Candy Canes

I've been wanting to try making candy canes for a while, so even though it's only November, I couldn't hold myself back any longer!

Honestly, this was just way too much fun! ;)  And pretty easy too..  It felt good to start something I could finish the same evening.

Oh, and I made a couple pumpkins too, although they didn't turn out quite as well.  I noticed afterwards that I made the leaves wrong for a pumpkin.  In the pictures I can see that I was getting lazy and there are some fuzzies in the clay.  That's ok though, it was just an experiment.  ;)

Update

Obviously, I haven't had much time to post lately... the story of my [busy] life.  Sunday night was pretty much the only time I really had time to work on my miniature projects.  I got a tiny bit more done on my courtyard project, but mainly just worked on painting the the features on my doll's face.  Don't laugh, this is pretty much my first attempt. ;)  I think her mouth is the worst part- I'll pay more attention to that next time I try sculpting.  I'm still trying to thing of a name for her..

I took a few pictures of my progress... sorry some of the pictures turned out weird- her skin colour is actually closest to the picture at the top of the post.  I'm still not sure how to costume her... I want something flowing and elegant I think... it's just so hard to achieve that with the fabric I have in my stash.  I'll let you know if I come up with any ideas or make any more progress! ;)

I found this silky fabric from a sash/belt thing that I really like.  It's pretty narrow though, so I'll have to see what I can come up with.  No, the dress probably won't look anything like this, I was just seeing what the fabric looked like on the doll! :)  As you can see, I have made a tiny bit of progress on the courtyard.  It's really slow going though, especially when I only have about 20 minutes of free time per week!  Sorry for the pity party, I'll stop now. lol! 
Until next time! 

New Horizons...

As you probably already know, I have mostly worked in 1/2" scale.  Although I still don't have room for much else, I have dreams of building a 1" scale dollhouse someday... so I summoned up all my courage and plunged into sculpting a 1:12 doll.  Technically this is the third doll I've made... I made one for practice years ago that isn't really in any scale, and I tried (key word: tried) to sculpt a doll in 1/2" scale but that was a little too tiny for my fingers.  And even more difficult to paint details!

Anyhow... I finished the sculpting of my new doll last night, and I thought I'd share so that it doesn't appear that I've vanished off the face of the earth.  Although with all the things I'm involved in this year, sometimes I feel like I'm going to be drowned in it ;)

So here she is! Right now, bald and bland, she's a doll only the creator could love.  Makes me grateful for my Creator who so lovingly made me, "imperfections" and all. :) 

I wrapped her in a scrap of a lace handkerchief for the photos.  I'm really looking forward to dressing her for real, albeit a little nervous about it.  I think the lace suits her though- her costume might end up incorporating some of that lace.  She's kind of an elegant, old-fashioned type I think. 

Here she is with the 1/2 scale doll I did before.  It's amazing how much difference there is in size! Unfortunately the 1/2 scale doll's hands broke off, what with all that adjusting her for different poses and crushing her in drawers.  Yes, she's bald too. :(  Poor thing.  My goal for this week is wigging both of them.  One thing I'm pretty happy about is that both of them can stand without any support, which is handy. 

Progress

Well, here is the latest on my courtyard room box.  A big thanks to my brother for helping me cut the wood and assemble it!  Here it is with the bricks installed and a start on the walls.  Still a long ways to go yet.... It's starting to come together though!

Mondo di Favola giveaway

Elena from Mondo di Favola is having her first giveaway! Enter at  http://mondodifavola.blogspot.com/

Thrift -Store Finds

I always love a good bargain! :)  Yesterday I made a stop at the local second hand store and found these...

These fabric samples cost 25 cents for the whole bunch- I'm thinking they'll be good for upholstery.  

Shell necklace- 50 cents.  

Chenille hair for hairing dolls. -- 25 cents

Cute little speckled eggs - 37 cents.

I'm pretty happy with my purchases, seeing as it all came to $1.37.  I have tons of project ideas floating around in my head now, but not enough time to do them.  I dismantled the necklace and put the shells and eggs in a drawer in my shelf organizer thingy.  Hopefully they will be useful and not just sit there forever! ;)  I am working on a few projects at the moment, so I'll post them soon hopefully!

Thank you!

A big thank you to my new followers! 

Marlene, at http://somersethouseaproject.blogspot.com/
Lataina
Anna, at http://miniannalee.blogspot.com/
Núria, at http://mininuris.blogspot.com/
Nina (another one!), at http://minimumm.blogspot.com/
Lara, at http://larasminiatureworld.blogspot.com/

It's so exciting to be able to connect and be inspired by miniaturists and bloggers from around the world! 

I don't paint....

Okay, so I know I said I don't paint, but somehow I accidentally-on-purpose started painting two 1" scale paintings *gasp*.  lol I know, I try to stick with 1/2", but I wasn't ready to try it that small yet!  I have this idea in mind to make a 1:12 scale French restaurant, modeled after the one I visited when I was in Paris.  The paintings I just did are more Spanish or Italian in style, but they have a hint of French impressionism too, so maybe I'll include them in the cafe.  It was an extremely eclectic restaurant after all! ;)  I'm getting way ahead of myself here, seeing as I still need to finish my courtyard roombox, but I can't help but get a little excited.  I'm a dreamer after all...

Anyhoo, here are the paintings I did... still need to make some frames.  I know they are poor offerings, but I must post something, so here they are. Just think impressionism... and remember they are small  ;) lol sorry for the excuses!

Garden Courtyard..

I have been working on making a kind of courtyard garden roombox... I've had the idea floating around in my head for a while, and it's starting to come together little by little.  Here is the start of one of my first experiments with cardboard bricks (out of eggcarton).  This stage is what has taken the most time- I counted over 300 bricks to be individually glued to the surface!  This will eventually be the floor- I just need to grout and seal it.  I'm planning on making stone walls using a similar technique.

First stage:  sponging on the first layer of terra cotta paint

Next: adding other colours- orange, brown, red, white...

Finished product!  Just awaiting grout.  (sorry the colours aren't quite right on my camera- it's a little more red than brown)

Today, I made a bench to be part of the scene.  Materials used are craft sticks, toothpicks, and paper painted to resemble wrought iron.  I'm noticing now that the black paint needs to be touched up a little- amazing the flaws that cameras point out! ;)  Here it is, as well as a barrel I made out of toothpicks the other day.

Past Projects

A few things I've made in the past...  I mostly create in 1:24 scale, seeing as space is limited.  I'm pretty happy with most of them- seeing as they are all first attempts.  The abacus was quite the fiddly job.  I still don't quite have the courage to try to get rid of the wires poking out of the sides. ;-)  The chalk board is simply a piece of cardboard painted black on a tripod stand made of toothpicks.  I'm quite happy with the embroidered cushion (it's only about 1/4" square).  The peaches are made out of homemade bread clay, dusted with red pastel for the blush.  And the knitting basket is woven out of white embroidery thread; the balls of yarn are thread wrapped around beads; and the little knitted piece is attached to two little knitting needles made of thin wire.

Introducing... me, myself, and I.

Well... Hello there!  I'm new to blogging in general, and miniature blogging in particular, but after viewing some amazing blogs I feel both inspired (and a little daunted too) to create my own.  I'll try to update as often as possible, but I apologize in advance for any lapses, since I am a full-time student, and only a sporadic miniaturist.  I'm just learning and experimenting with the whole miniature-making thing, but I love creating things... unfortunately I also have a chronic habit of leaving things unfinished.


Now that I've made myself sound really bad, I'd better post something a little more interesting. ;)

So, onward we go!