Welcome!

Please help me welcome Jody of Peach Blossom Hill (and several other blogs - you can find the links on this one). Jody makes wonderful country style minis and has just started adding some handmade wood pieces to her etsy shop. You can see a beautiful shabby kitchen shelf on her blog.

Lots of progress

Walls and floor glued together.
Inside.
Now the inside walls have been dirtied up a bit. I made the fireplace from scraps of styrofoam. I made the basic shape and then covered the whole thing with a mix of spackle, glue and paint. I scribed the stones in with a pointed tool. After it was partially dry I added the different colors of paint to resemble field stone. The finished fireplace was sealed with Mod Podge. The mantel is made from two of the extra logs. The logs for the fire were carved from balsa wood and I used fine red glitter to make burning embers. The black spot you see on the inside left near the top is a hook to hang a cooking pot. The cabin is so small that it won't have a cook stove, just the fireplace like most pioneers would have had in their first cabins.
This is the outside, stained to look like tree bark.
There is still a lot of work to do but I was able to get a lot finished today. My kids had friends over and I got to mini. The sun was even shining. Today was a good day.

The beginning

One log in the front wall is warped so I weighted and taped it. Good thing I have such a large cookbook collection. :-)
This is the front and side walls interlocked as they dry. I also have the floor assembled and drying. This is not a difficult kit to assemble once you get all of the pieces sorted by size. It's definitely tiny, though. I'm thinking it's gonna have to be the pioneer cabin. When it's finished I will mount it on a base so I can add an outhouse, a place to chop wood, etc.

Today's the day!

I'm starting the cabin today. I'll post some photos later this afternoon. Wish me luck!

No cabin yet but...

...I do have a beautiful mini to share with you. My friend, Tina, and I are doing a swap. I made the upholstered couch and chair I shared earlier in the month and she made this beautiful doll named Verity. As you can see, Verity has settled in to her new home. She's enjoying breakfast in bed (made by another friend, Brenda.)

I'm still here

Hi everyone. I'm hoping to get started on my cabin soon. We're still struggling but making it through this time. I hope my next post will show some progress on the cabin. Thanks so much for all of the prayers and good thoughts!

I'll be back sometime, I promise

I won't be posting much for awhile. I don't want to just post about sad things. Right now, though, there isn't much joy in my heart and I just can't work on minis. Even my new log cabin kit has no appeal.

I do want to say, though, that contrary to the way it looks, there is no doubt that my daughter's fiance loves and cherishes her. I don't really think that's changed. There's just some other stuff going on with him - he is normally a very responsible and caring young man. I hate that this makes him look like a jerk, because he isn't.

My daughter is back at school for the week and it is going to be very difficult for her to stay focused so your continued prayers would be very appreciated.

Thanks for caring.

I can't fix this...

Yesterday my daughter's fiance of 1 year, boyfriend of 3 yrs, decided that he's not ready for the responsibility of marriage and he ended their relationship. There are not words to describe the pain I'm feeling as I watch my daughter try to make sense of this. She has had to overcome so many hurdles due to her chronic illness and I can't bear to see her have to overcome one so painful. We all love him, he's become a part of our family. Please continue to pray for our family as we grieve for this new loss so soon after losing my father-in-law. Also, as I begin the process of unplanning a year's worth of wedding plans.

Unexpected crisis

I'm likely to be away for a couple of days due to an unexpected family crisis. Prayers would be very appreciated!

A new project!

Hubby gave me my birthday present early (my birthday is not until Feb. 9). I think it will be fun to do but the box of logs is a bit overwhelming. :0) I'll have to spend some time with the instructions before I pull anything out of that box!

It's either going to be a pioneer cabin or a romantic mountain retreat. Since it's so small, I'm leaning toward the pioneer theme but I'll wait until it's assembled to decide for sure, I think. What do you all think?

I did some rearranging

This is the bedroom in the Real Good Toys Victorian Cottage. Because of the name, I decided to make this one in the Victorian period. The bedroom is one of my favorite rooms in the cottage. I made the bed and all of the bedding and the wash stand. The pitcher and bowl, chamber pot, cat and many of the small personal accessories were made from polymer clay. The rug is a scrap of fabric with the sides hemmed and the ends fringed. The parlor stove is a salt shaker.

This room arrangement is a new one and I really like how it looks.

Looking for inspiration

I'm just not sure what I want to make next. I'm catching up on some household duties today so maybe I won't have a chance to work on minis. I usually have a head full of ideas just waiting but not today. Hmmm, I guess I'll just take this opportunity to rest in between loads of laundry and maybe an idea will come to me.

Do any of you have days like this?

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Cheryl to the party. Cheryl if you have a blog or website you would like me to post, please let me know.

Thanks for the ideas!

So here's the finished piece all ready to list in my shop. I added the cutting board with cheese, grapes and a knife; the small blue water jug; and the fern planted in a basket. The cheese and jug were made from polymer clay. The grapes came from a fake plant. The basket was made with a circle of wood for the base, aida cloth for the woven part, and cording for the handle and trim. I stained the finished basket with oak stain and planted some plastic fern leaves in it. I could add more but I will leave it as is for the customer to embellish if he/she wishes.

A little bit of French country

I just finished this hutch this morning. The plates are printed on cardstock and sealed with gloss Mod Podge on the front and back. I added the wine rack in the bottom center. I'm going to list this in my shop but I'm thinking it needs a little something more. A bowl of fruit, a basket of flowers or vegetables...suggestions?

Thank you for following!

I have three new followers to welcome. Please say hello to Lori of Oh Mini of Mine. Lori has some beautiful houses in 1:144 scale in her current blog post. I wish I had that much patience!

Hello to Marit of Black Cat Cottage. Marit appears to enjoy a variety of crafts and activities along with miniatures.

And, finally, a big hello to Karina of The Mouse Mansion. Karina is a writer and she's built the most amazing mouse mansion.

Please pay a visit to each of these ladies' blogs. All are wonderful artists!

Thank you all for stopping by!

It's finished!

I added dark glaze to antique the finish and I really like it. The "carving" stands out so much better. I love making these. I'm so glad that Casey posted her tutorial!

Another polymer clay embellished hutch

This isn't finished yet. I want to antique it to add dimension. I added carved feet made from clothespins and the doors. The area under the drawer was originally just an open shelf. The "carved" embellishments on the drawer and pediment were also made with stamped clay. I still need to add door pulls.

Happy Wednesday!

I woke up to find that my customer would also like 8 of these Chrysnbon chairs, assembled and stained to match the table. Eight of her real chairs are very similar in style to the Duxbury. She seems to be a very sweet lady and I am enjoying working with her. The chair kits are ordered. I'll post a photo of the completed dining set.

It's a beautiful, sunny day here. I'm off to see my daughter so we can exchange stuff. I have another blanket (her apartment bedroom gets cold) and her mail for her and she has a gift bag full of Mary Kay samples for me. Life is good! :-)

Have a wonderful day everyone!

New and Improved...with No Warp

I had some 1/8" oak strip wood on hand so I remade the table. The only part I reused was the legs. No warping and the strips look more the like the original planks on the real table.

A Custom Order!

I recently got a custom order in my etsy shop to recreate a nine foot long dining table in 1:12 scale. The real table (shown in the top photos) is awesome! The bottom photos show the mini version. Unfortunately, the top warped so the whole table is currently under weights trying to get the warp out. Woodworking is really not my thing but the customer liked my baking prep table and wanted something similar. I do think the mini version is a good representation of the 1:1 table so I think my customer will be happy with the final results.

A little mini-ing is good for the soul

I decided to let housework go today after the door fell off the fridge. I spent some time making minis instead. This is the couch for my friend, Tina.
And this is the set. I haven't heard from her about the little couch yet, but I know she's happy with the chair. My upholstered furniture skills are improving. I really like how the chair came out.

It's one of those days...

You know those days when you wish you'd just stayed in bed and pulled the covers up over your head? This is one of THOSE days. It started with the dog barking two hours before my alarm went off because she wanted in. She chose not to come in when hubby let her out before he left for work.

Then, the refrigerator door fell off. Yep, that's right. It fell off. Hubby says he can fix it tonight and my son helped me get it propped up there well enough to seal but I guess I won't be starting dinner early tonight 'cause I'm not opening that thing again until DH gets it fixed.

So, if you don't see me later today it's because I'm hiding under the covers, lol.

Country Cottage Charm

I made this comfy looking little chair for Tina, a friend from the UK. We are making a trade. In exchange for this chair and a coordinating couch I get a wonderful doll named Verity. She's in her nightclothes, ready for bed. I have a couple of bedroom boxes to choose from for her new home.

I met Tina online in a miniatures forum but I consider her a true friend. When my daughter was studying in London and had some health issues, Tina took her in for a week based on our online friendship. Meg enjoyed her stay with Tina's family, recovered enough to take her second course, and got a true taste of living in the UK.

The mailman brought a wonderful surprise

Recently Hanna of Hanna & Leijona held a blog contest. I was one of the lucky winners. Today I received this adorable little needle felted Minnie Mouse. Isn't she just the cutest thing?

Thank you, Hanna! I love her!

Back safely and it's still snowing

We've gotten at least two inches of new snow since it started snowing this morning. If you compare this morning's photo with this one you can see some change. The little house between the bird feeder poles is one way to measure the difference. This morning any little people living inside could still get out the top half of the doorway. Now the doorway is nearly buried. :-)

It was not a fun drive but we are home and warm. There will be some mini time coming up this afternoon. I am in serious withdrawal!

The snow is here!

The weather forecasters have been predicting a huge winter storm all week and it has arrived. The bad part is that I have to get out and drive to pick up my oldest from a visit to her fiance's family. I'm just meeting them half way but it is not going to be fun!

This is the view from my dining room window. The hazy gray is the falling snow (and maybe the dirt on the window, lol). We had a couple of evenings of freezing sleet before the snow started so the snow we started with has compacted down a bit. I'll take a new photo tomorrow for comparison.

Good morning!

There is no doubt that winter is here. We got ice last night and the snow comes tomorrow - 6 more inches! I am so thankful that this weather system didn't arrive early enough to impact family travels for the funeral.

I hope everyone is well and happy as they start off this new year.

Sort of normal again

Things are slowly returning to normal around here. Late last night/early this morning I finished changing the downstairs Christmas decorations to the snowmen I put out for the winter. I still have to take down the big Christmas tree in our bedroom but I'm not quite ready to start that yet. It's a huge project as everyone has their own ornaments and this year, due to my father in law's death, the kids won't be home to help. They usually put their own ornaments away and then I deal with the rest. I will probably start that project tomorrow.

I have a new swap project to get started on but still don't have any idea what I'm going to make. It's a garden swap. I have some great printies that might be a good start. I'm still too tired to think that clearly, lol. Hopefully, I'll be able to start soon.

Thank you all again for the caring comments you've left. It's really wonderful to know that so many people around the world are thinking about you. I am so happy to have made so many amazing friends!

Thank you!

Thank you all so much for your kind words during our time of loss. My father-in-law's funeral service today was a beautiful celebration of a wonderful man's 89 years of life. I'm very happy that he is no longer in pain and is celebrating with Jesus in heaven. However, I am sad that I can't get a big hug or a few words of wisdom from my "second daddy." My father passed away this same time of year 7 years ago. I was so lucky to have a father-in-law who was willing to "fill the gap." In many ways, he understood me so much better than my father. I'm going to miss him very much.

As things return to some form of normal around here I hope to return to blogging regularly again. Thank you again for your support.