Hello and good morning!  Welcome to my new followers!  I hope you enjoy my blog.

Sometimes, when I look and all the minis I have made since my last post, I think I've done quite well and at other times, think I could have done more.  I did plan a few days away from minis to clean up my yard and
get some sun.  But I'll show you a little of what I've accomplished

First, my needlepoint.  I made a bell pull that I will be using in my next dollhouse (Georgian) and really had fun making my own design.  Although the picture doesn't show it very well, it is of pink and burgundy roses.
It is 6" long and 3/8" wide and done on 22 ct cloth.  That is about the smallest count I can do right now.  Since I don't have any idea on what the size of a bellpull should be, I just guessed.

The other item is a table runner ( not quite done ) to be used on a tea cart I have while the two smaller pieces will be napkins.

Unfortunately, my next needlepoint project will take a little while.  Because I have.... Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!!!  (Nooooo!  I am a miniaturist and don't want it! )  Sigh. I had an idea last summer that I might have a problem when I went kayaking a lot.  At the end of the season, my thumbs and wrists were tender from paddling but when I stopped for the season  it went away.  I consider this a temporary setback so armed with Advil, I will do what I can.

In light of all this, I decided to concentrate on what I could do.  So I made some furniture for The Lighthouse at Gavin's Bay.  I've always wanted a chart table and chart holder and they turned out better than I expected.  Next, I printed of some "time zone" clocks ( the ones you may see at an airport where they list the times in London, Paris, New York, etc).  To make them stand out a little, I mounted them on tight coils of quilling paper. The last thing I worked on was printies.  Lots of books, games, magazine and childrens stuff.  That went well.  Next time I post I will have pictures

About printies... I really appreciate all the people who so unselfishly share their printies.  It's made a big difference for a lot of us.  So to all you  "printies people" out there, Thank you!

I hope you all are enjoying some good weather so until next time...take care!
Diane

Detachable roofs

Hello everyone!  I hope you're getting some nice spring weather.  It finally arrived here in my part of Florida and it's been great.  Took a few days off and went boating, beach combing and eating at some of our favorite outdoor restaurants.  Nothing like warmth and sunshine.

A while ago, there was a question on one of my Yahoo groups about making a dollhouse roof detachable.  After looking at the fishing cabin, I thought "why not give it a try"  And it worked!  First, I had to glue the roof supports together and position them in the attic using masking tape.  Then I glued the two roof pieces together.  For this, I brought out the "father" of all glues...EPOXY!  The roof pieces were so heavy that I didn't want to take the chance of them coming apart or shifting ( I'm out of wood glue and didn't trust craft glue.).  I had to hold the pieces in place for about 5 minutes until the epoxy was set and then, with the help of my hubby, taped them together until the epoxy cured.  After that, it was just a matter of applying epoxy to the top edge of the roof supports, setting the roof on top and letting everything cure.  I took off the masking tape and now have a... detachable roof!  Cool!

I have spent quite a bit of time reading blogs, surfing the web and doing general cleanup of my computer.  When I heard about this new blog, I was very interested in her projects and became a follower.   Although Mindy is just getting started, I really like what I see.  Stop by and take a look
http://sandycoveminiatures.blogspot.com/

Now, about my boo-boos.  I try not to think about them too much because I get irritated with myself.  I used scrapbook paper for flooring in my attic.  I though I had measured twice and cut once, but I must have cut a second time because it was about 1/8" short on one side.  I will be fixing this by attaching a baseboard all around the attic.
The second mistake took time to fix but turned out well.  I love texturing but in this case, I applied the texture all the way to the bottom edge of the wall.  ( I knew better but all my "knowing" left me when I started.)  When I tried to slide the wall into the groove in the base, it wouldn't fit.  Texturing made the wall too thick.  So out came my metal file, sandpaper and a craft knife.  Finally got it to fit and then touched everything up with paint.

My next project will be to cut and glue printies, mainly board games childrens' book and magazines.  I have lots so I better get started!

Til next time!
Diane

Perforated paper

Hello and welcome to my ... redesigned blog!  I am very pleased with how it turned out and still have a little "tweaking"  to do so will be working on that the next few days.  I've wanted to make changes for quite a while now and  for the last 5-6 weeks have been surfing a lot of graphics websites.  So many beautiful designs!  When I came across this one from www.PlumroseLane.com , I just had to use it.  It had my name written all over it. Hope you enjoy it.

Getting re-acquainted with an old craft

While going through my box of floss (getting ready to begin Petitpoint),  I found something I haven't used in years.   Perforated paper.  As a kid, I used to make RL ornaments from a kit I had and they really turned out nice.




This first picture is from a swap from years ago.  The swapper also included a few blank pieces for me to try and chart my own design.  I used it instead for the peg board on the workbench in my lighthouse.

It 's bendable, easily shaped and has a certain sturdiness to it.  It is 14 ct and comes in a variety of colors
It can be used for picture frames, rugs, baskets, wall hangings and even a doggie bed.  Combine all that with a variety of stitches, and I imagine the list can go on and on.  This is what I'm making my "welcome" mat out of.  I have not been able to find it in any craft stores but it is available on Ebay.

If anyone has other suggestions on things to make, please leave a comment.

Since my last post, I have had to take a few days off from minis to attend to my RL spring house cleaning and some yard work  Not my favorite thing to do.  But the sun is out and it's getting warmer so I think I,m pretty well over the winter blahs.

Til Next time!
Diane

Hello dear friends, fellow bloggers and...new followers!
It is so nice and encouraging to have new followers.  Welcome!

I wish I could say I got a lot accomplished since my last post, but not so.  I made 2 fishing poles, two sleeping bags and am working on a "welcome" mat now.  The only other thing I did was to dry-fit my dollhouse (not glued yet), just to see how it was looking.  You will notice I added another porch post.  I needed this because I will be adding a porch fence all the way around and wanted another support.  I'll be adding that after I add the door.  BTW, this last picture is of a lazy susan I borrowed from my pantry.  Makes working on my dollhouse soooo much easier.

Mini-blahs.  I've got 'em.

Very few people I know are immuned to the "winter blahs". Some call it "cabin fever", depression or winter "doldrums"  I think the medical term is SAD- Seasonal Affective Disorder or something like that.  In my case, I get down in the dumps usually in February and March...waiting for spring.  I feel bored, restless and nothing much appeals to me.  To help myself through all this, I have decided to make some changes.  I don't know if this will help anyone else but this is what I am doing.

Changed my routine.   My old routine was get a cup of coffee, play a few games of "free cell", read my email and then my blogs.  Now I still have my morning coffee but then I hop in the shower, then read the paper or watch a few minutes of the Weather channel. After that, it is on to my emails, eat breakfast and then read my blogs.  You'll be surprised at how a few little changes can improve your outlook.

Pampering myself.  I've never had a pedicure...just wasn't in the budget. So I gave myself one.  A good soaking, a massage, trimming of the nails and even bright pink nail polish.  Feet really feel good.  Same with body lotion.  I used to put it on after my shower, once a day.  Now I also put it on in the evening.  The actual massaging helps with the circulation.

Expanding my mini-horizons.  I just joined a another Yahoo group, Petitpointers.  Although I have done this type of needlepoint before, it was a very long time ago.  I consider myself a newbie. 

The last thing I did was to go through my S.O.S. boxes (stash of stuff).  Here I found un-opened kits, half finished project and lot of stuff for future project.  Getting my enthusiasm back now!

Over the next few days, I will be change my blog to give it a new look.  Found a great website, but just have to work up the courage.

Till later!

Diane

Simple Valentines Cake

While going through my "stash" to see what I could make for my Fishing Cabin, I came across some proto-types of cakes I made for one of my first ever swaps...so long ago!
This is so simple that I am kind of embarrassed to show it but, what the heck.

These cakes were made from wood mini shapes that I bought at Michaels, some painted pink, some white. The Valentines heart is 3/8" tall and 3/4" across at its widest part. I simply painted it, added trim, a no-knot bow and some heart sequins. Very easy. BTW, the trim I used was a discarded graduation tassell that my son donated to the "cause",(my miniatures.) I used the same method for the rectangular 4th of July cake.

As Soon as I finish my round birthday cake, I'll take a picture.



My Fishing Cabin is coming along quite well but a little slower than I had planned.
Some days I can work on it for a few hours and then I can't get back to it for a few days. In my next post, I'll have pictures showing how far I've gotten (along with a few boo-boos!)

Til next time, have fun and make minis!
Diane

Here is the inside of the fishing cabin.  Not much room. I found out that a lot of people are missing there "browse" button when trying to upload pics from their pc. I was able to work around it so you could better understand my Kitchen dilemma

New year, new project

Hello!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that your New Year is starting out well.  For myself, I did have a wonderful time, altho my minis for the holidays were practically non-existent.  Working retail and then coming down with the flu did put a damper on things and even tho I didn't make anything worth mentioning, I did think "mini" and started making my list of what I wanted to do this year.  To quote one of my favorite bloggers, "Making the list always makes me feel productive and starts the dreaming going :)! " This quote is from http://cynthiascottagedesign.blogspot.com/ and says it all!

My next dollhouse is "Lisa"s Country Cottage" (shell kit).  When I bought this a few years ago, I knew I was going to make a fishing cabin out of it.  Many, many years ago, my best friend was an only child.  One summer, her parents invited me to vacation with them at a cabin somewhere is Michigan.  My friend's father was an avid fisherman and her mom loved to paint with water colors.  So I went along to keep my friend company.  What a time we had!  If we weren't swimming or skiing, we were probably playing in the sand with matchbox cars ( yes, girls play with toy cars!)  With this dollhouse, I will try to re-create the attic where we slept, the livingroom and the porch. I am doing this all from memory and want to get as much done as I can before I forget too much.

 My real delemma is the kitchen.  This dollhouse is just too small to fit in even the basic stove, sink, and refridgerator so I might just do the livingroom.

Any suggestions are you may have are gratefully appreciated!


So far, I have made the flooring for both the main floor and the attic.  I used scrapbooking paper and  made the score lines to simulate the wood planks.  The floors are a little dark but since I intend to paint the walls a light color, I think this will work.

The next thing I did was to shorten up the windows.  I want to put a table and (maybe) a kitchen sink under these windows and not have them visible from the outside.  I made a template of the lower part of the window from cardboard and glued into place.  I then filled in any gaps with spackle.

I really like this spackle.  It goes on pink and then turns white when completely dry.  No guesswork there!

A few days ago, I did paint the porch, porch posts and the roof various shades of gray.  I'll be showing more photos as soon as I figure out whats wrong with my pc.  Can't seem to upload any more photos. The window and door trims will be a very pale yellow (at least that's the plan for now).

I will be taking a break from the construction part and will start making some acessories.   Maybe a braided rug or a some kids' books.  Stay tuned!