It has been ages since my last blog. I can't believe that this is my first this year.  I always seem to be apologising for not keeping up.

 

However I have made a new little cat that I have displayed in my wind in the willows scene . She is the first dressed cat that I have made and was great fun to do. I would never have made her if it wasn’t for Sandie choosing an animal or something to do with animals for the project of the month in the yahoo group that I am a member of. So thank you Sandie you have started me with the little animal bug again.

 

 

 

Still continuing with the animal theme. This was the summer swap that I made my friend  May, who  has a super mouse house.  The swap  was themed and was to be either something for a summer picnic or a Barbecue.

 I wanted it to be a  little surprise really , so that when she would open the parcel she would think that she was having a picnic hamper but.........

 

  inside as you can see was a tiny mouse  with his backpack for his food for a picnic. I also decided as it was summer to give him an ice cream to eat.

 

 

Here  he is in my wind in the willows scene with the cat.

 

May has given him a name and it is Hobo. I think it really suits him.

Here is the super swap that I received from May.

 When I opened up my parcel I was totally amazed. It was a real wow! moment. May had sent me a  wonderful barbecue which is going to take pride of place in my garden. It is absolutely brilliant.  It has so many different kinds of food , the more you look at it the more you see . It even has ketchup and a bottle of cola.  There is everything that you could need for a very special barbecue party. Thank you so much May.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The voting is over

Well  the voting is over in the competition that took place in the yahoo group which i am a member of and i am totally thrilled as one of my entries won first place.

So now after all this time of secrets i can reveal what i have been making  and

this is my winning entry which i named 'The Autumn harvest'.

 

Everything has been made by me apart from the garden fork, the pink wellies and the house name.

 

The leaves and flowers for the pumpkins were a kit from The miniature garden. All the vegetables have been made from polymer clay and the tiny little blackberries on the bramble bush and in the basket have been made from hundreds of tiny little black no hole ( micro) beads and some have been individually painted to represent some berries which are not quite ripe yet.

 

 

 

 Here is a closer picture so that you can see some of the little berries.

 

Another picture showing the view over the garden wall. Hmm.. can just see me living there. I love the countryside.

 

 

 

Here is my second entry

 

This is the Willow bakery.

I must say that i didn't enjoy making this one as much as the harvest. This was the first entry i made and i wasn't very happy with it as it wasn't realistic enough.. It didn't have the aged and worn look that i just love so much.

 

 

I did manage to get one aged little item in as you can see , The green stool ! Everything was made by me apart from the shop till, the small basket that holds the bread rolls on the left of the counter and the glass stand with the macaroons. I must say i enjoyed making all the different bread but the cakes were a bit of a chore. I made and printed all the little price labels , the pictures and price lists were printies and pictures i found on the Internet and in miniature magazines. 

 

 

Here you can see all the little cakes and bread that i made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the front of the little shop box that is home to the bakery.

I decided to paint it in pastel shades with a bit of a shabby chic look. However As you can see i have distressed the front, maybe the inside will have the same treatment before long.

I still have to decide on a display for the window as at the moment There are only four little cakes in there. Not much to tempt a shopper in to buy.

 

 

 

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Hello again everyone. At the moment i am finishing off a competition piece that  i am making for the miniature yahoo group that i am on. So i am afraid i cant show you anything yet as it is a big secret at the moment.

I have started making my Christmas cards for this year . I just love stamping images and colouring them up to make my toppers. This year i have bought new stamps from Lili of the valley and also Nellie Snellen. I cant wait to start using my new die cutters too. I have bought some of the brilliant Tim Holtz ones this year so i am really looking forward to using them.

 I have also started doing crochet again . I am planning to make a throw from granny squares and hope to do at least one square a day. Its going to take me a long time Lol.

Back again

Hmm .... I know i have neglected my blog for some time. Been doing other things i am afraid. My real life house has been decorated. I just love wallpapering, but not so keen on glossing the woodwork .

However in between the decorating I have also been making some more minis for the online yahoo group that i am a member of which is called Miniature Haven . Every month we have a project of the month to make. Last months project was something for the Nursery so I sculpted  a little toddler from polymer clay. I also made her  a super toy from a kit by Jane Harrop  which i received in a birthday swap last year from a friend on the group.

Here is a picture of her for you to see with her toy.

The month before the project for the month was something for the kitchen  so i made a cake decorating table. I loved making this and I learned so much as i had never made anything like it before. It was so much fun.

I love pastel shades and have decided that i am going to re-decorate my Georgian house and make it all shabby chic with  pastel coloured furniture and accessories. That is another job on my to-do list which funnily enough seems to get bigger and bigger all the time.I dont know when i am going to get all the jobs done Lol!.

Outfits for the Edwardian shop

Well i have been having a great time making up some outfits for the Edwardian shop. The first i made was a wedding dress which was a workshop from  Hazel Dowd. I love making up kits by Hazel as the instructions are so easy to follow and you always get such beautiful realistic results. Her tips for draping have to be the best.


Here is the wedding dress

I also made an outfit form the May issue of the  dolls house and miniature scene magazine.  It looked a bit difficult to do and i wanted mine on a mannequin and not on a doll so I had to make a few alterations but i think it turned out ok.

 Here is a picture of it. Sorry  the picture is not straight. I will have to remember to take a better one when i am taking photographs again.

A new project.

Over the Easter holidays I have been busy starting another project.  This time in 12th scale .It is to be an Edwardian clothes shop and haberdashery.

Several years ago my hubby bought me a Sid Cooke shop from a seller on  ebay. The shop kit  had already been made up and was used as a sweet shop. It looked super with all its little glass jars of sweets and chocolates, but the person who owned it only wanted to sell the shop.

It has sat here on the shelf looking sad and neglected and desperately in need of a face lift. So the work started.

Some bricks had been added to one side of the shop which had to be removed, I wet them slightly and let them soak for a little while and they were able to be removed with the help of a a paint scraper.


 I  removed the shop front  and i removed all the glass. It was easier to paint this way.

I repainted the inside in a lovely Laura Ashley emulsion paint in a pale blue colour, and painted the shop front in a cream and beige  to brighten it up. The front paved area had been covered with tapestry canvas  and painted green, which i was unable to remove so after much thought I decided to just cover it with air drying clay .Thankfully it worked well.

After everything was nice and dry i set to work distressing the paintwork on the shop front so that it had the lived feel. Anyone who knows me will know that i don't  do neat and tidy with my miniatures . I always like the well worn and lived in look. I think it looks more natural, more realistic and gives it more charm.But then that's just me, everyone has their own tastes.

Here it is now..

 I just have to decide on a name for it, and finish adding skirting boards to the inside when i decide on the layout, Then i can start to fill it with all the little things i am going to make.

The progress picture of Halfpenny house

This is what i have done so far to my Halfpenny house. as you can see i think i got the negleted look that i wanted for it. Just the roof and chimney to do now. But i think that will be another days work as i am going to get my clay out today and try to make some foods.