A few accessories and furniture for Kate's Cottage

Hello everyone,

How are you all? I hope you have enjoyed your weekend and are all doing well. I have been extremely busy with my everyday life, keeping up with my miniature orders and preparing the school books and stationary for the kids. Summer is still pretty here and it is still very hot. 

I would like to tell you that My Miniature World Shop at etsy has a new range of miniature ceramics, new miniature books and new hand painted pieces. Now we offer over 230 different accessories and in a few days we will be adding more to our selection.

I also would like to thank the face book fans of My Miniature World as we have reached over 8,340 likes. Thank you so much for your support.  I really appreciate it. So keep tuned as soon we will be having another free give away.

As I said before I was quite busy and didn't have much to do what I had planned. I am waiting for some supplies which seem to be taking forever to arrive. In the mean time I still added some pieces of furniture and accessories.

The living area

 Firstly I wanted to introduce you to the residence who will live in Kate's Cottage. Catherine and her son Luke. The names were both quite common in the 1550's and 1560's. As the house's original name is Kate's Cottage it was only fair that the lady of the house was to be called Catherine. On the other hand even if the name Luke was used in the Tudor times it holds a very sentimental meaning to me. At the beginning of this project on 19th August 2015, I lost one of my youngest cousins to cancer and his name was Luke. So I think the little lad will hold a very special place in the project and it will be something to remember my dear sweet 19 year old cousin.  

Catherine and Luke

The story line behind Catherine and Luke

"Catherine had a rough start in her married life. At first it was all bliss. Both Catherine and her husband worked in the field and had a small little farm. They were both in their twenties, respected one another and were respected by the villagers. They sold their crops and dairy in the market which was enough for them to live a good normal life. One evening, after a day's work in the field, her husband never returned home. Some say that he was attacked by a wild beast. Others say that he was slain by an evil hand. Catherine had found his lifeless body lying in the filed covered in blood. It was like a lightning bolt in a Summer's day. It was very hard for Catherine to carry the load all by herself. She had to look after the crops and the cattle. Sometimes the neighbors came to help. When she was on the verge of giving up she realized that she was with child. It was her husband's last gift to her. She did her best to keep on going, She picked up the pieces that remained of her life.  She woke up early in the morning, fed the cattle, went to the market and worked in the field. She promised that she will do everything she could to give a good life to her unborn baby. 

Finally the day came when she gave birth to her son. Folk spoke from behind her back and she could hear whispering when she passed from the village. Catherine didn't care what people thought of her or of what they said. She held her head high. Her son Luke carried the name of his father, her late husband. Life was not easy but every minute was worth it.  Like always gossip died down and Catherine kept up with her field and cattle that provided with their daily living. Tiny Luke turned four and grew up to be a fine good boy, that adored his mother with all his heart. Catherine would do anything for him even sell her soul if needed. He was her life line. Her life depended on him as much as he needed her,  for not only he was her night and day but a splitting image of his father; the only man she ever loved." 

For the fire place I have made the firedogs with a smoke jack spit, a drip tray and the cooking roast.

It was the first time that I ever made something like this and I am very happy how they turned out.

I have made them with polymer clay and for the spit I used a tooth pick. I still need to add the wood and maybe even a little glow for the fire.

The fire place accessories made out of polymer clay

The first pieces of furniture arrived for the room which are the primitive bench, the trestle table, food dresser and two small stools. These pieces are from Ashwood Designs.

They are perfect replicas for the Tudor times. While doing my homework and studying the Tudor period, I have learnt that common people usually didn't have a lot of furniture and when it came to chairs you will be surprised they never came in pairs or in sets. There was not such thing as four chairs or six chairs around the table. It all deepened on how many persons lived in the house.

So I went for a primitive bench do go with the trestle table and a small child's stool.

trestle table and bench

Child's bench

  For the little children it was quite strange to have a small stool but this particular stool was not meant to be sat on but to stand on. Children used to eat standing up. They would stand on this stool so they could reach better by the table.

Luke on his Child's stool by the table

 I also got a spinning stool which I am sure it will find it's use and purpose in the project,

spinning stool

I also got the food dresser. You can see that the cupboard  doors are strips of wood. This is to air the stocked food to keep it fresh,

Food dresser

I also got some white metal miniatures which will fit in perfectly. I still need to hand paint them and I am sure they will look just right when all set and done,

White metal accessories that still need to be painted

And here is how the room looks like so far.

The living area

Fire place

So this is all for today. I hope you liked what I have done so far and the little story that was built around this project.

Hopefully I will be finishing most of the outside so keep tuned for the next update.

Take care and see you all soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx