Finished, huh? Yeah...right!

OK so maybe I wasn't finished. I added three more hanging plants. They were quick and easy because I used some mini holly roping for the ivy and bits of 1:1 plastic plants to make the fern and the big plant. Now it feels more like a real conservatory might feel. If you have a space dedicated to plants wouldn't you want to fill it up? At any rate, I think I've used up all the available space for plants so all that's left is putting mini me in place on the bench.

 My free range chickens were desperately trying to "help" or more likely looking for treats, so I had to snap the photos quickly. I apologize if the quality isn't the best. The "girls" are very curious and really wanted to get closer.

 There are still some glue areas that aren't dry - not that I'm impatient or anything, lol.

It's hard to tell in the photos but now it looks complete. There really isn't any room for more plants anyway if mini me wants to be able to move around in there. ;-)

It's finished...

...unless, of course, I find something that needs to be added, taken away, or changed. ;-) You all know how mini projects go and I seem to have more trouble than most with calling a project finished.

 Besides the hanging spider plant and philodendron, I added a caladium and an ivy heart topiary.

 Some of you may have noticed a slight change to the tree stump stools. When I made them several years ago I didn't have any woodsie circles so I made the seats our of polymer clay. Since the set was in a child's room, I made the seats small. Now I have circles and the conservatory is more an adult place so the stools got a nice wood seat upgrade.

 I had the gray bird in my stash. This monarch and the butterfly on the other end came from a recent printies sheet in American Miniaturist.

 The calico cat, made by my friend Brenda, was stolen from the back porch. They don't need both a cat and a dog, right? The conservatory just seems like a place a cat would curl up and nap in.

I added some more shading to the palm tree and painted a hint of a leaf vein down the center of each leaf.

Don't you love how you sometimes put off a project because you just aren't sure what you want to do and then, suddenly, inspiration strikes and the whole project comes together? That's how this went. Once I decided what to do with the floor I was off and running. It's been a stressful week at work so it's been great to come home and de-stress in the mini conservatory.

One thing I do plan to add is a resin figure. I think this one
looks a bit like me. :-)

Sometimes it is easy being green

 The plants are multiplying in the conservatory. I added several this afternoon made from printie leaves. I'm really happy with how they are turning out. I figured out how to do the two hanging plants and got a start on the philodendren. No pics yet. The Chinese Evergreen and the fern are sitting on small stands made from chess pieces. The pots are wood beads. One of the plants by the palm is planted it a cap from one of hubby's inhalers and the other is in a rubber tip from something. Paint is a wonderful unifier.

 I even added a small gazing type ball. It isn't mirrored so I guess it's more of an art piece but the marble looks pretty on the chess piece anyway. :-)

The different plant printies I've found have given me a lovely variety of plants. Once I finish the hanging plants I will reevaluate to decide if I am finished or need a few more.

I hope to have more to show you tomorrow.

It's starting to look like a conservatory

 A bonsai made of twisted covered floral wire, foam grass, and paper flowers planted in an old computer keyboard key. I didn't have a tutorial. I just looked at photos of real bonsai and played.

 A tiny succulent planted in a shallow bowl, in sand.

 A Dieffenbachia on a marble post. The leaves are printies I found online. The pot is a combination of lids and the marble column is a heavy duty cardboard tube my son brought from the trash at the grocery store he works in. The natural spiral of the tube determined the direction of my marble veins.

The palm tree is planted in a Dollar Tree plastic trophy cup. The trunks are sticks from my yard with some painted details. The leaves are cut from cardstock. The leaves look more natural in real life. The shading doesn't show well with the flash.

This is definitely a lady's conservatory with all the pink and the floral upholstery. I'm liking the balance between rustic and elegant. I have several more plant varieties to cut out and pot. I'm planning to have philodendron and spider plants hanging from the center beam also.

By the time I finish this project I am going to want a sun room of my own, LOL. Have a blessed and happy day, my friends!

A green thumb

 I knew I wanted a plant stand for the living room bay window. I found this one and this one on Pinterest and and they were my inspiration pieces. I am happy with the result but not as happy with how miniatures sometimes look in large photos, lol. The bit of fuzz has been removed from the ivy plant. The white edges at the bottom of the paneling are not visible when viewing the house normally. Please try to ignore them now!

The African violet in the red pot is the only one that took any time to make. I'm borrowing that one from my Zibbet shop at the moment. The others are just bits of 1:1 fake plants or wire and floral tape. They fill the plant stand very nicely, though, and show Mrs. Sherwood's green thumb.

I still need a few more pieces for the walls but I think I've finished all the major projects for this house. It's been a really fun house to do because I know I won't ever live in a real house like this. Soon it will be time to move on to the next project...

Adding the little touches

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!

My first philodendron

This is my first attempt at making a philodendron. I used many of the tips I've learned from Jayne at Tallulah Belle Originals but it is far from her standards. I used two sizes of heart punches to make the leaves and they are punched from a coffee filter painted one shade of green on one side and a lighter shade on the other. Each leaf was shaped individually and then glued onto a small stem. The stems were bent so that the leaves bend down like a real philodendron and then each of the little stems were glued onto a longer vine. The darker side of the leaves was edged with some of the lighter paint. All of the branches were planted in some clay with tea soil glued to the top.

Here's how it looks in the kitchen. I decided to put it on the fridge instead of the top of the cabinets because there's more space on the refrigerator and you can see the plant better.

I think I need to make some sort of large floor standing plant for the living room corner by the window.

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!