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

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.

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.

Remembrance Day 2015 - When Duty Calls

In time of war, family and sweethearts bid goodbye to so many young men. 

Being a Dominion of Britain, Canada was automatically brought into the war between Britain and Germany, although there was a choice of how deep the involvement would be.

Canadians of British descent widely supported fighting for "the Motherland", and propaganda encouraged young men to sign up.

French Canadians were considerably less enthusiastic, since they did not have the same genealogical and patriotic connections to Britain. When conscription was passed into law by PM Borden, it met with a great deal of resistance from Quebec and other French speaking communities. Resentment which has bubbled up through the political arena to this day.

Saying goodbye to "your boy", your husband, brother or father is gut-wrenching and so many women did so, enduring the uncertainty and fear for their loved ones while battling on the home front. What is Jenny thinking as she bids farewell to Joe?

How am I going to live without you?

Don't get hurt, don't get hurt, I love you, I love you.. 

How can I keep the family going?

How can I earn a living? 

What will become of us?

Cleaning up

Our group worked on a little cleaning caddy.
There is a tutorial from Joanne Swanson, with printies and a pattern for a dust pan. She suggests using a restaurant jelly container for the caddy.
http://joannswansondiyminiatures.blogspot.ca/2011/05/creative-minds-are-rarely-tidy.html

Trim the edging, then cut a strip of cardboard a little smaller than the length of the container.

Now, score a vertical line about 2 inches up the strip. Fold the strip over and trim the edges.

Measure how tall you wish the handle to be. (approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inches). Score this measurement on either side of the first fold

Fold along score lines.

 The strip should now look like this.

Glue the middle together.

Trim the tabs so they fit inside the jelly container.

Cut holes for the handle.

File the handle smooth and maybe file the corners.

Glue the cardboard to the jelly container. Gesso and paint. I used Patio paint.

Here is my finished caddy. 

The gloves are cut from paper, painted and podged.

Remembrance Day 2014 - Farmerettes

WW1 led to many changes in the social fabric all countries involved. In Canada, the boys were shipped overseas to fight, leaving the women to take over the various chores they left behind.
Before the war, women had few rights - they could not vote or hold political office, only a few worked outside the house,
Only 14 years before the War, the Marriage Property Act made ti possible for a woman to control her own property and wages separately from her spouse, while being jointly responsible for child support. Teaching was the only profession which provided a pension.  See this reference for milestones for women in Canada.
One of the most important supportive tasks which needed to be maintained was in agriculture. While women did train to become nurses and went overseas, others remained at home and assumed the farming duties needed t maintain the civilian population at home and the fighting men overseas. June Hitchcox describes her experience as a member of the Farm Service Force.in Ontario.

Taken from

Library and Archives Canada, “Canada and the First World War: We Were There,” Government of Canada, 7 November 2008