De-Lightful Minis

It's finished!

2012-01-23T21:39:00.003-05:00

I just listed this in my zibbet shop (see link in the sidebar.) Since I showed this to you previously I've added a used canning funnel and a bag of sugar to the counter. The canner is partially filled with "boiling water." I love how this turned out!

Almost time for that giveaway!

2012-01-22T18:07:00.001-05:00

Just 10 more followers and then we'll have a sign up for the giveaway. It will be a custom made doll for the winner.

Have a great week, everyone!

Still waiting for paint to dry...

2012-01-16T18:21:00.004-05:00

...but I thought I'd share anyway. You can see that the jars of cherries are still cloudy. Everything else looks pretty good. The cabinet is the bottom of a Michael's hutch with legs and new handles added.

I'm really happy with the boiling water canner. It's been well used and has a few rust spots (just like my real one!)
I carved the wooden spoon and made the wire whisk. The bowl is a bead cap and the jar lids are the top of paper fasteners.

It feels good to mini again. :-)

I'm still here

2012-01-16T13:21:00.002-05:00

After what seems like a long dry spell, I'm finally finding some time to make minis again. My current project will be listed in my zibbet shop soon - as soon as the paint dries. The glass paint is taking a long time as it is inside some tiny jars. I've done a "canning cherry pie filling" prep counter. I'm still thinking about how to make a water bath canner to go with the scene. Pictures will come when everything has finally dried.

Also, once I hit 350 followers there will be another give-away. I'm still thinking about what the prize will be but I'm leaning towards one of my dolls. Would you prefer an already made doll of my choice or the opportunity to choose characteristics like sex, clothing style, etc. if you were to win the prize? The wait would be a bit longer if the winner chooses but the doll would be personalized to fit a specific scene. Just comment here to let me know your opinion. That won't enter you in the give-away yet. I'm just gathering information at this point. :-)

An experiment

2012-01-12T19:16:00.003-05:00

My friend recently started weaving rugs. She made me this beautiful denim rug for Christmas. It looks great in my guest bathroom. The rug in front of the shower was a worn out green plush. I wanted to replace it with something that would look good with the denim rug. So...
I made this rag rug. I crocheted "braids" and sewed them together. It's a little wonky but I'm pleased with it. It's very comfortable to stand on.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T13:36:00.003-05:00

It's been a bit crazy here with kids home from college, holiday get togethers, and our internet at maximum usage level. That's why I've been gone. We did have a lovely Christmas and a fun New Year's Eve with family.

Life is returning slowly to "normal", whatever that is, lol. The Christmas decorations are packed away for another year and my snowman collection is out for the winter. I packed away my little Christmas village but while putting away the decorations I found a box of my girls' old Polly Pocket houses. I used them one year for a little village but they were all in unrealistic pastel colors. My daughters gave me permission to paint them and here's the result. They are my current centerpiece for the winter.

Welcome!

2011-12-29T13:59:00.003-05:00

I have not welcomed my new followers in a very long time. Please forgive me. I very much appreciate all who take the time to read my blog and post comments. In fact, I think it's about time for another follower give-away. I will post information about it soon.

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!

Paper houses

2011-12-23T13:47:00.003-05:00

I found some printable houses on About.com. Printed without adjustment they are approximately 1:144 scale. I made a few changes with the extra components and added snow and glitter. The evergreen is curled chenille stem. I think these would make adorable tree ornaments.
I also reduced the houses by 40% to make a village for the boarding house mantle. That was a bit of a pain but it looks great now that I'm finished. I also added snow and glitter to these houses.

2011-12-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

Christmas in mini, part two

2011-12-20T17:50:00.002-05:00

Here are our real stockings. Hubby and son have snowmen and the girls and I have angels. They are very oversized - about 2 1/2 feet long or so. One year my sisters-in-law and I got together and made stockings for our families. We all did different things but they all turned out really cute. :-)
This is the mini living room with stockings. I used felt to make the actual socks and scrapbook paper for the appliques. I'm having so much fun miniaturizing our special things.

Christmas for the mini family

2011-12-18T16:59:00.003-05:00

We have some family decorations that are extra special for one reason or another. I am working to miniaturize them for the mini version of my real house. It's always Christmas in that dollhouse but for some reason I never thought to make minis of some of our things. The boot was my childhood stocking for almost as long as I can remember. My mom found large pressed cardboard Santa boots and we got to choose pictures from old Christmas cards for her to decoupage on to them. Mine has elves, Santas and snowmen. My sister's has pink fur and lots of glittery angels. The older of my two brothers has always been a history buff so his boot has a patriotic theme. My baby brother was too young to choose so his is red with a big Santa on it. They have held up remarkably well. I now use it to hold the pieces for the advent banner hanging above it. My mom and I made the banner for my kids. The very last thing to go on it is baby Jesus on Christmas morning. These days I'm the one putting the pieces on each day, lol.
Here are both items in mini. It's Christmas Eve in the dollhouse so everything but the baby has been put up. (Although after I took the picture I noticed that one of the angels was still in the boot - oh, well.) I also had to draw in the "R" because the pink didn't photograph well. The banner was always hung low when the children were young so that they could reach it. In the dollhouse the children are 5, 3, and 8 months old.

The boot was made of air dry clay. I cut out little graphics printed from a card making program. I was excited to find some vintage style elves very similar to those on the real boot.

Next up will be reproducing our stockings. They are oversized ones that I made. The girls' have angels and stars and the boys' have snowmen and snowflakes. I think I can use scrapbook paper cut-outs on felt stockings to make a pretty good mini version.

Photo booth fun

2011-12-09T23:03:00.003-05:00

Tonight was my husband's "Holiday Party." I still call it the Christmas party. Anyway, for the second year they had a photo booth. Here are this year's photos. I love the middle one.

Rudolph just watched the reindeer games

2011-12-08T23:02:00.002-05:00

All of the reindeer got a makeover today to match Rudolph a bit better. I like the darker color. I also painted the sleigh runners and trim. Once Red gets those reindeer hitched to the sleigh Santa is ready to go.

The deer came from a variety of sources - one is a child's toy, one a tree ornament, and four are decorative items meant to sit on a table or shelf. Most of them had a glitter or metallic finish and several had some sort of embossed detail. All got a coat of paint, a layer of tan flocking, and a coat of darker brown paint with soft white accents. The embossed parts are much less obvious and the reindeer look more like they are supposed to go together. :-)

And now for something completely different

2011-12-04T16:51:00.003-05:00

In the mini version of my real home, my young daughters share a bedroom. They never have in real life and rather than choose one of their real rooms over the other as inspiration I just made a generic girls' room. Over the years the fabric I used for the bedspreads has faded and I was recently thinking I should at least make mini versions of the real comforters they had at those ages.
To keep things cohesive I used the same ribbon for dust ruffles and pillows for both. My oldest was five in 1993 and she had a Little Mermaid themed room. My middle was three and had a Sesame Street theme. They are now 23 and 21 so I couldn't find photos of their actual comforters online. Instead I used a card program and graphics from online to make approximate representations of theirs. I am quite happy with the results.
Here are the beds in the room complete with toys, books, and various little girl stuff. (Sorry for the blurry photo. It's really hard to get to the third floor of this house. Even my tall son had trouble getting a good picture, lol.)

Isn't it funny what inspires our mini projects? That's one of the many reasons why this hobby never gets boring.

A little more Christmas

2011-11-29T22:40:00.004-05:00

I got everything home from the library yesterday. I loaded it into the car in heavy rain, unloaded it into the house in freezing drizzle, and by last night we got several inches of wet, heavy snow. School was canceled today.

I set up Santa's house in the bay window. I had to put a plexiglass cover on it for the library so it will be cat proofed here at home.
I added a few new things for the library display - Three more reindeer + Rudolph and a large tree. It looks like Red is busy harnessing everyone to the sleigh. Rudy is using skis to deliver the last minute mail.
When I bought Rudolph I also bought the snowman "played" by Burl Ives. He's enjoying his cocoa near the gazebo.
After loading the car yesterday I rewarded myself with a quick trip to my favorite resale shop. I bought several vintage glass ornaments and a "new" Santa for my collection. The second one from the left looks just like one my mom had when I was young so I had to get him. The third Santa from the right was made by my MIL before hubby and I were married. That makes him over 30 years old! I guess he's vintage now, too, lol. The Santa on the far right and the two egg shaped ones were made by my mom. I have other Santas scattered throughout the house but these are the larger ones.

I wrapped some gifts and I'm doing laundry. Now I can enjoy some time online - guilt-free. :-)

It's moving day

2011-11-29T08:12:00.002-05:00

Today everything comes home from the library. It's raining this morning and turning to snow this afternoon. Could be an interesting trip. I have to have everything out by tomorrow, though, and I'm working Thursday and Friday and don't want to be exhausted before spending 2 days with 2nd graders, lol. So today's the day. Wish me luck!

Since I had to put a plexi front on Santa's house for the library display, I'm going to display it in the bay window here at home. The cat (and my daughter's cat who will be visiting over the holidays) likes to curl up in the bay to sleep. The interior will be cat proof and I think they will leave the elves and reindeer alone...I hope. :-)

Wishing all of you the best of days!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-11-27T18:39:00.003-05:00

We traditionally decorate the house the day after Thanksgiving. We usually have 2 trees. One is upstairs in the master bedroom - that's our "big" tree with all of our family ornaments. We have our Christmas morning gift opening in our room EARLY in the morning. My kids are all young adults but they still get excited about Christmas. :) This is the downstairs tree. (It's the first year in a while that I've been able to put up a full sized one with all the pets.) This tree usually has some sort of theme based on ornaments we already have. I love vintage glass ornaments and I've collected a few vintage ones and more reproduction ones. The tree this year is all of those ornaments. The bottom few are all nonbreakable in case the pets bump them but the rest are glass. The lights are red as are many of the ornaments. I love how it turned out!
A new collection this year is this little Christmas village. My mother-in-law has a beautiful collection of larger buildings that she sets up each year - and everyone in the family has contributed to it at some time or other. I don't have that much space but when I saw a few smaller houses at Goodwill I was excited. All of these have been collected from various thrift stores in the last month or so. A few people and trees came with the first Goodwill purchase and I found a few more people at Walmart and trees at JoAnn's. I think it looks great under the tree. It has the added bonus of keeping the cat out as there's no good place for her to lie down. ;-)

I love Christmas in case you couldn't tell, lol. I look forward to seeing how some of you decorate for the season.

The transporting has begun

2011-11-19T19:10:00.003-05:00

Today I emptied one display case at the library and also brought home the castle. That thing is heavy and something breaks every time it's moved. I'm not sure if it will travel again. But all is put back together and my new goodies have been moved in. I still have the other half of the wall display case, two floor cases, the cabin and the saloon to move back home. I will do that over the next two weeks.

While I was at the library, the head librarian (also named Dina just spelled differently than my Deana) asked me 1. to come back again next year with some new houses/rooms 2. to lead a workshop or program on dollhouses and miniatures in April and 3. to participate in a "meet the artist" program she's starting. I'd have a table set up and work on a project in the lounge area of the library. People could watch and ask questions but I wouldn't be doing any major speaking. Besides all of that, she told me that she gave my contact info to other area libraries in case they would be interested in a display. Wow! I'm going to have to work on better ways to transport these things.

Anyway, this is all very exciting stuff - I have lots to think about and plan. I'm thinking the workshop will be a sort of trash to treasure project since that's one of my personal favorite things to do. What do you all think?

A Tudor swap with friends

2011-11-18T11:30:00.004-05:00

The online group I belong to, Small World, has a swap every month or so for most of the year. The last swap had a Tudor theme. Look at all the beautiful things I now have to display in my castle. I think I'm going to have to start that castle expansion project soon.
I made mandolins and "pewter" goblets for everyone.

Just a quick post - I'm heading off to sub at the elementary school for the afternoon. Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Sometimes life is complicated

2011-11-17T19:42:00.001-05:00

I am anxious to get back to blogging regularly. When I was almost all healed from my fall I got sick so I've been mostly out of commission this week. Next week will be filled with family and Thanksgiving preparations but I will get back to mini-making soon! I also have to move all of the houses and rooms back home from the library so it will be a little crazier than normal around here. I am taking time to check out your blogs. Please don't give up on me!

Life's a bit crazy

2011-11-06T13:06:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't blogged this week. I'm working as a substitute teacher now and I had jury duty last week. To top off the week, I tripped rather spectacularly in a parking lot and had a face to concrete collision yesterday. I will have more to share soon, I promise.

I do want to tell you that the librarians tell me that my mini display is the most popular display they've ever had. That's cool!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

A visit to Wanda's kitchen

2011-10-29T11:52:00.004-04:00

Well, I think we've discovered Wanda's vice - she appears to love hats. (The two new ones on the hutch came from the Round Robin swap box but I think they were made by Sandy Copeland. She also made the other two.)
Wanda has been stocking up on potions. She now has a good selection of ingredients on her top shelf. Maybe she can figure out how to get back to her usual color instead of the green, lol. She now has a friendly spider, too. He's been happily spinning webs all over the kitchen. He even made a "lovely" curtain for the window.
Wanda got a new mama cat after one of my thrift store visits. The kitten is on the windowsill.

Not much mini-ing to report

2011-10-29T08:55:00.002-04:00

But I do have photos of my daughter's new cat, Blue. Isn't he a handsome cat? He's also a busy one. My daughter lives in a small studio apartment and I had to go help her "cat proof" by hanging plants and moving trash cans, etc.
I also bought him a nylon "cat cube" which has been a hit with Blue, as you can see. :)

Santa's new gazebo

2011-10-26T15:33:00.003-04:00

In the round robin swap I do with friends I found a silver colored metal gazebo. I painted it green, added snow, icicles, Christmas decorations and a tree and now it's ready for Santa's yard. The Santa house is going to the children's section of the library tomorrow and the gazebo is a nice addition. It was also a nice quick project for the day.

Little Mop Dog

2011-10-23T21:47:00.002-04:00

I found instructions for this little mop dog in an old NAME magazine. It's supposed to be made with cotton welting but I had polyester cord on hand. She turned out really cute.

How could I forget this?

2011-10-18T18:07:00.002-04:00

Before I got my Easy Cutter I used my miter box and saw all the time. These look just like my real ones - and are a lot easier to make than a mini Easy Cutter, lol.

It's beginning to look a lot like...Thanksgiving

2011-10-17T22:21:00.006-04:00

I've posted photos of the cornucopia room I made for myself but this one was made for my mother-in-law. I also made one for my mom but forgot to take pictures before I gave it to her. For both of theirs I found cornucopias with an extended front. That enabled me to put chairs at the table which I didn't have room to do in mine. Dinner is a traditional Thanksgiving meal - turkey with stuffing, sweet potatoes, tossed salad, mashed potatoes, jello, pumpkin pie, green beans and cranberry sauce.
I didn't make the rug or the jello (jello by Gaye of My Small Obsession) and the photo over the buffet was taken by my friend, Tina.

The turkey and pie serving dishes are jewelry findings. The sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and green beans are in buttons that look like bowls. The salad bowl is cut from a water bottle lid. I made the bowl for the stuffing from polymer clay.

Both moms were very happy with their little rooms. I love being able to share minis. :)

Oh, and I stopped by the library today. The miniature display is very popular. Even the librarians all have their favorites. :)

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Still not finished

2011-10-15T18:54:00.003-04:00

I added another dollhouse to the top of the cabinet and there's a kit on the floor next to it. Leaning up against the wood bin is a steel yardstick. I had a gray yardstick printie that I glued onto a flat strip of metal hubby saved for me. I've got no idea what it came from but it worked perfectly.
I made 2 years worth of American Miniaturist magazines and filled the shelf. Now it looks more like my real book shelf. :) I also made a spool holder filled with mini spools of thread over the sewing machine.

I did these things yesterday afternoon before leaving with a group of friends for an Extraordinary Women's conference. There were some amazing speakers and musicians. I got to hear Jeremy Camp perform live for the first time. I had a wonderfully uplifting time with friends.

Detail work

2011-10-13T20:19:00.002-04:00

My homemade ceiling light is clunky but it works. I used a battery powered tea light and replaced the plastic candle flame with a clear Christmas ornament globe. Since the switch is on the bottom of the tea light I had to suspend it low enough to be able to reach the switch. The chains worked well. The top of the left hand cabinet displays a tiny dollhouse complete with landscaping.
I made a tomato pin cushion and used craft foam to make more blocks of "polymer clay." I filled a small clear box with unopened blocks of clay and a second is filled with scraps. I also added an iron and ironing board to the room. The basket on top of the shelf is filled with multi colored cording for rugs. There are more books on the shelf, too.
Take-out coffee and a chocolate bar - now we're really ready for a marathon mini session.

Now if I could get those tea light manufacturers to put the switch on the side instead of the bottom...

Here's what everyone made...

2011-10-13T11:14:00.004-04:00

These things were made by Brenda. The travel trailer kit is amazing!
These were made by Gaye (My Small Obsession.) Do you suppose Michael's would honor the tiny little coupon? I love the polymer clay on the tile.
Rosie even included a chocolate bar for sustenance during those marathon mini sessions. The craft knife has a tiny little blade. It's perfect.
This is what I made. The Dremel tool is modeled after mine.

I wanted to be sure to give credit for the amazing things I used in the craft room. The next swap we are doing has a Tudor theme. The castle will benefit from that one. :)

The promised photos

2011-10-12T21:03:00.004-04:00

The sewing machine was made from bits of wood, jump rings, beads, and thin metal sheeting. The shelf was made from parts of two hutches. I made the chairs and worktables. I love the fabric I used for the chairs and curtains.
This is the whole room.
There are two mini projects in progress, lots of paint bottles in the cabinet, a bin of wood scraps. The cabinet under the window holds polymer clay. The windowsill holds a plant and a jar of buttons.
The cabinet on this side has bolts of fabric, embroidery and knitting supplies, mini magazines and books, pens and a pad of paper. The sewing machine is threaded and ready.

Photos coming soon!

2011-10-12T09:44:00.001-04:00

Good morning!

My Small World friends and I just completed a "Miniaturist's Craft Room" swap. I got some great things and have already started working on a room box. Photos will be coming soon, I promise.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

I'm famous! well, sort of...

2011-10-07T15:10:00.003-04:00

The Carnegie Public Library of Steuben County has a brief bio and some photos on their blog. The display seems to be popular with library patrons according to the librarians. I stopped in today to return and get books (the car was too full yesterday, lol) and all seems to be going well. Half way home yesterday I remembered that I'd forgotten to check the two roomboxes that hubby just sat on the shelves. Good thing I checked today. Ruth, in the aquarium garden, had fallen back in her chair and her niece was flat on her face. Everyone is better now. ;-)

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

It took two vehicles to get it there....

2011-10-06T18:23:00.006-04:00

...but the library display is set up. This case is next to the front desk and you have to pass it to get to the books. The magazine in the front left of the case is an American Miniaturist article featuring some of my "unusual container" projects. The Potting Shed is a garden center in a watering can. Next is De's Diner in a vintage tin bread box. The argyle box is a vintage hat box - it holds Zegelien's store for ladies set in the 1940s. The vanity case holds a bride's bedroom on her wedding day.
Banner announcing National Dollhouse and Miniatures Month, the pioneer log cabin, and A Rose Among Thorns western saloon.
The castle is sitting on a low bookcase but it has a plexiglass front so is safe from little hands. The castle is the only thing that required repair work. One of the turrets broke off and the front door came loose. Nothing I couldn't repair with my emergency kit.
The big wall display case is filled with a few houses and several rooms. I took the very first house I ever did, 2 half scale houses and a quarter scale Victorian. The general store and NYC loft apartment are on the top right shelf.
This side has the back porch, beach cottage and several rooms. I took 2 trash to treasure type rooms with lists of miscellaneous items I used for sort of an interactive activity.

The librarians were very excited and both adults and children were stopping to look. I think it will be worth all the work. It's definitely exciting to see everything displayed like this.

The newspaper write up

2011-10-06T18:20:00.003-04:00

This is mostly a listing of what I brought for the display. Dina took photos of the final displays today and is going to submit a photo and short biography to the newspaper. Click on the photo to make it larger.

And this isn't all of it!

2011-10-04T14:36:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the dark photo. Too much natural light. All of these are cleaned and ready to go. The beach house and back porch are also ready. I have 4 room boxes I can't reach and the saloon to go.

I'm getting nervous about moving everything. I am going to take an emergency repair kit - glue, tacky wax. Can you all think of anything else I should have with me?

Getting ready

2011-10-03T23:54:00.002-04:00

This evening I wrote short little descriptions to go with the various dollhouses and rooms that I'm taking to the library. I also got about half of them cleaned and ready to go. Since I'm taking smaller projects I think I can just tape newspaper over the open side of most of them and they will be ready to haul. Moving day is Thursday. My house is going to look so empty with so many items away for a month. :)

It's amazing what a little paint can do

2011-09-27T15:06:00.002-04:00

I found a "honey brown" paint today and my deer is much improved. I really like the way he turned out.

I visited the library today to confirm that I will be doing a large display of dollhouses and room boxes for October - National Dollhouse and Miniatures Month in the US. It's going to be a lot of work to get everything moved but I'm very excited. There will even be a write up in our local newspaper. I'm mostly taking room boxes but I am going to take the castle and the pioneer log cabin. Later in October I will take Santa's house, Wanda the witch's kitchen and the Thanksgiving cornucopia to set up in the children's wing of the library. Santa will probably stay through December.

Minor changes at the castle

2011-09-27T09:49:00.002-04:00

The deer head was sculpted from polymer clay and I'm mostly happy with it. I need to make the fur color a bit more golden and then he'll look pretty good, I think. Not bad for a first attempt anyway. ;-)
I also decided the armory walls would look better with a plaster finish. The weapons show up better and the lighter color brightens the room a bit. I also put beams on the ceiling in Ariana's bed chamber and added a large bowl of grapes to the feast on the banquet table. I am just fine tuning things at this point but that's generally my favorite part other than the original decorating. I usually leave a "finished" project sitting out where I see it often and add and subtract from it until it really is finished. We (hubby and I) do still need to do the lighting but I'm waiting for him to have some time...could be a long wait but there's no real hurry.

Well, I'm off to run errands. Have a great day!

"Carved" Panels

2011-09-25T19:19:00.003-04:00

One of my miniature books suggested using corrugated cardboard to simulate the ornate carved panels found in Tudor manors. I used skinny sticks to frame the panels and it looks really nice. Poke the picture to see the details. Someday I'm going to get inspired before rather than after getting a room almost finished. It was a bit more challenging to add the skinny sticks and stain everything. ;-)

Meet Prince Randolph

2011-09-23T16:49:00.001-04:00

Prince Randolph has come to ask the king's permission to court Ariana. They've known each other since they were children and Ariana really wants the king to say yes. She's been banished to the chapel while the men talk. Randolph looks a bit nervous, don't you think?

Too much hair!

2011-09-23T12:15:00.003-04:00

That's what Ariana told me first thing this morning. And she was right. Her hair was too thick and overpowered her face. So I removed about half of it and added waves to the new thinner hair. We also decided to change her headpiece into a small crown. Here she is playing her mandolin in the chapel. The chapel is the place she feels closest to her mother so she spends a lot of time there.

Poke the picture to make it bigger.

I can't believe I did it!

2011-09-22T17:55:00.005-04:00

I really wanted to have a mandolin for the castle but I didn't want to spend a lot of money and I wasn't sure I could make one. Today I decided to sort through my miscellaneous wood pieces to see if I had something I could use as a starting point. I was very excited to find a piece that looked like half of a wooden ball with a hole in the center of the large side. That had real possibilities. I got out the Dremel and sanded the ball into more of a teardrop shape like a mandolin. I added a skinny stick, some beads, pins, thread, paint and bits of cardstock and ended up with something that looks a lot like a mandolin. :)
Ariana likes it and she plays quite well.

Poke the pictures to see more detail.

Still adding the details

2011-09-22T12:28:00.003-04:00

A coat of arms banner for the great hall in blue and gold to match the feathers on the armor helmets. I just cut a section of patterned cardstock that I liked and added the design with gold paint and a toothpick.
Ariana's bedchamber now has a door. Gotta keep all those knights running up to the armory from peeking in her room. ;) The door is actually stationary and is made from a kit leftover piece that is exactly the right height.
Aran now has a gold and ruby cross pendant on a very heavy gold chain. The price some people pay to show off their wealth..:-D
And, finally, I used some embossed stickers to add hinges to the front door. I used the same type on Ariana's door. I don't think there is much more to do to call the castle finished. I want to make a visiting prince who's come to ask permission to court Ariana and I will continue to add some details as inspiration strikes but it looks good as it is now.

Oh, except for lighting. Hubby is going to help me make some battery powered LED lights. He can do the electronics and I can make the candles/stands so hopefully our collaboration will be successful.

Chapel Bench

2011-09-21T21:27:00.003-04:00

What do you get when you mix air dry clay, scrap wood, rubber stamps, lace, cocktail sticks, and paint? Well, this time you get this monk's bench for the chapel. A monk's bench is the storage area the monk used to store his vestments before there were closets. My bench doesn't actually open but it looks as though it could. It has also been aged with paint to make it look as though it's been in that chapel for a long, long time.

Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places

2011-09-21T10:43:00.003-04:00

I was drinking a bottle of water and all of a sudden I noticed the inside of the bottle, under the label. It was a perfect diamond pattern for making a leaded window. My daughter thought I was crazy because I'd take a drink, look inside the bottle and then do the whole thing again. You'd think she'd be used to such behavior by now, lol. Anyway, the stained glass window in the chapel is the result of that discovery. The lead lines are just Sharpie marker traced over the embossed pattern. The diamonds were filled in with glass paint.

The Dasani bottle I used also had a lovely embossed border pattern. I didn't notice it until it was too late to save it - but the next time I will figure out a way to use that part, too. Isn't turning trash into treasure fun?

Ariana's Daddy

2011-09-20T23:02:00.003-04:00

is King Aran. Ariana was named for her father and her mother, Rianna. Aran is wearing a royal blue satin tunic over black trousers. He's wearing black "leather" boots and a fur trimmed metallic striped overcoat. His crown is one of the crowns I made earlier. Poke the picture to see more details.

Updates and edits

2011-09-20T12:52:00.003-04:00

The bed mattress sits much lower now (Ariana won't need a step ladder to get into bed now, lol) and she has a fur throw that she can use for extra warmth on the bed or on the cold stone floor. The vanity has had a makeover and now looks more "royal" and has more presence with the draping over the mirror. I also added some necklaces to the vanity top. And you can't see it, but there's a fire in the fireplace.
The banquet is complete now. I added a pastry and jugs for ale and wine. The tankards are filled with "ale" or they will look like it once the glass paint is dry. This photo doesn't show it but there's also a fire in this fireplace. All of the food was made with Crayola air dry clay. Normally I would use polymer clay but I want to use the air dry stuff before it dries out.
This isn't the best photo but I wanted to show you that there are little birds and a cannon on top of the castle tower. The cannon is an aquarium decoration that was perfectly scaled.

I love it when I surprise myself!

2011-09-19T21:58:00.002-04:00

I made a trestle table and two benches for the great hall. The table turned out great - but it's hidden under the tablecloth. I also made the roasted turkey, boar's head, bread and "pewter" goblets. The plates are buttons and the tankards were made by Sandy Copeland. The portrait over the fireplace was done by my friend, Gary in New Hampshire. I'm pretending the lady is Ariana's mother who died when Ariana was very young.
The bed gave me some trouble - mostly because I don't have the right tools to cut wood so none of my ends were straight. Eventually I got it all to stay together and the finished bed looks really good. This would be the surprising myself bit, ;). The vanity is also a new addition. Harriet in the boarding house got a new vanity (pics coming soon) so her old one became Ariana's. I made the mirror and brush from air dry clay. The flower arrangement near the armoire was done with real tiny dried flowers and greenery.

This is a very satisfying project - I think because the entire design is mine and I've been challenging myself with some of the furniture and accessories. Still to come - a monk's bench for the chapel, the king, a visiting prince, and more details. Stay tuned!

2011-09-18T21:32:00.002-04:00

Here's the baby dragon on the roof. He's sitting on another egg in the process of hatching. Hmm, I wonder if the king and Ariana know what's going on up there?
The great hall - I need to make a trestle table and benches and some food to put on the table. I found some great jewelry findings to make "pewter" goblets. I've also added a red satin cushion to the throne.
This is Ariana's bed chamber. She's obviously lacking a key item since she doesn't yet have a bed.
I think I want to try to make a monk's bench for the chapel and maybe a kneeler.
The armory is much more rustic than the rest of the castle but then it doesn't need to be pretty. :)

All of the stone floors were cut from peel and stick tile and grouted with regular spackle mixed with acrylic paint. The stone areas at the back right are the stair wells. Those walls were made with Crayola air dry clay as was the inside of the great hall door. I originally was not planning to have open windows but just fake ones on what would have been the back of the castle. That's why the door is not an opening one. However, I needed more light and since the bookcase back is basically cardboard I just cut the windows out. The wallpaper all came from a really cool scrapbook pack. I also used that to make really awesome ceilings. You can see the chapel ceiling in that photo.

I think I'm going to eventually end up with another bookcase tower so I can get the rest of the rooms I want. I didn't have room for the wizard and his office, the king's bed chamber or the kitchen. The bookcase units are so inexpensive that I can expand gradually until I have all the rooms I "need." LOL

Hey, it's not a bookcase anymore!

2011-09-18T12:02:00.003-04:00

Here's the castle front. I painted the exterior with stone textured paint. The turrets on the top are from cut down Pringles cans rather than oatmeal boxes. There wasn't as much room up there as I originally thought.

I will post more photos later of the interior. It's mostly finished - I just have some furniture pieces and dolls to make and then whatever accessories I decide I need. :) It's been a very productive few days.

More fun stuff

2011-09-15T13:20:00.002-04:00

I don't have photos yet but today I got stone paint and trim for the castle and a dog for the king and the coolest baby dragon hatching. Eventually, I'm going to have to landscape this project so the unicorn and dragon have someplace to be. :0)

I've been scouring every thrift store in the area looking for a chair or loveseat for my daughter. I found lots of castle goodies but not the right chair. However, I found a sale on dorm sized recliners at Menard's today. Yay! She's in an apartment but the living room is tiny so the chair will be perfect.

The Castle Plans

2011-09-14T22:26:00.002-04:00

I spent some time yesterday planning the layout of my castle. If you poke the photo you'll get a larger one and should be able to read my notes. The lower level will be the Great Hall. There will be a large banquet table and benches and thrones for the King and his daughter, Ariana. The second floor will be Ariana's bed chamber. The third floor will house the chapel and the armory. There will be 4 corner towers at the top. This is just a section of the whole castle. The King's bed chamber, the kitchen, staff housing, etc. are in another area. ;)

I made weapons for the armory this evening. It was fun to figure out how to make things.

Tomorrow I need to get stone finish spray paint, foam core, and wood trim. With everything coming together in my head now I can actually start building. Hopefully, progress photos will be coming soon!

Ariana's New Dress

2011-09-13T22:04:00.004-04:00

I left the top of her dress - just added undersleeves - but the bottom was completely redone. The underdress and undersleeves were made from a thrift store vest. The fabric has gold threads forming chain link style stripes and the edges of the vest were trimmed with tiny ruffles. They are the perfect size for the edge of the sleeves and skirt. The overskirt ends in a long train. Now she really looks like a story book princess!

It doesn't look like much now...

2011-09-12T20:31:00.003-04:00

...but give me some time and I promise this will look like a castle. :) I know how I want to do the transformation but I don't have everything I need yet.
I was hoping to find a used shelf at one of the many thrift shops I visited today but there weren't any. I did, however, find some other good things. The dried greenery will be "growing" up the side of the castle. The embossed earrings and pendant will be shields. The pink and gold footed dish will be used somehow. I just like it. And, the two suits of armor are extremely under scale but on clearance and cool so I'll use them anyway. :) I was gone all day and still didn't find what I need for my daughter so will have to go out again this week. But I had fun searching out the little things I can repurpose for my castle.

Hope you all had a great day, too!

Crown Jewels

2011-09-11T19:55:00.003-04:00

Well, jeweled crowns, anyway, :). The crown on the left and the tiara on the right were made with gold braid. The two in the middle were cut from thin sheet metal. I used tiny nail jewels and larger flat backed crystals to decorate them. I made crowns while watching our football team lose miserably. Kept my blood pressure down, lol.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you all that I lined the sleeves and hem of Ariana's gown in a matching satin ribbon. That made a huge difference in making the gown look rich. I can never seem to get just what I want in one try - I'm always thinking about the project and how to make it better. It usually only takes 2 or 3 tries. :P

Have a wonderful week!

Still thinking about that castle

2011-09-11T13:45:00.002-04:00

I made these tapestries yesterday. They are cut from a catalog and then I used matte decoupage glue to put a layer of white tissue paper over the top. I stippled on another layer of the glue to give a fabric like appearance to the paper. I added fringe made from gold ribbon and ribbon hangers to hold the tapestries on the "bronze" rods. A fairly quick and easy project that results in a nice finished product.

As for that castle, I'm currently looking for a small used bookcase to convert into a castle. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I will check a couple of thrift stores while I'm in town. I'm also looking for a piece of furniture for one of my daughters so I have a legitimate reason for shopping, lol.

For the future castle

2011-09-09T18:48:00.003-04:00

I used photos of some better quality mini furniture for inspiration. They had a lot of carving and I don't carve. So I embossed some metal sheeting instead to give the effect of carved wood.
I added pieces to trim the arms of the throne and then painted everything dark brown. I added some antiquing gel to give a woodgrained effect.
The armoire got Tudor style feet and new skirting. I think both pieces turned out pretty well - especially since I was only using materials I had on hand.

The lace had to go....

2011-09-07T20:54:00.002-04:00

The bottom of her gown looks much better now. I removed the lace and added more of the velvet fabric with trim. She has a small train that comes to a point in the back.

Princess Ariana and her unicorn

2011-09-07T19:15:00.003-04:00

The unicorn got a tapestry blanket and a turquoise leather harness. Then I made the princess. She has long auburn hair and green eyes. She's dressed in velvet and lace and at the moment is not permanently attached to the unicorn. I'm pleased with the pair of them and now need to think about how to make a tower and/or castle. I think I'm going to have to make a wizard to keep, too. Darius looks pretty good standing there. :)

Time for a castle?

2011-09-07T08:45:00.003-04:00

A couple of times ago when the Round Robin swap box came my way, I found a solid brass unicorn in it. I wasn't sure what I would do with it but it said "keep me" so I did. ;) Yesterday I painted it (3 coats of Gesso, 1 coat of oyster paint over all, accent colors added, sealed with matte sealer.) I love how it turned out. I think I want to make a princess to ride on him or maybe make a castle tower and have the unicorn at the base. Ideas are still forming but, oh, the possibilities. :D

Inspiration comes when you least expect it

2011-09-05T23:02:00.002-04:00

I was eating sunflower seeds this evening and as I looked at some of the seed halves I saw tiny little canoes. The natural shading on the shells looked like aged paint. I used Sharpie markers to color two of the shells to make decorative canoes for the beach house.
They are displayed on the window sill. I think you could add a paper or cloth sail to make a tiny sailboat. They are really cute, don't you think?

The Odds and Ends Challenge Revealed

2011-09-03T20:48:00.002-04:00

Here are the items we had to use. At least part of each thing had to be used in some way in the final project.
I made a scene in a cigar box. I have it hanging in my kitchen.
Here's a closer look at the counter. Can you guess how I used each item? (Hint: some things were dismantled and some were used in more than one way.)

And his name is...

2011-09-02T11:22:00.003-04:00

...Darius Zook! I used a variation of one name with one of the other suggestions to come up with his name. Thank you to all who offered suggestions!

Minor Updates

2011-09-02T11:01:00.002-04:00

Keisha is now ready for me to list in my zibbet shop. I gave her earrings and fine tuned her shoes and the stethoscope. Look for her to show up soon!

Keisha

2011-09-01T15:57:00.003-04:00

I had two dolls stuck in my head begging to get out. The second was this nurse, Keisha. She's dressed a lot like the nurses at my doctors' offices dress. Scrubs with a long sleeved Tshirt underneath and rubber clogs. She also carries a stethoscope.

Mr. No Name gets a wardrobe update

2011-09-01T12:38:00.001-04:00

Well, he may not have a name but he looks good!

Help me name the wizard!

2011-09-01T10:18:00.003-04:00

Having never made a wizard before, last night seemed like a good time to start, lol. His face and hands are just what I wanted. He may get redressed, though. I'm not satisfied with my late night work there. But I love the purple leather and I don't have any more so I'll have to think about that.
Anyway, the wizard needs a name - and the good ones are taken - Gandalf, Albus Dumbledore, etc. ;-D So, I need your help. Please comment on this post with your suggestions.

Wear and tear

2011-08-29T13:46:00.003-04:00

Last night I was looking through photos of Johnson's Boarding House and one thing popped out at me - everything looked too shiny and new for a post war boarding house. So I got out the sandpaper and started adding some wear and tear. The floors especially were too new looking but the sandpaper helped solve that problem. I also added some chips to the enamel cabinet that Harriet is working at.
The living room tables got the sandpaper treatment, too. I didn't want them to look beat up, just well used. I left the dining set alone, though, on the presumption that the family ate in the kitchen when the children were young so the dining room has only been really used since the boarding house opened.
The foyer floor and the newel post show some use now.
I even sanded the leather wing chair at the head, seat and arms.
This isn't wear and tear but Harriet got a new (and final!) bedspread. I think this fabric looks like chenille so I had to use it. :) I made the linens from an old lace edged hankie.

I just made subtle changes but they made a big difference in telling the "story" of the house.

Off to find a new project! Have a great day!

Projects

2011-08-26T10:46:00.003-04:00

DD #2 is home for a short break between her early student teaching activities and the start of her college classes. She was bored and needed something to DO (emphasis is hers, lol.) So I gave her some wood furniture pieces and her choice of paints. She did the base coat work on these three and I added the folk art and floral designs as well as the aging. My favorite is the trunk. I've got some brown on cream fabric I plan to use for inserts in the wardrobe styled hutch.

The Victorian rooftop garden

2011-08-25T10:59:00.003-04:00

Last night I made the twisted wire furniture. This morning I worked on plants.
My apple tree is not as authentic looking as Casey's but I had the red wired floral accessories that looked like slightly overscaled apples so I used them. The rest of the plants are made with paper, reindeer moss, bits of twigs, artificial plant parts, etc. They range from very realistic to just giving a general impression.
The finished garden area looks welcoming and cozy although I may need to change the roof color. I'm still debating that.

A lucky find

2011-08-24T18:07:00.004-04:00

I found this fountain for $1 at Goodwill today. No water and "snow" around the base - I think it's meant to be part of a Christmas village.
I've been wanting to make a rooftop garden on my Victorian townhouse for a long time. This fountain is a good start.I used fishing line to make the water dripping down on each level and added clear dimensional glaze to the basins and down the fishing line. It looks like water is flowing now. :) I painted over the snow, added tea "dirt" and planted some tiny ferns around the base. Next step will be making some furniture and potted plants.

Before

2011-08-24T12:47:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd post a photo of the clock as it was before its makeover. You can see that I hadn't even painted the white edges that showed.

Just keeping busy

2011-08-23T22:24:00.003-04:00

I've been working on some mini mini projects this week. Just a few little things for fun. This month's American Miniaturist has a tutorial for a bead toy. I altered the instructions to make it like the one my children had. Here it is in the nursery.

This clock was made from a printie I found in a mini magazine many years ago. I think it may have been Nutshell News. I was fairly new to miniatures and it was a complicated printie so I put it together just as it was and popped it in a house. This morning I felt the need to "fix" it so here it is with the addition of some hardware, stain, a wood base, a clock face surround and some dimensional gel for the face. It no longer looks like it started as a printie. Definitely time well spent.

Playing with buttons

2011-08-20T18:23:00.003-04:00

While surfing the internet yesterday I found a tutorial for a mini vase of flowers using stacked buttons for the vase. I apologize for the poor quality of these photos but you get the general idea. I used a variety of sizes of red buttons glued together with Loctite super glue to make a bowl shaped planter on a pedestal.
The ivy was made with punched paper stars and covered wire. I used an ink pad on one side of the paper to make the top and bottom sides of the leaves a slightly different color.

The rose leaves are hearts punched from two shades of green paper and the rose buds were made from tiny bits of a pink envelope, rolled and glued. I dragged the tips of the flowers over a burgundy stamp pad.

Then I just glued everything in place on top of the button. The vines are glued into the button holes to keep them stable. I filled in all the blank spots with roses and leaves.

How does your garden grow?

2011-08-18T15:02:00.002-04:00

This lovely batch of beans is now cooling in the pressure canner - the second planting of green beans is really taking off.
The tomatoes are just beginning to ripen. I'm hoping to can whole tomatoes, salsa and soup. The zucchini is nearly finished. I've had no trouble using all of them this year. In fact, I was hoping for more.

How are your gardens doing? - vegetable or floral - I'd love to see photos. :)

Busy, busy, busy

2011-08-17T12:41:00.003-04:00

Monday and Tuesday were spent moving daughter #2 into her new apartment. She will have a roommate but my daughter had to move in early for some pre-student teaching activities. The living room will eventually have a futon/sofa instead of the butterfly chair. The denim slipcovered chair was one of our garage sale finds as were the plant stand, TV table and end table. The plant (Spike, lol) is a start from the plant my hubby and I received as a wedding gift 29 years ago. Daughter #1 also got a start (Harry.) The window treatments throughout the apartment were done with the many yards of tulle I had purchased for the canceled wedding. It made perfect fuss-free window toppers and added punches of color against the white walls.
The apartment is the top floor of an Arts and Crafts style turn of the century home. There's lots of great woodwork and cute little cubby storage areas everywhere. I didn't get photos of the hall - it has a floor to ceiling four door storage area. The kitchen cabinets aren't as old as the house but they are definitely vintage. The little green stand next to the fridge was one of our garage sale purchases after a makeover. She has small appliances, kitchen wraps and cookbooks stored there.
The kitchen isn't big enough for the dining table so that's in the living room. You've seen this set in an earlier post. The rose painting and the pasta one in the kitchen were both painted by my mom. This is daughter #2 BTW. :)
I love how her bedroom turned out. The nightstand was a garage sale makeover as are the bunk bed and lamp. K recovered a comforter with a pretty flannel print and made the throw pillows you see in several of the photos.
The chest of drawers is her old one from home but repainted. The glossy white with chrome hardware is a huge improvement over the old oak laminate and brass hardware. I love paint. :D

The apartment is three bedroom so one room has been turned into an office/study area and roomie will have the third room with the large walk-in closet. K chose the room with the smaller closet that's closest to the bathroom.

Next time I visit daughter #1 I will get photos of her apartment, too. It's fun to show how all the miscellaneous garage sale/consignment shop purchases have come together to make cute starter homes for my girls.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

All in a day's work

2011-08-12T15:30:00.002-04:00

No minis today but I canned three pints of beets, 4 pints of sweet pickle spears, and 11 half pints of dill relish.
I also made zucchini banana bread and did the laundry. The "Happy Housewife" is now exhausted and sitting with her feet up. ;)

BTW, the bread tastes great!

Adding the little touches

2011-08-11T19:40:00.003-04:00

The Willowcrest does not yet have a permanent home. It currently sits on a card table in the middle of the sewing room. I can't get to my work area without squeezing past that table so I'm constantly getting new ideas for things to add to the house, lol. There's now a filled dish drainer (parts of a plastic curler on a ribbed cardboard mat) and the paper towels are now wall mounted rather than freestanding.
The bedroom bookshelf lamp got a shade - painted corrugated cardboard.
All the bottles behind the bar got actual labels cut from the Sunday paper ads. They make the makeshift bottles look much better.

The spider plant got reworked. I found a better pot, added stripes to the leaves and redid the top of the hanger to make it look better. It all looks much more realistic now. I never thought I'd enjoy making plants and flowers but I really do. :)

I've recently decided on some upcoming projects but i'm not going to be able to share details. They will be for gifts. It won't be long until I can share the Odds and Ends challenge photos, though.

Tomorrow I will be canning again. Today I harvested beets, onions, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, and eggplant. So I will can the beets, some dill zucchini relish and some sweet pickles. By Saturday I will have enough green beans to can. The pantry is looking so pretty and colorful.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Making shopping easier

2011-08-08T11:15:00.002-04:00

I've added several new items to both of my zibbet shops. To make it easier to shop I've added direct links in the left sidebar. If you click on the DeLightful Minis by MiniDe banner you will go to my mini zibbet shop. If you click on the Designs by De banner you will go to my earring shop. At this point you still need to register to shop at zibbet but I hope you will do so. With all the changes in the online shopping sites I think zibbet will grow quickly and you can find many beautifully crafted items there. The zibbet administration has been working hard to roll out some wonderful improvements to the site that will benefit shoppers and sellers alike but it is taking longer than anticipated. That's why it's still necessary to register. Please do!

The pink and brown china cabinet is now listed at DeLightful Minis as well as several items that used to be in the etsy shop. A teammids friend gave me some great ideas for new dolls so be watching for those to be coming soon.

End of commercial. ;)

Yesterday my wonderful husband and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. Church, dinner, movie and dessert made for a full but great day. We saw "Cowboys and Aliens." It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen but we enjoyed it. And really, can a movie starring Harrison Ford ever be bad? LOL

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Play time!

2011-08-05T21:50:00.002-04:00

I made a spider plant for Baily and Josh's living room. Baily's enjoying a quiet afternoon reading.

Earlier today I made bread and butter pickles and a spicy sweet zucchini relish. The pantry is looking good. :)

Have a great weekend!

Time for a mini project!

2011-08-04T20:58:00.003-04:00

This pink and brown dinner set used to be listed in my etsy shop. I painted and distressed a Michael's hutch in Nutmeg Brown with a top coat of Victorian Rose to coordinate with the dishes. They are held in place with tacky wax.
Both lower doors open but there's a bowl in the right one.
I added opening drawers lined with the same paper that lines the back of the top - it's a really pretty scrapbook paper.

The dishes were all handmade out of polymer clay. I will be listing this hutch, complete with dishes in my zibbet shop - www.zibbet.com/DeLightfulMinis

I really needed to make time for a little project. I get tense if I don't get some regular mini time. :)

Keeping Busy

2011-08-04T14:03:00.004-04:00

The only minis I've done lately are for an odds and ends challenge but the deadline for showing our projects isn't until September 1st. So I can't share my project until then. In the meantime I've been busy with "life." My middle is moving into her first real apartment in a week and a half. As you can see, we've been packing. As the apartment is unfurnished, this is only a tiny bit of what we'll be moving but this lot is in my sewing/craft room so I will be thrilled to have it out of my way. :D There will be more mini-ing when I can actually get to everything again.
The garden has been productive and I've added dill pickles to the pantry. Tomorrow I need to do another harvest - sweet pickles are coming soon.
You may remember that last summer we took a family vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida. I still had not gotten the photos printed and scrapbooked. We ended up with a couple of poster frames that were too small for DD's posters so I printed the best photos on my printer and made collages. I still have the option to scrapbook later but we can enjoy the memories now this way.

So I am keeping busy. I have a few ideas for new projects so maybe I will have something to share in the near future.

Have a beautiful day wherever you are!

No minis but...

2011-07-28T20:39:00.003-04:00

...I have been busy. The tomato sauce and the two jars of relish with red peppers are from last summer but the rest is this year's work so far. I've got more green beans just coming into maturity, more cucumbers and zucchini for pickles and relish, beets, and tomatoes for sauce and salsa all coming up. It's a very satisfying feeling to fill the pantry with the results of my hard work. :) Unfortunately, that leaves less time for minis but I will get back to them in the fall if not sooner.

I was finally able to get Fabiola's prize posted today, too. I'm so sorry for the delay.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

And we have a winner!

2011-07-16T09:53:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Fabiola~ you have won the 300 follower giveaway prize! Please email me your mailing information to mdtritch@hotmail.com and I will get your entertainment center in the mail to you.

Thanks to all who participated in my drawing -it is wonderful to have so many lovely people following my mini adventures. :)

PS I'm sorry this is a day late. I was moving my oldest child to a new apartment yesterday and lost track of time. :)

A few more details

2011-07-07T20:42:00.003-04:00

Looks like Baily's just back from the grocery store. I added a few details to each of the dolls today. Baily now has silver hoop earrings, 2 silver bangle bracelets and a diamond engagement ring. Josh has a new watch and his jersey is now an Indianapolis Colts shirt with a horse shoe on the front and Peyton Manning's number on the back.
Rocky got a new bed today, too. I just cut down a store bought basket (after gluing around the edges so the basket wouldn't fall apart.) I used pieces of the handle I removed to trim the cut edges.

I've finally got something to share!

2011-07-07T10:36:00.003-04:00

Please meet Baily and Josh - they live in the Willowcrest.
Here they are enjoying some cuddle time while looking through their wedding album.

I think my dolls are still improving. These two have smaller heads, hands and feet than some of my past ones do. I pulled George out of the boarding house so I'd have a store bought doll to compare with. Baily's hair gave me fits, though. She's on her third head of hair, lol. I think I'm finally satisfied. She has a contemporary graduated bob.

Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway. You'll find the rules and prize here. The drawing will be one week from tomorrow on July 15. Sign up at the link above if you've been a follower from June 22 or before. I love reading about your favorites. :)

Happy Independence Day to my fellow USA bloggers!

2011-07-01T10:41:00.002-04:00

Harry and Mary have the grandkids for the weekend so they're having a big cookout. Gregory is playing fetch with Henry, the dog. Brittani won't put her mp3 player away but they are still having fun, lol. Harry has burgers and ribs on the grill and plenty of cold beer. Mary's made potato salad, a tossed salad and a yummy cherry pie. Maybe I'll join them. ;)

Don't forget to enter the drawing if you have been a follower.

Have a great weekend!

giveaway reminder and dollhouse fun

2011-06-25T09:14:00.002-04:00

First, please remember to sign up for my 300 follower give-away if you are one of my followers- http://delightfulminis.blogspot.com/2011/06/finally-giveaway.html

The dollhouse fun is in the photo above. I got the chair with cat from a forum round robin box I do with friends. The chair is slightly under scale and was dark brown. I gave it an aged finish and gave the cat a reason to be there. The plant does not appear to have survived the cat's leap on to the chair, lol. I used a piece of clear plastic to glue the pot, dirt and plant to. Now I can move the mess wherever I want.

Hope you all have a great weekend - the sun is finally shining again here! :)

Willowcrest update

2011-06-23T13:51:00.002-04:00

Sinces I took this photo I put a black wash over the gray shingles. They look almost like slate now. I'm very happy with the color combination.
I made a fern for the living room. I've also button tufted all the throw pillows and the cushions on the chair since taking this pic.
I made a pretty nightie to hang on the bathroom door.
I don't have a photo but I used the bottom of a Michael's hutch to make an island style cabinet for the kitchen - although it doesn't sit in the middle like an island. I used the top of the hutch to make this window seat and...
...this bookcase. In the foreground you can see the leather ottoman. The wing chair needed an ottoman to make it a truly comfy reading spot, lol. The details are adding personality to the house. Eventually, I have to make the residents, too.

Thanks to all who've entered the giveaway so far and for your comments. It's fun to see what everyone's favorite project is. See the post below to enter if you are a follower.

Finally, the Giveaway!

2011-06-22T10:47:00.004-04:00

Real life has gotten in the way of my blog life recently so I am late getting my giveaway posted but here it is. The winner will receive this shabby entertainment center complete with television, DVD player, remote control, DVDs. I've also included a cordless telephone on a charger. I'm showing it inside the cabinet but it isn't fastened down so can be put wherever you like in your project. Most of the items inside the cabinet are held in place with tacky wax so could be rearranged as well.
The television is a refrigerator magnet but everything else was made or altered by me.

The rules are as follows:
1. You must be a follower as of June 22, 2011, midnight Eastern time.
2. You must comment on this post indicating that you wish to be entered in the drawing.
3. You can get a second entry in the drawing if you tell me which of my projects is your favorite and why.

I will draw the winning entry on Friday, July 15, 2011. Good luck~I look forward to your comments. :)

Covering the windows

2011-06-17T09:59:00.002-04:00

I haven't been out to get more veneer so I worked on window coverings. The living room ones are the most formal. I used flocked paper and added trim.
The bay window curtains are from the same paper but with different trim.
The kitchen got a pretty daisy print pull down shade and a new rug.
The bedroom got simple wood blinds cut from a placemat.

The stairwell window and the third floor windows will all remain uncovered to let in as much light as possible. My daughter and I are heading into town this afternoon so I will get the veneer to finish the siding. The Willowcrest is fast approaching completion!

I am a bad blog friend...

2011-06-16T11:22:00.002-04:00

I have been very lax in welcoming my new followers. I'm so sorry. I appreciate each one of you and I thank you so much for following my mini adventures. I logged in this morning to find that I've reached 300 followers! That is so exciting! And it calls for a new giveaway. I've been thinking about but haven't figured out what the prize will be yet. I will post details when I know - what this spot for more details. :D

Aged to perfection

2011-06-15T21:31:00.002-04:00

I ran out of siding but that didn't stop me from painting and aging the areas I had finished. Remember this is an old house purchased by a young couple. They've put all their time and money into making the interior a comfortable home. The exterior is still shabby and worn. I mixed a custom dark purple/eggplant color. I love the green door with the purple.
This side is finished - I've sanded it a bit more since the photo was taken. I think I'm going to use an aged brick paper for the foundation. The same brick I used on the chimney in the third floor room.

Now that I've got this much done I can't wait to get it finished. Once the exterior is done I will work on curtains and accessories to make it their home. I also need to make or purchase the couple.

Why do you always run out of a crucial item ...

2011-06-15T17:15:00.003-04:00

...when you're almost finished?I got one side wall completely sided and the front is sided as far as the porch. The door is new as of last night. I used pieces of a fruit crate to create 2 doors and the replacement piece for the roof.
This wall is completely sided. The rough siding was already on the house. I'm using iron on birch veneer. Rather than use an iron I am using my heat gun and a putty knife to apply the pieces. It's working really well...or it was until I ran out of veneer. ;)
This is the foyer side of the front door.
The bathroom also got a door. Neither door is actually hinged. I would have used cloth hinges if I'd been able to remove at least one side of the door trim without breaking it. But the trim was stuck fast on both doors. So they are just glued into position.

Hopefully, tomorrow I can get out to get more veneer. I love living out in the middle of nowhere - except for those times when you need something now, lol. At least I'm being forced to take a bit of a break. That's a good thing cuz I've been up past 2 am several nights in a row working on the Willowcrest. I get a little focused when I'm working on a project, ;)

A productive afternoon

2011-06-14T17:02:00.003-04:00

The exterior trim finally got some attention. I want the house to look a bit worn - in need of a coat of paint. The young couple who are renovating the inside haven't gotten to the outside yet. I cut a paper pattern for the piece I need to replace in the roof. I wish I had better wood cutting tools. I've been putting this job off because I don't.
As promised the dining set has had a small makeover. I rubbed a coat of ivy green glaze over the chairs (cushions and all) and over the table base and rim. It's better but the chairs still may not be permanent. I think I'd rather have a pair of Chrysnbon chairs.

I'm heading out to Bible study soon. Hope I have all the paint cleaned off, lol.

The last of the furniture...I think

2011-06-14T09:46:00.002-04:00

I made chairs to go with the table - I'm not certain these will stay as they are. I don't hate them but I don't love them either, lol. Stay tuned for a possible makeover on these.
I do like the bar stools, though. I finally found a use for all of those warped square woodsies. ;)
A view of the entire third floor. I really need to get the roof repaired now. The gaping hole is fine for sunny summer days but the residents are not gonna be happy with me if it rains. :-D

Sectional sofa makeover

2011-06-13T22:43:00.002-04:00

The more I looked at the navy vinyl I used for the sectional the more I hated it. It just didn't lay right. I recovered it and changed the back piece to a chaise rather than a full back. Just what I wanted - yay!

It's all in the details

2011-06-13T11:12:00.003-04:00

The dining area will be in the living room bay window. I made this "glass" topped table last night with 2 turned spindles, a square woodsie and a Pringles potato chip can lid. Since the area is so tiny I think the clear top on the table will keep the table from looking too big for the space.
I moved the white wing chair to the bedroom and I'm using a black wooden armchair with gold upholstery in the living room now. The new pillows are in the same gold fabric. It picks up the gold color in the wallpaper and ties the furniture pieces together.
I also made pillows for the sectional as well as a lap quilt for those snuggle up and read days. :) I am very happy with the layout of the sectional but not so much with how the vinyl I used to upholster it. I may disassemble it and use a different fabric. I'm still considering...

Well, I need to go pay bills...I'd much rather make minis or blog about them but real life has a way of intruding. :) I hope you all have a lovely week!

A place to relax with friends

2011-06-12T14:04:00.003-04:00

But first let me share the lamp I made. I had an ivory looking "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" figurine that I got from a friend. I didn't realize at the time that it was actually a bead. I was able to turn it into a lamp for the living room.
The top floor of the Willowcrest has become "the" place to hang out with friends, lol. At least those over 21. ;) I made the bar and the shelves with mini fridge were made from the top of a Michael's hutch. The glassware and liquor bottles on the shelves are made from various beads and findings. The bar holds some wonderful items made by Small World friends. Gaye made the jars of beef jerky and olives and the liquor bottle. Sandy made the box with fruit garnishes. The liquor license was made by Brenda.
I made the navy "leather' sectional sofa. I used more of the extra wooden stamp blocks for the seats and backs and some foam stamps to form the base. The bell and the sign over the sofa on the back wall were made by Brenda. Gaye made the one on the right wall. I made the "carpet" from a real life wallpaper sample.