Two Computers

I now have TWO computers. Neither one of them is working. I'm at my daughter's house this morning and just thought I would say "hello."

My sweet son is sending me a "package" on Tuesday. Maybe it will be a computer that will work!? :D

Have a safe and VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My Next Mini Project

This cute little chair was on a shelf just inside the front door of the beach house.

I'm going to try to make one in miniature. This one is just too big for Sandy. :D

Hope you have a happy day!

Blessings, Kathi

Back from the Beach

Hello everyone! This is the cute little house we stayed in at New Smyrna Beach Florida. It was just a short walk to the beach. Very comfy cozy, supplied with everything you could possibly want. I had never seen a bidet before, but they even had one of those. Sorry, no photo of that!



I loved the sign on the front door!

Sandy came with me and she loved exploring the front porch and yard.





She even found a little friend. I'm not sure what they were talking about? I think it had something to do with the sunshine. There was lots of that even though it was quite chilly.




We didn't manage to get ONE mini plant made, but we did take lots of photos of them.



On Christmas day we walked down to the beach and found a sandman instead of a snowman.



The very BEST part of this Christmas was spending time with my children. I finally got a photo of everyone together!

There is nothing better than being HOME for the holidays. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas too!

I can't wait to get back to making minis again. I'm sure they will have something to do with the beach!

Merry Christmas from the BEACH!

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Christmas Day! I took two long walks on New Smyrna Beach. I gathered some beautiful soft white sand and some tiny shells. I enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my face and the sound of the surf. It's been a perfect day!

I've taked lots of photos but will have to wait until I get home to share them with you. I'm having a great time with my children. We've played games and laughed ourselves silly! We ate and ate and then ate some more. I am so thankful to have had this time together. So many beautiful memories and lots of hugs too.

It was sunny and 72 degrees here today. I heard that Birmingham Alabama had their very first white Christmas! I'm glad I missed it! LOL

Wishing you happiness and many blessings this evening!

Packing the Plants

If you were going on a trip would you take any mini projects to work on? I can't imagine six days without minis!

I usually wake up around 4 am each day. I'll need something to do while my children are sleeping. :D

My little orange tree needs a friend to go by the front door of the beach house.


I need to make more palm trees. I have some leaves already started.


I have flowers that need to be finished and lots more to make.

I'll need painted paper, masking tape, wire, brown paper, paint, scissors, glue, toothpicks, some pins, paint brushes, watercolor pencils ... am I forgetting anything?


Then there is that bougainvillea that I attempted several months ago. I never did finish that. I'm not even sure I know where it is right now?

I don't know how much of this, if anything, may get done? I'm hoping to have some new things to show you when I get back.

I'll be visiting everyone on my son-in-law's laptop while I'm away. I hope to be able to share a post or two also?

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I need to get packing!



Oh, I almost forgot. Will you please feed my fish while I'm gone? :D

Florida

Two more days and I'm headed to Gator Country! All that's left to do is pack the car.


I'm wondering if everything will fit inside? :D

Free Moving Boxes

I needed some cardboard boxes for a project I'm working on. I wanted REAL cardboard boxes, like the ones you can get at UHaul. Unfortunately, they don't sell miniature boxes. They do post the sizes of their boxes on their website.

I looked around for a pattern and found one at Ehow.com for making real size boxes. It looked a bit complicated, at least for me, until I tried it. Here's what I came up with.


There is an error in my pattern. Do you see it? The height of the box should be 2 inches, not 2 1/4." :{

My finished box is one inch square. If you follow the tutorial you can make your own boxes in any size you would like.

Now that my storage boxes are made, I really need to get my gifts wrapped!


My "to do" list is so long right now. I'll be leaving for Florida in three days. No, I'm not moving. Just going HOME for Christmas!

A Christmas Card for You

Hope your day is merry and bright!

Desk Top Clean Up

I decided to do the much needed desk top clean up this morning. I finally realized the necessity of this when I couldn't find an inch to work!

After I moved all of the tools and larger things to their rightful places, this is what was left.


I was very tempted to just slide all of this off my desk and into the trash! But then, I looked a little closer.

There were some things worth saving. I sorted through the mess and put all of these things away where they belong. Proud of me? :D


The problem with doing that is I found some inspiration. I really need to pay my bills. They are on the floor right now along with my new Micro Mark catalogue, another tempting prospect.


So, do I pay bills, look through the catalogue again or work on this?


Hope you have a good day!

One Wreath

The Adelaide Beachy has a new wreath for the front door.

I haven't perfected the bow yet, or the orchid, but I'll keep trying. :D

Hope you have a beautiful day,

Determined, But Doubtful

I am determined to learn how to make mini bows. I LOVE ribbon. I LOVE bows. I want to make the perfect bow!

Actually, I need to make six perfect bows. I want six wreaths for the windows of the beach house.


I tried my mother's way, Casey's way, and Leslie's way. Casey's bows look perfect to me but I sure couldn't get mine to look anything like hers!

The one below is from Leslie at About.com miniatures. I pounded two little nails into a block of wood then cut off their heads. LOL

The next part of the tutorial is wrapping the ribbon around the nails then securing the ribbon with a piece of thread in the center. This is something like the way my mother's bows are made.


Then you pull the bow off the nails and fluff it up. Here is my bow. Not perfect in any way!


I'm going to keep trying. I'm determined to do this. Then I'll have to figure out how to make six little wreaths. I sure wish I had something that looked like holly...

I'm going to sleep on this. Sweet dreams!

Maybe It's Just Me?

I pieced and quilted this pillow top about 10 years ago. It has been sitting in a drawer waiting to be finished. I never could decide if I wanted ruffles around the edges or cording. I still don't know.


I have about 2 yards of this fabric left. Enough to make lots of "Christmasy" things. I've done nothing with it. It has been in the same drawer as the pillow top.


Instead of finishing my pillow, I decided today that I would make a mini pillow top.


Again, I can't decide how to finish it. This will probably end up in the same drawer with the other things I never finished.

Do you have a drawer full of unfinished Christmas projects, or is it just me?

Mini Hot Water Heater

Just in case my BIG hot water heater goes out again. . .


I made a little one. :D

Wisdom of Dr. Seuss

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!" -Dr. Seuss

Tessie told me to "stomp my feet and yell" about my broken hot water heater. I tried doing some of that, but it didn't help much. I did do some more research though.

I decided to try to fix it myself. I turned off the gas, dismantled the burner on the water heater and took the parts to Home Depot. All of this would have been much easier if the hot water heater was up to code and 12 inches off the floor!

For $9.96 I got a new thermocouple like the old one you see here.


I carefully followed the instructions I found at the Family Handyman. When I was finished, I lit the pilot light and the burner turned on! :D


HOT water again! No waiting four more days either! (She says, patting herself on the back.)

Of course there were no minis made today. Maybe tomorrow, after I take a nice HOT shower!

"Today was good.
Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one."

-Dr. Seuss

"Would Tuesday Be Okay?"

I have had no hot water since Wednesday evening. I took one COLD shower and yesterday just washed my hair in COLD water at the kitchen sink. This morning I went to my daughter's house and took a really long HOT shower!


I just got a call from my landlady. She finally heard back from her handyman. She says, "Would Tuesday be okay? That's the earliest he can come over." TUESDAY!? That's four days away!!! Four more days with no hot water!?

I just might have to take matters into my own hands? I found these instructions at the Family Handyman.


I really think all my hot water heater needs is a new thermocoupler. The only thing that worries me is making sure that the gas is turned off. Hope I don't blow myself up!

Four more days with no hot water! I don't think so!!!!

Bows Like Mother Made - Tutorial

I fiddled with several different miniature bow making tutorials today. None of them worked for me.

I always make my RL bows the way my Mother taught me years ago. No ready-made stick on bows for me. Bows like Mother made are really easy to do.

First you find a piece of cardboard the size you want your finished bow to be. Wrap the ribbon around the card like this. Any kind of ribbon will work.


Keep wrapping the ribbon around the card about five or six times.



Carefully slide the ribbon off the card, then fold it in half like this.



Now you cut the corner of the folded edge into a point. Leave a little bit at the center. If you cut it all the way through the whole thing will fall apart!



Then you open the fold and use a smaller size ribbon to tie a knot at the center. Be sure that this is tied tightly.



Next you open each loop from the inside, twisting each loop as you go. Twist one away from you and the next one toward you. Your finished bow will look something like this. Pretty, huh?



I used this technique to make a mini bow for my poinsettia. The card was 1/2 inch wide and I used 1/8 inch ribbon.



Sorry for the crummy photo. It's way past my bedtime!

I hope you will try this, at least for your real size Christmas gifts. Handmade bows are so much nicer than the ones you buy in the store.

I need more practice making mini bows but I like how my first one turned out. :D