Thinking Spring!

While sorting through my photos stored on the computer, I realized that I didn't have updated photos of the aquarium garden. In honor of Spring, here are some new ones. The right side has the patio with flower beds around it. The lilac bush is in full bloom.
Ruth and her niece have been busy in the garden today.
The tree and flowers in this area are relatively new to the garden.
I love this little corner. :-)

Enjoy your Spring...and this little taste in mini, too.

I got a package from the UK today!

I asked my friend, Tina Upson, of 12th Scale dolls to make a lady gardener for my aquarium garden. She arrived today and I think she's adorable. I've named her Ruth and she's finally in the garden to watch over niece Sara. Since Sara was obviously underdressed for the weather, she now has a zipper cardigan and bright orange tennis shoes.

Tax time...

Hi everyone. This will be quick as I'm off to do the taxes. I don't really mind doing the paperwork. It's just the gathering of everything that I don't care for.

Yesterday I came up with a variation of the wall fountain. I really like the stone fountain but my garden does not need anymore running water! So, I made this plant shelf with a matching planter. I used a clip earring back for the shelf and a bead for the planter itself. Very easy...my favorite kind of project for those busy days.

Have a great week!

Mini wall fountain tutorial

Good morning. I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! I saw the movie "Fireproof" with my hubby (a great movie!) and we had some quiet time in front of the fire.

Yesterday afternoon I came up with a wall fountain for the mini garden. This is a quick and easy project.

Items needed: Metallic plastic frame scrapbook sticker (I get a four pack from the Dollar Tree), Small scallop shell or some sort of jewelry finding with a bowl, Barrell type earring back, fishing line - about 2 inches long, Tacky glue, Super glue, Antique copper acrylic paint, Dark green glaze or thinned acrylic paint (or several shades of green in either the glaze or paint), scissors, scrap of paper

Instructions: Attach sticker to scrap of paper and trim along the scalloped edges of the frame. For this fountain I turned the sticker so that the oval center ran up and down. Glue (using a combination of tacky and super glue) the earring back to the top point of the sticker. Glue the item you are using for the fountain bowl at the bottom of the oval with the bowl facing up (towards the earring back). Depending upon what you are using for the bowl, you might have to trim or bend parts to make it fit snugly against the sticker. For the shell jewelry finding pictured, I'd have to bend the ring and part of the shell up to give a large enough surface to glue. Once the super glue has set and the pieces are firmly stuck together, paint a light coat of antique copper paint over the whole thing, being careful not to get paint into the hole on the earring back. Once that is dry, paint another light coat of the antique copper. Give that a couple of minutes to dry and then, with a very light hand, highlight areas on the fountain with the green glaze or thinned paint. You are adding the patina. If you want your fountain to look old you'll want more green. If it's to be a newer fountain, go more lightly with the green. Now, go away for awhile and let everything dry thoroughly. When you come back, put a dab of glue on one end of the fishing line and glue it into the hole on the earring back. Let that set and then trim the line so that the other end rests in the bowl of your fountain. Add tacky glue to the bowl and let it set up a bit then put the other end of the fishing line into the glue in the bowl. Once it is all dry you have water running into the bowl of the fountain. I used a different type of finding for my fountain. You can't see into the "bowl" so I just glued the bottom end of the fishing line directly into the finding. Just adjust the directions to fit the frame and finding you use. Another finishing option would be to use acrylic paints to give it a stone look. (I just posted an example of that at the top of this post.)

Meet little Sara

This is Sara.

She's been "helping" her aunt in the garden. I hope Aunty finds her soon and that the kitty continues to hide in the plants. Sara loves kitties as much as she loves flowers. The cat, however, does not feel the same way about Sara.

Adding character to the garden

Today I focused on adding the little touches that make a mini project seem more real. I highlighted some of the stones in the wall and added moss between some of the stones. I also added moss between some of the patio pavers. I added a few new plants and some garden ornaments. There are a couple of oversize mushrooms and a tiny little gazing ball. I need some ideas on hardware for the gate. Would it be inside or outside, what type, how should I do the latch? All suggestions are welcome.


My friend, Tina, of 12th Scale Dolls in the UK, is making a gardener for this project. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

A quick garden update

I just added a few things to make my garden look more realistic. There are now some garden gloves on the bench and the two blackbirds became a gold finch and a robin. If you look closely by the pond you'll see a mourning dove.

The glue is still drying but it's finished

I had a late night spurt of energy and the garden is basically finished. Of course, there's always room to add something because no mini project is ever truly finished. A couple of items are special enough to note. Cary Yerves made the canvas chair and Brenda, of Brenda's Miniatures, made the gray cat curled up near the pond. The other items were found in the Small World round robin swap box or were made by me. I am very happy with how the slate tiles for the patio turned out. They were cut from egg carton like packing material and then painted and sealed. The patio table is made from several "found" objects. The base is a pizza box "table" topped with a small tile. The umbrella is a cocktail umbrella on a button base. I used aquarium gravel for the stone path. Once it is completely dry you won't see white between the stones. I sealed the stones in place with a heavy coat of matt Mod Podge and it's taking forever to dry.

PS I forgot to add that I painted all of the sky area with pale blue glass paint. It's just enough to filter the light (but still allow plenty of light in) and mask things that are sitting outside the aquarium.

The pond with plants

This is what the pond area looks like now - outside of the aquarium. I'm getting ready to grout the stone wall now. I should have some more photos tomorrow of my progress. I think I need a mini gardener to help with the planting so it will get finished sooner. Of course, if my gardener was as helpful as Casey's Tessie, maybe I'm better off doing it myself. :0)

Also, I'd like to thank all of my followers. It's very exciting to start a blog and have 10 followers before I've been blogging for a week. Thank you for your encouragement!

More work completed on the garden

I was able to get quite a bit done on the aquarium garden yesterday. These are the pictures from late afternoon. I actually got some of the "planting" done on the pond side late last night. Those pics will be up later today or tomorrow. I hope to have time today to grout the stone wall and figure out the right side layout. I used Mod Podge to layer white tissue paper over the styrofoam to hold all the pieces together. The grass is grass foam over green paint. I've touched up all of the bare areas since the photo was taken. The dirt around the pond is dried tea and the water is plastic wrap with a clear dimensional gel over the top.

Well that's all for now as I'm off to get my hair done and pick up some groceries.

Mini garden in an aquarium - new project!

I had some time to get a very rough start on my new project this morning. I'm making a garden in an old aquarium that was taking up space in my in-laws' storage room. I've just started roughly sculpting the styrofoam into the basic layout I want. There will be a small pond with a waterfall in the back left corner. The back wall and probably part of the left wall will have a "stone" wall made of egg carton. I know that I want a small bench near the pond and a table and chairs somewhere on the right but I'm still thinking this through. Hopefully, there will be more to share tomorrow.