Sunday, January 20, 2019

How to Give Chocolate to a Miniaturist


Henning went overseas recently. When he came back, there was the usual ceremony of gifts from afar.
Henning: 'I brought you chocolate.'
Me: 'Wonderful!' Thinking: not. I'm not much of a chocolate eater and when I do, I prefer supermarket brands to the fancy-schmancy imported stuff.
Hmm. The tin is pretty. It would be ideal for keeping pencils.
Whoa! Look at those wrappers. Each one has a reproduction of a classic painting printed on glossy paper. I could frame them and hang them in my dollhouse.
And there's a pencil. Multicolor, no less! I haven't had one of those since I was a kid. Writing with it is going to be so much fun.

Me, holding out the tin to Henning: 'Would you like a chocolate? Mind you don't tear the wrapper or the foil.' Thinking: The gold foil is going to come in handy for making dollhouse Christmas decorations.

That my friends, is how you engineer a win-win situation when living with a miniaturist. All parts appreciated, except the chocolate, which was eagerly devoured by the man with a sweet tooth.

Mini-wise, I'm working on a village of tiny houses at present. They are cast in resin and hand painted. Initially, I had misgivings about my mini painting skills but as I go along, I'm becoming addicted to the process and loving how I can individualize every building.

I'm not only playing with miniatures. A large shipment of teddy bear making supplies arrived and I'm busy unpacking and adding new items to the website. Glass eyes and smaller sizes of safety eyes which were out of stock are available again.
These pretty colored safety eyes come in several sizes and have a glitter backing. Difficult to photograph, but stunning in real life. Velvet noses and other goodies are on the website already and the eyes should be on the site by Wednesday.

Wishing you a sweetly creative week.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

The Importance of New Year


Aliens might know everything about gyroscopic hyperdrives and faster-than-light travel, but these two don't have a clue about the importance of the New Year. That must be why they abducted me from my holiday, strapped me to a chair in a room that looks very much like my office, and pushed me into 2019 at a speed that holds me down with a force of about 10G. I can hardly keep my eyes open, never mind find the strength to tap on the keyboard.

But seriously, the proper thing to do is not to hurtle into the New Year in a blur. There's no better time to chart your course and make a few changes if needed. If you don't have any New Year's resolutions yet, jot down some ideas. It doesn't matter if your plans fail; it matters that you try.
Here are my tools for 2019. I'm not going to reveal my plans for the year ahead yet, but there are some clues. The diary was a gift from my husband, and the cover is significant.
This lovely planner and luxury pen were a gift from a friend who is much better at mapping out goals than I am. Thank you, it's going to help me so much!

Whatever star you reach for in 2019, I wish you a beautiful journey.