Shows - Florida Gulf Coast Miniatures Festival - Sarasota, FL, USA

I did my third (Molly Cromwell) Sarasota show at the weekend and came home with some lovely reminders of a great weekend.   If you want to see a review of the show and a web album with all the shows pictures go to:  Dolls House Shows.  

To see all my purchases from the show you'll need to click on the album link over on the left.

If you just want to see a sample of what I bought for The Gate House, here we go.............

My first Purchase of the day was these  useful (I hope) little tweezers with magnifying glass.  As you can see the tweezers fold up into the arm of the glass almost begging you to pop them in your handbag - what for I don't know.  Came from Iklectic for just $6. (sorry, I can't find a website) 

My biggest spend was at Petworth Miniatures.  I bought a couple of Gayle's pieces on day one - got back to the room and eventually to bed and then made a list of the other stuff I had to have so I could go to sleep.  Notice the 'had to'.  So I have twelve of her pieces and her book about lighting in quarter scale.  This is in addition to another recent order from her - did you guess this is a vendor who's work I like.  You can see the other eleven items in the Purchases web album.  Link on the left.

I spent quite a bit of time at True2scale's table both days - there is such a lot to look at and as I want everything I see it takes even longer talking myself out of stuff.  I bought some lighting kits mostly because she sells the very teeny (nano?) LEDs which I need for the glitter house display on my fireplace - won't that be fun attempting to light a 144th and also hide the wiring.  I am going to have to spend a very long time working out how to get wires through the house.  I have done all my 1/12ths without a problem so I am going about this in the same way.  It should also be easier for me as I always use the round wire system not copper tape.  I also bought more of True2scale's delicious sticky back fabric finish paper.  I think I can find a myriad of uses for this. I love their lovely soft colours.

Quarter Source and Sally Manwell came up trumps with wallpaper, fabric and this sweet poinsettia rose.  I mentioned I was having a problem finding suitable fabrics and I was given a couple of great ideas from them.  I promise to share them with you (I asked if I could) in a few days - right now I have a ton of things I have to get done - both domestic and writing.

Flight of Fancy provided me with a dustbin and some door knobs with keyholes.  I seem to have bought the scale wrong on both of these as the bin measures a quarter of an inch which gives me a one foot dustbin (!) and the locks are also about a quarter of an inch..... one foot locks, mmmm.  Hey ho - locks destined for Muir House maybe and dustbin for the Baby House?

My big weak moment came when I bought Miss Lydia Pickett's Artist Storage Cabinet from Robin Betterley's Miniatures.  I have lusted after this for ages but it really doesn't have either a place in the narrative of, or even a place geographically in, the house. I just had to have something of theirs (to add to another recent order!) so it might as well be this.  Now it has become my guilt piece.

I really love the work of Barbara Meyer at Mini Gems and was so glad to have found her again.  I bought a magpie from her two or three years ago and it has been on each of my projects in turn.  When they get sold on it moves to the next.  There are about three things I cannot part with and this is one of them.  I had no record of her name and have gone from show to show hoping she would turn up and - hey presto - there she was.  I bought this wonderful quarter scale cat from her.  She had a tray of every kind of cat under the sun, various colours and stances and all somehow with their own character. There are photos in the show album.  If you want to see the birds I bought for Muir House you will have to go there and the 'other' magpie will be on display in the Chocolat blog. 

We are between visitors right now and I had wonderful plans to make one thing a day - I have done nothing.  Why can I 'work' at home relatively easily but can't seem to get started over here?  I hope to speak to you soon.  Enjoy the photos.