Buying, Selling and Making

That title just about covers it all.  

On the buying front I have several bids on E-Bay perpetually on the go, so it keeps trickling in.  I've just won a dower chest for example, which I'm really pleased with as it was a bargain.  It was a third of the price of the cheapest one I've seen and a tenth of the most expensive one on offer.  Today's postie brought me a few more tools, courtesy of EBay.  It was an incomplete X-Acto model woodworking kit but it had what I really, really wanted which was two seven-inch plastic clamps and two three-inch ones.  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find them.  A big bonus were the three different shaped sanding blocks, then there was a double ended pin vise, three drill bits, and a knife and all for $7.50.  Oh, I forgot, a bag of steel wool.

A couple of days ago I got this little pair of House of Miniatures kits.  Neither of them are commonplace finds, especially the pier mirror and so they usually go for more than I am prepared to pay.  Both of these were a bargain. 

I was really please with the purchase but I am getting a bit concerned in that the wardrobe is filling up with unmade pieces of furniture all of which come in a million bits.  Even the mirror has more bits than you can imagine and the prospect of mitring the corners to within 1/16th of an inch first time is daunting.  yes, you do have to cut the frame strips of wood.

The mirror is for the fitting room and may well be painted cream rather than wood stained.  Can you hear Chippendale turning?  The corner washstand is for Daisy's little bedroom which hasn't even been built yet!!  Nothing like getting ahead of yourself.  

I may as well keep my eye out for the occasional bargain even if it is way ahead of the game.  Get it while I can is my philosophy.

On the selling front I have weakened my resolve and gone back to having a go at selling stuff on E-Bay again.  It is still as dire a site as it ever was; such a pain to get around.  I'll keep you posted as to how I get on. My best trick so far is to bid on an item on the English site and then outbid myself on the very same item on the American site!  Yes, I know....   

I am trying my very best not to sell anything until I am certain sure it is of no use to me.  The amount of stuff I bought for a project similar to this that I then decided I wouldn't do, and am now doing, makes me weep.

On the making front it is more a case of remaking so far - first the heater and a bit of paint improvement and then the plant pot and the same treatment.  This isn't the most flattering photo; it does look better in real life.  I think it is a great improvement on the brightly spotted original. It might need a bit of sheen on the leaves - I'll think about it sometime; its wrapped up for the journey home so I can't be bothered fiddling it out again.

I did discover that painting in three dimensions is considerably different to painting on a piece of paper.  I am quite handy with paint and brush but everything I ever knew flew out the window when my left hand is wobbly holding a wobbly object while my right hand tries to wobbly negotiate fine lines on a small wobbly leaf.  I guess there are some techniques I'm going to have to grasp, along with a lot of practice, if I am going to pursue the painted model route.  My efforts will do for this but  I am glad I didn't start with my expensive cooker kit.

I did a bit of box making too.  Would you believe each one takes about 15 minutes.  There's a couple of hours work here.  There are tops and bottoms to each box and so they do open.  I have no intention of filling them and the horror of how many I need for a shop is off putting.  The topless box in this photo is a waste paper bin which I hope will go somewhere in the building.  There's yet another Edwardian question - did they have waste paper baskets in their home?

 I have no idea what the strange thick card with two printed rectangles on it is for.  I might use it as a display screen/stand somewhere in the shop.  

I took this photo to try to show the size of the tags in the lid sections that I am cutting, folding and ultimately sticking.  This is a shoe box lid getting ready to join its friends.  I am rock solid certain their shoe boxes weren't fancy like this.  I am just hoping that with a bit of judicious mixing and stacking they will all have a use somewhere.  Having just said I don't know why they need to open I've had an afterthought; perhaps they would look and sit better if they were weighted down with something inside?  Now I just need to figure out what.  I have some sand (to go in the paint for exterior painting) but I'm not convinced it won't keep leaking out. Suggestions welcome.