Feeling' Hot Hot Hot!

July is in full swing now, or so it seems. To late to take it back either way,  since we have already taken it out of the box and have been using it.  Here in the Okanagan, we have been having a bit of a heat wave, which we haven't seen in the early part of July for many years. This, of course, means that people who aren't at the beach  cooling down are are hiding out in their houses, with the air conditioning cranked, usually to the point where it is so cold that the penguins in the house are heard to say "oh come ON now...".  What, you have no penguins? Shame. Anyway, I have never really understood the need in this city to over-refrigerate. Granted, we are technically in a desert and it can get up to 40 C (104 F), but as long as you aren't being foolish about it, it is survivable, and it is not like it will last forever. Comfortable is nice, I won't say I don't appreciate a certain coolness when I am trying to sleep,  but trying to recreate with the air conditioner that early January day when it was so cold your lips froze off seems a little excessive. Maybe it is because I was not raised with air conditioning, so we tended to tough it out. Or maybe as kids, we tended not to care, we were too busy building forts, swimming at the local pool, riding our bikes, falling off things and breaking stuff (like arms and legs) etc., so that the heat was only a minor consideration set afloat in a sea of activity. Either way, it is July. 

I didn't get to much this week - I am living in chaos at the moment myself  - summer is also those times when people want to do home improvements. The problem is, if you move stuff you have been working on so it isn't in the way of the big sweaty workers,  your stuff tends to sink gently back into your craft room, and out of the realm of mortal man. I did try to get a few things done though. I didn't get a chance to start my beach hut yet, just doing a  few kitchen pieces for the Washtub. 

 I have made my 3rd sink. I am not sure what that means. I did change the dimensions a tad, and it is now shorter.

 Sadly, I decided it wasn't quite right, after all that work. The space is simply too small for these big sinks, and I went on to making an L-shaped cupboard and sink. 

 This is one of my earlier sketches today. I have modified things a bit since then. It is always a good idea to make a quick sketch, if only to solidify in your mind where you are going, and it is also a good idea to figure out your dimensions. Also, if you can't put things in their places in your imagination, the internet is your oyster - great ideas can be had by a simple search.  I used a few of the techniques in the Broadwood books and a few internet gems,  and went from there. 

 This is one of my earlier tries, and I was getting the feeling for what I was going for here. Never be afraid to make or toss away something that isn't working. This one didn't work because I still couldn't work my sink in, and this ended up being too long anyway. 

 Eventually I got to this configuration. From here, I  did the usual folding and pasting. 

 There is the sink, pre-paint. I also made the fridge, which was just a taller version of the stove. Today was a day to branch out from the established patterns, I suppose. If you don't believe me about my using cards for source material, you can see I have, as there is someone's hand written greeting in various shades of chopped up.

 The fridge, before I folded and glued. Fridges are easy, they are big boxes with doors. I guess in that respect cabinets are also easy, little boxes with doors. Come to think of it, lots of things are just boxes with doors. Makes life just really simple sometimes.

I went with a lighter palette, because the room was so dark that dark furniture quickly disappeared. I kitted out the appliances etc., with "gold" beading eyelets, which I trimmed with my trusty pair of wire cutters. 

 A view the stove (middle) and the little cabinet on the side - although I wonder if I shouldn't make that a tall cabinet instead? Hmm, something to think about. I will be doing some cabinets for above the sink and such as well, I just haven't gotten there yet. 

The room with a table. I will  have to figure out a better table, something a little smaller I think. The rug will be something different as well, it is far too "expensive" looking to be in the kitchen. 

 The room with my nice little green hutch. Sadly it doesn't really go. Oh well, the good news is all these pieces of furniture will be ready for future projects. The sink needs a little something, I will have to work on that as well. 

As I say, too much chaos, not enough time to find my supplies, so I left it there for the week. 

By the way, What *ARE* you doing still inside? Go, get some fresh air! Winter will be back all too soon (and less than 6 months to Christmas, you know!). Okay fine, so it is winter already in some parts of the world. You know what I mean. Warm now, cold very soon.

To leave you with something summery and fun, I found this little tutorial on how to make poly-clay ice cream from Sugar Charm Shop, so your mini-folk can cool off!  Hope you enjoy it - make safe and sensible choices this week out there in the heat, but also have fun! Until next time, my dear little near-nudists escaping the heat...