First Post of 2010

Here's a picture of my Mom's Christmas room in progress. I really like how it came together effortlessly. Most of the little pieces were things that I'd already had in my Box of Random Stuff and the printies were found online at Jim's Printable Minis. I added some photos(not in picture) of my children and nephews cut from tiny portraits trimmed in glued-on gold string. Mom especially loved those! The portrait packages available in places like walmart and sears usually have the small sheet of teensy pics for lockets and whatnot, these make great dollhouse sized pictures.

I've not been doing any crafting lately, but have been organizing my craft room with a vengeance. One of my presents this year was storage so I've been emptying and organizing and moving. My craft room is also home of the dress-up closet and various kid art projects. It is the spare room, you know, that one that you throw things into and shut the door, yeah. So it's taking me a little while to get it all together.

During my cleaning spree I've found lots of little odds and ends to use in the various houses that we have*. The farmhouse is quickly coming together just by sitting there and collecting all the little things that I have uncovered. I love reading Country Living magazine and cannot wait to make my own tiny country farmhouse. *I've also been watching Clean House and other organizing type shows and...hmmm, I may have to rethink having five dollhouses. Maybe just four? LOL.

I've been doing regular thrifting every week or so and have found some bits of fabric and felt but nothing notable for miniatures. I did pick up a few cow creamers that were part of a large collection. How sad for someone's beloved cow creamer collection to end up in a thrift store!! I picked the purple cow creamer and the Delft creamer. The next day I went back and got the heavy white creamer with the gold trim. They were never something that I was interested in purchasing or collecting but they sure are cute and were quite a bargain.

The record cold weather here in Florida has me doing lots of indoor work and cooking and nest tidying...I'll have to get back to crafting soon! I really need the break! Lots of ideas have been floating around in my head and I want to start wallpapering in the farmhouse...so many projects, so little time!

Have a warm and cozy Mini Day!

Happy Holidays!!

Time has sure flown by this holiday season!

I finished up my entry for the Hobby Builder's Supply Creatin' Contest. It wasn't my best work, by far, for some reason I just couldn't come up with much. In the end, it was a minimalist sort of project, but I had a fun time with it. My favorite part of all is the floor, which I made with small strips of cloth from a sample book and the roof, which is made with palmetto fronds from the yard. It was just the middle part that I was stumped on!





The Christmas room box that I made for my parents was A Lot easier to fill up. My only problem there were too many ideas and possibilities. Pictures of that project to come, my camera and computer aren't speaking to each other at the moment. ;)

What's next, a left-handed template?

I had a hard time adjusting to being left-handed for the week that I was healing, but the perspective must have grown on me, for now I've chosen a left-handed template!

When I'm not working on miniatures, I'm usually busy with some other kind of creative endeavor. While shopping in Wal-Mart, I found Blackboard Paint(around $11 for a quart). We, or more precisely, I, had a few coffee cans filled with broken dishes and various other pottery pieces that I really had no plan for whatsoever...but who throws good potential supplies away, right? I found an area perfect for a blackboard, painted the square and set about to make a frame. I crafted some molds from aluminum foil, and filled those with plaster and pottery fragments. It was my first time working with plaster so much of that was trial and error. And error. And error.

Finally, it came together. At the top, we have a lovely duck head that for some reason(4year old daugher) was in our freezer.




The chalk holder came from the bottom lip of an old pitcher. Each panel of the frame has a different odd detail. I really love the way that it turned out.




There are many mini projects ahead of me so I'd better get busy. Have a Mini Day!!

Dedication

This week was a very productive one, before I cut myself taking out the trash, that is. However, I am very dedicated to my hobby and not even left-handed, one fingered typing will stop me. :) One of the things I did this week was to make some little balls for the coffee table of the crafty house. I'm not sure what one calls those little decorative balls that are placed into or on containers, but I made a few.



The two spinsters that live in this house have conspiracy theories. Whenever there is important news in the world, they do not hear about it. They are very concerned and have alerted the authorities. It's only the paperboy. He has terrible aim.




Our son Josh and our beloved dog, the dearly departed Shiner going back in time in the San Fran. Zoe the snake makes her first appearance.



I am absolutely in love with the new skirt on this bed. Handmade lace edging from my sister-in-law fits the bill perfectly.




My paint-covered hand waves a slightly feeble goodbye. Have a Mini Day!

Mini Terrarium

This is my tiniest, from scratch project that I like to pick up now and again, whenever an idea strikes me. I'm not sure of the scale exactly because it's made inside a chocolate box. There seems to be a theme involving chocolate here, as I'm enjoying some as I type and many of my storage boxes originally housed chocolate. Mmmmm, chocolate. :)

Back to business, I've added a new component to the room. Can you see it there in the corner? A miniature terrarium! I love it. It is made from an old button, an odd plastic cap, a few bits of natural and artificial greenery and the tiniest clump of sculpey clay. It was a snap to make. It's a little crooked in the pic, I'm trying out the location before I commit myself to glue. I love the look of it in this little room. It also looks nice on top of a desk or side table in the dollhouse.

Free Time and Creativity

I've been busy with the minis lately. Just last week I painted the shutters of the farmhouse. Next up, a coat of white paint and some shingles.


Today I laid some faux tile flooring in the kitchen of the Farmhouse, made lace cafe curtains for the living room of the San Fran, a floral curtain panel for the bathroom of the SF, a circular rug for the Christmas House and a few random pieces.




The blinds are made from folded fancy wrapping paper, scraps of lace on the edge, and a pullstring made from thread and a white seed bead.



The humblest of tools are what I use to make miniatures! Clothespins are great for flattening, hanging, weighing things down as they're hanging...lol. Here are three lace cafe panels and on the far right is a green floral for the bathroom of the San Fran. All of them hang on toothpicks with matching beads for finials.



Right after my pizza break.. Mmmmm I'll get back to the rose bush that I'm making for one of my bosses(pics to come). Lurve my job!!

I enjoy these days where free time and creativity meet halfway. It's time to get back to work. Have a Mini Day! :)

Another one??

I couldn't resist.

I'm not even sure how I ended up following the garage sale signs, but here's the result of my little detour last week. I remembered, halfway through painting the sashes and panes, that I almost never take a before picture. So there it is, the before-ish. Since then I've painted the shutters black. It's starting to look like a real farmhouse.




A rearview picture. Lots of possibilities with this one! I plan on removing the metal posts from the upstairs porch area instead of adding a railing so it is accessible from the rear like the rest of the house. As for supplies; I need two doors and some shingles, a little white paint and a few wood strips for repairs. All the rest will be added as the ideas flow. I'm thinking of using small pebbles to "build" the fireplace. It will be my first go at stone and "mortar". I'll let you know how it ends up.

I've also been busy at my entry for the Garden Party Gazebo building contest. I'm down to the details now, and of course, cleaning off all of those hot glue "spiderwebs". Just when you think you've gotten them all...you take a picture and twenty more are revealed...taking good pictures seems to me, to be the most difficult part.

There's also this thing with my spacebar sticking so either I've got zerospaces between words or lots. That will be easier to fix than the photography problem, I think.

In other news, I scored a nice little flower pic yesterday that had miniature holly leaves. I plan to use some of it for holly bushes, garland and plants in the Christmas house.

Thanks for stopping by and Have a Mini Day!