All change!

(Apologies to anyone who reads all my blogs as this appears (with minor changes) in them all)


I have just spent the best part of today re-jigging all my photo albums for my Blogs .  It was prompted by Google telling me I was running out of room.  This led to having a grand sort out.  On the one hand it was great to have all the new (purchased!) room, on the other hand it was a load of work re-assembling various folders to share with you.  Whatever web album storage I look at, it never seems to do what I want it to do, which is simply to replicate my photo collection as it is in my computer.  The major problem is (with Google web albums and others) that I can't nest folders within folders as I would like to and I end up with a bunch of small folders all jostling for position.  I then have to rename them all so that they will clump together in some logical way.  For example all the albums to do with any of my miniatures need to start with the same word, so they've become  - yup! - Minis.  This doesn't make files particularly simple to construct and probably not that easy to find.  I promise I have done my best with a duff system.

The re-jig means that any blog prior to this date which has a link to an album will be defunct.  I am sorry for that but it would have always been so at some stage.  I was already having to remove the older albums to make room for the new ones.  Hopefully, with all the extra space I now have, the future links will last a lot longer.  

On the whole it will be fine.  When I write a post and create a new album or add photos to an existing one I will give you the link.  You won't have to go hunting and searching for it.  Additionally, if at any time you are visiting  the blog and just want to find something not being written about you can click on the link in the right-hand column labelled  All albums  and that's where you will end up.  When you get there if you click on the drop down arrow of the 'Sort By' option where it says Album Date you can select Album Title instead.  That puts them all in alphabetical order (obviously!) and should make it much easier to find what you want.  The first clump of albums is Clavering then a bunch of Garden albums then a mass of Minis.

Happy wanderings.

Birthday Treats

Just a few more things to add to the Chocolat collection box . They were bought with my birthday pennies when we visited California.  The story of the trip will be in Clavering at the end of the month and the details of the dolls house part of the trip is in Bentleys. 

I love the doilies and have done for a long time, so these were a treat.  The syringe is for piping decorations on the cakes and chocolates I hope to make - assuming I make them and assuming this syringe works for that - lot of assuming going on here.  Sorry I didn't take the hasp and padlock out of the bag - hope you can see it if you click on the photo as it is very nicely in scale.  This is for the outside toilet door probably.  As for the senior squished up the corner.  You might not know it but this is Judi Dench!  Well it is the resin figure I shall have sat at the counter drinking chocolate as in the movie.  I hadn't seen her before so was happy to acquire her.  She was just a tad pricey at $14.99.  I suspect I will now see a zillion of her for five bucks.  

The flesh is weak ....

I know Chocolat is at least a year away from needing any of this but there are times when you have to buy something because it may not appear again.  This stuff from Miniatura is a case in point.

The fantastic shelves were each under a fiver and they are unfinished Jiayi so are really nicely made.  If they don't get used in Chocolat they will go on to Starfish Cottage beautifully. 

Similarly with my only doubtful purchase of the day.  The wire corner shelf caught my eye as it was a bargain.  It is House Works and cost me about three pounds fifty.  Being a bargain is a bad reason to buy something.  I don't think I like the wire stuff when I get a chance to consider it.  Another show I went to ages ago I bought a bird cage and a coat stand in wire and ended up selling it on through EBay at a loss.  I hope this one doesn't go the same way.  Again it (maybe?) has a use in one of my future projects.

Everything else I just love.  The earthenware jug with a glazed inner neck was in a one pound jumble bag of six pieces from the charity stand.  They are always good for little treasures.  Sadly I couldn't get near it as it was one of the first I came to in the morning when I arrived and everywhere was pretty crowded.  By the time it had thinned out so had I and, I suspect, so had the little treasures, so I never went back. I was happy to have snared this and a couple of other things which are going in Bentleys.

The jars, trays, copper lidded cake boxes, cake stand and doilies were, again, all terrific bargains and without a doubt will be needed.  Truly too good to miss

The silicone mould at the front is for making those Belgian shell-shaped chocolates you can buy.  Hope I can crack on and make a load of chocolates as good as the ones on the silver tray.  How someone does the level of detail they do on these I can't imagine.  Even less am I able to imagine I am going to be able to do it.  Click on the photo to enlarge it so you can see.

The Easter chocolate basket is just what I want for the window display.  It is perfect and only six pounds.  The tray of fudge and the éclairs came from another favourite of mine - Delph.  Not someone you'd think of first for this sort of thing.

I nearly forgot to mention the little bird box, too good to leave behind for eighty pence.

What a great day I had. 

Printies

I bought these wonderful 'printies' from a Belgian lady at Miniatura yesterday.  She does masses of stuff ranging from single sheets to ones like these.  This was probably called Boulangerie (?)  It has four sheets of fantastic things - pictures, tiles, beautiful little boxes and even doilies - masses and masses of stuff.  I only hope I can do them justice when I come to use them.

I can't find an on-line shop of any sort for her but if you Google Trezoort Jes you will find links to her stuff.  I should have looked harder to see if there was something for the Chocolaterie part of my shop. I hope to see her at another show some time.  

Already gathering stuff

Strictly speaking this is my 2013 project. How crazy is that? That said it won't be possible to not buy things which I know will be useful when I see them. In that vein here are the first items for Chocolat.




The hot glue gun is pretty much for everything not just Chocolat but the Fimo and moulds are to make chocolates. It would cost an arm and a leg to buy them ready made in the amount I need to fill a chocolate shop so I have got to have a go at making them. If I fail the moulds can be sold on and I will only be down the price of two packets of Fimo so, not a big deal.

These are three E-Bay buys particularly for this project. The Egyptian figure is just going to have to pretend to be a Mayan. I bet if I paint his skirt he'll look less Egyptian(?)

He will be the equivalent of the cigar store Indian in my shop and will be a major piece of display somewhere. I don't think I mentioned the shop will be called Chocolaterie Maya.




The scales are so pretty and they actually work. They are a little oversized for the scales being used in the shop, but they will look absolutely lovely in the centre of the (sexy grown-up) window display. I am thinking I might fill the pans with (1/12th) cocoa beans and cocoa nibs or powder. I haven't figured out how that will happen just yet.




As I have two shop windows in Maya, the other window will be more child friendly and have an Easter/Spring display, hence the silver rabbits.




.... and so it begins .....

Bonjour Chocolat!

Say hello to my new baby - Chocolat.

This was an EBay purchase for sixty pounds which we have just picked up today from Nottingham. 

This will be my Summer 2013 project, so there won't be very much being added here/there until then.

As the Blog header says it is (probably) going to be a French Chocolaterie inspired by the book and the movie Chocolat.

O'Rourke's owner very kindly gave me the stables which goes with this shop.  I can't use it alongside the shop which is what it is designed for because it makes the building too wide to find in a space in my tiddly home.  With a half a day's thought on what should I do with it I think it will be a beach cottage .... think New England/Laura Ashley/Ikea - now there's a muddle to sort out.