Liebster Award reprise and a mixed bag of dioramas in progress

I've been already nominated for the Liebster Award, but Brenova was so sweet to nominate me again, so I'm not going to go over the whole thing again (I don't have any more random facts to give about me!!! LOL)  but I'm going to answer her 11 questions!


1. How did you start blogging?

I had been sewing and photographing for almost a year and  starting a blog seemed a good way to give a "shape" to what I was doing and sharing it with people who had the same hobby

2. Which Blogger inspires you?

I can't really name just one, I see a lot of interesting things on other people's blogs. The one original thing I do and the thing I like best is photomontages of the dolls into my travel's photographs.
A nice way to occupy my spare time and relish my old travels.

3. Did you get support from your family and friends when you started?

Well, they were not horrified, Shasha was amused, but was so nice to put up with it. My sister is fashinated.

4. What is the inspiration for the stories on your blog?

I'm really bad at writing original stories (I really don't have the time for proper writing, in spite I have lots of ideas) so I usually use novels or movies as inspiration for photosessions.

5. Do you have a dedicated space to write your blog or stage dioramas?

I "work" in my study, where I have my dolls, dios, books, movies, and loads of memorabilia and pictures from our travels.

6. What are your favorite things to write about?

Travels of course!

7. How many dolls do you own?

This is a hard one, I really don'k know now, I believe 60....

8. How long have you been blogging?

Two years and a half, when I become obsessed about it a take a little time off to recharge.

9. Do you have a lot of inventory and props for staging?

Not really a lot, but I have collected a few in this last year. I don' have much space so I try to pick only the things I really "need"

10. Can you see the miniature in most things?

Lately I'm getting better at this

11. What’s next for you and your blog?

More photomontages and hopefully hard boiled novels themed posts....

Thank you again Brenova!

Now, let me give you some uptades about the crew over here and the things that have been going on. I haven't had much spare time in the last month, and october is hardly going to be better. But I've managed to put togheter some outfits and I'm going on with my "scenes".

Here's the fashion atelier:

You can see that Filippo still hasn't got a complete outfit, but I collected all the pieces I needed to set up the diorama.

The game room:

Orso Maria and Omero are obsessive chess players. I have to change the painting on the wall.

The new "Norma Desmond Lounge":

You can see that Geremia is now our resident butler (Max is not going to arrive, I think) and he's perfect for the part. On the new chaise you can see our new guy: Agostino, he's the one smoking the cigar.

I have to update "The Models" page because a lot of new characters are missing!

This is the hearth room:

As you see now Luchino has got a vest and a chain watch, little Adelaide has got a dress and shoes, Taddeo has a new cruise suit (I think this is perfect for him) and let me introduce you to their maid: Mafalda.

I've moved the mexican bar to another shelf as it kept falling down (which caused me a lot of stress) and Odette is checking it up, il looks like both Attilio and Giulio are happy to meet her!

See you soon!

Tagged! Liebstar award

Smaller places graciously nominated me for the Liebster Award. the tag-line of this award is "discover new blogs!". In fact thanks to these tag games I discovered a lot of wonderful blogs!
So first of all I want to thank Smaller Places for giving me the chance to partecipate to the fun!
Then, let's have a look at the rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog. 
Give your readers eleven random facts about yourself.
Answer the eleven questions from the person who nominated you.
Nominate eleven bloggers to receive this award.
Invent eleven questions for your nominees.

Eleven random facts about me, I'll try to tell you something you haven't found out yet, 

1. I'm a crazy reader. I can read a 300 pages book in one afternoon. Sometimes I even understand what I'm reading. I like novels, history and philosophy.
2. My favourite sport is swimming, I also run,  play tennis, and everytime I see a ball I must play a bit of soccer. I'm not any good at any of these sports!
3. I love doing things just for the fun of it. Apart from my job,  I'm not really a competitive person (this drives Sasha crazy when we play cards)
4. I'm curious like a monkey. I have to learn anything that catches my imagination, even if I don't have any use for it!
5. I don't like driving but I have to learn to! I've just ordered a Jeep Renegade and I want to be able to drive it! I'm telling this to everyone so I'll have to keep my word!
6. My favourite food are:  
Lasagna al forno













Spaghetti allo scoglio















Cima alla genovese

don't ask me what's inside it!

7. My secret dream is making a world tour that would last at least a couple of years. My wildest project is to write a kid's novel and being so successful to be able to retire and make the world tour!
8. Sasha suggests me to tell you that I'm very sweet but crazy as a bat!
9. My most prized possession is a little  travel icon that we bought in Damascus 6 years ago
10. I'm a Sampdorian as Sasha is
11. At times I've got a mischievous sense of humor. I love the Marx Brothers!

The eleven questions (great questions Smaller Places!)

1.What's the oldest item in your immediate environment (room, house, office, up to you)?

The oldest item in my immediate surrondings (house) is this tower
But nearby (I mean within a 1 km radius) you can find plenty of old villas and palazzos (dating from the 18th century), for istance there are the two villas where Charles Dickens and George Byron stayed during their sojourn in Genoa. I'm lucky as this is a neighborhood with a lot of gardens and parks and very close to the sea (20 minutes by feet)










2.When has a project exceeded your wildest expectations? How?
I'm not easily pleased with the outcome of my projects, I think the one that really exceeded my expectations was the wedding dress I made for my niece Carlotta's birthday last year










3.Chocolate: white, dark, milk, or none at all?
Dark. 90% cocoa.

4.If you could have dinner with three fictional characters, who would they be?
Baudolino (the main character from Umberto Eco's eponymous novel)
Prince Myshkin (the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot)
Violet Crawley the Dowager Countess of Grantham (from Downton Abbey)
it would be a crazy dinner! LOL

5.What's your all-time favorite movie?
Easy one: Sunset Boulevard (but there are many, many more!)













6.If you could choose a career other than your actual one(s), what would it be?
Something involving travelling and making people happy, the travel guide I think.

7.How many cats is the optimum number?
I would say one. At a time we had two and we really coulnd't manage. Then we discovered I was alergic (I was suffering from asthma attacks)  and my grandmother adopted the cats. We adopted a dog.

8.What is the most versatile tool in your arsenal?
My hands!

9.Winter person or summer person?
Summer. I function better from 86F up.....

10.What do you most wish you could organize properly?
Everything! but I think the thing I'm worst at is at is keeping my stack of fabrics in order...

11.What do you do to find inspiration?
Browse the net, follow fashion collections, watching how people is dressed, watching old movies....sometimes I dream things.....

Let's go ahead with the nominations. Of course, I'd love to see your answers but this is just an invitation:
1. D7ana
2. Lisa
3. Marta
4. Roxanne (I'm missing you!)
5. Cindi
6. Shasha
7. Jaye
8. Ana Paula
9. Brini
10. Dani
11. Muff

Invent eleven questions....
1.  Have you got a secret dream or a wild project?
2.  When has a project exceeded your wildest expectations? How?
3.  Chocolate: white, dark, milk, or none at all?
4.   If you could have dinner with three fictional characters, who would they be?
5.   What's your all-time favorite movie?
6.   If you could choose a career other than your actual one(s), what would it be?
7.   What time period would you most like to live in, other than the modern one?
8.   What is the most versatile tool in your arsenal?
9.   Winter person or summer person?
10. What do you most wish you could organize properly?
11. What do you do to find inspiration?

(I know the layout of this post stinks, but something happened and I didn't really manage to fix it)

Now, back to work on photomontages and dresses for Poppy!
Kisses Billa