Happy New Year My Friends

Have I been nice..?? 0_o

I have so mixed feelings about this time of the year.. Don't know anymore if I love it or hate it or what... Mostly I don't know how to feel..

In other words - I'm torn between being happy + delighted and then guilty..
 For many year now my Christmas joy has badly been impaired by the bad conscience and guilt - of course like many people do - I feel happy when I get presents, but nowadays it dims immediately cause right after I feel so bad and guilty for other to have spent so much on me..

That's what the years of financial problems have done to me - they have taken the joy of receiving from me.. And giving me the guilt of not been able to give them much back..
It sucks and is SO FRUSTRATING having to always think about such boring thing as money :/

(Ah... To have a day without worrying.. What a treat that would be.. )

I guess I just need to REALLY learn, that even I am worth of getting the gifts I get.. when ever I get them..

Well - this has been emotionally quite hard year for me, so apparently Santa thought I needed some cheering up.. And apparently I have been (A LOT) nicer than I thought..
Let's keep our finger crossed that it means that I'll have a good miniature year next year...

Here's all the goodies Santa brought me (well-earned or not...)

My youngest son gave me this - isn't it nice!

Width: 74 cm
Height: 40 cm (without the decorative part)
Room height: 17.5 cm
Room Width: 22.5 cm
Room depth: 17 cm

From my eldest son I got these...

The gold-colored decorative sand..

 ... some diamond stickers

...lovely ribbons...

 ... and some glitter glues.

My hubby spoiled me with many thing too..

 As soon as I saw these in my head it started to play " I only have eyes for you.." *lol*

I LOVE Moomin-books and have been thinking for some time that would it be silly (too childish) to wish some of them for gift - sort of inspirations means in mind...

+ there were more books (not miniature related) and of course chocolate and other sweets too...

.. and THIS ONE

An other room box kit!!

So now I can make both the Bunny box AND the Christmas scene to our shops window.

Needless to that I've been trying to bawl my eyes out for getting so many wonderful gifts..

Icing on my Christmas was to know, that I had won in Jodi's  draw..  A stroke of luck I still can not believe in..
(Although I opened it only on Christmas Eve - I'm a bit of a masochist and like to torture myself every now and then *grin* )
There was also the thrill of wondering if it will make it's way to me on time - and on my second last working day before Christmas a post woman walk in to my work and gave it in to my hand..

Here are the lovely treasures I got.. (and there are way better pictures in her blog )

I barely got the box opened and this out when Lily Luna shouted that A-reservation is for her - but we'll see how it goes...

I have a thing about hutches or what ever you may call them and different kinds of shelving...  I absolutely LOVE them - I have literally hundreds of inspiration pictures collected about them over the years I've been doing my miniatures - and most of them - as you probably guessed are in a witchy theme.. I think I could easily make a house that is decorated/ fit up with only them... Well maybe few witchy tables too :))

Oh... Just look at these fabulous things!! Who would love getting them - one of my happiest moments of this year, that's for sure.

I don't know whether to keep this as an ornament as it is - or to make is as a dolls house to my Christmas box..

Isn't this a beautiful Gingerbread House!

Here is both with and without flash (note; the background in ALL the pictures is in reality that blue one)

I don't know if these all should be treated as rugs, but I think the smallest would be a lovely   tablecloth - and the one with those gingerbread girl and boy figures in it would look nice on a wall..

Few laughs because of these - well mainly the elves in sauna and that Santa in outhouse..

I felt like Gollum as I opened the box.. Gently taking thing out of their wraps and eyes gleaming - only thing missing were the words - " My precious"  - and I was nearly there *grin*

Oh Jodi!
What a thrill your package brought! And what a joy to receive all these amazing goodies.
There aren't enough words to tell my feelings..
So I'm simply going to settle for...

Last Flea Market finds..? + Merry Christmas To All (^^)

This years last (??) trip to flea market...I didn't intend to buy anything - I was just picking up my youngest son from shopping and cause I hadn't been in that place for some time - I "had to" look around...

I managed to spend only less than two euros this time - so I think I'm forgiven for my slip *grin*

 Candle cuff with few pumpkins - I have decided that next year I get a Halloween scene made and these will look awesome with some skeletons :)

 More candle cuffs - just little paint on them and they will be perfect flowers... I think..

These little guys I thought would be perfect for Christmas scene in Santa's room - they are originally flowerpot decorations - they had some wire in their bottom, but I pulled it away... they have some crepe paper cloths on them as you can see..

These are not from flea market - they are from our Christmas lights outside, my daughter, "tore" them out cause they were dirty and some of them were already missing/ fallen off and she brought them to me to use in my miniature making..
I think they will be perfect as Potion bottles - you agree??

And now, To All My Blog-land Friends...

Christmas "card"

I got myself last week a little Christmas inspiration - let's just say it came and it went..

Because of it I made a Christmas "card" to a shop owner next to our shop - we've known her for about the same time as we have had our shop (May Day will will became 13 years from it) - so she has become a kind of a friend to us..

Anyway - as I said... I made something little for her - she like miniatures too, so I thought she might like it..

Here's my "card" ( - I promised to someone I show it here  - so here it is.) Hope you like it..

 "Stripped" version for photography... Printed wall - and floor papers from net and glued them to pieces of cardboard to make the base..

 The mirror is made from the pizza box bottom and from a wooden tablecloth's strips and some sequins and pearls.
"fancy" little table is made from the pieces of cardboard and ribbon, painted with  nail polish - candle is a strip of paper wrapped around the sewing thread + glued to the pearl.. The tablecloth is a small Christmas craft decoration - I think its wool or something like that..

 Chair is made from the pattern I found here .
It's made - surprise, surprise... Cardboard and painted with nail polish.. Made few gift paper rolls and gifts from prints from net.. The chair's "pillow" is paper print too.

 Tree I didn't make - I just decorated it with a piece of the the golden ribbon thing I found from flea market (picture below) and some sequins + beads

 Wreath is made by wrapping velvet yarn around cardboard disk (like hat brim - you know...) and same kind of ribbon as in the Christmas tree, but in silver  - I used same heart sequins as in the tree, but with red beads..
And little angel decoration is trying to be like cherry on the cake ;)

This is how is looks as finished.
I added the elf picture to the wall so it wouldn't look so empty - and lastly I made a lantern too..
There was also a little card we I wrote merry Christmas wishes and it had mine and hubby's signatures in it..

(Now as I look at the pictures I think I maybe should have added some garland or what ever to the upper edge - but that's too late regarding this)

Later she told me she had it on her sales counter next to her cash register the whole week and there had been two customers whom would have wanted to buy it.
So I guess it's safe to say, it was liked. And certainly one of a kind version *grin*

Here's some flea market finds I forgot to show you last time (pictures were in a wrong place..)

 These are small Christmas decoration ball stuff, but to me they are laboratory supplies..

A whole bag of snowballs ;)

Ribbons... beads - LOVE the snowflakes... nail polish, color was so nice I had to take it.. some embroidery thread and knitting needles for miniature making purposes..

And I saved from work for my own use this..

It's a boot from a Santa costume - we had an odd package where there was three of them instead of two. So I took it to use it to make something nice in miniatures - book covers, clothes who knows - time will tell..

Kirpputorilla.. pitkästä aikaa - - - At the flea market... after a long time

Hieman parempi viikko ollut tähän mennessä... (Uskaltaisiko olla niin hupsu, että toivoisi käänteen parempaan tulleen vastaan..)
So far, a little better week... ( might I be so stupid that I'd dare to think that a turn for the little better has happend...)

Maanantaina pikainen pyörähdys kirpputorilla...  On Monday, a quick spin on a flea market...

Tässä mitä löysin... Here's what I found..

 Nämä nauhat oli niin nätin värisiä, että pakko ne oli mukaan napata..
(ja hei! paljettinauhaa on noin 1,88 cm ja tuota toista 1,95 cm ja kummankin hinta vain 10 senttiä!)
These strips were so pretty colored that they were forced to grab on..
(And hey! the sequin strip is about 1.88 cm long and that other about 1.95 cm long and they each cost only 10 cents!)

 Piippurasseja nallejen tekoon..
Pipe cleaners for making teddy bears..

 Nämä napit hankin alunperin yhtä vaatettani varten, mutta siihen tarvittiin niitä vain 4 kpl joten lopuille täytyy varmaan yrittää keksiä miniatyyri käyttöä..
These buttons were originally for my one garment, but only 4 pieces were needed, so the rest should probably try to come up with a miniature use..

 En tiedä millä nimellä tätä pitäisi kutsua..
I don't know what name this should be called..

.. mutta kuusien ja kranssien koritetta se minulle on. Ja 60 sentin hinnalla tuosta saa riittää moneen hetkeksi aikaa
.. but Christmas tree and a wreath decorations for me it is. And for 60 cents, that's enough for a quite some time I think

 Löysin myös Halloweenia varten materiaalia
I also found a material for Halloween

 Joitain helmiä taikaliemi pullojen tekoon.
Same beads for making potion bottles.

Tulevaan Pupu-roomboxiin löysin takan teko materiaalia
To the future Bunny -roombox I found material for making the fireplace

Kehys vain puoliksi ja "tiilet" sisään.. Minusta tuo on täydellisen levyinen..
Just half the frame and "bricks" inside.. I think that's the perfect width..

Huonoa omaatuntoa rauhoittelin sillä, että monen kuukauden jälkeen minulla on oikeus "tuhlata" alle 7 euroa "turhuuteen"
I relieved my guilty conscience with fact, that after many months of not going anywhere I had the right to "waste" less than 7 euros for "vain things"

Keskiviikkona "piti" käydä vielä uudestaan kirpparilla *punastuu* - maanantaina ei ehtinyt kaikkea katsella..
On Wednesdays, "had to" visit again at the flea market* blushes* - on Monday I just didn't have time to watch everything..

Nämä lähtivät mukaan siltä reissulta...
These are what I found then...

 Näille paperiliittimille löytyy varmasti jotain käyttöä..
These paper clips are sure to have some use..

 Pari tapettirulla palaa tuli vastaan..
A couple of the wallpaper roll ends came against..

Tämän otin ihan siksi, että se on minusta täydellinen Pupu boxin lattiaksi..
I took this just because it seems to me the perfect floor for the Bunny Box..

Tiistaina sain "Naamakirjassa" ilmoituksen, että olin voittanut askarteluliike Sinellin arvonnassa joulukortti askartelupaketin! 0_0

On Tuesdays, I received the announcement in the Facebook, that I had won a Christmas card making package for the craft business Sinelli in their draw! 0_0

Ja se tuli jo eilen!  - - - And it arrived yesterday!

Tässä mitä voitin... - - - Here is what I won..

 Iso kuori..   - - -  Large envelope..

 25 vihreää + 25 punaista korttipohjaa + ja kuoret niihin..
25 green + 25 red cards + and envelopes in them..

 .. jouluteksti tarroja...  - - - .. Christmas text stickers..

 .. ja jouluisia kuvia - isommat kortteihin..
.. and christmas pictures - the bigger ones for the cards ..

.. pienemmistä teen varmaan tauluja nukkekotiin..
... I'll probably make from the smaller ones some paintings to put on dollhouse..

Hankin myös tyttärelle ja miehelle joulukalenteri arvat - isäntä ostaa itse pojalle. Minä raasu olen nyt sitten talossa ainoa joka joutuu olemaan ilman joulukalenteria :'(

Tulee totisesti olemaan outoa olla ilman kalenteria, kun niin monena vuotena on sellainen ollut..
No ensi vuonna sitten... JOS hyvin menee..

I also got for my daughter and hubby  a Christmas calendar scratching lottery tickets - hubby is buying the same for our younger son himself. And now I am the only poor one in the house who will be without a Christmas calendar : '(

It sure will be odd to be without the calendar, after so many years of having one..
Well, next year then ... IF all goes well..