It's NEVER too late for a picnic!!

I know I've been pretty lax recently with my blog posts...just blame the pressure of old age & commission work! There just aren't enough hours in each day..PLEASE somebody give me more!! Between running the house & the garden (although there are only the two of us at the moment, my dear old Hubby counts for at least 3 people on his own!! LOL)& trying my very best to keep up with orders, I just run out of time every day!
I'm heading out to the UAE again at the weekend to spend some time in the sun...oh &, of course, with my youngest & her "partner"....so I've been desperately trying to finish all the UFO's (for the uninitiated..."unfinished objects"!)that are littering my workbench...here is one that has been "work in progress" for at least 2 months!! :_))


But...at last, I've finished it! As summer (did we actually have one here in the UK?!) has now gone I decided to give it the title of "It's never too late for a picnic"! Believe me...it is too late here in the North East of England, unless, of course, you were to put on thermal underwear & ski-ing gear...then perhaps.....!! LOL




By the way, to all those who read my blog (& I thank you!!)remember my last visit to UAE when on my return the escalator "ate" me.....please pray that this time it decides to eat somebody else & leaves me in peace!! LOL

A nice change from the "Sweet Stuff"!!

Even though there seems to be an inexhaustible market out there for the "sweet stuff", I get so very sick of just making cakes, chocolates, pastries etc etc ad infinitum & I was really craving a meal of fresh scallops. Having lived for so long in SW Cornwall & having my own supply of fresh scallops & mussels, I guess I became complacent about just how good they were...sadly they are part of what I miss the most about not being there anymore! So, to try & make myself feel more "at home", I decided that if I couldn't have the real thing, a miniature version was better than nothing!



What I wouldn't give to have a basket like this..maybe a few more mussels, & DEFINITELY "real" right now! For once, I wouldn't mind being in the real kitchen cooking them! mmmmm...seared scallops in a wine & cream sauce with a few mussels...a fabulous dream!

A cake challenge!

Over on CDHM, Marlene challenged us to recreate in miniature some simply fabulous "real" cakes. I've been itching to have a go at quite a few of them & today, having far too many commissions to complete, I decided I was going to have some "me" creating time & decided on trying to make a mini of the most fabulous Mad Hatters Tea Cup cake & here's the result!



It measures just over an inch in height & was such fun to make.....even if I did a whole lot of cursing when trying to make the tiny Alice, Hatter & Queen of Hearts! LOL

Wind in the Willows!

As I'm wasting valuable mini making time with photos right now I thought I may as well show you an "ongoing" work that is so very nearly finished now! All that remains is a bottle of lemonade & then this is a mini recreation of the picnic in Kenneth Grahame's Wind In The Willows. I was asked to make this by my good friend (although we are only "virtual" friends as she is "Down Under"!!) Rosy... It will be winging its way to you VERY soon!



PLEASE let it rain so that I can re-enter the minisweatshop without feeling guilty about all the gardening that needs doing...I just CAN'T shut myself inside when the sun is shining...but I'm SO far behind that I need another 48 hrs in every day!! LOL

Good Old English Breakfast!

I seem to have been making a whole lot of English fry-ups for the grandkids over the last 3 weeks & I must admit, it is one of my favourite meals, but ONLY if someone else has cooked it for me.....somehow when I've done it myself it never tastes quite the same! The nicest is always after spending the night in a hotel, sadly, I don't get to do that very often!
I wouldn't suggest eating this "Brunch On A Griddle" though...it would probably break your teeth, not to mention the fact that you'd still be hungry!



There has been absolutely no time for mini making or much else really, the last 3 weeks have flown by in a haze of playing with & tidying up after 3 little pests under 7! They leave tomorrow & although it'll be good to get my house back to some semblance of normality & get back into the mini sweatshop, I know I'm going to miss the little charmers like crazy!!

Mini making withdrawal symptoms!

Oh dear! Remember the 4th photo from my 4th folder? Well, they have landed again for 3 weeks AND they've been back in the bubble making bath!! In between, "real" cooking, washing, ironing, general cleaning up after them all there hasn't been a lot of time for mini making & I'm getting severe withdrawal symptoms! LOL
I did make them all a "real" bread & butter pud the other night as I'd made this one just before they arrived....Far more fun than making the "real"thing!! LOL



In nearly a week, the only other piece I've managed to make (& that meant working until 3.00am!) is a Farmhouse Pate & Bread! I wouldn't change it for the world though..I love having them all here!

A challenge from Kim......

This is a fun challenge sent to me by Kim of the fabulous blog It's a miniature life http://kimsminiatures.blogspot.com/
1. open the 4th file where you store your photos...
2. pick out the 4th photo & publish it to your blog...
3. explain a bit about it...
4. pass this challenge to 4 other blogs

So here it is, the 4th picture from the 4th file of my photo folder...& I suppose it is about miniatures in a way!! LOL



These 3 "miniatures" are my grandchildren who, when visiting over May half term, decided that they would have a bath in "Nonna's" bubbly bath (it's a jacuzzi bath fior all my aches & pains!!)however, they also poured in half a bottle of bubble bath too....the result is clear...there were bubbles everywhere!
Thank you Kim I'd forgotten I had that one & it was good to look at it again!

Now to find 4 other blogs to challenge.....

Sumaiya at Exotic Dolls http://exoticdolls.blogspot.com/
Teresa Martinez at Tiny Ter Miniatures http://tinyterminiatures.blogspot.com/
Christel Jensen at http://christeljensen.blogspot.com/
Mags at http://mags-nificentminiatures.blogspot.com/
Sorry girls...but now it's your turn find a photo you had forgotten about!
Thanks Kim, that was good!