I'm Ready!

Yes, I am all done and well prepared for Christmas (except for baking cookies).  It was a lot of fun decorating this year because I made it practically stress-free.  In years gone by, I would haul out just about every "Christmassy" thing I had, take down my other nic nacs, pictures, etc and put them away for a month. The first week in January I would have to reverse the process and sometimes I had a real mess on my hands.  First of all, I won't be hosting any parties.  The den and the dinning room are the only two rooms I decorated because they are the first two rooms you see when you enter my house.  So, if someone stops by, at least I have something up.  Secondly, it's just going to be my husband and I for the most part.  I am very content with having nothing in the bathrooms, living room or bedrooms.  Some people will consider this "Scrooge like" but I call it stress free.  There are, however, a few things I put up every year without fail.  My Nativity set and...my Christmas tree collection..  This picture is my all time favorite.  It is nearly 12" tall and 7" wide so I think it's better suited for playscale

I wish I was a better photographer because this picture does not do it justice.  Hopefully, you will be able to enlarge it.  I have made quite a few of these through the years ( in various colors ) and did really well at craft shows.  But then in the early 2000's, I gave up craft shows altogether. I still have quite a few "naked" trees left and in smaller sizes so may try to sell some over the internet.  I hope you like this a well as I do.

In the next few months, I will be changing the look of my blog a little.  You may have already noticed the I went from a two-column template to a three-column one.  I wasn't sure if I could do this but I was successful.

I have also started a Twitter account and although i haven't tweeted much yet, I will in the future

Take care and have a wonderful Holiday!

Til next time

Diane

Wreaths

Wreaths, wreaths, and more wreaths.  I don't have a lot to show you right now but here are a few I have collected or made over the years.

This first one is a country-style wreath made out of wire that I received in a swap in the late 90's.  It has long resided in my flower shop, The Ashley.

The Halloween wreath I made from wire and is also in the Ashley.

This one is from artificial garland twig, trimmed and decorated

                               

        Twine- Two cardboard discs glued together and wrapped in twine

    Here's how I made the round wire wreaths

For the round wreaths,  you need:

 wire cutters
 wire-  I used 26 gauge green wire that comes on a paddle.  Thinner wire is better but this is all that I had on hand. Use the longest length you are comfortable with. I used  4-5 length of 18" each.  It will all depend on how thick and big you want your wreath.
Round shape or form- a dowel will work but anything  round is ok.  I used a cosmetic container
( lg with a 1" diameter), a small fingernail polish container (med- 3/4" diameter ) and a dowel ( small, 1/2" diameter)

Wrap the wire around the form 5-6 times but leave a tail at each end.  Slide wire off the form . Hold the wreath gently and let it expand so you have an irregular round shape.  Now start wrapping each tail around the diameter of the wreath.  Do not pull the wire too tightly because you will loose the irregular shape.  Tuck in or cut off the ends so you don't get poked.

It should look something like this

Take another piece of wire and just start wrapping.  Make a kink, leave a gap, twist the wire back on itself, etc. To make the wreath heavier or thicker, use more wire until you're happy with the size.

 Once done, trim off the ends and start decorating!

The  heart wreaths are done a little differently.
You will need all of the above supplies plus a very small crochet hook. (sorry, but I don't recall the sizing).  We will be using the "barrel"  and not the hook itself.   
          
Wrap the wire around the form only twice.  Let the wire expand.  You will have 2 very long ends so wrap them around each side of  the circle only  twice.  It is a lot easier to shape when you're working with only 2 wires rather than 4-5.
Put your forefinger and middle finger (not your thumb) inside the wreath. Visually find the midpoint and place the barrel of the crochet hook on top of the wire and pull down.  It should look something like this.

 

 Next, take the wreath and place it between your thumb and forefinger. Using the barrel of the crochet hook, press down to form a point while at the same time squeezing the the sides together.

Like the round wreath, start wrapping again til you get the size you want and decorate.

This one is for my real tree ( small "table top" tree )











I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have fun making lot of wreaths.  After Christmas, I'll show you the ones I made for Valentine's, St Pat's and Easter

Well, I off now.  Today I plan to set up my tree and to some decorating so no minis today.

Till next time
Diane

The "Naturals"- Part 3

Hello!  I hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather. And a sincere welcome to my new followers!  I have been very neglectful in saying "Hi" but your friendship means a lot to me.  Please feel free to comment or email me with any questions.

This will be the last post ( for the time being) about using natural material, courtesy of Mother Nature.  I still have a few more ideas but need to go on to other things.

This is what I have been working on for the past week. A floor lamp, table lamp, and two different bird houses.  Also, shells filled with salsa and guacamole, an acorn caps with chips, and finally a coconut made from an acorn shell.

These were fast and simple minis to make ...except for the rectangular birdhouse.  That was kind of interesting.

I made it out of pine bark from the mulch we have around our house
Since it has so many layers, I used a small crochet hook to separate them into the thickness I wanted.  The really cool thing about this was the different colors, shading and textures of the wood.

But before you begin, be aware that sometimes a layer or two of the bark may separate all by itself, no matter how gently you handle it.  It's only a matter of gluing it back on and only takes a few minutes.

So, here's how I did it.
First step, swish a piece of bark around in warm, soapy water.  Immediately rinse in cool clear water and blot with paper towel.  Let dry at least overnight.  Then separate the layers into the thickness you want using a crochet hook or something similar.

While it's drying, make a birdhouse pattern out of very thin cardboard. Now, pick out 7 pieces of bark, larger than your pattern, varying the color and texture ( it will make it very unique!)  Glue your pattern onto the bark pieces, weight them down and let dry, probably an hour or so. Next, cut out your pattern.  Be sure to leave a very small margin around each piece so it glues together properly. You don't want the cardboard in the way.  Take the front part of the birdhouse and drill a hole  for the opening.  If you don't have a drill, maybe a black marker or paint will do. So now you can start assembling the birdhouse.

BUT...
You might want to note that finding a base piece that is flat so your house won't tip over, may be kind of hard. You can either use a small painted piece of cardboard as the base or you can make it a hanging birdhouse (which is what I did)  I took a 6" piece of raffia, inserted about 1/2" inside the birdhouse and then glued on the roof pieces,  effectively trapping the end inside.

 I used a fairly thin-bodied glue because I hoped it would sink in between the layers and make them stronger. Be generous with the glue. Add a little perch and as the final step, spray with a sealer.

Now, an update on my leaves on fairy chair (see the Naturals-Part 1 from Oct 14). I was to say the least, disappointed.  I felt sure the leaf that I preserved in wax paper would last a  lot longer but it changed color and withered up within a few days.  I guess you can't stop Mother Nature.

Well I'm off.  Time  to finish up some swaps and get serious about Christmas
Til next time
Diane

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