Bitsa This and Bitsa That

I think I have shown the outside of my terrace house before but, I wanted to add a picture to this update.

I bought the nets you can see in this picture at a reduced cost in a charity shop a while back.  I love the effect that having something in the windows gives.  The problem is, I have never sorted anything for my 24th cottage to give that a more 'lived in appearance' 

I have been looking in various places but not seen anything I had thought of as quite suitable.  The main issue with it is that I want the cottage to be a simple place and so I wanted a material that can would reflect a simple, muted, worn effect but still delicate due to the size of the scale.  I think this is what has cause the issue when trying to sort the bedding as well.

I am looking forward to posting some progress with my minis as the week goes on, if I can only drag myself away from reading everyone else's wonderful blogs!!  :)

Wrong time of year but...

Today I made a simple summer dress.

The pattern was really easy.  I have seen similar ones in various books and magazines, with all of them using ribbon or lace to add a bit of interest.


So, first off, the pattern and material.

Even for me, the sewing was really easy and was finished in a really short time.

I kind of cheated because I ended up gluing the ribbon on.  I was also lucky because I found some metal coat hangers that I had made a while ago and used one of those to put with the dress.

This is to be a gift for my mum.  She has a modern haberdashery with living accommodation above.  I am hoping this can be used in either upstairs or downstairs.

I have finally made progress with my minis and boy I feel better for it. 

Firstly, I managed to stain the metal plates to age them.  The photos are not showing the effect quite as well as I had hoped, however, I am really happy with how they have turned out.  They are a little something for someone who does not use the internet so I am safe posting these on here without them seeing.

  

Moving on, I painted wooden barrels again as a little something for someone.  Sometimes, it is so much cheaper to buy a basic something a alter it slightly.

I also made a bag.  This is my first time making a mini bag without an actual kit (simple though they seem) although I did still rely on a pattern out of an old dolls house magazine.  I wish I knew which one it was but I kept the pattern without keeping a not of where it came from.  My apologies but it was important to say, this is not my pattern.  This is how it turned out.

I loved how simple it was and how fast it was to make up.  I also liked putting in the little detail on the sides to add the straps.