Today’s pen portrait is about a less well known Victorian character: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, who was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. It is thanks to my eldest son, that I learned of him and his many great works (and evil deeds …forced labour, atrocities, racism, double standards… you get the idea).Continue reading “Lord Leverhulme… the man behind Sunlight Soap”
Monthly Archives: Feb 2020
Mini make 2: shop counter & accessories
The shop counter… I have bought a ‘glass’ fronted mahogany coloured shop counter but wanted to personalise it. It has 2 internal shelves with a clear Perspex front & open back for easy access. I had some left over green Dollshouse carpet (which I used to cover my fruit & veg display) & thought itContinue reading “Mini make 2: shop counter & accessories”
Decorating the shop interior – part 2: finishing the fittings
Shelving… The shop shelving units were almost finished but there were a couple of finishing touches needed. I wanted to add a couple more shelves on the back wall to provide more storage above the fruit & vegetable display. I used 2 readymade long shelves (minus the brackets) which needed trimmed to size. I madeContinue reading “Decorating the shop interior – part 2: finishing the fittings”
Decorating the shop interior – part 1: Shop fixtures
The boys were off school for the half-term holiday last week so the shop had to be put on the back burner. I did get to help two of my sons make a Roald Dahl themed project & a story shoe box for World book day. With the shop box (mostly) finished, I made aContinue reading “Decorating the shop interior – part 1: Shop fixtures”
Pen portraits – part 3: Mrs Beeton.
Victorian household name. Many people may have heard the name, Mrs Beeton, but may not know much about the woman it belonged to. Early life On the 12th of March 1836, the daughter of Benjamin Mayson and Elizabeth Jerram was born at number 24 Milk Street, in the Cheapside area of London. They named theirContinue reading “Pen portraits – part 3: Mrs Beeton.”
Preparing the shop box – part 3: lighting
With the arrival of my beautiful lights, I was able to finish the main part of the shop box last weekend. The lights came with an adhesive pad, so I could simply stick them to the ceiling then run their attached twin wires along the groove that I had made in the ceiling. A smallContinue reading “Preparing the shop box – part 3: lighting”
Mini make 2: 🍭 sweet jars
It wouldn’t be a real General store without a selection of sweets, after all the Victorians actually thought sugar was good for you! Ready filled jars of sweets (or candy) are available to buy online from many suppliers but I wanted to make some myself. I started with a pack of 4 empty jars IContinue reading “Mini make 2: 🍭 sweet jars”
🍬 Sweet treats 🍭
The Victorian era was a time of great innovation and technological advancement. Machinery, mass production and the lower cost of imported sugar also had an impact on the availability of sweets, making them less expensive and more widely available. Traditional Victorian Sweets offered for sale at the time would have included: Fudge, Marzipan, Liquorice Allsorts,Continue reading “🍬 Sweet treats 🍭”
Mini make 1: green grocery produce
The shop box build is on pause while I wait for the light fittings to arrive, so I decided to start on some of the miniature props for inside the store. I’ve been looking forward to creating the fruit & vegetable display with the tiny baskets and loose items I purchased. Part 1: fruit &Continue reading “Mini make 1: green grocery produce”
Preparing the shop box – part 2: Interior
The outside of the room box has had two coats of pale grey paint. So I began work on the interior. The floor I had already painted a rough border around the outside edges of the base panel as this will be visible as part of the exterior of the shop. As shown below… IContinue reading “Preparing the shop box – part 2: Interior”
Lindsay & Sons General Store 