Guest Crafters – Iris and Bertie, Expert Modellers

The first thing Iris and Bertie ever say to me after they come over is, “We’ve had breakfast Nanny but we could have another one!”, swiftly followed by “Can we make models?” ……. what are they like?

Thank goodness my sister-in-law sent over a huge pile of posh boxes (mostly Kiehl's and Jo Malone) before the start of the summer holiday, as they were pounced upon like two starving lions!

The first thing I noticed was how sophisticated and more demanding both their model making ideas and skills have become Oh boy, did they know what they wanted and exactly where the “best things” in Nanny’s drawers were.

Their little eyes when they alighted on the Tumbling Chairs Game I had found in a charity shop for 99p, which I’d originally bought it with some sort of Christmas tree decorations in mind, was a delight to behold.

Iris was all about making the perfect house, with no detail spared, from the toilet made from a metal tealight container glued onto a wooden block for the cistern, to the pictures and mirrors on the walls ………

……. rugs on the floor, books in the bookcase, cushions on the sofa and bed various potted plants and meals on plates.

Bertie, on the other hand, being Bertie, had to create a place of purpose, to wit a café!

…… with its menu board, ambient lighting (cotton wool buds hanging from a piece of string running along the top of the box), tables made from mini chalk boards with domino pieces for legs ……….

……. and a fully functional kitchen area! My favourite was his use of some London stickers as a backdrop to the kitchen, he has been obsessed since staying there a month or so ago. How they ever got him home I will never know, among other things the underground simply blew his mind, with them often having to go a few stops further than they needed just to prolong the joy of counting down the stations.

It was a morning of pure pleasure, with memories made, time disappeared and didn’t matter and, as sure as eggs is eggs, will be asked to be repeated more or less every time they come over, time, boxes and Nanny willing!