Stolen Teddy Update

We do have more information about the Teddy Bear that was stolen.  Here is the description: (please see my post from yesterday)

The bear had light
tan mohair fur,was dressed in a micro light blue and white check
with a white sailor collar that extended over his back and
shoulders. He had a little hump back because he was seated. One
of his paws had a little embroidery mark on it, a small flower.
He was about 3" seated and his silhouette was pear shaped because
he was a little bottom heavy. I think the maker was Lorraine
Gardner, but I am not sure. Lorraine Gardner made beautiful
miniature bears and rabbits with swivel arms, legs and heads.
I need to have somebody send me a really good picture of this
exhibit, where they had taken the picture Saturday morning. A
teddy bear was stolen from the exhibit Saturday afternoon that
was sitting in the white chair next to the front door. The
exhibit belongs to Rhona Lee, and needless to say she is
heartbroken. The bear was very expensive, and she had been saving
him to include in a special project. She does not have a picture
of him, so I was hoping one of you had taken a good picture of
the exhibit Saturday morning that shows the bear. Rhona doesn't
care who did it, she just wants the bear returned.
Rhona's address is (she gave me permission to give it out):

Rhona Lee
1455 Welburn Ave
Gilroy, CA 95020
408-847-2065  rhonalee@aol.com <mailto:rhonalee@aol.com>

We also do have a picture although it's small and you will have to go here to see it

https://conniesauve.shutterfly.com/7044

If any of my followers would be able to take a few minutes to put this message on your blog, it would be appreciated.  Teddy wants to go home!

 Til next time
Diane

The "Naturals" Part 2

Shells, shells, and more shells.  Can you tell from my blog background that I love shells?  But before I continue, I want to say that most of the minis I'll be showing were not from any beach I went to.  I had to purchase most of them.  Some beaches are great for shelling, others are not.  I have never found a coral, sand dollar, starfish, seahorse, driftwood or sponge washed up on any  shore.  I have found shark's teeth, clam and scallop shells, black mother of pearl, snails and a variety of "conch" type shells.  Never the less, I want to show you what I made.

These 3 plaques are made out of Fimo I varigated  to look like colors of the ocean.  On the largest one, I put my last seahorse.  It's a little less than an 1" and my very favorite "shell"  The next one is the smallest sand dollar I have left.and is about 5/8" long.  On the last plaque is a snail, sponge, a cone type shell and a starfish. The starfish is 1/4" wide and I have never found any other quite as small.

To give you an idea how small the clam shells are:

Next, a picture is of my real sponge that I bought off of a sponge fisherman from Tarpon Springs (Florida).

My sponge in miniature.

These last two pictures are from some previous posts showing how many minis I was able to make ( Please see post about "Matty's Blue Seas Bistro, 1,2, and 3 )

I hope you've enjoyed this post and maybe have gotten some inspirations on working with shells.

Unfortunately, I am ending this post on a "sour note"  It appear that there has been another stolen miniature.

Here is the post from one of my mini groups and I do have permission to post it here.

A teddy bear was stolen from the exhibit Saturday afternoon that was sitting in the white chair next to the front door. The exhibit belongs to Rhona Lee, and needless to say she is heartbroken. The bear was very expensive, and she had been saving him to include in a special project. She does not have a picture of him, so I was hoping one of you had taken a good picture of the exhibit Saturday morning that shows the bear. I would like to post a picture of the bear online and hopefully she will be able to get him back. Rhona doesn't care who did it, she just wants the bear returned. I will post a picture of the bear if I receive one.

Rhona's address is (she gave me permission to give it out):

Rhona Lee

1455 Welburn Ave

Gilroy, CA 95020

408-847-2065

Taken from the Good Sam show October 12,13 in San Jose. Ca.  So, this is a plea to the person who took this teddy.  Please return it.  Just think how good you will feel, when working on your minis, knowing that you did the right thing

Till next time

Diane

The "Naturals" - Part 1

Being a "Trash to Treasures person", I am always on the lookout for all sorts of supplies, courtesy of Mother Nature.  Every state has all sorts of natural ingredients that can be adapted to miniatures. But when I lived in Illinois, for some reason, I never really bother to look for them.  But since I moved to Florida, I found a whole "nother" world.

The fairy chair I received in a swap a while back but didn't come with the leaf back.  I added that yesterday to dress it up a little.  This is where I got it from.

I don't know what this bush is called but I named the "garbage tree"  Even when its trimmed up, it still looks kind of shabby..  Very popular here in Florida.  But look what I got from it

The neat thing about this bush is that the leaves turn colors throughout the whole year and they come it all sizes.  The smallest ones are perfect scale for any fall scene you may want to do.

And here's how you preserve them

You will need 2 pressing cloths ( I think any scrap piece of fabric will do)
Two pieces of wax paper
Leaves
Iron

Lay down one pressing cloth.  Lay 1 sheet of wax paper on top.  Then lay your leaf on top that.  Now lay the 2nd piece of wax paper on top of the leaf.  Finally, the 2nd pressing cloth goes on top the wax paper.

Set you iron on DRY HEAT- low temperature.  Now, just start ironing, using a circular motion (don't forget the stem)  It will take about 8-10 seconds.  When done, immediately separate the layers and gently remove the leaf.  What you've done basically is coat the leaf in wax to preserve it.  I'm not sure how long it will last but I should think quite a long time.

But Wait!  There's more!  I also got these:

The seeds dry on the stem and turn into "miniature apples" Perfect size and color.




.

And finally this 

This is the stem that the seeds come off of.  I intend to use this as a filler in a bouquet.  All I have to do is put on a dot of white paint on the ends and trim it up.  Kind of like Queen Ann's Lace.

I hope this post gave you some ideas on using natural material in you minis.  The best thing is that it's a renewable resource!

Til Next Time

Diane

For Halloween...

Finally finished this room box last night and I have to say that it was really fun to do  Room boxes can be addictive so I just may have to make a lot more than I planned

First, the inside-  This was the easiest part to do and turned out pretty much like I planned.  I think it shows off most (but not all) of my Halloween minis along with some fall decor.  I have plans for the remaining minis and will be working on that scenario next

The outside lid took the longest.
 I experimented with the colors. I had 6 shades of gray (not 50 like the book, just 6) and after deciding on the main color, I used the others as accents.  I  practiced making the stormcloud freehand on scrape paper and when it was do-able, I was able to copy it to the lid.  I did use some chalk pastels for blending.  The lightening is embroidery floss, stiffened, shaped and glued on.

The witch is  free clip art printed off my computer and decoupaged on.

The bats are plastic from a "Mardi Gras" type necklace we got last year at a party, They're a bit large but I consider them "mega-bats"

Here is a close up of the lightening.








For the inside lid- same color gray as the outside and I added another moon. Two of the more unique
minis you see here are a wonderful door and a rock with a face- a talking rock Cool.

The ghosts are tissue paper and are opaque.  You can kind of see thought them, which is what I wanted.

















Now, not only have I taken my swaps and gifts out into daylight again, but I've made myself some extra room.  All in all, I am very pleased. Hope you like it!

My next project is well underway and I hope to have it done in the next few days.  So until next time, take care
Diane

Hello again!  I really hope everyone had a good summer and that  you are looking forward to a great fall season.
And a hardy Welcome to my new followers! It is nice to "meet" you and I hope you enjoy my blog. Although I'm terrible at replying to comments, I do appreciate them.

Fall is my favorite time of year.  Even in Florida we see can the trees change color, smell the faint smoke of leaves being burnt and a little later in the fall, I will be indulging in apple cider or hot chocolate ( yes, hot chocolate especially in the cooler evenings)

This picture is 1 of 4 permanent "displays" I put together, (before we moved last year) mainly to show off some of my swaps.  The other 3 have the themes of winter, spring and summer.  I have 5 dollhouses, one vignette ( where many of my swaps, kits and creations are) but no roomboxes.

At one time I was a prolific swapper, some one-on-one but mostly central point swaps.  I had to quit all swapping about 2 years ago when my hubby and I decided to put our house up for sale.  ( I just started swapping again through some of my groups on Yahoo.) The first things to be packed up (while we painted and fixed things up) were mostly my "loose" minis.  These were minis that I just set out around the house, on bookcases, curio cabinets and nic nac shelves, etc- just little groupings.  So this last week while I straightened out my craft room, it occurred to me that most of the stuff I was moving around were box after box of the minis I had packed away almost 2 years ago!  Mainly swaps but also Michael's hutches, House of Miniatures kits and things I had purchased for "my someday" projects.   Even though I no longer have the nic nac shelves or bookcase, I do have other options.  So, I've embarked on a mission to make some more vignettes and a few roomboxes.  Some will be permanent, others temporary.  This should keep me busy for a long time.  Hopefully I'll be able to show you my Halloween roombox in the next few days. Almost done.

I came across a new blog the other day that I'd like to tell you about.  Lisa T has just started blogging and although she may be new to blogland, she is not new to miniatures. I really liked what I saw. Check out her blog and pictures at http://miniaddictions.blogspot.com/  I did not hesitate to become a follower.

Well, that"s it for today.  I have to get back to my Halloween roombox, want to show it off before Halloween passes me by

Til Next time
Diane

Signature Quilt

Hello!.  I hope everyone is having a good summer.  It's very rainy and hot here in Florida but the sun does come out once in a while

Does anyone out in "blogland" have one of these beautiful  quilts? It is from my first swap (AOL scale miniature group) from 1999! and one of my most cherished minis.  I know some of the signers are still around because I recognize some names.  If I  remember correctly, all swappers sent 3-4 squares of small print fabric to a miniaturist in Australia who offered to sew  then together for a quilt. We signed it with name, city, state/county and the year. And this is what we got in return.  I was so thrilled at how it turned out!  For many years it's just been laying on the bed in my lighthouse but the other day I decided to form it to the bed so it would lay more natural.

 

.
Now it you think this is an endorsement for Stiffen Stuff, you're right.

I also stiffened some bows for a more natural "hanging" look.  Just make sure that the pins are inside the loop hole and don't pierce the ribbon.  For the tails, cut them 1/2 longer than needed.  For these you will be piercing the ribbon.  When completely dry, just trim.




Well, this was just a short update as to what I've been up to since my last post.  Now, It's vacation time!  Til next time...
Diane

Making curtains

What's this?  Another post so soon?..  I'm rather embarrassed that I forgot to mention in my last post that I am newly RETIRED!.  Have lots of spare time now.

I am nearly done with the construction part of my Fishing cabin but decided to take a break and start on making more accessories. I really wanted to start working with fabric so made some curtains and a valance. I don't know where this came from, but this method has been in the back of my mind for ages. Until now, none of my dollhouses needed curtains ( Flower shop, Wizards tower, Lighthouse or Bistro).  I am so very pleased at how these turned out that I will use the same method when I make drapes for my next dollhouse. As usual, I suggest you make a sample first.  Measurements are very important

You will need:

Styrofoam block covered with wax paper-not shown
Material- size depends on your window measurements.  Add a little extra for the width adjustment
Clamps- at least 3
Two pieces of very stiff wire- (one will be for the valance).  These will be your curtain rods
       Each of the wires will be different lengths, one for the curtain and one for the valance.  Cut them at least  2" longer than you need. You can trim the excess off later
Craft sticks- I use Skinny Sticks. They are only 6" long but 1/4" wide which makes them perfect for this
     project.
Fray-chek
Long needle with a very large eye
Stiffen Stuff- There is no chemical listing as to what this is made of, but I assume it's a form of liquid starch
     (don't take my word for it though).  I feel comfortable using it.  It comes in a pump spray bottle
* Optional-Trim- either fabric or a very thin ribbon.

You will be "weaving" the fabric over and under the craft sticks as this picture shows.  Be sure the very first stick and the very last stick are on the outside of the fabric.  We will be clamping the sticks together and you don't want to leave any imprints.

At this point, you just might want to just keep going, and going and going (adding more sticks) to cover the full width of you window. ( It's easy to cut in half to make 2 panels.)  Hopefully your clamps will expand wide enough but mine did not so I had to make 2 panels.   Make sure the fabric lays smoothly on the sticks and secure with clamps.

Now the fun part.  Instead of spraying the stiffener on, I took the cap off, held the styrofoam over a bowl and poured it on.  Worked much faster.  Let dry 24hrs.  When dry, gently remove the sticks.  Hold the curtains up to the window to see how much you need to trim off.  After trimming, apply Fray-chek..  This is what you should have.

Another fun part.  Take your needle and thread the curtain onto it, about 1/4" from the top.  The purpose of this is to make a hole that you can thread your wire through.  I had a little trouble with the holes closing up so I did have to clip 1 or 2 threads to make the hole wide enough.

*Optional- I took some ribbon and  wove it over and under the craft sticks just like I did the curtains and soaked it in Stiffen Stuff.  Now the trim is shaped the same and it's just a matter of gluing it to the curtains.

After all this work, this is what it should look like.  Now it's just a matter of bending the ends of the curtain rod to fit your window.  Whew!  This part is done.

For the Valance- I stitched a very narrow casing and threaded the wire though.  After gathering it as full as I wanted, I dunked it into Stiffen Stuff, let it dry and bent the wire

As soon as I'm ready to hang them up, I'll get another picture.


ABOUT BLOGGING

I really need some help here (pleading on bended knee) .  I'll try to explain my problems as best I can along with some questions.

First.  Is Google Reader (the one that has been discontinued) the same thing as Google Friends connect?

          Can people still become followers using Google Friends Connect or do I need a different gadget?

          ( I'm planning a giveaway this fall and am asking the participants to become followers)

Second.  I have Bloglovin and can read the blogs I follow from there.

               I can still read the blogs I follow off my Dashboard.

But when I view my blog, I noticed that over half of the blogs I follow are missing from my Blogroll.  How can I get them back?  Most are supported by Google but do I have to add them manually?

It's very stressful being so Blogger ignorant..  Any help is truly appreciated.

Well'  I'm off to "de-stress" my self and make some more minis

Til next time....
Diane