End of an other year...

Setback after setback... Not many happy events - that's what my year has been..

Feel I have nothing to wait in my life.. No Christmas calendar swap this year - nothing mini related.. And no hope of getting any on Christmas too... No matter how much I wish I would get just something small from that area... but no hope to see it come true - way things are.. #sigh#

Blue... That's the main color of this year.. Wish I could find somehow my way back to magical land of miniatures..
I wish I could find my spark - my inspirations...

Lost my way.... I wish I know how to find it

I wish and hope that new year will be brighter to me.. And I hope it will bring miniatures back in my life

A new little "friend"..

Well... We got through one of our high seasons at work - next is Easter, so now I have a small piece of quieter time at hand.

I celebrate it by visiting the flea market (how else *grin*)
And of course I found something - like I would leave from there empty handed - very unlikely *heh*

So all is needed now is the spark that gets me to really  make minis :/

This is some kind of tablecloth / napkin thing and as you can see, it's made from Wooden buttons or disks what ever that is..
Well I immediately so in it load up on material for making flat Potion "bottles" and with small leather band strips they can easily turn out as wineskins or those water bottle things you see in old westerns - don't you think so??

2mm knitting needles and crochet hook went along with too..

This rooster I had to take too - I'm going to try and make him a cart/wagon and some Easter thing on it..
I think I should paint him too - just don't know what paint to use... maybe just good old nail polish..

This little teddy is for the Santa's workroom - box..

 This I took only as for material to make some pillows or tablecloths.. It's 28 x 29 cm and cost only 10 cent - so I think it was a good deal..

 And 6 about same size napkins with 1 euro... I thought I would try some stitching this year.. Pillows or tablecloths/curtains or something - so these are materials for it..

 Some kinds of beads -  thought they would make nice jar lids..

Some pretty buttons - for lids or something..

And then... just when I was about to leave, I took one more peek in the toy shelves - I had just found the teddy and rooster and thought there was nothing else for me to see..

I was turning my back and then I thought - what was that light blue glimpse that I saw in the corner off my eye??

And there in the at the far corner of the shelf - behind the other pair of goods hidden - was a pair off little "button eye" that staring at me - there was IT..
15 centimeters of pure cuteness, made out of some velvety fabric that it's really soft - it was love at first sight for me - and ONLY 20 CENTS!! 0_0

Just look at that face :)  Who could resist it? I know I couldn't - didn't even try (^^)

Oh I know some would call me silly - that I've lost few of my marbles or that not all the Moomins are in the valley and so on.. But I don't mind - it brings a smile on my face just to look at it and there aren't many things nowadays that do that - so I don't care what others think, it's my cutie and I love it.

For some reason it had its hands sewn stick to its stomach, but I cut the stitches off so it can move its arms and it's easier for me to dress it when I get some clothes to it..

I think I'm going to call it my little boy Blue :)  What do you think - would plain Blue be a good name for him???

He was with me at work yesterday -  sat on my craft bag making himself comfortable :)

 A warm place for him in my mittens

Doesn't he look cozy??  (^^) 

You might see him more often from now on... Time will show if his's a photobomber or not.

Since we lost our furry little Tikru-boy my cat Pilkku has been very close to me - he has been more cuddly to me - not many place at home where he wouldn't follow me around and this is what happens in the mornings as I go to bathroom

This is his face when I try to command him to jump off the sink - like he would say "Are you talking to me??" (^^)

Isn't he a cutie too?? (^^)  
Can't be very angry at him, he's just too darn cute to be yelled at. If you show him the door he just comes and sniffs your hand and then banging his head/marks your hand and jumps back and you end up laughing him - and then you carry him off to get your hands washed :))

I love both of my cat's but I think Pilkku is at the head by a whisker - he's more cuddly and social than Muru.. But they both have their own specialties they know to use to melt my heart - as all cat owners know..

Wish my girl would get along with him and hubby's cat better :(

Love my girl's color. Muru is the only this colored in our house and she's so pretty

Maybe thing get better when I get my financials in such order that I can take her to vet - she's not yet been cut, can't afford to do it yet, but live in the hope that she'll calm herself after gets her operation done..

Although we have been thinking that should we or should we not made one brood/litter for her before it..
The older we get the more cat crazy we seem to become..

I wonder will this be the year I would really get the courage to ask some one to make a swap or two with me... ?? Every time so far it has always ended up that I get a big bunny in my pants and don't even dare to ask cause I don't think my works are good enough.. and then I'd start asking about myself that who would seriously want any on my works... I'm too good at downing myself..
Nope... don't think it'll happen anytime soon...

My and Blue are off to think about what kind off clothes he should have and what color should they be so that he looks the best..

Lost our little furry friend...

A sad day to us today...

We lost our little furry Friend Tikru..

We don't know what happen - we took him to a vet this morning - all was fine and he was vivid, lively oneself - except that for unknown reason, that he didn't get his number 2 done..

We took him to vet once before cause he just stopped making number 2 - he didn't look ill in anyways and the vet didn't find anything wrong with him - his anal ulcers were full, but that's all she found..

She gave us a laxative medicine prescription to try and said that maybe we should try to offer him more moister food..

He was all normal playful and lively himself - but no number 2..

So today in the morning we took him to vet again after talking with the vet on the phone.. So that she could do more examination to maybe fins out what was wrong with him..

Thankfully our daughter lives near the veterinarian reception, so the vet took him to her care like at first time..
Then about maybe half hour before we close our shop she phoned that she thinks there's something wrong with him - apparently he didn't recovered from medication like he did last time - he had "screamed" in some way and he couldn't stand or walk and had started to get some kind of convulsions or something...

Shortly after that call she call in a panic that she thinks that he's not breathing  anymore...

It just broke my heart to see him lying on the floor like that :¨( :¨(

He wasn't our only cat, but he was our baby-boy and every bodies friend and no he's gone...
My Pilkku cat lost his best friend - and to see him search for his friend and little brother..

Goodbye Tikru...
You will be missed.....

I won...

Well - actually I came in third, but I won a prize :)

In the Paper Minis competition- if you remember..
I do admit I did spent quite a lot of my time going through http://www.paperminis.com pages  and dreaming of what would I choose IF I ever would get so lucky, that I would get to the top three..

There wasn't many  participants this year, but never the less I got to the top three ! - a real dream come true moment for me and I won  $25 worth of Paper Minis kits!!
And boy was I thrilled about it.. (^^)

Took quite a while to make a decision for what would I pick...  I know I wanted some books - I just LOVE her books - I mean, just go through those book pages of her's and I guarantee you agree with me... and oh, that Alchemist's Laboratory kit, what would I give to get it! (**) 
... Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you, that I've spent hours and hours just drooling after goodies in there and wishing I could some day have at least some of them as my own... Well now I have!!

Thankfully there were some things in sale which helped quite a lot my decision making..
Boy what it long waiting! But on Monday my treasures arrived :)

A bag full of goodies :)

Here's what I picked..

To my luck the book sets were on sale that time, so I could get them all and didn't have to do the agonizing decision of letting some of them away...
(tried that before I notice they were on sale and it didn't go well - without it I think I would still be thinking what to get *grin*)

 Needless to say that Lily Luna has been clapping her hands every now and then ever since they game and dancing around the house singing "Mine - all mine..La-la-laa"
No point of telling her that there is other takes to them too - she finds it out eventually :)

Cause I had little left to cove the winning sum I also took this - one long time dream too..

Now I'm just waiting the seasonal time to end in our shop that I can concentrate all my energy in their making - I would be more than pissed off if I would ruin them by rushing..

I'm so thrilled I'm barely "keeping in to my pants" *lol*
(I guess "I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself" would be more civilized version of saying it ;) )

I have dreamed of these for so long - that I'm almost too scared to do anything to them (^^)

I'm so hoping that this will mean that in the miniature ways - this will be a good year for me - let's keep our fingers crossed for that ;)

New tools..

I bought myself a couple of new tools which hopefully make it easier for me to work with my miniatures.. if and when I make them..

My hubby gave me a bit of a sarcastic comment of being a "big spender" when he heard that I spend little over 3 euros for my purchases *grin*

I guess I have learned to be quite of a penny-pincher/ scrooge, when it comes to things I buy for myself - but I guess that's what you learn to do when you're short of money all the time..
But hey! It does develop / enhance your imagination, cause you have to use so much trash in your

creations or try to find how to replace things you can't get with others you can, so it's not all just "bad"..

Here are my new helpers..

 This craft knife set I bought cause it cost only 2,90 and it has so many blades to try in different things - don't know if it's any good, but I'm sure it's much better that scissors in some places..

Time will show how many fingers will I lose with the help of these (^^)

This I found from flea market - cost about 40 cents... I think it's some kind of fish spike - the one with you hold your fish in place when you gut it... Not sure, but that's what I think it is...

Nearly left it there in the flea market, but then I started to think, that hey.... that could be neat to keep some little items - like small plant leaves or something like that - in place while I paint them WITHOUT me getting paint or nail polish in my fingers as usually.. Plus I could make/punch holes with the help of it... and I think it's going to be good in making clay things too - veins to leaves, cake crumb making and so on, and so on..

I'm quite sure it will come in handy in many times + I think I won't hurt myself with it as any times as I would say like with needle..

This are my older finds - not quite sure what these are - I assume they are some kind of spoons, but in my eyes they are plate molds.. Have been rolled them in my hands for few days and tries to think where else can I use them..

I did some bead experiments for Potion bottles.. Sorry for low quality pictures :(

- my daughter moved away from home at the begin of the year (have been having some hard times to deal with it, but my cat's have loves it cause they get more attention from me now..) - so I now have to settle for those images I can get with my old mobile, but I guess you get something out of them - do hope so...

 Did some experimenting with labels too and found out, that  din't quite yet got the size right.. Had to do some cutting to get them fit..
Always so hard to find the right scale to print...

But I'll put them in the back corner of my potion hut so they won't be on display so much so they will go well as shelf fillers...

My start of the mini year..

Well... who would have believed it - I know I wouldn't, but I went an did it anyway..
What a way to start a miniature year (^^)

I have taken part in Paper Minis Yearly Gingerbread Competition!!

So IF you are on the mailing list - hope you'll go and give your vote..
And IF I'm very lucky -  some of you might even give your vote to me too *grin*

I encourage you to go and look - and if your not on the mailing list... well wouldn't it be great time to join now ??  - After all, you can't vote or see the works if your not on the list..

You can join in Paper Minis pages http://www.paperminis.com/ 

And hurry up - there's not much time to vote, and I want all the help I can get  (^^)