My first poll

I just added a poll and hope all of you vote.  It's just something I have been wondering about for some time.  It will be interesting to see the results.  If there isn't an exact answer that fits you, please leave a comment.

Blogging

I'm still working my way thru this whole blogging thing and will be adding a few more features soon,  First, I  will be adding links to all the blogs of the people who are following me (along with a few others). I really enjoy all your blogs and appreciate your support.  The tuts, diys and pictures have been very informative and inspiring,
The second thing I would like to add would be some polls.  I am very curious about how other people do certain things (such as gluing, painting, etc.).  So please stay turned.

More Lighthouse pics

I am adding a few more pictures of my lighthouse along with some accessories I'd like to use.  The bell will become a foghorn once I paint it gray but I'm not sure about the seagulls yet- they may be out of scale.  Also, there is a harpoon that I just had to have.  I am very anti-whaling but since this was a part of American history, I will be using it.

This last picture show a quilt that I will be putting on the bed once I make one that is to scale.  It is from one of the first swaps I ever participated in ( AOL miniatures group) and an international one at that!  Each swapper sent several pieces of fabric to a central point and on one of the pieces, we signed our name, where we were from and the date- 1999.  Three of the swappers were from Australia and another from the U.K.  It is one of my most favorite swaps.

Camper's Coffe Pot

For the camper's coffe pot, you will need a heavy duty staple, a desiccant, a small strip of heavy duty paper, a seed beed, a permanent bonding glue (like superglue), silver spray paint and a sharp piercing tool ( I used an eyeglass screwdriver). 

CAUTION- You may want to try some other way of piercing the desiccant ( for the coffee pot handle).  It may slip out of your hand and give you a nasty little poke and I really don't want that to happen. Please be careful.

A desiccant is a moisture absorber that come in some bulk precription bottles that pharmacies use.  They are very hard to come by.  I doubt that Walgreens or Walmart pharmacies will save them for you but you might try a small "Mom and Pop" pharmacy.  Some come in little pillow shapes while others come in a variety of cylindrical shapes. I use them as as shampoo bottles and canned goods as well as cannisters.

First, you will need to mark the placement of the handle.  I did this by dipping the prongs of the staple into a shallow pool of brown paint. Then I gently touched the prongs to the side of the cylinder to leave two little dots of paint.  This is where I placed my eyeglass screwdriver and began rotating it back and forth applying a steady pressure.  It worked!  Again, please be careful.

Once the staple was in, I applied two dots of superglue.  White glue is not recommended as it is possible that it will not  stick to the plastic desiccant very well.

Next, fold the small piece of paper in half and cut out a small triangle approximately 1/4 " tall and 1/8" wide.

This is just an estimate, you may need to adjust.  Dry fit this spout to the desiccant.  Please refer to the first photo as to the actual shape of the spout.  You will need to trim off the 1/8" side so that it is paralell to the lid. Once you have the correct shape, superglue it to the desiccant opposite the handle.

Once dry, spray paint it silver.  And the final step is to glue the seed bead to the lid.  For a more realistic coffee pot, you can add a little dark brown or black paint to the base for that slighly scorched look.

The last step is to paint the handles black.  And there you go!!

A long absense

It's been much too long between my last post and now, but real life hit me on the shoulder and said "pay attention".  So I  took care of what I had to and  hopefully it will be smooth sailing for a while.

I have added a new side label to my blog called HIMIs/Tuts- abbreviation for "HowI Made It"  and tutorials. Most of the tips, tricks, and tuts are not mine to claim and I will try to give credit where it is due.  However, some I have used for years and don't recall where I learned them.  Please let me know if they are truly yours and I will be glad to mention your name.

So, who wants to make a camper's stove top coffee pot?

My Lighthouse

"The Lighthouse at Gavin's Bay" (named after one of my grandsons) was a dream to put together.  All the pieces were there, they all fit, and very little sanding was needed.  The only drawback was that it was very heavy.  I decided not to get the lightkeeper house but instead made the first two floors as the residence.  The top floor is the "base of operations".

The upper right hand picture shows the only thing I added to the light deck, a trap door.

  

This is the top floor, the operations center. The desk and chair are made from a punch out kit but I made the workbench.  For the pegboard, I used perforated paper.  I still have to add some maps, charts, a new ladder to the light deck and maybe a cozy rug or two.  

If there is something else you think I should add, please leave a comment and let me know.

I will be adding more picture soon, so please stop by.       

Lighthouses

All my life, I have been crazy over lighthouses.  Many years ago, my husband and I took several tours around Lake Michigan and  I still get chills whenever I look at all the pictures we took.  One of my favorites is the White River Lighthouse In Whitehall, Michigan.  Below is a link so please take a look.
http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=G4902

Naturally, when I saw the Lighthouse from RGT, I simply had to have it.  Altho these 2 light houses are different in structure, I love them both.

I'll be adding more and better
pictures soon under the tab "Lighthouse at Gavin's Bay"