Shelves stained, wallpaper trim added

Hello my friends!

Yesterday I went over to a friend's house and we both worked on two separate miniature projects. She made an adorable mini trunk with matt board, and I worked on my kitchen shadow box.

I contemplated painting the sink and the other shelf that were part of the original scene white, but then I realized that pieces of furniture in a kitchen roombox at the beginning of the 20th century would likely be unpainted wood.

So I decided to stain the shelves and add some wallpaper trim to the shelves for aesthetic appeal.

Here is the picture showing the updates to my project.

The shelf with the dishes on it will be mounted on the wall. The butter churn will be painted white or stained. I'm still planning to add scenic water and an old wash rag to go into the white pail. I'm going to take everything out of the box, scrub off any accumulated dirt, and remove the existing wallpaper.

Then I will paint the whole shadowbox white, and probably add the some of the blue wallpaper I have used to line the shelves as a border along the back wall.

There are a couple other things I am considering adding to the scene. Jars of Jam, vintage groceries, an old calendar and clock glued to the wall.

I'm having lots of fun with this one!

Follow my blog with Networked Blogs

Since Google Reader is being deleted as of July 1rst, 2013, I decided to register my blog with Networked Blogs so that my followers will have another way of following me.

Why am I doing this? Blogger only allows you to follow 300 blogs via Google Friend Connect. I know some of my followers are currently following more than 300 blogs. If you are following more than 300 blogs with Google Friend Connect, you can choose to follow your favorite blogs through Networked Blogs, Bloglovin', by email, or a reader other than Goolge. (For example, I follow some blogs using Yahoo reader.)

To learn more about following blogs via Networked Blogs, go here to learn more.

Any questions? Feel free to comment on this post or email me by clicking on the mail icon at the top of my blog and I will be happy to help you out.

Talk to you soon!

Ruth

The Progression of My Early 20th Century Kitchen Shadowbox

I first introduced you to this shadowbox in this post about kit bashing. The items I ordered from ebay have arrived so it's time to get to work!

This is what the shadowbox looks like now:

Click on the picture to enlarge it!

I did some research about what farm kitchens looked like around the 1900s, and decided to "upgrade" the kitchen so that I can sell it at the miniature show and sale in September.

I already had some blue spatter pots, so I ordered a blue spatter Jug, plates, and cups to match. I also ordered the adorable sacs of flour, sugar, salt and potatoes. I took the white pail out of the kitchen sink. It might go back in again, but I want to put something in the pail. I'm thinking perhaps a wash rag in water. The "shelf" that is positioned in front of the shadowbox will be mounted on the wall eventually, as will the towel rack.

The original kitchen items are old dollar store pieces, and will need to be sanded before I paint them, since they are shellacked with quite a heavy varnish. I love the process of putting together these small scenes.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all my new followers. I am delighted to have you "along for the ride" as I chronicle my miniature adventures!

Hugs and Kisses to all my lovely followers,

Ruth

The Mini Wiki Treasures Annual Awards

When I first became interested in miniatures last February, I started looking around on the internet for miniature resources and  the Mini Wiki Treasures Page was one of the first things I found. I spent hours combing through all the pages, which are organized by topic. I still always go back to the pages when I'm planning a new mini project. People from all over the world post pictures of their projects, and I've found it is such an excellent resource.

Last May the Mini Wiki Treasures Annual Awards were announced. You win an award if you are one of the top blogs that has contributed to the site. Last May I said to myself, "I want to be on that list next year".

And I am! You can read about the awards here.

I became involved in editing the pages, have joined their flickr group, and was supposed to be involved in their Advent Calendar but had to withdraw for personal reasons. I received the award partly because of my involvement in editing the site but mostly because I donated a prize to celebrate Mini Wiki Treasures fourth birthday.

I just mailed it off this morning, to a woman in Finland.

This is Saara from Finland's prize:

I have been designing my own labels and soap boxes in gimp, which is a free program similar to photoshop. What I didn't take into account was that my previous display box design wouldn't show the entire soap box! I played around with the arrangement a bit, reminded myself to stop being a perfectionist, and am pleased with the result. Every time I make something new, I learn something new.
That's what I love about miniatures.

Hugs to all,

Ruth

Kit Bash!

Technically I am bashing some small shadow boxes which my lovely sister found at Goodwill and bought for me.

After examining the larger of the two boxes, and consulting with my friend Pat, who is very ingenious, we decided that the pink shadow box just needed some sprucing up.

Here is the picture my sister sent me right after she bought the boxes:

Now that my family knows I am always looking for miniatures, they keep finding some and giving them to me! I am very grateful for their generosity.

In this next photo I will show you some of my plans for the kitchen shadowbox.

We rearranged some of the minis and added the small bench, which is the bottom of a Michaels  Hutch.

Luckily I already had these cute pots, which I think are more in line with an early 1900s Kitchen Scene
The Michael's hutch can be used again, I will saw off the top, mount it on the wall, and display dishes there.
I also ordered a blue spatter Jug from Ebay and plan to add sacks of flour, sugar and potatoes!

Forgotten Memories from my Childhood

Last night my sister sent me this darling link, it is a child's project about making faery gardens. She reminded me that the two of us used to build faery gardens in the back yard as children. I had actually forgotten, but am not at all surprised.

Making a faery house is on my to do list of projects to create. Next year I am looking forward to creating some scenes that I will actually KEEP, instead of just creating miniatures and scenes to sell.

I do remember that as children my sister and I spent hours outside in the background. We created "soup", which was a mix of mud, twigs, rocks, and anything else we thought was worth adding. We played in the treehouse my Dad built for us. We climbed trees in the frontyard. We also rode bikes around the neighbourhood.

One of the reasons I am drawn to miniatures is that it gives me an opportunity to play as an adult. When we are playing we are wholly absorbed in what we are doing, it is time out of time. The ordinary stresses of life fall away.

Lately I have been reading books and articles about how adults in the western world need to play more!  According to research that is now being done, play enhances creativity and improves work performance. Why does it always come back to work performance? I think we are too obsessed with working in North America.

There is another trend in North America I find even more disturbing. Many children today are not being given time to play. Their parents fill their schedules with activities like music lessons, sports, ect, to the extent that they don't have time to play! I think this is a grave mistake. I recently read an article in a parenting magazine on the subject. I couldn't find the article online, but I did find a similar one. I apologize to my international readers if they are unable to read it! I find that if I use Chrome Browser, most international websites translate to English.

Before I sign off, I think I need to promote my Etsy shop a little more on my blog. The last item I listed is getting a lot more attention than usual! It has been listed in two treasury lists, which makes me very happy.

I am also excited that I learned a new skill this week. Jane from MiniFanaticus Blog kindly taught me how to make printie cookbooks.

That's all folks.

Enjoy your weekend!

Ruth

I think I will actually start responding to comments on my blog!

Up until now I have always responded to comments by emailing my blogging friends directly in response to the lovely comments I receive. I have liked doing it this way because often times these exchanges become a bit more personal and have led to some great friendships. But I do see the benefits of responding on my blog. Then everyone can read the comments! So from now on when you leave a comment, make sure to click on the link that says subscribe to comments by email, or check back for my reply.
And if I have a more personal reply for you, I'll still be sending you a personal email!

Hugs to all my blogging friends!

Ruth