December 30, 2023

cr(e)ating the old to make space for the new

When something is late for one occasion, it may be just in time for another. Well, that's what I decided it to be in this case 😉.

It's a crate I started for my Christmas scene yet wasn't able to finish in time (it inspired the title for this post).

But first, let's get out a bottle of red, the one I forgot for Christmas 😊:

I'd like some olives, ham and cheese with that. Oh, and I think there might be some walnuts left too. And who wants Baileys?

how realistic does that cheese, thinly sliced ham and bread look? I don't remember who I bought it from, it was during the Apeldoorn fair several years ago (instead of Arnhem that year). She was from Poland if I'm not mistaken (not entirely sure though). I do remember clearly she was a lovely lady, and very talented as you can see

And what would New Year's Eve be without bubbles? I've put a bottle of Champagne on ice so it will be nicely chilled by midnight (actually, the ice will have melted by then, hahaha 😁).

I didn't have a 12th scale champagne cooler or anything resembling that, so I used a plant pot I wrapped in aluminum foil. It's not perfect and a bit too small, but does the job. The ice-cubes are the contents of one of those little bags that come in products to keep them dry. It's a tip I once saw on a mini blog or website, don't remember where (just don't want to take the credit, 'cause I didn't come up with it myself).

After wrapping this year's holiday season up making space for the new, my mini-peeps like to store all of their ornaments in this Gingerbread crate.

here you can see the crack as well as the 'damaged inside of the other side

the wood looks a bit too new I realized after taking the photos, should've aged that a bit, but I'll do that for next year
A simple wooden box I made from ice cream sticks, for which I looked for the most rustic ones in my stash and as I mentioned, I even had one with a crack:

For the transfer of the image I found the Crafthack website for the best way for me, using mirrored images, but method 3 (mod podge) I used didn't work for me. Probably because I have a cheap (and pretty old) brand version of it.

So I just used some (water based) satin varnish I had from 'Game', which worked fine, except it dries so quickly it's had to get the image in it before it does, making it harder to get a good end result.

Not a big deal b/c it's a rustic item, and the image isn't centered as I forgot to trim the image to size not seeing what I was doing when already too far in the process when I realized.

Perfectly imperfect I guess, like me 😊.

To close this post ánd year, some final words from Rendy the squirrel* (who was very happy with being paid in walnuts) and me / Fabulously Small:

 
 



*Renderforest's mascotte, the website I used for creating this short video-message

4 comments:

  1. ::waving:: Lovely as always, Monique. Wishing you joy, health, and stability for 2024.

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    1. That is so kind of you Azteclady, thank you! And I wish you a very good, healthy and abundant 2024 as well.

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  2. Hi Monique! The "old" crate looks Fabulous to me! I Love gingerbread, so the name is already a winner... and the cracked wood is a perfect detail! We used to have some old crates like that.... I forget who got away with them.... Sigh.... now it's all cardboard boxes for storage..... nowhere near as attractive! I love your setting and the story... and the food looks wonderfully real! And I just Love your little video!!! Happy New Year and keep up the wonderful work! It's great to see your creations again! :):):)

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    1. Thank you so much Betsy! It ís a lovely name isn't it? Gingerbread; I agree :). And yeah, it's a shame, although I crates don't fold, which is a downside compared to cardboard boxes, which are lighter too. But for storage they don't need to and other than that, I'd love me some ol' crates, hahaha :D! I'm so happy you enjoyed my post and video and thank you! Same here, it was fun visiting your blog again and seeing what you're up to, and I absolutely love your wonderful work with your crazy stitching endevors, so impressive!

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