Doreen's Miniatures and Memoires

The Porch Roof is Done

2012-01-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

The glue held and the porch roof is now done. I did put more glue along each edge though to make sure that it does not give way later. Then I was able to put all the trim up in the gables. I am not going to put the trim along the edges of the roof though as I do not like the looks of it.

The next step will be the porch railings. So I got them all primed and then painted the final coat of paint. Now I am just waiting for them to dry before I can glue them all together.

While I am waiting for the paint to dry, I decided to work on the chimney. I was not sure how I was going to do this and still have it look realistic. I prefer a stone chimney so I started to cut up egg cartons to see how it would look. I painted the top grey as I think it best represents cement but I am still not sure what to do with the flu part. It is grey for now but I don't know if that is best.

Porch Roof

2012-01-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

Putting the porch roof on was a terrible job as there is nothing to hold on to. There are some slots but since the roof goes in at an angle, the small tabs just rest on the edge of the slot and it does not hold the pieces in place. As a result only a very small rim touches the walls and it is not much area for glue.

The instructions said to put the roof up first. The railings and posts are only very thin strips and they would not be strong enough to hold the roof up.

So I had to use a lot of glue and masking tape to hold the pieces in place and I did a lot of mumbling. But at least it is together. Now I will have to wait until the glue dries to see if it will hold together once I take the tape off.

I also gave a final coat of paint to the trim pieces.

Back at work

2012-01-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

I finally got my desk and work table cleared off and I started giving all the trim a base coat of paint.

I also made the chimney and the ladder for the attic trapdoor and gave them a base coat of paint as well.

While I was busy painting, David and Julie put the fireplaces together.

It is time to get back to work

2012-01-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

This is my work area! A dumping place for everything. I have not been down here for awhile and everything is piling up on top of the desk.

Misty is our anti social cat. Although she looks gentle, she is very aloof and in the summer she spends all her time outdoors. But she does not like winter and her visits outdoors is very quick.

Rusty is our gentle giant. Although he hides when visitors come, he is always around us. He loves attention and follows us everywhere we go. If I am at my desk, he will jump up on it and beg to be petted. He jumps on our lap if we are on the chesterfield, and sleeps on our bed at night. He very seldom goes outside.

The two cats do not play with each other or sleep together. They occasionally confront each other and Misty will chase Rusty away if he gets too close. Rusty is a big baby and he always backs off.

Brandy does not bother with either of the cats unless Rusty is on our knees and then she will try to chase him off as she is very jealous. This stuffed cat is the only cat she will get close to. Although she does sleep on the bed with Rusty a lot as long as Rusty does not touch her.

Brandy is enjoying the warmth of the fireplace downstairs in the recreation room. It is nice and warm and cozy, but I am determined to get to work and get my desk cleaned off so that I can get back to my miniatures. I need to finish building the Pierce dollhouse so that I can get back to the fun stuff. I have procrastinated long enough!!!!!

My First Dressed Bed

2011-10-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first dressed bed I have made. I have made beds for children's rooms but this is the first canopy bed I have done.

I belong to a miniature group on line that does group projects and this project was to make a dressed bed. It started with cut pieces. Since I have no stores near me and no car to go to one, I have to rely on what I have on hand. I cut the pieces from bits I had on hand so they are all different types of wood. Therefore I have to paint them as staining would result in different shades.

I wanted the headboard to have a carved look so I cut a piece out of lace and glued it to the headboard before painting it.

The mattress was made out of a piece of Styrofoam covered with cotton from a jewelry box.

I also made a set of sheets, blanket and pillow for the bed but forgot to take a picture of them. I made a stuffed quilt and matching canopy and I even lined the under part of the canopy with a silky material so that you would not be looking up at bare wood.

The colours are slightly different than they show in the pictures. I did not want white trim so I gave all the trim a bath in tea. This gave a nice light beige colour which will blend better with the colours of the room. I was debating on putting curtains on the posts but I think that it would make the bed look too cluttered.

Beautiful Flowers

2011-10-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

I was so lucky to win the draw from Janice and my package arrived from England yesterday. I was absolutely amazed when I opened it up and found not one - but FIVE beautiful arrangements.

Beautiful blue iris!

Not sure what this plant is but I love it.

Wonderful daffodils. I have always wanted to have these flowers but never attempted to make them.

And look at these wonderful clematis. So real looking!

This rose wreath is great. The roses and those little buds are wonderful.

Thank you so much Janice. It was far more than I expected and I am so thrilled with them all. And I also enjoyed the Dumbledore's sherbert lemons!!

Our 50th Anniversary

2011-09-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Today is our anniversary! We have been married for 50 years and what a ride it has been. With many ups and downs, our life has never been dull. We have three wonderful children and six very special grandchildren.

We have had fifteen homes and two recreational cottages and have lived in ten different cities/towns. We even traveled across the country to the west coast. We have seen so many changes over the past 50 years as the world evolves but the one thing that does not change is love. We still love each other as much today as we did on our wedding day. Even more as our love has grown year by year.

My husband is so special and he is a great father. His family has always come first with him and he is the best husband ever. The road may have been a little rough at times but we traveled it together - side by side - all the way. When we got married, some skeptics said that we would not last a year because we were complete opposites. But opposites attract and we compliment each other. What he does not like to do, I do and vice versa. We work so well together and share everything from child raising to housework to yard work and renovations. We are a team and I have the best partner ever! I love you Norris.

Happy Anniversary!!!

The windows are done.

2011-09-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

I am so tired of painting these window frames.

I sure hope Julie is happy with this colour.

The last window!! What do you think?

I think it looks much better. The dark blue is a nice contrast.

What do you mean you changed your mind!!!!!!

2011-09-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

You want to change the paint colour now??????


I just finished sanding and painting everything white!

Julie decided that she wanted to have all the window trims done in the dark blue. David is not very happy as he has done all the trims in white and had already started to install some of the frames.

However I do agree with Julie that the blue will be a far better accent as the white was just too washed out against the pale blue walls.

Doors

2011-09-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how much work was involved in making these doors! Mostly the amount of sanding that was needed in order for them to all line up and to fit into the doorway opening. I added some trim on the bottom panels of the front doors as I thought they were too plain. The door handles are beads that I found in my stash.

The doors are going to be glued in place and will not be able to be opened and shut. That is a bit too complicated for me to attempt.

Julie and David have a quiet moment.

2011-09-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

The wallpapering is done

The floors are in

David and Julie take a break and enjoy a quiet moment.

Walls and floors

2011-09-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

The ceilings are all done and most of the walls are done. I still have to cut out the windows in the girls room and bathroom.

Close up of girls room and bathroom. It was hard to get the wallpaper around the roof supports from the floor above.

I made this rug for the turret room. I just loved the colours in it. I cut this out of one of my old sweaters as I thought it would be perfect in this room.

David and Julie are helping to make the grout lines in the tile floors. I did not want to attempt a real tile floor where you had to grout all the spaces. So this is a nice alternative and if you use a stylus on the lines, it makes the tiles stand out.

This is the finished floor. Now I just need to glue it in the kitchen.

Julie and David discuss the bathroom floor.

Julie and David get back to work.

2011-09-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Julie and David were glad to get back to work on the house. They had a wonderful summer and enjoyed the outdoors but now it is time to get busy on the house. They felt a little strange in the house as I had turned it on the side in order to make it easier to wallpaper the ceilings. Julie said that she felt like she was in a fun house.

The ceilings are all done now and next we will finish wallpapering all the rooms. Then we can work on the windows.

Papering the ceilings

2011-09-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

I have no pictures to post but I have started back working on the dollhouse. One of the items I bought was a roll of ceiling wallpaper so I am now in the midst of cutting and measuring the ceiling paper. I was going to leave the ceilings just painted white, but there are so many holes and bumps where the pieces fit together that it did not look very nice.

Marlies' gift arrived!

2011-09-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled when my name was one of the ones chosen for Marlies' giveaway as I love everything that Marlies makes. The detail is exquisite on both the front and the back. Just look at the lacing on the back, it is so real! The tiny buttons and bows!! There was also a beautiful perfume bottle and a wonderful fan that has a white and gold handle with a pink rose.

When I first saw these, there were three outfits and this is the one that was hoping for as it was my favorite. Thank you so much Marlies. I love it.

My new purchases

2011-08-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

I just received my order and it was just like Christmas opening up all the little packages. There were a lot of surprises as well because I had ordered grab bags and did not know what was in them. I was so thrilled with everything and couldn't be happier. The company was having a closeout sale and their prices were unbelievable. I never would have been able to afford all this normally.

The living room set along with the bookcase, train and dollhouse.

The dining room with tea cart, tea set, serving dishes, juice pitcher and glasses, gramma and grampa and begging dog. (The table has a removable center leaf)

The kitchen is old style which will be perfect for my house with the ice box and old stove. The cash register and scales will be used in my country store.

The bedroom and bathroom along with two figures to put in the rooms.

I also bought some ceiling paper and trim along with some vines for decorating. The trellis kit was in one of the goody bags.

There were various printies, decals, sewing and laundry items, baby dolls, etc. One of the printies was a real prize for me and that is the serenity prayer. I have always tried to base my life on this prayer and it really means a lot to me so it will certainly go up in my house somewhere.

I want to thank John and Gayle for helping me with this order and choosing items that they felt I would like. I am very happy with everything and now I can't wait to get back to work on the house so that I can start having "fun" with the inside.

Great find at the dollar store

2011-07-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

Our dollar store finally got some miniature furniture. It is too red for me but I will probably paint it. There were a few other pieces as well but these were the ones that I liked best.

Enjoying my piece of heaven

2011-07-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is where I have been spending most of my time lately. If I am not working in the gardens, I am relaxing and enjoying them. Brandy and the cats also love being outside and we all have blossomed with the fresh country air. Norris of course spends all his time outside as he always did and he loves having all the space to landscape.

I have included a lot of pictures as I want to share this wonderful place with you. There are flowers, weeds, fruits and vegtables all mixed together and I love it! I always loved to wander through fields and meadows and pick wild flowers and now I have it all in my own back yard. It has been fun watching to see what is coming up and although there are a lot of weeds amongst the flowers, I have left most of them there as they are beautiful in their own way.

My vegtable garden is coming along very well and we just love to go and pick the vegtables off the vine and eat them raw as we pick them. We have had rhubarb, raspberries, peas, snow peas, beans, lettuce and beat tops so far. The beats, carrots, corn, cucmbers, tomatoes, peppers and cherry tomatoes are not ready yet.

Although most of the perennials that I brought with me did not survive the winter, there are plenty of other flowers here to enjoy. Cultured ones as well as wild ones. So you can see why I love it here. It is just like heaven to me. The air is fresh and clean and it is so quiet.

Norris raiding the raspberry patch

Brandy just loves being outside

My favorite spot

Our fire pit

Welcome to my garden

2011-07-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my home and garden. I am sorry that I have not been posting much but I have been spending most of my time outdoors in the gardens and have not done much with my miniatures.

My husband loves fountains, ponds and country syle ornaments and he could not wait to start working in these gardens. This is the fountain he put on the front lawn.

A water pump and mailbox was also put in. (The mailbox is not used as we have to go to a local box to pick up our mail) Also we will have to take it down for the winter as it would be in the way of the snowplow.

He put a pond beside the front deck along with a rose arbour. This is a favorite spot for birds and we love to sit and watch them. There will be a climbing plant going up the arbour eventually.

These flowers are in the front garden beside the driveway and look like miniature mums. It is very interesting watching to see what is coming up as we do not know what is planted in the gardens.

A small rose bush is almost buried under other plants and I am going to have to learn how to care for roses properly. I think it is more like a wild rose although I do not see any suckers on the plant.

We brought our kissing couple with us as they have been in every one of our gardens. I thought the rose abour was a perfect spot for them. We do not move them around much as they are very heavy.

This is the raspberry and vegetable garden. The soil is very hard clay and the garden is overrun with foxtail grass. So I have been constantly trying to get rid of the weeds and turn the soil over. But it is so nice to see the vegetables growing.

I was so pleased to find this beautiful peony bush growing. I have tried to grow peonies before but we were never there long enough for them to get full grown. And this one is such a beautiful colour.

In one of the gardens, I found these tiny pansies almost hidden under the daisies. At least I think they are a form of pansy. They are so pretty. I wish there were more of them.

The garden by the back deck is where I planted all my perennials and most of them did not survive the winter. So I was pleased to see these daisies come up and fill in the blank areas. My dahlia bulbs survived and they are growing well although they are still very small and you can't see them too well in this picture.

This was one of the plants that did survive the winter, although they are much smaller than they were before. However, I did not realize that the owner had a herb garden here and the iris are almost buried under the dill plants. I am not sure what other herbs are here but the garden is full.

These yellow flowers are planted in the middle of the back lawn and I am going to have to get rid of all the long grass around them but so far we have just let them grow as they were.

At the back fence there are these lovely dainty white flowers growing through the fence. They almost look like baby's breath and they look lovely in a bouquet. They are growing wild in the field behind the fence.

And behind the fence we have a wonderful meadow that is full of wild flowers which I love. When I was a child, I used to spend hours wandering through meadows picking wild flowers and now I have a small meadow in my own backyard. I have a little piece of heaven here and I do love it so much. I picked a small bouqet from my garden and so I have flowers inside and out. I do hope you enjoyed your tour of my garden. Please come again. (I will try to post more frequently.)

Wedding Shadowbox

2011-05-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

I made a shadowbox for my son's wedding. He got married on Saturday to a lovely girl and I wanted to give them something to remember their special day.

I made the box itself from square dowels and garden stakes. (I had run out of the dowels.) Then I covered the frame with matt-board and then wallpapered it with scrapbook paper.

I stained a Michael's Hutch and made a table. Then I made a table cloth by fusing a piece of lace to a white backing and gluing them both onto a piece of tinfoil. This enabled me to form the tablecloth over the table so it would hang nicely.

The next step was to fill the table. The buffet dinner was to include roast beef, chicken and salmon with a variety of salads, vegetables and potatoes. There was going to be squares tarts and cookies for dessert. I am not very experienced in making things with clay yet and food is not my specialty. I did make the beef from clay and the macaroni and tomatoes for the salads, but the chicken was an eraser that I cut in slices and the tossed salad was buffalo snow that I shook in a bag with green paint. I used gallery glass to give the shiny wet look. I made the squares and the cupcakes from a variety of items.

The cake and the plate of cookies was a gift from Debbie. I knew I would find a place of honour for this beautiful cake. The glasses were a gift from Rosanna. Thank you both for helping to make this table so special.

Then I made the pictures for the walls. The main picture was their wedding invitation for over the table. I shrunk down a lot of their family pictures and used them.

The next step was the bride's bouquet and shawl. All I knew was that her dress was blue. So I tried to incorporate some blue in the flowers as well as do a blue shawl to drape over the chair. Again I had to use tinfoil to make the drape and this gave a shiny look to the shawl.

The next item was the hutch. I wanted to have all the family represented, even their dog Turner. The frames are made from charm bracelet frames. The candles are beads with a thread for a wick.

The picture over the hutch is the restaurant where the reception was held.

Beside the hutch is a calendar showing the date of the wedding. I had a hard time doing the calendar as any calendar that I could find on line would only let me print it, it would not let me shrink it down to miniature size. I finally just cut the month from the back of one of my calendars, added the year above and then added a picture of their dog Turner.

And of course any wedding has to have presents, so I made some to put in front of the hutch.

The scene is now complete and all I have to do is add the frame. I used a picture frame and velcro to hold it in place.

My Son's Wedding

2011-05-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Exchanging vows

The new Playter Family

The bride's parents

The groom's parents

The groom's sister Cheryl and her family

The groom's brother Jamie and his family

I am now Mrs.Playter

A very happy couple

So much in love

My wonderful new daughter-in-law

Congratulations to you both and may you have many years of happiness and joy.

Blue House

2011-05-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

The outside of the house is now painted and Julie and David have been working very hard. They are now going to take a much deserved rest while I work putting the roof on. This is too difficult for them to do on ladders as there are many sections to the roof. Their next job will be putting the windows and window frames in.

Working In The Yard

2011-05-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

We have been spending a lot of time outdoors and enjoying every minute of it. There may be a lot of grass to cut but it is so nice being in the country and it does not seem like work.

There are tulips in the front garden and some other plants are yet to be determined. Our tulips are a little later than the rest of the country as it still is a little chilly out. But spring is here!

This view of the side of the house shows the barn and drive sheds. The owner uses them as storage facilities for boats, trailers etc. Our vegetable garden is behind the white Adirondack chair you see.

Green and Yellow

2011-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Brandy's favorite toy is a yellow tennis ball and she decided to take it outside to play with it. It was so funny to watch her trying to find the ball among the dandelions. I would throw the ball and it would take her awhile to find it.

Our yard is full of dandelions and if we were still in town, this would be very upsetting as Norris always maintained a lush green lawn with hardly any weeds in it. But here in the country, everything is rather wild and actually I love it. The green and yellow is so pretty.

Although dandelions are considered a weed, I have always liked them. I remember my mother used to take my "bouquet" and put them in the middle of the kitchen table and my hands were always stained from picking them.

Then when I had children, they also used to bring me bouquets of dandelions and I put them in the middle of my table. It is too bad that I am not a wine drinker as I sure have a lot of material for dandelion wine. LOL

My Garden

2011-05-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

The weather has been great this past week and we finally got out to work in our gardens.This first picture is the first garden you see as you come in the driveway. There are a lot of plants coming up including rhubarb and tulips but there is a lot of plants we don't know yet.

This is the yard beside the driveway. The driveway branches off to the left towards the barns and drive sheds which are not part of our property.

This is the raspberry bushes and the vegetable gardens. We have just finished planting all our seeds and are looking forward to fresh vegetables this year. The little white house in the background is vacant.

The tool shed and peony bushes (at least I assume they are peony bushes) This is just across the driveway from the vegetable garden.

There is a raised garden all around the back deck. This will be so much easier to maintain and weed since it is raised. I do not think that there are many plants left here from the previous owners other than some rockery type plants that have grown wild.

This is the right raised garden and this is where I planted all my perennials. However, they were all just sticks so I am not sure which was which. It will be interesting to see what comes up and what survived the harsh winter.

This is the left raised garden and I planted my dahlia bulbs in this garden along with some giant marigold seeds. There are some plants coming up but it is too soon to know what they are.

This was one of the first things to go in the garden. My daughter gave me this garden stone to put in my new garden for Mother's Day. I love it!

We spent all day planting the vegetable garden and just as we finished, it started to rain. How perfect is that? God watered our garden for us just at the right time.

The view from our backyard looking over the farmers fields. From our deck on a clear day, you can see the Blue Mountains and you can see the lights of the ski lifts at night.

Mining Camp

2011-05-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

My daughter decided that she wanted to make an old time mining camp in miniature. She did a lot of research before she even started the scene. (Don't forget to poke the pictures so that you can see in more detail.)

She found out how the old time tents were built with a wooden frame under the canvas. She researched their tools, equipment, food, supplies, reading material, newspapers, letters, post cards etc.

Then she started constructing. The first item she made was the bed and sleeping bags. The rope bunk bed was amazing and the sleeping bags looked so real looking.

She found old newspapers from the gold rush days and old records that showed the exact list of supplies and amounts that the miners would need to take into the wilds.

She found letters and postcards that were sent to miners from friends and loved ones. There were also maps of the different gold fields.

She created an old wood stove and a storage rack.

Then she spent a lot of time looking for a miner. She finally found an action figure that was the correct size and had the rugged look she wanted.

(I believe it was a wrestler.)

She did a lot of work on the river and landscaping. I am so proud of her and all she has accomplished. She has done many things that I have never even attempted and this is her first miniature ever. The river is so realistic. Stones, weeds, muddy look, gold panning dish at the side. Even the miner's donkey and an old outhouse.

It is such a pleasure to have her interested in miniatures and I love sharing this hobby with her. It

makes it so much more fun when you can share it.

Constuction Continues

2011-05-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Once the third floor was in, David couldn't wait to start working up there. Julie was very upset at his disregard for safety. She told him that was no way to place a ladder.

She told him to put the ladder through the trap door opening which was much safer.

Now they can both work on different floors.

The tower is in and David and Julie tape the walls.

While Julie is checking out the wallpaper, David finishes taping the roof of the tower. Then he can't resist playing "King of the Tower".

All the cracks and crevasses were then filled with plaster.

The tower's secret room is painted.

Julie puts up the border in the secret room and David tapes the walls.

The tower room is finished.

The walls are now up and the holes are all filled. It is now ready for the first coat of light blue. I think it will be easier to paint it before I start putting the roof pieces on.

David and Julie check out the doors for the dining room and the front entrance way.

Farewell to Sasha

2011-04-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

We returned Sasha to her former owners with a very heavy heart. We loved her so much but she was not a puppy for a senior's house. She is a dog that would be far better suited to a family with children that can romp and play with her. She tired us out as well as tired out Brandy and the cats. She only wanted to play but she kept biting Brandy's legs and ears. Brandy would yelp but never retaliate. Brandy spent most of her time on the couch where Sasha cold not reach her and she tried to keep out of Sasha's way. And she would jump on the cats whenever they got close. However when our grandchildren were here last weekend, Sasha and the children romped all day and they all loved it.

We had to have three different foods and we had a tough time keeping them all separate as Sasha would eat anything and everything. She was always getting into the cat's food as well as Brandy's as she would push them out of the way to get their food. And it was such a hard job to train her as she loved being outside so she kept going to the door. We kept getting dressed and took her outside but all she wanted to do was play. (Our yard is not completely fenced in so we could not let her out alone.)

She bullied all the animals and if Brandy had a toy, she would drop hers and take Brandy's - just like a two year old that does not want to share. LOL Sasha was adorable and very loving but she was just sooo active and on the go constantly. The only rest we got was when she was in her crate sleeping. We were getting very frustrated and tired of constantly babysitting. We had to keep our eye on her every minute. We called the former owner and she came and picked her up. We cried as she went out the door and we felt really bad but we knew that Sasha needed to go to a family that had children.

Working on the Tower

2011-04-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

This part is taking me quite awhile to do. I decided that it would be easier to put the inside window frames in before I put the sections together as it would be rather difficult to do it later. So I had to paint the stained glass, and sand and paint the window frames then glue them in place before I started to put the tower together. Then with Julie and David helping, we put up the walls of the tower and glued them in place. We used masking tape to hold it as tight as possible while the glue dried.

Once the glue had dried and the masking tape was removed, the gaps between the pieces were quite wide. These pieces did not fit that well together and one of the sections was a little warped. The instructions that I have been following said that she used skewers to fill the gaps but I do not know what they are so I filled the gaps with polyfila. This picture shows the work in process.

I still have to finish filling the gaps (the largest one is around the corner where the tower attaches to the wall) and then they will all have to be smoothed out. Once it is all dry, I will sand it smooth. I have learned something new - the art of plastering!! LOL

Hall Windows

2011-04-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

Now that I have the staircase in and the bedroom wallpapered, it is time to put the staircase wall in. But then it would be rather difficult to get to the windows.

So I decided that I would complete the windows for the hall before I went any further. First I put stain glass on. I thought the blue and green would be a good combination for the stain glass in this area.

Then I painted the window frames and installed them. Now I had to think on what I was going to use for curtains! I started to look through my stash.

I found some lace that I could use for curtains, and I found a bracelet that I had bought at the dollar store that would do for the ends of the curtain rods.

The curtains are now up and I am pleased with how they came out. Now I can put the staircase wall up and go on to the next step.

Staircase Is Finally Finished

2011-04-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

My Grandaughter and Our Pets

2011-04-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

My son and my granddaughter came up to visit on the weekend. She wanted to make some miniatures especially things for her "ice cream parlour" that she is making at home. I just gave her some basic ideas and then she went to town and made several items on her own. We started with cupcakes and icecream tubs. Then she went on to make tables and chairs and angels. Do you think she might follow in her grandmothers footsteps?

My son had broken his wrist doing Karate and he finally had the pins taken out but he will have the cast on for awhile yet. He has to do everything with his left hand and he said that he now can write like a grade twoer.

My granddaughter had fun playing with the two dogs and she tried to pet Misty but Misty mainly tried to stay out of the way. I think Rusty hid somewhere for the day as he did not come out at all.

Brandy is getting along better with Sasha, but she is very jealous still. If I am playing with Sasha, Brandy will whine and try to get my attention. Even Rusty will climb on my lap and try to push inbetween me and Sasha.

Sasha is very playful and runs and jumps on all the animals. Rusty takes it in stride and just lets her and he never retaliates.

Misty sat on the stairs and tried to keep out of her way. She does not like to be chased or bothered. Sasha did not go down the stairs then so Misty felt she was safe there. But no longer as Sasha now goes up and down the stairs all the time.

But Sasha chases Brandy the most. Brandy still does not like it when Sasha nips her but they both love to run around and Brandy is getting better at playing a bit with her.

It is so hard to get a picture of Sasha as she never sits still long enough to get a good picture. Most of the pictures I take are either blurred or just a tip of the tail as she disappears. Here she is taking a breather.

Brandy spends a lot of time just watching her and wondering if Sasha is getting something that she is not. She does not like Sasha taking her toys!!

David and Julie Paint The Stairs

2011-04-01T11:25:00.001-07:00

The first coat of paint is done but it needs another coat. Although you can't see it from this angle, you definately can see the two different colours of wood. The red shade of wood might need three coats of paint.

Stained Glass Windows

2011-03-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Before I put the staircase in, I have to put in the window that is behind the staircase. I would never be able to reach it otherwise. As I got the windows out, I thought they looked so plain. They are supposed to represent stained glass windows so why not do them as stained glass?

I have gallery glass on hand as I use it a lot for making foods look moist or for anything that I want shiny. But I have never made stained glass before. Here is my opportunity to make stained glass windows.

I am quite pleased at how they turned out so I will now do the other windows as well. It gives more life to the windows rather than the plain while circles.

I also did some more work on the stairs. The sides looked so plain and I wanted to add some kind of trim. I settled for some rectangular shapes that I hope will give the illusion of panels once they are painted. I also filled in all the holes and spaces with spackle. Now I just have to wait for it to dry and then I will paint them.

Staircase is Built

2011-03-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got the staircase built and it was rather difficult. But I took my time and did a little bit each day. There was a lot of sanding needed. Greenleaf houses are not that easy.

As you can see from this close up that there is no consistency in the wood. Some sides are blonde and some are red. Same with the steps and the risers and the railings. To try and stain this would be a big mistake as far as I am concerned.

I have been offered many suggestions to this as far as staining goes but I am not up to mixing different stains and experimenting with different colours.

So I have decided to go with painting them. Someone suggested that I could try dry brushing to give a wood effect but I have not had much luck in the past with dry brushing and I do not want to ruin them. I will go with off white woodwork throughout the whole house.

When I was growing up all the woodwork in our house was white and I feel that the rooms will be much brighter that way. Especially since I am not electrifying the house.

Disappointed With Greenleaf

2011-03-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

My staircase arrived yesterday from Greenleaf. I was pleased with the prompt delivery once my payment was received, but I am not happy with the staircase. It came in two pieces and both pieces are combined in one staircase. One is a very blond wood and the other is a very red wood. There is no way this is going to stain the same colour!! I knew that it would not match the floor exactly but I did not think it would come in two so different shades.

I tried a little bit of stain on each piece of wood and this is the result. The staircase is going to look terrible. I contacted Greenleaf and they said that there is nothing they could do about the variance of wood colour. It comes to them that way and they have to use what they get. They suggested that I either use a dark stain or paint. I am so disappointed because I wanted to have stained wood trim inside the house not painted woodwork.

Here are some of the walls with the wallpaper that I chose. The first is the living room paper.

The next is the dining room.

And then the kitchen wallpaper. I am also going to put tile on this floor and I found some nice tile that will match the walls but when I printed it out, my color ink ran out so only half of the sheet is printed properly. Now I have to wait until I can afford another color cartridge and they are not cheap.

Pets and Painting

2011-03-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Brandy still does not like Shasta and she is always running away from her when she tries to play. We try to give them both lots of attention so that neither one feels left out. Norris took Brandy out for a walk which she loves.

So while Brandy was gone, Sasha decided to play with the cats. Rusty as usual is very good and it is almost as if he is saying - "oh no, not another one, I just got Brandy trained!!!" He just lets the puppy jump all over him.

Misty usually watches from a distance and ignores them all. This picture is very blurry as it is so hard to get a picture of them together. As soon as Sasha gets near, Misty takes off.

While everyone else was occupied, I went back to work on the dollhouse. I started to do the wallpaper on the bottom floor and I noticed that the insides of the windows and doors had not been painted. Since the windows and doors of this house fit on the outside, the side of the wood will show. The other dollhouse I did had windows and doors that fit right inside of the opening and therefore hid all the rough lumber.

David and Julie got out their paint brushes and helped to paint the sides of each opening. Once they have finished painting, I will wallpaper the bottom floor.

Readers Choice Award

2011-03-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

The votes have been tallied and Casey's Minis has won the Readers Choice Award. Congratulations Casey and of course Tessie (as Tessie certainly participated). Casey definitely deserved this win as she has never missed a day in posting and her blog has helped all of us in our creations. She explains how to do things in a very clear, easy to understand way. As well the story line with Tessie as the main star and Zar as support makes the blog fun and interesting to follow. (I don't know haw Casey ever manages to keep up with Tessie as Tessie always seems to be one step ahead.)

I wish to thank all of those who voted for me and kept me in a close second throughout the race. It was such an honour to be nominated in the first place and to be runner up to Casey's blog was beyond my imagination. Thank you all so much as you have made this all worthwhile and so much fun. When I first started blogging, I never realized how much fun it would be and how many friends I would make. I love you all and appreciate your support and your comments.

Our New Pet Sasha

2011-03-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

We changed her name as we just didn't think that Cassie suited her. We changed it to Sasha. And she seemed to respond better to Sasha so I think she likes it better.

She loves to be up on your lap just as much as Brandy does.

Misty tolerates her but likes to watch from a distance. If Sasha gets too close she will just walk away.

Rusty just ignores it all and as he is the only male and he is the king of the roost

It didn't take her long to find out where the food and water area was.

Which is good as long as Rusty is not eating. (But Rusty just walked away.) It is rather awkward as there is three different foods and they all try to eat each others.

Misty waits for everyone else to finish eating before she will go to her food dish.

Sasha tries so hard to play with them all but right now they do not want to play with her.

Brandy does not want to be on the floor if Sasha is there and jumps up on our laps to get out of her way. Poor Sasha just wants to play and the other animals do not co-operate.

New Addition

2011-03-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

We never learn. Our new neighbours had puppies and when we went over to see them - of course we came home with a puppy. Meet Cassie, our newest member. Brandy is not yet sure that she wants another dog in the house but the cats don't seem to mind it.

Undercoat of Paint is Added

2011-03-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

All the main pieces have now been painted with a white undercoat and it is now time to start putting the sides up. David and Julie have a hard time finding the first piece.

They help to hold the wall in place while I do a dry fit to make sure it is going to go together with all the tabs. Then I glued the first pieces in place.

I do not have any clamps so I have to rely on masking tape to hold everything together while the glue dries. David and Julie helped to apply the tape.

Flowers for Britt

2011-03-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Britt. Julie will send these flowers to you as soon as I can get to the post office. I live in a rural area and we do not have a car so I do not get into town very often. I will let you know when they are on the way.

I just wanted to verify that these are the ones that you chose.

AND THE WINNER IS.............

2011-02-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

David and Julie show the arrangements one more time before the final draw.

Then they make sure that the names are all really mixed up as they shake the box between them.

Julie had a little problem reaching down into the box so David tilted it to make it easier.

It's okay David, I have a name so you can put the box down now.

And the winner is ......... Britt!!!!!!! Britt, if you could please send me your address and let me know which bouquet you would like I will send it out to you. I know you said that you liked Julie's flowers but she was holding two bouquets. A red and pink combination and a yellow and orange combination.

Attic Floor

2011-02-19T17:22:00.000-08:00

I just finished the attic floor and I am amazed at how it turned out. The three floors came from the same kit and were all done the same way with the same stain and same varnish. The only difference was the width I drew each strip. Also the grain in the top two floors went one way and the bottom floor went the other way.

In the house it won't matter as the floors can be different but I hope that when I do the staircase it will match with the bottom floor. (I haven't ordered the staircase yet but I will be ordering it at the end of the month.)

I guess Greenleaf must use different kinds of wood.

Don't forget to cast your vote.

2011-02-19T08:52:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder for you to cast your vote for your favorite blog, book, and building kit. They are all great and worthy of your vote.

I know that I really appreciate the support of my followers.

Ladders

2011-02-17T14:25:00.001-08:00

David likes to have all the tools he needs to do a job properly. It was okay to stand on chairs when he was doing redecorating but that is no good for major construction. So he decided to build a step ladder and an extension ladder.

First he did the frame and used brads to hold the pieces together so that the ladder could fold up.

Then he put the steps in and glued the two sides together. He also glued all the steps on to a frame for the extension ladder while he was at it.

The basic framework is completed but there still needs to be support pieces and the top piece to give the ladder stability.

David tests the ladder to see if it folds up properly. It will be much easier to store that way. Now they just need to be painted.

The step ladder is now finished and David checks to see if it is good and sturdy. He does not want to have any accidents when he is working.

Julie comes to give him a hand and take the ladders to the job site. Good thing it is nice and light so she can carry it with no problem.

When they get to the job site they see that another helper is already there and is hard at work!!! Don't I have great helpers.

Dry Fit and Bedroom Floors

2011-02-16T06:34:00.000-08:00

I did a dry fit of the house to make sure that it would all fit together okay. A lot of the slots had paint in them so I had to sand a lot in order for the pieces to fit together. Then I pulled out some of the scrapbooking paper I had to see if David and Julie liked any of it for wall paper. They really did not like any of it. I guess I am going to have to find some wallpaper somewhere else.

I started marking the bedroom floors. The floors on the main level are wider planks but I wanted the narrow hardware strips for the bedrooms. I found a square dowel that was just the size I wanted and I started to draw the lines.
Here is the finished floor all stained and varnished. The varnish is not quite dry yet so you can still see some milky areas where it is still wet.

I placed the one floor over the other to show the difference. The dye cut for the top floor goes the opposite way of the bottom floor and when I am drawing the lines, I always go the same way as the grain in the wood. So the flooring is running the opposite way but that is okay as it is on different floors.

This is a closer look at the grain in the floors and I am quite pleased at how they turned out.

I will be covering the bathroom and kitchen areas with tile of some kind and will put rugs in some rooms. I am not sure what I will put on the third floor but I think I should also do the hardwood for that floor first. I have not decided what rooms I am putting up there but I can always cover the hardwood look if I want it to be just an attic.

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

I just want to wish a very Happy Valentines Day. You are all special in my eyes and I love you all.

Have a great day and may your loved ones give you that extra tender loving care that you so deserve.

Wonderful Birthday Present

2011-02-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday and it has started out wonderfully! My husband brought me breakfast in bed, my son-in-law brought me a beautiful two toned azalea plant and then to top it all off I found out that I have been nominated for the 2011 Readers Choice Award and I am among the five finalists. WOW!!!!! How wonderful is that!!!!!

I want to thank those of you who nominated me and I am truly honoured. The other four finalists are all wonderful artisans and I follow all their blogs regularly as they are fantastic. To be included in the same category as them is a gift in itself no matter what the outcome. I do appreciate all my followers as they give me support and help and make my miniature hobby so much fun. I could not have done it without you.

If you wish to vote for your favorite blog, you can vote once per day until March 8th and the winner will be announced on March 15th. You can vote by clicking on my finalist badge in the top right corner or by going to about.com and casting your vote there and I would appreciate your support. This is definitely a very hard choice for everyone.

An Award and an Apology

2011-02-10T08:22:00.001-08:00

I received this award from Vanilda and from De last month. During that time I was still in the middle of my move and I was having trouble getting an internet connection. So I did not respond at that time. But I am responding now.

Vanilda and De - Thank you so very much for thinking of me for this award. It is for creativity, use of materials and membership in the blogging community.

According to the rules, I am to pass it on to 5 blogs that I feel meet this criteria. However I have over 300 followers and there are so many of them that meet this criteria that I could not choose 5 of them. So I will let my followers decide if they want to accept this award and pass it on.

First Floor Details

2011-02-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Julie and David are really getting into the swing of construction. They did a primer coat on the foundation and then did a coat of blue.
This picture shows the floor with the pencil lines marked on.

Full picture of the first floor with the veranda painted and the floors marked ready to be stained.

This is the floor after it has been stained. It seemed a little dark to me and the water stains still show a bit.

Now the floor has received a coat of varnish and David it quite pleased at how it has turned out.

David shows the floor to Julie and she is so proud of the job that he has done.

Giveaway for 300 Followers

2011-02-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

WOW!!!!! I now have over 300 hundred followers. That is Fantastic! I was trying to find something that I could give for a giveaway and I had a hard time as none of my stuff is that good and I did want to give something that I had made myself.

Julie and David tried to help me pick something for a giveaway and they thought that flowers signify friendship. So they raided my garden and made up several bouquets for you to choose from.

I will have a draw on February 28th and the winner will have the choice of one of the vases of flowers. All you have to do is comment on this post and post a link on your blog.

Also tell me your choice of flowers. The pink or yellow that Julie is holding, the red or orange that David is holding or the yellow or mixed flowers that is at their feet.

I would love to give all my followers a bouquet as you all mean so much to me. Thank you for being my friend.

Willing Helpers

2011-02-07T16:25:00.000-08:00

David and Julie have gained a lot of experience as they updated and decorated their house and now want to help to build one from scratch. They check out their tools and paint supply as they get ready to work. The first step will be to put a prime coat on the foundation.

Paint Colours and Marking the Floor for the Pierce

2011-02-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

I bought the paint for the Pierce. I wanted shades of blue and had a hard time finding the two shades that went together well. Benjamin Moore sells paint sample pots that I think are perfect for dollhouse size painting. No one had "country blue" but I think these two colours will look nice.

Lucille gave me some excellent advice when she told me to go to Gina's site - More Minis Dollhouses . Gina shows you step by step how to build a dollhouse. So I am going to use that site as a guide. Thank you so much for that link Lucille. Here I have the bottom floor glued on and weighted with books until the glue dries.

The first great idea Gina shared was marking the floor so that it only needs to be stained and varnished. So much easier that gluing all those skinny sticks down. Also I wanted the strips to be wider and by drawing them I can make them as wide as I want. I found a piece of corner molding that was just the width I wanted so I am using it to make my lines.

Here is the bottom floor with all the lines drawn in. I hope the lines won't disappear when I stain and varnish the floor.

Spaghetti and The Base For The House

2011-01-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

When someone suggested that the jars would be perfect for a spaghetti jar, I just had to try it out. I was going to try broom straws but I think they were too thick. So I got some beige crochet cotton and used "stiffy" on the it to make it more rigid.

I glued all the base of the house together and now I am waiting for the glue to dry.

Small Jars With Corks

2011-01-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

I was shopping all day today so I did not do any work on the dollhouse. But I did spend some time looking for miniature stuff in the dollar store. Many of the girls in my groups had mentioned that there were small jars that had the no hold beads that would be great for the jars alone. And our store also had them. They had various colours and also glitter in some of them. They might work very well in some scenes. And the beads are an added bonus.

Starting The Pierce Dollhouse

2011-01-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

I so happy when my dollhouse arrived. It came to the old house before we moved and Brandy was very curious and had to check it out.

I took off the outside wrapping but did not open the box as it was sealed well and since we were moving it was better left that way.

But as soon as we were settled, I had to check it out. And finally yesterday I had time to start it.

I checked out the instructions first and when I looked in the box, it was all a mix of many pieces. I need to follow directions step by step and I knew that if ever I was going to get this together, I would have to put all the pieces back in their original form.

I laid out all the forms on the floor and started to replace each piece like a jigsaw puzzle. There were a few minor pieces missing, but I think I might be able to replace them.

But unfortunately these two sheets were missing completely! These are the pieces needed for the staircase and that is something that I can not replace. I was quite disappointed in that.

But in any case any job starts with a single step so I laid out the foundation. I will keep you posted on the next steps.

My Dollhouse Win

2011-01-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago, I was in a draw for a dollhouse. At the time we were told that a Beacon Hill dollhouse had been donated and of course I put my name in the draw and I won. I was elated and of course posted that I had won a Beacon Hill dollhouse. However when the donor delivered the dollhouse to the person running the draw, it was not a Beacon Hill but a Pierce.

Was I disappointed? Not a bit! I am just as thrilled with the Pierce. They are both lovely houses and I am looking forward to building it. Actually I think I like the Pierce better than the Beacon Hill as the "L" shape allows for a garden spot in the back.

So I hope that clears up the confusion of my Beacon Hill/Pierce. I hope to start construction soon.

My Craft Room

2011-01-24T09:16:00.001-08:00

I am so pleased with my craft room. It is so large that I have lots of room to move around. There is only one small window and it keeps getting covered with snow so we have to keep shovelling it out.

But I still have my view of the river only it is now a screen saver on my computer. I have sorted through all the supplies that are in the bins to the right of the desk and I have labeled every drawer. (My memory is not too good and I forget where I put things.)
To the left of the desk is bins with all my paper, cardstock, trims etc. The small bins on top of the desk hold a lot of the tiny supplies like snap fasteners, brads etc. Then I have my new work table where I am going to build my Pierce dollhouse.

Next is my bookcase where I used to have all my stuff crammed into. Now I use it as a display shelf for all my projects. I have rebuilt the camping scene and put the icecream parlour and hamburg stand back together. And now they can all be displayed in one area.

Then we come to the Hillcrest dollhouse. My pride and joy. It was a move in itself!! But it is now all put back together and it is nice that I now have space to have it in the same room with me. Before it was in a separate room.

Now we come to the part that really sold me on this house. The storage closet!!! The closet is almost as big as my former craft room was. This closet was my main reason for choosing the room that I did for my craft room.

The shelves are long and I store all the stuff there that used to be in my bookcase. I can now spread stuff out so that it is easier to see at a glance.

Below the shelves I store all the larger bins that I used to keep under the beds. This was a pain every time I needed them to get down and pull them from under the bed.

And there is lots more space in the corner of the cupboard to store all that stuff that you just want out of the way and you don't want it to be seen.

Hidden and out of the way but easily accessible.

I love my craft room and now I can't wait to start using it. And to start building my new dollhouse!!

Catching up

2011-01-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

Caterina held an International Christmas swap and she made this award for all the participants. I am only now catching up and want to post the wonderful gifts that I received from Roberta who lives in Italy.

This was my first international swap and it was great and especially as we did not really celebrate this Christmas for Roberta's gift was the only one I received. I had a wonderful gift to open on Christmas morning. Thank you so much Roberta and thank you Caterina for hosting this swap.
Roberta made a lovely Christmas ball for me to hang on my tree next year as well as the minis that were part of the 3 part swap. For the toy, she made the lovely little doll and for me a rose in a vase. For Halloween, she made a strawberry coffin cookie and some gruesome fingers.

For Christmas, she made a wonderful little Christmas tree with crystals and a Christmas log and cake. Look at the texture of that cake - doesn't it look delicious? Fantastic gifts Roberta, I love them.

My swap partner was Rachel and she lives in Wales. I tried to find theme paper to wrap each part but the only one I found for Halloween was a large sun.

There was one for toys, one for Halloween and one for Christmas.

These are the items that I sent to Rachel. For Christmas there were gift bags and wrapping paper, wreaths, candy canes, Christmas stockings and a plate for Santa along with a letter. For toys, a teddy bear and a dog (which I did not make) a rocker stack of rings and a cart of blocks. For Halloween, there were skull candles, pumpkins, eyeball stew, taffy apples, treat bag, and some tiny decorations.

This was a fun swap and there were so many wonderful things that went back and forth around the world

2011-01-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone - I am back!!!!! What a time! The move went very well and nothing got broken. The house is wonderful and we are very happy here but the main problem was the Internet. I had such a time trying to get on-line. Because we are now in a rural area, Rogers and Bell do not offer the service and we tried several options but we could not get a signal. I finally had to settle for the Bell stick which can only be used on my lap top. It also limits the amount of downloading you can do each month.

So I now have to download pictures from my camera to my regular computer, edit them and shrink the size. Then I have to save them on a disc and transfer them to my lap top and send them through the stick. This is my first post so we will see how it works and how the pictures turn out.

With the exception of the Internet, we love it here. It is cold and windy and the snow is still coming down but it is so beautiful and peaceful. We have lots of space both inside and out and I have a fantastic office/craft room. It is huge and has a large storage cupboard with shelves. My dollhouse is now in the same room with me and there is even lots of space for me to build my new dollhouse. I can't wait to get started.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and I am very anxious to see how the Christmas International Swap turned out. I have missed not being able to follow everyone's blogs. I hope to catch up soon.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

I hope the wonder of Christmas and the peace of the season is part of you this day and that your hearts are full of love. Enjoy each moment as we celebrate God's most precious gift by giving gifts to others. May the spirit of Christmas stay with you throughout the coming year and give you a very safe and healthy year.

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends and family. I love you all.

Prayer

2010-12-18T05:28:00.000-08:00

Every single evening

As I'm lying here in bed,

This tiny little PrayerKeeps

Running through my head:

God bless all my family

Wherever they may be,

Keep them warmAnd safe from harm

For they're so close to me.

And God, there is one more thing

I wish that you could do;

Hope you don't mind me asking,

Please bless my computer too.

Now I know that it's unusual

To Bless a motherboard,

But listen just a second

While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see, that little metal box

Holds more than odds and ends;

Inside those small compartments

Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them

By the kindness that they give,

And this little scrap of metal

Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them

Much the same as you.

We share in what life brings us

And from that our friendships grew.

Please take an extra minute

From your duties up above,

To bless those in my "Followers"

That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach

To each and every friend,

Bless each blogger, e-mail box

And each person who hits 'send'.

When you update your Heavenly list

On your own Great CD-ROM,

Bless everyone who says this prayer

Sent up to GOD.Com

Snowed In!

2010-12-15T09:43:00.001-08:00

This is the road outside of our house and it is very hard to travel as the snowplows have not been here since early this morning.

You can hardly see the house from the road as the drifts are so high and now there is no place left to pile the snow when we shovel it.

Brandy watned to go out and find Norris but in some places the snow was too deep for her. She did not stay out very long though and was glad to come back inside.

There's Norris and a neighbour trying to shovel the car out. I don't know what he will do when the snowplow comes by and fills the driveway in again.

Our back deck is now completly filled with snow. We can no longer get down the stairs to make a dog run, so we will have to just clear a small area on the deck.

The backyard looking towards the river. It is very beautiful as long as you do not have to drive in it. The police have asked everyone to stay off the roads until the plows have managed to clear them.

The backyard looking towards our neighbours house. They are not a full time residents which is a good thing because you can not get into their house, front or back,

Misty is quite content to stay indoors where it is nice and warm.

And I am quite content to stay in my office/craft room and look at all the beauty through the window. I only hope that this clears up before moving day as I don't know how the moving van will be able to get in.

Six Days Of Snow!!

2010-12-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing for six days straight now and we are wondering where we are going to put the snow. My husband has gone out 22 times to shovel in the past week.

He also has to try and keep an area shovelled for the dog as Brandy would be buried in the snow if he didn't.

The slush is building up on the river but it has not yet frozen so the river is still moving - but it is moving very slowly.

We are moving at the end of the month so I sure hope it stops soon!!!!!!!

Watch Out For Porn Posting On Your Blog

2010-11-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

I loved the feature "you might also like" at the bottom of each post which showed similar items from elsewhere on my blog. However on one of my postings "you might also like" showed three ladies(?????) in undress and sent you to a link for another type of blog entirely. I contacted the owners of this feature but they did not respond and did nothing about it so I deleted the feature entirely. I only found this out because a friend told me about it as she knew I would not like this type of thing on my blog. I normally do not go back to older postings of my blog so I would never have know this was there. Thank you so much Brigitte for letting me know that this porn was there so I could remove it.

Watching The Fur Babies Play

2010-11-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

We have done a lot of packing and it is amazing how much we have accumulated since we have been here. But we are doing quite well and we will be all packed long before the moving day. We like to get it all done early so there is no pressure when it gets closer to the day. It gives us time to sit back and watch our fur babies.

Both Rusty and Brandy like to sleep on my husbands lap when he is watching TV. Brandy uses the footstool as a step up to get to the chesterfield and quite often Rusty is in the way.

Brandy does not let that stop her though as she tries to get Rusty to move. I really am proud of Rusty as he never shows his claws no matter what Brandy does.

Brandy annoys Rusty enough that he finally moves and both of them settle down on my husband's lap.

I Won A Beacon Hill Dollhouse Kit

2010-11-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

I am soooo excited!!!!!!! A group I belong to have a "Pass It On Challenge" each year where we all donate various items and each person can then be put in a draw for the items. They are usually small enough to fit in an envelope but one person donated a Beacon Hill Dollhouse and of course I put my name forward. But I never in a million years thought I would be lucky enough to win it and I DID!!!!!!!!! I am just dancing for joy all around the house. WOW!!!

My current dollhouse is now all packed up and ready for our move and the dollhouse family are all looking forward to their new home. They just don't know which house they are going to move into as we have several new residents that are looking for a new home and it will take awhile to build the Beacon Hill.

Saying Good-bye To this Beautiful Spot

2010-11-04T10:03:00.000-07:00

It is always hard to say good-bye and this is certainly a beautiful place. But you have to give up something to get something and we are going to move to the country. Yes I will miss the river but I will not miss the noise of the river or this house which is not in the best of shape. We are moving to a lovely house in the country which has been well looked after. There is almost an acre of property and there is a vegetable garden and lots of sun so that I can also have flower gardens.

I will have a larger craft room with lots of storage area and room to display my doll house. The only draw back is that the craft room will be downstairs and right now my room is on the main floor. (Ohhh I am going to miss that view!!) We will be moving in at the end of December so I am going to be busy packing and I have to empty the dollhouse which will be a move of its own. I will finish making the International Christmas swap and then I will not be working on any minis for quite awhile. I also will not be posting though I will try to keep up with reading your blogs. I will be back posting in the new year once I get settled and I will have to do my dollhouse all over again. I hope you all have a Wonderful Christmas and a Great New Year and I hope you don't forget me. I will be Back.

Christmas International Swap

2010-10-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

I have entered a Christmas International swap for the first time and I am very excited about it. I normally do not like swaps because our mail system is so terrible. But this swap gives lots of time to make and mail your item(s). Also you only send to one person.

I am even more excited now that I know who my partners are as they are both on the other side of the world from me. The partner that I am sending to is Rachel and she lives in Wales. The partner that is sending to me is Roberta from Italy. This truly is an international experience. We have to make three categories in 1:12 scale are:
- A "Christmas" mini
- A mini toy for children "
- A mini theme "autumn" or "Halloween."

I still do not know what I am going to make and even if I did know, I couldn't tell you because it is a secret! You will have to wait until after Christmas to see.

The hardest part will be waiting until Christmas to open up the swap. I am really looking forward to this.

Winter in October!!!!

2010-10-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

We woke up to a white world this morning and no hydro. The snow was so heavy that it blew a transformer and we were without power for over an hour. This was when everyone was trying to get ready for work.

There are still leaves on the trees and it seems so strange to see the snow on top of the leaves. But it is a beautiful sight and wonderful to see as long as you don't have to drive in it.

Halloween Dinner

2010-10-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Grimm Sister's Halloween Dinner

Rachel is so interested in her book that she does not even realize that the boys have arrived.

Ethel looks up to see who is there.

Boris brought a pumpkin with him to add to the decorations.

Dante also brought a pumpkin but he drew a face on his.

The table is all ready for everyone to dig in.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE. MAY YOU ENJOY YOUR OWN PERSONAL STYLE OF FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT.

Grimm Food Is Ready

2010-10-20T12:23:00.001-07:00

The girls have finally finished the food and just in time as the boys should be arriving shortly.

They have baked bat wings in gravy with maggots on the side.
There is also boiled worms with a cream sauce.And eyeball stewwith fried ear crispsand pumpkin cake for dessert.

The Grimm Twins

2010-10-19T10:51:00.001-07:00

The Grimm twins, Rachel and Ethel are having guests over for a Halloween dinner and have been busy preparing the food. Everything is now prepared and is simmering on the stove or is baking in the oven. They have prepared eyeball stew, creamed worms, batwings with maggots in gravy, frothy fermented drinks and pumpkin cake for dessert. They even made some candy apples for later. So now they have a few moments that they can sit and relax with their favorite books.

Halloween Books and Hutch

2010-10-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

These are the books that Joann Swanson had in her tut. I love the gravestone bookends.

I painted the hutch purple, added material inside for contrast and painted little skulls on the handles.

I filled the hutch for now but I might change things around a bit before I am finally finished. I like the way the crystal ball glows with the flashlight.

Skeleton Candles

2010-10-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Well Joann Swanson got me going again. When I saw her skellie scene and all the instructions on how to do it, I decided that I would make a scene myself and use some of her projects.

When I was shopping in Wal-mart I found this skull bracelet. This is what Joanne used for her candles. The project has begun.

I made the candles and also made some potion bottles and stuff t go in the hutch which I am making now. I am also making the books that Joann so kindly gave the pattern for. Thanks Joann for giving me the incentive to get going.

Joann Swanson

2010-10-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

I am so thrilled to find that Joann Swanson has started a new blog. I have been a fan of hers since I started doing miniatures and her projects were so clear and so easy to follow. I learned so much from her. She has posted a great little Halloween scene that can be kept up all year round as it is not just for Halloween. Please take a pop over to her blog and welcome her and learn how easy it is to make this wonderful little scene.

New blog look

2010-10-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

I changed the background on my blog as this is my favorite type of scene and my favorite time of year. In northern Ontario, there are many, many lakes like this and one of our favorite pastimes is driving through the countryside to see the fall colours.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with most of my family there. We were missing my granddaughter who was on a cruise with her other grandparents and my son-in-law who is working in the states right now. But the rest of us had a wonderful day and the weather was perfect. I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful family and that we are all in good health.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-10-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

I wish all my Canadian friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. Tomorrow I am having my family come up for a Turkey dinner and I am so looking forward to it. May all my blogging friends have a great weekend whether it is your thanksgiving or not. May your table be bountiful, your friends many and may you have you loved ones near you. I know that I have much to be thankful for and I hope you do too.

Flea Problem

2010-10-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

Our cats were indoor cats until we got Brandy. Since we had to let her out so often, the cats would run between our legs and get out before we could stop them. Misty would sit right in front of the door just waiting for us to open it. They seemed to love it outdoors so we let them in and out as they wanted.

This was a big mistake. We were starting to find dead birds and mice in the yard and we did not like the idea of the germs that they carried. Then one night Rusty did not come home and the next morning he came in stinking of skunk spray. We decided that we would keep them in from now on.

Misty started to lose weight and she would just lay around and lick herself all the time. Hairballs were more frequent. Her fur started to get very stringy and her bushy tail was now very ratty. Then the scratching started with all of them.

We live in a very sandy area which is very prone for fleas and we know that Misty is allergic to fleas and she does get quite sick with them. Brandy was the worst. She was going crazy with scratching and biting and when we checked her fur, she was full of fleas. I have never seen that many on one animal. I called the vet and the groomer. The vet said we should take her to the groomer first as they would use Revolution on her and you don't want to wash it off.

We took Brandy to the groomer and the groomer had to clip her right down almost to the skin and it took three flea baths to rid all the fleas from her. When we brought her home, Rusty was very slow in approaching her. He did not recognize her and she certainly smelled different. Brandy kept trying to go to Rusty as if to say "Hey, it's me. Don't ya know me?" Then we got the revolution for all three of them and special pills for Misty to take in order for her to get over the trauma of the fleas.

Then we took the house apart and washed and vacuumed everything thoroughly. They seem much happier now and the scratching has stopped. Now we just need Misty to put on a little weight and to get her beautiful coat of fur back.

New Dolls

2010-09-26T12:31:00.001-07:00

Awhile ago Sonya posted that she would like to find a home for some dolls and swap for them and I just could not wait to get in touch with her. As most of you know I use dolls for all my scenes and now that I am finished with Julie and David's house, I need to leave them with their family and go on to other projects. Sonya's offer came at a perfect time. I needed some incentive to start another project. Thank you so much Sonya. I am thrilled with these new dolls.

The dolls arrived from Italy and here they are. I do not know yet just what I will do but the dolls are trying to tell me the kind of scene they would like to be in. I also have not yet named them.

This young lady has such a pretty face and I see her in a bedroom or bathroom, in front of a mirror getting ready to go out for the evening.

I love the dress on this doll and she too has such a nice face. I see her in a formal setting greeting friends for tea.

This lady looks very business like and I see her as a proprietor of a store. I have had an old country store in mind for quite some time and maybe she might fit in there.

And finally the only gentleman. I really like him and his outfit and I thought he would be a good husband for the lady above and they could both run the store.

In any case I now have more dolls to work with and I really need to get back to my miniatures. I work on one project at a time and get so involved with it that I tend to burn out and when the project is finished it takes awhile before I start the next one. I was working on the camping scene for several months and I just needed a break after it was done. But now I feel it is time to get back to it but I haven't yet decided what I am going to do.

Camping In Canada

2010-08-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Camping in Canada is a wonderful experience and Julie, David, Christopher and Jennifer are enjoying every minute. There is a stream quite close to their site and the lake is not far away. They have already hiked to the lake and are now relaxing around the campfire.

Christopher loves nature and the wildlife. He knows there are some bunnies hiding under a log behind him but he is careful not to scare them away. He also likes the birds in the trees as they sing such sweet songs.

He collected some shells when he was at the lake now he is getting the marshmallows ready for roasting.

Jennifer is patiently waiting for it to get dark so that they can light the fire and roast the marshmallows. Julie's book on Ontario birds is on her chair where she was reading it earlier.

David is quite pleased with his cooking area. He made a table for the coleman stove so that it would not take up space on the picnic table.

The cooler is full of food and has lots of ice and cold drinks in it as well.

David and Julie are relaxing and having a game of checkers and enjoying junk food. Soon it will be dark and they will light the fire.

The tent is all set up and the sleeping bags are all set out. There is even a seagull on the roof of the tent waiting to see if he is going to get something to eat.

Inside the tent everything is ready for a peaceful night. The family loves the outdoors and they will fall asleep with the sound of nature all around them. Good night all.

Packing The Car

2010-08-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

YAY - we are going camping!!! Everything is finally ready and the family is trying to fit all the camping stuff in the car. Ahhhh to relax in the great Canadian forests. There are so many wonderful camping spots to chose.

But next year we will have to have a van!

Watch Out For Bears!

2010-08-25T09:28:00.001-07:00

Melanie told me that I should keep my garbage covered up as it might attract the bears. Too late , they are already there! LOL

Camp Site and Lanterns

2010-08-25T05:57:00.001-07:00

Julie and David checked out the campsite and then they got the final item needed for the camping trip which was the lanterns. Now they are ready and can go camping for the final week before the children go back to school. The weather has been perfect and everyone is so anxious for this well deserved holiday.

Canvas Folding Chairs

2010-08-24T12:07:00.001-07:00

I finished the camp folding chairs and they are adjustable as well as fold down for storage. Thank you to Elana for showing me how to make them. I am quite pleased with how they turned out even if they are a little fragile. If you want to see how I made them, I posted the process on my projects blog.

Camping Items

2010-08-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

Julie is getting all the camping gear together. Once she had the tent, Coleman stove and cooler, she has been keeping me quite busy making all the other things she wanted. She needed paper plates, band aids, food, drinks, snacks etc.

Especially Ho Ho's. Those are the children's favorite snacks.

And of course the children need toys. We even came up with a tether ball which was one of the games my children played when we went camping.

Tomorrow, Julie and David are going to look at some camping lanterns and some folding chairs. They are also going to have a look at the campsite to make sure they like it.

Campfire Is Ready

2010-08-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

The campfire is stacked ready to light, the marshmallows are on sticks, and the children can't wait to roast them. When will it be night?

Picnic Table

2010-08-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

The picnic table is now built and Julie and David had to try it out. There is still a long way to go in order for me to do a complete scene. When I do a scene I try to make everything that you would find in real life. Some of the items I want to include are: campfire, laundry line with towels on it, axe in a log, lantern, toys, marshmallows on a stick, fishing pole, lawn chairs, food in the cooler, picnic basket and dishes, folding lawn chairs etc. The big items are now done so it time to start making all the little things that make a scene come to life.

The Tent Is Finished

2010-08-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the tent and I am quite happy with it. It took me so long as I glued one section at a time and waited till it was completely dry before I did the next section. I found it was much better to glue it all together as the sewing just didn't look right and it didn't sit straight. I also put support poles in the roof and in all four sides.

Julie and David looked it over very carefully and of course they realized that they would have to put guide wires to hold the awning out properly.

When they checked the inside they were very pleased with the room they had. There was even enough room to keep the storage box in the corner with all their clothes in it.

Door Screen for the Tent

2010-08-07T08:22:00.001-07:00

After several attempts, I think I have a screen that I am happy with. When we went camping, our tent always had a zipper in the middle and you tied each side back if you wanted it open. So I even put a zipper in it. This time the tent is coming along much better and I will post a picture once it is all together.

Trying To Make A Tent

2010-08-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to make a tent and it is not turning out too well. I found a picture of a tent that I tried to use as a base and I wanted the size to be big enough to fit the four sleeping bags.

I was coming along well until I started to put all the pieces together. There was not enough of a peak on the center and the whole tent was far too long. It just didn't look right.

When Julie and David saw it, they were not too happy either. Even if I put support poles in the centre they felt it was just not what they wanted.

I guess I will have to take it apart and try to fix it.

Coleman Stove

2010-07-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

I completed the coleman stove and although the paint job is not the best, it doesn't look too bad. I just used a picture of a coleman stove as a model and tried to find bits and pieces to represent all the parts. I used a small plastic box for the stove and a dowel for the propane tank. The burners are made from snap fasteners glued onto used hearing aid batteries. The grill is made from t oothpicks.

Flowers For My Husband

2010-07-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today is my husband's birthday and I picked these flowers from my garden for his desk. I was surprised at how many small flowers were hidden among the larger ones.

We celebrated with the whole family on the weekend so today was just a quiet day where he could relax and enjoy his birthday present in the backyard.

My Husband's 70th Birthday Celebration

2010-07-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

We took my husband for a surprise boat cruise on the river for his birthday and it was a wonderful day. Although we live on the river, we have never been on the river in a boat and this was something my husband always wanted to do. We cruised down the river and we were able to see what our house looked like from the water.

We also traveled a bit with some of the re-enactment group and we could see their camp as we sailed by.

I thought that I would also take this opportunity to introduce you to my family. They all came for my husbands birthday and it was wonderful to have them all there together.

This is my husband and I with all of our grandchildren and my son's fiance's son. There is Emily, my husband, Kaitlin, Cameron, Josh (who is my son's fiance's boy), me and Michael.

My daughter Cheryl and her husband Kevin.

My son James and his wife Leann

My son Steve. His fiance Rene was unable to be with us on the cruise but she joined us later for the BBQ.

My grandson Michael.

My son James with his daughter Kaitlin and my husband Norris.

My son Steve with his daughter Emily.

Everyone enjoyed the BBQ.

Brandy was not too happy as there was another dog in the house. She also was not too happy with so many people around her.

And this is our youngest grandson Cameron doing his "Dude" dance. We had such a wonderful time and I am so proud of my family. They planned this whole day and made it perfect for my husband's birthday. His birthday is not until Tuesday but we celebrated it on Saturday so everyone could be here. Thank you to my wonderful family for a terrific day.

Re-enactment Weekend

2010-07-24T06:14:00.001-07:00

This is the weekend for the re-enactment here at Wasaga Beach and since we live on the river, we get a preview from our own backyard. We first heard the cannons and the guns going off then we watched two boats chase two canoes with guns firing. It is all fun and exciting.

Sleeping Bags

2010-07-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

Julie and David had been promising the children that they could go camping once the house was all finished. Julie really needed a break after all her hard work. So they first of all needed sleeping bags.

They stood and looked at the pile of sleeping bags trying to decide which one they liked best. The children would prefer some really fun patterns but they didn't have any available.

Christopher was the first one to try his out and he decided that it was nice and cosy and would be perfect for him. Jennifer's favorite colour is blue so that was her choice.

Now that they have the sleeping bags, they need to go looking for a Colman stove and cooler.

Come And Share The Day With Me

2010-07-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

Come and join me, my door is open. Would you prefer to sit in the swing or under the umbrella? It is such a beautiful day and it is not too hot out yet. We can sit by the river and watch the boats go by. Right now it is very quiet and there are no boats going by but there will be several before the day out.

Until the boats start coming up the river, let's watch the animals play. It is fun watching the three animals interact. Rusty mainly likes to lie quietly and watch for birds. But when Brandy comes out she really gets both cats moving. I do not have a movie camera so I tried to take several pictures as they were playing in the yard. Rusty and Brandy interact the best as Misty is very standoffish and she runs whenever Brandy gets too close. But they all like to play tag around the yard and chase each other. When the cats have had enough, they will either run under the deck or climb the fence where Brandy can't reach them. We will leave Rusty in his peace and quiet as he surveys the world around him and he thinks he is hidden from view.

Rosanna's Gift

2010-07-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when my package arrived in the mail. It was like Christmas or my birthday as everything was wrapped so nicely. I love that little gift box.

There was even a tea bag so that we could sit down and enjoy a cup of tea together across the miles.

Aren't these pillows fantastic? I just love them and I can't believe all those tiny stitches. You must have very good eyes Rosanna. They will be terrific in my gazebo.

But there was also something else in the package. I was so surprised to find these beautiful glasses. I do not have anything like them so my dollhouse is becoming quite elegant. I just am so thrilled with everything.

Don't the pillows look great on the sofa?

The tea is poured, and the goodies are ready so come and sit down and relax. We will watch the boats go by and listen to the birds sing while we enjoy each others company.

New Computer

2010-07-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

From having no screen - to having three!!!

I now have a new computer. Well it is new to me but it is a second hand one. I am still getting used to it as it is a Vista and I was using XP. It took me all morning to rearrange my room in order to put the new computer in as I had to move all the wires around in order to connect to the cable. My laptop was wireless of course so I am now back to all those wires again. But I am much happier with the desk computer as I like the keyboard on the tray in front of me. Not only does the computer stay cool and does not shut down on me, it is faster and there is more response to the mouse. The bonus with this computer is that there was a large flat screen, wireless keypad and mouse all included. There is even a "web cam"!

I am still in the process of adding software and I still need to transfer all my files and pictures over but it seems to be working great. I also received some wonderful pillows from Rosanna and I did take some pictures, but they are in the laptop and this computer says my camera program is for XP only. But I will show them to you as soon as I get everything straightened out.