Odds & Ends

Hello Miniaturists!!  O.K. I am ready for winter, no more hot weather, OMG! It's only July 2.

I am glad you all enjoyed the candle sconce and I am glad I finally got around to making it.  That picture has been thumb-tacked to my cabinet for a long time.  I rip out so many pictures and don't have time to make them all.  It's like the recipes we rip from  magazines and newspapers, oh, it's looks so good, but we never make the dish!

I went to my wonderful used bookstore yesterday and found another book about miniatures.  I have never seen this one.  It was published is 1975, it's titled  All About Doll Houses, by Barbara L. Farlie with Charlotte L. Clarke.  These ladies are imaginative!  It's a great book, shows how to make things for  Colonial, Georgian and Victorian dollhouses.  Not only furniture patterns and lots of accessories but about the architectural elements in the rooms.  Wonderful ideas, I can't list them all, but I will be using them from time to time and letting you know about them, too.
There are two ideas I want to share from the book with you, now.  First is aluminum knitting needles, they were used to make a lovely "brass" bed.  Yes, aluminum knitting needles, the needles are held together with liquid solder.  I had never heard of such a thing, I can't solder, no-way, just doesn't work for me.  I asked my husband if he had ever heard of liquid solder,
"Oh, yeah, been around a long time." 
"And you never told me about this?"
"Oh." 
Going to try this stuff, he says one brand is JB Weld.  So look around, ask around, look at thrift shops if you need aluminum tubing, I never gave the knitting needles a thought.
The other idea was using wooden artist's brushes for bedposts.  They have the right tapered shape and if you add a square bottom to add the length you need and you have some good bedposts.  You know, you can't get the bedpost parts now.  I've checked and they are not made any more.  I wrote a snippy letter to "Miniature Collector" about an article that said, "Get into your miniature odds and ends drawer and get out the extra bedposts."  They even showed a picture of the author's odds and ends drawer with the bedposts in the middle of it all to prove their point.  Yeah, sure, I have a lot of stuff but not extra bedposts.


Are you all gardening?  My husband gardens and I put up the stuff he brings in.  I have a great refrigerator pickle recipe I came up with after experimenting a bit.  It's a bit tangy, but sooo good on a hot summer day.

Kris' Cucumbers

I fill a gallon jar with cucumbers or zucchini, (do you have enough of those? LOL)  In fact, the zucchini stay crisper in this mixture than the cucumbers, you can put just about anything in this mixture and it's good.  Try the little tomatoes for color.
Back to the recipe.
Alternate the cucumbers with onions, pack it tight.

Now for the mix:
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pickling salt
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1 teaspoon minced garlic, I use the minced garlic that comes in a jar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cups white sugar
2 cups white vinegar
3 cups water

Stir this altogether until the sugar is good and dissolved.  Pour it over the vegetables and let this set in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 days.  Save the leftover mixture for more cucumbers.

Now I have something else.  A very nice miniaturist contacted me and she makes videos of the miniatures she makes.  How cool is that?  We have such a net work of mini people sharing ideas, how can we get bored?
Her name is Angela Ford and she is on YouTube, Garden of Imagination.  Please, check her out!!

I have some more news.  Just want to let the people who buy furniture from me know that I will only be taking 2 orders a month from now on.  I've stopped taking orders until September.  I am trying to get through all of my orders, my "white board" is filled.  Thank You, Thank You.  In no way am I complaining!  Just trying get organized and be able to get the orders filled in a timely manner.  I can then schedule the tutorial and maybe something new for the CDHM site.  Thank you all for understanding.

Working on a couple of things for the tutorial, answering requests for miniaturists.

TTYL  Kris