A new article!

The story of Rose and her friends at A Rose Among Thorns saloon was published in the November issue of American Miniaturist. The two page article turned out really well. I wish there'd been room for more photos - there isn't even one showing Pansy - but overall I'm happy with the finished piece.

Big day today. I had to get new tires put on DD#2's car so I drove to her college town (and spent over $400 on tires!). We had lunch together then I stopped on my way home to visit my mom. We had a good visit, too, but it was a very long day. The next few are booked solid. I think I can crash on Tuesday, lol.

Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Halloween!

The results

It isn't perfect but I purchased this fabric with the intention of making a sofa. I used a bit of it for the dining chair cushions in the boarding house but it wasn't the best choice for the living room there. This sofa was not made from a kit. I used thin wood for the base and back, foam core for the arms and cushions, a bit of quilt batting for padding, and skinny sticks for the legs. I glued 2 together to form the leg pieces and used a single layer for the stretchers. I don't really have any plans for it but I needed to do something mini to get the ideas flowing again.

I also need to stock up on Michael's hutches again. I use them for so many things other than hutches. Home office cabinets, fireplaces, windows, benches, kitchen cabinets, just to name a few. The boarding house used up the last of my miscellaneous minis, too. I think I may have to hit a couple of craft stores soon to stock up. Gee, that's too bad. ;-)

Inspiration?

Finally, there are some mini ideas rolling around in my head. Nothing concrete enough to share yet but stay tuned!

A change in plans and a scary boy

This is the change in plans. I decided to turn my knitting project into a purse so that I can make a wider blanket. The handles were given to me by my mom when she cleaned out her craft supplies. It's a great size and I love the finished bag. Tomorrow I can start a new afghan. :)
And this is the scary boy! My son is involved in our high school theater program. They are doing a haunted theater for the weekends in October to raise food and money for the local food bank. Adam leaves home looking like a normal teenage boy and comes home like this. I'll go next weekend but I've got to get someone to go with me. I don't like haunted anything, lol.

See, I really am knitting!

I just learned to knit last winter so this blanket is not going to be very complicated. It's my first time using circular needles and they are wonderful for wide projects. This will be a small blanket for snuggling in the recliner this winter. It's just simple knitting in creams and browns. The stripes will add interest rather than a variety of stitches.

I'm still waiting for inspiration for minis. I have been working on the fireplace swaps but I haven't started any big projects. In the meantime, I'm enjoying all of your blogs. I'm sure one of your lovely projects will soon inspire me. :)

A Mini Slump?

I need to get back to blogging regularly but the internet is still iffy and I seem to be out of mini ideas at the moment. It doesn't happen often and hopefully it won't last long. I need to be working on a swap project. I can't post any pictures of that yet.

In the meantime I've been knitting. It keeps my hands busy and my mind working creatively - but I still hope my mind turns back to thinking about minis soon!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Welcome!

A quick welcome to Margarita Vives and Natasha. I'm still having some internet problems so I will post links when I can. Thank you both so much for stopping by!

Halloween swaps

Since Harriet moved out of her old kitchen and into the boarding house Wanda moved in. She's done some redecorating with batty wallpaper and a good layer of grime everywhere.
I received some very interesting swap items from my Small World friends. Gaye made everything on the table except for the crystal ball -spells on scrolls and a spell book, a candle and a skull.
The witchy cookie jar was made by Sandy Copeland. The "food" was made by Gary in New Hampshire - witches fingers, bbq bat wings and candied eyeballs on the footed tray. The wooden bowl holds rancid meat with carrots and rat tails and a boar's snout.
Brenda made the pumpkin head and the three jars of potion ingredients on the shelf over the window. Gaye made the bottle. The shelf over the chair holds a glow in the dark skeleton from Gary and an eyeball plant from Rosie. The bottle next to the cauldron was also from Rosie. The shelf on the right wall holds a beautiful witch's hat by Sandy Copeland.
Charlene made the pumpkin with the ghost and Brenda made the crate of pumpkins. Wanda's hat and her owl, Walter, were made by Sandy for last year's swap.

I made the furniture and the candlestands with candles, the wall shelves, and Wanda. The view through the window was in the October issue of American Miniaturist.

Another small update

I thought the living room needed something more so I made this chair. It's truly a combination of odds and ends from the wood box. The legs are small clothes pin halves. The arms I think were supposed to be the side rails on a child's rocker. I had to make some adjustments but they worked well for the chair arms. The top of the back is a piece of gingerbread and the bottom of the back is a piece of baseboard. The trim between the front legs was on a hutch that had one broken leg so I had to remove the trim.
Here it is in the living room with the other furniture. Looks like George is going to do some reading before dinner.

Welcome!

Harriet and I have six new followers to welcome to the boarding house.
Natalia does beautiful mini needlework and you can see some of her work at Scarlet Sails Miniatures.

Funda is from Istanbul, Turkey. I don't know how to make the correct symbols for the name of her blog but you can find her work here. She has several example of paintings she has reproduced in 3 dimensional buildings.

Macrupe at Minialev has several lovely miniature quilts as well as some upholstered pieces.

The next three followers I was not able to find links for - Mini Aussie, Marielljessica, and Kevin&Karen. As always, please comment if you do have blog or website links you'd like me to post here.

Thank you all so much for following and commenting. I've enjoyed the opportunity to see your work as well.

Saloon video

I've been playing with Windows Movie Maker and put together a movie of the Rose Among Thorns Saloon. You can see it on youtube - here.

Sorry I've been away for so long

I have been working on the boarding house. We're still having internet issues at home but I should be getting a call today from the phone company to see if we're eligible for their DSL. Still have crossed fingers and toes, lol.

Since the boarders' rooms are so large I decided to give both of them comfy chairs for those times when they just want to be alone. Sandy has a matching ottoman. Looks like her kitten thinks it's the perfect spot for a nap.
I added mirrors to the back of these shelves/sconces. The mirrors were cut from mirrored poster board left over from the saloon.

This is George Peterson. He's sold as the father in a pioneer family set of dolls but I got him separately. I changed his vest and tie but the originals are in his armoire. George got a black leather wing chair. The leather I used for this was way too thick - it worked but it was difficult to work with. I wanted to use up what I have on hand before purchasing more.

We may have found a home for the boarding house. I'm kind of afraid to try moving it there but it's a possibility - on top of the entertainment center. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great week everyone!

Adding a bit here and adding a bit there

A trellis with a climbing floral vine - it isn't supposed to be any particular flower. I used a bit of plastic plant from Dollar Tree and added little tissue paper star flowers. The trellis was made from sections of bamboo skewers. A quick and easy project that adds some color to the corner.
This project was a little more involved. The table top was an arched window punchout from a previous kit.. I cut and sanded the straight end to get a half circle top. The decorative back also was leftover from an old kit. The front leg is a stair spindle but I only had one left so the back legs were cut from chopsticks. The carved trim is a section of braided trim. On top of the table is a black rotary dial phone made from a piece of spring loaded clothes pin with a bead and wire receiver and a paper dial. A pad of paper and a pencil are ready for messages. The glue wasn't dry when I took the photo so you can see a little white on the edges of things.

The boarding house is still sitting on my dining room table, waiting for a home. I think hubby is stumped, lol. It's really big.