Realized I never put up the finished photos of the Ladies Shoppe Cabinet. (Click photos for full size)
Finally got this done. While actually it only took a few days I had to fix a couple things so it had to sit a few days longer. (click photos for full size)
I got this roombox partially done a few years or so back. It's nicely stained on the outside and has a really nice wood floor and door. The walls were painted blue on the bottom before with rope around the inside like it was going to be some kind of nautical room. It took so long since I couldn't decide what to put in it! (And yeah... every time you take a photo, then you see that something fell or is leaning. ha!)
Since I like to set up a Christmas room, I thought, why not decorate it so I can change it later? I decided to use some cool scrapbook paper printed with maps on the top part of the wall and painted the corrugated paper for the bottom in a matching tan. Once Christmas is over, I'll put in a vintage desk and other items for the world traveler's room. Figured I'd use some of the things I collected until/whenever I set up the mini world museum.
I like to use vintage miniatures so the art on the right wall is an embroidered picture I cut from a vintage Christmas card. The girl doll is also older. The tiny angels are little figures I added on top of the mini trees. I know the LED light string on the left is out of place, but I didn't want to wire the room and needed more light. Maybe I'll add an LED wall sconce later.
Here's a close-up of the ceiling. I love how this turned out.
Side table: (I have a paper Santa mail box and letters I wanted to put here, too - and then I found I was out of printer ink! So waiting on that to come.)
There's still a couple things to do - done since this photo: filled and painted the top of that cactus ornament. There's also another small vintage stand on the left of the fireplace. I have a special Christmas plant I made from petals punched from Christmas scrapbook paper. The punches end up with a cool variety of designs on the petals. Love how these turn out! I made a Halloween one, too, with the spider web pattern and I know I'll make more with other pattern papers.
This was a fun project and nice to see the room done. It's a good sized room but not huge, which I like. It'll be fun to change it after Christmas, too.
Daily miniatures - mine's on my birthday, Dec. 7.
See calendar here.
* The NAME site - National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts - Create.org - also has a daily miniatures calendar. Find it here.
Latest Goodwill trip had hubby find this - which of course, couldn't be passed up.
I've got an interesting idea for this one. Now I know why I keep buying and saving all those Skellies every year at Halloween, before they quit making them....
Interesting is that it also talks when the lid opens. ha! (It's a quit smoking gag, I guess, so several sayings about that. Ashes to ashes, etc. ) And the Skellie lady will fit better once I do some, er, "embalming" work on her...heh-heh.
Project #1001. ha! Or something like that. Btw, the Halloween shop and record store are - finally - about done! Photos coming soon! I was trying to figure what to work on next, so this may be one of them. Yes, I seem to do several projects at once. (Why it takes so long to finish one, I guess.)
Well, yes, I'm still working on the Halloween mini book project, so bear with me, please.
Thank you all again for visiting Halloween in Miniature! (If you missed it, click the skeleton in left column.)
****Prize Winners: J Root - an e-book when I get it done; it might be a bit. R Jensen - a fence and scary faces. Thanks for playing along and visiting the blog!
Otherwise, yes, I've been doing minis - I'm still in a HALLOWEEN mood!!
A few pix while I'm finishing things...
I was positively thrilled to see this cute metal and resin (?) sign on FB and knew if I didn't get it for the outside of the Halloween shop I'd kick myself big time!! Isn't it adorable???? (I'll get a better pic later, but the bottom reads Novelties.) It's by VT Alsen of Tonya's Miniatures on FB. She's also starting an Etsy shop soon.)
She also has these incredibly teensy bottles for half scale which I couldn't pass up for the HS haunted house...
What else? Here are a few progress shots from the Halloween Shop. More pix will be coming soon! The lights are in, too.
So far... here's the outside of the Halloween Shop. It's in the larger of the Houseworks' Street of Shops set. Yes, it's a lot of #$%^ painting and touching up! The sections are backed with scrapbook paper.
For a change and color, I used dimensional stickers on the outside. I'm so glad I found these stickers at a garage sale or Goodwill or something. No luck finding anything similar this year. Just as - gasp - I didn't see any of the moving - lenticular mini pictures which I love! No wonder we turn into hoarders!!
I feather-paint my columns. TIP: Use a real feather (I find them outside) and lightly dip in your paint. Make light lines on the wood. Seal with Mod Podge or light water-based varnish.
Inside: I'm in love with how the curtains came out! I'll have a how to coming up soon! The wall inserts are scrapbook paper. (Oops ignore my missed spot on the door. I fixed that!)
Here's the door and part of the curtains since I finished the outside. The curtains are double-faced, different patterns on each side. The other side of the curtains showing outside is a lighter orange swirl pattern as seen partly here. And the wreath came out great, too, thanks to that feathery trim. It 's hard to tell, but it has punched out leaves, a couple punched out cats and colored bones and a skull from a dollar store necklace. There's a fabric triangle valance hanging the door on the inside.
Teapot cabinet for inside the store. Teapots are by my friend Kitty.
Potion cabinet. The wood shelf is a box insert that I painted and added scrapbook paper. The pillow is by my friend Gigi.
(Candy, Megan Conlon, see interview, Halloween In Miniature, 2010 - https://candidcanine.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-in-miniature-2010-day-8.html
👀 Start at Day 1: https://candidcanine.blogspot.com/2020/09/halloween-in-miniature-2020-start-party.html
Today I bring you the perfect Trick or Treat story...heh-heh....
LITTLE SQUIRT
By A.L. Kaplan
Chocolate, gooey caramel. My mouth almost waters. If only I could still taste that luscious candy, but the reanimated can’t do that. It wouldn’t be bad if I got out more. I mean, Grandma is great and all. She brought me back to half-life after I was killed. It’s just not the same without other kids to play with. Halloween is the only day I can go outside without freaking the living. Believe me, you don’t want the pitchfork and torch brigade chasing you.
“Trick
or Treat.” I hold out my sack with the other children.
A lady hands me a handful of candy. “Great Costume.”
I thank her and hurry toward the next house. Two little girls sob at the curb. Halloween should be fun, not sad.
(Ghost girls, Julie Campbell Doll Artist) 
“Are you ok?”
(Bunny pattern, larger size, The Wishing Shed, Etsy. Cute!)
The bunny points a gloved paw at three disappearing teens. Her ears bounce with each sniffle. “They…took… our…candy.”
I
hate bullies. “Here, take mine.”
Big,
round, adoring eyes look up at me. Being undead has its perks. I track the thieves
faster than a bloodhound.
“That
candy isn’t yours.”
(Candy bars, Patricia Paul on Etsy)
They
laugh and tower around me. “Get lost or get pounded, squirt.”
“Squirt,
is it.”
I
take a deep breath and squirt them with inky old blood.
A
moment of stunned silence, then they clench their fists. I point down. They stare
as skeletal hands reach up and pull them into the ground. Half-buried, they
shriek and struggle.
“Don’t
steal, especially from little kids on Halloween. I’ll be watching.” ##
** For fun, here's a link to some great dollhouse candy printies.
-----------------------
💀 Other miniature creations by Meredith Paige and Angela
Potts from the Haunted
Orchid Dollhouse Club on FB.
👄 Patricia Paul makes the most fun and spooky Halloween and Haunted miniatures. (PS - sign up for her newsletter for a free printie book cover set!)
😸 Carola Dunn is a multi-published British author of the Daisy Dalrymple classic mystery series, the Cornish mysteries and over 30 regencies. See her author book page here.
👹 Leta Hawk loves writing about fantasy, ghosts and other spooky things. She is the author of the Kyrie Carter Supernatural Sleuth series.
👺A.L. Kaplan is the author of Star Touched and Wolf Dawn, plus some great (and spooky!) short fiction. See her author page here.
👀 Be sure to check my website and this blog for more news on my upcoming In Miniature Style: Halloween book and ebook by C.A. Verstraete!
** See you next year!! **
HAPPY
Welcome to Halloween in Miniature 2020! Day 4
👻 Go to intro & contest! on Day 1 - https://candidcanine.blogspot.com/2020/09/halloween-in-miniature-2020-start-party.html
Read Part 1 of this story on Day 3 - https://candidcanine.blogspot.com/2020/10/halloween-in-miniature-2020-3-halloween.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
💀 Continued - Part 2 of Superstition! by Carola Dunn
With some argument Peter persuaded his friend that his plan was a harmless lark, and gave him the blunt to buy a few old sheets from Mrs. Gregg, the landlord's accommodating young wife. While Freddy went to round up his accomplices, Peter stood for a minute watching the dancers.
Amelia was light on her feet as a week-old
lamb. Her ringlets bobbed merrily as she
smiled at her partner and turned on his arm.
She loved to dance. If only she
didn't change her mind about going with him!
Then she grimaced, and he guessed the
curate really had trod on her toes, bless him.
Peter went to harness his gig.
The cold outside made his head swim. "No more punch," he muttered to
himself, blinking. What the devil did
Gregg put in the stuff?
After a moment, his head stopped going
round and he made his way out into the stable yard. It was a clear, crisp night, the moon just
past full. The yard and the street
beyond were crammed with the motley collection of vehicles that had brought the
local gentry and the wealthier farmers to town for the Halloween assembly. Fortunately Peter had arrived a little late,
so his gig was easily accessible.
(Photo: pixabay.com)
His trusty roan, Snap, snorted his
objection to being extracted from the friendly warmth of the stable. He stood patiently between the shafts, his
breath steaming in the frosty air.
Peter fastened the last buckle and went
back into the inn's entrance hall. In a
dark nook by the staircase, Amelia was lurking, enveloped in her scarlet
woollen cloak and hood. As she hurried
towards him, he noted with approval that she had changed from dancing slippers
into half-boots.
"Quick, before someone sees
me." She took his arm and hurried
him back through the door into the yard.
"I told Mama I was going to sit with Mr. Gregg's mother for half an
hour."
"How noble!"
"I did go and see old Mrs. Gregg for a
few minutes earlier, so it is only a little bit of a fib. Hello, Snap." She stroked the horse's nose. "You must take us quickly there and back
or I shall be well and truly in the briars."
(Creepy clock, luvcats9, Ebay)
Snap whickered and turned his head to watch
them climb into the gig. At Peter's
signal, he set of trotting through the little town and started up the hill
toward Salisbury Plain as the church clock chimed the third quarter. The road was in excellent repair after a
period of dry weather, so they made good time. The hour had not yet sounded
when they reached the road's closest approach to Stonehenge.
For the last few hundred feet, the light
open carriage jolted across sheep-cropped turf.
By moonlight the great stone arches loomed supernaturally immense, their
black shadows stretching across the plain.
Handing Amelia down from the gig, Peter shivered--up here in the open a
biting breeze cut through his top coat.
Amelia shivered too. He put his arm about her shoulders and together
they picked their way through the four rings of stones to stop close to the
altar stone.
"Do you want to sit down?" he
asked in a hushed voice.
"On the sacrificial stone? Heavens, no!
I hope it is nearly midnight, for I am half frozen." She turned to put her arms around his waist
and hid her face in his shoulder.
He hugged her, suspecting that, though cold
and scared, she was actually quite enjoying herself.
From the distant town, the first stroke of
midnight wafted to his ears. He glanced
hopefully around the massive circle. Freddy had not had much time to gather
their friends and bring them up here, but if they came too long after the clock
stopped striking the impact of their arrival would be spoiled. Besides, an inflammation of the lungs would
be a sorry end to this adventure.
Ah, there they were. White-robed figures drifted through the arches
and he heard a low, solemn chanting. How
had they managed such a realistic show in so short a time? Four, then half a dozen, a score--who the
devil had Freddy brought with him? Peter
didn't want a bunch of strangers catching him here with Amelia in his arms.
More and more of the mysterious figures
filed into the inmost ring, treading a stately measure. One carried a leafless branch on which grew a
bush of mistletoe, its berries lucent as pearls in the moonlight. In the hands of another gleamed a sickle, and
a third bore a blazing torch, its fiery light glinting on the wide gold collars
and headdresses worn by the three high priests. The rhythmic chant grew louder,
faster, almost drowning the screams.
Screams!
Peter saw that the torchbearer, at the altar stone, was setting light to
a huge wicker basket, shaped like a man. And inside the basket were men, living
men, and wailing women and children, bound with ropes of straw.
A pale fire sprang up. The sacrificial victims writhed in agony,
their tortured shrieks piercing the night.
The smell of burning flesh reached Peter's nostrils.
Appalled, he tried to rush to the
rescue. His legs refused to move; his
feet were frozen to the ground. He tried
to shout a protest. No sound emerged
from his throat. He realized that he was
not breathing. His heart, which should
be pounding in terror and fury, was standing still. He could not even clasp Amelia closer to
him to keep the dreadful sounds from her ears.
The three high priests watched their
victims last struggles with grave detachment.
Around them the dancers had halted, facing inward. Peter saw avid faces and averted faces, the gloaters
and the sickened, and some who looked upon the ghastly death of their
fellow-beings with a lack of interest almost more horrifying than the greedy
relish of others.
The wicker form began to crumble as the
flames leaped higher.
The screams diminished
to moans, and ceased.
Amelia giggled.
Peter shuddered and breathed again, gulping
the icy air.
Amelia raised her face to him and said with
a teasing smile, "The last stroke of midnight. Do you realize that I am shockingly
compromised being out here alone with you?
I shall have to marry you after all." She sighed.
Bewildered, Peter gazed around. The druids were fading, becoming
indistinct. Through their dim images
skipped his friends, wrapped in sheets, howling in gleeful amusement. There were Freddy and his brother Ned, and
over there young Bob, and Chris, the last more balloonlike than ever in his
fluttering white drapery. And coming
through the arches, Tommy's lanky shape, last as usual. He'd recognize them anywhere, even with sheets
over their heads.
Ned's spaniel barked and frisked about
their legs as they capered round and round the altar stone, whooping or
cackling as the fancy took them. Chris
tripped over a trailing end of his costume, and Bob's eye-holes went awry, leaving
him blundering blindly. Amelia clung to
Peter's arm and laughed.
"Did you not..." he began
uncertainly, but Freddy pranced up to them and bowed.
The others followed suit. Amelia clapped her hands as they all
disrobed. "That was a splendid show,
gentlemen," she congratulated them.
"It was famous sport; glad you enjoyed
it, Miss Blake." Grinning, Freddy smoothed his ruffled hair and cast a
sidelong glance at Peter. "Well,
we'd best be on our way."
Peter put out a hand to stop him. "I don't suppose you happened to see
anyone else dressed up as ghosts?"
"Lord, no. No one around here but you would think of
such a lark. Come on, fellows. I just hope the breeze hasn't carried off my
best hat."
"I daresay one of the horses has eaten
it by now," Bob suggested.
With a screech worthy of the most unhappy
ghost, Freddy loped off through the arches and the others went after him.
Arm in arm, Peter and Amelia followed. By the time they emerged from the stone
rings, all the young men were mounted—and hatted. Their mounts, it seemed, had graciously
refrained from eating Freddy's best beaver.
The riders waved and cantered off across the grassy plain.
Snap came trotting up to Peter, the gig
bouncing behind him, and nuzzled at his pocket for the lump of sugar he always carried. Peter fed it to him, then handed Amelia into
the gig. Jumping up beside her, he still felt slightly dazed, unsure of what
was real and what was not.
"Did you not see or hear any genuine
ghosts?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice unconcerned, as he
took up the reins and whip and gave Snap the office to start.
"Of course not. I am not quite the ninny you think me, and I expected
something of the sort when you proposed coming up here. They did it very well,
but no one could possibly mistake your friends for genuine ghosts. I hope they did not steal the sheets off
somebody's washing line."
"I gave Freddy the money to buy them from young Mrs. Gregg," he said absently. Thank heaven she had not been aware of the Druids. He would never have forgiven himself for subjecting his beloved to those gruesome sights and sounds. Taking a deep breath, he resolved to try to forget them.
While he was hesitating over how to phrase
his next question, a cold little hand, in a thin silk glove meant for dancing, slipped
into his. He dropped the whip--he never
used it on Snap anyway.
"Peter," Amelia confided, "I
don't really mind being compromised and having to marry you."
"You don't?"
"No. You see, I have loved you ever since you
stopped pulling my pigtails."
"You have? Oh, my darling Melly." The reins joined the whip on the gig's
floor. He gathered her in his arms, and
kissed her thoroughly.
Snap trotted on. When Peter emerged from the blissful embrace
and picked up the reins again, the patient beast merely gave an indulgent
snort.
"So you see," said Amelia,
"the Gypsy woman was quite right about everything, and it was nowhere near
as straightforward as you thought."
(Gypsy, Julie Campbell Doll Artist)
"What do you mean?"
"The stone ring--that was not a
betrothal ring, but Stonehenge. And the
white robes were Freddy and the others in their sheets, though I would not
precisely describe their antics as a ceremony."
Glacial fingers tiptoed down Peter's spine. He had watched a ceremony. "And the ancient place," he said
quickly in a lamentably hollow tone, "was Stonehenge again, of course, not
the church."
"Yes," she agreed, "and my
heart's desire is you."
Naturally he had to kiss her again, and the
warmth of her soft lips thawed his icy dread.
"Let us get married soon," he begged.
"If you wish, but I do hope, Peter,
that you will stop laughing at me for being superstitious."
"Believe me, Amelia," he promised
with utterly convincing fervour, "never again shall a single skeptical
word cross my lips!"
********
********
https://candidcanine.blogspot.com/2020/10/halloween-in-miniature-happy-halloween.html
