One More Trip Into Town....

I went into town to go to the Jay's Indian Arts bead shop one more time...

I got all of this for $30.00.  It  doesn't seem like a lot, but the magnetic closures in the upper right of the photo are usually  10 for $24.05. So I got a pretty good deal on them all. I was really surprised that there were any magnetic closures at all.  I think that someone put them in the wrong box.  Everything is at least 50 percent off now.  Some things are 75 percent.

I stopped at the used book store that I got a gift certificate for, for Christmas.  I finally found something that I wanted.

Unfortunately I will have to wait my turn to read them... If Kota gets to them first he has to lay on them for a couple of hours to make sure that they are safe to read.

And Tessie? She has been standing on top of her dressing room box since I got back.  Hands on hips. Notice, she did changed her apron. 

Every once in a while she heaves a heavy sigh. Then she starts stomping her feet and yelling that she wants her dressing room NOW!

I am doing a passable job of ignoring her and doing other things that I want to do. 

It won't last, but I am enjoying it while it does.

Back to ignoring Tessie, watching TV and eating bon bons...

See you tomorrow.

A Watch, a Room and a Good Book...

I still have a way to go on the watchband.  It is coming right along though.

I haven't done this kind of designing for a while, but it comes back easily.  I am designing as I go.  Bead by bead...

I went into the workroom a while ago and found that it was starting to look messy... Not good.

I started straightening right away. I am now being very conscientious  about straightening these days.

I found this in the mess on the table.  I was going to show you the other day and then I got sidetracked...

I did this a few years back when I was doing a lot of cartonnage.  French cardboard building.  I found a pattern on one of the French sites for a one paged book... That is, the whole book was made out of one piece of paper.

My paper was about 12 by 18.

I got the idea in my head to make a vine that went from page to page and if you followed the vine, it would show you how to get to the next page.  It actually worked.

You fold the paper in 16 sections.  then you cut it as you see here.  down the middle through three sections.  Then you go one to the left and one to the right.  Turn the corner again and cut two sections parallel to the center line that you cut. 

When you are finished, the cover of the book is two boards attached to the bottom two middle sections.  Those are the end pages of the book. 

Mine starts with a blank page attached to the front cover and the back cover is attached to the end of the vine.

If you follow the vine, It will tell you how to get to the next page.  It is really fun to do.  I put bugs, butterflies and creepy crawlers on the vines all the way along to show the way to the end. 

Try it.  It's fun to do.  Maybe you can think of something else that will lead from the beginning to the end.

Anyway, we went to see the new Kingsman movie this morning.  Fun!  Elton John stole the show!

I  am done for the day... I have to start doing socks if I want any to give away for Christmas.

The room is clean again!

See you tomorrow.

And Now For Sunday...

OK. This is my second time writing a post today... Very early this morning, I put up a post for Thursday.  I think that is legal to go back and fill in the gaps just this once.  In case you haven't heard, I missed posting on Thursday, but I made up for it this morning... I am not going to mention it again. 

I have to tell you that Tessie was getting to the point of hysterics this morning, so I put in a couple of lights in the Potions Shed.

It must have worked. I haven't heard a peep out of her all afternoon.

This is one of the lights that I used. Battery operated and sticky pad on the back.  That one I put inside the roof and stuck it to the ceiling where it won't be seen. The other one was a battery operated clamp light.

Neither one can be seen from outside the house and they give that nice eerie feeling that Tessie loves.

I went to Goodwill this morning and picked up this 25dollar book for a buck.

Tessie has been pouring through it and is bookmarking almost every page... You know... "We can use this in the She Shed... We can use this one in Daisy's Cottage.  We can use this one in my NEW HOUSE!  That one was rather emphatic.

She has a place for everything in the book and is ready to work on all of them at once...  I doubt that I will use many of the ideas, but it had a nice section of colored photos of gardens and things that would look good outside a window.


Anyway, this is what the She Shed looks like with the lights on... In order to turn them on herself, she is using the pogo stick and bumping her head on the push light that you see in the first photo. Hey!  Whatever works!

Back to rug making.

See you tomorrow.

Tessie's in Hiding Again!

I told Tessie that if she didn't let me have the day off, before her makeover, I was going to turn her into a decrepit old lady with gray hair... She is somewhere in the house... I am not going to go look for her.  She doesn't want gray hair.  "No how.  No way." Those were her exact words.

So.  That gave me some time to mess around without interference. A whole day to myself!

See the pretty book with the black and white cover?  That is now Tessie's appointment book.

She can only have things done on the days that I put her in the book for. At least that is what I told her.

Actually it's a book full of quarter inch graph paper... Just don't tell her that.

I just wanted to see what a new freebee would do.

See the gray beige liner in the book?  I found it at the big Walmart here in town.  It is actually an eight and one half by eleven paint sample with a sticky back.  They are free to take home and try on your wall.  They are "repositionable".  It seems to stick pretty good for something that is supposed to be removable... I see possibilities for mini walls...

When I opened the old book, I remembered how irritating the gift wrap that I used for the inside of that one was.  Not a lot of fun to work with. 

Now all I have to see is how this one holds up.

I found this pattern for a quarter scale chair and couch in the other book. 

I might just have to run that through the blog with directions later.  I don't know how many are interested in 1/4" scale furniture. 

These are very easy and if you want to learn, just give a comment.  I don't think that the directions are any place else on the blog...

Back to ignoring Tessie.

See you tomorrow.

Excuse My Dust!

I guess that the dirt isn't too noticeable in these photos, but it is definitely there.  I spilled the dirt out of a couple of the potted plants...Oops!

 I cut the two end walls for the inside this morning.  I will have to put a door on the one in this photo.

I may still move the potting bench over to the opposite end.  Still planning...

 Meanwhile, I have about a sock and a quarter finished.  I am still loving the bowl.  I just wish that the people at the factory would be just a little more careful about winding the yarn.  Every once in a while I have to stop and remove tangles by hand. Most irritating.

I forgot to show you the other book that I got for Christmas.  It is full of colored photos of all kinds of plants.  I can make more minis with this one to look at. 

OK...You caught me.  I am going back to work on the second sock for a while.  I can't wait to wear these. Fun colors. 

Back to the needles. 

See you tomorrow. 

Scary Tessie!

It doesn't take much... Tessie can be scary without trying...

This morning I stopped at Goodwill and found her a couple of early Christmas gifts.

The first was a new outdoor swing.  I am not sure what it is really for, but it is a perfect hanging basket swing.  It works for two, if they are friendly... Once in a while that includes Tessie and Zar...

They were friendly long enough for me to take their photo.

The other gift was a $40.00 book that I got for 2.99.

I don't happen to have this one.  It is on the Thorne Rooms in Chicago.

We have our own collection of them in Phoenix and some are very similar to the ones there, so I don't feel like I have missed a lot.

Anyway, I shouldn't have given it to her this far before Christmas... See all of those little yellow post it notes stuck in between the pages.  There were only 16 left on the pad or there would be even more pages marked...

Between the two of them, so far, it will be a 16 room+ a few more extra rooms that they haven't marked yet, house!  And she has announced that it should be done for Christmas.  She wants to throw a big party...

I am now hunting for the mesmerizer... I need to wipe the book from her(and Zar's) mind in a hurry.  Back to the hunt.

See you tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving Eve.

Minis Can't Keep You Awake...

I proved that today.  I kept falling asleep all through the hours of chemo.

This morning I got out the box of book supplies.  I was going to put some of them in the workbox for today...

To my great surprise, I found a huge supply of made books and magazines already to put on shelves.

It must have been the house elves that did it.  I don't remember making them.... Maybe I did it while doing chemo.  For some reason, the drugs let me work a blue streak.  Punctuated by short cat naps.

Having Kota around, I know about those.  It also helps to know about them when you are about to do chemo and bookbinding in the same time frame...

I switched over to the unfinished baskets, in the basket box.

I did all of the open work in the center rows of the basket and then started closing the top in, by drawing the wire in closer to the center as I went.

It is done with a four stitch wrap.  That is you wrap the string/cord around the base wire four times and then drop it down to the row below that one and attaché it by running it through the bottom of the row before.

I also ran across an almost finished tray basket with a copper drop.  It still needs a coat of varnish on the bottom.  If it is to be used, I will have to put a layer of plastic over the top... I may just hang it somewhere and let it be decorative.

Tessie found five hats in the work basket and accused me of hiding them.. whinging and whining, "How could you?  I can always use a new hat or two... Or three".

She would have you believe that she did all of the work on the yellow basket...

She didn't I did the work whilst taking a chemical bubble bath...(Not really.)  Just a bunch of stuff leaking into me, while I worked.  The doctor is very pleased with my progress... Not at basket weaving.  Just at my ability to heal and shrink tumors with her help.

One more treatment to go and then they re evaluate what is happening so far.

I may be a little late, but I am going to try not to break a seven and a half year streak of every day blogging. Eight years in February!

See you tomorrow!!

Saturday Shopping Spree...

I didn't get a lot of minis done today.  I was busy shopping...

I haven't done enough of that lately, so I decided to have some fun.

I found this decorating book by Jane Alexander.  Looks interesting.  It delves into making your home a sanctuary.  I thought that everybody already did that... It goes into feng shui and other things to make it your own hideaway...

 Then I found a bag of thin suede leather for three bucks.  I can't pass up thin leather. 







I got it home and got a surprise.  Someone had tried to make some of the pieces into cowboy type neckerchiefs.  I now have a bunch of tiny horseshoes and other adornments...

The other thing I got was a juicer... Walter and I want to do a bit of cleaning up the way we eat.  We are terrible snackers... Maybe this will help.  Not so much coke and coffee.  And more healthy drinks.  So far, so good.  I had carrot, beet and celery, with fresh ginger for lunch.  Not bad at all. 

And NO! I am not going to juice cat food for Kota.  No matter how much he whinges and whines! I learned the word whinge from one of my English friends.  It just fits the way that Kota meows when he wants something...

OK.  Now I should go do some mini-ing. Enough fooling around.

See you tomorrow.

Old Magazines Are Sometimes Entertaining...

Yesterday at Wednesday Witches, I did a few more books and then decided that I needed to put together some magazines... I had a box full of covers that I have been hording over the years. 

Some of the issues were from the late 80s!  I had a bunch of the ones that Miniature Collector put out yearly.  They did it just so that people could have minis of their mini magazines...

I simply put a couple of layers of folded paper inside and glued it along the center seam.  Then put the covers over that.

The reason that I say that old magazines can be entertaining?  Daisy showed up early this morning.

I gave her a pile of them to keep her busy.  I told her to pick out some things that she liked for the new house...

That worked for a while...

Then she found "Versailles". It's a book that I have about the palace and grounds...

So much for keeping her in a cottage.  She found Marie Antoinette's section and the little farm cottage that she played in. 

She is reasoning that it has a circular staircase outside... Just like hers... Therefore the rest of her cottage should look like this one too...

Shades of Tessie.  I do believe that they are sisters, under the skin...

Speaking of Tessie, she is nowhere to be seen... I am going to have to stop typing now and go check to see if the time machine is still parked on the roof...  "Tessie!!! Don't touch that Ouija Board!  You don't know how to use it and you won't know how to get back here! No!!! STOP!!!"

That was Zar yelling at the top of his lungs!  I guess I should go take away the Ouija Board from both of them.  Zar is on one end of the board and Tessie is on the other... They are both bound and determined to try the time machine... I forgot to tell them.  Daisy hid the planchette.  Thank goodness.  At lease she has a head on her shoulders.

Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

In Trouble Now...

I couldn't catch Daisy in time... She is off to collect the rest of her belongings. 

She left me a note saying..."The cottage had better be finished when I get back.  I have a couple more loads of personal belongings to bring back.  I am leaving my suitcases here, so that you will know that I mean business!  Get to work!  Love Daisy.

Well.  I know what I am going to be doing at Wednesday Witches today...

More books.  There are 101 finished since yesterday.  I still have 134 blanks that need covers.

I don't want to talk about the kitchen that still needs finishing in the cottage.  I am not too worried.  Daisy doesn't like to cook.  She can eat out for a while.

I am figuring that the 101 books that I have finished may just about fill this bookcase.

That leaves the fireplace surround to fill...

As I said, I will be making more books today.

If all else fails, there is always the typesetter's tray.  It is full of various and sundry things that can be pulled out and put in to fill up empty spaces.

Not to mention the boxes of stuff in the workroom that are eligible for thievery... 

I don't think that there will be any problem with filling the bookcases. 

Now to do the window, door and window seat... Then the kitchen...

Back to the drawing board for those now.

See you tomorrow.

A Little of Everything...

I finished sticking down the stones for the side of the cottage yesterday. Not bad, so far. I still have to do a bit more texturing and painting...

This morning I had help choosing leathers for book covers... Kota likes the brown...

I have done this as a tutorial before, so I won't get detailed about it. 

I use craft foam for the body of the books.  I know that they will never be opened.  They are there only for filler in the book cases.

Books come in a lot of different sizes, so I don't have to be too careful about cutting them.  I do use a T square to make sure that they aren't lopsided...

I did all of these 5/8" wide and various lengths.  Mostly they were 3/4" long or longer. 

The nice thing about the foam is it can be cut with scissors. 

Here you see the steps.  After I get them cut, I glue one side to the cover material... In the case of the rusty colored ones, it was an envelope from a greeting card.  With the paper covers, it is best to bend the spine in two places before gluing.  Much easier that way.

The darker ones were all leather.  You can use just about anything that doesn't ravel for covers.

The other thing I dragged out was the coiled basket box.  There have to be a couple of baskets on the shelves.  I have a lot that are partially made.  Decisions, decisions... Decisions...

Anyway, Kota and I are going back to work now... Gotta run.

See you tomorrow.

Back To Work...

 I must be doing something right(and just don't know it).  I had three more roses in full bloom this morning... Plus a bunch of buds.

The plant to the left is a baby from one of the orchids that I purchased a couple of years ago.  And I have two that are re-blooming besides this one.  You have to cut them off at just the right spot in order for them to give you more flowers.  I think that I found the spot!

I found these two books at Goodwill this morning.. Both will help with the new build.

I want to do a flagstone floor in the HBS house.  Great photos in both books.

I am not going to do a lot of yard on this one, but I am contemplating making enough room for some extra plants... I want this pathway in real life.  Sure... In AZ... In the middle of the desert.  It is supposed to reach 90 degrees within the next week...

OK... We went to see the latest "Divergent" movie yesterday... And yes, I brought home more trays...

The lady in line ahead of us had a stack of FIVE.  I was tempted to ask what she was going to do with them... I resisted.  I didn't want to call attention to the fact that I had three...

I figure one of me.  One for Walter.  And one for Kota to sleep in.

I have the pieces cut and stained to do the other bookcase in the library.

I have to go now and do something.... I can't decide in which direction to go now... Oh! Look!  The squirrels are out... Maybe I will just sit and watch them for a while... Nope.  Back to work.

See you tomorrow!

Another Infernal Tower!!!

I didn't get much stitching done yesterday.  Had to go to the Wednesday Witches' Mini Meeting...

The more of the peacock blue I put in, the more I like it.  I think that Giac is right.  The gray is dull...

I am thinking a golden yellow color of some kind.  Still undecided..

I think that I am going to keep plodding along and finish the peacock blue first

Another "Here we go again!" situation popped up this morning...

I made my usual stop at Goodwill, on the way home from town.

I am now the proud owner of this...  Do I need another tower.  Did I want another tower...

Answer... Not until I saw this birdcage!  I love the shape. I am going to have to think about what it is to be. 

Maybe Tessie, Zar and Spike can come up with something...

I also found this book.  There is a method to my madness in buying this...   Last week, someone from Hobby Builder's Supply http://www.miniatures.com/Creatin-Contest-W1826.aspx  contacted me.  They wanted to know if I would like a free kit for  the contest that they run every year.  They know I don't enter, but I often buy the kit if it's something I can use.  I don't often enter any kinds of contests.  Just not my thing.

The kit that they are putting out this year is a good sized building and has a curved roof.  Very interesting.  All I have to do is talk a bit about the contest as I do the build...

I noticed that Brae over at Otterine's blog is also doing it... She always enters the contest, so she has to do two.  That's more than I want to do. 

I don't know how many bloggers they contacted.  It will be interesting to see how many people do it just for fun.

I will probably try to finish the cottage and observatory and then the next thing will be the HBS kit. They told me that they would probably be shipping them starting this week.(update, I was just notified that the kit has been shipped.) Thus the book.  The building looks very mid century mod to me. 

Good Luck to Brae and all of the other contestants. 

I am going to do mine at my leisure.  And you will get to come along for the ride.

See you tomorrow.

                                      

Never Bring Home Colefax and Fowler...

At least not their book...  It always causes trouble.  Tessie and I both are fans of their work. 

Very British.  Very Beautiful...

I found this 45.00 book for  $3.20  this morning... Yup Goodwill again... I looked at this one when it was new, but didn't want to put out 45.00 for it.  Now I have it and it is going to cause all kinds of trouble...

The first thing that Tessie did was look for libraries with fireplaces...

You see, she announced this morning,"The observatory library needs a fireplace..."

I tried to get out of changing the plans by telling her that it wouldn't be practical.  All of that smoke would fog the lens on the telescope...

She has an answer for everything..."Two words. Electric fireplace.  No smoke.

That's four words, but I gave up on trying to reason with her.  It never works.

At least, if it electric, I won't have to build a chimney.  That's one good thing...

The next thing I knew, she erased the cabinet in the bottom of the drawing and replaced it with a rough sketch of a fireplace.

Looks like it's settled.  I am not wiring the building or building a fire.  Nope... Just logs.

I am still working on the walls.  I have the floor done.  Slate.  Maybe with a fancy rug.

I did leave room for possible plants around the base, outside. 

I scored two more trays and the movie was good.  Now I know I will have enough to finish.

Back to work.  But first I am going to hide Colefax and Fowler in the closet, where Tessie can't get at them.

See you tomorrow.