We went to see Cars, with April, Seth and Amare this morning.  Then we stopped at Micha;s for Mexican Food for lunch...

The last part of the day was spent at our house and I talked the troops into moving the Castle into the living room.

Soon, the night stands will be back where they belong.  I will be a happy camper when that is done.  I miss having a good sized bed side table that I can pile things on...

Moving the castle into the living room involved other mini pieces. 

I have just about talked Tessie into giving up the townhouse.  She keeps  harping about the kits under the bed that would be more suitable to her taste and style. She keeps mentioning the Harrison... I keep hoping for something smaller. We shall see...

Anyway, the townhouse has been demoted to a corner of the living room. It has been divested of all of it's furniture and accessories, including about a month's worth of Tessie's aprons. Yes.  She has one for every day of the month. She just doesn't enjoy changing them every day. She says that, if she gets them dirty, she will have to wash them... Not something that she likes to do. 

I am very happy with the new moves. The castle is back where it started in this house.  It still needs some work, but nothing that I can't do with it sitting in the living room.

Walter is going on a golf trip this week so I expect to finish cleaning the castle to make it look at least livable while he's away.

On Wednesday, the witches start building their She Sheds here.  I have to get to work and cut the bases for all of them.  They get to do all of the walls, doors and windows.  I have a feeling that this is going to be a LOT of fun for all. 

I think that I have had enough fun for today.  I am in the mood for a long nap now.

See you tomorrow.

I cleaned the bathroom today... I even washed a frog!

This was one of the most fun rooms to do in the castle.

I got to do my  first Victorian Boxed Bathtub.  I have done several since then, but this was the first.  I used scrapbooking ornamentation on the tub and the valance.  At the time I was doing this, there was a wealth of fancy gold designs for scrapbooking... Come to think of it, I still have a lot left. Not complaining.  It is just that you don't see as much of the fancy gold stuff around these days.
The mirror frame and support for the sink was all Super Sculpy, painted gold. At that time, I had not even heard of Fimo or the other fancy colored clays.  I am not even sure if they were around in the US.  I think that they started in Europe. 

The mirror was an oval crafting mirror and I simply added leaves to it to match the ones that held up the sea shell sink. I am debating on whether to repaint the gold or leave it looking antique...  I think that the antique is winning.
The bench was one of my own designs and a very early example of my woodcarving.

The dressing gown and slippers were actually made to fit the princess and then draped over the bench and sprayed with hairspray to hold it in place.

 The curtains were also some of my earliest.  I took a class from Judee Williamson on how to do beds and it included some lessons on making curtains on a pinboard.  I still use the same method to do all of my curtains and draperies.

Anyway, I now have a clean bathroom and a clean frog.  Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

I got up this morning with the intention of doing a few things to the castle.

I wanted to extend the branches of the tree, growing up the side of the castle.  The third floor on the right side looked bare.

I went out and took some bare branches from the rosemary bushes.  I may still do a bit more. 

I glued them to the wall, as an extension of the tree that was already there.

We did take a break to go see the new "Pirates" movie.

That wall always bothered me.  Too plain. I may go up a bit more with the tree, but I have a good start and may stop and think about it for a while.

I found out about Melvin... All I had to do was put a bug in Tessie's ear and then follow where she led me...

I don't think that I ever knew his name, but now some things make sense.

I never knew the night thief's name.  He was always just the burglar.

I told Tessie that I was wondering who Melvin was.  She did the shrug the shoulders and leave thing again... So... I followed her.  On tiptoes. 

I found her in the living room that the burglar lives in... I over heard her say..."OK Melvin. You are going to have to be a bit more careful.  Casey is on to you using other people's bathrooms and kitchens.   I realize that you don't have a kitchen or bath, but you are going to have to be more careful about leaving personal belongings behind.  I can't have her finding your dirty clothes in my bathroom after you use it. And no more dirty dishes in MY sink!  Maybe we could talk her into building you a hideout.  A room of your own, with bathroom and kitchen...Or... Maybe we could talk Sir Reggie into moving in here and you could take the forest fantasy cottage.  That would be a perfect hideout for you. It's nearly invisible.  I will talk to her about it.  Sir Reggie just sits and reads all the time... He doesn't even really need a bathroom. He hardly moves at all.  That's what you need.  A base of operations."

About that time I opened the front of Melvin's box and confronted them both.  That was a big mistake.  Now they have their heads together, planning what I will have to do to make the cottage livable for him. #1. Lots of fluffy bath towels. #2. Lots of snack food. #3. Move it next door to Tessie's Townhouse... On and on...

Tessie was not to crazy about having him for a neighbor. She pulled me aside and whispered... "I don't trust him! Not at all!". Oh the trials and tribulations of the little people around here. Then she hissed, "You do know that he's a burglar! Right?"

I have to go talk to Sir Reggie now.  I will try to talk him into moving yet again. Wish me luck!

See you tomorrow.

I worked on Sleeping Beauty's room this afternoon...

I am going to focus on one piece for this entry.

The table that sits at the end of the bed...

If you don't know how to do marbling, here's a shortcut. 

After all those years up on top of the bookcase, this didn't look too good.
However, it was a piece that could stand a good scrubbing.  It is a Formica sample from one of the lumber stores.  They can be cut with a scroll saw.

Yup. Many years and still scrub able. I just took a toothbrush and some Colgate Toothpaste to it and it is like new.

The little pot in the center refused to move, so I scrubbed that too.
I put the table back where it belonged and it looked almost like new.  The other pieces on the table got the toothbrush/toothpaste treatment as well and they all came through it just fine. Even the tiny shells in the semi-tiny shell made it through without a scratch.

I did cheat a little and put a coat of lemon oil on the covered dish, to shine the plastic up a bit.
Every once in a while I peeked in to see how Tessie was coming with her renovations...

I should have stayed in the bedroom with the castle. 

I ran and got the camera to make a record of the fact that Tessie can move walls all by herself.  I am not needed! Yay!!!
The only problem that I can see is that she moved everything from the bottom floor to the middle and top floors...

I guess she figures it's one floor at a time.

Just a couple of seconds after I took the last photo, she gave a mighty "Heave Ho!" and the wall that she removed went bouncing to the floor and across the room.

As I said.  I think that, as long as she is working on the townhouse, I am going to stay out of the way. 

I may get some yellow plastic tape and have it printed with "Keep OUT!  Tessie at WORK!".

Then I am going to stay as far away from her worksite as possible!

See you tomorrow.

Here's proof that we have three new babies...

Salad for breakfast?
"This is the very best thing I have eaten so far. Yum!"
Salad is a good thing for breakfast... If you are a baby squirrel...
Mom has to get in on the act.  After all, she is the one that suggested salad for breakfast in the first place.

She is not a lot bigger than the babies now. They are growing by leaps and bounds!
And  the answer to your next question... Yes. I am working on the front porch of the castle.

I fear that the grass is going to have to be replaced... If so, there will be a trip to the train store before long.

But actually, if I don't have grass stuff, I will just have to watch the squirrels a while longer.. That's a LOT more fun than replacing sod!

Back to work.

See you tomorrow. Grass or no grass!

I should never leave Tessie home alone. I went to Wednesday Witches this afternoon.

I finally finished these two rings.  There is a tutorial for them on You Tube.  The instructor's site name is Bronzepony.  All one word.  She does some very nice tutorials.
 Of course, after I took the photo, Tessie grabbed one of them and put it over her bun.  Then she declared it a "Pillbox Hat".  I thought sure it was going to be another crown...

No.  I still have not gotten it back.  She is holding it hostage until I work on her townhouse.
Speaking of which, she has now emptied out the bottom floor and is threatening to take a sledge hammer to the walls that are in the way of the open floor plan.

I am trying hard to ignore her and go on with the castle... It is not working well.

I did hide the only mini sledge hammer that I could find.  I hope that she doesn't know of another one, or there will be no house left when she finishes her idea of mini demolition.

I am going back to work on the castle the first thing in the morning.  No Tessie allowed on the site. Maybe she will demolish the whole townhouse and then I won't have to re do it.

Back to work.  See you tomorrow.

That stands for Very Special Person... Kota said so!

As long as we have had him, he always runs in the closet when someone besides us comes in the house.

He has a new friend.  Gayle walked up to him and started petting him and he didn't even object. He's a good judge of character.

So... I let him model the beautiful necklace that Gayle mad for me. I don't think that he was as crazy about that as the petting part.  He liked that part. He approved of Gayle.
 This is the "Ice Dyed" fabric that she brought me. I am going to have to think of something special to make from it... Tessie has been eyeing it and hinting that she would love something made from it... I don't think so.  This is Mine! All mine. And so is the necklace.  I have a shirt that is almost the same color.

Thank you so much Gayle!  I love them all.  And Kota and Tessie are not going to get any of it!
I found three partial bags of  lichen. Two dark and one medium green.  I am well on my way to replacing the foliage on the outer walls.

It doesn't help that Tessie is trying to supervise where I put it.  I get it glued to the wall and she pops up and yells, "A little more to the left.". It's not helping.
At least she made friends with the momma dragon.  I am not sure how long that is going to last.  She is also crunchy and good with catsup.

Anyway, I am going back now and fill in a few bare spots that I see in the photos with more green stuff.

See you tomorrow.

We had company today. My friend Gayle and her husband Mark met us at our favorite Mexican food place for lunch.  I had not seen Gayle for about two years. 

Gayle and I lived on the same street back in the 70s and early 80s.  We were pretty much best friends when our kids were little.

Then when Mark got out of the Air Force, they moved back to Maine. 

She is the one that got the sewing room that I showed on here a few months ago. One of my very first mini rooms.

I have decided to give Tessie a middle name.  She and Gayle think alike. Gayle reads the blog and encourages Tessie's bad side.  I am not going to call her that, but she is now Tessie Gayle... I may have to call her that when she does something really bad.

Now about the minis... That blob of green that The momma dragon is holding is all of the greenery from the trees around the castle.  She seems to think that it would make a great dragon bed. 

I am not going to argue with a fire breathing dragon... To put it in her words, "You are crunchy and would taste good with catsup..." Nope.  No arguments here. The green stuff will just miraculously disappear overnight.

The cave next door holds Little Red Riding Hood.

Tessie stepped in this afternoon and warned Red that there were wolves in the neighborhood.

I don't think that Red is worried.  She carries a big hatchet under her cape in case of emergencies.

I am going to have to rewire this part. It was on a battery pack and there are glowing eyes around her in the forest.  So far they aren't working.  We will just have to do some trial and error fixing. 

I am going back to work with some greenery that I found in my stash now...

Tomorrow, I will show you what Gayle brought me. She made me a beautiful necklace and ice dyed me some fabric.  Love both.  See you tomorrow  with those in hand. Thank you Gayle. I love all of the goodies!!!

I read somewhere on the net that Orioles were supposed to love oranges... Does this look like an Oriole?

The only completely red Oriole in the universe...

Well. At least someone is enjoying the oranges.
And where was Mr. Oriole?  Yup.  He thinks he is a hummer.  I don't really care what either of them eat, as long as they just keep coming back for more.

They are both really fun to watch.
 Of course both are not particular what in in the feeder, as long as it's sweet stuff.

They take turns at the hummingbird feeder and tend to keep the hummers away.  That's why I have five small feeders, instead of a couple of large ones.

I even have plain old sparrows and house wrens that think that they are hummingbirds.
This is the lady Oriole. She's not as bright as the male, but very pretty in a more subdued way.

In case you didn't catch it, Mr. Oriole is that yellow blob that you see in the feeder.  He is on the other side. His tail is the only real part of him that shows in the photo...
Now. On to minis.  I was going to re-do the trees on the castle today, but unfortunately, they are going to have to have all greenery replaced.  It looks like green rat's nests. I will probably be able to save the branches, but the green stuff is all going to have to be replaced. 

That will probably have to wait until Monday, when I can get to the store. 

 Back to tearing out rat's nests. See you tomorrow.

When I woke up this morning, I found Zar going from room to room in the castle, trying to rescue fair maidens...

He didn't know that the ladies in question  couldn't respond without lights.

First he tried awakening Sleeping Beauty.  No response.  He was too shy to try kissing her... So she is still asleep... It wouldn't have worked anyway.
He used a different tactic with the Frog Prince's girl friend... These were his exact words. "Madam, may I fetch you a towel?"  I do believe that he was trying to sound British.

Still no response without lights.

I guess I should tell him, like I told Tessie, and put him out of his misery.

He just thinks that he is being ignored.

I took him aside and told him about the lights.
He decided to make one last try.

He tried with Rapunzel. Yelling at the top of his lungs, he told her, "Hey Lady!  There's a witch behind you with a big pair of scissors!  She's going to give you one heck of a haircut!"

About that time, Tessie whispered to me, "There's only one solution!"

She got the glue and I grabbed Zar...
He won't be moving from his corner box anytime soon.

I plopped him on the spot of glue that Tessie put on his chair and Tessie held him down until he was stuck. Really well stuck.

Then we both went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and some cookies.

I will let him stew for a while and then explain the lighting problem and let him loose. 

I doubt that he will try to rescue anyone after this. 

I am going back to work and listen to the pounding on the roof.

See you tomorrow.

I cleaned up Cindy's front porch.  This was one of the first attempts, if not the first, that I did at marbleizing in miniature. Not too bad... Could be better.

I just drew the floor out on illustration board, marked off the tiles and went to work with pink, gray, black and white paint.
The bouquet is going to have to be redone. There are two of them.  They were done with a mixture of silk roses and dried flowers.  The clear(meant to be water)mixture in the vase has turned milky.  Icky!

The shelf was done with a mixture of wood and gesso.  I carved the underneath part, but the detail on the edge of the shelf was put on with thick gesso.  Maybe someday I will replace the shelves with better ones, but they are down on the list a ways.
As I was cleaning, Zar wandered in and found Cindy's shoe.  Gentleman that he is, he asked if it was hers.  As he was about to hand it to her, this happened...
Yup. Tessie showed up.  She was hiding in the bushes in the front yard, next door.

She immediately claimed that it was her shoe. 

Zar, knowing how she operates, handed Cinderella the shoe and turned around and grabbed Tessie by the scruff of the neck and walked her back to the other end of the castle.  They have their corner boxes stationed there, so that they can see what is going on in the castle at all times now.

I am getting work done by turning off the lights and taking them both to the workroom to spend the day.  I am losing a lot of minis.  The pair of them are collecting and stuffing everything in drawers labeled "His" and "Hers".  I refuse to look in either one of them.  I doubt that I would like what they have stashed... As it is, I expect that they each have plans for a castle of their own now... I don't even want to think about it. 

Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

I worked on the Wicked Queen's Room this morning. 

I told you that taking photos can catch what I have missed cleaning... I did everything but the mirror itself.

I didn't do too much to the queen's disguise.  I figured that she would want it old and ragged anyway. 

The chest was built and painted from scratch.  It is a copy of a real Italian one from the 1700s.

The mirror and sconces are my design  made of white poly clay and painted.

I put the queen back in her rightful place and that was when I noticed the mirror was not reflecting well.

As soon as I finish writing this, out comes the Windex!

The walls of this room are the back side of the outside walls.  I thought that they looked like Venetian plaster.  They turned out pretty good.
The door is real wood... The iron is not.  It was made from black card stock.  The pattern was from a book on the World's Fair back in the 1800s.
Tessie strikes again!  About the time that I started to take this shot, she bounced in and started talking to the Queen... To quote her, "You are NOT the fairest. I am!"

I very carefully reached behind the castle and turned on the lights...

Let the fun begin!
The Queen came to life and immediately started fighting back. 

I stood back and let them have at it for a few minutes. 

They argued as to whom was the fairest. 

They stopped to take a collective breath and reached behind and pulled the plug.

The Queen immediately went into silent mode and Tessie yelled, "I WON!!! I'm the fairest!"

That's how we stop arguments around here. I am always going to pull the plug when it will be to Tessie's advantage.  I know which side my bread is buttered on! She will be happy for the rest of the day. Maybe she will let me get more cleaning done, without complaining all the time I am doing it.

Back to work. 

See you tomorrow.

I didn't clean the castle today, due to a long standing engagement.  A while ago, some of the witches that are beaders, decided that, every other Friday, we would get together and do beadwork...

Today was the first day.  It was here and three of us showed up... I had to.  My house.

This is all I did.  I cut apart old necklaces and other things and came up with enough beads to do a double elastic bracelet. Actually, I only cut apart jewelry while they were here.  I strung this after they all went home.

In the process, I found these two bracelets that need to be finished.  I will probably do that this afternoon, since the day is almost over anyway.  Good excuse!
After everyone left, I went into the bedroom and found Tessie chatting with Cinderella.  Yup. I left the lights plugged in... Big mistake.

Tessie was reassuring Cindy(that's what Tessie calls her) that she would be free to run home if she so desired...

I quickly pulled the plug so that Cinderella went back to sleep. Then I put tape over the outlet.

That puts an end to that... I didn't tell Tessie that Cindy will probably not remember the short conversation.  The lights have to be on longer for them to remember anything.  I think that I caught it in time.  I hope!

Back to work. 

See you tomorrow.