June, the month of UFOs (and related things)

I'm very excited about this month's display.  Along with my original UFOs, I have many new additions, most of them hand-made as well.  June is the month to celebrate the strange things in the sky (and elsewhere)!

To begin, on the top (as always) is my (condensed) rendition of pilot Kenneth Arnold's UFO siting over Mount Rainier on June 24, 1947.  I couldn't squeeze all nine craft onto the thimble.

To the side of the Mount Rainier thimble is a gold thimble I ordered from England.  The UFO hovers over the earth and moon.  The UFO spins, too.  It was an awesome piece I could not pass up.

On the right of the gold UFO is a rock formation--or so you think.  I got to thinking that I was missing an important UFO to the phenomena.  So, I set out to create my rendition of this cult movie.  Any guesses?

Ok, so the UFO is not exactly correct, but you may still be able to guess the movie.

 How about now?  The Devil's Tower should give it away.  Well, in case you can't guess, it's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."  I ordered the Devil's Tower thimble from a gift shop online.

The UFO is the first one I made when I started creating these flying saucers.  This one never made it to a thimble until now.  In fact, I had to make some modifications so it would better suit the scenario of the movie.  The "rock" it all sits on is a clump of concrete from the construction we have going on right now.  I couldn't find a rock that suited me.

And why is the UFO on a mirror?  To see the bottom!

In front of the Devil's Tower, is a USO--Unidentified Submerged Object.  I received a bead as a free gift and I had no idea what to do with it.  So, it sat around until I came up with the idea to use it as a UFO.  The water waves surround a thimble and the bead sits on top of the waves as if coming out of the water below.

To the left of the display are more new additions that I made.

I made this one with the old 40's and 50's spaceships in mind.  Many UFOs were depicted in comic books and science fiction with this type of craft.

But, I wanted this to be more than just a simple spaceship.  The planet on top rotates!

Rotated.

I made a video to show it working.  Yes, I made this.

 As for the craft with the alien inside next to my rotating thimble, this was just a quick thing I put together with pictures I'd printed and were laying around doing nothing.  The rock in front hides Earth, but only for the display.

Earth at night is beautiful, and I wanted to put it on a thimble, so this is how it all ended up.

And now for the center of the display--and the many surprises there!  What appears to be the average house at night....

 has sinister happenings in the back.  This one has two gray aliens escorting a woman from her house to their ship.

And, what's that going on at the neighbor's house?

 

Oh my!  He's being "spirited" away into another UFO!

 This neighbor is lucky with only a fly-over by a diamond-shaped craft.

Another fortunate neighbor gets a fly-over by a triangle-shaped object.

 In the corner of the neighborhood is a flying saucer taking off from a hilltop.  This was actually the first UFO thimble I made.

Ok. Now for the high strangeness.  I know you're asking, "What's up with the Bigfoot?  This is UFO month!"  Well, Bigfoot has long been associated with UFO sightings.  So, what display of UFOs would be complete with a Bigfoot.  This is my first sasquatch thimble.

 But, one is never enough for me.  So, I made a second thimble with THREE creatures on it.  Let me tell you this--cutting and creating these tiny creatures was very difficult.  But, worth it!

 This one is hauling out a tree.  For a home, maybe?

 This guy is shy.

Yeah, I know you're EXTREMELY curious about the strange things behind the Bigfoot thimbles.  Well, I am rather proud of this creation.  It's from another movie.  ANOTHER MOVIE?  Yup.  One is never enough.  This is from the 2005 version of "War of the Worlds" with Tom Cruise.  The house is a metal house-shaped thimble that I bought and stored away.  The creature is my creation by using parts from a Halloween bag of bugs, the end of a Bic pen, and some gems.

Why add this, you ask?  Well, as I said, I'm fond of this creation.  And, besides, this "War of the Worlds" premiered in June 2005.  So, I think it qualifies. (Ha ha). 

I attempted to be as close to the movie craft/creature as possible.  I even added the "baskets" under the rear of the thing.  This was where the humans were stored.

Of course, I wanted to add something to the ever-present train.  What better than a swooping UFO?

Finally, I ordered a silver UFO charm which I promptly "crashed" into the rocks.  This reminded me of something else very UFO....

 Roswell, maybe?

Well, this has been a lot to take in for one posting.  So, relax, enjoy, and keep watching the skies!

Armed Forces Memorial Month

Since May has the U.S. Armed Forces Day (May 16) and Memorial Day (May 25) in which we honor our soldiers past and present, I thought it fitting that I also honor our service people with an armed forces display of thimbles.  I ordered many items and made most of the thimbles myself.   I even decorated a night light with stars because I couldn't find a patriotic light that I liked.

Many of the pewter items are charms, which are the only things small enough to work with Thimble World that I can afford.

Before I go on, let me point out that I did not forget Mother's Day.  I included a thimble from my daughter that I added her own handwritten Mother's Day love.  In the background is one of two Liberty Bell thimbles I put together.

The "lake" on the side has two battle ships and one carrier (in the back).  The center of the the lake has a patriotic thimble.

From the collection of pewter charms that I bought, I made many honorary thimbles.  The thimble at the top is double-sided.  One side shows "Land of the Free."

The other side says "Home of the Brave."

In the center of the display, I have an "American Legion."  I chose this particular thimble because it has four pillars, which represent the Four Pillars of the American Legion--Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation, National Security, Americanism, and Children & Youth.  I emblazoned the roof with the Legion symbol.  The raising of the flag at Iwo Jima sits out front while 2 caissons (again Monopoly pieces) stand at the entrance.  In the background are the five "castles" which represent the armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard).  I had to special order the castles and redo them especially for this display.

In front of this is a jet fighter. Behind it I placed "stars and stripes" as if they were coming from the rear of the plane.

Guarding the water is a fort that I found online.  I put a pewter helicopter on the roof.  Tanks are coming up the beach from behind.

To the left of center are some thimbles I made that I did especially for the Army since my husband and father both served in the Army.

Next to the "castles," I put in a Liberty Bell that I made.  This turned out to be one of my favorites of the group and you will probably see it again in July.  ;)  If I had taken the picture from an underneath angle, you would see the clapper in the bell.

In my pewter charms orders, I received a capitol building.  It was so small, I truly did not know what to do with it.  So, I made a simple "button" trinket, which worked out quite nicely.

My train in front of the display rarely gets anything different, so I thought it fitting to put a flag on it.

Happy Holidays for May!

Next month will be even MORE exciting!

April Update!

With Easter so early in April, I was left with a specific Easter display.  So, what to do after Easter is over?  Modify, of course!

I put flowers over the "Happy Easter" of the center egg and added some extra houses. I took out the green eggs out as well.  Although I left some Easter things, the display is simply transformed to a lovely springtime setting!

Easter in April 2015

On Palm Sunday, although the end of March, I decided to put out the April (Easter) display. Easter was the following Sunday, so I thought I should get the display together a bit early.  I managed to do a few different things for this year. 


 A duck is in the pond and Peter Rabbit waits next to the egg tree in the center of the houses. The green eggs are supposed to glow in the dark, but they never have.

The large egg on the hangar is of Oregon Coast attractions.  I thought it fitting for the Easter theme.  The flower thimble by the train was a last minute thing.  The arch was sort of like a tunnel.  Looking at the picture, I believe that was all in my mind.  LOL!

The thimble on the top has a "rugged cross."  The very top of the thimble is also a "cross" with diamonds on the points.  Although I am not religious, I thought I should include something that symbolizes the true meaning of Easter.  Without the Jesus figure, there would be no Easter.

On a trip to Long Beach, Washington, I made some purchases I thought would be great for the Easter display.  Some of the things I found were these nice glass eggs.  One had something like a galaxy on it, so it was a must have for me.

 This one below had foil inside it.  Very cool.

There were 3 variations of flowered Easter eggs that were irresistible.

Also on the beach trip, in the same store, I found tiny miniatures.  I simply had to have this cute little rabbit, which fit nicely next to the egg tree.  He is my Peter Rabbit.

And there was this adorable duck for in the pond.

Although I had the glass rabbit, I still had the paper rabbits I made.  One can never have too many bunnies to deliver the Easter cheer.

Happy Easter from Thimble World!