Tales of the bees and flowers and candles

Hello my friends,

Last year I showed you the two beehives that I made using string and thread. Here and here 

With the move to our new house coming closer each week most of my miniatures and craft supplies are already packed and waiting. But not everything is packed yet. I wanted to add another type of beehive to my little collection.

A model with a flat top. A so called swarm seat. In Dutch we call them zwermzit. Used to attract swarms of bees when they migrate from the old hive to start a new one. All under the watchfull eye of Saint Ambrose. 

The sides of this new beehive taper slightly downwards. I dyed it for a longer time and in a different kind of tea than the other two hives. The colour of this new hive is noticably darker. 

I used the same method to make a flowerbasket. Usualy these are wickered, but I chose to make him the same way as the hives. With thread and string. After I finished the basket and the braided handle I soaked them in watered down red ink. No tea this time. It came out as I hoped. A good dark reddish pink hue. Not too bland, but not too saturated either. 

I tested it before, trying to dye the basket itself. Because trying to dye a testpiece in watered down green ink turned everything into a lilac! And that was certainly not the result I had aimed for. The purple string came from the jar with the green ink! 

But back to the flower baskey. I glued the coloured basket and handle together and that makes a flowerbasket. For the pictures I wanted to put some tulips inside the basket. Tulips that are  beautifully and most expertly made by Ilona. But you may have guessed that they are already packed and I cant find them in the boxes that I can reach. 

This means that I have to make some flowers myself. With the few materials I can use I brushed some inks on thin packing paper used for packing glasware and such. 

Then I cut out leaves and petals and glued them on paper covered wire. I glued 6 petals to form the flower heads. And two leaves on each stem. And that makes a few makeshift miniature tulips to fill the basket with. They are crudely made however, and will be replaced by better examples as soon as possible. All under the watchful eye of Ambrose. 

Now that covers the birds and the bees, but what about the candles? Did I make any? No I have not, although I want to try to make miniature candles one day. 

Last year I gave a fellow miniatures enthusiast legal advise. Helping a friend meant that I did not want to charge for the advice. My friend insisted however on some form of payment and offered me to choose a miniature out of a selection  shown. How could I refuse? 

I chose one of the two brass chandeliers that were part of this selection. In Dutch they are called "bolkroon(luchter)". Literaly translated you get in english the word "sphere/ball crown (chandelier)" you only have to look at them to understand why they have this name. It is derived from the large brass "bol" just above the ring on the lower end of the chandelier.  This type of chandelier can still often be seen in listed buildings and old churches in the Netherlands. 

Perhaps my friend thought me too modest, or is simply too kind, because my friend gave me the second chandelier too. Making the remark that my house will be big enough to find room for both pieces. I am realy very grateful for this gift. 

I am overjoyed with these two artisan miniatures. I am told that they are made by Alec Rothwell. A miniaturist that no longer makes miniatures but specialised in metal work. And his lamps, fireplace fenders and firebaskets can still be found on ebay for example. 

These chandeliers are not electrified and have little plastic "beeswax" candles in them. I think that I will keep them this way. The one with five candles will definately go into the stewards office. The one with ten candles may end up in the hall or in the chapel in the attic. Not sure yet. 

Well that is it for now. I hope that you have enjoyed this post. 

Huibrecht