Welcome to my blog

If you enjoy finding a lot of different outlets for your creativity, then we may just be kindred spirits.
This blog is an outlet for my interest in miniatures, crochet, plastic canvas, and many other various arts and crafts.

I also love walking, taking digital photos, and most recently, have rediscovered an old love...bike riding! I purchased an amazing new bike, a comfy Townie by Electra this summer, and have been having a grand time exploring the area as though for the first time. It's like being a kid again!

If you enjoy any of these things too, pour a cup of coffee and tea, sit down, and join me.


Take care!
Kat

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I found the mini furniture I bought on my trip to Guelph last month!

I'm so happy that I found this bag of mini furniture! 
Mini furniture haul from buck or two store in Guelph

I found the items at a discount "buck or two" type store in Guelph, and I was so happy to find them for such great prices...1.99 for two pieces of furniture per package.

I thought I had left the bag behind in the hotel room in Guelph, but today I found it tucked away inside another bag, full of yarn.  I must have packed it with the yarn to keep it from breaking...then forgot all about it, lol.
Mini haul from discount store

I don't want to take them out of the packaging yet because I'm not ready to paint them; I'm still working on the dollhouse.  They're just so cute and tiny.
Mini containers in nail kit.
I also found this little nail set, with cute mini containers that are perfect for mini settings. 

The little stools are my favorite.  I'll have to make a little kitchen island for them, or maybe I can save them for an ice cream parlor or old fashioned drug store.

It's nice to have furniture all put together.  I have a cool 56  piece furniture kit, but it's going to take forever to paint and put together, lol.

cute little stools


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

My latest reborn baby girl

Reborn Lucy sculpt
I just put this little doll together today, and I'm so pleased with the way she turned out.  I worked hard on this doll over the past week, and I think this is the fastest I've ever made a doll.  I painted and baked for 8 hours a day for 3 days, then rooted for several days.  It took another day to seal the hair, lips, and nails, and after she was dry, I put her together. 
Reborn Lucy Sculpt

I couldn't get any good photos this evening because it's dark and dreary outside.  We really needed the rain t hough, so I can't complain.
Reborn Lucy sculpt
I've been busy painting dolls and dollhouse parts this week, plus rooting and sanding.  It will feel really nice to relax in my recliner while I crochet an outfit for this doll.  I always like to make special hand made outfits for them before I sell them on ebay.  I just have to choose an outfit. I have several cute dress patterns to choose from. 

Monday, May 28, 2012

Starting on Primrose Dollhouse Kit

I read the instructions over several zillion times and finally got up the  nerve to start on my Primrose kit.  It's the attachment/add on for the Laurel, but can also be used separately as a cottage.  I'm going to be using it with the Laurel, but decided to start with the smaller house first.
Primrose window casings and shutters

I knew I wanted to do the houses in a country blue and white, but wasn't sure whether or not to make the shutters all white or multicolored.
Primrose window casings and shutters
I laid the shutter tops on top of the shutter bottoms while all painted white in order to see if I liked the look, and I do, so I'm going to leave them all white.  Now I just have to glue them together, and also glue the windows into the frames.  Then I can start on the window boxes.

I hate the sanding, and can't believe how awful some of the wood pieces are made...it's like every sheet is made of a different wood.  Two of the 6 large pieces of wood that contain all of the smaller ones are in good shape, but the others aren't great, and one is really bad...like the wood is 100 times older and dryer than the other pieces.  I can't believe they passed quality control.  I sure hope the bigger kit has more good sheets than bad.

I enjoy the painting part, and I think I'll enjoy the decorating.  I know I'll enjoy making little objects to put in the dollhouse.  I already have a list of things I want to make.  I'm going to start with breads and a breadboard...it looks simple and fun to make.

My dog Mac is on his 4th week of crate rest post surgery (on Wednesday it will be 4 weeks), and he likes to sit outside in his pop up crate so I've been doing the sanding and painting outside on the deck in the mornings and evenings, when it's still cool enough to be outside.  Mac loves it out there, and this gives me something to do while supervising him.  I can't leave him alone because he can open the zippered door with his nose, lol.  He's so smart.  He seems to be doing a lot better, thank God.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

My latest reborn sold, yay!

Andrewcrochetedoutfit010
Reborn doll, Andrew, adopted!

This little guy was fun to make, and he found a home the first time I listed him on ebay.  I was surprised, as I didn't give him any hair; he was my first bald baby.  I started the bidding a lot lower than I normally would because of his lack of hair.
Andrewoutside016
Reborn doll, Andrew, in hand croceted outfit
Reborn doll, hand crocheted outfit

I crocheted this adorable little outfit for him, and it was a perfect fit.  I hope his new Mom will like him.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Misc ramblings of a disorganized mind, lol

Hello,It's a beautiful, bright day today. I woke up at 7 AM to the smell of chicken soup.  It had been simmering on low in my crock pot all nigt long, and boy, does it smell good!  It's been simmering away all day long, and still smells wonderful.  I'm going to have a cup for supper, but most of it will be used to cook Mac's rice in, so I can make him more rice/chicken/yam balls.
Mac's rice/chicken/yam balls, to hide his pills.
I gave Mac his 7 morning pills, hidden in 7 rice/yam balls, and we sat on the deck to enjoy the morning sun.  Mac really loves his new pop up crate.

Mac in his pop-up crate.  Check out the big smile on his face!

It's so nice to see Mac's big doggy smile again.  He's been through so much, poor guy, but he's getting stronger every day.

I read a book about writing while sitting on the deck and was so motivated by it that I grabbed my laptop and wrote a few pages.  Not a lot, but something, enough to make me feel I'm out of the slump I was in.

Then I lost my internet connection...my new laptop has a bad habit of losing the network adaptors...they don't even show up in the device manager.  I redownloaded them all and still couldn't get it to work so now i'm on my old laptop.  It's hard to type on this one because I'm used to the new keyboard now.

I couldn't get back into the swing of writing after I lost my internet connection, so I sanded a few pieces of the Primrose dollhouse kit.  The cheap wood did not like getting sanded and it splintered like crazy, so it was back to the computer for me.  I googled, "how to sand" and somehow lost myself in cyberspace for two hours (I hate when that happens, lol).

Lilacs and apple tree in bloom.
My yard is gorgeous right now.  My apple tree is just loaded with blossoms, and my lilacs are blooming.  The one near the deck is in full bloom, but the other 5 are just starting.  The cherry tree has a few blossoms, but nothing like the apple tree.  The yard smells heavenly.

Well, I wanted to blog about my reborn but Mac is barking; I think he wants to go back outside.  I'll write more later.
Have a nice day!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

More Photos from our trip to Guelp

My Dad and I went for a nice walk while Mac was in surgery.  Mac only had a 70 % chance, so I was terrified.  I prayed, and visualized him walking with me, healthy and strong and happy, as I walked by the river.  After our walk, we went downtown for lunch.  Dad saw a sign for the Vienna Restaurant, and we had to eat there, since he's from a small town just outside of Vienna.  He was very pleased with the meal, and the waitress liked him so much she gave us our drinks for free.  The cook made the Wiener Schnitzel especially for Dad.
Dad's special lunch at the Vienna Restaurant in Guelph, Ontario.

Dad outside the Vienna Restaurant, in Guelph, Ontario.

Best name for a  pub ever, Frank and Steins!

Downtown Guelph, Ontario.

Dad, walking downtown in Guelph, Ontario.

Me on the covered bridge in Guelph.

View from the covered bridge.

Me, hiding behind a tree.

River in Guelph.

Dad on covered bridge, Guelph Ontario.

Dad smiling..miracle!

Pretty river in Guelph.

Dad.




Cute little mall in Guelph, Ontario.

"Outdoor cafe" inside cute little mall in Guelph.


Gorgeous church in distance.

Me feeding the birds outside the room.  Smokey said hello to each and every bird,
and was disappointed when I told her they couldn't talk, lol.
Cute squirrel begging for more food.  He came every day.



We came back to the room after lunch, and called the veterinary clinic, to find out that Mac had made it through the surgery, responded well, and there were no complications, thank God.  He was walking better the next day, eating, and getting stronger.  On Friday they released him.  Smokey was very happy to see him again, and greeted him with, "How ya doin, dog?"  I was worried about the 10 hour drive home with a dog only 2 days post op (he has a huge line of stitches down his throat and neck...like someone installed a zipper, poor guy).  He was good on the way home, except he refused his dog food.  He had to have his pills on a full stomach, so I had to stop and buy him a burger the first time, and a chicken wrap the second time.  He loved it, and took his pills with no problem (hidden in peanut butter).
Smokey in her travel crate on the 10 hour drive home.  She LOVES car rides. That's part of
Mac's huge crate next to Smokey's.  On the way to Guelph, she was up higher , and could see above the bumper pads. 
On the way to Guelph, I had Smokey's cage up higher, up past the bumper pads.  When Mac sat up they were face to face.  Smokey didn't like that, lol.  She said, "Kathy, help me!"  When I looked I saw she was looking directly into Mac's mouth, which was wide open because he was panting.  She's not afraid of him, but didn't seem to like the look of those big fangs, lol.  She told him to "Go lie down!"  and he did.  She's so funny.  On the way home, I put her cage lower, so she couldn't see over the bumper pads. Mac only got up a few times, so I needn't have bothered; she would have been fine up higher.  She was still high enough to see out the side window, and she really enjoyed the drive. She's been asking to go for a car ride again, lol.

Photos from our trip to Guelph

My Dad and I took Mac and Smokey to the University of Guelph Veterinary College last week.
We were able to meet with the kids, and go for walks while Mac was getting his MRI, surgery, and in recovery.  Here are some photos.
Clarissa, Christopher, Dad, and Alexandra at the Stone Mall, Guelph ON

Sandy, Chris, and Dad at Angel's Diner, Guelph (great burgers!)

Clarissa and Lexie having milkshakes at Angel's diner

The kids playing around in our hotel room

The kids are dancing and singing rap music for Smokey, my African Grey Parrot

When asked if they should keep singing, Smokey said, "Nooooo!", lol.

Poor Smokey was stuck in this small travel cage for most of the trip; I could only take her out when my Dad was
out of the room because he used to tease her and she never forgot...she lunges at him, lol.

Smokey and Lexie having a chat.  The kids were thrilled by Smokey's talking.

Grampa was relaxing and the kids all piled on top of him.

Little Clarie.

Clarissa, her babies, and Lexie

Clarissa and her reborn babies.  She takes them everywhere, and buys them  presents for Christmas .  So cute!

Clarissa and Chris...they have great smiles. I wish Lexie was in this photo.

The kids saying goodbye.