The Little Old Garden Shed Workshop At Waterperry Gardens - A Further Taster Of What To Expect!

Photo taken by Robin of Waterperry Gardens in the summer of 2010.

THE LITTLE OLD GARDEN SHED WORKSHOP

Sunday March 25th

10.30AM - 4.30PM

This little old shed won't just be any ordinary common and garden shed....oh no siree!

It was probably the old wash house or outhouse almost a century ago.... long fallen into ruin..... all that’s left of the original building being the back and a side rendered wall, with some bricks clearly visible where rendering has fallen away. Replacement wooden walls, built so many years before, that now they too show signs of disrepair. The rusty corrugated iron roof (instead of a once tiled roof), rickety old door and weather-beaten window all just about keep the rain out. Even some of the contents could well have originated from decades ago....

We hope to bring you photos of a finished shed shortly but from the above you can gain a flavour of what we will be making at this, our first all day workshop.....something truly wonderful indeed.

WE NOW ONLY HAVE 6 MORE SPACES AVAILABLE FOR THIS UNIQUE ALL DAY WORKSHOP AT A VERY SPECIAL VENUE - WATERPERRY GARDENS.....BOOK NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT!

Click Here To View More Details

Last Sunday's Workshop....What A Fabulous Day!

We would both like to thank everyone who attended last Sunday's "Down The Little Garden Path Workshops" here in Thame. It was a lovely, lovely day.....very relaxed and very enjoyable.

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Although, yet again we simply ran out of time to complete absolutely everything, we don't think people minded as not only did they have bags and bags of materials to take away, but a concise set of step by step instructions too, so everyone could finish the project at their leisure.

As you can see here from these photos, the ladies truly got stuck into their project and some fascinating conversations ensued amongst the attendees!!

The results of their hard work were very pleasing and we hope that everyone left having learnt something new. Abilities of the ladies attending that day were mixed, ranging from experienced to complete beginner.....which is nice. It is always a joy to see people who start a little nervous, thinking that they will never be able to " do" the project and see the sheer satisfaction on their face as they leave with a wonderful masterpiece!

BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN RAFFLE

As always, we offered refreshments in aid of a voluntary contribution to the Breast Cancer Campaign plus a little raffle in aid of Breast Cancer Campaign. Below you can see two very happy prize winners!

Linda won a 1/12th scale aged wooden seed box with trowel, seed packets, bulbs etc. Kazumi won a 1/12th scale aged stone planter complete with red geraniums.

We are delighted to announce that at this month's workshop we raised a total of £35.34

So thank you ladies for your generosity!!!

Celia & Robin

Breast Cancer Campaign Fundraising

On Sunday at our Down The Little Garden Path Workshop, we will be holding a raffle again in aid of Breast Cancer Campaign (our chosen charity) where all workshop attendees will have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets at £1.00 a time, and will have a choice of two prizes. Both Robin and Celia have donated a raffle prize - the lucky two winners will be able to choose their prize in either 1/12th scale or 1/24th scale.

Robin has made some delightful April Garden Planters which include red geraniums - so the lucky winner will be able to choose from one of these (1/12th or 1/24th) - whichever suits.

Celia has created an old seed box complete with bulbs, trowel and seed packet - again the lucky winner can choose from one of these (1/12th or 1/24th) - whichever suits.

Refreshments in the form of tea, coffee and squash will be offered plus biscuits - all we ask in return is for a voluntary contribution to Breast Cancer Campaign.

At our first workshop in June, we managed to raise just over £44.00 on the day. Lets hope we can raise a nice tidy sum for the charity again on Sunday.

Final Preparations For Next Sunday's Workshop!

Both Robin and I have been making the final preparations for our workshop that is taking place in a few days time, on Sunday September 18th. Down The Little Garden Path Workshop will be our second project and we are both looking forward to meeting those of you who have booked to attend.

The vintage cold frames are now made up - it was decided that due to lack of time (big problem at our first workshop) and for ease, that cold frames would be pre-assembled so attendees can concentrate on painting them instead.

Your cold frame will look like this by the time you have finished - you will have great fun too filling it!!!

Each kit will be supplied with a tiny garden fork, handle painted up to look weathered and well used. Above, you can see that a piece of foam came in extremely handy to stand them in whilst painting them up. Bit of a surreal sight!

Finally the tiny vintage seed packets (leeks) have been made up ready as a final finishing touch for the little scene.

Hope this has tempted your tastebuds!!!

Celia

Just to say that we still have a couple of places left spare and there is still time to book up for this workshop if you would like to make a last minute decision. There are enough spare kits so simply give Robin or I a ring or email, to reserve a space then the booking form, payment etc. can be arranged.

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK TO VIEW OUR CONTACT DETAILS

http://www.miniatureworkshops.com/Contact_Us.html

Making Compost ......And Other Jobs.

So - as our workshops are all about an imaginary little old garden - it stands to reason there's work to be done!!

Gardening is like that!

Down the Little Garden Path is the second in our series of workshops and as this one is looming rapidly...... (Sunday 18th September), you can imagine we are busy putting kits together.....partially assembling cold frames, making miniature compost and printing instructions.

This won't be the most exciting photograph you've ever seen....but it does indicate that everything is coming together nicely.....

There was a cat - he's called Sam - in the picture, but it didn't seem terribly professional to include him, so he's been cropped out and is complaining like mad!!

We do still have a few places available on the September workshop.  Please see the website for full details. 

www.miniatureworkshops.com

Now to check on the cold frames......

Thank you for looking.

Celia and Robin

Featured In Dolls House & Miniatures Scene Magazine!

If you take a look at the brand new issue of Dolls House & Miniatures Scene magazine (Oct No 208) that has just come out in the shops, you will find on pages 34 and 35 a feature on our very first workshop in June and how this whole "Nostalgia In Miniature Workshops" initiative was conceived.

If you came to our workshop in June, there are some photos we took on the day so you may see yourself in the magazine!

Also, you will see at the end of the article that if you sign up to Dolls House & Miniatures Scene Magazine email newsletter before September 14th, you have the opportunity to win a free space on our October 23rd half day workshop - Over The Little Garden Fence Workshop - which is our first June workshop repeated all over again.

Weathered old cold frame, old fashioned crazy paved path, compost bin, slug eaten hostas, pansies, old garden fork, old seed packet plus various foliage as seen above, are what we will be creating at our September workshop.

Meanwhile, just to say that we only have 5 more spaces available for our Down The Little Garden Path Workshop that is taking place on the afternoon of September 18th. If you would like to book a place please do get in touch with either Robin or Celia asap. It is advisable to either email or ring one of us first to confirm availability then a reserve can be placed whilst deposit/booking form is being sent.

Our full contact details can be found under Contact Us on our workshop website.

Celia & Robin

www.miniatureworkshops.com

The Little Path in 1/24th Scale

In the last blog we showed you some of our preparations.......seems fair to show the results in the 1/24th version of 'Down the Little Garden Path' !


As we offer our little old garden projects in both 1/12th and 1/24th scales we create the 'show gardens' in both scales as well. Like any other miniatures, the two scales offer different opportunities and different challenges. In 1/12th scale it's possible to include more specific details - like individual petals on tiny flowers perhaps, while in 1/24th the challenge is to create even more of an illusion in such a small space. As always each garden will be just that little bit different!


Again we've used the fabulous purple pansy kits - in 1/24th scale - supplied by Georgina Steeds and although they are tiny and delicate, they are truly so easy to assemble. The wonderfully authentic 1930's cold frame with the sliding lid is only 1 1/2inches square and the tiny hosta leaves still have nibbles made by the slugs on them......mmmm....the slugs are a bit of a challenge!


This is the second Workshop in the series and as you'll see the garden projects can stand alone or join together alongside an existing house.
There are some places still available to book on both the September and October half-day workshops and all the details are on the website, together with more pictures.


'Over the Little Garden Fence' and 'Down the Little Garden Path'

Thank you for looking.
Celia and Robin