This morning Tessie came to me with one of her propositions, where only she gets the advantage...

She called me into the workroom. I looked up to where her voice was coming from.  She was in the doorway to the box that is designated as hers.

Amare got the one like it for Christmas..

She has changed her mind. It is now to be a Mid Century Mod room box. 

She dug out all of the mid century furniture that 
that was in the townhouse.  She now wants a Mid Century Mod Living room.

As soon as she did, Kota laid down on the pile and refused to move.

He wants the box for a bed.
I grabbed Tessie and told her that if she wanted grapes on the potting shed, she should be working on the leaves.

Then I wrapped her up in the leaves and told her to get to work. She is still glairing at me.  Not a happy camper.  She thought that she could get me to work on both at once...

I am not working on either one and at this rate I may just give Kota the box.  At least he is not whinging and whining.
As of this moment, I have gotten a lot done on cleaning up the back porch and NOT doing minis. 

The back porch is more important to me.  I want a place to sit outside and work once in a while.

As for Kota, he is happily sleeping on all of Tessie's furniture and not one leg has been fixed.

He's my excuse for not doing a living room for Tessie.  And she is wrapped up in vines and can't even get her mouth open to complain... I wonder what she would do if I told her it was poison ivy?  It's not, but don't tell her that.  I might just use that as an excuse not to do vines. My other excuse  for the living room is, I can't fix the furniture.  Kota needs a place to sleep.  And he found one.

Back to fighting the problem. 

See you tomorrow.

Everything is off of the floor! I actually got everything off of the floor.  And! I vacuumed!

There were beads scattered all over the room.  Not now!

Kota and I spent the morning picking up and putting away in the workroom. There is not one bead on the floor now... We won't talk about what is in the vacuum cleaner...
With the exception of the wood pile, this wall looks pretty good now. Unfortunately, Kota was not a lot of help. He mostly just sat and snickered, while I put things away. 

I have the distinct feeling that he and Tessie go in there and scatter things around on the floor when I am not watching them.
I found a few pieces that can go in the empty room box.

It may take a while to make it looked lived in, but hey! It's a start.  I need to get back into the swing of things.
I decided to leave the corner box on the table until something better comes along. I need to take that tray on the chair out.  Ick! Cornflakes for breakfast! Not a good thing. 

Anyway. I am on my way to getting things going again!

Back to work.

See you tomorrow. Hopefully with some minis done!

OK. I am going to win if it kills me... And at the rate I am going, it probably will...I cleared off the rest of the shelf that was half cleared yesterday.  Then I moved these two old room boxes in.

The Elizabethan Lady has been done for a long time.  The other one has never had a finished room in it.


I moved the colonial rooms down a shelf and then put the two bedrooms in the space that they were in.

I am going to have to finish the room box with the carved bed.  I did the bed about  25 years ago and it has never had a room of it's own.

That Is going to have to be the first thing that I do in the new year.

I did try several things from the family/dining room into the bedroom.  They came right back out.  Just didn't work

So... I am doing the two steps forward and one step back dance. 

I am moving forward a bit, but I am also moving things back where they were before I started...

Most irritating when you try something and it just doesn't work where you thought it would.

I want to get this game finished and play something else. So far, I am losing. 

I am trying for a perfect house and perfect displays... So far, it's not working.  Back to playing in a continuous mess. That seems to be  what works for me... Back to the drawing board....

See you tomorrow.

I had to put another picture of the room in.  We went to see the latest Star Wars movie this morning.  BB8 figured prominently in this one.

Now I know about him... I feel like I know him a little bit better...

When we got home, Walter rented the proceeding one from Amazon.  We had a double feature.  Therefore I didn't get a lot done.
I did do a bit more cleaning.  This little greenhouse was a plain white one that I got from Walmart several years ago.  I painted the trim on it and fancied it up.

It never looks like I cleaned it. The finish on it is antiqued.  I could probably scrub on it for a week and it would still look the same.
The burglar's living room doesn't get very dirty. It is a closed box, so I have to do very little to it.

If I stay there too long, the burglar tells me to get out and stop interrupting his thievery.
This is also one that looks about the same. Clean or dirty.  I basically just use a feather duster on it, to get the big pieces. 

Zar keeps it pretty clean most of the time.

Anyway, I am going to have to make a couple of more pieces for Amare's box tomorrow and then it will be done...I am not adding anything from the movie.  It is just about full enough as it is. I am off to watch TV for a while.  Then I am going to turn in early.

See you tomorrow.

 I put a window and door in Tessie's room box... She is not too thrilled.  I haven't gotten the frame around the window or the doorknob in place yet..

I also installed baseboards and gave the tile another coat of paint.

She was following me around whining about the gypsy trailer...

Finally I just quit. 
I went and got my bead box and a watch face.  I  started beading a watchband...

She sat there and kept hinting that the watchband would make a nice belt... I am NOT going to bead her a belt.

I know that she would wear it for about five minutes and then complain because it was too heavy to zap here and there...
Nope. This one is mine. I am going to wear it all the time just to make her jealous...

She will be in a snit for a while, but I am not going to worry about it...

I am going to go back and take it away from her as soon as I get done here... Let her bead her own belt!

Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

Everyone is happy now... Tessie is officially taking over the antique table in the dining room.

She has BIG plans...
The fairies have a new house in the back yard.  I am sure that they will be happy with a new place to live.
It actually looks pretty good back here.  Now all I need is a couple of fairies to take over care and maintenance of the property.

They can see out, but big people can't see in...
And the best part is the burglar is back in the living room that he has occupied for the past 20 years or so. He's back to eating cheese and crackers... Reading a 20 year old TV guide and waiting for the TV to boot up.

We are still trying to dry the bedroom out.  The floor is still wet in spots. We rented a blower from Home Depot.  This must happen to other people too.

Back to it.

See you tomorrow.

It's amazing what a little Old English Lemon Oil will do!

The left of this bookcase is without and the right side is with. It really makes a difference!


This box is from back in the mid 80s.  I ran onto it today and decided that it needed to be where people could see it. 

I oiled the outside of the box and all of the exposed wood on the inside. It looks like new!

Of course, Tessie moved right in... There were two plates of cookies inside.  That's all it takes for her to move in...

I would probably be the same way if the cookies were my size.

The print in the center of the bookcase is a real etching.  I took a few classes in etching in college, so I know how much work that tiny print took to make. 

Some of my favorite pottery pieces are in here too.
Tessie found something else that I have had for a long time.  Some friends went over to Berlin a short time after the wall went down. 

The little rock that she is holding is a part of the wall!

Another thing that I like in the room is the Maltese Falcon next to her head.  It is cast bronze.  I went to a NAME convention in Anaheim, CA in the early eighties and a lot of the things in the room were from there.

A lot of the other things I made myself at that time.  I brought a lot of things back from that show.  It was fun.

Now I am trying to get things in the workroom so that I can do minis like I did back then.  I knew where everything for making them was and could put my hands on what I needed in a couple of minutes. Of course, back then I didn't have the pack rat system of keeping everything that I think I might need later.

 I am slowly but surely organizing things so that I can find them fast. 

I organized and tossed out paint this morning. Now all you have to do is shout out a color and I can find it in no time! 

I keep going in the workroom and sitting down just to enjoy the clean.  Why didn't I do this before? I am even leaving the door open during the day!

I am going back now and see what else I can straighten and clean... This mood may not last!

See you tomorrow.

It used to be that these doors just fit in the holes in the room box kits... Someone has changed something.  The doors are now too short and too narrow to fit right.  They are going to have to be fudged a bit. 

I have already cut between a quarter and a half inch off of the cutouts for the doors. 

As you can see, I have them glued and taped in place. 

Now I am waiting for the glue to dry.
I found this bag of stuff for Tessie when I was cleaning.  She now has combs, safety pins, hair pins and scissors. Not to mention nail files... I can see it now.  I will be getting out the beads and findings to make nail polish and such. 
She knew I was hiding something and she went looking...

She was grinning from ear to ear when she found out what was in the bag... And I was right.  Nail polish bottles coming right up!
I am getting closer to finishing the rya rug.  I just keep plugging along.  A few rows a day and soon I will be finished.

I am liking this one and I want one my size like this one... April tried to talk me into making one just like this in real size for her... I don't think that I will live that long!

It takes me weeks to finish this size.  Can you imagine doing this on a piece of canvas that is six feet square... It might take a while!

Then after I got that finished, I would have to go back and finish all of the mini ones in this box...

I just told her that if she could afford enough silk yarn to make a six footer, I would get started...

I think that I am pretty safe.  It would be in the thousands of dollars category...

I am going back and work on the two room boxes some more.

See you tomorrow.

This morning some of the Wednesday Witches went to a shipwrecked party. I put a sign on the back of my  Bob Ross T-shirt. It said "Art Cruise 93". It couldn't be any later.  Bob Ross died of cancer in 95.  I figured that he could have possibly been teaching on a cruise ship two years before.  I still go back and watch his old shows on You Tube once in a while... He was fun to watch and I did pick up a few tips here and there.

Sorry about his wrinkled head.  I had to hold the camera up in the air and that caused the crease.

If anybody wants a Bob Ross T-shirt, I got it at Walmart!

When I got home, I painted the outside of the two boxes...

Tessie suggested that I paint hers whilst I had the paint out... That was easier than arguing.

The two boxes below are the same kit.  I like the size and they go together fast.  Tessie sleeps in the bedroom box a lot of the time.  She says that bed is more comfortable than hers. 

She also likes the kitchen because someone left an apple pie half made. I keep having to replace the apples...

They have either done something to the room kits or the kits for the doors.  The doors that I ordered from HBS this time are about a half inch too short.  I am going to have to cut a piece from the door block that comes out of the hole so that the doors fit. 

Anyway, I am as far as I am going today.  Tessie is going to have to do her own work from now on.  I can't do two things at once.

Back to work.

See you tomorrow.
 
 

Sure it is , Tessie!

They are exactly the same except for the door being placed differently.

Tessie decided that she liked where I put the window, but not where I put the door.  So... I put the door on the other side.

Yes. I said I did it... Because I did.  She couldn't handle glue, masking tape and walls all at once.  She did try, but it just wasn't going to happen...

So I volunteered to help.
She stacked her room on top of mine and decided that the door was in the right place in hers... In the wrong place in mine.

Oh well.  Mine is going to be a copy of a real room.  Her version is something that just popped into her head.

I asked her what hers was going to be.  She just shrugged and started going on how nice it was going to be... Not a word about what it was going to be.  I don't think that she knows. 

All she is worried about is "equal time".  I have to spend as much time on hers and I do on mine...
Her window and mine are in exactly the same spot.  She thinks that hers is better, because the door is further away from the window.  Better cross winds.

I am not sure what either of us is going to use for a window.  I don't have any pre-made ones in my stash... I know I can build a window... I wonder if she can?

I had to go to Wednesday Witches this afternoon, so I didn't get a lot finished.

Tomorrow morning, I have a meeting to go to.  When I get home,  I will have to work twice as hard... Some for me and some for Tessie.

I will see you then.

I am starting a box as a Christmas present.  I put it together this morning...

As I did, Tessie arrived.  As soon as she saw it, she said, "For me?".

I told her "No. It is a Christmas gift for someone else... She immediately started whinging and whining...
She got on top and looked down from there.  Then she said, "But, I want it!".

I told her to go away and find something else to do.

She hung over the edge until I took her by the scruff of the neck and moved her away.
I started taking the masking tape off.  The glue was dry.

She climbed right back in and started again with, "But I need something new.  All you are doing for me is refurbishing old stuff... Who gets the new one?

I told her to buzz off and leave me alone...

Big mistake.
She went into the workroom and found the second kit for the same room box and brought it back.

That's the box beneath the room that she is standing in...

She announced, "OK. If you won't make me one, I will make my own and I will make it much better than the one that you are making...

Here we go again.  I should never buy two of anything. It always turns into twice the work.  She says she is going to do it, but you know who will get stuck with the bulk of the heavy work.

Anyway, here we go again!

Back to work.  See you tomorrow.

I went in and started looking in plastic boxes this morning...

I shouldn't have done that. It just reminds me of how far behind I am on doing projects.

I am not getting into makeup... I just bought the kits at after Christmas sales at Walmart a few years ago.  I was thinking that the metal liners of these make up trays would make great cookie sheets, cake pans and other metal goodies.  They will.  If I ever get to it and do it.
One of my good friends back in Illinois and another one here, knew that I would like these gourds and seed pods to make baskets.  It may take a while, but I am going to get them all done one of these days... A little at a time.
 I can put fruit in all of the baskets...  These are also from Walmart. It was back when they had big bunches of flowers, leaves and berries for 89 cents.  I am ready to fill most of the above baskets! The ones in the sacks are stamens for building flowers around.

Someday soon!

 This it the stuff that I took out of Tessie's store to make her sewing hut.  She made me do it, but now I have nowhere to put the hats and other stuff that was in it.

This was stuff that I was saving for a kid's closet... I used the structure for something else...


These are the boxes that I was going through to find the above stuff...

I have not gotten half way through yet. 

Some of them are for full sized things like thimble cases and spirit bags.

In the middle of the search, I stopped and we went to see "The Hitman's Bodyguard." Good movie!  Just not conducive to getting any of my room cleaned... Oh Well.... 
After I get the above boxes cleaned out... These are next.

I am not even going to tell you what the labels say.  Mostly supplies... Thank goodness!  Not boxes where each one represents a room that has not been done yet...

Supplies I can handle... Just not whole rooms that were planned and not even started.

Back to the room.

See you tomorrow.

I worked in the workroom, trying to get it straight this morning. 

I now have the cleanest rug in the universe... Well maybe one of the cleanest anyway.

Then I had to get ready to go to Anne's for Wednesday witches.
I thought that you might like to see one of the pieces in Anne's collection, rather than my unfinished wicker.

The wicker in this room is by Rhea Strange.  It is outstanding. Poke the photo and see it in a larger format.

The doll is by Shirley Whitworth.


The box itself is a masterpiece.  Made by Lady Jane.

The chandelier in the top is electrified and the room is beautiful when lit.

I know how to do stained glass, but I wouldn't even attempt something like this!


When I got home, this is where I found Tessie. 

She tells me that, "Nobody.  NO HOW!" is going into that room for a week. "It is clean and it is going to stay that way until next Wednesday.

Well... That's one way to keep it clean.  I didn't want to go in there anyway. There is a lot more cleaning to be done. 

I am going to obey the rules.  I am keeping out at all costs!

Back to any other room in the house!

See you tomorrow... With a still clean workroom! Kind of...