A little sale

Time for a little discount offer at my Etsy store - The Little Kitchen.  The voucher gives you 10% off anything in my store....just because it's May and because every little bit of discount helps.   Hope you find something you like!

Fallen in love with a book

You may have seen this photo before...it's a little afternoon tea party scene in my shabby cottage.  The gorgeous cake and the cake slices were made by Kim Saulter (It's a Miniature Life)  .  I just love Kim's miniatures - I've always been a huge fan - she is one of my blog heroes.

So......

Oh, wow!

I know that those of you who are better than I am at keeping up to date with your blog reading will probably already know this, but I didn't!  I just stumbled upon it last night!

Kim has written a book!!  I am such an admirer of her beautiful work.  It's not just that she makes such delicately pretty cakes and baking....I just really admire the way she puts a scene together.....everything is so charming - I want to shrink and live in every room.   And never grow big again.

And then to top it all off, there are some of my little dollshouse plates in her book.   There is my little damier rouge plate on the right hand side.  So that completely made my day.

If you haven't already had a look, you can read her post about her new book here.  Of course Kim has no idea I am writing this rather effusive blog....I was just so excited that I had to let off some steam!!

I've been having fun making some little bits and pieces lately.  When I went to visit my lovely sister last year, she had a gorgeous old ballerina print in her bathroom.  (She is going shabby chic - full sized style!).  So I thought it would be nice to have a dollshouse sized version....here it is...isn't it cute?

I also have a new favourite vintage sign....even my other half thinks we should have one in the garden.  Hope the fairies have a sense of humour. 

And here are a couple more that I like. 

I need a new project now....I have a room box sitting around unloved and incomplete.  I think it's time to start something new.....

What I have been doing

My poor abandoned blog has been sitting here, unloved and un-updated for such a long time!  I've been missing all my blog friends and, after a terrible year, during which it seemed as though everything went wrong, 2013 is looking much better, so it's time for an update.

I must admit I got quite distracted from miniatures last year, so I thought I would let you see some of last year's distractions.

First of all, we decided to get chickens.  They live on a chicken dome in our front garden for part of the year, and in a permanent chicken run in the back yard for the rest of the time.  On the left, you can see Bella (a blue orpington) who is definitely my favourite.  During the year we have lots of adventures with the chickens, including having a chick (just one chick from a clutch of five eggs, which just goes to illustrate the saying "never count your chickens before they hatch").  Mallow and her chick Marigold are pictured on the right.

The chickens were part of a new plan for our garden.  We dug up the front lawn, planted it all out in vege beds and have been growing as much of our food as possible this year.

Hubby made me a lovely shabby-chic garden bench  and we've had a wonderful summer - here are some of last week's tomatoes....

...don't worry....

....there will be some dollshouse miniatures in this blogpost....

Another reason I haven't spent much time on miniatures is that I have been learning to play guitar.   I still have a long way to go and I'm too shy to play in front of anyone yet, but it's been a lot of fun learning and it just goes to show that you are never too old to start something.  I wish I had done this 25 years ago....I could have been quite good by now.

And finally, I also managed to get distracted by soapmaking.  I have had a lovely time learning how to make soap and am never short of a gift for family and friends now....haven't had to use any bought soap for ages either!  I have to admit I also got distracted by cheesemaking.  It's been a busy year.

I did actually make some miniatures last year....     .... I made this little soapmaking miniature.  I thought it would be good to have some soapmaking going on in the kitchen in my shappy cottage, since there was so much soapmaking going on in my real kitchen.  Just like real soapmaking, the miniature soap didn't turn out quite as wonderful as I was hoping and I didn't get around to blogging about it. 

Something I made last year of which I was quite proud was this cute little tin of marshmallows.  I have made the tins before, but this time I made some tiny marshmallows in pink and white, made from polymer clay and dusted with miniature "icing sugar" - they were very cute and I enjoyed making them.

The chickens prompted a bit of a "chicken" focus for a while and I also made a cute little vintage sign, which has yet to find a home....

Here is a photo I am really proud to show you.  Lisa Riley took this photo and sent it to me, to show me the dresser she had arranged, including some plates she had bought from my Etsy store.  I asked her if I could use the photo on my blog and she kindly agreed.  If you would like to see more of her gorgeous work, you can check out her blog - Design Inspirations - it's so pretty!!  Thanks, Lisa, for getting me inspired again and all excited about making more little plates.

I was really touched, after having a really awful year, to receive a whole heap of emails and messages via Etsy asking about whether everything was ok, when I was going to start blogging again, and also when I was going to start selling miniature plates again.  It motivated me to get my act together, and I have made a new shop banner and restocked my Etsy store.  I'm all excited about making miniatures again, and now that the New Zealand summer is coming to an end (although it's still massively hot here and not a sign of any rain any time soon), I'll hopefully have some time to try out some of my new ideas! 

Thanks for reading this blogpost.  This is a photo taken yesterday - our family of four plus the dog went out for a tramp into the bush - we took our wetsuits and spent the day walking, climbing and swimming down one of the local rivers.....it was just gorgeous.  Here are Matthew and I posing for the camera, not realising that Ella was finding the water quite cold!! 

Make Coffee not War

I found this gorgeous sign and couldn't resist making one for my miniature kitchen. As a complete coffee addict, I think this is great - and I love the retro styling!!

Back after the summer holidays

It's been a really long time since I did a blog entry and of course I've been feeling guilty about it for ages. So here I am back, after a big long break away. Part of the reason is because it has been summer in New Zealand and we've been away camping and having fun even though the weather this summer hasn't been the best. I never get much done with miniatures in the summer because it's so nice to be outside. But the main reason has been a bit of a lack of inspiration and direction. Anyway, I have been feeling a bit more inpsired lately, and although most of my energies have been going into projects that have ended up in my Etsy shop, I thought I would still show you some of the things I have been making lately.

I made some little books all with French decor themes .... couldn't resist it because the covers were so pretty. Wish fulfilment as per usual ... I would like to have some of these books on my own over-full bookshelves, not that there is room for them.

This is one of my absolute favourite books - a little book on Limoges china, paired with a pretty Limoges plate. I had to make two of these because I knew that I couldn't bear to part with it....so one was for the shop and one was for my shabby cottage!!

Here's another thing I made that I can't bear to part with. The "frame" of this picture is a very pretty button I found years ago - I bought a few of them at the time - and the little picture is a portrait of the Queen as a young woman, by Cecil Beaton. I made this in honour of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee year.

This was another fun project. Ella, my lovely eight year old, was very bored one Saturday so I suggested that she get out the fimo and make something and said that I would keep her company and make something too. So I put together this potting bench display.

I put one of my baskets of vegetables in this diepsly - I'm so proud of my cauli and broccoli and apples!! I made some vintage seed catalogues too, which are really pretty.

I painted all the little flowerpots and used tiny nail stickers to decorate them (thanks to Katie for this great idea).

After New Year I decided that a change would be good and moved everything around in my living room. When I did, I was absolutely horrified to discover how filthy dirty my poor little shabby cottage had become! It was totally full of dust and looked completely dreadful and very unloved. I'm not used to these open dollshouses filling up with dust....my other dollshouse is a front-opening one and doesn't really get very dusty (except on the outside!). I knew it was going to take a bit of effort to get it sorted out. Well, finally today I made the time to sit down with my dear little house and empty it completely and give it a Spring clean (except that it's Autumn here now). Man, it was dirty! I took everything out and wiped all the floors and surfaces down with a soapy, damp cloth and dried it all off. I even had to "shampoo" the carpet in the upstairs bedroom - it was horrible. Then I made sure everything was clean as I put it back in. It was a good opportunity to de-clutter a bit too! It is all nice and clean now and so I will show you some photos ....

Nice clean kitchen! The layer of dust on the kitchen bench was horrendous! Poor little house!

I've decluttered the kitchen a bit but of course there are still lots of cakes! None of the placemats would stay flat so I have ditched them.

And this is what I have been making today - a cute little Treasure Box to put in the dollshouse living room. I think it is really sweet. I have a secret, cunning plan for what the contents are to be and I will show you when I have made them.

I made a second box, with "Bits & Pieces" on the lid. I lined both boxes with Cath Kidston fabric in 1/12 scale that I made with printable fabric.

Here is the box in its new home on the bookcase in the lovely clean living room. I love my little house!!

And another photo. Look at that lovely clean floor! I feel just as good as if my whole real house were as clean. I'm considering throwing a light throw over the dollshouse so this doesn't happen again.

Anyway, it's nice to be back. Keeps my mind off my worries (hubby has lost his job and his last day is next week!!). I promise I will never let so much time go by ever again without posting!!

And the winner of the giveaway is..

First of all, thank you so much for entering this giveaway....it has been so nice to read your comments and of course I wish I could send you all something. So thanks again for taking the time to read my blog from time to time - it is much appreciated and thank you for all the inspiration I get from your beautiful blogs too!

And now it is time to announce the winner. Yes, this is being done a few days late but I think that you'll forgive me.....my little boy had a tenth birthday party in the weekend and we've been very busy trying to make sure he had the time of his life (he did!).

The winner of Carolyn's Little Kitchen giveaway is....

... Lataina (Iris) from It's Always Sunny in Miniland. I really hope she likes her giveaway...I'll be sending her everything in the photo below. A nice Christmas present - I hope it makes it there in time. Lataina, if you are reading this, can you let me know your mailing address??

I also said that I would have a second prize, which would be some homemade soap, so the draw for the second prize goes to.....

....Genevieve from Genevieve's Miniacollection. Congratulations, Genevieve....if you would like some homemade soap, let me know which one and I will send it out to you.

Of course now I feel bad for all the people who didn't win. So I am posting this beautiful photo of peonies for you, to brighten your day. I hope you have a lovely week.

500 Follower Giveaway

It's definitely time for a giveaway at Carolyn's Little Kitchen. I thought I should celebrate having 500 very patient followers, so I have put together this little French provincial display as my giveaway - I really hope you like it. It includes a little tin "bus blind" sign, with French bakery lettering, some little posters and some coat hooks. And everything you can see on the shelves.
On the first shelf, there is a jar of pickled onions, some cute little jars of jam with polkadot lids, two of my French provinical style plates, a gorgeous little rolling pin, two little jugs I painted and a cute tin sign: "Cuisine".

Shelf two has an apple pie and a loaf of bread, a little cookbook and some more plates.

On the third shelf is a tin sign: "Bon Appetit", some more cute cookbooks, all with a French theme, another little plate, an Eiffel Tower statue, and a little basket filled with French provincial style tiles.

The bottom shelf has a wheel of Brie, with a few crackers, a crockery baking dish and another of my plates, with some co-ordinating cloths. I haven't glued anything down so whoever wins this giveaway can use this as a complete piece or just arrange the accessories where they look best.

I really hope you like this giveway - I spent quite a lot of time putting it together after my last post, but then had lots of trouble getting good photos to post so apologies that it has taken so long. I do really appreciate my followers, so thank you so much for being there!

I'll draw the giveaway on 1st December, so I can post it to you in time for Christmas. To enter, you just have to post a comment on this blogpost.....good luck to you all.

I have had this cute doll for a while. She was originally in my Victorian dollshouse but now she lives in a drawer (poor little thing!). She has been invited out of the drawer for a spot of modeling. Incidentally, she is also modeling an outfit I "made" for her (which does highlight my lack of sewing skills and fondness for not-hemming-things and for glue). It isn't that great but it's still better than what she was wearing when she arrived (very ugly tartan outfit with giant tam-o-shanter).

The reason she has been invited out is to show you the pretty hats that arrived a little while ago. They came from Just for You on Etsy. This one is such a pretty, soft lavender colour and so beautifully trimmed.

But this one is my absolute favourite! It is absolutely beautiful, with the pretty flowers. Thanks very much to Nina, - I saw the lovely hat she had purchased on her blog and really loved it.

WARNING - THIS BLOG IS ABOUT TO GO OFF SUBJECT.....

Now I am going to show you one of the reasons I haven't been blogging much about miniatures lately.....

.....I've been bitten by a new obsession: Soapmaking! I've been wanting to try it for ages, but haven't because I was really scared of using the caustic soda, especially with children and my little dog always around. Anyway, my parents gave me birthday money, so I decided to spend it on a book on soapmaking and some soap ingredients and had a go and it is HEAPS of fun!!

These are some of the soaps I have made in the last few weeks. The ones on the left are calendula, oatmeal and cinnamon, and luxurious lavender. The ones in the middle are calendula (made with calendula petals which I picked from a friend's garden and dried), lavender (bit disappointed with the grey colour of that one) and camomile. And...da DA! The cupcake on the right IS SOAP and I made it myself. I am so chuffed with it. I learnt how to do it by traipsing around on the internet and it wasn't too hard.

These are the calendula soaps....I love the way the dried petals have kept their colour. I figured out how to make the tops of these ones textured and they look pretty with glitter.

These are the cupcake soaps I made - the flowers aren't soap - they are paper flowers from a craft store. But the whole rest of the cupcakes are soap.

I had to put another photo of the cupcake soap in because it is so pretty!

Because I want to give these away as Christmas presents this year, I had to get on and make them right now, because they have to sit for a number of weeks to completely finish saponifying before they can be used, that's why I haven't had much time for anything else. Here is a selection of soaps in the little basket I bought for them today from the bargain store. A bit of celophane and ribbon and some labels on the soap and they will look nice, I think. I have tried a couple of the first batches I made because they have - only just - sat long enough to have mellowed, and they are absolutely beautiful to use. I've used really lovely oils and you can really tell the difference. I've never been one to fuss much over soaps and toiletries really, but these are so lovely to use that I don't think I want to go back to supermarket soap.

Anyway, for your patience in listening to all this, I thought I would offer a second prize in the giveaway which will be a bar of homemade soap. You choose which one you would like to try and if you are the winner I will send it to you. Just mention in the comments which one you would choose if you are the winner and good luck everyone!

I'm not sure that soapmaking is ideally suited for impatient people, however. Not easy to wait six weeks (or even three) before using your lovely, homemade soap!