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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Uses for Plastic Cross-stitch Canvas








Glenna Humberstone made her Froggie Hamper from PX-S canvas.













Also this basket.
http://good- times.webshots. com/photo/ 2485133540029936 600ymXQHD
I just cut out little square to the size I need and then stitch it in and sew together and
add handles

Jo from GA wrote - makes great trellis..house foundation covers..furniture..great for all kinds of things
.




















Luba Barnes from Spruce Grove AB made this luxury bathroom:
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/CanadaMinis/photos/album/2020371338/pic/list
Notice the use of plastic canvas....





The round coaster plastic canvas can be used for toy railway tracks....This picture has no attribution.






On Susan's Minitalk Blog, she shows a dish drainer :
http://susansminitalk.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-miniatures-i-have-made.html


On Doreen's Blog, she shows a BBQ Grill:
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2009/06/barbeque-for-shadowbox.html

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Workshop Tools for Around the House

Doreen Playter made her David some tools to get on with the job of finishing Julie's house.
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2009/05/tools.html



  • Hammer was a Fimo head on a tooth pick
  • Saw was a Fimo handle on a blade cut from a tin foil cut strip
  • Level was made from Fimo with a juice straw piece for the level gauge marked with marker
  • Mallet was a bead on a toothpick
  • Measuring tape was a printie glued into a black piece of Fimo with the side painted silver
  • Mitre box was three pieces of scrap wood that I cut angles in
  • Paint brushes were made with the ends of pencils flattened around the end of a chopstick and then glued onto a large brush - when dry you cut the bristles to the small brush size (I showed how this was done on my blog awhile ago)
  • The other tools, the pliers, wrench, screwdriver and square were stickers that I glued back to back on a piece of cardboard and added a Fimo handle to them.

Friday, May 29, 2009

The Garden Shed

from the Mini-tique group showed off this wonderful garden shed project.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mini-tique/photos/album/795908419/pic/list


Chris made the bird bath.

Note the bunny butt in the corner!

See the mower? A fridge magnet!

View of the potting sink.

Tool shed

Be sure to check the Directory on the left hand side for Landscaping and Foliage. That link will take you to other posts on the same subject.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Virtually Free Mini 'Silk' Flowers

Chris in Canada wrote:
If you prefer the look of 'silk' flowers and leaves in RL size over plastic or paper, here's a freebie way to make your own mini silk flowers using simple paper punches and old silk flower debris.

FIRST: Check your trash stash or around your house for some RL size silk flower petals and leaves. Crushed and fray-damaged ones will work just fine, even those bleached by exposure to light. If you don't have a stash of flowers already, visit the fake flower section of any craft or department store and look on the floor and between the display bins for petals and leaves that have dropped off. Find a clerk and ask if it is OK for you to take a few to make miniature flowers, and odds are she'll even help you find what you want.

SECOND: Choose a few petals the colours you want for your flowers and leaves. Clean them up a bit if needed with a barely damp cloth and lay on a sheet of waxed paper, pressing them as flat as they will go, then brush on an even coat of matte ModPodge or white glue thinned with water, or spray with a clear matte sealer. When that is dry, flip them over and repeat the sealing process on the back. Let dry completely, preferably overnight! (Yes, waiting is hard but some sizes and patterns of punches are very hard to find, not to mention expensive, and this extra time ensures you won't wreck that teensy 1/8" teardrop punch you paid $8 plus shipping for.)

THIRD: Take a test snip from an edge and a test punch to make sure you applied enough sealer and if it frays or tears, go back to the second step and add another coat of sealer on each side. When all is well, go ahead and punch or cut out the shapes you need to build your flowers. (There are lots of tuts online for mini flowers and plants using punched paper shapes.)

Tanya's Shop

Once again, Tanya is working on a genius project - a modern-day ladies shop. See her Picturetrail album for more clothing and her belt display rack. Need I say it again ? Genius!
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/7251673











Saturday, May 23, 2009

Noah's Ark - Fantastic!


Linda has completed and photographed her hand carved wood 1:144 scale Noah's Ark. She made a web page for it on her site. The address is
http://www.miraclechickenurns.com/carvednoahsark.htm
There are many in progress pictures from designing the animal patterns, drawn to scale, to the finished painted animals. The tiny chickens are fully detailed and measure about 1/8". Two gorillas sit on an American penny.

Linda Master
Miracle Chicken Urns
http://www.miraclechickenurns.com
Email: miraclechicken27@yahoo.com

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Susan Munro's Mother's Day Tray

The South African Minis group had a contest - to submit pictures if mini Mother's Day trays.
All of the entries were stunning.

This is Susan's entry - notice the teapot and the toast soldiers! Great job!


Check out her Flickr album for more!!
http://www.flickr. com/photos/ wawamum/

Sand and Water


Pam's Beach scene with instructions on how she did the sand and water.
http://smallserendipities.blogspot.com/2009/05/by-beautiful-sea.html

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Take a Closer Look at Those Lids!

Chris from Canada wrote:
I really needed a caffeine fix this morning so I bought coffee at a McDonald's on the highway. The lid from the cup yielded three useful mini items: a 1:48 kitchen sink (the flip tab), and a pair of 1:12 ridged shallow bowls (??). All it took was a quick run-over with a craft knife to remove them neatly from the lid. The sink has to be painted of course, but the bowls could be left as is for brown ironstone. The bowls work for small bonsai and when inverted also would make nice lamp bases.
I rarely buy coffee, and it has been over 2 years since I last passed through the Golden Arches, but I may drop in a few more times over the coming months to collect a few more lids for my stash. BTW, their new coffee was good too.

Model Train Village

Shartlesville, in eastern Pennsylvania. Exit 23 on I-73.
This is a wonderful video, of times gone by!


Wooden Animal Figures


Christine wrote on the Mini-tique Digest:

I make tiny dolls out of wood - they are carved and jointed with jewelry elastic. They are kind of hard to classify in terms of scale. They can either be toys in a regular 1/12 dollhouse world or smallish characters in a quarter scale world. I make mostly animal dolls but occasionally do more human like ones and flower fairies. You can see examples of the dolls I have made at Flickr:

http://www.flickr. com/photos/ dandelionfair/ sets/72157603451 307837/

http://dandelionfai r.blogspot. com/

Making Water

This company has a page for miniaturists.
http://www.deluxematerials.com/masterclass.html

Hints and tips
http://www.deluxematerials.com/hintstips.html

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Making Windows and Window Treatments

This TUT shows a standard window.

http://www.letsbuildadollhouse.com/page005makingthewindows.htm

Of course, you don't have to BUILD a window, if you can use a printie of one... or a cutout from a magazine or catalogue.
Do a Google search for images.
This site gives advice about window treatments.
http://www.interior-design-it-yourself.com/window-treatments-guide.html

Monday, May 18, 2009

Bathroom







Jaime wrote about Granny's House: I added this bathroom upstairs...I put a 'false' window, and added a nice bubble bath for Gramma.














Glenna Humberstone wrote: I did a frog bathroom in my Orchid house. I put frogs on my curtains and rugs and even on the hamper. I even had a frog toilet lid. I had a shelf up that had frogs on it .
The sticker on the curtains and towels and the hamper I found at Wal-mart. I used Mod-podge to glue the stickers down then I lightly put Mod-podge over all the curtain. The hamper is made from plastic canvas.
As for the King on the throne I took the picture from a site I found that was loaded with frog items to buy.














































For a swap, Glenna used a black and white theme for a Michael's hutch.
She included face cloths, towels, toilet paper, perfume bottles and tiny statues of a lion and an elephant.

















Tanya has done 2........... .
Red Bathroom:

http://www.picturet rail.com/ sfx/album/ view/5815043
Green Bathroom:
http://www.picturet rail.com/ sfx/album/ view/7251673
She also made a doctor's scale from a disposable razor!

Tanya gives instructions to make her lotion pump here:
Also look for hairbrushes made from electrical connectors, and the doctor's scale!
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/17115956
Sha has her own mini-group as well as being a member of littleroomers.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ty-nee-stuff/

Doreen Playter discusses her swap and gives instructions.
http://doreensproje cts.blogspot. com/2009/ 03/bathroom- project.html

Barb K's Salle de Bain is shown in a previous post.
http://littleroomer s.blogspot. com/2009/ 03/barbs- fla-trip. html



http://mishellyszoo.homestead.com/kleenexbox.html


http://mishellyszoo.homestead.com/plunger.html


http://www.cdhm.org/tutorials/making-a-plumbers-helper.html


Essential to a bathroom! Toilet Paper!
http://neverdoneminiatures.com/toilet-rolls-1.htm


http://mishellyszoo.homestead.com/minibathscale.html











Chris Pecherzewski did this QS Bathroom:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mini-tique/photos/album/324082724/pic/1463717596/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc


Check Sandra's Picturetrail for this half-scale bathroom.
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/16156521

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Got an over-loved Beanie? Check inside and out.



Melanie wrote:
An old damaged beanie baby might contain a lifetime supply of those little silicone stuffing beads to use for bubbles or ice, eh? The fur would also likely be thin enough for dollhouse hats, muffs, rugs?
Barb K wrote:
I turned my daughter's Beanie Baby hanging post her dad made her into a supplies post for my craft room.

Linda McD's Babe in Bath

Friday, May 15, 2009

Character Figures

Busy Bodies
http://www.robbennett.org/

This is a railroad site. These figures are so full of life, even though they are not "perfect".
Explore the site - modern figures are included in the Rogues Gallery. What inspiration!




Thursday, May 14, 2009

Rita's Ice Palace


Rita's site is WONDERFUL!
She has a skylight in her " Ice Palace ", a plastic-dome from a cake. She says it looks great when the lights inside are turned on and the living room is dark.
Check out all the other pictures!
http://www.rwgermini.de/eisdiele.htm

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Uses for Dryer Sheets

Chris in Canada wrote:
Here's some trash I've used a great deal in smaller scales, but it's
really applicable to any mini scale.

Next time you use a dryer sheet in your dryer, take a look-see at the
used sheet before you trash it. Most of them consist of a non-woven
material impregnated with the softener. Once used, the softener is
gone and you are left with a thin sheet of 'fabric'. Depending on the
brand, what type of laundry was in the dryer and how long the dryer
was on, you'll find one of these:

a) a shredded mess (trash unless you shred it more and use it to
stuff mini-pillows)
OR
b) a stiffish, thin sheet that can be decorated with a ultra-fine
point permanent marker and turned into tablecloths, or curtains for
kitchen or bathroom
OR
c) a soft cushy material for facecloths, towels, cloth diapers, baby
blankets etc..... This takes the same type marker well too.

The material is easy to handle, does not fray, is not too absorbent
so marker or glue doesn't soak in and ruin the item, and in the case
of b), it holds pleats and small gathers wonderfully with just a shot
of cheap extra-hold hairspray. Plus you can decorate it to match
whatever you want with marker, ribbon, lace etc...... Oops, I nearly
forgot. The price is right!

Happy laundry drying, and many mini hugs.

Uses for Sandalwood Fans

Sometimes can be found at garage sales, Chinatown, and gift shops.
Use these for headboards, dressing screens, ceiling fan, of the base of a Moroccan table.



http://www.overstock.com/Worldstock/Aziz-Natural-Moroccan-Table-Indonesia/3108574/product.html


To curve the sandalwood, wet it with water and gently bend it with your
fingers around a jar or other form. Secure with a rubber band. It will dry with a curve as desired.




http://www.theweddingfavorbar.com/eb1055.html

http://www.weddingfavorstolove.com/pc/IP1000/Unique_Wedding_Favors/Sandalwood-Fa\
n-Favors.html


http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=9\
/73&mode=Searching&erec=5&D=fan&Ntt=fan&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mo\
de%2bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=0&sd=Floral+Fan\
s

Mother's Day

This was a contest run on SAminis group for Mothers Day.
Our Susan Munro is a member and has an entry.










Sunday, May 10, 2009

Tanya's Brownies


First attempt at brownies
I made the brownies from fun foam. Frosting made from acrylic paint and caulking.
http://picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5815043