Basket beginnings

Over the summer I started learning about baskets too, over at Casey’s Minis blog. One day I will have worked my way through her entire amazing blog and will have tried everything in there, but that day is far in the future…

The basket on the left, above, was my very first. I think I'll use it as a bicycle basket - now I just have to add straps. Oh, and get the bike!

These were my next ones. I must have been tired - they look a little blurry...

These are some of my first attempts at faux basketry, and one attempt at a real basket with staves made from index card, then woven with waxed linen. That link is here

 The faux baskets are made very quickly, but the stitching took me a looong time.

Change of Subject...

 I'm all done with mold abatement, and it gave

me a headache too, so that's not something I'll undertake again. I'm just going to replace the interior walls and dry and seal he inside of the shell. Yesterday while I was recovering from the headache I made doll shoes!

I just used craft foam, scissors and glue, and it was a pretty rough first draft, but it was fun, and I'm thinking about the next pair...

 Here they are on Pia's feet. She was a very patient foot model. With not very much forethought, I was fitting them on her while she had stockings on, so now they are a little loose. But they stay on, and she can stand in them alright.

Too bad they don't go with her outfit!

A Little Progress

Got started and found myself in a wonderland of glue - thankfully all water soluble, but lots of scrubbing

 All that wallpaper is gone now. It had printed on the edge "The Peddlar's Shoppe", a long gone hobby shop (at least, the only "Peddlar's Shop"pe I can find online is a bike shop) I suspect from the seventies, helping me to date this house.  Could have been a kit...

 Pulled out both stairwells. This is by far the worst of the mold - I am now thinking about replacing this wall. At this point though, I had just scrubbed it with vinegar -that's what's in the bucket.

 Next I coated it with hydrogen peroxide and let it sit for 20 minutes. The problem of course is the porous surface - nothing safe will penetrate and kill the mold all the way down in the substrate.

                                     This was after the peroxide:

As you can see, not too much difference.

Lots of research about mold today - the next (and last) thing I tried was tea tree oil. The concentration was a little higher than 1 tsp: 8 oz.
This was after the tea tree oil. I actually think it was slightly better, but I'm not too thrilled with the results, so I think I'm just going to replace that side.

Stupid mold.

Guilty guilty guilty!

Where have I been? Well, I have been mired in life I suppose, and not particularly disposed to sharing about it. Sorry about that! Honestly, living is so time consuming! Then taking pictures and writing about it is just one more thing.

But here I am, BACK, for the moment, with tons to share about my mini activities. So, let’s begin with my NEW HOUSE!

This one is a Victorian row house, built in someone’s garage, I know not when. I love the stairs and have visions of my little peeps riding down No, I have not yet restored the old house. My little neighborhood grows of its own volition…the stairs on a mattress, and other delightful activities.

( When we were moving my Mom out of her house, I grabbed a crib mattress and rode it down the indoor stairs – very very fun. I could not talk my sister into doing the same – she was just like that when we were little too. Her loss…) 

The new little house has moldy wallpaper, as you can see, and today my project is to take it outside, remove as much wallpaper as I can, scrub the remaining with vinegar and water, let it dry thoroughly in the sun, then see where I’m at. The sun is up, so I must get started…