My Miniatures Journal

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