No pics :-(

Well I tried securing the bonsai with some paperclay last night but it isn't tight enough so that didn't work.

I have to go to the mall today anyhow so I'll nip into Michaels and grab some more.....just one box this time :-)

Hopefully I'll have bonsai pics tomorrow.


Off to get my toes done and my eyebrows threaded...ya know the important things :-)

Bugger, bugger, bugger !!!

I use a product called Makins Air Dry clay a lot. Basically I push a lump of this into the planter and push the plants into it then cover with 'soil'

A while back I purchased a huge lot of it from eBay thinking it'd be cheaper that way.

Well...I just went to open a fresh box and it had dried out...and another box...and another. You get the picture.

Every flippin' block of it is a lump of rubbery useless....some bargain huh.

I don't blame the eBay seller at all...none of it had been tampered with and it is all still in the manufacturers packaging.

I've had boxes of this stored for years and it has been fine so I've no idea what happened this time.

I've emailed Makins to ask them...hopefully they'll reply.

So now I am stuck and can't finish my bonsai :-(

Bonsai's, Bushes and Willows

...... is what I am currently working on.

Here you can see the forms that I have started....still a long way to go on most of these yet. They have only had the first level of bark applied and painted.

The willow, started life as a bush but grew out of control....so I figured I may as well go all the way and make a small cherry blossom willow from it.

The bonsai I am currently working on is another cherry blossom but this time it has weeping branches. It seems these grow larger than some bonsai so I made it a little bigger, only to find it won't sit stable in my bonsai trays...they are only a few mm deep. So today I need to find a suitable pot for it.

I should have photos of the bonsai in a day or two. The willow isn't a specific order so that might get left behind for a little while.

One of the biggest problems I have with working so small is static. For the bonsai I was trying to cut leaves 1/8th inch long and circles 1/16th inch across. At this size it is hard enough to do without the added problem of static. They stick to my shaping pad, my clothes, the desk and my tweezers.

I was wining about this and Mick said...."duh...sit at my desk". I completely forgot that his desk was all wired up to be static free due to the delicate electronics he works on.

So I sat at his desk, wired myself up, plugged myself in and BINGO...less static. It isn't perfect and he says it won't be simply because of the size of the leaves but it was definitely much better. So now he is going to wire up my desk as well :-)

We are heading off on the road this weekend so I should finish the bonsai but that is probably about all I'll have time for this week.

That and practicing roses. I agreed to try and make a rose tree but roses are my nemesis. I find them so hard, which is really silly as they are one of the flowers most anyone can make. So why did I agree to try a rose tree you might be wondering...because it will force me to make them and get good at them and the curse will be broken :-)

You know I won't let anything substandard leave this room so by saying I'd do this I have to keep on and on until I can make them......prepare for lots of rejects :-)

And the winner....

.....of this cute little pot of daffodils is ...................

~ ~ ~ ~ MINIKAT ~ ~ ~ ~

Sorry to all of you who didn't win.....but there is only 1:-(

I picked the name totally at random from all who posted a comment. It had nothing to do with what plant you suggested or whether I liked it....otherwise you'd all have won.

Well most of you. Some of you appear to think I can work miracles with bits of paper lol.

I was going to show you all the little bits of paper but my camera batteries are dead this morning.

Thanks so much for playing...it was fun and I'll be doing another one of these giveaways at some point.


Kat, will you email me please with your address and I'll get these in the mail tomorrow :-)

Last day for a freebie !

Don't forget that today is the last chance to win the daffodils shown in my previous post. I will announce the winner in the morning.

Well the weather here has quietened down, thankfully.

Yesterday was wild...storms like that are really rare in Southern California. We get some rain in winter but that is about it.

Although I have to admit I do love a good storm....if I am safely indoors that is :-)

We had the best storms in Minnesota. We on the very edge of a copse and I swear with each drop of rain those trees grew and got so green. It seemed like they'd come into the house.

Of course with the storms came the tornado warnings...can't say I was keen on those much.

When we first moved there we stayed in a hotel while we scouted out where we wanted to live.

I had been there no more than a couple of days and Mick had tootled off to work when all of a sudden these sirens went off. Oh my goodness....I thought world war 3 had broken out or there was some alien attack or something.

So, still in my jammies, I went running up to the reception to find out what was going on.

It was a tornado warning...I had never experienced one before and had no idea that they set the sirens off to warn people. Was my face red :-) Still it gave the receptionists and other guests a good laugh.

After a few I became as complacent as the locals. At first the sirens would go off and I'd be terrified and for ages I kept a bag ready to go by the door in case I had to run.

One time the TV newscaster said we were to take cover, which was the strongest warning I'd heard. So I grabbed my pillows, to protect my head from falling buildings...like they would have done any good, and ran to the underground garage.

After half hour huddled up the corner and noticing that I was the only one there I decided to go back to our apartment.

Same with earthquakes here.....I was nervous about them before I moved but soon came to see that they aren't that bad at all....at least not so far !!!!

What a choice :-)

Well, yesterdays post worked better than I expected and I got a huge range of ideas to go onto my 'to do' list.

Now I am motivated to get through my current orders and get started...so many of them jumped out at me.

It took me all morning to go through and look at all the pictures. Sure I could just scour the internet for ideas but this was so much more fun :-)

Here is a photo of some of the ideas you had.

We are having crazy weather here today...someone needs to tell the weather guy that this is California and it has to stop !

We've got thunder and the strangest rain....it rains really hard with huge raindrops...for all of 5 minutes then stops. If I look out the front it is blue skies but out the back it is black.

Very odd indeed but I seem to recall it was around this time last year when we had 3 tornadoes touch down and 3 inches of golf ball sized hail.....that was so much fun. Many of the kids in the street had never seen white stuff before and were trying to build snowmen from hail :-)

The poor computer doesn't know if it is on or off the electricity if flickering so much...good job they both have battery back ups. And the internet connection is spotty at best.

I think I'll go bake a cake instead :-)

~~~~~~ Birthday Giveaway ~~~~~~

Today is my birthday and to celebrate I am giving away this little pot of daffodils.

To get in the drawer for a chance of winning is really simple.

Just post a comment telling me what flower you would love to see created in miniature.

And, if you have never seen them in miniature before, all the better.
Just let me know that as well :-)

Caveat lector - I may not attempt all these idea...
but if I do you'll be the first to know :-)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Well I have reached the grand old age of 42.

Now, that might not seem old to some of you, and I agree I have a long way to go yet.

I was 10 years old when Elvis died and I remember the day as if it were yesterday. He was 42 and I was 10. To me back then 42 seemed sooo old and now here I am at that age.

My Mom is a huge Elvis fan and, oh my, she was devastated.

I spent the entire day at school in tears…..I didn’t even know why I was crying.

After all I didn’t know Elvis. I was just crying because my mom was upset.

Back then, my Mom was only 33 but I remember being really worried that there were less than 10 years till she was 42.

Of course I can laugh about it now....a lot... but back then it really worried me.

We took my Mom to visit Graceland a couple of years ago and I was sure she’d go to pieces. I even joked with Mick that she might throw herself on his grave and refuse to leave. But she did so well….I was the one crying.

Anyhow, I think I’ll do a tad better than poor old Elvis…..fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches just ain’t my thing :-)

I’ve had a good 42 years and have no plans to stop. I don’t feel old and hopefully I don’t look that old and haggard yet :-)


So, get those comments coming…..I will pick a winner at random by the end of the week.

And rest in peace dear Elvis.



He was pretty hot huh :-)

Can you guess....

.........What I am making now :-)

Actually this might turn out to be something bigger than originally planned.

Although I find making the wire forms fairly simple, they do have a tendency to run away with me and what sometimes starts as a bonsai becomes a tree !

I had forgotten how fiddly these were to make.....rather arrogantly, I thought that since I'd completed Nikki's foxgloves that anything else would be a doddle....perhaps not :-)

* * * Be sure to check back in tomorrow when I will be having a giveaway * * *

Random pics

No mini's today.......I really must get cleaning.

So I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos with you from our travels.

Cayucos, California.

My first visit to the US and my first night here.

Is it any wonder I went home, sold everything I owned, quit my job and moved back here.

Santa Monica Pier









Malibu Beach












San Francisco.

Alcatraz at night...that was one cold boat trip back across the bay but there was no way I was going inside and missing that view.


These are all pics of places local to me here in California but keep watching...it could be your town next :-)

Actually, it could be quite interesting to see what I took photos of where you live...we tend to miss the beauty on our own doorstep !

Sacred Lotus Pond

Finally, a day without interruptions and I managed to finished the sacred lotus pond.

OK so they are water lilies but the Indians call it the Sacred Lotus which I think is a much nicer name :-)

It measures about 4" long tip to tip and about 1 1/2 inches wide. The base is a beautiful and delicate crackled finish.

It is difficult to see the 'water' in the photos because it is so clear but I promise it is there.

I partially sunk some of the leaves into the water and the others I sat on top of the water. These are not glued on...I figured I'd leave that to the person that got this so she can decide where to place them herself.

I am really pleased with this for a first try which is unusual for me...I think it is really pretty.

I will be making more of these both in this style of pond and others that I can find or make. I will make them for sale but custom order only. I think I may also offer to make individual flowers and leaves so people can buy them to place on ponds they might already have.

Hope you all like it :-)

* * * * * * * * * *

Well 2 posts in one day from me....that's a first. Now i can spend the rest of the week vaccuming and mopping...not that I want to you understand but we have friends coming on Saturday so I ought to. Nothing like inquisitors to make me clean...surprised Mick hasn't cottoned on to this yet :-)