Translate

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!


Happy Holidays!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Chartreuse Fur


Marjorie Wannamaker wrote:
I needed something that resembled fake fur in chartreuse to complete a gift for a friend.
No only did I not have any fake fur, I had NOTHING that was chartreuse. And for the ornament I was recreating in miniature, it had to be chartreuse. What was the ornament you may ask? A Christmas Vulture. Don't ask. LOL.
A turkey vulture ppicks up all the toys left lying around on Dec.26.
Anyway, I found a little dainty trim that I thought might be able to use, but it wasn't going to make the ornament like it was. My DH came to my rescue - "I have a Fluorescent Highlighter that is chartreuse color; what about using it on a Q-tip and then pulling the cotton out and putting it on the ornament?" It worked perfectly, so he colored a Q-tip, I pulled the chartreuse cotton out with a needle tool, cut off what I needed and glued it to the ornament. That did the job.
So the next time you need fake fur, try coloring q-tips or cotton balls and set to work gluing to your hearts content.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Do you have fire in your belly?

Jaime wants to fire up her Chrysnbon stove.


Chris in Canada:
This kit which uses a very rigid plastic, so drilling a hole is not a good idea, but you should be able to make a hole with a hot nail. (Hold nail in pliers and heat in a candle or flame from a gas stove.) Immediately push the nail gently into the stove and once it is through wiggle it to enlarge the hole. You may have to repeat this a few times to get the hole big enough, but just go at it gently so the plastic doesn't crack. Now, if it were metal ....... you may be able to run the wire down the stovepipe from above and down into the body of the stove.


  • If your stove doesn't have an open back or bottom, it will be harder to recreate the glow of a fire, but still do-able. Anyway, if you don't have a hole to work with, you will have to drill one yourself to feed the bulb and wires through to the inside.
  • Now for the glowing bit. If the bottom or back is open, grab a dollar store sponge eye shadow applicator (10 for $1) and lightly sponge both red and yellow acrylic paint randomly on the INSIDE of the window so you get a good mix of colour. Work a bit at a time, and check it for realism by shining a flashlight inside. You don't want the paint to be so thick that it hides the light, just enough to give the window a thin all-over coat. When that's dry, insert your bulb and use a dab of MinWax or BlueTac to hold the light in place.
  • If you have had to drill a hole in the stove, sponge on the colours as above but on the outside of the window. When completely dry, brush a very thin, even coat of clear gloss sealer over the paint to create the look of glass over the fire. Just be super careful not to leave any brush marks, or you will ruin the effect. When dry, push your wired bulb through the hole and secure it as above.
  • The glowing coals in the fireplace were done the same way as the stove with a snippet of acetate painted as above, and railway ballast with a few dabs of grey to represent ash here and there on top of the acetate for coals. The pictures don't do the look justice by any means, but they all look quite realistic considering they are not flicker bulbs, just plain grain of rice running off a battery pack.

From Marjorie Wannamaker:
A plastic battery box (this one is for larger batteries) with wires coming out of one end. Hook the bulb wire to those wires or put a off/on switch between the power source and bulb. Buy the off/on cord switch set up at any mini shop with electrical supplies

Bulb wires attached to battery wires.
9 volt battery with snap connector.
  • Use a 12 or 16 volt light bulb with your tape system and 12 volt transformer. Use a 3 volt light bulb with a battery set up. Hide the battery box in the woodpile or out of the actual scene (behind it.)
  • Color the bulbs with glass stain if they are clear, or look for a blinking orange bulb from Houseworks. Be sure to check to see if they are 12 or 3 volt. If you use the 3 volt bulb with a 12 volt system, you will blow the bulb. You can use a 12 volt bulb on a battery 3 volt system, but the light won't be as bright.
  • You can use a 9 volt battery with a 12 volt bulb. When using batteries, you need to add up the voltage per each battery and then use a higher rated bulb. The power source needs to be less voltage than the bulb size.
  • Remember: the bulb size needs to be larger or equivalent to the power source, in this case a battery. Holds true for transformers, also.
From Melanie Navarro:
Take a battery operated tealight candle apart. The battery is one of these small watch batteries and can be hidden easily.

Follow Jaime's progress in her blog:
http://jlilroomer.blogspot.com/2010/01/belly-of-beast.html

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Christmas is a' comin'!



Doreen Playter has a beautiful talent for combining real life and miniatures in her blog.
This is a picture of her doll house decorated for Christmas. She is also decorating inside - look at her cosy fireplace below.

She says:
I try to make all my scenes as I would like them in real life. My mother always had a miniature snow scene that had a sleigh and reindeer. It was not dollhouse sized but she worked at a place that made Christmas ornaments like that. I still can see her sitting at the dining room table with newspaper spread over the table and bags of glitter and greenery and the wooden pices that she put together. I still remember the church and the sleigh that was covered in sparling snow and played music. I loved to get those ornaments out every Christmas and I loved to put the bag
of toys in Santa's sleigh. The church played Silent Night and the sleigh played Jingle Bells. I think I wore out both of the music boxes as I played them so often.
.................
This is just a sampling.
Go to Doreen's Blog at
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2009/12/fireplace-is-done.html

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Key West Facades


Arts and crafts are rampant in Naples Fla, as are farmers markets - great weekend entertainment.
Ronny Bailey from Key West had a booth at one of the local trunk shows. Key West is a unique part of Florida, full of verve, character, and personality.
He has made some wonderful facades of Key West houses which capture the charm and history of the area, rescuing the memories of what is rapidly being destroyed by developers. The structures are replicas of actual houses. His booth had these creations and pictures of the originals on sale.

http://rbaileykeywestart.com/originals/index.shtml

Monday, December 7, 2009

Talking Turkey

Garden of Imagination has many food tutorials:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiYY7MI-5Eo

Advent Calendar en Francais

Calendrier de l'Advent
http://jicolin.free.fr/avnt09/avnt.php

Look for the tutorials for a kitchen stove and metal basket.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Saturday, December 5, 2009

MiniTools from Trash



Chris from Canada wrote:
Save a few ready-to-toss disposable razors or that cheap vegetable peeler that never did work properly, and use them as mini chisels, adzes or planes. They are perfect for shaping balsa wood that you want to use for ceiling beams, lintels, mantels, wall framing etc..... in Mediaeval, Tudor or Elizabethan dwellings and as a mini plane, will remove just a sliver of wood from a tight-fitting door. Or use one to inflict deliberate damage to corners and edges of wooden surfaces to create an old, battered look. After all, makers of RL antique reproduction furniture do things like this all the time, so why not have some mini fun?

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Advent Calendar for Miniature Lovers

The Minitreasures Wiki has begun their countdown to Christmas Advent calendar.
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/advent_calendar_2009

This is today's entry:

It's beginning to look a Lot Like Christmas on PhotoPeach

Thursday, November 26, 2009

American Thanksgiving


Tom turkey, punkin pie, football and reving up for "black Friday"shopping!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Shattered!


Chris from Canada wrote:
I live near a 4-way stop where drivers unfamiliar with the street frequently miss the stop signs so there always seems to be bits of shatterproof glass and plastic signal cover laying around.
I fell in love with a lovely RL planter-bench combo last December at a hotel in Cuba, made using broken pieces of glass, mirror, rigid plastic and ceramic tile, all embedded in mortar to form a mosaic pattern over an old concrete bench and a piece of cement sewer pipe.
I now collect these treasures when I find them and after washing, they go into a biscuit tin. So far I have only used them for a 1:12 planter made from a hairspray top I covered in paperclay, but it was so easy to do that I want to try it for a bench and maybe even as a surface on a walkway for a garden set in the tropics.

Wooden Plugs

Marjorie Wannamaker wrote:
Wooden plugs are used by carpenters to cover the head of screws in furniture items. They are inserted into the hole where the screw went in and you only see wood. They can be stained to the correct color of the wood, or painted.
These little wooden plugs come in a variety of sizes; I used the small ones, about 1/4 inch diameter, in two ways.
  • In qtr scale, set the plug on the flat side (the side that would fit into the hole) and use it as a wooden oak barrel planter. I like to stain them, draw with perm pen the "metal" bands and then either drill into them to set a plant or just cover the top with landscaping material. I've made some adorable geraniums in oak barrels for one of my qtr scale houses.
  • Set the flat side on a platter, ice them and use them as large cupcakes.
Fun and easy.


Crooked House


Sue wrote:
I've been working on the garden for my Crooked House and here are the updated photos:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/575400675QKiboL?start=12

The base was covered with 1" deep insulation foam so I could dig down for the pond. The first three photos show the pond that has been made with paperclay, the hard standing for the greenhouse and the stepping stones. Then I covered all the soil area with staysoft and then glued on the brown railway gravel I use for soil.

I then spent probably about four days making the crooked greenhouse. I so need to get a life LOL. As you can see from later photos, the roof lifts off. It's all very fragile and you look at it and a bit pops off, so I needed to be able to get to the inside without having to reach in the doorway, plus the roof needed a bit more support, so I attached it to the central colum. It's made from twigs glued straight onto the perpex and fixed onto a plywood base. Of the ten windows no two are the same. And I've grunged up the windows too.

The fence panels are temporarily wired on for now, I'm can be clumsy and I wanted to be able to remove them when I plant anything.

All the plants I've made from cold porcelain using Diane Harfield's cutters.

All the birds I bought from http://www.nickycc.com/ and these and the plant pots are the only things I didn't make myself.

So you can see I still have a bit of work to do ;0). The next thing will be to paint my fishes and make the bulrushes and water iris so that I can put the water in the pond.

Then I'm going to have to make a few plants, a bird table and a few other bits and bobs.

Oh, and sculpt my witch :0).

Sue from Garstang, UK
http://community.webshots.com/user/suedsimpson

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Trashy Vanity Set



The vanity is made from mounting board from a friends framing shop, while the base (covered) is made from foam from my new toaster. The chair is made from a formula bottle top from my grandson, an old file and covered in material from a previous quilting project. The candle stick is an old bead with a painted toothpick and the feathers on the hat came from a friend's bird. About the only thing I bought was the trim around the vanity and chair!
Beth (inspecting trash in Cleveland)

Purses from Binder Clips







Materials needed for the little purses:
  • Binder clips – Teeny, medium and large ones for luggage!
  • Fabric, silks, leather etc. Your choice
  • Glue
  • Cuticle nail stick or a round small dowel – 1/8” diameter works well
  • Scissors
  • Ribbon, trims, bunka, etc. Flowers, feathers, beads for decorating
  • Chain or leather for handles
Take the fabric that you are using and make sure it is long enough to cover the clip all around also making sure that you have enough of the fabric on the ends of the clip to fold and push in each side, so make it a little longer to the sides and also to fold in the raw edges in front and back of the purse.

Cut out your fabric, fold in the raw edge and add a bit of glue to hold fold in place , now put a tiny bit of glue to
one side of the bag leaving the opening clips on so you can cover the metal parts on top if you like and also add your handles in later. Most of the time what I do is to attach the handles first by opening the clip and pushing glue into the areas and then pushing either a chain or leather handle into place then closing the clip and removing the “handles” of the clip. Then I sometimes paint the area of the clip that will show….they look like clasps or trim that way.

If you are leaving the metal top part of the clip exposed then just fold an edge on the fabric and push it up under the parts hanging town from the top, tacking it in place with a bit of glue and bring the fabric as close to the edge as possible , you might have to push it up a little to cover this part of the clip using a stick of some sort, ( a nail cuticle stick is what I use for mine) and glue in place.

Do this to the other side as well.

Once you have both sides down (front and back) go to the sides of the purse. The sides are the open parts of the clip.

I put glue onto the fabric and push the bottom part of the fabric in first, and then I fold the sides in pushing some of it inside the opening making sure you have nice folds on both sides. Do the same to the other side. The sides will look sort of like an upside down V as
the top part of the clip is smaller and the bottom is wider.

If you did not put your handle in at the beginning as I do, then once you have all the sides glued down you can add your handle of choice, then you can remove the clips. Removing the clips is simple. Fold them down toward the bottom of the clip and squeeze the “handles” together and just pull out.

Now it's time to trim and decorate your purses.

Take the ribbon or trim you are going to use and with a bit of glue put it in place close to the rim all around the purse.

Add your decoration, whether it is a feather a flower, bead etc. and that is all there is to it! Your purse is done!

Note/Tip:
If you want your purse to have a softer feel just add a tiny bit of thin batting to it using a bit of glue before you glue your fabric in place. You can put glue directly on the sides of the binder clips…and it stays put!

WARNING: These are addictive! Office supplies will not be safe!
Have fun creating!



Gina Gagnon http://www.lonewolf miniaturecreations.com

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Mini Gifts for Non-Miniaturists

Marjorie Wannamaker wrote:


I would like to share with you two of the three hutches I made as gifts for my quilting buddies. They know I make miniatures and I decided for our Christmas exchange gifts that I would share my love of minis with them tying in quilting with the accessories put into the hutches.
I started with the wooden $1 hutches that Michaels sells. I stained them instead of painting to save time. I wondered if the glue spots would show up but not many did.
As you can see, I did each hutch a little differently, trying to match personalities and likes to each one. Different colors, themes, etc. I made the iron and scissors pink in honor of one of the gals who fought breast cancer last year and won.

The Christmas plates are Chrysnbon with paper printies glued on and then sprayed with gloss sealer. The Candle is a large white straw glued to a bell-shaped base, some Grrrrip glue dabbed in the top and a piece of black thread stuck into glue for wick. I also dribbled a little glue down over the side to look like melted wax. Doesn't show up in pic, but it's there. The Sleigh card holder I made using index card and wire. The cards in the sleigh are printies.

The Basket of quilting notions I made using perforated paper, a small square of used hankie for the drape and misc paper, index card, and printies to make the accessories. The little Christmas trees are tiny sissal trees from Michaels covered with beads and fly tying tinsel. They were too tall so I cut off the round wooden bases, shortened the trunk and glued the bottom of the tree to a round of index card for stability and ease in gluing in place.

The Christmas Stocking was a picture from a magazine printed onto fabric using my ink jet printer and one of the commercial fabric printable sheets. I spaced them far enough apart so that I could fold them in half on the fabric after printing and glue the edges together so that Santa can deposit his gifts. Then I put tiny lace around the tops with two holly leaves and a few red "berries" using no-hole beads.
For the Bolts of fabric I folded a piece of fabric wrong sides together and wrapped it around a piece of index card. The Batting is made from some heavy flannel, with a printie label I made wrapped inside a clear baggie (light weight sandwich type). Tacky or Grrrip glue will adhere the plastic - just be patient for it to dry.

The poinsettia plants were made using a pattern from a Nutshell News magazine from the 1980's. I had forgotten how long it takes to cut out 42 petals and six leaves per plant. LOL To say nothing of putting the flower together. Again, patience for glue to dry.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Hairy Kiwi!


Chris in Canada wrote:
This is not my idea, but was shared with a local mini-group (now sadly defunct) by a talented group member.
Next time you are about to cut into a Kiwi fruit, gently shave the "hair" off onto a small plate using a disposable razor. Air dry for a few hours then store in a pill bottle or baggie. This makes great mini hair for a beauty parlour or dog groomer's floor, a bed or a couch etc... to give that little extra touch of realism. Not that any of MY cats or dogs ever get up on the furniture or sleep on my bed at night. Yeah, right! It also can be used as you would flocking for furring a mini pet, and although I haven't tried colouring it first with watered down paint, I don't see why it wouldn't work, as long as the hairs are dried and fluffed up before they are glued on the animal.
Happy Shaving!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Spanish Miniature Theme Park


Miniature Catalonia Park
"Catalunya en Miniatura" or Miniature Catalonia is the biggest miniature theme park in the world, and the only one in Spain. The location is just 30 minutes drive from the centre of Barcelona.
The Miniature Catalonia park is 30 minutes by car from Barcelona in Torelles de Llobregat and maybe an hour by train, but it's well worth the trip if you like something a little different.
The park has an amazing collection of miniature models of buildings and landmarks both from Barcelona and Catalonia. From churchs to models of factories and ports. You can see the whole of Catalonia in one fun afternoon.

http://www.barcelonayellow.com/content/view/127/1/

Friday, November 6, 2009

Where Do You Put Your Minis?

I have tree stumps in the bedroom, a bordello in the hall,
Box rooms, varied sizes, hang in rows upon the wall.
A dollshouse in the bedroom, and another by the door.
A castle, jail and baby shop, a wishing well and more.

You're not like other mothers, my despairing family cry,
You're living in another world, you're nuts! I hear them sigh.
Other peoples' mothers, they say in stern reproof,
Use irons for their clothing, not shingles on the roof.

Or making little flowers of puff paint blue and red,
Other peoples' mothers don't get sawdust in the bread.
Other peoples' mothers bake wondrous cakes and pies,
Not creatures out of fimo with bewitching little eyes.

Other peoples' mothers (I can't believe it's true)
Keep spotless tidy kitchens, not paint and wood and glue.
Other peoples' mothers clean their kitchen floor,
They don't cut up the budgie cage to make a jailhouse door,

Or interupt the bidding at bridge to say " three spades
And can I have your shirt to make an outfit for my maid?"
Other peoples' mothers must have a boring life.
How tedious to be a perfect housekeeper and wife.

No Polystyrene sandwiches, no fairies on the shelf
No dreaming of another world you created by yourself.
Other peoples' mothers have got their lives all wrong,
They have their Christmas once a year,
We have it all year long.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Winebottles and Platters

Chris in Canada wrote:
Here's something to look out for if you haven't found them yet. Inside the push button of the smaller size non-aerosol spray bottles there is often a wonderful semi-opaque 'wine bottle'. Trim 1/16-1/8" off the bottom, give it one coat of red glass stain part-way up the sides to represent wine, and finally cover the whole bottle with one coat of green or brown glass paint. The red will show through the green or brown but as the colours are transparent, it really looks like a glass bottle with contents. BTW, don't forget to salvage the washer, spring and clear tube for other uses.
Karen B replied:
Look for different shaped tabs on juice containers. Tropicana has an oval one.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ghouliana's Garden

Another fascinating project from Wanna in El Paso! Her stories and how-she- did- it's are so entertaining!
http://www.wannainelpaso.com/index.shtml

She writes:
I always feel a bit drained when I complete a project because I spend as much if not more time on the photography, the story and the how-I-did-it as I do on the actual setting. So, it's always good to know that someone else is enjoying what I do, and I start to fill back up again.

Someone asked me about the various plants that appear in that little garden. Practically all of them were made by repainting and repositioning bits and pieces of artificial flowers. I added leaves to some. The KnockKnock plant (knobby woody looking thing by the wheelbarrow) has been in my landscaping stash for YEARS waiting for the right spot. No idea where I got that strange little thing, or the two odd pods that formed the pumpkins in the barrow. My husband often picks up bits of things when he is out prowling in the mountains, and perhaps he is responsible for one or the other or both of them.

One of the advantages of having such a large stash is that when a story comes to me the odds are that something I have stowed away, maybe for a long long time, will work.


http://www.wannainelpaso.com/latest_projects/index.shtml

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Support your Local Blood Bank!

Eileen from the Ty-nee-stuff group has done a wonderfully inventive roombox for Halloween.






Way to go, Eileen!

Office Supplies

Chris from Canada wrote:
If you buy your table salt or dishwasher detergent in cardboard boxes, save the little metal pour spout. If you flatten the triangular "stabber tabs" hat hold it into the box, and turn it on its' side, they are the perfect size and shape to hold magazines or books upright on a desk or shelf. There will be no bottom, but if you are gluing everything in place, who cares? Otherwise, just make it a bottom with a bit of cardstock glued in place, then paint the whole thing whatever finish you want.

For an office desk I just left them plain silver metal and stuck on some mini post-it notes and decorative "magnets" with some of my favourite workplace sayings like 'Teamwork means nobody has to take the blame.'

Monday, October 26, 2009

Tanya's Hairdressing Salon

Once again, Tanya has managed to pull together a breathtaking scene with T2T style.
She does such a wonderful job that everyone who is let in on her secrets marvels at her astonishing talent for invention.

From this:



To This:

Some transition! Some smart cookie!
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/17115956

Monday, October 19, 2009

Angels of Mercy


Canadian Nurses in WW1 wore blue uniforms and were dubbed "bluebirds".

Tribute to Canadian Bluebirds


In my sweet little Alice Blue gown,

When I first came to Birmingham town.

I had had a bad trip, in a nasty old ship

And the cold in my billet, just gave me the pip.

We came out to nurse our own troops,

But were greeted with measles and whoops.(whooping cough)

I was happy and gay, to have served with MacRae (in Flanders Field the Poppies grow)

In my sweet little Alice Blue gown.

A part of No 1 Canadian General Hospital

Nursing Sisters' Theme Song
http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/case-study/angels-mercy-canada-s-nursing-sisters-world-war-i-and-ii


A total of 3,141 Nursing Sisters served in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and 2,504 of those served overseas in England, France and the Eastern Mediterranean at Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika. By the end of the First World War, approximately 45 Nursing Sisters had given their lives, dying from enemy attacks including the bombing of a hospital and the sinking of a hospital ship, or from disease. The beautiful Nursing Sisters’ memorial in the Hall of Honour in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa is a loving tribute to their service, sacrifice and heroism.

Nurses and wives of men serving overseas during WW1 were the first to ba able to vote.

Remembrance Day 2009 Quiz on PhotoPeach




Remembrance Day Canada 2009 slideshow on PhotoPeach
This is a followup show, providing backup information about the questions in the quiz.



Have you seen Paul Gross' movie Passchendale? WW1 from the Canadian perspective.

What you can do with Toothpick and Glue!

Stephen J. Backman has turned a hobby into a business . Read about it here on Grace Griffin's blog.
http://blog.treefeathers.com/2009/03/toothpick-art.html

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Canadian Thanksgiving

This is a picture from the Ball's Falls Thanksgiving Festival.

Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians! Karin F gives a wonderful summary about Canuck turkey doings in her blog,
http://orrlakemusings.blogspot.com/2009/10/thanksgiving.html

Saturday, October 10, 2009

RSS Mini Calendar of Events

Hey, hey, hey!
Attention to all those who have blogs! Ever felt frustrated, hearing about shows or events AFTER they happened?
The Minitreasures Wiki has an RSS feed calendar, which you can insert into your blog. The trick is to get the events entered.... so spread the word to everyone you know who plans events to use this resource.
It isn't very difficult to enter events.
This is the home page link:
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/
  1. Set up an account.
  2. Then go to the calendar page http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/calendar
  3. Click on the day in question. A box will open, Enter the relevant information, following the suggested format.
To set up the RSS feed, go to the layout page and select the RSS feed gadget. Enter the calendar link and Bob's your father's uncle!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians! Karin F gives a wonderful summary about Canuck turkey doings in her blog,
http://orrlakemusings.blogspot.com/2009/10/thanksgiving.html

Thursday, October 8, 2009

A Clean Sweep!

Inspired by Disney's film Fantasia, Karin Foster from Orr Lake, Canada (an hour North of Toronto) made this broom from polmer clay.
An awesome job!




Her blog is: http://minitutesfromorrlake.blogspot.com/

Masks

Halloween, New Year, Costume parties, masks for your dolls can be great fun.
Here are some made by Karen from Bracebridge Ontario.



Tanya from Tanya's Mini Dolls has a tutorial, as well as one for a fan.
http://www.taynasminidolls.com/Tutorials/mask/index.shtml

For Halloween, your little monsters cam wear masks by Alice Zinn:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1047731230034817961qkHgEK

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Plates from Plastic Egg Cartons


Chris from Canada wrote:
My Trash Talk hint this week concerns the clear plastic containers that some eggs are sold in. In Canada these are generally the more expensive Omega-3 and organic free range eggs, a marketing ploy if I ever saw one, as these eggs have a harder shell due to the hen's diets so don't need extra protection! Anyhoooooooo ..... These 3- part cartons, in addition to the usual useful rectangles of window 'glass' and so on,also contain in the second part 12 perfect 12" diameter plates (with no indents) to either cut out and paint, coat with several coats of glass stain, or use intact as a mold for paper clay, air dry or polymer clays, tissue paper maché or coated with 2-3 coats of coloured glue. Just pop or peel them off gently, trim the edge all around and there you go.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Dress Shop

Tanya is working away at her dress shop and doing it brilliantly, as usual.
She says :
Once I finish this it will go in the window of my ladies shop. Don't ask me why I have the pink pocketbook up there with the lingerie and robe, it just looked good to me cause it was pink so I hung it up. Still have lots more to do. Oh, a few people have asked if this doll is Barbie scale, nope, she is just a little over 5 1/2 inches with her head. So she will go great in my 1 inch scale scene I think. I got her at a generic dollar store.



Go to Tanya's site and explore all the items she has made for her store - handbags from 3D stickers, belts and belt display rack , shoes and boots. You will get lost there!

http://www.picturetrail.com/tanyamc123

Friday, October 2, 2009

Draping Effects


Wanna in El Paso wrote this explanation for draping fabrics.
If I want something to look as if it's been tossed aside after being worn, I first cover the bed, chair, or whatever with plastic wrap to protect it, and/or to make the garment more easily removable later.
Then I either spritz the dress lightly with water, hair spray or fabric stiffener, depending on the fabric or what I have on hand. Some people use steam from a steam iron. ( If I am working with silk, I hesitate to spray unless I dampen the entire thing because silk spots so easily.)
Another consideration is whether the garment has been sewn or glued; if sewn, it's less of a concern; saturating a pieces that has been glued may affect the seams. Whatever is used, the idea is to make the garment malleable so that the natural folds and wrinkles that come from gravity can be manipulated. (It helps to toss a real dress on a real bed and see how it actually looks; sometimes I Google for images, as well.)
Sometimes I pin the folds where needed first, then spray. On occasion I have taped the folds lightly with either masking or cellophane tape, sometimes tied with string until dry. It all depends on how easily the fabric can be shaped and whether the object on which the garment is tossed is hard or will receive pins.
Then I let dry, remove the plastic wrap, then replace the garment, using just enough glue to hold it in place, in case I want to remove it later without messing up the surface. When I am placing a garment atop something special, like a hand-made quilt, for example, I don't glue; I figure out how to pin underneath the folds to hold it. Sequin pins are good for this because they are so tiny.
There are numerous draped items on my website.
Here is an example of a throw that has been manipulated on a hard wooden surface:
http://wannainelpas o.com/seasons/ irenes_christmas _bench.shtml

Here is Santa's clothing manipulated on a wooden screen, as well as over the arm of his chair:
http://wannainelpas o.com/seasons/ santas_nap. shtml

And here I discussed making his clothing, too:
http://wannainelpas o.com/dolls/ napping_santa. shtml

The first dress I remember trying to manipulate in this way was actually on the doll. I wanted my Wife of Bath to look as if she had just collapsed on her bed after the long tiring journey home from Canterbury. I had a terrible time with it because I wanted her to look natural, rather than just balanced atop the bed, and since I had already made her completely dressed I had to - gasp - cut away the fabric at the back until I could make it look as if her body was actually somewhat sinking into the bed coverings the way our bodies do naturally.? I wound up cutting and cutting away, finallly poking glue up inside the folds and pinning them in place until they dried. If I were to do her nowadays, I wouldn't even make an entire dress, I would just do the bodice front and drape fabric around her to make it look like it was the skirt.

You can see what I am talking about here:
http://wannainelpas o.com/The% 20Wife%20of% 20Bath/the_ wife_of_bath. shtml

Monday, September 28, 2009

Mme Alexander Dolls from McDonalds

Chris Pecherzewski made this adorable scene with a Michaels pumpkin and Mme Alexander dolls from McDonalds.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Fisher Price Dolls

Dolls add life and character to a scene. A couple of miniaturists use Fisher Price Dolls to great advantage in their work.
Tanya from Ty-nee-stuff has many wonderful scenes.
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5815043

Doreen Playter uses her FP family to illustrate phases in the construction of her dollhouse.
Here are David and Julie in action.

http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2009/05/flooring-gets-stained-and-wallpaper.html

Also look at:
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/fisher_price?SearchFor=fisher+price+dolls&sp=3
There is a section on dolls - use the search button for character dolls, or look in the sidebar for inhabitants.