Kitchen swap ideas

I am currently working on items for a kitchen swap. I can't post pictures - except for maybe the rejected ideas. I just spent two days on something only to decide I hated it. The current idea is working well but I want more. Any wonderful kitchen swap ideas that anyone wants to share?

The day's getting better!

I took a walk down to the mailbox and found my tax refund AND a box of swaps. That's a perfect trip down the lane! I can't post any pics of the swaps until everyone gets them (and I think mine arrived first) but they are all wonderful. Photos will follow, I promise.

Good morning!

My day is starting off a bit rough. I'll post again later after I've had some time to work on minis and gain some perspective. Hope you all have a great start to the week.

An award from Doreen!

Doreen has awarded me with the "Proximidade Award! Thank you - I am honored to be considered your friend.

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!” Then you are to pass it on to 8 people.

Now to the passing it on part. There are so many of you that I now consider my friends. Thank you to all who take the time to read my blog and comment. That means so much to me. Since awards seem to circle among the same ones of us I am just going to award this to all who read my blog and, again, thank you!

Come on in!

Please welcome Meli. Her blog is http://casitasdemeli.blogspot.com/.

A "tail" of two Henrys

I'm off on a road trip to see DD #1 at college today so I will leave you with some photos of my first attempts at sculpting dogs over a wire armature and then adding "fur." The first dog won 2nd place in American Miniaturist's Henry contest. He was modelled after the editor's own dog named Henry.

This second dog was sculpted as a Christmas swap gift for my friend, Tina, in the UK. She named him Henry in honor of my 2nd place win. He looks really good from the side but he has some issues when you look at him from the back. I think I need some more practice getting the balance right. LOL I'm very proud of how real his markings look, though.

Thanks for stopping by!

Please welcome MostlyArt of http://mostlyart2.blogspot.com/. She makes beautiful pottery in both mini and full scale sizes, as well as beautiful fairies and other things. Stop in and say hi!

The "round thing" is finished!

This is the view through the door. You can just see the ceiling light fixture and the shelves full of craft supplies. Here's the work table with all the supplies needed for scrapbooking or making cards. There's also a comfy chair for reading craft magazines. The laptop is set up on a desk made from an antique hutch (actually made from cardboard hat boxes as is the chair.)

This was a fun recycling project. The building is made from a large mixed nuts can. The flooring is made from leftovers from a real home project. The wall shelves were made from the can lid. The work table is a pizza table that I cut down and the light fixture was made from a chocolate syrup lid. The stones are egg carton and other similar packing materials. The only thing I purchased for the project was the floral foam dome that I used for the roof.

More progress on the round thing

The "round thing" is coming along quite nicely. The exterior is grouted, shutters hung, door knobs attached. The interior trim is installed and the curtains are hung. I'm still contemplating how to do the roof but I've started gathering or making items for the interior. The "bits and bobs" in the interior photo are all in an unfinished state. I will paint or otherwise refinish to make them look like real furnishings instead of cardboard and plastic.

The penny leaning against the stone wall gives an idea of size. The container is a large mixed nuts can. The background I used for these photos is a large hinged painting my mom made for me. It makes a beautiful 1:12 scale (or, in this case, 1:24) outdoor background.

Welcome!

Welcome Mary of http://sunflowerminis.blogspot.com/. Stop by her blog and say hello.

Welcome!

Please welcome, Dawn of http://buildingherhousewisely.blogspot.com/. Stop by her blog and say "Hi!"

Here are the first photos!

I promised some pictures of my new "round thing" project and here they are. This is still very much in progress. The exterior stone work needs grout, the interior needs trim, and I have no idea how I'm doing the roof.

New project

I'm taking a break from dolls to give the ones I listed a chance to sell before I make more. Today I started a new "round thing" project. I mentioned in an earlier post that we are doing round structure projects for Small World. I posted an in progress pic of my first one. The new one is going to be 1:24 scale. I'll post some photos later. I had a lot of fun with scraps of peel and stick tile and made a cool radiating pattern on the floor. I've got a lot of details to work out like how I'm going to do the roof and lighting. I'm thinking I want a removable roof so that I don't have to cut a huge hole in the side of the structure but I'm not sure about that yet.

Welcome!

Welcome to Mike Rowe. His blog is http://mike-rowe.blogspot.com/. Mike does beautiful turnings in wood, acrylic, and stone. Welcome also to the Miniatures in Dollhouse Scales team (MIDS). Their blog is http://teammids.blogspot.com/. As always, stop in and visit our newcomers!

Good morning!

Two of my kids are on spring break this week so it was a busy weekend. I hope to have some mini time later today but it may not happen. My daughter has a pile of clothing to mend/alter so I may be at the sewing machine more than the work table today. So today I'll show you some photos from the first men's game room I made. This one is 1:12 scale and was featured in American Miniaturist. My brother saw this one and really liked it and that's why I made the one for him in 1:16 scale that I posted photos of in an earlier post. This was my first experience in building a box from scratch (I used foam core for this one) and making and electrifying my own lights. These photos show the lights before my electrical supplies came but I have since made them working lights. I've been working on dolls for my etsy shop recently but looking at these pictures is making me want to start a bigger project again. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that for awhile. Have a great week everyone!

Glad to have you!

Welcome Sans of http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com/. Stop by and say hi!

An award!

Jayne of Tallulah-Belle Originals has given me this award. Thanks, Jayne! The rules for this one are that I have to to list seven things I love, then pass it on to another seven Kreativ Bloggers.

1. My husband and children

2. God

3. My many online mini friends

4. Miniatures of any kind

5. Spending time on the computer

6. Reading - all types of things

7. Chocolate

Now to pass it on. That's much more difficult.

1. Casey of http://caseymini.blogspot.com/. I can only aspire to build dollhouses with as much detail as Casey uses.

2. George of http://tallminiguy.blogspot.com/. He can do amazing things with wood.

3. Sasha of http://sashasminiworld.blogspot.com/. I've always loved the McKinley and hers is going to be beautiful.

4. Katy of http://katiesclaycorner.blogspot.com/. The dollhouse she's working on is adorable.

5. Lena of http://miniatyrmama.blogspot.com/. Her dollhouse is so elegant.

6. http://dollhouseatpoohcorner.blogspot.com/ I love Pooh and friends and this house is really going to be cool.

7. Marsha of http://sassyminidolls.blogspot.com/. Her dolls are an inspiration for me.

Say hi to Susie!

She's very upset with that Tommy who thinks that just because she dances, she can't play baseball. Well, she'll show him on Saturday. She's gonna hit a home run!

Setting up shop

I'm not feeling well today so I didn't get any actual mini work done. I did, however, get an etsy shop set up for the five dolls I've made recently. Now I just have to wait and see if they appeal to anyone. :0)

This is Dorothy

So, when I started to make this doll today, this is not at all what I had in mind. However, Dorothy demanded to be created. Dorothy claims to be 38 but her birth certificate adds about 20 years. Dot has been married 5 times but is still looking for "Mr. Right". Unfortunately, she's still looking in all the wrong places. She's also shopping in all the wrong places - her accessories tend to come from the Juniors department and her clothing, from Frederick's of Hollywood.

I figure if I make at least one doll a day, I can build up some stock and start a shop on etsy. That is, if anyone will be interested in my dolls. Maybe I'll put Harry and Dot up for sale and see what happens. I really had a lot of fun making them!

Meet Harry now that he's presentable

Meet Harry. He's a widower of several years but hasn't taken his wedding band off because he's not able to forget his wife of 45 years. Harry is a retired Marine and likes to keep his hair cut military short. He still looks good for a man of 70.

I'm thinking about setting up an online shop to sell minis. Harry would be the first item in the shop. What do you all think?

In progress...Harry in his underwear

I thought you might want to see how I put a doll together. I've made many dolls through the years and I've tried many different techniques but my favorite method uses ideas from several different books. I used to sculpt upper arms and legs but my dolls seemed more fragile that way so now I just sculpt the lower limbs, head, neck and trunk. These parts are assembled with chenille pipe cleaners using a combination of tacky glue and super glue to fasten the limbs and head onto the pipe cleaners. Once the glue has set, I wrap gauze strips around the upper arms and legs (and the calves, too, if I'm making a doll who will be wearing slacks and I've only sculpted feet and ankles.) I left a space between the upper and lower legs so that the legs will bend easily at the knee. Once the glue on the gauze dries, Harry will be ready to dress and wig. I used a single strand of embroidery floss for shoe laces. He has a watch made with a real leather strap. I punched a tiny circle of white paper, edged it with gold paint, painted on gold hands and glued it to the band for the watch face. Then I used gloss Mod Podge to make the watch crystal.

More body parts

I started a new doll today. It's another older gentleman. It's fun to add wrinkles and laugh lines and other signs of a full life. I used Sculpey III for this doll and I really don't recommend that. Original Sculpey is much better for sculpting. I had the most trouble with his hands. The clay was so soft that I kept smashing his fingers together. I had to do his left hand a couple of times. The shoes are more detailed than what shows in the photo. I'm going to add thread shoelaces. Next step is making his body. More pics to follow...

New tools

My husband is an amateur radio operator. Yesterday he and I went to a hamfest - a flea market for radio stuff. My hubby didn't find what he was looking for but I found several tools great for mini work and some lights to experiment with. It was a fun morning...then we came home, tore out some old carpet, laid some peel and stick tile, built shelves and reorganized our storage room. So I didn't have a chance to try out my new toys but, hopefully, I can later this week. And the storage room looks great and is ready for when our daughters move back home for the summer.

Sisterhood award

Thank you, Doreen, for this award. The circle of friends I am developing through this blog is like a sisterhood. Because so many awards have been going around, I'm not going to list separate blogs but I award this to all of the blogs I follow. Many of you have received this award already and it is much deserved!

An improvement

Last night, when I should have been sound asleep, I was thinking about Grandpa's feet. I just was not satisfied with how they turned out. Plus they were too large even for oversized feet. So this morning, I cut down and sanded his feet and used real leather for the straps and soles of his sandals. They look so much better!

These photos of Grandpa and Grandma show more of the details. You can see their wedding rings, their body shapes, Grandma's nail polish and curly hair. You can see just a glimpse of Grandpa's combed over hair.

This is their updated family photo. There is less glare so you can see Gregory's face a little better. At least Grandma and Gregory look like they're having fun!

Grandma, Grandpa and Gregory

Here they are all ready to enjoy an outing in the summer heat. I had so much fun with these dolls. I purposely made their feet oversized. It gives them some more stability but also is just fun and different. The grandparents have droopier bodies than someone younger might have and Grandma is just a bit stooped over. Grandpa has a "comb over" because he doesn't want to admit he's bald on top. Gregory has curls like Grandma but looks a bit like his Grandpa. I am really pleased with the way these dolls turned out. What do you think?

Bodies to go with those poor little heads!

I've started on the limbs and bodies for my little heads. The little boy is ready to bake (sounds bad, doesn't it?!) but I'm off to Bible study for a couple of hours so he's going to have to wait. I'm hoping to work on the grandparents today, too. Once I'm home from the church the rest of the day is mine. I'll post some photos later. Bye for now!

Welcome

Welcome Arabia at http://maytesapena.blogspot.com/. Stop by and see her beautiful reborn dolls.

Two more heads

Well, I think the sculpting practice is helping. Today I made an older woman and a young boy. The woman's teeth are painted in and the little boy's are sculpted, prebaked, and then the mouth formed around them. I need to do some work on his upper lip as it is too thick but I am otherwise very happy with my efforts today. I am thinking that the second head I made yesterday will be grandpa, the woman from today, grandma, and the boy their grandson. I am picturing them in summer clothing at an amusement park. My next project may be to start on the hands and feet for those dolls.

Cool - another new follower!

It's always exciting to sign in and find a new follower. Welcome Rachel of http://senamena.blogspot.com/. Thank you for following my blog!

Attempt number 2

I tried some of the more advanced tips from the book for this second head. The photo shows the two side by side. The one on the right reminds me of one of my uncles. My son says the one on the left looks like one of the grumpy old men from the Muppet Show and my hubby says he looks like Burl Ives. Any similarity to anyone else is purely by accident in both heads. I think I am going to have a lot of fun with this book. The difference from the first to the second is amazing to me. I guess I've just never had it all explained so clearly before.