Laundry

Worked on an old time laundry scene.

Checkers, Anyone?

Found this roombox at the annual Pumphouse sale this summer. It was missing a couple of shingles, but in good shape otherwise. Not bad for .25 , eh?

This is how it turned out.

Moose head, butter churn. How Canadian is that?

The Canadian themed posters were downloaded from the net and framed. The fish was from a $store package, painted and mounted on a card oval, string glued around the edge and painted to look like wood.

Sock Stretchers

A member of our group has been downsizing and offered some minis to us. These 2 shapes were held together with string. Took a while to figure out what they were - going back to the days of hand knit wool socks, which had to be dried on these stretchers, or they shrunk to baby foot size!

The wooden shapes with socks drawn in pencil.

The socks painted and ready to be hung on the line.

Wouldn't you know I mislaid the little ...s somewhere. Luckily, I had traced the original and made a replica, as well as a perforated sample to show how the stretcher would look. Sooooo, I just proceeded to make a sock filled replica as well.

Stairway to Heaven

Our club is working on the Wizard's Spell Book from Tba.
Here is a picture of the scene we are trying to capture.

Cindy was able to buy a book at Michaels in the States. The measurements were smaller than the size indicated in the book, so the photocopies were reduced to 75%, which worked perfectly.
The paper was decoupage do to the book, and the stairs made in layers from builder's foam rather than florist foam.

Instead of découpageing, the stairs were finished to resemble stone.
Here is the inspiration picture for the stone.

Here is a picture of the stairs.

Little Red Painters

One of our neighbours had a birthday and the theme of the party was Alice in Wonderland. (The Shaw Festival is featuring the musical this year.)
This is a version of the playing card painters commanded by the Queen of Hearts to paint all the white roses red.The heads are styrofoam balls cut in half, hats and cloaks are red tissue paper, brushes are made from stir sticks carved to shape and painted. Hands and boots are made with Fimo, paint pots are from card. Isn't it amazing what a couple of coats of paint can do?
The idea was inspired by a Small Packages Tutorial.
The faces were downloaded from the Internet. Cards are actual playing cards.

The painters looked good installed in the bushes with garlands of white roses.

Also, the little guys were used in an Alice inspired hat worn to a garden party.

There was also a giant teacup planter. If you look VERY CLOSELY, you will see Alice and the caterpillar, as well as the Cheshire cat.

Garage Sale Finds

Garage sales have started agian, but so far pretty slim pickings for the crafter. However, I did come across a stocking stuffer package from Lee Valley. They have such tricky tools, and this assortment meant was a gem. All of this magic for a buck!

Can't go wrong with the surgical scrubbers, to clean painty hands, scrub vegetables or remove stubborn stains from clothes before laundering!
Must admit I had to refer to the printout to see how the pocket screwdrivers were used - how do people think of such handy- dandy items!
The spring shears are always a welcome addition to the sewing box, and the pocket magnifier went straight into hubby's wallet.

Next, I spied a little bedroom set  (perhaps by Avon?)  which would make a charming roombox.

What about these 2 for my Santa's workshop?

And how could I pass. Up this charming alpine style roombox? As if I don't have enough unfinished projects in my stash!

Scrub a Dub Dub

Washing clothes was not so easy as it is now. Water had to be carted from the pump, heated on a stove, and poured into laundry tubs.

Families were large in the early 1900's, and although many kids shared a bed, there was still a mountain of sheets waiting to be wash with whatever frequency the housewife could manage! In the city, manufactured soap could be purchased. In rural areas, the homemaker might have to make her own from ashes and lard.
Such a labour intensive process!

And can you imagine the damage lye soap and washboards could do to the hands?

Here is a link to Niagara minis blogpost which describes this project.
http://niagaraminis.blogspot.ca/search/label/Laundry