I'll be away for a few days

My father in law passed away last night. It was expected and he's now free from pain but we're gonna miss him. Anyway, please don't worry if you don't hear from me for several days but we've got some busy days ahead. Now I need to get some sleep 'cause I haven't been to bed yet and it's nearly 5 am.

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Josje to the party. Her blog is A Beautiful World.

Hutch ala Casey

This is what I came up with based on Casey's tutorial. It took several attempts before I found a combination of rubber stamp motifs that I was happy with.
The hutch on the right is like the one I used. On the left you can see the finished hutch. The door insets are leather. I used cherry acrylic stain and then a dark walnut glaze to add depth to the finish.
The color on the picture above is more accurate but this one shows the detail a little better. I love how expensive the finished hutch looks.

Welcome!

Please help me welcome a new follower - Your Daily Muse News . This blog showcases all types of art. Stop by and check it out!

I'm gonna hurt tomorrow...

Yesterday was a big day with lots of walking. We took the family to an Indianapolis Colts football game. Our seats were in what hubby calls "the nosebleed section." We were near the top of the stadium in the endzone. We could see quite well but those steps up were very steep! Unfortunately, the Colts coach chose not to play the starters for the second half and they lost. Boo! We had a wonderful time anyway but it's a 3.5 hour trip each way so we were all exhausted by the time we got back home.

Today we put a gift card from my mom to use by purchasing a Wii Fit for the family. Who knew exercise could be fun, lol. We all got at least 30 minutes of exercise today. The question now is whether anyone will be able to get out of bed tomorrow...

Casey's Michael's hutch covered in polymer clay has sparked my interest. Hopefully, tomorrow I will get a chance to play. I'll let you know how it goes.

Playtime!

After several days of holiday activities I was desperate for some mini time. I chose to play with my new diorama. I had some Plasco kitchen appliances from the 1940s stored away so I dug them out for the apartment. The chairs are some other brand from the same era and I made the table. The Plasco pieces are 1:16 scale. I'm pretending, of course, that we can only see part of the kitchen and the rest of the apartment is also imagined. I am debating adding wallpaper to the kitchen.
I added a flower pot to the window outside the kitchen.
The biggest change is in the antique shop. I scanned a photo of an antique shop from one of my miniatures books to enclose the back and added a few items to the floor to add dimension. Now it looks as though the shop stretches much farther beyond what you see through the window.

I had so much fun making this little scene truly mine. :-)

I just have to share this gift with you

I shared in an earlier post about the game room I made for my brother who customizes 1:18 scale action figures. Well, a friend of his in an online forum saw the room box and liked it. He created this diorama for me. His name is Eric Vaughan. The diorama is 1:18 scale like the action figures he and my brother customize and it is full of details.
The pizza shop has sodas on the counter and a large pizza inside.
There's an electric meter on the wall outside the pizza place.
The window and door of A Moment in Time antique shop.

I had some 1:16 scale dolls on hand that look great in the pizza shop window.

I am so excited about this beautiful diorama. It was a totally unexpected gift and it is just amazing!

Merry Christmas!

Even though we have a big ice storm coming, I am still very excited that Christmas is almost here. We have a short distance to travel on Christmas day so I hope the weather is cooperative. I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas. Blessings to all!

A gift for a friend

I just finished this little table top tree for a friend who's going through some tough times. It won't arrive in time for Christmas but she admired my other tree and I wanted her to have one, too. I didn't have enough of the pipe cleaners to make a full sized tree but I think this little one is kind of cute.

I hope everyone has a wonderfully Merry Christmas!

New followers!

Please help me welcome Leilani and miniaturemaid. I can't find blog information for either one but I thank you so much for following my blog!

A fun day

We baked cookies today - three kinds. Sugar cookies, spritz and gingerbread. Everyone got involved. Here are my daughters. I'm so happy to have them home from college.
Next my son, nephew and friend took a turn. My son's the one in the middle.
Then hubby got involved. The cookies taste great by the way.
Then hubby and I made a snow lady lounging in the hammock. We never seem to get it down and put away. This one is already falling apart but the snow lady was fairly comfortable. (Until the dog decided to dump her out, lol.)
And here we are after we finished our creation.

I'm glad she's not like Otis

We have just a small tree downstairs (the big one is in our bedroom). It is sitting in our bay window - one of Abby's favorite sunning spots. She hasn't bothered the tree at all. She just curls up around it using the quilted tree skirt for her bed. Doesn't she look cute?

Wings for the angel

I decided to give my angel looped wire wings similar to the ones on Willow Tree angels. I wrapped the wire around three fingers, squished it together in the middle and wrapped the loose ends tight around the middle. Then I used super glue to fasten the wings to the angels back. The wings would be much more secure if they were put onto the angel before baking, using a "u" shaped piece of wire or two to fasten them to the back.

Tutorial for the Nativity figures - Part 5

The stable was made from scrap bits of wood with a cardboard back. I used moss to cover the roof. The star is a wooden cut out painted gold and dressed up with glitter dust. A store bought stable could be used...or display the figures without a stable. I hope the instructions make sense. As always leave a comment if you need clarification. Oh, I use Sculpey and Super Sculpey polymer clay but any polymer clay will do. Air drying clay would also work but you would have to paint the figures after they dry.

Tutorial for the Nativity figures - Part 4

Tutorial for the Nativity figures - Part 3

Tutorial for the Nativity figures - Part 2

Tutorial for the Nativity figures - Part 1

Lize requested a "how to" on the Nativity. This took some thought because I usually just grab the clay and smoosh it around until I get what I want, lol. These instructions are for an angel, a shepherd and a sheep. All of them are made basically the same way with variations to get the little person you want. This will take 5 posts so be patient. :-) The instructions are on the photos so poke them to make them larger.

It is finished

Here's the finished, and much improved, stable. I did get the saw out today and shortened the overhang on the left side. I added a back and stained the whole thing with a rough coat of walnut. Oh, and I also added Fairy Dust to the star to make it glow.

Tomorrow my girls come home. The oldest's fiance is also coming for the night. I can't wait to have everyone home!