Sleepytime

 Hello,

September is slowly saying goodbye while in the meantime autumn will officially start this coming Sunday. Or in other words: Time to dust off the candles, get out the cuddly blankets, make yourself a big cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate/whatever and to make yourself comfortable with all of this plus a good book. *LOL* Halloween is also coming nearer and don't make me start to think about that certain holiday at the end of the year which is coming nearer and nearer without showing any mercy for a certain flutterybeary whose name shall not be mentioned due to reasons of discretion but who is really in need for any good point in the Golden Book. Saying this... I bet none of you will be surprised at all that Rosey and I did not miss our chance to earn ourselves a few good points at the beginning of September when it was time for updating Birgit's calendars. 

But apart from threatening holidays at the horizon autumn is a time for filling expressions with life and meaning like coziness, comfortableness, snugness, the Danish "hygge" or the German "Gemütlichkeit". And what could ever be cozier or "gemütlicher" like cuddling up in bed? Okay, I admit it... I don't know if I'm earning myself the award for "Best topic bridge in a post" now... however... I wouldn't say no! *teehee* Yes, this post is about beds and to be more exact about beds for the North Pole project. But we also thought we could use this for some trip down memory lane showing first a parade of beds Birgit has created or in some cases used over the years. And we're starting *drumroll please" with the best and most beautiful of all these beds - mine! *LOL* Do you remember at all it is changeable? This is the strawberry version in Strawberry Cottage...

... and this is the (sorry, I need to say it this time) Christmas version in Christmas Cottage. And of course you can not only see my beautiful, terrific, awesome, fabulous bed but also the cuddly bed of my trusted furry mate Wuff.

And although it's only coming along in one version my little sis' too received her bearsonal dream bed made by Birgit for Flower Cottage.

Another lovely bed is offering rest for any beary being exhausted after having fun with all the toys in the playroom of the Beary House.

The next one we want to show is the bed our friend Ilona made for Bowler and his snowball home. It was completely made by her - except for the toppings on the bed's posts which were added by Birgit.

Link to Ilona's blog: https://minimumloon.blogspot.com/

And as you would expect our magical friends go to rest in some very special beds. This is the bed of Magica de Spell in the Old Witch Tower - a photo from the archives when Arthud Skullington was still jinxed into a toad and Purple hadn't joined the other teenage dragons yet. 

Next in line is the bed of Mysteria de Spell and Borthud Skullington (a bought piece from an English miniaturist who is no longer selling)...

... followed by the bed of our beloved herb witch Gertie Gumthrop.

And we shall not forget the bed of Orlin Mc Twizzle which can be found in the roof top garden of Gertie's retirement home. And don't you worry about Orlin... as a root gnome he enjoys being outside even in his sleep. And you should also keep in mind that the leaves in his bed's canopy come from a magical rambler... they will never allow any teardrop to reach Orlin or his bedding. 

We also thought it would be nice to remember the tiny beds in scale 1:48 - from left to right in Pumpkin Cottage, Strawberry Hut and Flower Hut.

And with this we're finally hopping over to the North Pole where Einar and Ylvi are looking forward to have the sweetest dreams in their future bedroom in the stunning sleigh bed being made and given to us as a gift from our friend Ilona. 

And sleigh beds seem to be in fashion at the North Pole as Soot and Crystal also have sleigh beds. And as they share a room with Lasse Birgit painted their beds to match with the colour scheme of his room. 

Time for a little riddle: Are you able to guess which bed belongs to whom??? *LOL*

And now we can finally start with the creation of Lasse's bed. Birgit wanted to have something very special for him so it was a stroke of luck that she received a kit for a stunning bunk bed created and given to her by her friend Rosanna (who we sadly lost to Instagram). This is the photo from last year's "Christmas gifts on parade" showing the kit (and some yummy candy which vanished a long time ago):

Birgit knew exactly what she wanted to do with it... it started with gesso and the lovely metallic blue she already used for Lasse's cabinet and the sleigh beds for Soot and Crystal.

She also had some kind of glittery fabric of almost the same metallic blue in her stash and used it for Lasse's mattress. And of course she used the same silver metallic paint she had already used for the cabinet and then added a few stickers from her stash which give another good hint of the special theme Lasse's room will be dedicated to. 

Birgit also happened to find some bedding matching this theme. The red cushion was part of this offer but it will get a place in the bedroom of Lasse's parents.

Bedding set found at Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/de-en/shop/PrettyMiniaturesShop?ref=yr_purchases

And as it was just the fabric being sewn together Birgit stuffed it a bit to make it extra comfortable for Lasse...

... and she also attached a few lights (not fixed yet... which is also true when it comes to the bed's front wall).

As you can see Lasse is sleeping at the top of the bed which means that the compartment below offers plenty of space for... eh... well, let me put it this way... as some might say a bit of Birgit-touch... or as others would say a lot of Birgit-craziness. Whatever it may be called... this will be part of a future post.

Yes, we're almost at the end of today's post. But if anyone just started to believe that this would finally be a post free from even more boring pictures of BiWuBearies in the garden you rejoiced too early! *grin* Sorry, but who are we to leave without one more volume of our *coughcough* beloved series "And once more many pictures of BiWuBearies in the garden". Here comes episode No. 93940 - being a "late summer garden" edition:

And now we're saying goodbye for today and for September - with one last picture we would like to share. These tiny guys are in fact a birthday gift Birgit gave to herself. These busy baking elves are totally cute, aren't they? And it's easy to see that Birgit had Einar in mind who will be happy to receive a scene with baking elves. But apart from being tiny and cute these little guys are fascinating just regarding the material they were made of - can you guess it?

Yes, they are made of wood... and even more they are wood art from the Ore Mountains. Very special pieces... which we will see again some day somewhere in the North Pole project. And that's all from us... really... however... we would still wish you all the best for the remaining days of September and a good start into October! ;O)

Hugs

Flutterby & Rosey

Das BiWuBären-Backstudio / Baking with the BiWuBearies

Hallo,

wir sind's! Komisch... sieht irgendwie alles aus wie immer. Dabei musste Birgit einen neuen Computer kaufen, nachdem der alte das Zeitliche gesegnet hatte - was einfacher entschieden als getan war denn Birgit hat von den derartigen technischen Dingen ungefähr so viel Ahnung wie meinereiner von Quantenphysik. *grins* Aber man wächst ja mit seinen Aufgaben und inzwischen ist bis auf wenige Ausnahmen wieder alles so, wie wir es vorher gewohnt waren. Und das ist nicht nur für Birgits Nerven eine Erleichterung sondern auch für uns, denn nun hat Birgit endlich wieder den Kopf frei zum Basteln und für den Blog. Deshalb können wir Euch heute herzlich Willkommen heißen im "BiWuBären-Backstudio"! *schmunzel*
... it's us! Funny... everything's looking as it always did. See, Birgit had to buy a new computer after the old one decided to quit its job - but this was easier decided than done regarding that Birgit's knowledge about these technological issues is as huge as mine when it comes to quantum physics. *grin* But one grows with the tasks showing up and despite a few exceptions everything is now as we've always been used to. And this is not just a relief for Birgit's nerves but also for us because Birgit finally has her brain free enough to go back to crafting and blogging. That's why we can now give you a heartwarm welcome to "Baking with the BiWuBearies"! *smile*

Wie Ihr ja wisst, arbeitet Birgit parallel an zwei großen Projekten, dem Bärchenhaus und dem Weihnachtshaus, und es wartet auch noch eine neue Bude für unseren Weihnachtsmarkt darauf, mit Waren bestückt zu werden. Für beide weihnachtlichen Projekte benötigt Birgit nun aber jede Menge weihnachtlicher Leckereien und insbesondere Lebkuchen. Spontan fallen einem da wohl zwei Methoden ein... entweder holt man das Fimo raus oder man öffnet die Geldbörse und kauft ein bei Miniaturisten, die das richtig gut können. Es ist ja unfassbar, wie viel Talent und Können man im Internet und auf Messen finden kann und das auch ganz besonders bei denjenigen, die auf Essbares en miniature spezialisiert sind. Allerdings ist das kein billiges Vergnügen... und außerdem hat Selbermachen ja auch etwas absolut Befriedigendes.
You know by now that Birgit is working on two big projects at the same time, the Beary House and the Christmas House, but there's also the new booth for our Christmas Market waiting to be filled with goods. For both Christmas projects Birgit is in need for loads of Christmassy treats and especially gingerbread. At once there are two different ways coming to mind... either one gets out the polymer clay or one starts to open the purse and buys from miniaturists who are experts at this. It's of course amazing how much talent and skills can be found in the internet and at fairs and this is even more true for the ones who are specialized on food en miniature. Anyhow this costs quite some money... and there's of course something satisfying in the fact that something is handmade by yourself.

Womit wir bei der Alternative und damit der Modelliermasse wären... und ganz schnell feststellen, dass es auch hier jede Menge Können und Übung braucht... und Hilfsmittel. Wenn man Kekse, Lebkuchen und sonstige süße Versuchungen herstellen will und das auch noch in etwas größerer Stückzahl, dann geht das bei uns Laien nicht ohne Formen und Ausstecher. Aber wenn man z. B. 10 - 15 Lebkuchenmännchen machen möchte... lohnt sich dann überhaupt die Anschaffung oder Eigenherstellung einer Silikonform? Und dann hat man ja immer noch nur eine Sorte Lebkuchenmännchen in nur einer Größe...
Which is bringing us to the alternative which means the polymer clay... and makes us realize very fast that this also needs a lot of skill and practice... and tools. Creating an amount of cookies, gingerbread and other sweet temptations is hardly possible for normal skilled people without moulds and punches. But if one just needs for example 10-15 gingerbread men... does buying or self-creating a silicon mould make sense at all? And even if you have one you are still only able to create one sort of gingerbreadmen in just one size...

In Birgits Fall kommt noch erschwerend hinzu, dass ihr das Weichkneten der Modelliermasse wegen ihrer Arm- und Fingerprobleme sehr schwer fällt. Es ist zwar etwas einfacher geworden, seit Birgit "Fimo Mix Quick" entdeckt hat (ein echter Segen, gerade auch bei angebrochenen alten Päckchen... können wir nur empfehlen) aber anstrengend ist es für sie immer noch. Und so ist Birgit dann auf die Idee gekommen, zumindest für einen Teil der benötigten Süßwaren auf eine dritte Alternative zurückzugreifen. Die nennt sich "nach BiWuBären-Art" *lach* und greift auf das zurück, was man schon da hat oder billig beschaffen kann - so wie das hier:
And if we're talking about Birgit there's on top the problem that softening the clay is very hard for her due to her arm- and finger issues. It became a bit easier since Birgit discovered "Fimo Mix Quick" (a true bliss, especially when dealing with opened old packages... we can really recommend this) but it's still exhausting for her. That's why Birgit came along with the idea to use for at least some of the needed sweets a third alternative. This one is called "The BiWuBeary Way" *LOL* and its base is using stuff you already have or which you can get without spending much money - like these things here:

 Vor allem greift hier aber wieder Birgits Motto "Irgendwas braucht man ja auch für den Hintergrund" *grins* Sehr schöne unterschiedliche "Kekse" lassen sich zum Beispiel aus kleinen Zier-Knöpfen machen, in unserem Fall von "Dress it up".
And this also means showtime for Birgit's motto "One also needs things for the background" *grin* A nice way to make different "cookies" is for example using tiny decorative buttons, we've used some by "Dress it up".

Man sieht es auf dem Foto schlecht, aber die weißen Schneeflockenknöpfe haben eine sehr schön strukturierte Oberfläche. Wenn man den Haken auf der Rückseite entfernt, zum Pinsel greift und zum Schluß noch etwas Glanzlack aufträgt, dann sehen sie mit etwas Wohlwollen aus wie Lebkuchen mit Guss.
It's hardly visible at the photo but the white snowflake buttons have a nice structure on their surface. After removing the hook at the back, grabbing the brushes and in the end adding some glossy varnish they're looking like iced gingerbread... provided you're not too critical when having a closer look.

Diese hier waren ein echter Selbstgänger...
These guys were easy going...

Da hat sogar Birgit mal auf Bemalung verzichtet. *grins*
This time even Birgit felt no urge to take her brushes. *grin*

Dafür hat sie hier aber wieder beherzt zum Pinsel gegriffen...
But she did not hesitate to grab her brushes to paint these...

...genau wie bei diesen Plastikbretzeln, die Birgit irgendwann mal billig für irgendwas gekauft hatte.
... as well as these cheap plastic pretzels she had bought a long time ago for whatever.

Aus Plastikkelchen, die man zum Basteln von Perlenengeln benutzt, hat Birgit Lebkuchentannen gemacht. Mit ein bisschen Farbe und Kirschen aus Halbperlen sehen die dann verblüffend lecker aus.
From plastic cups which are usually for creating pearl angels Birgit made gingerbread Christmas trees. With a bit of paint and cherries made of half pearls they're looking surprisingly yummy when finished.

Und weil ein Rentierfan wie Birgit natürlich einen entsprechenden Motivstanzer besitzt, hat sie auch damit experimentiert. Sie hat 8 Stanzteile aus Tonpapier zusammen geklebt, bemalt und dann mit Hilfe von weißen Stickern verziert (was in diesem Fall wirklich besser aussah als mit weißer Farbe). Und mit einer "Kirsche" aus einer winzigen Halbperle wurden daraus dann ganz viele Rudolph-Kekse.
And because a reindeer lover like Birgit owns for sure a reindeer punch she started to experiment with this too. She glued 8 punches from paper together, painted them and added white stickers for decoration (which was really looking better than attaching paint). And after addding a cherry aka a tiny half pearl we can offer many Rudolph cookies. 

Aber auch Holzteile wurden in Lebkuchen verwandelt. Diese kleine Eisenbahn zum Beispiel...
But also wooden pieces were turned into gingerbread. This little train for example...

... oder dieser Pferdeschlitten (ein Bausatz von Volker Arnold).
... or this one-horse-open-sleigh (a kit by Volker Arnold)

Sogar der Prototyp einer Schokoladentorte ist mit Hilfe von Holzsternen entstanden. Hatte ich eigentlich schon mal erwähnt, dass man ja auch Miniaturen für den Hintergrund braucht? *kicher*
Even the prototype of a chocolate cake was made with the help of wooden stars. Btw - did I already mention that the background too needs to be filled with miniatures? *giggle*

Und die kleinen Goldsterne (Konfetti aus Folie) machen sich bemalt wirklich gut als dünne Schokoladendeko. Die kamen dann auch bei Birgit nächster Idee zum Einsatz - Lebkuchenpralinen. Die Basis dafür sind Halbperlen - von denen Birgit jede Menge hat.
And the tiny gold stars (confetti made of foil) make a good job as thin chocolaty decoration after being painted. These were also used when Birgit realized her next idea - gingerbread pralinés. (Praline or Praliné is in Germany and other parts of Europe a word for small, exquisite and filled chocolate treats). The base for these are half pearls - in a variety of which Birgit has plenty in her stash.

So sehen die ja noch nicht wirklich lecker aus...
This way they're not looking very yummy at all...

... was sich aber schon ändert, wenn man sich vorstellt, dass hier keine Farbe sondern Schokolade aufgetragen wurde. *schmunzel*
... which already changes if you try to imagine that it wasn't paint that was applied but in fact chocolate. *smile* 

Aber das war erst der Anfang, denn nun hat Birgit ihre "Basis-Lebkuchen" mit allem Möglichen verziert und auf einer "Oblate" aus Papier platziert. Und ehrlich... wir hatten jede Menge Spaß dabei, den Resultaten Namen und Geschmacksrichtungen anzudichten. Da gibt es zum Beispiel "Classic" mit normalem Zuckerguß, "Peppermint Swirl", "Marzipan Star", "Cappuccino", "Lemon Kiss", "Chocolate Love" oder "Schwarzwälder Kirsch". Schaut doch mal, ob Ihr die erkennt *lach* - genau wie unsere bärsönlichen Favoriten: "Raspberry Pink" und "Strawberry Cream". *yummy* Die sind auf dem Foto leicht auszumachen, weil Birgit auf einem gewissen Sicherheitsabstand bestanden hat. *grins*
But this was just the beginning; because now Birgit started to decorate her "basic gingerbread" in many ways and placed them on an "Oblate" made from common paper. ("Oblate" is a special type of wafer, they're white, very thin and often used as the base for the dough when baking gingerbread like for example the traditional "Elisenlebkuchen") And believe me... we had loads of fun inventing names and flavors for the results. For example we're having "Classic" with common icing, "Peppermint Swirl", "Marzipan Star", "Cappuccino", "Lemon Kiss", "Chocolate Love" or "Schwarzwälder Kirsch". Look for yourselves if you're able to recognize them *LOL* - as well as our bearsonal favourites: "Raspberry Pink" and "Strawberry Cream". *yummy* You can spot them easily at the photo because Birgit insisted to have a certain safety distance. *grin*

Auch für das nächste Foto gab es strikte Sicherheitsanweisungen: "Die Pfoten bleiben unter der Schale - der Weihnachtsmann und ich sehen alles!" Mist! *grummel*
And there were also strict saftety instructions for the next photo: "The paws are staying under the bowl - Santa and I are seeing everything!" Rats! *grumble*

Ich weiß nicht, ob es daran lag, dass Rosey und ich zu laut über die Ungerechtigkeit dieser Welt nachgedacht haben, dass das nächste Foto ohne BiWuBärchenbeteiligung gemacht wurde. *teehee*
I'm not quite sure if it had any impact that Rosey and I were debating aloud about this world not being fair that the next photo was taken without any BiWuBeary participation. *teehee*

Und zum Schluß zeigen wir Euch noch ein ganz besonderes Lebkuchenmännchen.
And while coming to the end we're showing a very special gingerbread man.

Das ist von Papo und gefiel Birgit besonders gut wegen seiner Größe... sie meint, der würde sich gut machen als Hingucker an der Bude auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt. Andererseits würde sich so ein großes Lebkuchenmännchen aber auch richtig gut in der Küche des Weihnachtshauses machen... Da trifft es sich doch gut, dass Birgit zwei davon hat. *grins*
This is made by Papo and Birgit liked it at once because of its size... she says this would make a great eyecatcher for the booth at the Christmas Market. On the other hand such a big gingerbread man would also look great in the kitchen of the Christmas House... That's why it was a lucky coincidence that Birgit happens to have two of them. *grin*

So sieht man auch den Vorher-Nachher-Unterschied viel besser. Allerdings hätte ich wohl besser sagen sollen "man sah den Unterschied besser"... denn inzwischen ist auch Kerlchen Nr. 2 fertig.
And the difference "Before and After" can be seen so much better this way. Anyhow I should have said "could be seen"... because in the meantime No. 2 is also finished.

Ihr seht, Birgit wird es schon schaffen, die Regale ihrer Projekte irgendwie zu füllen. Und damit sie den Kopf frei hat, um ihre verrückten... äh... kreativen *hüstel* Ideen zu verwirklichen, habe ich ihr natürlich auch an diesem Monatsanfang wieder bei der Umstellung ihrer Kalender geholfen. Ihr wisst ja, einmal ein Gentlebär, immer ein Gentlebär. Im März erwartete uns ein wunderschönes Rotkehlchen und ein Spruch von Charles Darwin: "Die Tiere empfinden wie der Mensch Freude und Schmerz, Glück und Unglück."
You see, somehow Birgit will manage to fill the shelves of her projects. And to make sure that she has her mind free to realize her crazy... eh... creative *cough* ideas I've helped her of course once more at this month's beginning with the update of her calendars. You know by now - once a gentlebeary, always a gentlebeary. For March our wisdom calendar shows a beautiful robin and a saying by Charles Darwin who said the animals would feel joy and pain, happiness and sorrow like human beings do.

Jawoll, da hatte der gute Mann aber mal so was von Recht, das kann ich als Bärchen nur bestätigen. Und was glaubt Ihr wohl, wie viel Freude und Glück hier sowohl Mensch als auch Tiere empfunden haben, als endlich, endlich doch noch unser Weihnachtspäckchen von Drora hier ankam! Hurra!!! Was für eine Freude - und nicht auszudenken, wenn all diese Schätze verloren gegangen wären! Schaut mal, womit Drora uns überreich beschenkt hat:
Yessss, good ol' Mr. Darwin was absolutely right about this, believe the word of a beary. And what do you suppose how much joy and happiness both humans as well as animals were feeling when finally, finally our Christmas package from Drora arrived at our place! Hooray!!! So much joy - and just thinking all these treasures would have been lost makes us tremble! Have a look at Drora's more than generous gifts:

Link zu / to Drora's blog: http://drorasminimundo.blogspot.com/

Bonbons, die in jeder Hinsicht süß sind... und tolle maritime Anhänger, perfekt für das Bärchenhaus. Und sogar noch perfekter für das Bärchenhaus waren diese Geschenke:
Candies which are in any way sweet... and stunning maritime charms, perfect for the Beary House. And even more perfect for the Beary House were these gifts:

Droras Miniaturen mit Muscheln sind ebenso legendär wie wunderschön und wir sind mehr als stolz, dass wir jetzt noch einen weiteren Spiegel und eine zweite Muschelbox unser eigen nennen dürfen. Erinnert sich eigentlich noch jemand daran, wer sich die erste gesichert hat? Also... alle die jetzt "Fluby" gerufen haben, liegen leider völlig falsch. Auch meine kleine Schwester war chancenlos... glaubt mir, es ist nicht allzu klug, mit einer Hexe zu argumentieren, deshalb steht die erste Box auf Gertie Gumthrops Schreibtisch. ;O)
Drora's miniatures with shells are as legendary as they are beautiful and we are more than proud that we're owning yet one more mirror and a second shell box now. Do you remember who managed to get the first one? Well... all of you who have shouted "Fluby" now are mistaken. And my little sis' had no chance neither... believe me, it's not clever at all to argue with a witch that's why the first box can now be found at Gertie Gumthrop's desk. ;O)

Und die zweite geht nun ins Bärchenhaus... genau wie die fantastischen Keramikhäuser, die Drora uns ebenfalls geschickt hat.
And the second one will go into the Beary House... as well as these awesome ceramic houses we also received from Drora.

Unfassbar schön... genau wie diese Blumentöpfe:
Incredibly beautiful... as well as these flower pots:

Einfach toll! Birgit sagt, die kann sie für ein Zukunftsprojekt richtig gut brauchen. Aber zum Glück war auch etwas für mich dabei - ich kann es immer noch nicht fassen, so schööööööön!!!
A true burner! Birgit says they are perfect for a future project of hers. Luckily there was still something included that was meant for me - and I can still hardly believe it, it's so beauuuuuutiful!!!

Hach... danke, liebe Drora... da wird der Kaffeeklatsch doch gleich noch schöner... A propos schön - da war noch etwas im Päckchen... *freu*
My... thank you, dear Drora... this will make the "Kaffeeklatsch" even nicer at once. Speaking of nice - there was still something waiting in the package... *beams-with-joy*

Was für eine Freude!!! Nun sind auch wir stolze Besitzer von Droras fantastischen Walnuss-Szenen... also... von einer... denn die mit dem Schneemann hat Drora, großzügig und -herzig wie sie nun mal ist, der stillen Blogleserin und ihrer Schneemannsammlung zugedacht. Ach, so viel Schönes in einem Päckchen!
So much joy!!! Now we're also proud owners of Drora's stunning walnut scenes... well... at least of one of them... because Drora being the generous and kind lady that she is dedicated the one with the snowman to the silent blog reader and her snowman collection. My, so much treasures in one single package!

Dearest Drora, once more from this place... thank you so much for spoiling us rotten! You've sent us so much joy and happiness with your wonderful gifts... but even more it's the gift of calling you our friend that makes us blessed. Also in the name of the silent blogreader: Thanks from the bottoms of our hearts!

Und damit verabschieden wir uns für heute und wünschen Euch einen schönen Rest-März, vor allem aber, dass Ihr und alle, die Euch nahe stehen, gut durch die Corona-Krise kommt. Passt gut auf Euch auf!
And with this we're saying goodbye for now wishing you a fantastic rest of March but most of all that you and everybody being close to you will make it safe and sound through the corona crisis. Take good care of yourselves!

Liebe Grüße / Hugs
Flutterby


Links zu den kommerziellen Webseiten der im Text erwähnten Firmen:
Links to the commercial websites of the companies mentioned in the text:

Fimo von/by Staedtler: https://www.staedtler.com/de/de/produkte/fimo-modelliermassen-zubehoer-knete.html
Dress it up: http://www.dressitup.com/
Volker Arnold: https://www.ebay.de/usr/volkerarnold
Papo: https://www.papo-france.com/en/