Hello dear readers and followers!
Four months is a long time not to post to my blog or make some minis and it's been quite frustrating.  Having packed up my minis in August for the move to a new house, I fully expected to be up and running long before now.  But after several delays, I am finally settled in.  I know I won't have time to do all that I want before Christmas because the first order of business will be to repair the minor damage done to my dollhouses during the move.  Easily repaired but it may take a little time.

By the way, for any of you who may have to pack up and move, I do have some advice for you, based upon my personal experience.

First, do not throw anything away before you move.  Move it with you and after you're settled, decide what you want to keep.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I wish I had some of my stuff back ( loose beads, small pieces of wood, scraps of material).

Second, re-organize just a little.  In my old house, I had a certain place (or shelf) for glue and paints, for fabric and trims, etc.  Now, in my new house, I have arrange all my stuff in the same order.  The glue will always be next to the paint, fabric next to the trim, etc.  It saves a lot of frustration to remember the general location of how you used to store your stuff.

Lastly, I did go to a thrift shop and  picked up a lot of inexpensive, second hand food storage conatiners.  Great for not only minis but all sorts of stuff.
They stack pretty well and I don't feel bad using a marker to label them.

Well, I'm off to start making some outdoor planters complete with flowers and greenery.  Hopefully, I have some photos soon.

Thank you all and have a great day!

I have been diligently working on two hanging planters that I have made out of quilling paper but, alas, they have not turned out as well as I had hoped.  Finally, after the 3rd try, I made a rose planter and a spider plant also in a hanging basket.  Please forgive the lousy pictures but hopefully you will get the general idea.

First, I made the planter using 3 strips of quilling paper and making a tight coil.  Then I gently pushed out the center to forn a bowl.  As soon as I got the right depth, I immediately coated the entire inside with a thin layer of glue.  I didn't want the coil to collapse on me.  Then I took 2 lengths of a certain type of crochet cotton ( I don't know what type of thread this is, sorry) and made the hanging "ropes".  It is very important that they be the exact same lengths.  I realize now that I should have made them longer.

For the hanging roses-
For filler, I took some moss, doused it in forest green paint to enhance the color and glued it to the inside of the planter.  Next, I added a jewelry jump ring for the hanging part.  Finally, I added some quilled roses.

For the spider plant, I did things a little differently.

  Instead of using moss for the filler, I took a 2" strip of 3/8' wide quilling paper and  made a very loose coil and glued it to the center of the basket.  I needed a sturdy base on which to glue the individual leaves.

Making the leaves was a long process.  Using 1/8" wide quilling paper in "leaf green" , I then cut 1/8" wide strip of off white, then cut that  in half lengthwise and glued it down the middle of the green.

The last photo shows one of the "babies" I made just by gluing tiny pieces of left over paper to the ends of one leaf.  It really does look better in real life.  I will be putting these in my Flower Shop.

This is pretty much all that I have been able to complete so far this summer.  About a month ago, we sold our house and bought a new one.  I am really excited about this as I will have my very own craft room!  Of course, all staning, painting and sanding will still be done in the garage but at least the majority of my minis will all be in one place.  But packing up my minis has been a real eye-opener.  I have come across soooo many incompleted projects that I set them aside in their own box and will make a very determine attempt to complete most of them--once I can unpack again.   It will still be a few weeks before we actually move so I did keep out one small kit, the Heart Arbor, and this will have to keep me occupied for the rest of the summer.

Last note.  I want to let you  know how much I really appreciate all of my followers and those of you who have encouraged me to continue with my blog, despite my long absences.  It means a lot to me to know that I might be contributing something of value to the world of miniatures.  Thank you.

TTYL

Diane

Dilemma

Where to display my dollhouses and miniatures has never been a dilemma til this last year.  When we moved to Florida 6 years ago and I saw our house, I figured there would be plenty of space to set up a nice display area in a cental location for everyone to see my miniatures.   But three dollhouses and two vignettes later and I'm running out of room.  My floral shop is in my lanai where my plants are, my Bistro is in the kitchen where the food is and my lighthouse is in our livingroom which has a nautical theme.  My poor Wizard's Tower is stuck in my bedroom until I can figure something out.  The settings themselves are ok but I really didn't want them  scattered all over .   So, this is what my new poll is about.

Where do you display your dollhouses, vignettes and miniatures?    There may be more (or better) options than what I've listed , so please choose the answer that fits you best and as always, feel free to leave a comment.
 I will be back shortly to show you my hanging baskets along with a short tutorial on how I made them (so stay tuned!)

Fruit Bowl and Candy Dish

While I had my quilling paper out preparing for the next class, I took some time out to a made a few fruit bowls , baskets and hanging planters. I've made many fruit bowls over the years and used them for one of my first ever swaps many years ago. Here is how I did it.

The first thing is to, of course, get your supplies together. You will need quilling paper, glue, a blunt pencil and some type of quilling tool to make your coil. If you do not have a quilling tool, you can use a long dollmakers needle or even a toothpick.

This first picture shows a needle tool, a slotted tool and a toothpick

The small disc in the next picture is less than 1/2" while the disc tor the bowl is about 3/4"

For the base, I used 1 strip of 1/8 wide paper 18" long (next time I will use 1/16th inch wide paper for a more delicate look.) After making a small, tight disc for the base, I took a very blunt pencil and gently pushed out the very center about 1/4" high for the stem of the bowl. Be careful not to push out too far or the center of the disc will pop out. The tighter the disc, the better.  Once you're done, coat the entire bottom and inside the stem with a thin layer of glue

The bowl is 30" of quilling paper, in a tight coil.

Take this larger disc and gentlly push out the center to form the bowl.  Once done, coat the inside of the bowl with glue.  When dry, attach the base to the bowl.  You may have to hold this in place for a minute or so and be sure to view the bowl from all angles to make sure it is level.

Hopefully, you will have somethis like this.  Fill with fruit, veggies or flowers if you want. The smaller bowl will be used as a candy dish, as soon as I make fimo chocolates!

If you think you would like to try this project, there are several things to consider.  First,  my "tight coil" may not be the same size as your "tight coil" so experiment with different lenghts of quilling paper.  Second, altho scale is important, remember the bowls come in all shapes and sizes.  Third and last, do not get discouraged if things don't turn out right the first time around.  All of this will take a little practice.

Well, that's it for today.  I truly hope you enjoyed this tut and if you make some of these, please let us know how they turned out.  Next post will be a hanging basket!

Til next time!

Side Tables

Hello everyone!  I haven't given up on my blog but 4  months is a long time between postings and for that I do apologize.  Good fortune has come my way along with the new year so my minis have been very few.  First, I got a new job and altho it's full time now, it will be part time in June (which is what I really want.)  Then I was asked to teach several classes in paper quilling, my second favorite craft.  Preparing for classes has taken up most of my spare time but I did manage to do a few mini projects.

This first one uses 2 pizza box spacers as the base for a round table.  I'm not sure who came up with this idea but I have made several similar tables and they all turned out great.

In addition to the spacers, you will need fabric, Fray-Check, a 2" cardboard circle and a paint brush

First, I glued the two spacers together so the height of the table is about 3".  Then I cut a 2" diameter circle out of thin cardboard and covered it with  two 2 1/2" circles of fabric.  If I used only one circle of fabric, the color of the cardboard would show through.  But, before I glued the circles on, I painted the edges with Fray-Check to prevent un-raveling.



The fabric I used was a linen napkin that had a finished edge to it which also servered as a decorative hemline.  I then cut a 3 1/2" strip, gathered it with a basting stitch and glued it to the edge of the cardboard.

Lastly, I tied a decorative cord to hide the basting stitch.  This last picture shows a shorter table using only one spacer.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and if you have any questions please, send an email or leave a comment.

Til next time!

Neat Youtube Video

Every now and then, I visit Youtube and check out any videos about dollhouses and miniatures.  So when I found out about this one, I had to pass it on.  I highly recommend this video so please check it out, you'll be very glad you did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NTV-v_n2CI

To find out more about the Great American Dollhouse Museum, follow this link.  Fascinating!
http://www.thedollhousemuseum.com/

I sincerely welcome my new followers and hope you enjoy this blog.  Remember, if you are having any give-a-ways, please let me know and I will put a link on my sidebar.  I have several more yet to list but will gladly take more.

I haven't done any minis this week because I have two wonderful visitors this week- my daughter and grandson from Illinois.  Although it's been cold here in Florida, we are having a great time.

I hope the new year is going well for all of you.  Mine couldn't be better
TTYL
Diane

Belated Happy New Year!

A day late but wishes to all for a great New Year!

Along with the new year comes new resolutions and like many miniaturists, I have quite a long list.
First, is to get and stay organized.  Sometimes, I get frustrated not being able to find what I want when I want it.  That can really slow things down.  So, I started sorting through my stash, labeling shoeboxes and actually throwing out some things I'll never use.  Almost done.  Just hope it stays that way throughout the year.

Second, is to make up several kits I have had for quite a while.  Wind chimes, rose arbor (just to mention a few.)  These aren't hard or time consuming so they will be done soon.

Third, I have a lot of DIY projects in mind that I have come across and saved from various blogs and websites.  I'll be trimming this list quite a bit as I am no longer going to make many of them.

Last of all. I am working on a small dollhouse that I would like to electrify using LED lights.  I have never done this before, so if anyone out there know of a good tutorial, please let me know.

As promised, here are photos of the last 2 shadow boxes I have put together. The first is for all the other  holidays we have thoughout the year and ths secnd one is summertime fun.



As some of you may have noticed on my sidebar, I am featuring two give-a-ways from other blogs.  Please click on the photo and take a look, they a wonderful.

If anyone knows of any other give-a-ways ( yours or from another site), let me know and I will be glad to add it.

See you in a few days!