Summer souvenirs...



It seems like I have skipped an entire season!  I suppose I have taken a summer retreat, but with the weather turning cooler again, I have returned to my miniatures workshop.  

I have put a few summer souvenirs on the fireplace mantle.  




Beautiful fossils and semi-precious stones which I actually got last summer at the summer school in Tune from an Australian miniaturist who's name I can't remember!  (Edit:  her name is Jan Jones.  Thank you Elga!).  I mounted the fossil on a block of ebony which I think looks great against the white ivory pedestal dish with the (fake) coral (made by Vonas Miniaturen).  





The red colour of the coral is picked up by the red in the semi-precious stones.  I don't know what the stones are.  The red one has crystals in the center and the smaller one has a ring of blue-green crystals  near the edge with a more solid red colour on the inside.  



Late summer sun streams into the Yellow Salon.  On the mantle is a little bronze sculpture of a bull which I bought from ArtForge at the Kensington Dollshouse Festival Summer Show.  I also bought the very summery flowers there.  They were made in metal by Gill Rawling (Petite Fleur).

Near the window is a Louis XVI style parquetry gueridon which I made in a class with Geoff Wonnacott.  More on that in another post!


Summer is nearly over.  The white marble statue is a reference to the coming season 
('Autumn' by Sue Cook).

Comments

  1. Lovely pictures Josje!! I really like those fireplaces stacked with all kind of wonderfull pieces.
    This summer I got some of those fossils from the same lady at Tune. And Geoff's class.......it seems so long ago.......but it was great, again we've learned a lot!

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    1. Hey Jeffry! Did you catch her name by any chance? Yes it seems ages ago, but it was great and we learned a lot. I even started on another, similar piece and built that handy gadget. It worked ;-)
      Are we going to be in another class soon? As per usual, I can't remember the date...

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    2. Hi Josje, I'm glad that Elga allready came up with her name! Woow looking forward to the other one that you're working on and you even made your own tool for it...I have the have a look at your workshop space someday ;o) Yes we will meet pretty soon, 3th of Oct for another day of china painting, now you know.... ;oD

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    3. The 'cool tool' ;-) Yes! You must come and visit, it will be fun! 3 October? OK thanks, I wrote it down now. I thought it was in September .

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  2. I'm very excited to see that you too (as well as Catherine R) have made a return to your blog......you have been sadly missed!
    I love what you have done....the colour and light in that room is exquisite.

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    1. I apologize for having been away for so long...and for not checking in on our fellow bloggers...I promise to do better in the coming months!

      Thank you! That was exactly what I was doing, playing with light and colours.

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  3. You always find the most wonderful things. I love the nautilus, coral and stones. They are beautifully mounted too.

    Who would have thought that metal flowers could look so natural. Just the right touch for your salon. That bull is fabulous. So tiny yet the scale is perfect.

    I am really looking forward to hearing about the class you made the parquetry gueridon in. It is a gorgeous table.

    See... We all missed you! XXX

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    1. Thank you Catherine!
      I am a fan of Gill's work. The metal flowers are delicate yet very strong and you can bend them any way you like. I try to buy one or two of her pieces whenever I get to the London show.
      And the bull, isn't he wonderful? The Taurus, that's me.

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  4. Hi Josje, I have to agree with Catherine, in that I too am Mad about the bull! :D The visual weight and strength of not only the heavy metal but also the subject matter is such a terrific and unexpected contrast to the delicacy of the surrounding details and general atmosphere within the salon. A very masculine statement within a very feminine room!
    Also love the first photo showcasing your gem collection and the coral. What a beautiful and interesting combination of art objects; displayed to Perfection!

    elizabeth

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    1. Thank you Elizabeth, you have managed to put in words exactly what I mean and which I achieve through an intuitive process.

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    ▀▄▄▄▄▄▀▄▄▄▄▀▀▄▄▄▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▀.....★MaRiBeL★

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  6. Beautiful photos. Love the fossils. Glad you're back from being MIA!

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    1. Thanks Linda. I'll do my best to be more active on blogger again.

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  7. Just lovely Josje! Her name is Jan Jones :-)

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    1. Thanks Elga! I will add her name to my post NOW ;-)

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  8. Unas piezas maravillosas!!!!
    Besos.

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  9. Unas piezas maravillosas!!!!
    Besos.

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  10. Fascinating detail in both rooms and typical of a wealthy traveller finding treasures along the way. Stunning scene and photos as always =0)

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    1. How lucky we can pretend to be anything we want in miniature ;-)

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  11. Son preciosas las piezas. Felicidades! un abrazo, Marisa

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  12. Que de beaux objets dans de magnifiques décors! J'attends avec impatience et grande curiosité l'article parlant du très beau guéridon Louis XVI ;-)

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    1. I will try to do it this week Jean-Claude, so you won't have to wait long ;-)

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  13. Hi Josje, I never tire of looking at your beautiful miniatures these are especially wonderful and love the way you have decided to display them.

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    1. Thank you Tony. I look forward to seeing what you have been up to these past few months!

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  14. You have so beautiful dollhouse! All those little things... and bigger ones too <3

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  15. les couleurs sont superbes , j'adore ce bleu turquoise.

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    1. So do I Catherine! That colour really pops when the light hits it.

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  16. Fijn dat je er ook weer bent Josje, ik had al bijna een opsporingsbericht geplaatst :-)
    Mooi weer hoe het licht precies goed valt in de kamer. De kleuren spatten ervan af, heerlijk. Ook nog even nagenieten van de zomer, eind van deze week wordt het gelukkig ook echt weer wat beter.

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    1. Jaa ik ben er nog! ;-) En een heerlijk weertje vandaag gelukkig. Toch voel je dat het al behoorlijk is afgekoeld. Maar goed, ook wel weer leuk om terug binnen te zijn. Binnen creëer ik mijn eigen lichtval, ongeacht het weer buiten. Lekker spelen met licht en kleur!

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  17. Welcome back! Love your new acquisitions. They are exquisite and look very much at home in your beautiful house!

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  18. So glad to see you back and to feast our eyes on your wonderful treasures which are so artfully displayed. I hope "Autumn" will usher in a wonderful new season.

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    1. Thank you Linda! I will try my best this season, now lets hope the weather will too ;-)

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  19. Hello Josje,
    You really have an eye for choosing amazing pieces of miniature art. It all looks wonderful and I think your composition of both rooms and décor elements is absolute perfection!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  20. The details you put on the mantelpiece are perfect and I love the gueridon. This is a magnificent room.
    Geneviève

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    1. Thank you Geneviève. Oh love the gueridon too and it is such a versatile piece. More on the class by Geoff Wonnacott in my next post.

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  21. What can I add that it hasn't already been told ? It's pure joy to look at your pics and be mesmerised by the beauty of all your stunning pieces.
    Simply wonderful !

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    1. Thanks Rosanna! When I get a chance to read the updates on your blog, will I see any progress on your house? I hope so ;-)

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  22. Josje, your little additions are the kind of perfect details that make the room more beautiful and perfect than ever before! And your table.... you built that? !!! As usual, your level of perfection is inspiring, and your rooms look so lovely in the late summer sun! It is always a pleasure to see what you are up to!

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    1. Ah thank you Betsy! Yes I built the little table, but...of course it was in a class, so it is more to Geoff's credit than mine. It was fun and again learned a lot. I will do a little post on Geoff's class next.

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  23. It's nice to see those rooms again along with your little collection. I like the statue too, she sits there perfectly.

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    1. Thank you Irene. The statue was meant to go in the hallway (which I haven't even started on yet) but I like it in this room so maybe she shall stay in here.

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  24. wow Josje, die zonnestralen, prachtig! En de stier vind ik erg mooi, goeie koop! En die halfedelstenen, wat mooi zeg en het koraal, teveel om op te noemen. Ik hoop dat je weer veel plezier hebt met miniaturen maken, je tafeltje (hoe noem je dat? kan geen vertaling vinden voor gueridon ;) ) heb je prachtig gemaakt!

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    1. Dank je Monique. De zonnestralen heb ik in de foto geshopt ;-) vond ik mooi bij het geheel passen. En gueridon, tja...tafeltje, bijzettafeltje... We hebben daar niet echt een ander woord voor. In het Nederlands wordt ook het woord gueridon gebruikt. De gueridons op een poot waren bedoeld om kandelaars op te zetten en heten ook wel lampetafels. Maar deze tafeltjes waren meer voor de sier of als bijzettafeltjes bedoeld.

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  25. Hello I've just found your gorgeous site. Your rooms are absolutely beautiful, I love your drawing room.
    Polly

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