Time for a Change

Hello everyone,

Yes it's time for a Change, I do hope you like the new look. My original idea of the Sea Glass colours on my blog was a reflection of the coastal area that I live. In the beginning I had thoughts of showing you this part of the world but I really didn't do much of that. Most of the photos I load are of Miniatures and I find the images have warm tones which seem to clash with cool colours of my blog. SO....now the new look..... which I think compliments my miniatures nicely. I hope it's also a bit of a reflection of the direction I intend to go with Ambrosia Place,  a look I hope will be  Transcendental ( thank you David) and ultimately feminine.

Now to the topic of my post (ha...not miniatures) but something I thought a lot of you may enjoy. The other day I was rummaging through a box of old books in a Vintage shop and I came across this delight. It's Title (which I forgot to photograph) is the House Hold Gas Cookery Book. It is an English book but I'm not sure when It was published....I'm guessing around 1900's given the The clothing in the advertisements. The book has a lot of recipes in it and lots of Tips including Personal Hints like - To make Hair Glossy - Rub it at night and morning with a white silk Handkerchief. One of the most interesting things I find about the book is the constant reference to servants and Masters. I have uploaded some images of various parts I thought you might enjoy. Take note of the Write or Telephone (No. 54 ) I think that suggests there were only 54 telephones in London at the time???

Any way....here are the rest of the photos and Happy Minis every one!!

ML Fi xx

P.S I must mention the Beautiful Miniature Magnolia Grandiflora in my photograph for the banner is the work of the Lovely Ilona, I have left the link to her blog on the right hand side bar.

Kit Success

Hello everyone, 

A big welcome to my new followers, my apologies to you all for being a bit quiet of late. I would like to say a big thank you to all those who left their lovely comments on my last post, I am sorry I didn't get to reply as I normally do. I have been welcoming in the new season by getting busy with my RL house, it was way to hot to do much work inside or out so I have been enjoying the cooler days and sprucing up the place.

As you can see I have had a go at assembling the kits I posted about some weeks ago and I am quite pleased with the results. I chose the easiest ones to do first and I must say following the advice you were all kind enough to leave made a world of difference. Yes Elga, it really does work when you read step one....do it...then proceed to step two...read that..... do it...... and so on and so forth.  Andy, I am so glad you gave me all your tips as it made it all so much more hassle free. Although I did forget to make the holes for the handles before I glued. So instead I glued the brass plates on and then added a little beed for a knob and I think it looks quite nice. You should be able to see them in the photo below although you cant see the brass plated very well.

I replaced the other Hall table I originally had with this one as I think it looks nicer, I prefer the walnut tone you can see how it looked earlier here. I have added the Faux Bronze figure which I purchased from the The Dollhouse although it is a Warwick painted figure. I painted some moss on the pot of the Orchid to make it look a little more authentic and if anyone has any suggestions on what to do about the ugly plug I would most appreciate it. I recall Andy mentioning some no show flat plugs? I left a hole in the wainscot but the plug looks so ghastly. 

This is the candle stand with the lovely little candle and holder Ilona sent me some time ago and on the mat is my lovely Dog Twiggy I had made for Mia by Patricia from Wollytales Miniatures Beside Twiggy stands Hero, her big Uncle who guards Ambrosia place. You can see him in the photo below where I have shown the Kitchen and Hall as they are placed next to each other with the twins room to the right I am currently working on.

Happy minis to you all and thank you for your helpful advice, it has made such a difference!

Much Love, Fi XXX

Tufted Mattress

Howdy All, 

I hope you are all doing well. 

As you can see I finally finished the two mattresses for the Twins bedroom. I used the fabric of an old cotton shirt and followed Otterine's mattress tutorial. I have to admit to finding it a little more tricky than I expected. I nearly opted for the fake version given my limited skills in the sewing department. An emergency phone call to my wonderful seamstress sister, soon had me on the right track again. I stressed I just couldn't have my little people lying on a cardboard mattress, and she gave me a few tips on how to get it right and.... voila! 

Apparently my mistake was not having a big enough seam allowance, the fabric kept getting caught in the machine, so once I made a larger seam allowance I managed just fine. I trimmed back the excess fabric, and hey presto ready to fill and tufft. Now I feel so much better knowing my little people will sleep comfy cosy on a nice soft mattress.....LOL Thanks Sis....; )

Not only did my Sister help me out this week but my Brother too...he must have the patience of a Saint, he saved me hours of frustration by machine sawing all the timber for the floors in Ambrosia Place. Just one phone call and half an hour later he was sawing up tiny little floor boards on his big machine. I feel so lucky to have siblings are so willing to play along with my obsession. Thanks guys...XX

Now I'm all set.....I just need to get my commissions out of the way and I will be ready to get into it. Famous last words.....; )

Happy minis every one!!

ML Fi xx

P.S I hope you don't mind my rough photo's I'm trying to follow my post as I go resolution.

Pineapples, Pineapples!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!!!!

To my dear friend Andy, I wish you the happiest of days with lots of love and hugs and good wishes from all the friends and family who love you. I would like to thank you for the wonderful friendship, love and support you have shown me for the past 18 months. Your good sense, good humour and amazing knowledge brightens my world!

For those  of you that might be wondering about the significance of the Pineapple I shall give you a brief summary.

In the early days of our friendship I asked Andy about the history of the Pineapple in the Georgian period. He explained to me that to display Pineapples was a symbol of wealth due to the difficulties and expense one would have to go to to grow pineapples in Georgian times. I then remarked how it must have changed once the Brits made it to the colonies because we were popping them out like peas. It then led to a topic on Architecture and I mention our most stunning example...... the big Pineapple shown above. Some how after many jokes on the subject, Andy surmised that I lived in a Scandinavian Pineapple?????

So when ever I see a Pineapple I think of Andy!!!! On our last trip to Queensland we made a special trip for Andy just to take some photos. Inside is a whole diorama of Pineapple farming but I have spared you all the photos.....I did however inflict them on my dear friend!!

Below are some random photos of Pineapples I have collected......heheheh!!

So Happy Birthday my Dear Friend!!!

Can I also say a special welcome back to our other dear friend John from Merriman Park we have missed you. I am very glad to hear you will be back in the swing of things soon, after all, there is no merriment at Merrimen Park without you!!

XXX

Mini Disappointment....: (

Hi All,

Yes I must admit to feeling a little disappointed with a couple of my online purchases. Above is a snap I took this morning when the early morning sun happened to be flooding the twins room.Real sun, no lamps....; )I had a trial run with my new arrivals, it looks quite sweet but I am disappointed in the colours of the wall paper and the Aubusson rug. I purchased both of these from Itsy Bitsy Miniatures On their website they look a definite blue but the overall effect is without question green, not a french antique blue with a cream boarder but green. It actually looks better in the photo than it does in real life.

As for the "Fabric" I ordered it is not fabric at all, I intended to use it to cover the little foot stool and perhaps as curtains in the cabinet/armoire but it's really only slightly more pliable than paper. Oh well, I guess you live and learn, I will just have to make do with what I have, I guess it's now a green room and not a blue one.

Please bear in mind that the colours of the furniture I am intending to change so they don't work together at the moment, this is just a play to check on positioning. I have very high ceilings on the ground floor so I will have to add some interest in the space above the beds. The dresser, armoire, foot stool and coffee table all came from the same seller on a well known auction site. That was not so successful either, the items are vintage Bespaq, originally from a miniature shop that closed 20 years ago, great buys, and I love the pieces but the dresser arrived in the box with one of the back feet broken off and the varnish crackling and loose in the box and 3 of the handles off. I originally intended on painting these items but close up the wood is lovely and I don't even mind the varnish looking cracked it's just I have no idea how to fix the foot of the dresser, it's not a clean break and looks like it's been like that for a while. I was supposed to get a winged back chair with the foot stool also but that didn't come because it was apparently damaged (I wasn't charged for it). I don't want to contact the seller about the dresser because during the communications he told me his wife had just died so rather than bother the man I would rather fix the dresser and keep it.

So all in all, not a lot of success with online buying. I will be more cautious in future, I guess it was a bit of a gamble buying vintage items anyway. Sorry it wasn't a more UP post, I promise next time to have some good things to show!

Welcome to my new followers and thank you for taking the time to have a look.

Happy minis every one!

ML Fi xx

Work Place?

Hi Every One,

Just a quick post today. Last night (my time) Si posted a picture of his work place and made a subtle suggestion that others do the same. I think it's interesting to see the place we all spend so much time crafting our miniatures, some of us spending a little more time staring off into space dreaming up ideas, right Si?? Any how, I couldn't very well leave Si out in the cold so I here are some snaps of my work place. The thing is, I don't have a work place exactly, how I would love to be able to leave my mess every where and shut the door. We have a study down stairs where the "study" is hopefully done by others but my spot is up here, yes, I am now sitting in that seat typing away on my laptop. Up here is one of our living areas so I have to keep it presentable, now I'm not going to pretend it is neat all the time but I have to at least try to keep it that way. The white cupboard is where I keep all my mini stuff, my tool box, wood, glue etc....... underneath the table you can see a soft box bursting at the seams with stuff I can't remember.

To my right is our Dollhouse, I couldn't very well show my work place with out it. I had never intended to until I had re done the out side to look like the Taby Manse I have posted about before, I think at the very bottom of my page there is a link to that post. Please remember Mia and I chose this look when she was 9 to go with the decor of her room, so the blue roof and shutters are not at all how i envisage Ambrosia Place to look. I'm sure when the time comes you will all give me plenty of guidance on how to achieve the look I want. Until then this is how she looks. I would like to show you the rest of my room as i have a nice view of the water behind me but there are a few recognisable houses in the view and considering my experience on the beach last year I don't want to give away where I live.

Just preempting a few questions, the Horse painting is a John Lee Joo For and whilst it doesn't quite fit the decor it is very special and I have to have it hanging, and yes that lump of twigs is a birds nest I found on the side of the road.The desk is actually a french polished dining table my father made and whilst it doesn't go with the coastal look I am to sentimentally attatch to get rid of it, the day bed my Grandfather made and like wise. Now you would wonder how someone with a furniture making family could not know what a Jig is??????

Well that took longer that I thought, now you can check mine out Si after I scrutinised yours!

Happy Minis every one and welcome to my new followers!

ML Fi XXX