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Thursday, November 10, 2016

Remembrance Day 2016


The battle of the Somme, WW1 was a tragic day for the  Newfoundland Regiment, fighting near Beaumont-Hamel in France.
This tiny self- governing country, (Newfoundland did not join Canada until 1949) sent 801 soldiers into battle on July 1, 1916. The next day, only 68 were able to answer roll call.
The Beaumont-Hamel memorial is perched up on a rocky promontory, suitably echoing  the country's nickname -"The Rock". There are other memorials to the Newfoundlanders and labradorians across Belgium and France.


Have a look at the CBC documentary, TheTrail of the Caribou, a depiction of how this war affected the people of Newfoundland for generations to come, and may even have played a part in making them a province in the Confederation of Canada, because so many young men had perished during this brutal war.


Read about of The Danger Tree : Memory, War and the Search for a Family's Past by David Macfarlane.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Making Wall Sconces

Hmmmm, now what could be used to make these?
Take a push pin, a star acrylic bead, a small circle punched from paper, a round bead and a seed bead. Also, cut an oval from card.


Then put some Play Dough or something similar into one segment of the star bead and glue in place. This will provide a point of attachment to the wall.



Place the star bead on top of the push pin and glue in place.

 

The circle of card gets glued on top to make a platform for a candle.



Add the round bead and the seed bead to the bottom, 


Add the oval to the back. Paint the whole thing black.


Whole thing painted black

Garage Sale roombox and fish

I scored a wonderful prize at the NOTL Pumphouse sale - a roombox just the right size to fit some items from my stash. Can you believe the price? I left the tag on so you can see.
Here is how it started out.



Here is the finished product. I have had the potbellied stove forever, as well as the checkers table. Printed and framed Canadian themed posters from the net. The upper attic gave me a chance to use more items from my stash...



The fish trophy was made from a $store package of fish shapes meant for scrap booking, I think. See the little fish on the label? That is how they started out.


Not too bad, eh?




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.

Friday, August 26, 2016

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.


Saturday, August 6, 2016

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.



Monday, June 13, 2016

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!

Sunday, June 5, 2016

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

Sunday, May 22, 2016

For the Birds

The stand for this little birdcage just doesn't have much presence, does it?


So, take a bamboo skewer , a scrap piece of 1/32 diameter dowel and a small cap. Add a scrap of cardboard.

Make a cradle out of Play dough or Fimo by rolling a piece to a 1/34 inch thickness, cutting a strip about 5/32 inch and ... long. The length will depend on the size of the cage.  Lay the cage on its side and see where you wish the cradle to be. Poke holes in either end and in the centre, and form the strip in a semi-circle around a generic paint bottle. Let dry or bake.
Soak the dowel in warm water and shape it around a paint bottle and so that the ends will fit into the holes you made in the cradle strip. Let dry.
Glue the dowel and the cradle to form an oval.
Drill a hole in the cap and insert the skewer. Cut the the other end to the desired height, and insert/glue into middle hole of the cradle.
Attach the birdcage to the top of the dowel oval with a piece of thin wire.
The assemblage should look like this.


You may need to add weight to or widen the base to prevent tipping.
Paint the stand and age by dry brushing.
Here is the finished product.


Saturday, May 21, 2016

Escape to Gretna Green

For Regency Romance fans....

Take a Cinderella carriage wedding favour.


Coat it with Gesso inside and out.




Paint black. Do the same with 4 horses..
Dry brush with white.


The coachmen are sculpted from Playdough.
The snow is paper machè. The bushes are sisal rope.








Now for the fun part - who are the occupants inside? Are they in love, or is the lady being kidnapped by a dastardly fortune hunter? You decide.....

This scene is designed to fit inside one of those plastic containers which store fresh greens.