Our Sealed Bid Auction Winner!

Last week we were delighted to welcome Michelle Rice to Thame when she came to collect our 'On A Cold & Frosty Morning....' vignette, after placing the winning bid in the Sealed Bid Auction.  Michelle  donated the mighty sum of £300 which is being donated to Breast Cancer Campaign. It was a lovely morning for us and a most generous bid, and we wondered if she, like others who contributed so willingly to the fundraising efforts, had a special reason for doing so.

As you can read in her own words, kindly sent to us for publication and to raise the profile of this worthy charity - she has indeed. We were very moved by her words (which we have edited a little for reasons of space and confidentiality) and by her beautiful poem.

Thank you Michelle.

My name is Michelle. I fell hopelessly in love with this tiny frozen back-yard from the moment I first laid eyes on it; when I realised that the money raised by the sale would go to Breast Cancer I decided that I really did have to bid! I can't tell you how much it meant to have the winning bid! Not only had I won something so precious but I had contributed to a cause that means a great deal to me.

You could walk down any street .......and ask people you met along the way and I would guess that all of them would be able to tell about someone special...that they knew, who had been touched by cancer. I have watched friends lose mums and sisters, I have had friends who have won the battle and friends who have lost. I myself have had a scare....the fears that I had ... will never leave me.

Someone close to me, with a beautiful young family has fought off cancer three times and is now having to fight again. It breaks my heart each and every time I look at them and see just how brave they try to be......how heavy the load is to carry.......I'm not deeply religious but every night I pray..... the overwhelming noise that must come to Him every night from people like me all over the world must be deafening.

It is for this reason that this campaign and any like it are so close to my heart. With breast cancer it is so easy to empathize as a woman; women are incredible creatures....mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, partners and friends - we are the supporters, the carers....and so, so much more....when the unthinkable happens, the thing that we all think only ever happens to someone else....

I would like to thank both Celia and Robin, this is something I will treasure forever. They have both done such a lovely thing for such a fantastic cause! I'm not a great writer but I do enjoy it. This poem was inspired by Brian the Blue Tit and the much loved olive (the little tree) whose sacrifice was not in vain!

  

This was the moment she stopped....and paused....

This was the route she walked
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone
Pounding the floor
Each step
Like each beat
Determined, definite, strong

Each day she fought the battles
That would one day win the war
Her war
Her war and her journey
This journey
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone

This was the time when the battle was at its fiercest
The tremendous, engulfing, deafening noise
The voices above the din
Voices of those who relied on her to win
Hers was a heavy step
Her bag was light
But her burden WAS so very heavy
All the noise and commotion had all but drowned out the rest of the world
On her journey
This journey
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone

But

Today was different

This was the moment she stopped....and paused....

Like the tree
She stood motionless
Silent, solid, cold
Fading away into the distance the sound of the struggle and strain
Suddenly
The world sang gently in her ear
The cold hard breeze danced delicately about her face and through her hair.
As she watched him
Tint, vulnerable, fragile
Like an alien in this hostile, frozen, brittle scene
But
A fighter, robust, a survivor
All at once she was looking in a mirror
A mirror that Mother Nature herself held up in front her
A single
Deep
Breath
In
Out
Her moment of epiphany exhaled and displayed in the air around her
There to remind her
She WAS alive
Like him
Tiny, vulnerable, fragile
Like an alien in this hostile frozen, brittle scene
But
A fighter, robust, a survivor

 

And all at once
This small insignificant patch of the world
This small insignificant patch of her world
Dull, mundane, forgettable
That she passed
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone
Became
Spectacular, inspiring, beautiful
A work of art
Every crumpled leaf
Every cracked paving slab
Every thing
And like the frost that claimed every crevice and cranny
She now owned it entirely

This WAS the moment
This is where she would make her stand!
She resumed her post
Head held high
And let out an all mighty battle cry
It rumbled and echoed through her
As she stood in silence
Boadicea would have been proud
She marched onwards
Pounding the floor
Each step
Like each beat
Determined, definite, strong

Yes
Today she was victorious
Today she was very much
Alive!

©Copyright Michelle Rice

THANK YOU TO MICHELLE & TO EVERYONE WHO PLACED A BID

 



Robin & Celia

At Last - Photos Of The 1/24th Scale Shed Prototype!

At long last, we can show you the completed 1/24th scale shed prototype for our next workshop - our first "all day" workshop based at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire.

This has proved more challenging than the 1/12th scale, as we have been trying to find a way of making it easy for those of you who are undertaking this tiny project. Finally we have got it sorted. We think you will be pleased with it.

It is basically the same as the 1/12th scale but in comparison size wise like for like, it is slightly different ie. more space. The components offered will be the same, just different scale.

 

This smaller shed has been given an aged white painted finish with aged black door. On the day, attendees of the workshop will be given several choices of colour variations.....so you will be able to tailor yours to your own requirements.

STOP PRESS....STOP PRESS...STOP PRESS.....

ONE SPACE has unexpectedly become available for a shed project (either scale), so if anyone would like to take up that last space at  The Little Old Garden Shed Workshop at Waterperry Gardens on March 25th.... please get in touch with either of us immediately.

 Celia & Robin

 

Catching Up...on a Lovely Day!!!

We've been talking about it for long enough, so you'll all know that we attended the Thame Dolls House and Miniatures Fair last Saturday, wearing both our KT Miniatures, Coombe Crafts AND Nostalgia in Miniatures hats!!

Felicity and Ron - who organized a most successful and enjoyable day, very kindly made available a table for us to display 'On a Cold and Frost Morning...after the night before' donated by us for a Sealed Bid Auction in aid of Breast Cancer Campaign. The winning bid by Michelle Rice was an amazing and generous £300.00 ...... so a huge 'thank you' to Michelle, to everyone else who also bid  and to Janet Kirkwood, Editor of Dolls House and Miniature Scene Magazine who commissioned it as a 'How To' project in the first place and promoted the auction. Our thanks to wonderful helpers from MTM - the Thame Club who also kept an eye on it (as it whizzed round happily on its little turntable)  while hosting the Tombola, Raffle and Sales Table too. It looks like the final total of monies raised for the charity is going to be terrific.

The fair itself was such a triumph - wall to wall outstanding U.K. artisans of such variety and standard. It does mean that if you're a standholder, and are busy (yes we were, thanks) it's hard to have a browse or say hello to friends - we needn't have worried - so many of our lovely Workshop ladies came to the fair and stopped to have a chat with both us and each other. It was just lovely, and we both enjoyed and appreciated the feedback, new ideas and giggles at past exploits and planning for new ones!! It was a very special day indeed.

Jennie has a great sense of humour - and talent - she's incorporated Robin's dolls into her 1/24th projects.

Now she just needs to make some marrows to go with the Marrow Plant Kit by Georgina Steed that she's made so well!!

Karen's 'Down the Little Garden Path' project - this is lovely - the foxgloves add a unique individual touch. It looks like a golden pumpkin in the cold frame and her pots are filled with plants.

Melanie's very accomplished Christmas workshop project - she's finished off the jumper and longjohns with tiny buttons and added a bag of coal to the coal bunker corner and is raring to go with lots of new ideas for the future we're told!!

As you can see from these photographs, each participant starts with the same kit and instructions on the day,  but then add their own  inspirtional touches, tweak and invent....for us this is what our workshops are all about. We use old techniques with a twist, our own new, individual and tested ones and really simple ordinary materials to show that with a little miniature imagination - whether you are a novice or experienced - anyone can do it!!

We're looking forward to 'The Little Old Garden Shed' at Waterperry Gardens on March 25th - the last in the 'Little Old Garden' series for now, and 'The Little Old Vintage Hall' on April 29th here in Thame at the Girl Guide Headquarters. Please note that we only have one more space available for the April workshop now. If you would like to take up that space, please get in touch with either of us asap.
Robin & Celia

Details of our Workshops can be found on our website - just click HERE

Only 24 Hours Left To Bid Online In Our Charity Auction...Plus Some General Chit Chat!

 

Just to remind you that bidding will close tomorrow evening on Friday 17th February at 18.00pm GMT for all online bidding and postal votes. However, visitors to the Thame Dolls House & Miniatures Fair on Saturday 18th will be able to bid in person.

The whole auction closes at 3.00pm  Saturday and the Town Crier will announce the winning bid just after that time.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AUCTION PAGE

To say that we both have been busy lately is an understatement. With the now impending Thame Dolls House & Miniatures Fair on Saturday at Thame Leisure Centre, our final preparations for our "day job"....aka KT Miniatures and Coombe Crafts has had to take precedent over all else these past couple of weeks.

If anyone is coming to Thame on Saturday, both our stands are in the usual place (next to each other which is always handy) in the Main Hall at Stands No. 29 (Celia) and No 36(Robin). So do come along and say "hi" if you can, would be great to see you.

March All Day Workshop

Preparations for the March workshop at Waterperry Gardens have also been ongoing....kits etc are being prepared too. Can we please remind everyone who is booked on this workshop that your remaining balance is needed to reach us by February 25th. You should have received your information/directions etc. by now through the post. If you have not received yours, please get in touch with Robin or Celia immediately.

A list of items to bring on the day can be found on our website: CLICK HERE

NB. A space has become unexpectedly available for a 1/24th scale project at the March workshop - so if anyone would like to take up this space, please do get in touch with either of us immediately.

Some pics of the little shed at last!

Happy New Year to all our customers.....we hope you had a fantastic festive season.

THE LITTLE OLD GARDEN SHED WORKSHOP

At long last we are able to show you some photos of the 1/12th scale shed for those of you who are booked for our exciting all day workshop at Waterperry Gardens in March. 

Sorry for the delay in getting the pics to you but we wanted to get this all just perfect before we showed you!

We have actually found it quite difficult to plan this project, in order to make it suitable for both beginners and experienced miniaturists alike, and that could be made in the time scale available to us....but we think you will be pleased. We have had such a brilliant time planning and creating it all.

This old shed was the old wash house or outhouse almost a century ago....that long fell 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 added later were built so many years previously that now they too show signs of disrepair. The rusty corrugated iron roof (replacement 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....

Participants of The Little Old Garden Shed Workshop will have a choice of an aged wood colour as seen here or an aged white wood finish,  plus an additional choice of an aged wooden colour, white, black or pale blue door. The kits will come with a ready made up right side and front panel by us so don't panic.....you are not making absolutely everything from scratch! But by having panels already made, it does mean that we can concentrate on teaching various creative techniques that you have not used yet in any of our previous workshops, such as creating old looking rendered walls where some old bricks are exposed......great fun!

Some of the contents of the shed will not be included in the basic kit and have been used for staging only, such as the watering can, sack, bottles on shelf and trug. However instructions, along with materials for  fittings such as table and shelf plus accessories as seen above, will be included.....there will also be landscaping and one or two other little extra goodies as always, included in the kit.

 

We hope to bring you photos of the 1/24th scale prototype shortly, that will be painted in an aged white colour with a coloured door....to illustrate another variation of finishing. Sorry but all spaces are now filled for this workshop. Invoices plus full information will be posted out at the end of January to all those that have paid a deposit. We are both very much looking forward to this Waterperry workshop....hope you are too.

 

Meanwhile, booking is now open for our equally exciting The Little Vintage Hall Workshop that is taking place on April 29th and we currently have plenty of spaces available. So please don't hesitate to contact either of us if you would like to come.

A Happy...Nostalgic.....Christmas!!

Our little Father Christmas seems to have confused the coal bunker for a chimney! Don't worry though....he'll get it right on the night!! Mind you, his longjohns are still drying on the washing line!

The birth of our Nostalgia In Miniature Workshops earlier on this year has been a very exciting venture for us both and we are thrilled with how they have developed.

Maureen has sent us a photo of her lovely garden that she created at our November workshop (thank you Maureen!)

And thank you to everyone who have attended our workshops during 2011....hope you are pleased with your little creations.

We are both very much looking forward to our all day workshop at Waterperry Gardens in March, which is now fully booked.  We are also looking forward to a brand new theme which begins in April. Booking is now open for  The Little Vintage Hall and there are plenty of spaces available so if you would like to come,  please do get in touch.  But for the moment, we are having a few days off over the festive season and will be back in full swing in the first week of January.

So without further ado....we'd like to wish you all a

Very Merry Christmas &  Happy New Year

and hope all your Christmas Wishes come true.

Celia & Robin

Finger Painting At The Sunday Workshop...Plus Booking Now Open For New Workshop!

This last Sunday saw our fourth and last workshop of 2011 - the third in our  Little Old Garden Series. This time we gave Christmas a festive nod so The Little Old Washing Line sported Santa's red longjohns and hat....plus mince pies and mulled wine were the order of the day....lovely!!

Apart from the washing line, the coal bunker was the other 'big' feature and as it was supposed to be an old fashioned pebble-dashed structure we wanted to really bring texture and ageing into it. Lashings of grit and paint, liberally applied with fingers, was just the perfect way and introduced the participants to a new technique, including lots (and lots) of finger painting. Everyone got very messy - result - some great coal bunkers!!

The coal bunkers are getting there...it's all going well......

Maggie brought along her garden from a previous workshop - we all loved her wonderful hydrangeas!!

Just for a change we kept landscaping to a minimum and had fun with fabrics instead - again using some new techniques/tips.The concise folder of instructions and kits, ensures that no matter which stage each participant gets to at the end of the day, they can continue to complete their project at home.

Thank you to Jennie once more for treating us all to some mulled wine and thank you for everyones generosity on Sunday. A further total of £48.61 was raisedfor Breast Cancer Campaign from the refreshments and raffle.

IN FACT....WE ARE DELIGHTED TO TELL YOU THAT THE FINAL TOTAL OF MONEY RAISED FOR BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN AT ALL FOUR OF OUR NOSTALGIA IN MINIATURE WORKSHOPS THIS YEAR COMES TO....

£181.61

A cheque will be winging it's way to the charity later this week. We will continue with our fundraising at the workshops in 2012. (An extra thank you to the gentleman who made a donation on our workshop stand when we saw him at Haddenham Fair a couple of weeks ago).

Well...what a year it's been. Neither of us can quite believe how what was only supposed to be a little workshop venture back in early summer with just a handful of people, has totally mushroomed into what it is now.....NOSTALGIA IN MINIATURE WORKSHOPS. We sincerely hope that those of you who have attended our workshops this year have enjoyed the experience and may come back to see us in 2012. Our March all day workshop at Waterperry Gardens is now completely full......so we have turned our attention to a whole series of workshops with a brand new theme, starting in April.

BRAND NEW WORKSHOP FOR 2012....THE LITTLE VINTAGE HALL

So..without further ado, we would like to announce that booking for our brand new workshop that will take place on Sunday April 29th is officially open!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW DETAILS INCLUDING DOWNLOADABLE BOOKING FORM

Plus there is more about our new "Vintage Hall Series" on the Introduction Page.

Spaces are limited so if you wish to come, as always it is advisable to book early. Please take note about our new payment policy but more about that another time.