Inspiration comes when you least expect it

I was eating sunflower seeds this evening and as I looked at some of the seed halves I saw tiny little canoes. The natural shading on the shells looked like aged paint. I used Sharpie markers to color two of the shells to make decorative canoes for the beach house.
They are displayed on the window sill. I think you could add a paper or cloth sail to make a tiny sailboat. They are really cute, don't you think?

The Odds and Ends Challenge Revealed

Here are the items we had to use. At least part of each thing had to be used in some way in the final project.
I made a scene in a cigar box. I have it hanging in my kitchen.
Here's a closer look at the counter. Can you guess how I used each item? (Hint: some things were dismantled and some were used in more than one way.)

The glue is still drying but it's finished

I had a late night spurt of energy and the garden is basically finished. Of course, there's always room to add something because no mini project is ever truly finished. A couple of items are special enough to note. Cary Yerves made the canvas chair and Brenda, of Brenda's Miniatures, made the gray cat curled up near the pond. The other items were found in the Small World round robin swap box or were made by me. I am very happy with how the slate tiles for the patio turned out. They were cut from egg carton like packing material and then painted and sealed. The patio table is made from several "found" objects. The base is a pizza box "table" topped with a small tile. The umbrella is a cocktail umbrella on a button base. I used aquarium gravel for the stone path. Once it is completely dry you won't see white between the stones. I sealed the stones in place with a heavy coat of matt Mod Podge and it's taking forever to dry.

PS I forgot to add that I painted all of the sky area with pale blue glass paint. It's just enough to filter the light (but still allow plenty of light in) and mask things that are sitting outside the aquarium.