Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination . . .

That was the first line of one of my most favourite songs from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Last week I shared with you an altered, little Altoids (mints) sized tin for which I’d created a ‘Little bit of Dorset in a Tin’ – which was a [sort of] diorama inside a tin.

If you missed the blog post I paste a link here:-   A little bit of Dorset in a little Tin – which, if you click on it, will open up in a new page for you.

I created that little tin for a friend of Mr.Cobs, who’s coming for a visit in a few weeks time.

Mr.Friend told Mr.Cobs on the phone that he rather fancied a trip to somewhere called Brownsea Island  –  which is here in Dorset where we live, but it’s an island all by itself and you have to board a boat to get to.

I wanted to make Mr.Friend something of a souvenir but couldn’t think of anything about Brownsea Island which I could work into a souvenir, so instead, I chose a famous lighthouse here in Dorset,  – and the Little Tin I shared last week had Portland Bill  Lighthouse inside the Little Tin.

Funny thing was …  two days later, just as I was dropping off to sleep in bed … a stray thought popped into my mind which woke me up, and in that moment a plan formed.  That plan is the little bit of fun that I’ve come to share with you now.

Brownsea Island is probably most famous all around the world for the ‘invention’ of the Scouts, for Brownsea Island is where is all began.  My sleepy brain remembered this and led me to an idea which would be the perfect thing to give Mr.Cobs Friend, instead of the Portland Bill Lighthouse!  So …  this is what happened after the brain cell gave me the vision. . .

The English penny in the above photo, (to the left, at the bottom)  is for a kind of size reference.  It measures roughly 18mm and so almost the same size as an American dime

I thought that perhaps I could do a little research and see if I could find any details about what the first Scout boys had used by way of tents – style and colour etc.  I found enough information to tell me to make the classic upturned V style of tent, in a kind of khaki colour, and that’s what I created from some clay.

A close up of the ten, showing the flap gently blowing in the breeze.  The ‘guy rope’ is held securely to a tiny wooden tent peg, and I made the Union Jack Flag from paper.

I wasn’t absolutely sure that the tents would have been this Khaki colour – but it seemed right and looked so right that I was convinced that it had to be so.

 

The purple rule is showing the measurement of the tin, in centimetres. There are roughly 2.5cm to an inch.  So:  the tin is 9cm tall, and that would mean that it’s 3.54″ in inches.

The tree in the tin is made from a twig which was found in my back garden.

I built the campfire from some broken twigs which I’d found in my garden at the end of last summer, and had dried them out and kept them in my craft room, waiting for the right project.  Ahhh …. don’t you love it when you plan for something –  that you have no idea about at the time, – but when it happens …. YOU’RE READY FOR IT!  😀

The Camp Fire

I thought that all the best scout camps would have a lit fire, cracking, sparkling and sending up smoke signals which floated tiny bits of burning embers up, up, up into the sky ….  so I built a camp fire exactly as I’d expect to see one!

I think that the most difficult part of this little Diorama Tin was the Red Squirrel you see hiding in the tree.  Made from clay, it took me three ‘goes’ before I got the size right.

Can you see the red squirrel?

The red squirrel is the UK’s only native squirrel species, and was once a common sight across the UK. But for decades they’ve been in decline in the UK, and today,  red squirrels are sadly absent from most of the UK,  affected by the spread of the introduced non-native grey squirrel.

The Pine woods of Brownsea Island are home to one of the few remaining red squirrel populations in England.  Naturally because of this, I had to include a red squirrel in the tin!

I added a little pull out booklet to the inner lid of the altered tin . . .

When pulled out, it tells the story of how the Scouts began . . .

I so enjoyed making this Little Tin.  It wasn’t a quick make by any standards, but so very enjoyable and once it was eventually finished, I felt as if I’d been smiling for days and days.  Such a fun make.  But then….  as we all know ….  I do like to make Little things.  lol.

Thank you so much for coming and having a coffee moment with me.  It’s so lovely to see you here and I really do appreciate you coming.

I take this moment to say hello to some new followers that have joined us.  I won’t embarrass anyone by naming names, but will say ….  I hope you find something(s) to enjoy here in the Cobweborium Emporium, and that you eventually pluck up the courage to say hello in a comment.

Remember … until someone sees you here, we can’t click to come and see you on your blog if you have one!  So please, don’t be shy.  No one bites here, and we’d all love to meet you.

I hope your Monday has been fabulous, and that the weather, where you are, is such that it leaves you smiling.

And … now that we are near my signing off …  remember the song I began singing right at the start of this blog post?  Well …. I include the song, and a click for you, if you fancy a listen and a bit of a read:

Dorset Wildlife Trust   <– CLICK.  A thoroughly lovely website (will open up in a new window for you) which has various pages of loveliness for you to look at.  Hover your mouse over the various sections of the black bar across the top of the page (just under the Title: Dorset Wildlife Trust) and each section will open up a little window so that you can click on any of them to have a read.

Have a truly blessed rest of your day my friends  ~