Christmas Came Early

Last week the wonderful Lorraine of Fairy Meadow Miniatures sent me a message to let me know she was sending me a surprise.  I was thinking it was so generous of her to send maybe one or two small items.  Then the delivery guy showed up with this:

Once I'd picked my eyeballs up off the floor I opened up this massive parcel to find two boxes absolutely stuffed with wonderful things!

There were kits for all kinds of furniture and embroidered cushions, rugs, all maner of furniture (including the kitchen sink!) and so many little accessories.  There was a set of brass scales (of which Piers the Apothecary has been in dire need).  There were plates of food and ceramic jugs.  Even a wired outdoor light.  Every time I thought there couldn't possibly be anything else squeezed into the boxes something else new and exciting emerged.  There was probably enough in those boxes to furnish and accessorise an entire three story house!

I can't thank Lorraine enough for this bounty of wonderful and infinately useful items.  This is absolutely the best and most appreciated present I have received, possibly ever, but certainly since the Christmas I received a Magic Moves Barbie (hey, it takes a lot to top a doll whose arms move by themselves!  And there's a thought, how come no one makes a 1 /12th scale doll you can wire into the houses electrics so that when you switch on the lights the doll will start drinking tea or flipping the pages in a book?).

Even the empty boxes were enjoyed by Charlie who sat in them and proceeded to shred the cardboard.

Included was this package of books.  I have to admit my first thought on seeing them was 'Oh no, not more books!' having made so many over the past few weeks, but it didn't take long for an idea to form. . . .

I glued the books into a crazy stack and added the victorian cookbook stand that came free with the current Dolls House and Miniature Scene magazine to create this bookstand.  The book displayed on the stand was made from a free printie glued ontop of several layers of plain paper aged with some tea and cut to size which were in turn glued onto a piece of thin leather.

The bookstand only just fits into the Library now the rest of the furniture for the room has been made.

The canopied desk sits at the end of the centre row of shelves.  It has a sloped writing surface and plenty of shelves both above and below the writing slope to store such neccesities as bottles of ink and even more books.

Another open book made in the same way as the book on the stand sits on the writing slope.  Spare scrolls, books and a crystal ball have been piled on top of the canopy above the desk.

For the back corner of the room is this wing chair made from balsa wood with bought oak legs and upholstered with blue satin.  The celestial pattern on the fabric seemed perfect for a wizard's library, I just wish I could have srunk it down so you got more of the pattern on the chair.

To help reach those high shelves there is this set of library steps.  They are again balsa wood with a staircase spindle and some small brackets.

If this chair at the front of the room looks at all familiar, that's because I stole it from the Witch Shop; there were always too many chairs in the reading room anyway and I think the chair looks much more at home in the Library.

The firebox for the fireplace has been started, but still needs work.  The back is cardboard with a thin metal scrapbook decoration and polymer clay lion's head glued ontop.  The front is formed from wire mesh between two short turned posts.

Now you've come to the end of my blog for another week, please everyone (at least those of you in Australia) go and pay a visit to Fairy Meadow Miniatures.  You may not end up overwhelmed by freebies, but you certainly won't be disappointed by the service.