Day 181-187 -Real Life Gifts For My Palace

You know you are completely consumed by your hobby when you refuse to acknowledge that it is only a hobby. No, no, no, you insist, it is too much a part of me to be a mere hobby. It is LOVE, ART, PASSION (emphasis added with bold, CAPS, underlined) Hobby has suddenly become almost a dirty word and the word, cute? Intolerable! 

And when family and friends gift you with only things related to your L.A.P. you know the body snatchers have invaded. It is so easy to make me happy now. I have become totally predictable and as easy to read as ABC. Even my life size gifts are meant really for my minis.

This is a bird cage given by MarG. Picked by her wonderful assistant who also loves mini making, here is a perfect little Mughal birdcage, almost Indo-Saracenic or Indo Goth in architecture.  I think it will make a perfect firefly park, or perhaps mum's Indian peony garden  or maybe even both with fantastic creatures like phoenixes and exotic birds like Oriental hornbills. Thank you, MarG ! Thank you Pam!

As if to feed my all too ambitious dream to go where I have never been, MarG and FaiZ went shopping for the most basic airbrush tools. Specifically for someone who has never done it before. Funny how I have always wanted one, long before I discovered miniatures and way before I even knew I could paint.

To serve as an inspiration and perhaps another palace annex, Win bought me a Vrindavan Activity Set (For Children 3-13), all the way from India. The description on the back of the card reads : 

The exotic temple traditions of India comes alive through this beautifully illustrated model of a temple courtyard complete with altar and figures of Krishna, the cowherd boys and girls, curious cows and mischievous monkeys. Several activities,  prayers and songs provide a glimpse into the magical lives and daily worship of the inhabitants of the sacred village where  Krishna and his friends played thousands of years ago. For youths 3 to 13, this introduction to Indian temple life captures the imagination. Nothing this elaborate or engaging related to the East has ever been produced for children. 

And here is one more to add to my Gods of Small Things.  A gift from Rosanna, this is a Thomas Sabo bracelet  where you can pick your own charms from about 4-500 varieties. It apparently took Rosanna a  long while to choose between this Ganesh and  a teeny elephant with a pearl at its trunk At the end of the day, the fact that the Ganesh can double as a mini God in my palace triumphed of course. 

Another one from Rosanna, this is a plate from Provence with a garden motif. At the time of making this post, I placed the plate inside the birdcage just where the base of the dome head is and it fitted perfectly. It seems this plate may well be the foundation of  a park or a garden. Kismet.

Next are the lovely scallop shells from Flora. Flora uses these shells as palettes and after reading my last post on the artists' workroom where I also used mini shells as palettes,  she has sent me these.  I took the pictures of these shells with the four bamboo clams from No Signboard Seafood Restaurant. Rosanna and Walter had treated us to a most exquisite dinner and the bamboo clams was the 1st course.

One of the bamboo shells will be sent to Flora and the rest, together with the scallop ones will be my real life palettes. As I have written to Flora, these shells will remind me always to nurture my skill, one that I never thought I had until now. 

And to top it all,  I have had the best gift of all,  great company, aplenty,  both virtual and real. Now together  with great music (selection from Lush Tiga) and my L.A.P, what more does a girl need?  

Thank you, family and friends, and thank you, X' for the music.