Thimbletack

A long time ago, when my 7 year old monster was just a wee sprite,  my husband and I would say "You'd better behave, Thimbletack is watching! He'll tell Santa you're being a naughty boy!" It really didn't matter if it was a month till Christmas or the middle of summer, Thimbletack was always watching.

And so this year my elf making was inspired by our own house elf and I've been working away on the wee thing, changing this, adding that, and finally he's just about complete.

As you can see, he's got some proud Scottish blood running through him. (My kidlet loves kilts)

His little jacket is very fancy indeed with some fine polished buttons on the back.

The North Pole is rather chilly so he has some striped knickers to keep his junk warm.

A wristwatch belt and a felted wool sweater arm for a cozy vest.

And just like my husband he likes to keep his eyebrows longs and sculpted. lol

Yay for tiny things.

I finally put the finishing touches on the wee room I was making for MissingWillow  (You should check out her awesome farm blog. I'm totally in love with her dogs.) and my "Ode to a Farm House" is complete.

You can see more pics of the finished product HERE on craftster.

Now, although I've got about a million other things I should be doing, I turned a few minutes attention to another wee house... one that is far down my 'to do list' and I really shouldn't be playing with but I couldn't help myself!

The makings of a wee Altoid Tin bed...

A sitting room.  

At the moment I'm just sort of sticking stuff in to see where it might fit and what the different rooms may be. I have a few ideas but what's in my head isn't what actually happens most of the time. I'd love to get a fireplace/wood stove in here somehow. I think I'll be doing loads of rugs for this house... maybe some wood floors for the next one.

*sigh* I REALLY aught to be doing the other wee houses that actually have owners waiting for them.

Captain Johan Julegilde ... A bossy Christmas elf if there ever was one

I was attempting to make a fairy godmother doll but this fella would not let up. He demanded to be made.

"You must make me. I will not wait! And for goodness sake make me better than the last fellow."

And so I raided my stash for more buttons, more trim, more wool and more fabric... and even then he demanded more.

"No, no, no. This simply won't do! The last elf had two bells, I will need much more than that." It took eight bells to satisfy him.

"My dear woman, you must also make me an eye patch so that when someone asks about it I can regale them with stories of working on Santa's front lines. My deeds are quite legendary you know."

My husband and son protested. They begged me not to give in to the pushy elf. *sigh* But what is a maker to do? The Captain has been given his patch... which can be removed should he cause any trouble.

Bossy little bugger.

Old Stuff

I came across an old portfolio the other day and pulled out these old goddess paintings I did about 5 years ago. Looking at old work is humbling. Suddenly your flaws are clear as day *sigh*.

 

There was a time I thought that I would keep all of my work but what good is it doing stuffed in some old folder? Time to let these gals go.

My favourite part

You know, as much as I love making things, it's not the making that gets me most excited... it's the embellishing and decorating.

The mini piece I showed of yesterday is coming along nicely today. There's still a few bits and bobs to add but I'm rather chuffed with this wee place.

Next to a wine bottle for size reference. The whole thing is about 6.5" wide by 8.5" tall.

Pretty things for your ears

I'll admit I don't know my Bach from my Vivaldi, but there are certain pieces of music that induce a sort of glorious euphoria in me. There are some works that are so beautiful that they force me to sit agog, smiling stupidly, until their conclusion.

Bach - Cello Suite No.1 i-Prelude
Bach - Sleepers wake
Puccini - O mio babbino caro
Puccini - Nessun Dorma (Paul Pott's singing this makes me ridiculously happy)
Johann Pachelbel - Canon in D
Debussy - Clair de lune
Vivaldi - Winter
Carl Orff  - Carmina Burana... Give this part a listen
Gershwin  - Rhapsody in Blue
Mozart - Alleluia

Some music simply makes the world a better place to live in.

WIP's WIP's Everywhere

I've got a LOAD of crafty things on the go at the moment. My work load this week has been pretty skinny so I've been enjoying the extra crafting time. A number of those things I'm working on are tiny, wee things. I figure I can share this particular work in progress because no one will know if it's for them or not since at least a few people are expecting a tiny something ;)

That's a penny in the foreground for size reference.

I am not a big fan of poly clay but I do like how these wee things have turned out. They still need a bit of tweaking and this is actually a small part of a larger project... but I'm fairly pleased how things are progressing. I'm getting excited about where things are headed with this and I hope and pray and have all my digits crossed that it turns out as lovely as it all is in my head :)

I'm telling ya', all of those miniature poly clay artists out there have truly earned my heartfelt admiration. You folks are amazing and must have some damned nimble fingers!