A new look at an old project

 One of my great nephews got entirely too touchy with the log cabin at Christmas. I finally brought it down to do the repair work. (Right before having the same child here for Easter. What was I thinking?!) The tree was not his fault. My daughter's cat's favorite place was right beside the cabin on the tree side. She broke two of the branches. Just gluing wasn't enough. I wrapped the whole thing with brown floral tape and then put vertical pieces on the trunk to look more like bark. Sorry the photo isn't clear. I will get a better one later.

 While I had it out, I gave everything a good cleaning. Rebekah appreciated the help.;-) James is out getting some wood for the fire.

 Lunch is ready on the table. James had better hurry.

 It looks like Rebekah is already planning tomorrow's meals.

 In such a tiny space, everything has it's own place. Even one thing out of place makes the whole cabin look cluttered. I think that tool box needs to go to the barn. I wouldn't want to sleep under it!

 A fresh loaf of bread and venison stew. Yum! Little Emily is sleeping right through. It's cozy and warm by the fire.On the mantle you can see their special things from back home. The little china doll, the blue and white vase, the Bible and the crocheted doily are all reminders of special loved ones. A traveling artist came through the area shortly after Emily was born. He painted the family portrait behind the vase.

It's a little too warm for Rebekah. She's enjoying the sunshine and breeze through the open door. Now that the harvest is done there won't be too many more days warm enough to open the door.

Sometimes it's fun to revisit old projects. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Today is my lucky day!

These are the items I ordered from Miniature Cabin Decor plus the wonderful tin star that came as a gift. I love everything!
In addition to that package, I got a surprise package from Gaye. I sent her a small gift shortly after Christmas and she made me all of these wonderful goodies for the cabin as a thank you. I think I got the better end of the deal. :-)
Here is one view of the cabin with all of the new items in place.
Another view.
The tool box Gaye made for James. I'm going to have to do some research on period tools to fill the box for him.

Some days getting the mail is so much fun!

Last details

I'm taking the cabin to our church Talent Night tonight and I wanted something to put on the shelf over the bed before the public display. I made these two Shaker style boxes to give Rebekah a little more storage and to add some color to the cabin. The tops and bottoms are just oval Woodsies and the rest of the sides and lids are made of brown cardstock. After gluing everything together, I dry brushed the paint over the top.

It really does look like a tree!

Well, here it is. I have a dead car battery and am stuck at home so I had to improvise the leaves and smaller branches but I like it. Here's how I made it - I started with 6 pipe cleaners twisted together at the base for the main trunk. The top third of the pipe cleaners I spread out, then twisted 2 sets of 2 together about 1/2 of the top section. That gave me 2 long main branches and 2 forked branches. Then I covered the entire assembly with aluminum foil to give it bulk and strength. Next, I covered all of that with thin sheets of polymer clay. This is a good opportunity to use up those miscellaneous scraps because it's all going to be painted anyway. I used a pointed tool to add bark-like texture and baked the tree. I propped the branches up with clumps of foil to keep them spaced correctly. After baking and cooling, I painted a first coat of dark brown glaze over everything. The glaze is thin enough to get into all the crevices of the bark and give it depth. Then I drybrushed various shades of brown, gray and black over the whole tree. I drilled holes around the branches to put the silk leaf branches in. Then I glued the trunk to my base. It is also supported by a thin dowel and a large screw - both through the base board. I had some silk ivy on hand so I cut each leaf down to scale, painted the branches to match the rest of the tree and glued various sized branches and numbers of leaves into the holes. It all sounds much more complicated than it was to actually just do it, lol.

Play time

After a busy day, James and Rebekah finally sit down for supper. The stew simmered all day and is very good.
Now that everyone has received their garden swaps in my Small World group, I can show how I used a few of the items in and around my cabin. Brenda made the basket of beautiful heirloom tomatoes and the carrot. The loaf of bread is the best mini loaf I've ever made. :-)
Gary made the flowers. They look great in Rebekah's heirloom vase (made from a bead.)
This is a much better photo of the wood chopping area. I weathered the tree stump a little.
This little bunny was also made by Brenda. I showed a back view earlier. Isn't he cute? Even if he is nibbling on Rebekah's plants.

It's kind of hard to see in the photo but James has been busy chopping wood. There's a stack next to the cabin and he's started splitting some next to the tree stump. Nothing is wasted. He's put the wood chips in a bucket to use kindling.
During his break he stopped in the house to check on baby Emily. She's sleeping soundly in her cradle.
The jars of vegetables on the shelf over the window are some of the fruits of Rebekah's labor last summer.

A little humor for the day

Could I please have some privacy here?!

I love my mailman!

Today was a great day for mail - I got all three packages I've been waiting for. The first was the kits to make these chairs to go with the table I made for a customer. The Chrysbon Duxbury chair looks just like her real ones. I'm really happy with the finished chairs and now I can get them mailed to my wonderfully patient customer. :-)
The second package was the order from HBS that I used my birthday money for. Part of it was this outhouse. It came unfinished but I gave it that silvery, gray finish that wood ages to when exposed to the elements. The Jensons are very happy to have their "necessary" ready for use.

The third package was the Small World garden swap. Not everyone has their package so I'm only gonna share this adorable little bunny. It looks like he's knocked down one of Rebekah's precious plants so he'd better be careful.

Last post of the day

This was my last project for the night and I'll be heading to bed soon. Rebekah's lace trimmed nightgown is on the left and James' plain muslin nightshirt is on the right. Emily got a new quilt and she's bundled up in it on the bed. I found one box small enough to stay on the shelf. I'm still thinking about what I want to put on the shelf. I'll probably pretty the box up a bit, too. Oh, and the door latch is now stained to match the door.

Inside additions

James has also been busy inside, adding storage to their tiny home. (I guess that's why he hasn't gotten any wood chopped yet!) First, there's the shelf over the window which holds the home canned goods. (The liquid in the jars isn't dry yet.) The jars have rounded rims which look like the glass jars with wire bails to seal them. I added a clear plastic punch out lid and made the wire bails from thin wire. When dry you'll see 2 jars of green beans, 1 of carrots, and 1 of beets.
Then there's the peg rack by the fireplace. The broom hangs there.
And, finally, there's a shelf/peg rack combination over the bed. That gives storage for nightwear, boxes, etc. (All still to be made.) You can also see the inside of the door latch. When the latch string on the outside is pulled, the latch lifts so that the door can be opened. When you are inside and want to "lock" the door, you simply pull the latch string inside.

Have a look around the yard

It's chore time at the Jenson home. James just came back from milking the cow and Rebekah is feeding the chickens. On the left you can see the tree stump and ax that James uses for chopping wood for the fire. Looks like he needs to get busy - there's no wood pile!
The chickens seem to be enjoying their meal. :-)
At this end of the house you can see the wagon wheels James is repairing. You can also see the latch string on the door. It's actually functional. The outhouse will go at this end of the yard.
I would also like to add a large tree to the front corner of the yard at this end.
Rebekah planted some flower seeds that she brought from home. It looks like everything is coming up.

More birthday gifts

The beautiful card was from my husband and all the minis for my cabin are from my son. I won't see my daughters until the weekend.
Some of the new minis go inside. I'm planning to fill the glass jars on top of the cupboard with vegetables. Instead of the corks, I'll use paper fasteners for the lids to look more like home canned goods.
James is using a new bucket to feed the chickens. The rooster is also new. Eventually, I will get everything set up on a base and landscape it.

Meet the Jensons

My birthday present to myself today was taking time to make the family for my cabin. I'm pleased to introduce the Jensons - James, Rebekah and baby Emily.
Here they are all settled into the cabin. It's time for some apple pie.
James is quite proud of his little daughter and is surprisingly helpful with her.
Rebekah's work is never done. Once she cuts the pie, though, she will sit down with her family for a break.

James and Rebekah are completely hand sculpted. I used a push mold for the baby's face and she is adorable. I will keep trying to get a good photo of her. I had to make the adults on the smaller side so they would be able to sleep in their bed comfortably. Rebekah would be 5 feet tall and James would be about 5'4".

We are currently in the midst of a huge snowstorm. School was closed today and they've already closed for tomorrow. I don't mind because I kind of enjoy being snowed in. We have food and power. I'll be glad when hubby gets safely home but otherwise life is good - even if I did turn 47 today, lol.

I did get some time!

I found some time to make James a hat and Rebekah a sun bonnet today. Both are made of paper and are based on hats found in Sue Heaser's book on making and dressing miniature dolls. I altered the top hat pattern to make James' work hat and a poke bonnet pattern to make the sun bonnet.

One of the first things he said...

When hubby got home this afternoon and saw all that I'd accomplished on the cabin, one of the first things he said was "pioneers wouldn't have been able to afford a glass window like that." Of course, we know that I'd already said that but he didn't, lol. So I fixed it. I turned it into a paned window like I mentioned earlier. I like it better this way...and it's more realistic for a pioneer cabin. They may have had to collect the panes over a period of time but they have them in now. :-)

Rearranging

Rebekah's had a busy day. She baked bread and an apple pie, started a stew simmering, milked the cow and then spent some time rearranging the furniture in the cabin. She's trying to find the best layout because James is working on a cradle and a rocking chair and Rebekah wants to fit them both in the little cabin. You can see the chamber pot peeking out from under the bed. (Thanks for the idea, Doreen!)
Evidence of a busy morning -a bucket of milk, a fresh loaf of bread and a pie. But those dishes in the basin still need to be washed!
Rebekah has put out the last of her special things from home. The vase on the mantel used to belong to her great great grandmother.
If she leaves the trunk under the window then where will the cradle go?
Ah, this will work.

The trunk was made from one of those clear plastic boxes with black lids that some miniatures come in. I lined the inside with vintage wallpaper and covered the outside with leather. The hinges and lock were made from jewelry findings.