Old Laurels Sitting Room

Good evening. I am nearly finished with this room. I will let is sit for a while and see what it needs. But I have put up a few photos anyway. Sorry for the quality. This room is so small that only my Iphone could fit in there.

Looking in from the kitchen. Sewing box to be filled next.

Secretaire desk full of treasures and everyday paraphernalia. Every draw is filled. If there is a draw I have to have it full of something. Took me the better part of two days to fill this and the dresser. Note to self: next less time less drawers.

Maps!! I have a love for maps. Comes from watching my dad pour over them before every trip we ever went on. I do it now when ever we are about to hit the road. GPS doesn't always work!

The shells I collected from the beaches here in Townsville. Spending one lazy afternoon sitting on the beach I discovered drifts of the tiniest shells. Some are barely 3mm across and are perfect! It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday. My parents favourite books stacked on top. Hardy Boys mysteries and The Picture of Dorain Gray. The Hobbit is lying around somewhere.

Everything is glued into place. As this house will be making a journey of 1500km when it is finished I felt that maybe it would be a good idea to glue it all down. I made the fountain pen by sanding down a tooth pick. For the metal nib I just used the soft foil from a spent tea light. For the blotter pad I just used a black sharpie to fill in a bought laser cut doily.

Ah there's The Hobbit!! Along with The Bobsy Twins.

This beautiful lady will hang in the main room. The dresser is for another project. Tapping into more of my European roots for my next project which is well on it's way.

Thanks for dropping by!!! Be safe and well in all that you do!!

Carriexx

Old Laurel Bedroom.

Good day all. I hope this post finds you well!

It has been a goodly while since I have posted. Real life stuff got very busy. Had a house move. Big house move. Won't be doing that again anytime soon but my new house is just lovely and so worth the effort. Crisp white vj walls, french doors, tall ceilings and casement windows for sea breezes. Nearly a 100 years old. But all the modern things that matter as well. A huge back garden that is already full of newly planted trees and shrubs. Grow, grow, grow please!! This glorious pink beauty of a tree is out the front of my house. These trees line many streets in Townsville, flowering in mid winter after loosing all their leaves. Just beautiful. I have found some time for myself and been working on the Old Laurels. Thought of focusing on one room and not a general rabble of all over that I usually do. The attic room still needs those final small touches but it is a good start. So here are a couple of pictures of so far.

I made the bed using electrical plastic covered wire, florists wire, brass stampings and card. Painted it all black. It sags in the middle which I just love. I had a bed like that when I was at university. My back would ache so much but it was such a pretty bed!! The bike ride to lectures in the frosty morning air usually fixed it though. Other parts of me would hurt more ha!!

The beautiful pillows are from Celeste at TheLittleQuiltShoppe. I am allergic to sewing, that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!! Ha, I think all my years of sewing to save money in those early mothering years has turned me off sewing somewhat.

The wonderful perfume bottles and vanity tray with delicate goodies are from Elizabeth at StudioEMinis. They are really lovely and I always just love how Elizabeth can execute so much character into something so small. Soon as I saw the tray and items I knew it would be just perfect for this dresser in this house and it is .

I couldn't find any fabric that suited what I wanted for dressing the bed so I printed them all. It really is easier and I don't have to venture out into the crazy that is called traffic either. You can't quite make it out in these photos and I will take more at a later date but on the bed folded is a quilt from Diane at ShabbyMiniQuilts. Her work really is amazing and I just love it. For the window treatment I used a 1/24 window laser cut pelmet and laces from my old stash. I love the tatted work. I found it in a box of vintage laces I bought from a flea market years ago. Reminds me of my grandmother. The rugs I printed out as well. Wicker baskets and slippers I made yonks ago as well. I need to make more and I think I have forgotten how to.

Tis all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and be well in all that you do!

Carriexx

Mini Progress

A hoyhoy!! 

I have been making some progress with the Coventry kit bash that is the Old Laurels. I managed to get a couple of pictures in late this afternoon. Sorry they are so dark. I will take some more down the road a bit. Lots of colour for this house. William Morris fabrics and wallpaper. Traditional pieces as well. I usually place my houses somewhere along the timeline between the two Great Wars. This is the kitchen and the little sitting room that comes of it. It's just a rough fit at the moment to see how it all comes together. I was sooo happy when all the lights worked after putting the house on it's base board!! I finally bought a Pretty Pleater. Oh my why did I not get one sooner!!  I used Studio E tutorial and it worked so well. So easy. Thank you Elizabeth!! Your blog is always an inspiration!! The sink I made out of plastic packaging and wood trims. William Morris fabric for the skirt. I am a lover of Morris designs. The tiles are printed out onto glossy photograph paper. Again I'll take better pictures when I can.

 Autumn finally appears to be here! I enjoyed the cooler weather and got outside. I also had to do some cleaning up after Cyclone Ita. I put the boys to work!! There was much wailing and bemoaning from the two of them. It was only a CAT 1 when it finally went through thankfully. We had  a heap of rainfall which is never a bad thing in the Top End. Winds did get up to 100kph and so a couple of my smaller trees decided it would be better if they just fell over. One gum went down on power lines up the street and so we were with out power for most of the day. I don't mind but the other members of my household that can't function without some form of electrical device suffered. They experienced something that I and most my generation had in ample excess. Boredom. Did them the world of good I think. 

This is my neighbours yard looking from my back landing during Ita. Yes the whole street is under water!! 

This afternoon's sunset from my workroom window. I do love long autumn afternoons.

Hoo roo everyone and be well in all that you do!!

Carriexx

The Old Laurels

A hoy hoy!! Another post already argh!! I gave myself the weekend off, which really isn't much when house still full of kids and a functioning phone but I donned it in spirit. I dragged this project out, left the dust (soo moody) and got to work. This will be for my mum and dad. So far it is called The Old Laurels. No pun intended really. Yeah I'm giving another house away. I love making them and I have seriously no where to put them. My RL house is teeny too. So off it will go!!! Amazing isn't when you restart a project and you come across something and you go 'what on earth was I thinking?' or better yet 'where was that going to go?' I had no lights for the top floor for starters. I have no idea why!! So in they went. Amazing how you can find places to run wires with the use of a drill. Not much precision required thankfully. But then of course one decided to fail once it was all done. Sob. Out it came and replaced with another. No joy like doing a light test and have them all work. Happy dance. The blue cooker I made some time ago. I don't know where I found the patience to do that. Must have been a fit of madness. The house kit has been seriously bashed. The front porch gone. A roof over the larger bay window will go in. One of the interior downstairs walls gone. Upstairs I have added walls as it is really hard to position furniture up against a sloping roof. So there are now three little rooms. One very teeny with a fireplace. I didn't take any photos of the upstairs set up. Remiss. Note to self for next time!! Stairs added. I adventured with darker timber treatment this time and used a whiter grout for the walls. Thought it would be a clearer canvas for a more vibrant pallette of colours for furnishing etc. Like the bright red floral upstairs bedroom. Love it!!! Couldn't sleep with it in RL. I would be ill I think. That's what makes minis so good yeah?!! Must be off, kidletts need feeding, they will start gnawing on chair legs soon enough. 

Be safe, be well and be Merry Happy Christmas!!!

Carriexx

Be happy mini!!xxx

Merry Christmas from Down Under

A MERRY HO HO FROM OZ!!!!

It is summer so hot with a side of really hot is on the menu!! I would love a cold Chrissie!!! Just once! So anyways I have the air conditioner on to work on my latest project which is fighting back currently through one light not working!! Of course it waited till everything was all glued in place. I have 'fiddled' with everything I can think of and it still won't work. So today will be spent pulling it out and replacing it.

But yesterday afternoon I pulled myself away from it and took my boys to the Water Park on the beach. It is just after 6pm. Sun is almost down behind Castle Hill. Best time to be out and most Villians (Townsville folk) usually are. It is still very warm about 31'C but the sea breeze makes it bearable. It stays on till 9pm with a Lifeguard to keep it safe. Best summer fun!!

This is where we will be spending just over a week. Ah a cabin on the beach!! What a way to bring in the new year!!! Just a couple of hours drive away. I haven't been up there since Cyclone Yasi but a beach is a beach. I am soooo looking forward to it. A cruise around the islands to might be in order to I think. 

I'll send you some sunshine! Carriexx

A Little Vignette

Good evening all. I hope this finds you well. Been working on a few little projects. They are easier to fit in between crazy stuff that we refer to as life. One being little frenchified vignette. My favorite wallpaper again, mostly because it was what I had on hand. I still hate waiting for mail. Oh to live in a town with a miniature shop!! I have been chipping away at a much bigger project that I am trying in vain to finish, argh. I hope to have pics of it's progress up soon as well.

All of my favourtie goodies inside.

 Window was $1.52 on ebay, I bought a box of them!! Such good value.

 Walls are just covered using a very fine spacfilla (not sure of spelling) and paint is a test tube you buy for a few dollars at a hardware store. I like thrifty.

This is the Coventry I have been working on. A lot of walls put in upstairs. I am up to shingling the roof. I have never done that before so tally-ho into the fray of "what am I doing!!!" once again. Must buy shingles first, that would help I think. Any suggestions, tips, advice and warnings will be warmly received!!!

Bye for now and be well!! Carriexx

A Room Box

Good day to everyone!!! I hope this finds you well. I kept myself busy the last three days working on a room box. I really wanted to do a house finally for moi self but time is always lacking and my real life house seems to be shrinking as my boys keep growing. Where would I do it and put all my mess/stuff?!! A room box I thought would only take up the kitchen for a week or so. It's school holidays anyway and that somehow means I can slack of too.  As long as the meals are made and some one washes up who needs a kitchen table to eat off I say! So far it's still novel for the boys to not use a table for meals. Must take full advantage of that!! Plus my parents are visiting and I can palm the kids in their direction. Especially when the youngest needs fueling up with up Vegemite sangers and copious fluids of all variety's. Was nice to do something different. My Etsy shop has become a full time job and so doing something different was a welcome change. I'm contemplating on putting this up for sale in my shop as space in my RL house is in short demand. Three rooms in all. I love using rooms and doorways to draw the eye in and add more interest. Plus I think the added advantage is less furniture etc is required to fill them up.

Beautiful chair by Lea Frisoni. My favourite wallpaper again. I love it.

Teeny room at the back. A faux entrance, cloakroom or washroom? Then either a hallway, bathroom, teeny kitchen area? Into a lounge or bedroom. I am making the exterior like a attic floor townhouse. Chimney stack and all. Very similar to the Maison de Livre attic bedroom.

Must go and do some RL stuff. Laundry doesn't wash itself unfortunately. And I should try to find the kitchen table this afternoon as well I think....Maybe. There is another project I could start ;0)

Hoo roo!

Carrie