I can finally post photos of my fairy house!

I made this for the Small World forum "Round Thing non-contest". The only real requirement was to make a round structure. This fairy house in a tree stump started life as a small Pringles can. The base is a laminate flooring sample (I'm glad I save everything, lol.) The actual stump is 1:12 scale as you can see by the boy playing behind the tree. The fairy and her house are 1:48 scale. The house has working lights. The furniture is made from natural materials - many came from a couple of bags of potpourri.

The bark of the tree is made from paper mache.

Wow! I have 65 followers!

Please help me welcome Juliana, my 65th follower. Juliana has more than one blog but her mini one, http://lasminisdelbosque.blogspot.com/, has several photos of a beautiful and very detailed mini sewing room. There are also photos of her real sewing room. I envy her organizational skills!

I needed to make something!

This was a fun project. I bought the silver charm at Hobby Lobby this week. Today I painted it and made a cake to go with it. Blue and green are the colors in my daughter's wedding next summer so that seemed like a good choice. The cake columns are made from fancy toothpicks. The cake topper is almost as tall as the cake but it's still cute. :0)

New photos

I don't know if this ever happens to any of you but last night at around midnight I suddenly decided that I couldn't stand the out of scale spaghetti in my new dollhouse. And since mine was one of several I'd made for swaps, I felt the need to make a new one not only for me but for all the people who'd received my overscaled bowl of spaghetti in the swap. I'm so much happier with the new ones (anyone reading this who got one of the other bowls of spaghetti will be getting another in scale bowl soon, :0) )

I also used some photography tips that Ara posted on her Addams family blog to get a clearer photo of Joseph. You still can't see the little tears on his cheek but you can tell his eyes are moist.

Making spaghetti

I found these pans at Hobby Lobby this week during the 50% off sale. I turned them into the used spaghetti prep pans. The sauce even dripped down the edge of the pan as it was poured over the spaghetti noodles.

I love the extra bit of realism they add to the kitchen. Plus it was fun to do! The spaghetti in the serving bowl was one of the ones I made for a Small World food swap - the ones with the too large noodles. I'm happier with the ones I made with the crochet thread.

A giveaway to celebrate my 200th post

This is baby Joseph. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get a clearer photo. He's throwing his arms back and crying. There are even tiny tears on his cheek. I will put the names of everyone who posts on my blog between now and next Friday in a hat and draw out the winner one week from Saturday.

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Asli. Her blog is http://aslibayulgen.blogspot.com/. I didn't translate but the photos are of some beautiful minis, reborn dolls and repainted fashion dolls. Stop by and say hello!

Already time to say goodbye to Babs

While I was taking some updated photos of Babs for my etsy shop, she sold! She will soon be on her way to Idaho. The lady who bought her really liked Dot but someone else purchased her before she could. She asked if I'd do another similar doll and Babs was the result. I wasn't sure if she'd like her but apparently she does. Babs will soon be modelling with mini luggage. You will be able to see her at WhimsyCottageMinis etsy shop. Stop by the shop. You'll see some beautiful, detailed and very realistic looking mini luggage sets and many other wonderful miniatures.

Say hi to Babs!

I got a request for a doll similar to Dot. I didn't want to duplicate her as I sold her as a OOAK doll so I made another "floozy." This photo doesn't show her rather impressive cleavage, lol. Here's Babs story: Babs claims to be in her 40s but she's really in her 60s. She'd like to be married again (she's been divorced for 10 years) but for now is content to spend her days shopping. Unfortunately, the clothing she's been purchasing looks as though she's looking for a position as an "escort" rather than a wife. She does like to show off the assets she paid that plastic surgeon so much money for, though. Babs' favorite color is...you guessed it - pink. You can see her pink lace bra peeking out from under the pink tube top. She's also wearing a bright pink leather belt and carrying a pale pink "designer" handbag. Her spandex gray suit has a bolero style jacket and a pencil skirt. She has carefully, although a bit heavily, applied her makeup and her hair has been freshly colored a pale blonde.

Happy Father's Day!

We had a fun and relaxed Father's Day with hubby. After church I took over the grilling duties and we had burgers and corn with homemade strawberry shortcake for dessert. We paid a short visit to DH's father in the nursing home and then came home for some time in the pool. This evening we enjoyed a glass of wine by the fire on the back deck. Tomorrow it's back to work with a vengeance for hubby after this vacation week. He's travelling for work most of the week. It isn't so bad when all the kids are home on break. Hubby will probably enjoy the quiet, :-).

Father's Day is always a little tough for me since I lost my dad seven years ago. He died unexpectedly at 63 and I still miss him. We didn't always have a close relationship but in the last couple of years before he died, we'd grown closer. My husband's dad is 88 and not in good health. Since Mark and I have been together since I was 14, his parents are my second parents. Some days I like his better, ;0). This is a tough stage of life - my children are growing up and our parents are getting frail. Lots of changes...

I'm home and I had some time for minis!

I love how this spaghetti dinner for four turned out. This is my second attempt at spaghetti. The first was for a swap and the overall effect was ok but my noodles were too large. This time I used cotton crochet thread dipped in glue. The meatballs are made from polymer clay and the sauce is Gallery Glass paint in several colors mixed together. I sprinkled crushed herbs over the top. The plates were made from the seals out of milk and juice cartons. I used a blue floral wallpaper sample for the plates and the canisters. The canisters were made using Casey's tutorial. The colors remind me of my favorite aunt's kitchen when I was a child. She decorated it in a blue willow pattern. Blue is not usually one of the colors I decorate with but I love the crispness of the blue and white combination.

Fun with Collage Creator

Here are some of my favorite pics from our vacation. I love ArcSoft Collage Creator. I use it to create my blog banners, too. We're heading home tomorrow so hopefully you'll be seeing some new minis soon. :-)

Pics from the zoo

Hi everyone! I'm still on vacation with my family but I wanted to share a couple of photos from our trip. Today we visited the Toledo Zoo - it's very nice!

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Dora. One of her blogs is http://miniaturasdora.blogspot.com/ where you'll find a dollhouse under construction and some beautiful mini dresses.

Come on in!

Please help me welcome Jessie. Her blog is http://beyondbaffled.blogspot.com/. She just finished a beautiful floor made of skinny sticks. She also posted some lovely comments about my blog. Thank you, Jessie!

Vacation starts tomorrow!

Sorry, everyone, that there's been no new minis this past week. I've been running people and pets to the doctor and getting things ready for our trip. I also have to leave some food in the house for the two guys house/pet sitting. My nephew and our minister's son will keep things running smoothly for us at home.

Hopefully, once we're home I can get back to work. For now I'll share some photos of my first attempt at salad and salad prep.

Woohoo! 60 Followers!

Please help me welcome Kim of http://fairchildart.blogspot.com/. Kim makes beautiful mini food so please check out her blog and see for yourself.

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Nicola-Anne and Ana Anselmo. Ana has several blogs. Here's one of them - http://miniaturesforever.blogspot.com/. That will lead you to her others.

I've not been able to find a blod for Nicola-Anne.

I thank you both for stopping by!

Back from the vet

First, thank you all for your good wishes for Angel. The appointment went very well and Angel really was an angel today. However, the news wasn't very good. Although the lump needs to be treated (or removed if it doesn't get better with drops) it turns out there's a bigger problem. Angel has progressive retinal atrophy. She's already completely night blind, which explains a lot of "weird" behavior, and has very limited day vision. Apparently, it's an inherited disease and she's probably been slowly losing her vision since shortly after birth. She's only 9 now. But now that we are aware of how advanced her vision loss is, we'll make the necessary accomodations and she'll be fine. She had a wonderful day - 3 hours in the car with "mom", lots of petting and one-on-one time, and because she was so well behaved, a burger on the way home. She's been grinning all day, lol.

Fur babies

Tomorrow I am taking Angel to see a veterinary opthamologist. She has a lump in her eye which may result in the eye being removed but we're getting a specialist's opinion first. I realized, though, that I've never posted photos of the "fur babies" who live in my house. I thought I'd fix that tonight since I didn't have any mini time today.

Angel is a red heeler, aka an Australian Cattle Dog. She is our oldest pet now. She's nine this month. She's physically much older than her chronological age. She's got arthritis in her hip and she's losing both vision and hearing.

We lost our first family pet, Cassie, an orange tiger striped cat, about a year and a half ago due to mouth cancer.

The black lab mix is Zyla. She is full of energy and can run the full family farm and never use it all up, lol. She's a shelter rescue and has some really strange fear issues. She's afraid of being brushed, of cameras, and don't even think about the vet.

The cat in the front is Abby. She has long fur which is usually full of mini burs because she loves to be outside. She's a wonderful hunter and we no longer have a mouse problem in our country home. :-) I could do without the "gifts" she leaves on the front porch for me though. She also is the "mother" of all of our pets. She's often bathing Zoe or the dogs.

The tortoiseshell at the back is Zoe. She and Abby both came from the shelter at the same time. Abby settled in very well. Zoe spent forever hiding and she's still jumpy a year later. She will snuggle on her terms but only a few of us can pick her up. She's been outside a few times. The first few times she was scared of the door when we opened it to let her back in so she spent a couple of nights outside until we coaxed her back in. Now she knows to come back but prefers to stay inside.

I miss having a lap cuddling cat. Cassie loved to snuggle into your lap. She didn't do that until she was much older though, so maybe there's still hope for future snuggling. :-)

I didn't grow up with having pets in the house and I wasn't sure when we first got Cassie but she was a wonderful "first" pet. We got Angel as a puppy from a nearby farm. She's a pure bred and she was the cutest little thing. I'm still not quite sure how we ended up with the other three - I think some weak moments at the shelter, lol. At least life is not boring around here!

Thanks for coming!

Please help me welcome Dee. Dee's from London and enjoys many types of needlecrafts but she does not appear to have a blog.

This wedding scene demanded to be created!

I woke up with this idea in my head this morning and then spent the entire day working on it. I made everything - the vanity and stool, the dressing screen, the wedding gown, veil and undies, the flowers, and all of the accessories. I think the only thing I forgot was the garter, lol.

Oops, a correction. I didn't make the flowers but I did arrange them.

The promised photo...

I had a different brand of tampon on hand and they had plastic rather than cardboard applicators. I used the built in rims as the base and lid trim. This was a really easy project and I'm very happy with the resulting canisters. Thanks again, Casey!

Thanks for the idea and tutorial, Casey!

Casey has inspired me to dig through my no longer needed personal supplies and my plan is to make some canisters today. Pictures to follow later...

It was a busy weekend of graduation parties and miscellaneous chores. I stayed up late to make a couple of things for my dollhouse just because I was desperate for some mini time.

Everyone needs a spot to hang her purse or tote bag so I added a peg rack/shelf by the door. There's a bill waiting to be mailed on the shelf. Even mini people have to be responsible, lol. The tote bag was a fun and easy project. I'll post a tutorial for that sometime soon.

I also made a paper towel dispenser for the kitchen - many of you have probably made the same type of thing from a simple craft stick and toothpick.

Sometimes I'm in the picture, too!

Megan complained that she looked awful in the first picture I posted of my husband and children so I decided to post this one. She's all dressed up for a baby shower and looks great...so, hopefully, no complaints, lol. This photo is a couple of years old but the girls haven't changed much. Adam, OTOH, is considerably taller now than me.

I just had to do it!

The first day of summer break made me want to change my blog a little. Summer holidays in the United States kind of revolve around patriotic themes so I chose a red, white and blue color scheme. There are so many choices when it comes to blog backgrounds that I'm probably going to be changing more frequently than I originally thought. I was just going to make seasonal changes. I hope you all don't mind if I update more often. :-)

I'll be back soon!

Real life has interfered with mini-making this week. Not in a bad way but it's kept me busy. The minis I did have time to make were for swaps or contests so I can't share photos anyway, :-(. The good news is that the nautical swap I've been working on has given me some ideas for a possible new project. The dollhouse is nearly complete and I'll be ready for something new soon. This time I will have to limit myself to a room box, though. Hubby hasn't had time to get shelves up and he's two dollhouses behind, lol.

Today is my son's last day at school for the summer. Due to his health issues he was out for much of the year but he was in school for the entire last two weeks. Yay! He has the next couple of weeks to finish the last of his work and then we are free for the summer.

Here's a pic of my family since I'm always talking about them. I thought you might like to have faces for the people I write about. :-) This photo was taken last summer at our local children's zoo. Son Adam, hubby Mark, daughter Kristin and oldest daughter Megan.

Thanks for coming!

Please help me welcome Jen. Her blog is http://www.hautewhimsy.com/.

I love my dog. I love my dog. I love....

This is one of those days when it's gonna take some serious reminders. Zyla, our younger dog, got into my Santa house today. Some of the damage is repairable but not my gingerbread house. Here are the before and after pictures. It's very sad. :-(

Follower #55!

Please welcome Babette of http://maidenamerica-babette.blogspot.com/. She has an eclectic blog featuring many of her interests. Minis are one of the many. Stop by and say hello.

Real life has been keeping me busy...

...but I found some time to make some things for my dollhouse bathroom today. The photo shows a hair dryer and curling iron. I also made deodorant, a razor, toothbrush, toothpaste and a hair brush today.

I spent some time on a nautical swap for Small World today, too. I can't post that photo for a long time, though. I'm just glad I was finally able to come up with a couple of ideas. The theme had me stumped for awhile.