I've been baking!

I've been baking again..not in the real kitchen, but in my mini kitchen...it's the only place where any baking gets done these days! I wish I could work up the enthusiasm to make the edible version, but somehow that just never seems to happen!

Even getting these made has proved a challenge as, now that the better weather is here, all the hedges & grass in my garden have the cheek to just keep growing. As fast as I get everything cut & looking tidy it seems that the next time I turn around it all needs doing again!

You can see that I'm already thinking about Autumn(perhaps subconsciously I'm praying not to have to keep cutting the grass!)making this little blackberry & apple pie!


Once in "pie mode" I just had to make a gooseberry pie as my bushes are laden again this year & I have a freezer full....all waiting for me to make a REAL pie! Mmmmm, now what do you think are the chances of that happening?! :-))

Light Award..Thank you Rosanna!

Thank you Rosanna!
Rosanna...http://lastanzadigiuggiola.blogspot.com/ has given me this lovely award!
The rules of this award are:

1.-To complete the following phrase: I AM A LIGHT AND WANT TO ILLUMINATE...

2. - Link the blog from where the award came from and leave a message informing that person it has been received.

3.- Link and pass the award to five blogs that, in your opinion, are blogs of light.

Well, I've done no:-2
No's 1 & 3 are so difficult...but here I go!

The 5 blogs (& my apologies if you already have this award!) are:-
1. Linda Carswell at Petite Folie.....http://une-petite-folie.blogspot.com/
2. Julie at Bellabelle dolls....http://bellabelledolls.blogspot.com/
3. Jean Day at jdayminis....http://jdayminis.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-milk-toof-by-inhae.html
4. Sumaiya Mehreen at Fantasy Forest....http://thefantasyforest.blogspot.com/
5. Kim Saulter at...http://kimsminiatures.blogspot.com/

These blogs are all "blogs of light" to me!!
I'm so sorry if the links don't work..but for some reason I just can't get them to work properly & quite frankly, have given up trying!!

I AM A LIGHT AND WANT TO ILLUMINATE....oh dear..just what do I want to illuminate??
Ah...got it!
I AM A LIGHT AND WANT TO ILLUMINATE the world of miniature madness in which there are some simply wonderful people who brighten up my world!

2 Pyramids!

I'm ashamed to say that not too much has been going on in my particular mini workshop recently.
My excuse is that it's beginning to feel like summer at last here & the call of the pruning, veg gardening, grass cutting & generally enjoying the sun (as you know, I'm a dedicated sun worshipper, believing the vitamin D I get from being out in it far outweighs any PC worries over skin cancer!!)has kept me outside instead.
Apart from completing several run of the mill orders, I did manage to put together this little poached pear pyramid. One of the commissions involved some skinned pears so, as usual, while working on the pears, I went off at a tangent & decided I fancied eating one of these...it would probably have been much quicker to have made the "real" thing

Poached Pear & Chocolate Pyramid


Then there were the mussels, sitting hour after hour making these little beasts & I definitely needed a little escape into creativity!

A Pyramid Of Fresh Mussels On Ice.




I hope I can force muyself back into the mini-making mode very soon as I have a huge workbench of UFO's sitting looking at me every time I put my nose in there!

Hallowe'en comes early! (In May?)

3 weeks since I returned from Al Ain & survived the woman eating escalator in London & aside from the backlog of commission work that had built up while I was away, I had clean forgotten that half term was looming & having had the 3 grandkids + Mum & Dad for the last week, you can imagine that mini-making time (or in,fact, any time for anything other than cooking, washing, ironing & spoiling the grandkids before handing them back to their parents!!!) has been very limited!
I'm still working my way through commission orders...slowly, but now that the sun has vanished, I might get on a little faster!

I was asked quite a few weeks ago if I would be creating any new pieces for Hallowe'en...yes, I DID say Hallowe'en, talk about wishing your life away!! So, as I needed a break from making what I HAD to, rather than what "I fancied" I decided that I was feeling Hallowe'eny & as I'm having a love affair with mini meringues right now I came up with this orange & licorice meringue tower complete with sparkly spider's web.......



Even more fun was to create this "scary" ( I think he's quite benign really!) Vampire Bat Cake! He is actually a repeat of a cake I made lst Hallowe'en but was such fun to make that I decided to create another for this commission!



Now, sadly, it's back to the commission work... the sun has vanished, kids have gone home, beds all changed & ironing done.... no more excuses!! :-((

OK..I've been "tagged"!!

I've been tagged by the incredibly talented Vicky Guile...check out her blog.
http://njdminiatures.blogspot.com/ Here you can marvel at Vicky's wonderfully imaginative creations.
The way this works is that you now "tag" 6 of your favourite blogs & refer back to the one who "tagged" you....I hope you find it easier than me(for some reason it takes me hours to get the link right!!).

Then list 6 things that make you happy!

1. Working in the garden in sunshine with my iPod to sing along to.
2. Spoling my 3 grandchildren & then handing them back to their parents!
3. Walking with my dog for company.
4. That "Eureka" moment when a mini I'm working on decides to turn out the way I envisioned it!
5. Eventually climbing into bed with a bar of Galaxy, a cup of tea & a bloodthirsty book!
6. Getting out of bed in the morning without aching somewhere!

Then all that's left is to "tag" 6 bloggers by leaving a comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged!
Now I have to find them!

A Cause For Celebration!

At LAST! I have finally finished those 46 jars....nearly 2 weeks later working night & day at them. If I ever see another jar within the next 6 months, I think I'll throw it at somebody!! I really didn't believe that it could take so long to do them, but you may or may not have noticed that I have a bit of a problem....I'm a perfectionist! That has meant that each & every jar was painstakingly filled with individually made pieces, whether it be asparagus or chickpeas!! Oh dear, sometimes I really do despair of myself! Why, oh why couldn't I just have made a "resemblance" of each item..after all they were going to have coloured resin addded so surely the detail didn't matter? Sorry to say, as far as I was concerned if they were going to be attributed to me, Yes, the detail mattered...even if it drove me nuts!!

This represents just under half of them!



This asparagus jar might just show what I mean!



If not, how about the cauliflower?!



28 pictured here with another 18, at this stage, nearly completed!


Anybody want some jars filling? If so, I'm sure I can find someone who will do it for you!! :-))

26 jars completed....only 20 to go!!

Remember those 46 jars to fill? I've pushed & kicked myself into the mini sweatshop over the last couple of nights & have actually completed 26 of the 46. When I say that, I've actually only completely finished 10 of them the other 16 are waiting to have their little gingham caps put on & that in itseslf takes so long!! SIGH
I can only last so long on this mind numbingly boring pursuit so, using a spare jar of pickled cauliflower (I mistakenly made 3 instead of 2..if I had a brain, I'd be truly dangerous...but no fear of that!!)I put together a "little" pickling set!....you've no idea just how much I enjoyed doing it!



BUT...it's back to the endless jars tonight!!