A roast by Kiva, whitewood furniture and topiaries

Just wanted to show you a couple of things I got in the mail yesterday.  First is this amazing roast beef by Kiva Atkinson, one of the greatest polymer clay miniature food artists in the world.

I've long wanted a piece by Kiva, and my number one wish was for a beef roast.  In person it's even more eerily perfect than in photos.  Another thing I adore about this piece is that it would work in a miniature scene in almost any period.  Thank you so much, Kiva -- I'll treasure it!  Kiva's blog is Kiva's Miniatures and you can find her work for sale in her eBay shop, user name jklr4.

I've gone back and forth on what sort of display piece to use in the Blue and White Room in the William and Mary House, and finally I decided to buy this Queen Anne dresser from Minimum World in the UK.

It's unfinished (if you're searching for it on UK sites, it's called whitewood) furniture, and I'll stain it and maybe do a little surface decoration of some sort.  I'll certainly replace the handles.  I love the details on this piece:  the legs are quite elegant, the scalloping at the top and especially the bottom is lovely, and the little finials at the bottom are an unexpectedly charming touch.  I've ordered lots of whitewood pieces from Minimum World and they arrive promptly, well-packaged, and MW's shipping costs to North America are very reasonable. 

Finally, here's one of the projects the Knitwits and I made last Thursday to be part of our upcoming giveaway:  topiary trees!  I'm so happy with how these have turned out :)  More soon!