The First Frost

I woke yesterday believe it or not to the first frost! Autumn is most definitely here. The temperatures have noticeably dropped and we have lit the fire. It put me in the mood for finishing Frostys Snowman Shop. There was lots of shelves to be stocked and labels to be added and of course a light dusting of snow!

Here's a peek through the glass in the door!

And another through the side window.

Even a really sneaky peek through the glass roof!

So here it is completely finished.

Shall we go in.....

I love the little bench - the artwork and fabric are just gorgeous.

Of course there needs to be mirrors a snowman needs to see how well that top hat fits!

The most wonderful thing about kits by the Betterleys are the little extras!

I used the little artwork snowmen and added them to some of the left over papers and popped them into the little wooden frames - add some glamour dust and hey presto - frosty paintings!

Alterations service available - maybe that scarf is just a bit too long!

I love the little facials tray!

And finally the whole scene all together.

Latest on Frostys and the First Jane Harrop Kits

I have been working some more on Frostys snowman shop this week. The interior of the shop is really coming on now. I have added the dressing room doors at the back and various bits of furniture. I have also made a lot of lovely little hat boxes to stack on shelves - these aren't in the photo as they are still drying but they will be in my next post.

I know we weren't going to post photos of the first Jane Harrop kits until the end of the month but Ruth and I couldn't wait to show ours. Ruth has finished her Barrel Horse and it looks wonderful. Instead of painting the mane on she had the great idea of adding a real mane and tail. I have finished my Go-Kart and almost finished my Barrel Horse, I only have the face and mane to paint on. Here are the photos.

My Go-Kart

My almost finished Barrel Horse

Ruths Barrel Horse

Both Ruth and I found the kits went together really well. It was a little tricky getting the legs lined up with the holes in the base but it was fine. The instructions are extremely well written and very easy to follow. I can't wait to get more kits from Jane.

Frostys Shop

Today I finished the building for Frostys. I am really pleased with it. As seems to be the case with Robin Betterleys kits, everything has fitted together perfectly. The roof lifts off and the front slides open so that you can arrange the inside. Its a great feeling when you stand back and see what you have achieved. Judith had sent me some glamour dust, something I had never used before, you sprinkle it on wet paint to give a wonderful, glittery sparkle. I loved it so much that I have used it all over the place, on a lot of the internal pieces, the icicle roof trims and the finials. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to show up very well on the photographs, neither does the sparkle glaze that I have painted over the blue.





I then went on to do a little more on the furniture for the inside. I decided to make the 2 glass tables. This was far trickier than anticipated. I used E6000 glue as suggested in the instructions, instead of my usual Aleene Tacky Glue (which personally I think is THE best glue!!). The smell of this glue is truly horrible and it is the gloopiest glue I have ever used. I found it really quite difficult to manipulate which is a real trial when working on something so small. But with perseverance I got there in the end!! I have tried to photograph these tables but being clear they don't show up very well. They are next to a normal sized pencil to give you an idea of size.

New Books

I discovered a new website this week, Petite Properties http://www.petite-properties.50megs.com/index.html . The miniature buildings are wonderful. I have only built in 1:48th (quarter scale) so far - I love the tiny detail, and I noticed that they are soon to bring out a series of properties to build in that scale so I shall keep checking back.

I did however buy their set of books on how to build 1:24th scale furniture - without woodworking skills!!! These books are truly wonderful. It will open up possibilities for me to design my own furniture instead of only buying kits. I cannot believe how simple and inexpensive the techniques are. They will be bringing out a book on making a building too - so there will be somewhere to house everything you make out of the books. There is a book of kitchens, one for sitting rooms and one for bedrooms. In the kitchen book there is even a very realistic Aga made from various thicknesses of cardboard, buttons and believe it or not a drinking straw!!!!

Whilst on the subject of new websites the Betterleys have revamped their website and it is looking great. I have updated the link to the new site. http://www.robinbetterley.com/y.com/ .

Frostys sat for a few days untouched as I was unsure how the blue I had painted the shop walls really tied in with the pale grey/green on the internal artwork. Eventually I emailed Judith from 'In Some Small Way' (as I always do when in need of advice) and she said to go with it as the border along the top of the back wall will tie it all together. So I did just that, and she was so right, it all sits together very nicely now. The shop front and sides are finished and the floor and back wall are ready with the artwork applied. I just need to put them together to make the shop! I love this stage when it changes from a flat piece to something three dimensional and really starts to take on an atmosphere of its own.

And lastly I spent yesterday painting some dominoes ready to turn into, brooches, pendants and books to put in my esty shop. I shall post again when they are finished and ready to go up for sale.

Snow!

We have had so much snow this week! It looks amazing. I thought I would share a photo of the snow I can see from my craft table in the window.

It is the perfect view to work on Frostys Snowman shop. Unlike Pickett Hill all the pieces get painted 1st. So I have spent some time painting the various walls and frames. The blue pieces get a coat of sparkle glaze which gives them a wonderful glittery look. I cannot wait to put it together.

Elliots school was shut for two days so we went out and enjoyed a bit of the snow. Here is a photo of Elliot in the snow and also a snow view out of our back window.

Frostys Snowman Shop

I have started on my next miniature! This is Frostys the Snowman Shop. It is another design from the Betterleys, that I had for Christmas. Like Pickett Hill this kit has come from Judith Dowden at 'In Some Small Way' . It came beautifully boxed up in a lovely textured white box tied up with silver ribbon. Then inside all the pieces were wrapped in glittery tissue paper - the photo of the box really doesn't do it justice! The shop interior is quarter scale - the same as Pickett Hill. Below are the photos of the bits I've done so far. The main table that the shop sits on, the clothes closet (which I have also pictured next to a 10p piece so that you can see the scale), two sets of drawers, a table and the snowflake pots to put the xmas trees in. The clothes closet despite being so tiny has a door that opens, a rail to hang clothes on, an opening drawer at the bottom and tote boxes that slide off the shelves for you to fill. It really is amazing.

Frostys box

Interior photo

Pieces made so far.

Clothes closet next to a 10p.