Shadowboxes

I am pretty much over my fettish concerning shadowboxes- at least for now.  Back in March, I showed you a rather beat up shadowbox a friend of mine gave me and now I want to show you what I did with it.

                                                                   

As you can tell from the first picture, there was no backing and the color of the wall showed through.  I wanted to kick it up a notch so I got out all my paint chips, wallpaper samples and scrapbooking paper to see what I could come up with.  I am very happy with the results but figuring out what color should go where, can drive a person crazy

Here are some shadow boxes I completed a while back along with my printers box

So why so many shadowboxes?  Three years ago when we moved into a larger house, I wast lucky enough to have a spare room as my very own craft room.  When I unpacked a tote full of minis that I knew hadn't seen the "light of day" for a very long time, I thought it was a real shame I couldn't show them off somewhere.  So I made the 4 shadowboxes you see above (which barely made a dent in my collections). Then came the Halloween roombox (not shown), next was the printer's tray, and finally this last one.  This has freed up some much need shelf space which, of course, is full again.

Some of the things that are going in this shadowbox are "onesies"-minis that have no home, swaps that I may or may not use, duplicates of things I made, and many minis that I purchased some time ago for no particular reason.

The nicest thing though, is that I have plenty of wall space on which to hang them!

Till next time, enjoy the summer!

Diane

Butterfly house

It's been longer than I thought between posts but I decided to take some time off from minis.  You know the story, yard work, spring house cleaning and guests.  It's funny how kids equate "spring break" with "Gramma's place in Florida"  Had a wonderful time!

When I did get back to minis, I decided not to go back to where I had left off but instead to do something a little whimsical... a just for me project.  I just wasn't sure what.  So with coffee in hand, I went and sat down on my back porch and began to go thru my HBS catalog.  Then something caught my eye.  A beautiful yellow butterfly.  So I decided to make a butterfly house. 

The first time I saw a butterfly house upclose was about 5 years  ago when I went to a craft show.  A couple had tables full of bird houses and bird feeders with just a few butterfly houses at one end.  I stood there quite a long time watching the lady paint beautiful floral designs on the sides and backs.

A swirl of the brush here, a flick of the wrist there and a couple of "loop de loops" and she was done. On the butterfly houses she used much brighter colors.

I asked the man if butterflies actually used theses houses and surprisingly he said "Yes, occasionally they do"  Most butterflies have short lifespans during the summer, some migrate south (like the monarchs who winter in Mexico) and others hibernate in the winter and these are the ones that use the houses.  But for best results, they need to be placed in a wooded area instead of a flower garden.

And I am very lucky to have woods next to my back yard!  First you pound a stake in the ground, mount the house on top, and finally, plant some colorful flowers around the stake.  But....I wouldn't do that.  If I start pounding a stake in the ground,  the fire ants would attack my toes and ankles.  If I was able to dance around them and mount the house on top of the stake, I'm sure that would be plenty of time for the flying critters (the ones with teeth and stingers!) to do lunch...on me.  And I wound definitely not plant flowers around the base of the stake because I have a real fear of pygmy rattlers.

However, I could do something like this.  I'd get everything ready and with my hubby's help, just zip into the woods, set the planter down and zip right out.  10-12 seconds, tops.

This I made out of fimo because it just happen to be out and close by.  I didn't have much to trim it with but came up with ground green foam, micro beads, pre-punched flowers and quilling paper.   Whimsy I wanted and whimsy I got.  I have two others almost done and will post pictures when I can.

I'm  really sorry there isn't much more for me to write about but hope you enjoyed this.  If anyone else has made a butterfly house, please let us know.  Would love to see pictures.

Take Care

Diane

Shadow boxes

Hello everyone!  I hope all of you are doing well and not suffering too much from cabin fever.  It's been a rough winter.

In my last post I showed you the printer's tray my friend Shelly gave me.  I have a few pics just to give you a general idea of what I'm doing with it and how far I've gotten- which isn't very far.

This arrangement is just temporary for now.  After I cleaned it up, I needed to see what would fit and what wouldn't. Some of these minis will be used in Katelyn's Crossing ( my current big project),some are duplicates that I made for myself and others are swaps that just need a good home

There are a total of 88 compartments and I could fill them all.  But once I rearrange things I might leave a few empty.  So far, I really like this idea.

I don't want anyone to think I've gone shadowbox crazy, but here are a few more things Shelly gave me. Her son got them for her several years ago but she didn't do anything with them except but them in a garbage bag and stored them in her garage.
She did say some of them were in pretty rough shape and she's right.  Altho they are sturdy, the paint job is not good

These are perfect for 1/4 scale but I don't do that size.  The only one I'm interested in is the barn.  So I just might pass these on to someone else.

And finally, there is this

This really pretty sad,  The paint job is really bad and it needs lots of sanding.  The only reason I'm considering this is because the shelves are deeper and compartments are bigger;  I guess I have my work cut out for me.

I have company coming in a few days so no minis for me for a couple of weeks.

BTW, if anyone needs a little encouragement or feeling down and out, you might enjoy this video. I love it!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvdivB5kTUU



Take care
Diane

What I've been up to.

Hello friends, followers and guests.

I hope all is going well for you.  I know many of you have visited my blog in the last few days only to find it a big mess.  Lost my background and my banner was messed up.  I have been able to fix it temporarily so hopefully this will come thru with a blue background.  I'll be tweaking it in a few days but this is OK for now.

 By the way, a very big Thank You  to Sharon from Plumrose Lane for all of her help. ( http://www.plumroselane.com/ ).  Two years after I installed her graphics, she was still willing to help.  To me that is real customer service.  So visit her website and take look at all the beautiful graphics.  You just might want to change your blog.

I know we're well into the new year but I hope yours started out a little better than mine.  Got a flu shot and promptly got the flu, Printer is out of colored ink and then my blog problem.  I think I have paid my dues for the rest of the year!  But the end of January ended on a good note.  I got a late Christmas present from a friend of mine.  And this is what I got.

A printer's tray!  I have always wanted one!  It is approx. 33" x 17" x 1" and weighs almost 12 lbs.

It is dusty and well worn but I'm not going to do a thing to except dust it.  It even has the alphabet printed on it. (Those little square things are pieces of paper stuck under the dividers and I will remove those). Altho it is only 1" deep, I still have a lot I can put in,  My projects just keep piling up and I love it!

I hate to post and run because I have a lot more to show you  but we are going to be gone a few days and I still have stuff to do around the house.

Hey Boston!   And everyone else having such bad weather.  Hang in there!  Spring may be a little late but it's coming. I guarantee it!

Til next time, take care

Diane

Hello dear friends!
I hope all your holiday plans are going well.  I really surprised myself this year. I am all set with very little to do except make banana bread.  I actually have some spare time!

I only have one picture to show you...my Christmas minis that I have completed.  It's not very much because the rest are in various stages of completion and not "photo-ready".  Plus the fact that I'm also working on my gourmet fudge and confections shop.

Popcorn tins-( I have a total of 12), Needlepoint wall hangings, small area rugs, placemats, front door panels, ornament boxes, wall hangings, tree skirts and tree skirt packages.  I still have to complete boxed Christmas cards, wrapping paper, ornaments, stockings, and Santa hats (just to name a few)
I'm going to finish up what I can in the next few days and then take a break.  I really have to start making display tables, shelves, pegboard, etc.  That way I can feel somewhat organized.


Pinterest-  That's a very addictive place for me to be.  I have spent so much time there just pinning away.  I originally went there to get a variety of wrapping paper and Christmas cards.  And then a lot of other things caught my eye.  The end result is I have 17 boards.  If you decide to take a look, you may wonder why I pinned what I did.  Most of it is mini related, even the 3 boards not labeled miniatures ( I'm going to rename those).  A lot of those will be used in a Fine Art and Prints Galley that I want to start this next summer.  At least that's the plan.

About Windows 8.1-  I'm slowly making my way around but it sure is different than Windows 7.  I made sure the first thing I learned was how to resize photos and printies.  I open a blank Word processing document and copy and then paste.  Works very well.

Well, I off to make that banana bread and watch a little tv.

My Christmas wish for all of you is to have a safe and wonderful holiday.

Merry Christmas!

 

 



Katelyn's Crossing

Up and running again with a new laptop and Windows 8.1. It took longer than I thought but at least I can blog again

I finally finished painting Katelyn's Crossing!
 For those of you who want to see what I'm really working on, here's the link. A pre-assembled, playable dollhouse, sold as " Ryan's Room"
http://www.creativebrainsonline.com/Ryans-Room-Home-is-Where-the-Heart-Is-Dollhouse_p_423.html. I bought it because it was open on all sides and I planned to put it on a turntable so you can see minis from all 4 sides. No ladder or furniture which is ok and I did plug the hole.  Biggest drawback....only 9' ceilings  Darn.  But I'll make it work.

 I knew when I bought it at a flea market that it would be difficult to paint but this turned out to be a real challenge. After I started applying a primer, I said "nuts to this" and attempted to take it apart, hoping that Fate would allow me to put it back together again. But neither my husband nor I could un-loosen the bolts.  So it was back to turning it on its sides, front and back as well as upside down to paint the interior. I eventually put it on a turntable.  At least I didn't have to rotate it front to back.

I gave up the idea of painting each floor a different color and ended up with the inside and outside the same.  Blue.  And blue it is. I plan to tone down all that blue with wallpaper, carpeting, etc.

So, here's the plan.  Katelyn's Crossing will be a series of 5 shops.

The top floor will be a year round Christmas shop.  I have so many Christmas minis that I won't have any problem filling up the entire floor. But it won't be anywhere near complete in time for Christmas this year.

The second floor will be a home furnishings shop and a lady's shop.

The ground floor will be a gourmet Fudge shop while the other side will be a postal substation and gift wrapping area.

The first thing I did was to make templates for all 4 walls.  It is so much easier to apply wallpaper this way and to arrange wall hangings. Otherwise I would have to set it on it's side to be sure everything was straight.

I started with the gift wrapping area because I already had some things made from a while ago.
Here is what I wanted to display.

And here is the wall section nearly complete  I just have to make a few more multi-looped bows.  And, yes, that is perforated paper. Still haven't given up on that stuff yet.

First, I had to wrap the presents, make more wrapping paper and bows, and cover the template with wallpaper. Then, it as on to the pegboard.

Here is how I made the pegboard if anyone wants to try.



You will need:

perforated paper- found it on Ebay. Cut to workable size
white cardboard for backing- cut to same size as pegboard
glue
scotch tape
pencil
wire cutters
4 beads per section- to be used as spacers
jewelry findings-These will be your pegs- use the ones with flat heads



Cut pegs to size. Mine are 3/4". 

Plan were your first 2 pegs will go and then, from the back, insert pegs and secure with narrow piece of tape. ( It helps a lot if you fold over one edge of the tape to make a tab-easier to remove tape before applying glue.)

Do the same for the second row. At this point you may want to turn it over and see if it's correct.

 Now it's just a matter of counting and marking the holes with a pencil.  Insert pegs and secure with tape.  This is how mine looked.

 

 

Now comes the tricky part.  Gently remove the tape without pulling the peg out.  Add a small dot of glue to the underside of the pinhead and push the peg back down.

 

 

 

When they are all done, prop the pegboard upside down off the table so they can start to dry.  Now you may want to take a peak at the underside to make sure pegs are straight

 

While they're setting up, quickly apply a thin coating of glue to the cardboard backing and press to the back of the pegboard at the corners and hold for a few seconds.  Then put the pegboard upside right on the table and with your fingers, press down as close as you can to the pegs without disturbing them.

 

Now it's just a matter of gluing the beads/spacers to the card board and your done.  On mine, I did glue everything in place.  As soon as I put down the flooring and finish the bows, I'll be ready to attach the whole thing to the wall,





 

I know this is a long tutorial for something few people will use, but it's here if you want it.

 

Hopefully, my next post will be in a few days so I can show you what else I've been working on.  Lots of little projects not quite done.

 

So, till next time, take care and have a Great Thanksgiving!

 

 

Diane

Just a quick note

I am sending this through my Android so I hope it works. Computer died a few days ago and we will be buying a new one in a few days.. Hopefully I will be able to post again a few days. Til then have a safe Halloween