Enriching the imagined “storyline”

This build should be Volume III of The Quite Corner series of room box style miniature scenes that are meant to slot between books on the shelf and will hopefully portray a parkland type setting in which any passing miniature figure might like to quietly settle down and read.

The 6” x 8” box shape I’m using is getting more cluttered than a Victorian whatnot!  The available base area to build on is shorter on one side due to the angled main mirror that adds an illusion of depth, so that side is probably 6” as well.  The depth of the box is greater than the front width so adding things means checking afterwards what I’ve damaged or knocked out of place while doing the addition, but I think I’ve followed my tracks backwards in most cases and sorted the damage as I’ve gone along.  (Well one can hope)  I’m able to cheat a little as the left side of the box has yet to be fixed in place.

Depth, detail and overcrowding

Made a beginning at adding with two bought pagoda style items for a bit more detail and depth and yet to be painted up a little.

Hopefully the added loose stones blend with the paper stonework at the back when reflected in the mirror.

Much of the scenery is just paper set out in layers; I hesitate to call it decoupage as it’s my usual mix and match of what seems to work at any given time to find the need, but some layering here and there does lean a little towards that art.  I was going to add a link to decoupage here but can only locate flat styles of decoration at the moment and some of what I’ve added is much more what might appear in paper theatres

Anyhoo, now some smaller details need adding

Contrast and two pairs of specs
Circling around the daisies

I’ve chosen plant kits for daisies and buttercups from The Miniature Garden as I know them quite well as I’ve used them for a number of years.

The instructions/diagrams are excellent and I like to divide the kit into containers

I like to add a couple of things to the suggested items and work with blobs of glue whic I find easier to add with a needle end

I’ve collected contrasting lids as mixing palletes and they’re ideal for sorting and, if small enough will slide back into a sealable bag which I find handy for overnight storage etc.

The size of daisy.
Not got the ruffling technique for the petals sorted out yet. Poor thing looks more as tho I’ve been chewing on it!

 

I’ve still got details of human activity to add in before I glue the shorter of the two side walls in place and seal off the park style scene, but the following photos are the story so far …

This is the view when all walls are up and it shows the line of the larger angled mirror down the left side where it meets the paper wall

I’ve used a ‘homemade tree’ before to hide the join so here’s one made from two dried twigs

I’ve used bits of dried moss to blend the join.  Because of ankle problems I almost always wear leg warmers and thus end up collecting lots of bits and pieces of countryside on the wool of the warmers.  It’s these bits I dry and store for the mini-ing jobs.

Balancing the ‘tree’ in place to hide the straight line join and add extra contrast too

We are looking at a view next to the tree trunk (the trunk sits at the back of the box) and the view is a reflection of the water corner that actually sits to the right of the opening in the front wall to give added depth to the scene.

As the side wall on the left has not yet been stuck in place, the following pics show the reflected items – and a bit more

The actual front corner with added pagoda shapes and paper foliage

Looking downwards on the corner, pagodas, stones, paper trees and, on the right the other ‘homemade tree’ that sits inside the viewing opening

That opeing and the other tree shape

with dried climber tendrils added

And so we circle back to the daisies, buttercups and more dried twigs impersonating tree remains

Tho the stepping stone tree stumps are a bought in all in one resin item that are suitably low in profile and therefore don’t block out the view around the park 🙂

Bits of homemade veg and lots of plant kits

A v quick go at posting an enty as internet comes and goes all the time at the mo …

More of the homemade items. Carrots are beads of air-drying clay painted up pinned and glued in place with reindeer moss for tops. Other root veg is more air-drying clay but came out as an unspecified root crop!

Last row of cabbage like items, this made from florists’ tape

Runner beans first of the Georgie Steed kits from The Miniature Garden planted against the whitewashed wall of number 1’s coal house

The animals have arrived.
Cat, dog and hens

human activity has left a bucket tipped over and kindling for the fires

and of course, there’s always going to be pigeons

though somebody else is after the hens’ eggs

Cat is heading for the window cill next to the mother-in-law’s bed in the corner at number 2

While the staffy sits and calmly vews the world

 

Small things have been added generally: yard broom on the right, water and scrubbing brush for doing the area

and one of the boys at number 2 has left his paper boat sailing in the waste water channel

Number 2 have their runner beans (second G Steed plant kit) growing against their scullery

View along the backyard from either end of work done so far

Phew!  The line has dropped four times while trying to write this.  Hope have proof-read enough.  There it goes again, so can’t save this bit till it comes back – wish me luck …

Bobbin about

Could be apples, could be thread

Touch and go whether this would post; our phone line is semi damaged by weather and passing double-decker animal transport, (no landline and yet some dial-up speed internet) so working on a wing and prayer 🙂

Working around Clemcold generally and here we have some further bedroom dressing, some downstairs details plus a little outside.

Bedroom first:

The story unfolding in Clemcold Cottage is from the point of view of the mice.
Here they are still trying to wake the human without disturbing the cat and have resorted to fruit chucking, carried out by sure-shot, tail-less Uncle F …
He needs replacing with a larger lad I think.
Why our human is now clutching the keys I know not!

More drink items sloshing around and a pair of shoes left under the end of the bed

Living and working space:

Table set out with some of the new work being undetaken and a closer look at the stock corner, with some thread or other having run out it would seem

A kindly neighbour has delivered a bowl of eggs. This human is so well stocked with food and good neighbours!

Someone has also been round chopping kindling and giving the place a general sweep clean

They’ve left the axe leaning by the door for next time.

Outdoors, plants are coming forth, sort of. Lovely kit, hard on elderly hands and I’ve made a fair old mess of the flower heads.
Built up a mache of paper and hump shapes of cardboard trays to create a planting space then used museum wax coloured up with some of the eye makeup to help hold the leaves and plant stalks before squeezing in more glue in hopes that it will all hold 🙂
fingers crossed.

Few more bits to be made for the bedroom and I must straighten out that kettle over the fire or it will be slopping out on the fire.  More plant kits to make too, but the main item for the workroom downstairs is now finished so nearly there with this build.

Playing with garden plants

Apologies but this blog entry may distress those who do know what they are doing as it contains lots of messy work.

Plant kits

Went out on a limb as it were the other day and bought myself two plant kits from The Miniature Garden on Etsy.  Fancied a change of pace and some sitting down jobs.

Even in the act of buying I had my doubts.  Don’t get me wrong, the kits are wonderful, well designed and cut, with brilliant instructions.  However, taking into account my aging clumsiness, inability to see what is in front of my face and general ‘glue to the elbows’ methodology I employ, I knew it would be a gamble.  I don’t think I’d ever attempted a plant kit before so it would be fun.

I set out to use each kit as an exercise in organisation and keeping track – the keeping track bit being a particular something that I’m failing at these days.

Trying to keep control

I counted where I thought it necessary and kept counting each time I handled them.  For instance, the flower head main piece on the hydrangea – twelve small circles just bigger than a half centimeter – which have to be handled for each of four stages.  There were more often eleven with one gone AWOL (never the same one), and I’d finally become resigned to eleven, when, suddenly up the last one pops.  It had fallen face down and I no longer recognised the dark green back surface.

Great things about working with these kits

Beautiful, fairly simple, very well cut and prepared pieces for very carefully designed items with great instructions, all of which leave you with sufficient flexibility for final full shaping/placing so that they can be individualised.

Not so great things

All of these are caused by me and basically boil down to problems handling the smaller items which can be a strain (along with keeping track of them).

And of course my personal glue issue.

First up

Nasturtium

Small and beautifully cut – that’s my little finger, by the way delicately pointing

First job up – to pierce the flower base shape and thread onto top of a wire.

One plant done earlier in the week but I just couldn’t get it to look happy

Generally

Took me some time to build up my own way of handling and threading those stars and I very nearly gave up right at the beginning but I kept breathing; then they suddenly started to work.

I think I got better in handling the ‘over’ petals but could do better still I think.  Have ordered a further one to add to this in an attempt to both make it a little fuller and also to balance out the arrangement.

The Miniature Garden example photo on Etsy shows a plant tumbling over the sides of a chimney pot style holder where it works very well.  As I was wanting something showing contrast up against brickwork my preference was for climbing rather than hanging.  As with actual nasturtiums, it doesn’t take kindly to being directed.  Hopefully I can get more of a mix of climb and hang by adding further stems/flowers.

Seconds away

Climbing Hydrangea

Nasturtium disappointment put aside, I rested my hand for a couple of days and then broke open the hydrangea kit.  Another wonderful design with great instructions and pieces.  Well, at least until they get into my hands 🙂

Sorry, forgot to take photos before this point. Here we have the wire framework, mostly with leaves added and the bit on the right still bare

Along with the glue, the most trouble I had was with the small white flowerlets. I was supposed to shape them and arrange around the outer edge of the painted/textured centres but I just couldn’t handle them.

Twelve blooms (of varying sizes by the time I’d finished with them)

Bending and shaping the framework to fit where it has to go so that I can see where clumps of flowers might sit

Working on the hydrangea

Broke open turned out to be an appropriate term as it happens as some of the pieces are in those very small self-sealing bags.  Good fastenings they had to them too!  Always a bit careful with these as, when they have extra firm seals it’s so easy to rip the bags in trying to open them.  The pieces inside each bag are so small, the resultant explosion of bits would have been disastrous.  I find the small ones particularly hellish as I can’t grip them and I finally resorted to making a small slit down the side of the lip of a bag so that I could actually get my fingers nearer the press seal itself and force it with a finger nail.  I could have cut the bottom and decanted them into a larger bag with a looser seal, I suppose, but I reckoned that would be a total recipe for losing things.

Got it planted

Checked images of manner of growth of the real thing and have hunched it up and pulled it out a bit

Despite my inability to do the flowers, they’ve come out not too badly which shows how good the kit is!

Card and brick covered planter filled with whatever polystyrene chunks around and topped off with remains of plant kit grit supplied for flower centres

Stone edging on brick planter. Am thinking of some crazy paving around this area

Across front so far. The hydrangea could do with a branch pulled out to run under that window. I’ll go and have a look if it’s possible or try and shimmy the planter over a little and put another bend in the stem.

Overall would I do kits again?  Well, yes, I enjoyed the concentration if not the cramp in my fingers and I’d really like to get better at controlling the smaller bits and just possibly achieve a better balance between just and only just enough and too much glue!