Fall Felt

Last night I was looking at my felt squares and then I had a thought…FALL

So I grabbed some supplies listed below and went to town. I think if you kept it simple this would be a great project for the smaller family members too. Heck this could even be a great project for them to make as gifts for family members like grandmas and such.  I come from a very crafty family so we are always making gifts.

Ok, ok back to what I did…

Materials:

• Felt - in various colors
• Buttons – different shapes and sizes
• Glue – I just used Arlene’s craft glue
• Scissors
• Leaf and flower shapes that you can trace over the felt or cut out shapes you printed from the web if you like.
• If you scrap book and have one of those sizzix machines then this will be very easy especially if you have one of those die cut shapes.

For the base piece of felt I started out with a square and then rounded off the edges, then cut out lots of different leaves and flowers in a variety of colors. Next I laid them out in an eye pleasing manner.  For me that was on the edges since the ceramic pumpkins that were going to set on them would take up most of the center part. Did I mention pumpkins?!?  After I found a look I liked I started to glue them down on top of each other and as a finishing touch I added a button in the center of each flower.

Ok I hope I was not too long winded and not too non mini.  Next post will be mini. 

 Also a big welcome to Vicky and Illyria for becoming followers of my blog.  I am truly glad to have found the mini blog world it gives me such inspiration from all over the world and the ability to meet people that if not for blogs I would never have gotten to know. Have a great weekend everyone!

Show & Tell

Happy Monday everyone!!

Also a big hello to Wyrna for joining my blog and my mini adventures. So today being very close to October I thought I would do a little show & Tell.  First to show my wonderful pumpkin cauldron made by Ella Rose Miniatures.
I just love, LOVE this... Between the pumpkin shell and the octopus legs it could not be more perfect! Of course now the fight begins as to where it will reside - the potion shop or the big house. Who knows who will win this but Verda is threatening not to clean if it does not go into the house. LOL

Have you ever seen those acrylic boxes that you can put a baseball in as a souvenir?  My lovely mom had a few when the local craft store put them on sale and sure enough I got cool gift. Poke the picture to enlarge it and you can see the little table and chairs she made from scrap wood.  Of course to complete the scene she added pumpkins and Jack Skellington!!
Now if the weather would just get cooler we would be all set!! Have a great week everyone.

Books and clay

Hello everyone Happy almost weekend!
This week I have been bust playing with clay and some old leather I found in the shed.
I don't know if you have the same problem but I always seem to have a smig or pinch of leftover clay and it always ends up in the misc bag. Well when that bag gets full enough I make books like the 3 in the photo. Its rather fun I just take the different colors and in very technical terms just smush them all together until I get these varied swirls. lol then with pale clay i make the rectangle for the inside as pages then wrap the colorful layer on the outside and then cut and shape. Then with a blade or knife I make indentations to make the inside clay look like pages. After I cook the clay to at the recommended temp and time I can then use watered down paint to make the pages more visible.  I also found some scrap leather which I cut and wrapped around pieces of balsa to help fill my bookcase. If you poke the photos you can also see my version of the mouse that was half turned into a cup by one of the still in Hogwarts. Thats it for now I need to go see if I can change that poor mouse back before someone tries to drink from it. Have a great evening.

Potion Shop Witch

And here she is, isn't she wonderful?

Potion Shop

So this weekend I was worked on my second shop of the Street Shops.  I know a long while back I posted pictures of the other shop but this one is the potion shop. If you would like to see a larger version of the photo please give it a poke with the mouse.  The interior walls of this kit were fun to make and a little messy. After sealing the walls with primer I smeared tacky glue and added tissue paper. I think I got more depth/texture in the walls this way and when I painted them I did it in many layers of watered down colors. In the bottom photo I made a rack from scrap wood and wire to hang all the drying plant material that I conveniently found in the back yard. A lot of the non-glass jars are made by me from paper clay including the pumpkins. The scrolls and books are also pieces of scrapbook paper or card stock that I cut, stained, shaped and painted. The small bookcase and cabinet with doors are Michael hutches; the one with doors was broken at the bottom so I cut that part off and aged to look older.  The old lady/witch was a birthday gift made by my mom a few years back. I’ll take close-up of her and the front of the shop when it’s nicer outside to get better light. There you will be able to see the straw broom and the mouse someone partially turned into a cup. The poor dear, that witch really needs to put that mouse back.

Craftroom

A mini forum I belong to has been running an ongoing post about show me your craft room. So in case you wondered where I go to create and build my minis its in this room. The photo on the left is the closet that holds books, gifts from family, rehabs,  and future projects like the 3 shelf box next to the Christmas room box. The other photo on the right is the main wall of the room that holds kits, fabric, lighting and of course the TV and VHS/DVD player. I'll have to take a better/closeup photo but the witch in the orange dress is a cloth doll my aunt made me a few years back. Have I mentioned all the women folk in my family are crafty? My mother currently takes huge bags of wool and washes, dies and then spins it into the most beautiful shades of yarn! Aside from that I'm waiting for the water to receed from all the rain we had on Sunday/Monday from Issac. Back to mining for me.  Have a great day everyone.

House Brownie

I know its 2 posts in a row but I have to tell you I'm just too excited I could almost scream but I don't want to scare her away. If you look closely you can see Verda, the house brownie visiting one of my street shops.

This week I noticed someone had been cleaning up the house especially after the cabinet fiasco but I thought it was my husband. Oh how wrong I was but excited when I noticed we have a new member in the house. She is a bit shy but maybe I can coax her out a bit more later on. 

*Also if you are wondering Verda came from a very talented person named Daphnie from In the Court of the Gypsies.

School spirit

School Spirit...Hogwarts style.
Over the weekend I was busy on many little projects. One was moving 2 rooms around in the house and after finding some supplies and making some too like school banners, required reading and Quibbler magazines all in the bedroom the room is finally coming together I think. I like the trundle bed although it needs a new older looking mattress and some aging on the wood.

The whole house is coming along, I have started the looonng task of making filler books for the bookshelf. The fastest way I have found so far is having different sizes and thicknesses of balsa wood and covering them with either scrapbook paper or printed paper to resemble books. Also I have also come to realize some things will just need to be glued in! I woke to a bang/crash the other night when the kitchen cabinet decided to jump straight off the wall out of the house and onto the living room floor. lol Everything survived but now resides on the floor in the kitchen till I can glue the cabinet in.

Kitchen, bathroom and mice

I believe these are all essentials that every witch or wizard, even the ones in training that have not passed their OWLS yet!   Hmm was that a hint about who will be living in the house?.? Maybe!! (Insert evil grin)

So the kitchen is coming along and as you can see I have added upper and lower cabinets on the back wall. If you are asking yourself that they look familiar, they should. Those are the wooden hutches from Michaels craft store. I’ll see if I can find another one so I can post a before picture. I basically separated the upper and lower parts in half then glued those together side by side. I also added a strip of balsa to the bottom of the lower cabinet to raise the height.  I still need to add a frame around the stove and add the ceiling lights, but it’s getting there. Ohh here is a question for you… The lights I got are LED, the kind that takes watch batteries. So I don’t want to permanently glue them to the ceiling. But I was wondering if something like poster putty, mini hold wax or magnets would work? Has anybody done this before and if so what do you recommend?

The bathroom is almost done, I have to add garbage in the trash can and some dirty clothes or towels thrown on the floor.  Most of the items in here are from 2 Chrysnbon bathroom kits that I glued, stained and added dirt to.  Also I could not resist to add yet another top half of a craft hutch. I must admit I have quite a few of those around. I went a little hutch mad a while back when there were rumors they were no longer going to be selling them and I went to the closest stores and bought all they had! Over the weekend I noticed I have mice that moved in and I’m sure as soon as the cat hears about it all heck will break loose.  But for now I’m not telling, they are just too cute.

I would also like to take a moment to thank all the followers I have and please know I do take the time to read your blogs as well.  I find lots of useful information, eye candy and just plain enjoyment from reading your adventures and looking at all the wonderful creations you come up with.

Have a great week everyone!

Jennybee

Ohh shiny...not anymore

This weekend I pulled out some furniture I had and went to town on dulling and darkening it. Originally you can see the bedroom furniture was very red and shiny but I want it to look old. So after I pulled the fabric off and the mattress I sanded pretty much the whole thing down and then gave it a wash of dark layers. I also did the same with the night stand and dresser.

The fabric I think I may darken with a tea soaking since it looks old already. I’ll try to take a closer picture to show you.

The lamp is one of those LED ones that you can swap out the battery (watch battery). I bought the one you see, a Tiffany lamp and a few ceiling ones that I thought would work well in the house and could be changed out since this house is not electrified. The table in the other photo will go into the kitchen and the other cabinet either the sitting room or one of the rooms on the 3^rd floor.

That’s it for now, I have to go find a few kits I have evidently safely tucked away somewhere in case gnomes invaded and decided they needed them more than I.

Thanks for following my blog and hello to my new followers.  

Nothing but flooring..in the pictures that is.

Do you ever get that little voice in your head that says nope that’s not quite right? Well I did so this weekend I mixed brown & black paint with that stuff that turns acrylic paint into stain and with a paint brush and rag I went to town on the floors. I’d glop some paint/stain on the floors and smush it around. I even made sure to get it on the base boards and in the corners. Then with the cloth I’d wipe it back down. I did this several times so it brought a more worn look to the floors. Between each layer I would let the floor dry; this was easier than I thought considering I have 4 rooms with wood floors.

By Saturday afternoon I had the house flipped upside down and attached the base which then had to stay that way overnight to make sure the glue was good and dry. Sunday I added the front framework on the first and second floor – the 3^rd floor framing will have to wait till I get the roofing done. I’m torn between lead roofing, slate or shingles. The shingles I already have because they came with the kit but for where the house would be I think mainly the roofing is either lead or slate.  Slate I can do in either paper egg cartons or paper clay. The lead would be trickier but again I think I can create that too. I wonder if I can fake lead roofing with sticks and layers of aluminum foil or tissue paper and paint?  I think I need a play date with a mini roofer! lol 

 Have a great week everyone.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

In case anyone wanted to know the size of the kit it's
32"W x 10 1/2"D x 33"H I still don't have the base on to the full height

Biggest I have built yet! One of the best things I liked about the kit is its open in the front and not too deep. The table it will permanently stay on is in the living room and not much deeper than the kit itself. But long enough I could put a greenhouse at one end. /wink  The table is also tall enough that you will not have to bend way down to see into any of the rooms. Once it’s all set up I’ll take a picture of the area to give you a better idea.I have not completely decided on what each room will be aside from:

1^st floor kitchen/hall/sitting room

2^nd floor bathroom/bedroom/study

3^rd floor bedroom/bedroom/storage space

The rooms in bold are still iffy and up for grabs as I go.

I also was able to install flooring, ceiling and baseboards in most rooms and even got the outside walls painted and washed in a dark dingy color to show age. This week I will be staining the wood framework that the acrylic panels sit in and put the base on.

Here is a question for everyone… Do you attached felt to the bottoms of your kits that you place out on tables so they don’t scratch the furniture and can easily be slid? The base is MDF, and I was not sure if I could glue some heavy duty felt to the bottom frame and if so what would be the best glue.  I have actual wood glue, gorilla glue and the standard Arlene’s tacky glue.

I know I have been away for a while but after becoming a proud momma of about a 100 tree frogs (yes I did say frogs). lol   So short story on the baby tree frogs. We have a big rain barrel in the back yard and the adult frogs decided it was the perfect place to lay all of their eggs in one place instead of the pond. Smart frogs right? Yeppers, so instead of the pond fish eating their little ones we got to take care of them. Take care of them you say??? Why yes, you feed them and when the barrel overflows from too much rain we went around the back yard and captured them again and again so they could could have a fighting chance. We really like them and last year we lost a lot of them when we had the cold frosts.




Not to mention all the fun stuff life throws at you well...I have a cool new project. I know I have a few but sometimes you have to take a break from some because... one the mailman rings the doorbell and you hear this little voice in the box saying open me! Well let's just say the little voice wins. In April I had a 40% off coupon and bought the kit you see in the picture. I just love the idea of a front opening house but this one has acrylic panels that are removeable on each floor to help keep you mini treasures safe from little hands and dog hair in my case.


Right now I have the first 2 floors put together and am working on the third. This weekend I'm putting stir stick flooring in and molding. I'll take more pictures and post I swear!

Have a great evening everyone and happy mini-ing!

What can you make with foam core and wallpaper?

 Why a 1 in scale fantasy house for your little faeries, gnomes or whomever would like to move in!!

For my cake day my mom and I took a mini class the local mini club offered and was taught by Ron from Ron's miniatures in Orlando. Because the class was one day, Ron had the basic structure built and the inside already wallpapered. The outside was all up to us. So with an extra roll of wallpaper and strips of foam core he set us on our way. We covered the outside with the paper to give the house more stability and also because its textured it gave the entire house a look of stone/putty. We then cut pieces of foam core  to the shapes we wanted to look like flat stones. **Hint if you smush and slightly bend the foam core it will make creases to give the stones a more realistic look. Then we glued them on with the paper side showing. Some foam core has paper covering both sides or you can get it with only paper on one side.  
Ron also gave us some pre-done stones to give us a rough idea of size and to also help along those who needed it or just to help it not take up so much time. lol
If you can see it we also added strips of heavy poster board randomly to give the look of bricks showing through. Then something I had not used before was paintable caulking as the grout, but it worked and by the end of the day most of the areas on my house was dry. I did not paint mine because I wanted to add smaller stones in between but Ron did show us ways we could paint them with watered down paints and a wet rag.  Right now the house is just looking at me going...Hello!!! I am not finished...You must work on me this very weekend!!  hmm I think i better get more caulking today.

Best mini wishes to all.

Been working on another hutch

I have been working on another hutch for my mom's shop. This one I aged a little differently and added more worn areas. I also knitted a green scarf that's tied around the pitcher of flowers and the purple one next to the jar. I think next time I do that I will need a large magnifying glass. lol  The flowers are also made by me from some flower punches I had laying around. In the closeup picture you can see where i painted the tips of the petals white. Not too bad for a first try I think. I also created a open drawer on the hutch from some left over balsa wood I had. This will allow for even more mini things to be just overflowing in her shop.  The basket of yarn/thread is little pieces of thin card stock that I wrapped embroidery thread around.
Have a great evening everyone, and thanks for reading my blog. 

Been busy this week playin with paper clay. So far I have pumpkins, giant eggs and jars. the two painted pumpkins were my fist attempt a while back and I like that I can air dry them instead of baking them.

Had some sad news too. the local mini shop that has been open for 25 years is closing its doors. So off I went of course and I got all kinds of goodies. Some will be used for Christmas projects and some will probably be used in the building at the mini class I am going to take.  The total haul included: wood strips like base boards and chair rail, glass jars, laser cut fall leaves, canister, tobacco pipe, wood boxes, hat stands, keys, and a resin chair. Ack...the chair hmm now where did it go...  Have a great weekend everyone, thanks for following me on my mini adventures!

Gonna take a mini class for my cake day!

Yepp, I'm all signed up and my seat has been reserved. I'm going to take my first mini workshop in a few weeks it's a fantasy house with a fireplace. Where we will learn a inexpensive way to create stone, brick and stucco. My mom is taking the class too so hopefully I will be able to take a few pics as we build. I like the kit, it's a little wonky but has much appeal. I'm already making vines to attach to the side of the kit, and today I made some paper clay pumpkins too. I'm thinking of a little old cottage, but we shall see once I get started.
But really it should have pumpkins, little known fact about myself I LOVE pumpkins! I eat-em, bake-em, grow-em, make-m, I typically have a few real ones just hanging around the house. They are also in most of the mini scenes I create. For me pumpkins go hand in hand with Halloween, like snow globes and Christmas. That's it for now, I'm off to do another load of laundry.
Have a great week,
Jennybee

Michael's hutches

I had a few of those hutches laying and thought I'd work on them. One of them will be for my mom. She has a kit that is going to be a yarn shop. So I think the lighter one will work and have enough room for skeins of yarn. The first time I separated the top and bottom of the hutch I actually sawed them apart. The next one I did I stuck it in the microwave at 15-20 second intervals untils it warmed the glue enough and allowed for a much easier separation. I think I will stick to that method.

Got another kit!!!

I'm taking a break from my Street Shops and got a 2 story kit to work on. The first floor will be stone and the second floor will be wood planks. The stone floor is made from rolled out paper clay then with my handy knife i just made random shapes, I think it turned out pretty good for my first try. Also the wood floor is just the kit wood which I scored and then indented with a clay tool and then stained with a mix of acrylic paint and a stain compound that turns acrylic paint into a stain. I may put a dirty wash over it to darken it up a bit more.