Last Wednesday in 2009 (sense a theme this week? lol)

Hi y'all!!! Hope your week has been going well. Mine has been busy with chores and such...no rest for the wicked! lol
Orah decided to start 2010 off right a bit early. She decided that her grudge against Giselle and her pretty party hair was rather petty. (Not to mention Giselle just looks so sad. It seems her escort for the Elven ball decided that since she was only half elf, that she wasn't suitable! The cad!!!) So Orah invited Giselle over for some coffee and yummy chocolate frosted lemon cake. (What girl wouldn't be cheered up with chocolate!) So Orah asked me to please finish up her table. We decided to bring in a couple of the white iron chairs since her matching chairs aren't finished just yet.
I stained and painted Orah's Table and console table for her. I painted a hutch a while ago with a great sage-y green. I decided to stain the tops of her new tables in a light cherry color using a product I bought for scrapbooking several years ago. It's an ink called Walnut ink. This particular brand comes pre-mixed in dauber-style bottles. Ebay has several different colors, I used the one called Rust. I am thinking that some of these colors have been discontinued as they seem to be really hard to find. I only found 2 pages of 'google' hits for FiberScraps E-Z Walnut Ink Tintz. There are some new colors out but the Rust seems to be missing. I also have the regular walnut ink, which dyes wood a dark almost grey-ish brown. The Dusk, which is a purple-ish, and the Verdigris which is a green. I haven't used either of these yet, but think they will be great too. I am thinking about picking up the Moss, Rose and Tea Stain colors too. I think I saw a smoke somewhere online too that would be great for aged, weathered wood!
So anyways, back to the tables! LOL I gave them each several light coats of color, the edges got a couple light coats too. For those areas I 'smooged' the dauber of the ink onto a lid to get some of the ink out. I 'smooged' to hard and ended up with a bit of a puddle, but at 2oz per bottle this stuff'll last me a while!!! I used a brush to apply the 'stain' to the edges and undersides of the table tops. After they were dry I painted the bases in my sage-y green. I want to add a set of matching chairs, but am unsure if I want to stain them fully, paint them fully or do a combination of the 2. I welcome your suggestions!

Last Monday of 2009

Can you believe that today was the last Monday of the year??? It's kinda wild. I apologize for not posting before or after Christmas...been a little hectic this week with a whole lot of nothing. We had a wonderful Christmas here, my boys had tons of presents under the tree, and had a blast opening them all! I bought my hubby a new dress shirt, a gaming keyboard, a couple of video games, (I love gamestop for USED games! =D)and a remote control helicopter that goes up to 30 miles an hour!!!
Me...I got a new set of Paula Deen cookware,(yippee, they cook so wonderfully!!!)a pair of silky dress shirts one in teal and the other in gunmetal gray, and 6 new miniature making books!
I got:
--Both of Angie Scarr's food books. (and man they look awesome! I can't wait to try out her methods!
--EJ Tangerman's Build Your Own Dollhouse from a 4x8 sheet of plywood This one look awesome! It builds a basic Orchid-like house, but I can see how it will be useful for construction other houses too!
--Sheila Smith's Making 1/12 scale Wicker Furniture. Gorgeous stuff in this one!
--Freida Gray's Dolls' House Furniture, and Making Miniature Gardens. OMG I am so excited about these two!!!

I plan on reviewing these books over the next year. (hmmm that might be a fun weekly segment...Book Reviews...both miniature and polymer clay...what do you think???)

Yesterday I started making a little footstool using a soda bottle top. Ala Casey over at Casey's Minis. Casey's footstool. I could have sworn she used a soda bottle lid, but this tutorial shows a piece of toilet paper roll. (got tons of those too. I see more ottomans in the future!) They are so much fun to make. I WILL definitely be making more of these little cuties!

I also bought myself a collection of House of Miniature kits from a gal who was selling them. There are 23 of them ranging from a pair of the Chippendale Sofas to the William & Mary Tall Case Clock. 3 pieces came already assembled, a Chippendale Nightstand, the Hepplewhite Round Table and the Hepplewhite Side Table. So I made a quick plain background display sheet and snapped a few pics of Orah enjoying her coffee and a quilting magazine. BTW she has NEW hair! She is so happy with it. She decided that she didn't want anything as fancy as Giselle's But if you check out her first pictures I think we can all agree that this is QUITE an improvement!
Well my dear friends it is late and I need to get hubby into bed...4:30 comes real soon! Hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday!

More new friends!!!!

I am sorry for being away from my blog for the last week...nothing exciting in miniature or even clay going on really. Although I have been a very bad friend and NOT welcomed my new friends! I have 4 to share with you. =D
First up is Maija...I apologize as her blog is in a foreign language and I can't find a translator. =( But she does have a gorgeous dollhouse picture on her blog and then a link to another page that shows off more of her handy work. Maija can be found at iidasantu.
Next is Kim from Flowers and Art I 'met' Kim through my 5-star swap that I did earlier this month. She has the most amazing Flower shop in miniature on her blog, as well as a lovely tea-room gift for a friend.
Another new friend is Marlies who is from the Netherlands. Her blog is Marlies and Minis. Marlies makes the most gorgeous filled trunks I have ever seen. Be sure to take a moment to check out her amazing work!
And last but certainly not least are Julia and Hywel. They are a husband and wife duo from Wales. Their blog, Bear Cabin Miniatures shows off the amazing work that they do! The most recent blog posts showcase the Christmas decorations in 2 of their Dollhouses; The Pumpkin House and Victoria Villa. Also be sure to catch the widget on the right of their blog which will take you to their etsy shop! =D
Thanks everyone for being patient with me. I hope to get back to creating and blogging more regularly after Christmas. (There will be some book reviews coming too!!! I'm getting several mini-making books for Christmas ;-D )

Slow Sunday

Today I awoke to an over-flowing toilet!!! Talk about a rude awakening. Thankfully it's all fixed now, but boy that was a mess. Then I had to go out to the PX (that would be Post Exchange, which is our on-base store.)for a gift wrapping fundraiser. Each company is given 2-3 four hour slots to do gift wrapping. We wrap for donations. The money we raise we then use in our family support groups for fun events for the soldiers and their families. It's been slow this year, not many people getting their gifts wrapped, although those that have, tipped very well. We made around $200 over 3 days for our support group.
Tomorrow is our Christmas party for the families. We are having a 'decoration' party. I bought all kids of fun little decorations for the kids to make. We will also have cookies for them to decorate too. I bought a bunch of candy canes to make reindeer with. So I need to glue pom poms and googly eyes on 48 candy canes tonight! Then tomorrow all the kiddos will need to do is add the antlers.
I think they are soo adorable!
I'm gonna cook up hot dogs and meatball sandwiches and we will have chips and a cake too. I hope the kiddos have a good time.
I hpoe everyone had a good weekend. talk to y'all soon.

5-Star Swap Goodies

Last month I signed up to participate in Kathi's 5-Star Christmas Swap over at Beautiful Mini Blessings % people plus Kathi signed up to make a Christmas item and share them. So we got 5 truly amazing items in return. I already opened mine, but I know atleast one person is waiting until Christmas to open hers. (So if you are waiting and don't want to see what everyone else sent...STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!! =D ) Personally I don't have that kind of restraint! LOL

I would share the items I made first, but wouldn't you know I completely forgot to make myself a set, nor did I take any pictures of the ones I sent out!!!! URGH!!! BUT I made tiny 2 inch trees, decorated with tiny seed bead ornaments as bead stars. I also made a sent of bells to hang on the door or wall. Those I thought turned out great. I think, (yeah I know scary, she can't recall, but I was involved in several Christmas themed swaps at the same time! LOL) I think I also sculpted tiny snowmen from polymer clay. I asked Kathi if she'd mind photographing her set and sending me the pics. If she can do that for me I'll share those pics later! LOL

Ok on to the fabulous mini's I received in the mail...
From Kathi (the swap hostess) I received several goodies there is a pretty blue Shaker style basket full of little pine cones, a white poinsettia in a vase, a cool modern beaded spiral 'tree' and a beaded seaside cottage wreath. Kathi also sent a bag full of decorating bits for me to use.
There are 2 pieces of holiday fabric, some snowflake trim, a tiny nutcracker, some star glitter, and some more seaside cottage 'ornaments' (I'm thinking that a Christmas by the Sea theme is in order here! ;-D ) THANK YOU KATHI!!!!

Next is Kim over at Flowers & Art. Kim sent a lovely Christmas card and a letter about her creation. Kim created this fantastic Christmas hutch. Each item in the hutch is loose so they can be rearranged. There is a little wreath and a needlepoint stocking, a little decorated tree, 3 tiny Christmas cards, a pair of gingerbread people, a gingerbread house and a punchbowl full of pretty pink punch! Kim also made a lovely chest to store all her holiday decorations in. I am truly humbled by her talent! THANKS KIM!!!!

Next up is Jaime from A Little Roomer by Jaime. She made the tiniest little Christmas tree under 'glass'! Isn't it adorable!!! THANKS JAIME!!!!

4th point in our little star is Karin from Mini Ramblings & Musings. Karin sent a fabulous decoratedholly wreath and a plate full of holiday goodies! Check out the detail on the orange in the center!!!! I can almost smell the citrus-y goodness! She also made a candy cane, an apple, several different kinds of cookies and some holiday candies...see the green one with the tree in the center! Karin sure is talented. =D THANK YOU KARIN!!!!!

Last but certainly not least is Jill from Little Nest Studio. Jill also made a plate of cookies, but she also added a glass of milk to wash it all down, a carrot for Rudolph and teensy-tiny letter to Santa. It is situated on a red placemat with green stitching. Jill also folded a great little 'match-box' style box from holiday paper to store her place setting in. I just love the little note, I think it's my favorite part of the piece. THANK YOU JILL!!!!!

It was so much fun creating some fun holiday decorations...I hope these 5 ladies enjoyed the items I made as much as I am enjoying the ones they made! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!

And the Winner is.....

Kathi from over at Beautiful Mini Blessings! Congrats Kathi. I had 6 ladies comment, since I announced my little give-away. I numbered each one in the order they commented, then rolled a dice! Kathi if you would email me off-blog, we will discuss your prize! =D
Thank you to everyone who commented as well as everyone who joined to follow my little blog.

More New Friends!!!

Yippee...I love new pals! Today I'd like to introduce Karen and Tamra. Karen is an Aussie, how loves making jewelry. She has just started her blog. It's called Creative Thoughts and Inspirations. She also works with polymer clay. (Karen I didn't see a link to your shop...let me know if there is one and I'll share it! =D)
My next new friend is Tamra...Tamra has several blogs; With Our Hands is her Artfire blog and Front Porch Reviews is her product review and giveaway blog. She showcases some really fabulous products!

I do hope you will stop by and visit these great ladies.

PS Don't forget about my own giveaway! Just post a comment saying Hi!

Another post????

Yep, I figure the other one was getting kind of long! LOL
This is a custom ornament I made yesterday. It's a small mouth bass. I still need to add the hanger to it, but I am super happy with it! It's about 5 1/2 inches long from nose to the tip of its tail fin.

Geez is it Wednesday Already???

Can you believe that it's December already?!?!?!? Where on Earth did 2009 go? I personally have no idea. I am having a hard time with the fact that another year is drawing to a close. *sigh* Time just flies these days whether you are having fun or not.
I haven't done too much crafting since before Thanksgiving. I participated in a couple of swaps and mailed them off. I am looking forward to seeing the wonderful things that will be coming back to me. =D
I had planned on starting my Mom's dollhouse the day after Thanksgiving. Well I was too pooped to move! LOL I was gonna start it on Monday, well wouldn't you know I hurt my back, somehow...I am thinking that hubby is gonna make me go to the ER tonight...it's been 3 days now and it really isn't any better. In fact it feels a bit worse today. Standing hurts, sitting hurts, twisting or bending hurts. =( I've been having him put bengay on it the last 2 night. It helps me sleep, but by morning I'm sore again. He is thinking I might have a slipped disc as there aren't any knots in my back that would suggest a pulled muscle. *sigh* Man I hate going to the doctors! grrrrr. It's the section of my back just above my hip area. Nope didn't fall, don't recall doing anything that would cause this.
So I ordered Pizza in the event we do head to the ER...and I'm just kinda hanging out waiting for hubby to get home.
oooh BTW speaking of my hubby...he is so wonderful! =D They got new furniture for the office...he got permission to bring home a computer chair for me!!! And boy oh boy is it wonderful! It's so nice to be able to sit in a comfy chair, and it's got wheels too, so I can roll around. Wheee!!!
Hope everyone's week has been going well!
BTW DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY GIVE-AWAY!!! COMMENT AND YOU'LL BE ENTERED TO WIN A PRIZE ON SUNDAY!!!

WOOHOO...100 Friends!!!!

Oh my gosh, how cool is that! 100 new friends. =D Congrats to Daisy over at Antique Daisy She is my 100th friend! Daisy if you'd email me off-blog with your address I'll get started on a goody for you! oooh Also include any themes, color schemes or tibits I should know about the dollhouse, or scenes you are working on! I want to make something super special for you!

As for my other 99 friends...I think I will keep my drawing open until next weekend...leave me a comment over the next week and I'll enter your name in a drawing for a special goody on Sunday the 6th!

Thanks so much to all the wonderful new friends I have made through this little blog! =D Y'all make me feel special!
Deborah

Another New Friend makes 99!!!

Holy moly...when I started blogging months ago I honestly never thought I would see 100 'followers' but here I am with 99!!! I know this is last minute, but I think I am gonna have a little quicky giveaway! When I hit 100 followers...that person, plus one more from my merry band of pals will recieve a gift. So if you'd like to join in the fun simply leave me a comment.

BTW I supposed I really need to welcome Miss 99...It's Dale over at Dales Dreams. Dale makes the most gorgeous dollhouse bedding I have ever seen!!! I do hope you will take a moment to go visit her.

New Friends!

Wow...I'm at 98 'friends' (I hate calling them Followers! lol) My 2 newest are Manda Minifan (I can't find a blog for you hun, so if you have one, or a shop or something you'd like me to share, please let me know! =D) and Ron of Artisan of Ocala And oh my goodness...his 2 most recent blog posts are of the stairwell and door he is building. Sounds basic, right....OH NO, you have got to go and check them out! They are anything but ordinary!!!! =D
Deborah

Happy Friday =D

To all my friends here in America, I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving! Ours was busy but then it usually is when my husband is not overseas. As we have done in the past, we invited any of the single soldiers in his unit (who weren't heading home for the holiday) to come and join us for our Thanksgiving. We had 7 come join us for dinner, plus my sister =D I made 2 decent sized turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread-sausage dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. I also made a pumpkin pie, a cherry pie, a batch of my super yummy brownie, and a pumpkin gooey butter cake. Everyone ate their fill (which was quite a bit...I think all the leftovers (dressing, green beans and turkey) fit into a single 2 quart casserole dish! LOL We had a wonderful time.
Plus in the clean-up to get ready my craft area is clean...well kind of. lol At least everything is contained and ready to be sorted and put away. I need to look into different storage containers to put inside my armoires though. I have a couple of swaps that I need to finish up this weekend, but then I am going to start working on my Mom's Orchid.
I have mentioned several times that I have decided to give my mom the Quilt Shop/Sewing School she always dreamed of owning. It'll be in miniature of course, but I am positive she will just love it! I had intended to have it finished in time to present it to her in Jaunary when she comes down to celebrate Christmas. (She is also turning 60 this December so it was gonna be a combined gift) But I have realized that to do it properly, the way I have it envisioned...6 weeks is nowhere near enough time. So I am going to concentrate on completing the shell and having that ready to present to her...then I figure she can help decide how she would like it furnished. =D
I have decided that I am going to take 2, possibly even 3 Orchids by Greenleaf/Corona Concepts to make one large cottage for Mom. I just love all the gingerbread work. I am planning the main body of the house to be painted in a pale almost icy blue color...the trim will be in 2 deeper shades of blue. (That would be mom's favorite color ;-D ) I am also hoping to have the exterior landscaped by January. Mom also loves gardening, so I definitely want her to have a lovely garden to enjoy.
As it comes out of the box the Orchid has 2 stories...the lower would normally be a living room and a kitchen, and the upper floor would be a bedroom and bathroom. I need Mom's Cottage to have these things as well as a Shop area and a classroom area. Although I think the classroom area will also work for mom's living room as I plan to add a couple of cozy chairs for reading, pouring over pattern books and stitching. So I need 5 rooms, at least 3 of which need to be decent sized. I am trying to decide whether I want to add an additional floor, an additional wing or both onto the Orchid. I have no idea! LOL I currently have 2 Orchids here at the house but can easily purchase a 3rd from Hobby Lobby which is just up the road. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear 'em.

Well thank you all for hanging around reading my ramblings. I hope everyone that braved the crowds to day had a fruitful shopping trip. And to those who either stayed at home snug in their beds or worked today...Have a wonderful weekend! =D

Need Help from my DollHouse Friends

Hey there everyone. I am in need of some help. As I have mentioned before I am making my mom a dollhouse for Christmas/her 60th birthday. I want to transform it into a combination Quilt Shop/Sewing School. I would also like to add a small studio apartment to it. I have purchase a pair or Orchid dollhouses from Hobby Lobby. I would like to combine the 2 into one larger house. If anyone has done this or knows someone who has...I would love am tips, hints, tricks or techniques they used.
Thanks in advance for you help! =D
Deborah

I NEED HELP!!!!

Eeeek...I finished a group of items for a wonderful swap...The 5 Star swap...the problem is I can't find the address to ship them out!!! Ack...And I can't remember which lovely lady from which great blog was hosting this swap!!! Sooooo My swap is ready to go out...as soon as someone rescues me! LOL
Thanks. =D
Deborah

Welcome!!!

Today my friend Eva started following my blog! =D "Hi there hun!!!" As of yet, *wink, wink, wink* Eva doesn't have a blog, but that's okey-dokey.

Urgh...my apologies...

Again time has just run away with me. *sigh* So let me see if I can remember what has been going on in my life the last almsot 2 weeks.
When last I left you I was preparing for my one and only craft show of the season. it amuses me that I was invited to participate in 3, chose 2, then had to drop out of one due to being ill. *sigh* Oh well, the show I ended up participating in was put on by a local Art Guild. I went out Friday night for their Artisans Reception. I willingly admit to being more than a little intimidated and thoroughly scared about the show. Most of the artists in the guild are either painters or earthen clay sculptors. As I walked through the gallery, I couldn't help compare my little polymer clay pieces to the fabulous oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings and the fabulous sculpted bowls, vases and greenman masks. I was honestly beginning to wonder what I was doing in with these other artists. I left Friday evening apprehensive, but happy. I met many of the wonderful painters and sculptors and think I made some new friends as well!
Saturday morning I arrived about an hour early to begin to set up my booth. As i unwrapped and placed each piece someone would stop by and 'ohh' or 'ahh' over something. I bought a pair of small christmas trees (that once I start decorating, will flank my front door) I set one of them up on a low table beside my booth to hang all my beaded and polymer clay Christmas ornaments one. It does light up but unfortunately I didn't have an outlet available. =( Oh well, with a big 'bay' window behind my booth, plenty of light came in and showed off my ornaments perfectly. I took all of my polymer clay pieces (well the finished ones anyways! LOL There are still several in various stages on my table) and had them laid out.
The show opened at 10am Saturday morning with a nice crowd of people...And within the 1st 30 minutes I had made my first sale. And they just kept coming. I couldn't believe it...my fear from the night before was actually at one point replace by a little bit of guilt. The painters and sculpters had a hard time selling things, while I just kept moving little bits off my table. I sold several snowflakes in various forms and many of my small figurines. I sold several pair of earrings too. I even sold one of my large dragons. I traded another of my large dragons with another vendor who does earthen clay work. I got several small fabric Christmas tree ornaments and a lovely sage green bowl for my dragon. Another artist is a photographer...sho had this gorgeous matted photograph of a silhouetted beach at sunset. The sky was streaked in these luscious shades of magenta and burgundy...it's perfect in our master bedroom. During a lull in the crowd and wandered over to purchase it. She offered to trade the picture for a unicorn I had sculpted. I was only too happy to oblige. Yet another trade came from a lovely older woman who painted the most adorable set of snowmen I have ever seen. I will be honest I initally walked over to talk to her, because she seemed lonely in the corner by herself. Her framed snowmen were just a wonderful perk to meeting an equally wonderful lady. I bought the snowman that she had painted that best matched my living room...he will be proudly displayed this coming holiday season. The next day she bought a little piggy I had sculpted. (the painting and the piggy were priced the same, so I chalk it up to a trade;-D)
All in all I had a wonderful time, met many talented artists and actually did really well!
This last week has been spent trying to catch up on neglected house work and such. I have some miniatures I need to make for a swap...those need to be in the mail by Wednesday...(I'm working on them Kathy! lol) The I have a few more swap items to make, but those are due in early December, So I most likely won't start those until AFTER Thanksgiving. urgh MUST CLEAN HOUSE THIS WEEK!!! We will most likely be having some of my hubby's soldiers over for turkey day next week.
My next major project will be a bash and smoosh of a trio of Orchids.(dollhouse kits)
I bought one from Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago intending to build mom's shop in it...well I think it is just too small! So in talking to my hubby we have decided to buy 2 more Orchids (gotta love 40% off coupons!!!) and some balsa sheets to 'build' our our house for mom! I love the Orchid for all it's lovely gingerbread and fretwork. Mom's house will be painting in 3 shades of blue, ranging from pale ice blue for the exterior to deep navy for the gingerbread. Donnie is going to build me a full front porch for a rocker or two and possibly even a porch swing.
I am very excited about this project and can't wait to finish it...honestly even more so I can't wait for Mom to receive it!!! I'm thinking that the video camera might serve me well for that. =D

Now that I have rambled on and on for a while now I should scoot...the laundry room is calling me and my kitchen table is screaming my name, although the cries are muffled under mounds of papers and craft bits and bobs!
Thanks for sticking with me and reading this far. Talk to you all later!

Oh Dear...

It seems I have been very remiss in welcoming my new friends! There are several that I have not properly welcomed!
So my apologies to these wonderful folks. Please take a few minutes to visit there blogs where available.
First up is Marlene...she is a very talented miniaturist with 2 great blogs. Somerset House showcases her miniature work. Her second blog is Poppy Patchwork, is her personal blog, but she also showcases her beautiful needlework here too! Welcome Marlene! =D
Next is Chris V. Chris has 4 blogs. She is a fantastic miniaturist as well. Candid Canine is her main blog and there you will discover that Chris is also an author!!! She has written several books one of which is a wonderful looking book called Searching for a Starry Night

Next is Danitza Zarate...unfortunately I couldn't find a blog for her, but welcome just the same! (BTW feel free to contact me if you have a blog, website or store you'd like me to share! =D )
Next up is Victoria of Vika-mis currently working on a Russian Village House. Some of her fabulous miniatures can be found on her flickr site.
Next is Guinivere Norrington is a fellow military spouse and artist. Guinevere is a fabulous seamstress who plies her trade making 18" doll clothes. Check out her blog Camelots Treasure and her Etsy store by the same name.
Next is Teresa Riley who is another fellow military spouse, she is a paper artist who makes some truly gorgeous scrapbooks. Please visit her blog, Paper on Parade and her etsy shop!
Last but not least is Rebecca of Fira Marina. I had the pleasure of making Rebecca's acquaintance last year when I bought some of her lovely beads. She sells on Ebay and Etsy...I do hope you'll take a few minutes to visit her website to view her amazing work

Again my apologies for neglecting to welcome my friends. =D

OOOOH I WON!!!

I am so excited...about a month ago I joined a couple of other ladies over on Yummy Miniatures Food From the Crow It was a Halloween Hutch contest, now Halloween isn't a big holiday for me, so it was kinda tough for me to step outside my comfort zone. But I did it. And here was my resulting hutch. I used a $1 hutch from Michaels and painted it matte black...it then got a gentle rub of metallic purple. I replaced the knobs with a star and moon set, and added a jack-o-lantern embellishment to the cornice at the top. I filled the bottom shelf with hand carved hollow jack-o-lanterns and a trio of miniature pumkins. The middle shelf holds a crystal ball, a plate of halloween cookies and a Happy Haunting sign. The top shelf has a trio of hand sculpted polymer clay candles, a picture of a set of spooky eyeballs and a shrunken head!
Please visit Julie's Site to see the other fantastic entries and my cool prize!!!

Teddys and Snowfolk

I have several pieces to show off but will probably take a few posts to do it. Here are a couple of little Polar Bears and snowfolk I have made in various sizes. The littlest one (with the green earmuffs and stripey scarf) is about 3/4 of an inch tall. The tallest one (Polar bear with brown teddy ornament) is 1.25 inchs tall. The Red Beret Snowgal sits about the same. =D I got my wire pieces coated in their clear layer and will photograph them tomorrow (in my new atbletop photo studio! =D)
I have also been working on a Halloween Hutch, (not sure if I can share it yet it's for a contest...gotta go check the 'rules') and a fireplace for a gift bag scene.
The fireplace is almost finished, the 'hearth' is drying right now. So that too will get photographed tomorrow.
Grr ok here is the link to my flickr Blogger doesn't want to let me upload pics right now. So you can see some of these things as well as some others I hadn't mentioned. =D

Finally some new goodies to share

I have been making little things here and there over the last week...Still not 100% after this cold...but feeling much better.
Today I decided to play with some wire. I made a base layer of clay, shaped the different with bits and pressed them lightly into the clay. After I finished the design I filled in with Pearl Ex and Perfect Pearl powders. These still need baked yet plus a layer of resin. My camera did not capture the true luster of the colors, but my new table top photo studio should be here this weekend...so hopefully better pics coming shortly!
The Yellow Ribbon and the Patriotic Heart will be pins, and the Rose will be a magnet. I have been scouring stained glass patterns all day for ideas. I want to make a series of Christmas ornaments using this technique too! They are time consuming, but boy are they gorgeous!

Also shown is another of my Christmas ornaments...this one has gorgeous deep pink roses.
And then there is my silly kitty cat! I turned around the other day to find her curled up in this little box. It's literally only 6x9...but she must really enjoy it, as I find her there at least once a day. As a matter of fact she's curled up in it right now! lol Gotta love felines! =D

No Pictures Today. =(

I am definitely catching a cold. =( I truly despise being sick, but then again does any one really LIKE being sick????

I went out yesterday and today to do some shopping...I went to hobby lobby and went through there holiday aisles and found some great halloween (purple, orange & black) trims, as well as some Autumn ones (orange, burgundy and brown) All marked down of course! I grabbed several different other holiday goddies, which honestly at the moment elude me! LOL Back in the clearance section I found some neat little bottle caps...they have letters on them, meant for scrapbooking, but I intend to use them as mini pie/tart tins. I actaully found 2 seperate sizes...so I have some for single serve dishes as well as some for "lovers special' sizes too. I picked up some tiny Christmas ornaments for my trees, as well as some additional 'branch' material...the 6 inch trees they have are kind of sparse, so I found that adding some additional 'limbs' to them really fills 'em out. They also had 1/4" foam core board 1/2 off...so i bought several sheets for making gift bag walls as well as other projects.

Ooooh my 'big' Hobby Lobby purchase was an Orchid Dollhouse! I used my 40% off coupon and got it for $18. I have decided that I could very easily see my mother opening her dream quilt shop in a cozy little cottage rather than a store front. So that's what I'm gonna do. This project has been in the works since probably August, but I will finally get down to business on it after my craft show in November. That will give me November, December and the early part of January to complete it for her.

Today I picked up a couple of paper punches...one an inch size leaf, (I'm thinking of trying to punch shrink plastic to make miniature dishes with!) I also grabbed an 1/2" oak leaf and a butterfly trio punch. I found some gorgeous thin ohmbre ribbon in the Martha Stewart collection at Michael's. ooh and some great fall color tiny no-hole beads too. Tomorrow I will try and snap a few picks of my new supplies.

Tonight is Movie Night at our house...Pizza is on the way, (and a gyro for me...mmmmmm) and I picked up Inkheart with Brendan Frasier to watch. BUT after that I am back to my craft table to finish up some swaps and well make what ever else my heart desires.

Ah time has run away from me...

Today I decided to NOT do the show scheduled for this weekend. I have been so busy with other obligations that I have not had the time nor the desire to get my stock where it needs to be. I am a little saddened to make this choice but I know for me right now it's the right one. I have another show scheduled for the 7th & 8th of November so I will be spending the next (thankfully free) weeks getting prepped for that. I will also be able to spend some time taking pictures of my items and loading them into my Etsy store. I have several neat items that are in various stages of completion that I will hopefully be showing off this weekend. Hope you all are having a great week so far.

Latest Works

I decided to play with some jewelry pieces and also some little holiday magnets...hope you like them! =D

Fun finds at Hobby Lobby

I went out today and find some great things are Hobby Lobby. I found some great wireless chenille in fun Halloween colors (for 30% off too! =D ) I also bought some 8 inch trees to decorate, several pieces of fabric, 4 spools of ribbon,tiny pinecones, a bag of wooden shapes (I used one to make a table base),and a 1/2 yard of fluffy felt for Christmas trimmings, and the pretty bag with the 'stars' on it will have a Christmas morning scene in it.
I saw several other things that I'd like to go back for, and I might go back tomorrow. =D

Still grey, but oh well....

I went ahead an took some pictures last night of some of my new goodies. So for your enjoyment we have...a trio of Unakite turtles, Boo, and a pair of sea turtles. On my Facebook and flickr I asked folks whether the trio should remain loose or get their own base like the sea turtles. Seems people are divided...what do you all think?

Rain, Rain Go Away

I am sure I have mentioned before...I thrive on sunshine! This grey dreary rainy weather really gets me down. *sigh* Yesterday was the start of it...it was a horrible day for trying to take pictures...So well I didn't! lol I did take a quick snapshot of the little purple girl I made earlier. She has been all wigged and is ready to find a home. She got a little sunburnt in the oven, but I think she actually looks fantastic. I will be making more of these kids, but will watch them a little closer next time. She stands about 4 inches tall, so she would actually work in a 1:12th scale scene as a 'tween.

I am currently working on some decorated holiday signs. I originally made them to go with my mummy and turkey. But there is something to be said about premeasuring! LOL They are way to large to be held by my critters. So I have decided to make them into Happy Accidents. I am adding little clay bits to them and they will become small wall hangers! I also made some 'candy corn' candles out of clay for an upcoming swap. I've got another great little sign project that is almost finished too. But I'm gonna keep that one a surprise! =D

So here is a picture of my little purple gal...I need to give this little sweetheart a name. Any one have any ideas?

One of these days...

One of these days I will get back to DAILY blogging...right now I kind of feel strange blogging if I have nothing to show you all. (I think I need to get over that, right?!?) So today I am gonna blog about what I've been doing and then hopefully tomorrow I can catch y'all up on pictures. =D

Well on Thursday I confirmed my registration for the Craft show on the 17th & 18th of this month. So now I have a deadline and I seem to work much better under pressure. Thursday afternoon I got a phone call from a woman I met back in May. She has organized a festival around an artisans co-op in our area...I had no idea we had one!!! She contacted me to see if I'd like to participate in the craft show as well as join the co-op! I wasn't sure how hubby'd feel about me doing another show, especially after I decided not to do the other '2nd' show. Well as this one if a Saturday/Sunday and NOT a Friday/Saturday...he is all for it! So next week I will send in my registration for a second show, this one on November 7th and 8th. I think I might be crazy for doing 2 back to backs...but pressure is my friend! LOL

So I have been busily claying away since then. I have made 10 pens...pretty simple but stunning none-the-less. I also finished 2 more Christmas ornaments...one pearl with aqua polka dots, and the other pearl with aqua paisley swirls. I finshed a trio of CF-style sea turtles, and a cute little starfish that I think is bound to become a pin. I put the word out among my facebook friends that I was looking for ideas. One suggested decorated reed diffusers. I love this idea and intend to see what I can come up with. Another one suggested guitar pick earrings. I am trying to stick with clay, but thought...'hmmm, hubby has a couple guitar picks lying around, I think I'll borrow one' So off I went and down it came. I made a great mokume gane stack of 3 shades of aqua with thin black. I impressed a great swirly stamp and carved away. I traced around the guitar pick and cut away the excess. I added eyelets to them, to give a more finished look. So yep I made my own 'guitar pick' earrings! Using another piece of stacked clay, and a larger 'kinda' pick shaped template I made a larger coordinating piece. not sure if it'll be a pin or a necklace?

Hmm what else have I made...oh yeah...2 cute mini lemon cakes, one with choclate frosting on lemon cake, the other a buttercream frosted cake topped with lemon curd and both have fresh lemon slices! Ooooh I also made a couple dozen mini chocolate chip cookies, both fresh from the oven and some waiting to go in. =D I made a batch of mini pancakes too, just need to figure out how I'm gonna make convincing syrup. I also played around with more of the aqua clays I mixed up, and I made several canes. I will use these in other things as I go along.

Thanks for reading along wth me, although I know without pictures it was probably boring...pray for sunny, great-picture-taking weather tomorrow and hopefully I'll wow you with pictures!

Y'all have a great Sunday Morning!!!

This weekends goodies (PICTURE HEAVY)

I finally got around to sitting down at my craft table. I have been in a funk lately. I NEED to sculpt, but every time I sit down I make maybe one thing and then get frustrated. my brain just doesn't seem to want to co-operate. But I made myself sit down this weekend and just started sculpting. I started out with this little purple gal...she is bald right now, but will get viscose hair after she baked. I made her a little matching bow that will get glued into her hair too. Then I sculpted another mini Kudzu's Whimzy style dragon, this time in red. (I really need to sit down and wing all these little guys!) Next came a santa hat ornament (it'll get a jingle bell and white fluffy trim to finish), and a red stocking with striped trim. (it'll get fluff too!) Oooh before all this I used the sest of my raggedy doll 'socks' cane to make some floral pieces...these will get pin backs to them.
Next came a CF-style dragon piece. I have left the wings open to hold a cord if someone wants it strung, But I like it as a sculpture! lol
And last but not least more bacon and eggs for a diner scene. Oh and I finished my diner plates. A burger, pile of fries and a dollop of ketchup!I also finished a fall stew, and a raspberry cream cake =D

Now gonna read over my blog posts and then back to the sculpting table!

My Raggedy Dolls

I was given a challenge by a friend in one of my (many, many) yahoogroups...She liked my unicorn and asked me to make a miniature version. Well you saw the results of that yesterday. She also inquired about Raggedy Ann and Andy...
I was a little hesitant, but I figured what the heck...I'd give them a try. I learned my lesson a while back that I now take pics of custom sculpts BEFORE I bake to send to the client. (saves us both heartache and disapointment!)Not only did she like them, she asked for a 2nd set!!! I decided to make the second set a little different. Since I have finally sent the pictures to her, I feel comfortable posting pics here too!
So without further ado...Raggedy Ann and Andy times 2! =D

What I've been doing lately

I finally have some pictures of the little figures I've creating over the last few days.
Inspired by 2 custom sets of miniature Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, (the tallest is just over an inch tall) I made a miniature teddy bear and a tiny elephant, The unicorn is also for the customer who ordered the Raggedy dolls. (I'll share pics of them after I finish painting them.



Also there is a tiny Chocolate Truffle cake for a friends Diner, and a turkey sculpture. The turkey I actually sculpted last year, but he had a fabric tail. I didn't like the fabric so I created a matching clay tail. I like him much better!

Sorry

It's been a few days since I blogged...I have actually been getting some sculpting done...I got a custom order for a pair of Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls, and one of my unicorns. All of these have been done on mini scale, and they are each around 3/4 of an inch tall! Today I made a mini teddy bear. I am thinking I am gonna try flocking the little fella after I bake him. I don't have any pictures yet as they need to be baked and painted. But I will definitely share them once I finish them.

My workout buddy is on vacation this week, so it has been (no pun intended) an exercise in my own motivation. I am quite proud of myself as I have done something every morning. I played on my Wii Fit yesterday morning and this morning I walked around my neighborhood. I feel really good and have even lost 2 pounds in the last 3 weeks. The exercise isn't taking nearly as much out of me as it was when I first started, so now it's time to work on my eating habits. I don't generally eat TOO much, my problem is remembering to eat more regularly...I don't often get hungry throughout the day, and I need to work on that. I think my body think I am starving because I am not eating enough. Unfortunately because of this it is hanging on to the fat cells I have. So while I continue to workout and am gonna try to eat more often.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far. Take care and talk to y'all soon!
Deborah

New Friends

I have been remiss in welcoming my new friends. I am sorry about that. So please take a few moments to help me welcome mhy new blog pals.
Matie is from Spain, her blog Miniaturista is in spanish, but she has some lovely pictures. Next is Heather, her blog This Little Doll House shows off her miniature houses and castles. And lastly is the lovely lady behind Quilting Frenzy, unfortunately I cna't find a name for her anywhere. But please take a moment or two to visit each of these great ladies' blogs.