Saturday 7 December 2013

La Gazette des atours


A l’époque de Marie-Antoinette on utilisait pour la garde-robe  une “Gazette des atours”. On en a conservé quelques exemplaires, dont des cahiers destinés à Marie-Antoinette et à Madame Elisabeth, la soeur de Louis XVI.

Ces livres étaient  tenus par la dame d’atours et comportent des échantillons de tissu, de soieries, de dentelles qui composaient les robes que l’on portait à la cour. Il y avait aussi des annotations manuscrites  concernant les modèles de vêtements, les tissus et les fournisseurs, comme Melle Bertin. Il est probable que l’on choisissait dans ce cahier les différentes robes qui sont portées dans la journée, en placant des épingles sur les robes sélectionnées.

Cependant dans la Gazette des atours de Madame Elisabeth on a retrouvé aucune trace d’épingles. On penche maintenant pour un usage plus comptable du cahier.
 

 
Voici ma version de la Gazette, au douzième, et remontant probablement à 1785.
Deux doubles pages sont lisibles, la couverture est en brocard de soie.
 
 
At the time of Marie-Antoinette, people, at least at the royal Court, used a "Gazette des atours", a kind of wardrobe book. A few copies have been kept, notably registers made for Marie-Antoinette and Madame Elisabeth, sister of Louis XVI.
These books were kept by the lady of the bedchamber and included fabric, silk and laces swatches of which the dresses worn at Court were made. There were also handwritten annotations about designs, fabrics and suppliers, as Mademoiselle Bertin. It is likely that one used these books to choose the attires for the different times of the coming day, by placing pins on the dresses that had been selected.
However in the Gazette belonging to Madame Elisabeth, no trace of pinholes were found. Scholars now consider a more accountable use of the notebooks.
 

 
This is my own Gazette, miniature one inch scale, probably dating back to 1785.
Two double pages are readable, the cover is made of silk brocade.
 
Many thanks to Marie-Antoinette and Madame Elisabeth for their help.
 
 

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Some "nouveautés"

Saturday I was at KDF Xmas Festival. So many things to see and ...to buy!
Mostly, I came back with wood, fabrics, ribbons, glasses all the stuff to spend the winter in my miniature world.
I couldn't resist when I saw the shoes made by Patrizia Santi and the vanity case by Dominique Roche from Domino Miniatures. They have nothing to do with my Art Nouveau bedroom, but I don't care... it's so "chic" !


 
 
There is a new artefact in my Curiosity Room, a nice crocodile for the Egyptian display. This tiny bronze piece is by Simon Walker.
 

 

Friday 29 November 2013

Decorating the Gypsy Vardo


From time to time I go back to my Gypsy Vardo.  That’s typically when I have a new idea for the decoration. The religious theme is not complete yet but I added a tiny statue of the Black Virgin in a reliquary.




 
They also needed something to smoke there, so I made a hookah pipe. I have found the perfect glass painted beads for that.







Friday 8 November 2013

Golf shoes

The last days I was working on a new range of shoes. Different colours of vintage Golf Shoes made of cloth and leather or faux leather.


I also made new matching boxes with a nice vintage lady.

Monday 21 October 2013

Orgue de Barbarie

I'll stick to French for this one. In my opinion it sounds much better than street organ or crank organ.
And, by the way, this one belongs to French gypsies on their way to the Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer.
In the same spirit than the gypsy vardo... but with different colours.


Much of the design is inspired by a French manufacturer "Le Ludion" who makes a variety of organs and of decorations. It's a street organ working with punch card books. There are other manufacturers like the ancient Limonaire.
I bought the monkey a long time ago, he is from Annie Willis- UK  and  was in my voodoo boat. Now that the boat is dry-docked, he has moved in the gypsy vardo.
 
 
The beginnings...part 1



The beginnings...part 2
 


Blue painting
 
 


 
Final results
 






Wednesday 9 October 2013

Minerals, shells and fossils

I had a lot of shells, crystals and minerals in my drawers. I began to collect them a year ago, with my Curiosities Cabinet in mind.
Last week I bought two very nice fossils from https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Lilliputstreasures. They are very finely painted and such a finding for my cabinet.
It was time to organise a new display and to add the few pieces I collected for the room during the summer.



In addition to the fossils - dinosaurs - I set in the layout a turtle shell, an amethyst geode, trays full of shells, antique bones and minerals : a tiny piece of meteorite, dravite, tourmaline and kunzite. There is more to come, I'm waiting for some crystals shaped in pyramids.

 
 
I found an old furniture kit in my shelves, it's a Shenandoah Designs  Tiered Server that I completely forgot. It would be perfect for more minerals display.
 

With some effects for the fun.
 
 
The final results. In front a round bottle full of golden flakes and an old camera, gift from my daughter.
 
 

Sunday 15 September 2013

The fairy shoes

I decided to make more fairy shoes. For different kind of fairies, living in the deep forests or on the sandy beaches, near the water. Not in the water, that's for the mermaids and they don't need shoes.

 
The green mossy slippers wear silk roses and leaves. On the sky blue shoes, there are real shells, laces and silk roses.

Sunday 8 September 2013

A fairy garden

It has been a long time since I posted something on my blog. In my defence, I was in Provence, South of France, during the 2 months of vacations and the house is almost "a miniatures free " zone. Actually, I can't bring my workshop with me and I have a lot of things to do in the house itself...
But I have something very cute to share with you.
Just before the vacations I had a special order on my Etsy shop. A customer asked me to create a single fairy shoe. It was intended as part of a surprise for two little girls.



Here is the shoe. The results were sent back to me in the form of an amazing movie.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKttzdkzWFo&feature=youtu.be

The two girls are so cute and they were so happy. I'm so proud that my little work was so well received ! The fairy bottle in  the second fairy garden was made by Caroline of Pixie Dust Miniatures. I love fairy gardens !!!

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Back to the Art Nouveau

I didn't like the bedroom of my house. It wasn't really Art Nouveau, the colour was too yellow and the whole thing was a little bit tacky, so I tore it all off...

 
 

It's much better now. I only kept the door and the floor, and reused the wiring. I changed the colours, a greyish blue and a champagne that are more in the tone of the era. I bought a beautiful wallpaper by Susan Bembridge, called "golden lily." It's a William Morris design with blue lilies. But unfortunately, the room is too small and the print is way too heavy, so my bedroom looked like a candy box. I decided not to use it, but I kept the matching fabric...



 
I made my own design for the new "Iris bedroom"and the window frame that I hadn't done before. Now the walls are ready.
 

 
The electricity and the furniture are back in place, but I still have no bed. The next step will be : me making an Art Nouveau bed.
 
 
That's the house now, still a lot of work to do !
 
 
 

Thursday 4 April 2013

Victorian boots

I'm very proud of this new model of Victorian Boots. I have made the "faux leather"with fabric. Real leather is too thick for tiny boots. The lace-up gave me hard time but the results are nice.



Thursday 28 March 2013

Asian corner

The Asian corner is officially open in the Curiosities Cabinet.

 
I recently added a nicely made statuette in my personnal collection of Buddhist/Hindu artefacts. The beginning of a new corner in my Cabinet, only consisting of religious statues for the moment. The left one (the new one) comes from Seribatu, Patrick Duclou's new Etsy shop. It's a Guanyin, the female bodhisattva of compassion, venerated by East Asian Buddhists. She's riding on a turtle supporting the world on its carapace. The right one represents the same bodhisattva. The one with the elephant head is a Ganesh, a widely worshipped Hindu deity. He is the "Remover of Obstacles". The last one sitting on the right is Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts and science.
 
 
I placed them on top of the display cabinet in order to study them.
 


And now, back in the shelves ! Here's a picture of the latest arrangements.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Those shoes are not made for walking



I made tiny shoes for a friend. The big ones belong to Clara, her two years old daughter.



 
And, because I'm in the middle of a "shoe day," I also began a new range of silk shoes. The flowers are made of silk ribbon embroidery and the rest is made of silk thread embroidery. It's a different adornment, but it still fits the XVIII-XIXth century syle.


Saturday 16 March 2013

Details

I did some interior decoration in my gypsy vardo. It turns out to be more and more the wagon of a French gypsy not far from the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Come in, I will show you...


 
 
Some pieces of lace were added around the windows and on the furnitures. I made the lampshade following the tutorial by "1 inch Minis", it looks really nice and kitsch in that corner.
I have used only LED on batteries in the wagon, I found it easier for a small moving stuff.
 
 

 
The crystal ball is ready : the owner is a fortune teller. I will add later other accessories regarding her work. HER, it seems obvious that this is a girl's dwelling !
The very fine lace on the chest of drawers was made some years ago by an IGMA Artisan, and I forgot her name...If someone can help ! I bought it in Philadelphia Miniaturia, probably in 2008 or 2009 and, if I remember well, she was from The Netherlands. All the other pieces of lace came from my great-grandmother and are in pretty bad state.
 
 


 
There are some "bondieuseries"as they say , kind of religious knick-knack : holy picture of Mary, crucifix. I will make more of these... And still my beautiful painting by Catherine from Ninette and Co and my little needlepoint cushion : a kit by Nicola Mascall.
 
 

Wednesday 6 March 2013

A bunch of shoes

 
 
New Versailles shoes


I was working on a new model of shoes. Silk shoes, only silk : body and heel, with leather sole. I will call them Versailles, they look like the Louis XIV's shoes in the paintings, except for the colour ! I guess they also fit Madame de Pompadour or Marie-Antoinette, any queen or king in the Palace and the courtiers as well....