Its been a whole week

Well this has been a week. I had a lovely relaxing break in Donegal. I even saw some sunshine.

Then we had the flood in the utility room

Then a tummy bug hit the smallest family member and her mum.

Consequently my mini world has taken a back seat. But last night I did manage at last to finish my little dishes for The Boathouse. I was happy how thy turned out. The lids on the casserole dishes are buttons painted in to match.

I also made a little canister from a taller lid but I think I want to add a label to it as it is too plain.

Now I am on a saucepan roll I started to paint the pans I got with a cooker I bught on ebay. I want these ones to be for main Street so  I am painting with pastel colours. I finally found the right colour nail varnish to use. The reason I have two is that they were buy one get one half price in Boots. It was ony after I got them home I noticed that they were scented. One smells of Apple and the other of banana yes even when dry - and of course you shouldn't sniff nail varnish wet - not sure who thought these were a good idea - dangerous for children I would have thought. But absolutely yummy colours.

The little pans are difficult to get covered so they are a work in progress but here's how they are so far. My mother had a yellow enamel pan just like the ones here with a black ring round the rim - may try that when I get that far along with them.

I am so lucky

Yesterday a parcel arrived just as I was going out with my granddaughter to Mother and Toddlers. I thought I had bought something on ebay ( and forgotten what it was!) I didn't get the chance to open it then - but when I came back I did - it was the loveliest of surprises. My dear friend had sent me some little items for my houses , she had been at the Dolls House Show in Pudsey (Leeds) last weekend. She is the most thoughtful friend ever -we met through ebay when she bought one of my dolls and we have developed an internet friendship ( and met once too!) - amazingly we once lived within a few miles of each other when we were children in Northern Ireland.I hope she does not mind me telling you all this.

The first thing I unwrapped was this little spaniel. I think I am going to call him Sam for he looks a sensible dog and I think Sam is a sensible solid sort of name.

I think he is going to have a bed in my shed until I organise the Old Boatshed.

The second item I unwrapped was for my washstand and the colour is just perfect.

And lastly of course The Boathouse needed one of these. Lets hope we get the weather for it. I think I may have made certain that does not happen for we got our real summer table out in  the garden today just in case it turns warmer and now of course it's raining - and probably will do for the rest of the summer!

This is sort of a double post as I am going to Donegal for a little break for a couple of days.

I painted an internal door as I wanted to try to give Main Street a little depth. I didn't do the surround as I thought it would loook crowded in this narrow room but I am going to, for on looking at the pictures of the door it looks strangely floating and needs the surround I think. It also needs a handle.

The blue dresser came with The Old Boatshed from Julie Bennett. I plan to add florals to it when I have time but it fits the scheme nicely in the meantime.

The fridge is in place for the moment. I need to touch up the 'chrome ' on the door but Fridays and Saturdays are so busy that is for another day. You can see what I mean about it being very pink.

I was going to paint the cooker pink too but have decided that it would be too much and am deliberating between white or green. What do you think?

This is how the cooker is starting out.

Right then I'm off to pack. Back Tuesday all being well.

Food buys

I did say I had bought some other items from Fran so here they all are.

I have as I said tried to concentrate on painting my fridge and I am nearly there but I am not sure now that it is too pink. However by using the paint as it came and not trying to lighten it it has given better coverage which is why I have made  some progress.  It is abit messay at the oment but it will be better once I tidy it up.

I hope to finish it tonight - just the fiddley bits to do and will then try it in Main Street. Wile I was waitng for it drying I started on some little pans for the Boathouse as they only have one pot at the moment. I hope to make a lid for this one out of a button wich is (quite) a good fit for it. Again this is a lid from a tubeof moisturiser.

Little buy 2

I am not sure where the week has gone. I have been busy with my other hobby(the dolls) and I have got very little done in the miniature world. I am still(!) painting this fridge but I have not felt like painting some evenings - now the nights are a little longer I started trying to organise the doll room - a work in progress is the best description of that. I will really have to get on with the fridge this week coming in.

I have taken a pciture - a very poor one of some of the other things I bought from Fran. The cheese will only fit if I take a shelf out. In the other dishes are some tomatoes and a dish of butter. I already had the whole tomatoes and the whole lettuce - at least I think it is a lettuce .

My little flowers arrived from the Far East . I made a little bunch of roses in the meantime as the other colours are to form part of another little scene which I needed some nail varnish for but I was not able to find the colour I wanted today. I did find a bottle of nail varnish  for 10p though but it looks better on my fingernails than anything for the house at the moment.

 We are still very far off having any real roses in the gardens. The snow is gone but it is so cold. The nice thing is that the tulips look lovely in the house and the bunches I bought last week have lasted really well.

My little buys - number 1.

I bought some little food from Fransminiatures to fill up my cupboards and fridge. The fridge is taking forever to paint so in the meantime here is my first buy a lemon tart on board - it actually comes with custard which I have not shown in the photographs. I actually took the photographs to show you the little recipe book I made to go with it from a link on Pintrest. It's all about 101 ways of cooking with lemons. The little cakes are also from Fran at another time but are made using lemons!

A couple of little things keeping me busy.

I am waiting on my new cooker coming for Main Street but in the meantime I have been busy with some very little things.

I read a wonderful tutorial from Pinterest on making towels and have now made two different colours - one for the Boathouse and the other for Main Street - .I am happy enough for my first attempt except with the ribbon on the pink ones - I find bows difficult since having the top of my finger badly cut a few years ago and sometimes my tying is poor especially on little things.
I used 2 baby wash cloths I had in the house but hope to look for more in the £1 shop over the next few weeks. The ribbons are little off cuts. I have started keeping those ribbons that are sometimes attached to clothes to help them hang on a hanger and annoyingly get in the way when you are wearing the clothes.

In the first picture you can just see little beach hut pictures I made for the walls  inspired by the range in the Next catalogue.

I also have been decorating a little tray which came as a barewood item and I have now I hope shabby chic -ed it. It is painted in pale pink - still not sure if I am completely happy with the shade of pink and I put a little patterned inset in it and finished it with satin varnish.

Some decorating

Well I settled on a wallpaper for Main Street and have it done over the weekend. It's a nice soft pattern which will fit in with the look I want to achieve it the house. The house is so pink outside of course I had to go for pink inside. I hope you like it. I set up the table and some goodies from Frans miniatures on it just for now.

I think I have abandoned the cardboard cooker in the meantime as I won another one on ebaywhich I hope will fit and which I plan to paint to fit my scheme. Hopefully it will arrive once the post starts up again after Easter. I am not sure what size it will turn out to be. This house is fantatsic because it fits on my windowsill but that does limit the furniture and where you can place it in it.

Meanwhile the snow is almost gone - just cold and blowy now. I will get nothing done today - granny duties call.