Keeping it small

Just checking in since I haven't been around for a while.  Looks like a lot of you have been very busy mini'ing! I still don't have my workroom set up - well either of them, as the outside workshop is still full of my son's things! Until that is rectified, I cant' unpack my mini stuff! ARGH!

Still doing the photography course as well, am about halfway through it.  Of course, I had to get into Macro photography too - the photo's of TINY things.. like the flower below which is 5mm across :) 

Can't help myself!

December 1st already down under - stay safe over the festive season!

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((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
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I'm still here!

No mini stuff has been done.. 2 weeks till my first inspection at the new house, then I'm back into it!! As I may have mentioned, I'm also doing a photography course, which has taken up a fair bit of my time, but.. the biggest issue is.. I haven't set up my craft room yet!! There are reasons for this.. many - but it will all happen in due course - just hoping for some co-operation from the ex hubby - father of my children ;-)
Spring has sprung here in Australia, and we've had the most perfect weather! I took this pic after looking out my window while cooking dinner.. it was too good to miss - so jumped in the car and drove to the spot closest to the beach so I wouldn't miss it LOL
2 weeks.. and I'm back into it! I have a mystery box to do.. and need to get back into my pub!! :)

My link for photo's is: http://www.facebook.com/thesanleeeffect
please remember, I'm a beginner.. haha!

Almost there..

This is a pic taken from the bottom of my backyard.. our 'creek' is more of a river.  It's stunning and so much wildlife! Every time I walk down there ducks come from everywhere, so they're obviously used to being fed.  I am looking into what is 'good' for them.. rather than the usual 'bread' throwings ppl give.. it's not healthy! We also feed regularly a magpie family, a pair of butcher birds, and a pair of minah birds (sp?)

That bridge.. leads to the beach - it's only a 2 minute walk!! The beach stretches for miles!! - beautiful! :)

 - oh and can't forget the darn ringtail possum who lives in my ceiling - she ate my fuschias and I'm shattered!

I LOVE taking photo's so have also taken on a diploma in photography course - a lot of fun, and will help with my picture taking of miniatures for sure :) 

Hoping to finish unpacking this weekend, I'm back at work so things have slowed, but can't re-commence work on my minis till I get things organised a bit! 

:) 

Still Moving... and finding a common bond..

This moving house thing is very daunting.  We're finally completely OUT of the other house, but not unpacked in the new house.  Got a week off to organise things a little.. then hopefully can get back into mini stuff! LOTS of inspiration in this house!

I was at bunnings the other day, one of my favorite hangouts, and ran into a colleage at work, we got talking and I was telling him about my shopping intentions, which led to dremel tools and the likes.. then miniatures.. when he broke in and told me he builds doll  houses!!  AWESOME!! He has invited me to go view his work, he builds from a picture! Recently he finished building himself a 20ft boat from timber which is now out on the bay and in full use - very very clever man!

The new house has come with a few surprises, lots of possums, who thought it would be fun on our first night sleeping here - to attack the house in full force - I doubt they're happy we're here.  We also have rats :( BUT, on the flipside, we back onto a creek which is full of wildlife, and it's SO peaceful sitting out on the deck watching the birds, and people walking on the track on the other side of the creek.  

The house, we think, is 'edwardian' SO much character.  My bedroom used to be the kitchen, it's cozy and peaceful, sleeping sensationally! 

Just thought I'd update so ppl know I'm still around.  Will post some pics of the new place once we make it a home.

Back soon! 

New Mystery Box.. and other stuff :)

NEW MYSTERY BOX!!!

Here it is.. some interesting bitz... This was my collection which I have sent to my beloved SIL Kez :) Have fun with it Sis!  I need to move house before embarking on this project...

More eBay kits.. the progress!

My friend Sandra and I are working on 2 of the (around) $10 ebay kits.. they're a bit frustrating.. ie cakes and so on are made from paper & felt (which is crappy with glue!), but they're going to look ok! Here's some pics of around 8 - 10 hrs work :) LOL

Cakes.. 2 of 6...

Storefront of Cake shop (I put the bottom sign in the wrong place ARGH!)

Coffee Shop

Coffee Shop bits!

And.. the new house.. it needs some cleaning up but here are a few pics.. we will be living on a 'creek' and a stones throw from the beach :) Below is a pic from my son's flat (apartment) downstairs

My dining/deck

From the back..

From the other side of the creek.. yes a bit of garden work to be done but I see it being very pretty!

There we have it - a post done LOL and now I'm off to complete my cake shop!!

¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Moving house...

Oh yes.. the title says it all.. we're moving house!! Found a nice place.. 3 bedrooms upstairs, bathroom for son and I.. lovely balcony.. workshop (think dremel).. dog welcome.. bird also welcome.. central.. public transport.. BEAUTIFUL backyard (needs work) that flows into a river/creek.. with boat access.. bird baths.. dreamy (in my mind).. and a flat (apartment) downstairs for my older one.. with his own bathroom/kitchen/laundry/bedroom/lounge etc..
So..
if I'm quiet.. I'm packing...and moving. :) SOOO happy to have found this place!! *I* think it's perfect!! Oh.. did I mention?? it's about 3minutes from the beach!!!
:))))
I have some changes to make.. new curtains, curtain rails (small windows - stretch them), and a new door on the workspace (it's awesome - powered and all).. and a bit of paint here and there :) But nothing major, the interior is perfect..
New beginnings :))

Hey big spender!!

So.. you know that pub kit?? I actually bought more I was so impressed.... 

The two below are going to be done on the weekend with a very dear friend of mine (oh dear what have I started LOL) - looking forward to it! 

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((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

I decided to have a look at a kit on eBay.. to see what it had to offer... 

LOTS to do.. quite impressed considering the price! Will upload my finished project :) A little bit of cheap fun! It also includes lighting and a hurdy gurdy haha!!

Not quite 1:12 scale I don't think.. well the 'room box' doesn't fit that criteria.. still - a fun and worthy project that might teach me  a thing or two before I finish 'my' room.

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((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Cold Porcelain

I decided to try this tutorial on making Cold Porcelain.

So far so good.. I have already coloured it before cooling it.. hope that is ok! One thing I didn't remember, was food colouring stains on the hands is hard to remove! OOPS!!

Hoping I can actually make something with it now - fingers crossed! :)

ANZAC DAY

Anzacs Recipe




Today is a public holiday in Australia & New Zealand -click here to see  WHY?

Just wanted to share....
Lest we forget....

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((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

New toy!!

I bought a new toy!! A scroll saw! WOOHOO!!!

so.. getting the boys to scrawl designs on some scrappy bits so I can practice ..

SOOOOO Much fun!!! Oh the possibilites are endless now! :)

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¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Hired help is no good!!

Oh my.. she is SOOO slow - still out on the deck .. time to hire a new cleaner I think!! 

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¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Pub progress....

Painting.. it's NOT supposed to be perfect... it's a pub after all.. but omg I was daunted with all of this and really not sure how it will all go together.. or IF it will.. the door is a damn mess after all my blood, sweat & tears... but fear not.. I have found a cure for it             

further on!!

Below shows how I had to fit the attic window.. a cutout thanks to my newest dremel baby!! SOOO glad I bought it! Makes life SO much easier!!!

And voila!! It fits!!! (YES that is a backwards clock.. not a reverse photo!) Painting still in progress in this part..

Another shot.. oh that poor cleaner.. she really needs a rest! Or a pay rise?

I was using this stuff to clean my windows.. and found it strips the paint.. at first it was an "OMG what have I done?" reaction.. till I remembered.. it's just a pub.. it's going to be a bit worn.. this 'magic eraser' is going to be useful forevermore!!

Inside.. I know.. still not finished.. still feeling chuffed that I got that attic window in!! WOOHOO!! There was no way it was going to fit without my new baby (thanks to Kez who had one and showed me when I visitied earlier this year!)

Oh please excuse the mess.. that cleaner.. perhaps she doesn't deserve a pay rise after all...

Oh wait.. there she is!! On her knees.. AS she should be!! :P

Oh there's that beloved new tool of mine too! <3 it!!

A window.. which has copped the wrath of the magic eraser.. still I like the 'worn' effect.. I guess in the morning I'll be doing some touchups! It IS a tad rough - but it's not a high profit hotel - cheap labor!! 

(good excuse for imperfection perhaps?) 

Making LOTS of little paper boxes... LOTS of cleaning to go.. but having a lot of fun! This is turning out somewhat as expected.. stay tuned.. 

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((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Adirondack Chair :)

 I LOVE Houzz!

Saw this chair, and thought.. with all my tools.. I should be able to make one! 

I'm pretty happy with it, although looking at it through MY eyes it didn't look quite so rough - till I got the camera out and saw it closer LOL I can clean this up though!

Um.. see that pale green behind the dremel mess? My kitchen bench! OOPS! Not quite the place to do this kind of work haha!

Cutting - I didn't actually use any measurements :/ perhaps I should have - still.. it worked!

Painting and staining 

drying with 'weights' - see?? there IS a use for EVERYTHING! 

Was fun! This chair will sit outside the current project I'm making :) 

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¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Mystery Box - 1st of the year :)

Woah what a challenge.. tiny stuff! Kez sent over a tea cup, saucer & plate.  I instantly knew what I would be doing with it.. just putting it together was quite a challenge for me, 

I don't handle tiny well!!

Firstly.. I employed the love of my life Ted LOL to hang around and keep me company..

Threw in a spinner here.. the makings of a handle.. well 2.. more on that later..This is to be used in my sewing project - life size this time. A new blog has been made for sewing to keep subjects in the right place LOL

Borrowed some landscaping stuff from my son - he paints warhammer figurines.. (thanks Tom)

I didn't take progress shots.. This has been drying for 24 hrs and is still a little damp.. so I can't tip it up to get rid of the excess.. but here's the finished product (although I see I have a few areas to touch up now! GRRR)

It was a LOT of fun!! Thanks Kez! Oh dear, from this angle it looks rather wonky! The bits on the table are supposed to be glasses.. one of them is broken.  Perhaps could have done better there LOL - oh this pic is minus the outside trees.  The tree inside the cup is made from wire and some tiny tiny ivy I bought from Toms favorite store he gets his goodies from. 

Looking at it now.. it's overdone - *sigh* Oh well.. it's here now! 

I haven't even begun to think about the next mystery box bits & pieces.. but will get onto that this week!

Penguins!

I spent a lot of time looking at videos on youtube, reading blogs, scouring furniture and decorating sites.. I can't say I've EVER seen anything that had me wanting to create one.. immediately.. until this morning! Kez sent me a link to a site with lots of tutorials linked to it.. and voila - I fell in love! Hahaha

Here's the tutorial! Penguin teapot

I'm scared of fimo - even though I have lots of it.. and loads of tools to create with! Anyway here tis! I'm quite happy since this is the first fimo project that has worked for me!

The mystery box challenge will finish next week :) I'm almost done and pretty happy with that too.. stay tuned!

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((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

Here tis.. far from finished.

It's a stinking hot day here - so I decided to set up the tools inside LOL - oh what a mess!! LOL as you can see, the bench I use had been outside, some plant life still in it!

The idea.. comes from this! My doorway was too tall, and too narrow, to fit any doors I have here - so I decided to try and make my own.

So here it is so far - it's not good.. but it will fit, needs sanding and I can cover up any gaps with a little magic here and there ;-)

I'll post the final product when it's done.. so far really I have only done the door and the frame for it, so obviously a long way to go!

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¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´Sandra  -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*