A Blogging Year!!!

A year ago I tip-toed hesitantly into Blogland....with much encouragement from friends who assured me that I could do it!!

Twelve months on and I'm no longer hesitant about filling my blog with ramblings about our miniatures - and the garden when I can find an excuse - although the exciting technological add-odds, side bars and other twiddly bits do still faze me.
SO - thank you ALL!!!!!

I'm bemused that 95 friendly folk have chosen to Follow, reading on a regular basis and leaving such lovely comments too!
It's been such a great learning curve - and the enjoyment and inspiration from reading and following other blogs has been enormous. To be able to enjoy the creative talents of others who are so ready to share - and encourage - is a terrific privilege I think.


One of my favourite roses - Striped Tiger - fabulous heavily scented flowers, much deeper in colour than the photograph shows.....to say.... 'Thank You'.


Berkaya - a mad , fun, bright spikey plant in my gravel garden .... for like-minded bloggers.

Thank you for the fun and the humour - from daft small dogs (and cats) to mini-disasters recounted with a chuckle - from around the world.

Coombe Crafts (me and 'im in the shed...sorry...workshop) endeavour to create original handcrafted work to a high standard and it has also been such a bonus to take these to a wider audience, acquiring new friends and customers along the way and meeting some new creative challenges. It's a fact that the 'customer' often has the best idea and translating that is such fun!!! I'm also grateful to those who've been kind enough to allow me to share their photographs on my blog.


Finally - it's a miniature blog - so here comes the promised early 1900s 1/24th scale racing driver all kitted out with his leather helmet, boots and goggles to take a turn round Brands Hatch with his lady watching from the stands.




See...I said I've learned a lot....the scarf or covering, right up over his face is to prevent injuries from flying stones and gravel as he hurtles around. Truly, there is a proper sculpted face under there!!

Thank you for looking!!!!!
Robin

Posh Hats and Cabbages.....

It's a given that I like gardening.....and gardeners....so you won't be surprised to see another little gardener on this blog.

I do enjoy adding the little details that I hope bring my characters to life so the gardeners, whichever scale, usually wear a warm scarf, scruffy trousers and generally have some raffia tucked under a belt, ready for tieing up the tomatoes.
As a rule they are proudly showing off some produce from the garden......as a rule its a cauliflower or carrots that I've made. Now - a top quality food maker I ain't.......'adequate' about covers it....and I greatly admire those that make wonderful fruit and veg.



I thought my little gent deserved a fabulous cabbage and I've been looking for a good excuse to buy some of the amazing Savoy Cabbages made by Mouse House Miniatures who make some of the very best food I've seen. Although they don't have a website, you can contact them by email or see their wonderful work at one of the major fairs.

And now for someone completely different - wind back to the early 1900s and the first cars. As a lady passenger a new outfit was clearly required - and a rather important part would have been the hat. The car not being quite as sedate as a pony and trap, the huge and elegant hat needed to be secured very firmly with a enveloping and beautiful scarf!
A pair of new-fangled driving goggles would have completed the outfit and as racing cars became a new and fashionable sport Brooklands racing car circuit and aerodrome was certainly the place to be seen.



She's really waiting for someone to drive her....he's waiting for a helmet..... but when that's done I'll bring him to the blog.

Thanks for looking.
Robin

......on Peeling Paint, Pansies and Slugs......

If you've been following the exploits of Celia and I as we've embarked on our Nostalgia in Miniature Workshops.....the 'individual' details may appeal to you.....

I wonder ..... should I worry about her?? How does she sleep with those great big 1930s 'Woodworking Handyman" books, under her pillow??
For our new workshop on September 18th - "Down the Little Garden Path" - we decided upon an authentic cold frame - every garden had one! This meant much research - Celia loves that - she's besotted with the period.

After producing a beautiful cold frame with sliding glass cover, authentic rusty handle and peeling white paint...I think I disappointed her when I remarked airily "Oh yes - Uncle Norman had one like that." Well...I knew she'd produce something fabulous!




She got her own back and demanded Hostas! Not any old hostas, but authentic hostas....hostas with nibbles and holes......and slugs! And weeds. That, I was informed, was my department!!
To be fair the research for this was terribly easy!!



So...we've got peeling paint, slug-eaten hostas, weeds and a crazy-paved path....we need a bit of beauty in here.
In need of beautiful flowers we headed for Georgina Steeds at The Miniature Garden Centre and ordered purple pansies. Lovely!!!! I just hope I did her justice in making them up.



If you want pansies and other wonderful flower kits, just take a look at Georgina's blog for contact details as well. If you'd like see see pictures of the whole of the new garden in "Down the Little Garden Path Workshop" click here and go to the 2nd Garden Project. Booking details are all on the website as well.

Thank you for looking.
Robin

Let's Look at Some Furniture for a Change!!

Pretty obviously anyone reading my blog regularly can see I'm hooked on character dolls and anything to do with a garden...my real one or the miniature version......

You're probably bored rigid reading that Coombe Crafts has been around for decades...sadly I'm grey haired so it's true. However it's never quite been just about just the characters, although they are top of my personal list and I never get tired of creating new characters whether they be 1/12th, 1/24th or the ultimate challenge 1/48th - we also make the 'interesting things to go with them'. (That's the phrase in the advertising folks!!)

I'm fortunate in having an 'other half' who can translate my seemingly random ideas involving 'wood' into something really super and who creates amazingly detailed small things without any help from me whatsoever!!! Sometimes I get to titivate a few of them.....

So in the interests of fairness and equality and all that jazz - this week it's about the furniture - 1/24th this time. Most of it is featured on the website and if you email me I can give additional details or prices as required.

Here goes.....oh...yes I've sneaked in a little maid to dust the Edwardian-deco-Macintosh inspired furniture and 'interesting things'.....and a couple of plants......



And finally - as they say in the build up to important announcements - I'm thrilled to be able to announce that Celia Thomas and I, who in collaboration make up Nostalgia in Miniature Workshops, are to hold our first Full-day workshop next March at the truly inspirational venue of Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. This is one of my dream world-famous gardens and wonderful places, so you can imagine how excited we are - for full details and also for those of the half-day workshops this year click HERE!
Our next one is "Down the Little Garden Path" - it'll be different - and a fun day if the last one is anything to go by.

Can't resist it......picture of one of Waterperry's glorious, seemingly endless perennial flower borders coming up......



Thank you for looking.
Robin

Three Real Little Characters......

I can just imagine these three ladies holding their own in any situation - and it's been such fun bringing their individual characters to life and sending them off to their new homes.....


In the 1950s this lady ran a pub - and while she looks a friendly soul - I think 'last order please' probably meant just that!!


The gossips, Nora and Pearl were commissioned by Jennie to have a natter over the garden fence in the little old garden she was making - they're clearly putting the world to rights in a break from the housework. If you'd like to see where they're having their gossip just click here and go to Gallery 2.



Meanwhile my own garden is bursting with colour...and weeds...although it's great that at this time of year the weeds are mostly hidden by the flowers!!

I did intend to put up a sales page of my garden items but as you can see I haven't got there yet. If anyone has seen an item on the blog recently and would like to know if it's still available do feel free to email me and I'll let you know.

Thanks for looking.
Robin