled down with the receipts Box of Doom than I suddenly remembered A Very Important Thing that I had to do straight away.
No it couldn't wait.  
Not even for a short while.  
It was really urgent.
I simply had to reorganise the icons on my laptop screen immediately.  I only had enough space for two more and it was obviously critical that I put all else aside to concentrate fully on the impending desktop crisis.

One of these icons was an image that I'd saved a while back as it really resonated with me in a very deep, emotional way.  It spoke to me and initiated a binding connection with my innermost soul.

What....
You want to see it?

I have to admit, I spent longer than strictly necessary, going through the various options, to determine which ones applied to me.

#1 The Cleaner -  tick. Obviously. As is evidenced by my urgent need to clean my laptop desktop.
#2 The Panicker - Hmmm.... not so much.  I rarely have deadlines these days, apart from self-imposed ones, and they're always subject to indefinite extension.
#3 The List Maker - double tick.  I've never happier than when I'm making lists.  Lists are my raison d'etre.  I am a list maker par excellence and my list making skills are legendary.
#4 The Napper - Not really.  Unless I'm poorly.  Small Dog, on the other hand.........
#5 The Sidetracker - triple tick. This way of thinking describes me perfectly.  I really should do something about it.
#6 The Social Sharer - No.  I don't do this.  Except... wait. Is that what I'm doing right now? 
#7 The Internet Researcher - multiple ticks. Although in my defence, the many hours spent on Pinterest are most definitely extremely important and invaluable. *cough*
#8 The Snacker - not so much.  Apart from the odd cup of tea and biscuit during the working day.  Very important to keep hydrated and blood sugar levels elevated for energy.  Plus Small Dog approves.
#9 The Gamer - definitely not.  I hardly ever play games.  Only very occasionally. Wordscapes doesn't count, does it?  
#10 The Watcher - no, I don't watch TV during the working day. Videos? Online videos?  Online videos of dogs and cats doing funny stuff?  *sigh*
#11 The Delegator - definitely not.  Well not very often. And only when PP will do something quicker, better and more efficiently than I will.  Oh, OK. Yes then.  
#12 The Perpetuator - it's a fair cop. 'Banged to rights' is the relevant phrase here. 

Still.... my laptop screen is lovely and tidy.  All the floating files and images have been neatly stored in folders, which I've carefully labelled so that I'll never be able to find them ever again.  
AND the entire process only took a few hours, plus the time to write this.
So plenty of the afternoon still left to get to grips with the accounts.  Which I WILL start straight after I've made a nice cup of tea.  

Thirsty work.... accounts.

Death & Taxes

This weekend, despite the lovely (though chilly) spring-like weather and the fact that tonight we put our clocks forward one hour and thereby gain much lighter evenings, there is a definite air of unreality in even the most mundane tasks.

As we can't go out I'm making a virtue of necessity and spending the weekend doing the annual accounts.  This is unheard of....especially as it's not even the end of the tax year yet. I usually have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the receipts Box of Doom, to sort through all the financial ins and outs of the past year and attempting to batter them into some semblance of order, before doing the thing with the spreadsheets and the tens and units and the wailing and the gnashing of teeth.

All I could muster this morning, when I carried the Box of Doom into the workroom was an apathetic shrug of.... meh.

Even the added poignancy of this probably being the last time I'll ever have to struggle with my most despised business task hasn't raised my flagging spirits.  The best I can hope for is that it will take my mind off things and that I'll have a muted sense of relief when they're finally done and dusted.

Incidentally, I had always believed that the famous 'death and taxes' quote was attributable to Benjamin Franklin but according to Wikipedia it first appeared in The Cobler of Preston by Christopher Bullock in 1716....

’Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes'

In many ways, at the moment, death is a much surer, more imminent threat than taxes ever were.....

I'll let you know how I get on..... *sigh*