Guilt

I like to think of myself as an honest person, but sometimes I fail.  I have been looking for a particular friar cookie jar for a while, but usually they go for more than I want to spend.  As I was looking for creepy old dolls for my house, I saw this description, "Old lady whose head comes off".  When I looked at the photo, what did I see, but my little friar!  I feel bad that I paid almost nothing for this little guy, but I am glad he has a new home in the Judge and Gibbet kitchen.

Ooops!

While I work on the Judge & Gibbet, The Wee Witch House sits in a corner of my living room. Disaster struck a few nights ago when a loved one accidentally tripped and gave the house a little bump. All three floors are now a jumble.  

There is a lot of clean up to be done, but on the plus side, I now I have no regrets for using glue in certain places.  (I know this is a no-no)  

If there is one thing I have learned in my half-century: things are just things.  Even if the house is never the same, what does it really matter? Plus now I have an excuse to visit my prior project for a while. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  Be safe and have a Happy New Year!

So much to do, so little time!

I have very poor organization habits when it comes to my mini time.  I never make plans, and if I do, I never stick to them.  Rather than finish the walls, floor and ceiling, I jump around like a crazy woman.  Today rather than finish the baseboards and "dirty up" the walls a bit more, I wasted my time shifting items about.

Because the holidays are around the corner, I closed the Judge & Gibbet for a few months but not before taking a few photos.  There is a lot of finish work to do, (which is the part I dislike the most).

The owner of the Judge & Gibbet gave this room to his daughter to indulge her "scientific" curiosity. I have a ton of mini bottles to label and fill and want to age to the walls and windows. Maybe I will add some tattered sheers.....

 But, that will be in the new year.

Have a wonderful holiday season everyone!

I felt like working on a fun project today, so I abandoned the walls and made a little frog pond for the new witch workroom.  I purchased a used sit up tub years ago but forgot about it.  When I came across it, the idea of a frog pond came to mind.

 I thought about the tub and it seemed like the frogs would not enough, so I added an old broken doll that I had in a drawer.  I purchased a few frogs on eBay and gathered some small rocks from my driveway.  I threw a few small shells into the mix as well as some landscaping material to change the tone of the "water".

I am pretty happy with it, even though it is a tad creepy.

Help Please

I appreciate the wonderfully talented folks who check out my beginner blog. Now, I would like to ask for your help.  The room I am currently working on belongs to the daughter of the Judge & Gibbet.  She likes to "dabble" in darkness.

Now, imagine that the hutches are hanging from the wall and are filled with jars of organs and other items of interest to the young lady.  There will be a large number of plants and vines, and perhaps a few birds in the vines and lots of random books on herbalism and nature.  The table will be covered with a variety of items as well....potions, plant cuttings and other current projects. (Plus maybe a finger or two)

Now for my problem.  This room will have a nature-like feel, but I am not sure if the wallpaper on the left is too "homey".  I love the print with the small brown birds and I think it would balance with the horror inside the cabinets.  But I also like the plain look of the wallpaper on the right.

Or maybe just stick with weathered white paneling......?

If anyone has an opinion, can you please be honest and let me know what you think?

Thanks for your help, Friends!

 I still have a few major items to work on in the downstairs kitchen of the pub, but I hate it when things look too clean.  For fun, I tried my hand at a sprouting potato made from Femo. I think it looks fun next to the messed up door frame.  I also spilled a bit of "salt" on the work table where the cook is putting together some bean salad.  I was pretty happy with how the salt and pepper shakers came out.  I made the tops by very carefully placing one drop of silver paint on top of the two tiny plastic lids.

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Ooops!

I guess I better find a better method of "sticking" things to the wall!

Bad photos, but we have a ceiling.  Funny how the smallest of things make me happy!

Fun cannibalizing inexpensive items.

I haven't been back here is so long, I didn't see the words of encouragement under my last post!  Thanks everyone for being so supportive.  As you know, I am flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to miniatures.  I am untrained, not a carpenter and I don't care about historical accuracy, but love minis.

You may have noticed, I purchased a bunch of boxed kits for very cheap on eBay a few months ago, with every intention of making my own kitchen cupboards for the "upstairs" kitchen of the Judge and Gibbet. That was a BAD decision. I didn't think to check out the dimensions of the upper cabinets in the kit and ended up with shelves that were so small they would hold nothing kitchen related.  I stored my mess-ups in the attic of the house, as is the norm and moved on.

I am still in the beginning stages of the "downstairs" kitchen and I very badly wanted a plate rack to put over my sink. The cheapest one I could find was $25.00 on Etsy.  But I did remember seeing a very cheap hutch at Michael's a while back. (I had sniffed and stuck up my nose at how ugly it was.) Today, I  bought the hutch for $1.69 and purchased a 49 cent dowel.  It took a few hours and I now have very messy stained hands (I was too impatient to put on my gloves), but I think it ended up looking OK.

I can still see the blue blob from the stuff I use for a temp hold, but once I fool around with the placement of the plates, I will affix them in a better manner.

I hope everyone is been having fun mini-adventures too!

I have been slowly collecting some used items for my new project, the Judge and Gibbet.  I could not help but play a little in the downstairs kitchen.  The walls are brick and not finished, but you get the idea.  I have a LOT of work to do!

Of course, if you know me, you know that this innocent looking kitchen will be a lot different when it is finished.  I have a wonderful tattooed arm that I will be wrapping in muslin and hanging from the ceiling along side the ham.  The proprietor of this establishment prides himself on keeping the streets of Astoria clear of riff-raff, but he does not believe in wasting a good protein.