Flowers for Hazel

This is the flower stand I made as a Christmas gift for my mother Hazel in 1999.

 The only flowers I had were tiny dried flowers and I made the roses from punched circles of coloured paper. They look a bit basic to todays standard!

My mum treasured this, she loved flowers.

Crochet Mats and Doilies

I go shopping in the middle of the night - in my pajamas! Any time I need retail therapy I browse Etsy or Ebay or FaceBook and find some beautifully made miniatures for sale.
I've just received these gorgeous crochet doilies from Frances Brown who sells these in loads of fabulous colours on Ebay

I also bought these crochet mats from Mary who sells them here on Etsy

All I have to decide is whether to add them to one of my scenes or start something new - a linen store maybe?
I have made crochet mats myself before but nothing clever and mine are only in single colours.

Oly and I are looking forward to our annual miniatures fair near Malaga in June where we can't wear our pyjamas!

Maybe we'll meet you there?

2013 Minutes, Dolls and Vases

Oly, who is the other member of the 'Smallest Miniatures Group in the World' came up with such a good idea and a great solution for me to finish all the projects I've started and not finished.
In the year 2013 I have to spend 2013 minutes working on the UFPs.
If my maths are correct it means less than 6 minutes each day - even I can manage that!
Last night I finished a kit of pansies which I bought from Bonnie Lavish and started four years ago! I know I'm terrible, especially as I dislike making flowers but I did it!
Here are the pansies in a beautiful vase turned by the very talented Bertie.

I've had a slow start to the year because my mother passed away. I'm trying to get myself together so little jobs are the way forward, nothing to concentrate on for too long.
 Lucy kindly sent me two of the little china head dolls she makes and a selection of very fine wool she uses to knit the clothes. I really appreciated her thoughtfulness which was a grateful diversion and gave me something new to think about.
My husband took me to Portugal for a few days and as it rained most days I was able to start knitting. I only got one set of underwear made, using Gutermann silk sewing thread using the basic pattern which Lucy shares on her blog evalinarose.blogspot.com

I'm now planning to finish more flower kits as they look so good displayed in Bertie's vase and I bought more from Bertie last year. Here are three more.

Here is a photo I took in Porto. Wouldn't these houses make beautiful dollshouses!

 Thank you for dropping by, have a good week,

Spring Flowers in The Gift Shop

Spring is in the air, it feels a little warmer and I wanted the gift shop to have a fresh look. It's stocked with all things floral.

 I hope you're now feeling spring-like and enjoying a warm Easter weekend.

The Return of the Miniaturist

Thank you for returning to my blog after a break of almost three months. As we all find, real life sometimes takes over and this time, real life butted its head in using full strength and gave me a good beating.
I'm so pleased to be slowly getting back into the life that is normal for me. Here are photos of my sewing shop which I've been working on.

 I've just finished some new cushions/seat pads especially for the sewing room.

Lots of haberdashery will be in my Etsy shop this weekend, I've made too many of everything as usual!
I hope the snow isn't causing too many problems in your part of the world, keep warm and remember 'It's Always Sunny in Miniland'.
Have a great weekend!