Little Roomers

Pantyhose never die!

2012-02-08T15:42:00.004-05:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
If you have a pair of pantyhose, knee highs or lightweight leotards that are about to be tossed, wash them and cut out any good sized bits that are undamaged. This fabric can be sewn into tubes and used for mini stockings, dance leotards, hats, scarves, swim suits, sleeveless tops, long undies etc......... or any mini clothing item that calls for a thin, stretchy, fine knit fabric that can be made with minimal shaping.
NOTE: Pieces of this stuff also come in handy for applying wood stains and acrylic finishes, applying and buffing mini-furniture wax and giving a soft sheen to items made from polymer clay.
Thin tights are good for straining off liquids such as paints. They can be used to hold house parts together until the glue dries. This is stretching things a bit, (heh, heh) but think about storage...lots of stuff fits in those legs! They can be tied to a hanger, hung on a rod, ....
Don't forget to wrap a leg over your vacuum nozzle when you are dusting your craft space, so your little bits are not sucked up into oblivion!

Handbag Heaven

2012-01-31T15:36:00.003-05:00

Tanya shared this wonderful project:
The bags are made from plastic spools like the ones you get in a sewing kit from Dollar Tree or any other dollar store. The first ones I made, I covered with fabric, but the other two are covered with a designer paper that I printed off the internet. First I used Tacky Glue to glue the fabric and paper onto the spools. Next I cut two circles the size of both ends of the spool from cardstock or some other type of thin cardboard. I then glued the two circles to a piece of paper or fabric for the bag I am working on and cut around the circle. Once dry glue the circle pieces face up to each of the ends. Next glue on your straps. I used thin ribbon. Lastly add tiny jewelry findings, nail art or whatever you choose to embellish the bags.

Glassworks

2012-01-18T11:38:00.009-05:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
Remember those glass serving plates and trays made from all different colours of glass put together that were so popular as wedding gifts in the 60's and 70's? Well, here's a way to duplicate that look using (what else) items most people trash.

Last spring I was looking at a photo album trying to get some ideas for something different and retro to make for swaps, when I noticed my 70's glass plates in use in a family photo from 1975. I was thinking about about attempting these in miniature using small chunks of plastic melted into a mold when I remembered as a small child having used torn squares of tissue paper glued to pickle jars to make vases. I also remembered how pretty they looked when the sun hit them, and so the plates came to be.

First I made a plate blank by brushing two thin, even layers of Sobo glue (used because it's clear, dries just a bit flexible and happened to be handy) onto a piece of plastic wrap. When that had dried, I sandwiched the plastic wrap between 2 layers of white paper, and used a large hole punch to make circles. Mine were 7/8" and 3/4" in diameter. (Scissors work too, but I'm lousy at cutting circles out by hand.) I then took the circles and placed them on a piece of craft foam with the plastic wrap side down and gave them another coat of glue. Then I pushed them down into the foam with the blunt end of a marker to make the plate shape and let them dry in the foam, as you do with mini rice paper flowers. (I let them dry overnight because by then it was nearly 11 pm, but I am sure they would have been dry in 10-20 minutes.)

The next day, I tore some scraps of 3 colours of tissue paper that had come wrapped around swap items into teensy pieces about 3/16" square. One piece at a time, I dipped them into a 50/50 water-glue solution then smoothed them (with the colours chosen randomly) onto the plate blanks, which were still in the foam, using a paintbrush and a wet pinkie finger to remove any wrinkles. The overlaps and odd shaped bits became part of the design. When they looked good, I let them dry for a few minutes, then removed each one in turn from the foam, trimmed off and smoother any ragged edges, and placed it back in the foam. Finally, I brushed on two (3?) coats of glue, and when everything was dry, removed them from the foam and peeled off the plastic wrap, revealing some really groovy retro glassware.

Needling Ya

2011-12-21T17:23:00.001-05:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
As there are only days before Christmas this is a super- quickie, and surprise(!) even seasonal, for anyone who has even the smallest branch cut from a live evergreen inside, especially if you want fillers, smaller plants or work in the smaller scales.
Before you vacuum up the last of the needles from your Christmas tree, or toss the evergreen branch along with the rest of the stuff in the arrangement your Aunt Beatrice sent you, save a handful or two of the needles. When completely dry, they can be used in mini flower
arrangements as fillers or as stalks for spring flowers (a tiny touch of craft paint on the tip creates a flower bud). For the truly brave, bunches of 7 or more Scotch pine needles, trimmed to the desired lengths at the blunt end and arranged carefully, make a 1:12 non-
flowering yucca plant, or any other plant with straight, spiked leaves.

Granny Rat

2011-12-14T18:25:00.003-05:00

Chris from Canada posted this picture on the Camada Minis group. She completed the project following the directions Leslie Shepherd wrote on her About.com site. Love the feather boa Chris!
See other mice and rats along with Leslie's instructions on the Minitreasures wiki:
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/w/page/20981795/mice

Pharmacy Bottles Pegged!

2011-12-07T12:13:00.002-05:00

hris from Canada writes:
I've been trying to gradually sort out some of my unsorted stash and recently I found a small baggie containing my failed attempts to shape the tops of these pegs with a craft knife, sandpaper and even my Dremel tool, as well as a handful of untouched pegs in colours like electric blue, hot pink, glowing orange and a sickly lime green.

I didn't want to trash them, and wondered if they could be softened with a candle flame, then pulled and shaped like some clear plastics. It must be the coloring agent used, but before they softened, the heated part burst into flame then immediately burned out, leaving the heated part soft, but also permanently blackened. This definitely had possibilities, so I reheated the end (it didn't ignite this time) and when it was soft, mashed it down onto the edge of my kitchen sink (stainless steel), forming what looked like a stopper on a bottle. I was short of time so played around with this idea only a few times, including heating the pliers holding the peg (not the peg itself) to shape the middle. The picture above shows two of these experiments with an untouched peg. These could be used in a pharmacy, bathroom, witch's kitchen, doctor's office, lab etc......

Pinned!

2011-11-21T17:39:00.004-05:00

Chris from Canada writes:
This is an idea that I came up with a few years back to use those strong, but very often defective, sewing pins with no point, that comprise a large percentage of the pins sold in plastic boxes at Dollar Store-type outlets.
These pointless pins make good hinge-pin replacements for doors, trunks, storage boxes etc... when the original pins grow wings and fly away. Just trim the length with wire cutters to fit, allowing for a bend at the end if it is needed to secure the pin.
And if you need some tiny nails, try cutting the tip off at an angle and they can replace any dollhouse nails which may have joined the Great Pin Escape. (If you want the heads to be a brass or gold colour, apply a dot of gold paint or nail polish.)
These pins are also excellent to use without trimming if you are connecting sections of foamboard for a structure: If a pin goes in crooked by accident it is unlikely to stab a finger hard enough to draw blood!

*** just a safety reminder - always wear glasses when cutting pins or wires! Those little pieces fly everywhere!

Remembrance Day

2011-11-10T21:10:00.005-05:00

This year, we are remembering the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 2011.

Norman Bethune was a figure larger than life. He faced death from TB, recovered and went on to fight for his beliefs and for the good of all.

Bethune – Who was he?

· Traitor?

· Hero, revered in China and Spain?

· Womanizer?

· Skilled surgeon, dedicated teacher?

· Communist, socialist?

· Champion of universal Health Care

· First to use transfusions on the battlefield?

· First Doctor without Borders?

Died of septicemia after cutting himself while operating without gloves on a soldier on the battlefront.

Norman Bethune remains a true hero of the modern era, a model of internationalism, courage, devotion, and determination. For these qualities, this illustrious Montréaler is remembered and celebrated around the world,

See more at

Montreal - Hommage to Norman Bethune

Famous Canadian Physicians - Library and Archives Canada

Bethune - National Film Board

Bedded Down

2011-10-25T12:17:00.023-04:00

The Dollhouse Miniprojects Group recently completed a canopy bed project. The directions were clear and easy to follow, and each member completed the project a little differently.

Dee planned and set the task, and this is her prototype bed. She is planning a Christmas bed, and the lace will be changed to green. She is also planning a dressing table for the group to accompany those completed beds.

Kaye Smith from Tasmania was first to finish her pretty Purple bed.

Then she went on to make pillows to round out the project

Doreen Playter adapted the prototype and used lace trim to simulate carved wood trim.
Doreen's bed even has linens underneath!
See her blog at Doreen's Miniatures and Memories

Marjorie from California wrote about her Tudor bed:
I used paper doilies to replicate carvings on the headboard and footboard. I used Minwax gel stain to do the wood as well as the paper doilies. I am happy with the way it turned out. The cross stitched coverlet I purchased along with the pillow at the Good Sam Show in 2010. I am going to remake the pillow - it is too large and stiff.

Here is Marjorie's finished bed.

Then Joyce Holland wrote a hilarious post about her bits of rubble! She had followed Dee's directions to the letter, and when she was trying to apply the rubber band as a clamp the whole thing fell apart! (The glue needs to set a bit and the band needs to be rather loose. Make a loop, insert a stick and tighten tourniquet style.)

Joyce is still working on her bed - pics to come!

This is Linda's bed. She cut a long strip of cardboard and wrapped it with a strip of fabric to create the striped trim.

Joyce Holland's bed is delicate and very feminine.

All so different, but started from the same basic plan.

Shower Power!

2011-10-21T15:27:00.003-04:00

Tracey Flemming wrote in Canada Minis Group:

I made this shower stall with junk. It's an empty man's disposable razor package. I painted the outside of the package with white paint. It looks like my real shower stall because it's shiny on the inside.

I used

Paper clip and Fimo for the shower head.
Fimo and stitching floss for soap on rope.
Part of a snap for drain and earring backs for taps.
Scrap matte board and wood sticks to build the box to keep it standing upright.

Hair Today and Gone Tomorrow

2011-10-05T12:06:00.002-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote
I have a hint for those of you who make 1:12 people and need hair. I've found that what is generally available has a very limited colour range and absolutely zilch shading, so the hair looks like either a cheap wig, or the result of a hair colouring preparation left on too long. And if you want hair that is in the process of greying, forget it.

WARNING: Persons suffering from Bacillophobia or Bacteriophobia should stop reading now!

A free and easy solution for dog owners is to take the scissors to the long hair on your pup's tail or body right before his or her visit to the Doggie Spa. (If you really want to you can explain the
clipped spots, but be prepared for some strange looks.) No dog or no long hair? No problem! Visit a groomer and ask if he/she would mind saving some longer clippings for you in exchange for something like a 1:12 scale poster of popular dog breeds and their traditional haircuts. I did this 2 1/2 years ago after my source of soft mixed grey and white hair had crossed the rainbow bridge, and ended up with enough hair to last me the rest of my life, as well as selling 30 posters to my groomer who wanted to include one with each Christmas card she sent that year!

To prepare the hair, sort and bind clumps of similar colour tightly with sewing thread into small bundles, then give the bundles a 'bath" using warm water and either dish soap or dog shampoo. Rinse well, then gently massage in some 'people' hair conditioner or creme rinse, and rinse again. Let the bundles air-dry and store in a clear baggie until needed. NOTE: If you are over the age of 70, put a label on the baggie so your heirs do not think they are souvenirs from your secret
life as an axe murderer. :-D

All That Glitters...

2011-09-15T16:14:00.005-04:00

Marilyn in CT posted this in All Things Mini Yahoo Group:

My first intro to glitter houses was in the 40’s when I was a kid living in Hamilton Ontario.

I have made a 1/4” glitter house using some of the directions on the Glitter house web site. I also made some tinier ones. The cardboard can warp but to help prevent it be sure to paint or paper both sides of the card. Here are a couple pictures of ones I have made. Since you have limited space you might like to make some like I show in the third picture or the tiny house in the bigger one.

1/4” glitter house made from a Christmas card.

I furnished it instead of just a hole in the back for a light. Notice the tiny glitter house in the bedroom

like the big one. Had a bit of warping on one side but it can add to the charm of a hand made piece.

A row of tiny glitter houses that could go on a 1” scale mantle. These are made from solid wood pieces.

The fences are card.

Pushy Art Glass

2011-09-11T16:14:00.004-04:00

Here is Chris in Canada again with a brilliant idea that makes use of two throwaways at once!
She says:
While playing with my new heat gun a few years ago, I inadvertently managed to fuse the cap onto a nearby hard plastic rice vinegar bottle, as well as cause the side closest to the heat gun to bulge out in the middle, when I left the gun running while I applied some embossing powder to a project. This goof did result in an interesting rice vinegar bottle, but the scale was all wrong. :-D As a result of this incident I started playing around with bits of plastic stuff to see what would soften and melt rather than catch fire. (Not to worry, I did this on a ceramic tile placed on a firebrick placed directly under the stove's exhaust fan, and no toxic fumes were harmed during testing.)

Anyway, one item in particular took nearly 2 minutes to completely liquefy, giving me a range of useful consistencies from just soft enough to dent with a toothpick, to bendable, to stretchable then finally a thick goop that can be pulled out to form delicate peaks and swirls. This 'miracle material' was some clear Dollar Store push pins that had kept cracking when I pushed them into something hard, leaving just a naked metal stub behind to stab the unwary. I then tested 2-3 brand name clear pins, and they produced the same results, only a bit faster. Sadly, the coloured plastic pins I had just suddenly melted into a shapeless lump that would not re-soften. :-(

The melted and shaped clear plastic is crystal clear except for teensy bubbles that may occur when pulling out thin rods, but shortly realised that one can only use so much modern crystal! So I dug out a little tray of water-based glass stain paints from (where else?) a Dollar Store. I couldn't recall when I had bought it, but it must have been some time ago, as the paints had petrified in the still-sealed containers. Adding a few drops of water and leaving that overnight made no difference. Then I gave the closed containers an 8 second nuke in the microwave (resulting in a very thick goop), added more water drop by drop, stirred and nuked again until it was the consistency of craft paint. This restored glass stain paint was applied lightly to the push-pin glass and then each piece was given a blast from the heat gun to force the stain into the softened surface of the plastic.
NOTE: I now have the tray of restored stains in my freezer, triple-wrapped tightly with Stretch-n-Seal, in a zippered baggie with all the air I could find forced out. I've done the same for safe-keeping some unopened 'Plaid' brand glazes in small bottles that I bought on clearance a few years back but are still liquid (a better seal??).

Some of the early results of the Great HS Artglass Experiment of 2011. These "Abstract Art Glass" pieces are half-scale (1:24) so the two largest pieces were made with about 1.5 pins worth of plastic mixed together as it softened, but the rest involve only 1 pin, or less if the cracked-off bits escaped to the wilds of the carpet below the table. I'm not done experimenting yet, but if you heat a mixed pile of small scraps until very soft and sticky, quickly mash them together (I use the end of a dowel) and heat a bit more, they will blend together and then can be formed as one into what you want.

Ironing Board

2011-09-09T17:30:00.012-04:00

How I did it:
If you want precise step by step measurements and directions here FUGETTABOUTIT! But here is a fly-by the seat of your pants tut.
Materials :

1/8' strip wood
cardboard
paper towel (Viva if available)

Step 1:

Cut ironing board shape from cardboard (below)

Apply 3 layers of felt to one side of the ironing board surface. Apply the paper toweling and trim as shown. Clip the toweling so that it can be glued evenly to the underside of the cardboard. It is easiest if you glue small spots on opposite ends, side to side and back to back and then work your way around, so that paper towel or fabric does not bunch up and create folds.

Apply a piece of white card to the underside of the ironing board.

Cut 4 pieces of 1/8" strip x 3 3/4" long, at 45 ° angles on opposite ends. (below)

Cut braces for the for the legs. Glue together. The total width of the legs cannot be more than the width of the ironing board!

Paint the frame, then glue to the top. Voilà! C'est Fini!

Additional ideas:

paint the ironing board with silver to mimic a Teflon cover.
if you are doing a vintage scene, forget about the legs and suspend the board between 2 chairs (resting on the top rail between the stiles of each chair back)
what about just one support, and the ironing board folds down from the wall from the back of a door or a built-in cupboard?
remember the Coke bottle with the sprinkler top filled with water (before spray bottles, kiddies!) When ironing multiple items, you would dampen by sprinkling with water, rolling them up like towels, place in a plastic bag to keep them moist, and take out one article at a time to iron. (If you couldn't finish the pile, the bag went into the fridge until the next day!)

Keep your lid on!

2011-09-08T11:22:00.011-04:00

Water Bottle Lids

Planter and Bowl on a plate

Marjorie in California writes:
If you look at water bottle tops carefully, you will find a wealth of uses. I've posted pics of two different types; one that comes in blue or white and is a push up. Another that is a flip over type.

On the push up one, I had my hubby cut off the lower section, making a beautiful planter in one inch scale. On the flip on, the part that flips over is the bowl on a plate. This could be used in multi scales depending on what you wanted to do with it.
____________________________________________________

Also:

see the TrashMinis plastics page in the Minitreasures Wiki for more ideas using plastic.

scroll down the left hand side of this blog for the T2T tag, listing previous posts made by other contributors.

Starting them young!

2011-08-09T10:23:00.004-04:00

Carolyn Brown is creating mini memories with her grand-daughter Amelia, who just turned 2, and visited for the whole w/e.

Carolyn says:
I made her a couple of outfits and needed her to try them on for button placement and it was the first time she saw my sewing/craft workroom. Her eyes were huge and she said 'Wow Grandma!' and she asked to 'help' me.
I kept her busy with buttons and tape measure until she spotted my old porcelain 'test' doll that I use for trying different glues & finishes- no hair, pipe cleaner arms and legs, no hands and only one foot. She had quite a conversation with it so I decided to give her the FP Loving Family dolls I bought long ago and planned to give her maybe next year. She was enthralled and played with them for hours. Put them all to bed on my little ironing board so I let her choose colours of felt and I cut out blankets for them. She had Mommy & Daddy hugging and 'baby' nursing. Right now I am making a 'tent' carrying case and sleeping bags for them. She is going camping in a couple of weeks so this will fit right in. A fabric 'dollhouse' is upcoming.

It was asked what age children should be exposed to miniatures, and I think the answer to that is when they show an interest. I had not planned to give her the FP dolls for a while but her imagination was ready now."

I will have such fun with her. Great imagination and role-playing. I already have a really cute child's dollhouse kit that Ann Kozlick gave me for her. Open concept with sliding doors. Very cute. I guess that will be put together soon and we'll make simple furniture for it. Baby steps! A future miniaturist! !! LOL
Son Michael said she asked for them as soon as they got home. The tent carry-bag & sleeping bags will be going out in tomorrow's mail!

CarolynB in Niagara
http://www.mapleleafminiatures.ca/shop/

What's in YOUR Genes?

2011-08-08T21:04:00.013-04:00

Nancy Noble Day made this wonderful desk for her brother and commented:
"I scattered printie genealogy papers/forms and photos on the desk and in the slots. I may re-do it, my brother is probably more tidy than I am. I have a glass paperweight, if I can find it and I'm wondering if I need a pencil cup and pencils.
A glass paperweight and family photos. Using the 'print index' feature on Picture It, I edited small versions of photos of my grandmother, recently discovered photos of her father and my mother's father and printed them on photo paper. By trimming most of the background out, it made them more in scale. I glued a couple of the same photos, untrimmed, in the top drawer to surprise my brother."

Here is a closer look at the contents.

What an exceptional gift and so meaningful!

Paint Touchups with Revolution

2011-07-27T15:02:00.004-04:00

Chris from Canada writes:
If you have a dog or cat and use Revolution for parasite control (the liquid, not the tablets) you probably already use the amber glasses and vases the caps provide, but if you rinse the tube out, you can refill them with anything like custom mixed paint colours or stains to keep on hand for emergency touch-ups of minis. If you screw the cap back on VERY tightly (just like you do when you first open it) the cap will snap down and provide an airtight seal. Then all you have to do is label which project it belongs to, put it in a storage bag and then remember where you put the bag when you spot an 'uh-oh' on that project a week later. :-D

Take a Pill!

2011-07-23T17:23:00.002-04:00

Chris from Canada writes:
You know those little plastic containers of desiccant you sometimes find in the larger size bottles of pills? Well, they are not only good for 1:12 waste baskets, paint cans or canisters with the addition of a bead on top, some paint and a label, but if you open them up, they'll have either very tiny charcoal (briquets for your BBQ or coal fireplace), or beautiful crystal-clear silicone (??) marbles to use as candies in a jar, marbles for a child or to add some pizzaz in the bottom of a vase of flowers or lucky bamboo.
WARNING!! THESE ARE DESIGNED TO ABSORB MOISTURE SO IF YOU WANT TO FASTEN THEM DOWN DO NOT USE A WATER-BASED GLUE!
They're OK with SuperGlue as well as silicone, but those are the only ones I've tried. I'm not sure about using them with Magic Water or liquid resin for rising bubbles in a bottle or pond, but next time I need faux water, I'll give it a try.

Sinks

2011-07-04T18:59:00.005-04:00

Leilani from the Wee Creations group wrote:

On the cover of egg cartons there are two very small indentations on the part that holds the cover closed in place. They look like they can be used as possible tiny sinks, or maybe as a bath tub.

Doggie Beds

2011-06-16T17:20:00.008-04:00

Leilani, Adam and Sarah have completed another project for the Happy House.

They found a wonderful doggy-themed fabric, and used a sauce container to create the shape.

This is Adam's Bed:

This is Sarah's

How cosy those beds look! Great job!
And here is Moosh enjoying his toys!

Clutching at Straws - Mini Chair

2011-06-16T16:38:00.003-04:00

Chris from Canada has another brilliant idea, and writes:
This is an offshoot of the cold drink lid dishes idea of last week and makes use of the scoop-ended straws that come with things like "slush", freezies" etc.... to make tub chairs. The main use is for 144th scale BUT don't forget that 1" scale children have dolls and doll houses too! The second idea works for any scale.

THE SCOOP END: Flattening the scoop with your fingers, cut off the end of the straw approximately 3/8" from the top.
THE OTHER END: Cut off a 1/8" to 3/16" slice. If it is not even, repeat until you have the perfect slice.
Glue a bit of fabric softener sheet, thin felt or whatever is on hand to the inside curve of the scoop end cut-off and let dry. Trim off the excess.
While the back is drying, stuff a bit of padding into the littlesegment of tube, using enough so that there is a bulge at one end. This will form the rounded top of the seat.
Using the back as a template, cut out a piece 1/8" larger all around than the back. from thin fabric that has been sealed on the back with a thin coat of glue. Apply a small amount of glue to the centre of the piece and place it centred over the back leaving the edges free.
Press in place and let dry, then snip in all the way around the loose edges to create
some ease for the curves and glue the resulting flaps down.
While that's drying, cut 2 circles of fabric slightly larger than the end of the straw, glue to each end of the seat, snip the edges and glue the flaps down.
When well stuck, cut a strip to go around the seat, glue in place and trim so the ends just meet. DO NOT overlap the ends (too much bulk) but if there is a small gap it will be hidden when the back piece is glued on.
Using the back piece as a guide, cut a piece of fabric the same size or slightly bigger and
trim it. Test fit this to the unfinished side of the chair back and make anyadjustments before gluing in place.
When everything is completely dry, carefully bend the back piece so it fits snugly around the seat, with bottom edges of both pieces lined up. Apply glue and hold in place until the glue grabs before setting it down. (Small elastic bands, floral tape or mini-clamps come in handy here.) You're done!

But what about the other 7 or so inches of plastic straw? Well, a piece 2" long can be packed with polymer clay which you then push out bit by bit with a skewer or small dowel and slice off to make perfectly round even slices for making QS cakes, 1" scale cookies or plates (use a flat-bottomed glass to flatten and enlarge the circle, then impress the centre with a dowel). Use the straw cut into rounds of varying height as bases for round containers/cans using printie labels plus paper punch or foil circles on the ends, or use a wide slice for a mug or juice jug with half of a narrow slice for a handle. Stove pipes on a
roof? Sliced lengthwise for eavestroughs? Whole for down spouts? Pinprick holes made with a hot needle for a vintage lampshade on a mini-light? OK, that's a stretch, but I used to have a lamp with a red shade covered in small holes that turned using a convection current created by the heat of the light bulb, making moving stars all over the walls and ceiling.

From a Book to a Rug

2011-06-07T12:29:00.005-04:00

Tanya found a date book at Hobby Lobby, which has a very nice fabric cover, and makes a nice shag carpet.

Love the colours and the tweenie! Keep those mini eyes open!

Save those lids!

2011-06-07T10:58:00.008-04:00

Chris Shibata from Canada writes:
I don't know why I never noticed the potential of cold drink lids before, unless it's because I rarely visit fast food places, but today I noticed the semi-opaque plastic lids each contain several
bowls suitable for fruit nappies in 1:12, soup bowls in 1:24 or salad bowls in 1:48. As a test I coated 2 of them with nail enamel while they were still in the lid, then cut all four out with curved scissors and touched up the cut edges up with gold leaf pen. I ended up with 2 bowls with a fine porcelain finish, and 2 frosted glass bowls. I also punched out circles from the unused flat portion of the lid, and used a ball stylus to indent the centres for plates. The indentations and rims hold their shape nicely, but the pressure from the stylus turned the plastic opaque white. I was hoping I could make sets of frosted dessert dishes but the plastic apparently had other
ideas. :-(

Nailpolish on both sides of 'bumps'-cut or punched out. Gold leaf pen on edges. I also tried adding more embossing in the form of little gouges to the plain plastic, and put pale blue permanent marker on the back and rim. It came out looking like a piece of Chinese 'Rice Pattern' tableware, with the blue showing very slightly through the flat areas and the rice dents are opaque white. The dents are too large for scale, but that would be easily remedied by using a smaller stylus.

Flowers and how this can lead to that

2011-06-05T23:10:00.021-04:00

Working on a gazebo, and making hanging ferns, I took a look at these wee ladies and went digging in my stash.

Came up with this bush, and

a package of dowel caps and chess pieces.

Cut the top off the chess piece, glued the dowel cap onto the top and Bob's your father's brother! Now, the magic word "paint" to look like stone.
Then take a floret and glue into the dowel cap. Start gluing pieces of dried floral around and into the floret. I even painted one of the the finished arrangements.

Larger Dowel caps can be used effectively as well:

See the Minitreasures Wiki Plants page, scroll down to links for the Dutch TUT on masking tape ferns.

Elegance

2011-05-26T17:30:00.023-04:00

Hazel Dowd's club Minis4All, has been working on Hazel's tutorial vignette project, Elegance.
These girls belong to the Burscough dolls house club and come with their grandmothers, who are members of minis4all.

Three members completed their vignettes and proudly show off! The girls each designed the dresses for their project. How wonderful to see a younger generation of mini lovers flowering under the guidance of their mentors!

Lucy age 14

Chloe age 12

Catherine age 12

Great job, girls!

Easy Leaded Windows

2011-05-26T11:41:00.002-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
If you want to have small diamond-shaped leaded panes in a 1:12 window, look no further than the aluminium leaf guards that (supposedly) keep leaves from clogging up the eaves troughs of your house. Mine were trashed when the new troughs went up, but somehow one escaped the recycling bin. It surfaced last winter when I was digging around in the garage, and as I was in the final stages of a small 1:12 roombox representing a Tudor period solar, this piece of junk was actually diamonds in the rough. (groan)

The mesh is heavy aluminum that can be bent with pliers, and the size of the openings equals 4-5" in RL size, just right for Late Mediaeval, Tudor and Elizabethan settings. I had made the casement window frame already, so I simply cut a piece to fit, scrubbed it with dish soap and hot water, then spray painted it very dark grey. Once it was glued into the frame, I added acetate, attaching it to the mesh where the solder points would be with a teeny drop of superglue. It looks so much more real than drawing lines with marker or liquid lead and is definitely easier than fumbling with bits of wood or trying to evenly trim the adhesive 'mini' lead strips into 'real-mini' widths.

You can do the same thing for 1:24 windows using the metal mesh from old analog satellite dishes, in 1:48 scale window screen material works nicely, particularly if you skip the acetate and fill each hole with clear nail polish or gloss acrylic sealer to create the look of hand-made glass. For 144th scale, a fine black tulle, no crinoline material please as the panes would be 12" wide (!), or white tulle painted) can be stiffened and the panes filled using a brush-on or spray acrylic sealer and used as is, or leave the holes clear and sandwich the stiffened window between 2 layers of a good quality clear packing tape if you are worried about rough handling.

The Happy House Part 2

2011-05-23T12:54:00.008-04:00

Sarah and Adam are waving from Wee Creations Yahoo Group:

We are happy you liked our small dining room and have been working on a little girls bedroom. This is what we have done so far. We still have to tweek it some like grandma says, :) but it's almost done. We just have to add a little something on or over the curtains and maybe a couple dolls/toys. Little Camilla loves to read, so maybe some books too. I don't think she looks very happy yet. Maybe she's missing a little friend.Thank you all for your kind words, Adam and I appreciate them very much and we are inspired by you all.
Part 1 is here. Or look in the directory under kids projects.

Raggedy Ann Room

2011-05-22T19:31:00.006-04:00

Leilani from Wee Creations Yahoo Group writes:

I love turning trash into mini treasures.

One of the things I enjoy the most is going around the house searching for things I can turn into some kind of mini treasure. Hunting for a possible mini in something that isn't is really fun.

A couple of you asked me about the RA&A fabric. The RA&A fabric I used for these little treasures came in a 101 swap I had with a friend from Greece a while ago. I didn't know what to do with the fabric until I needed pillows.

The squares on the fabric are very small and I thought they would be just right for what I needed. The pillows look big in the photos but are really less than an inch in size. I had to hand sew tiny stitches and use a very small amount of padding to stuff them.

The pillows are also reversible. Some have plain fabric on the other side while others have RA&A pattern.

The red and white stripe fabric is just a piece of cleaning towel, the kind that come a few in a pack from the dollar store. They come in different colors. I just happen to have that one and I think I also have a green and white piece. Depending on what I'm working on I also use this fabric for underlying something that may need a little extra underneath.

I received two small pieces of RA&A fabric in the swap deal, enough for the little pillows. The pieces of fabric have the different prints you see on the pillows. It looks like a quilt with tiny squares.

The fabric for the little sofa is a piece of vinyl and since I couldn't find Bunka I twisted layers of sewing thread together to make the trim thickness I needed and I was glad it worked.

The sofa, swivel chair and the little bed all came from a bottle of Dawn dish washing detergent. I think it was a 12 oz bottle. I was surprised I could get all three pieces from one bottle.

The little bed is made from the bottom part of the bottle. The swivel chair is made from the top part of the bottle and the sofa is made from the center part of the bottle.

The little fireplace came out of a Dove bath soap box and I added broken egg shells for the stone look.

The top and bottom of the fireplace came from a cardboard egg carton and the base is made from a piece of cardboard as well.

As you can see everything is made from some kind of Trash that I turned into a mini treasure. ( T2T ).

I hope you enjoy my Wee Creations!

Duracraft Farmhouse 505

2011-05-19T16:19:00.003-04:00

Raven Scott has completed this wonderful farmhouse and posted pictures to her album in the Little Roomers group.

What a charming project!

Higgins General Store

2011-05-19T15:27:00.014-04:00

A new member, Raven Scott, posted pics to her general store in the group photo album.
This is a shot of the outside.

The sidewalk has moss growing in the cracks, and a gumball machine is at the front entrance.
On the right hand side you can see the notions department.

Inside there is a tempting selection of sewing needs.

This is the lower shelf:

This is the grocery section:

And you really must have a bathroom, so an extra room was built onto the back of the store.

An HBS nightstand was bashed to make the sink unit, and Sculpey clay used to make the sink and the bathroom mirror.
Of course, a general store must sell tools:

Note the weigh scale and paper bags!

Outside, to the right is a vegetable stand.

With vegetables

Lots of attention to detail here.

Cheesy!

2011-05-18T13:58:00.004-04:00

Once again, Tanya has come up with a unique project!

Cheese Balls by Tanya McKibben
What you will need:

Nail Polish Kit Party Favors – 4 Pack (found at Hobby Lobby)
Cap from thingie found in pharmacy medicine bottles to keep medicine fresh (Top of canister) If you don’t have any of these you could probably use a large brad Gazz-It modeling beads – found at Dollar Tree Tacky
Glue (to glue label and top to canister)
Printer to print label for cheeseballs off the internet (Do a Google search for UTZ Cheeseballs)

Instructions:

Open polish bottle, cut the stem off with utility scissors. Empty contents out. You will have to stick some type of stick inside the bottle to get the polish flowing out. Run hot water inside the bottle until all contents is out and bottle is clear. Let bottle dry completely.
Open your container of Gazz-It beads and take out enough to fill the nail polish bottle. Put the Gazz-It beads on clean piece of cardstock or paper or whatever you choose.
Pour a small amount of orange paint onto the paper then take a paintbrush and cover the Gazz-It beads all over until completely covered in orange paint, let dry. Fill container up with the Gazz-It beads all the way to the top.
Paint the cap of your canister the same color as the real life product. I used a purple paint pen and the paint stuck very well to the plastic cap. Once it is dry glue the cap on the canister with Tacky Glue.
Once you have found your label on the internet via Google, copy and paste it to MS Word and resize it. If you can’t find the label I have it and can send it to you upon request. After you have resized your label and cut it out, glue it to your container of cheese balls and you are all done. If you decide to make one of these I would love to see pictures. If anything is not clear to you, please don’t hesitate to email me at teecrafty2000@ yahoo.com. Enjoy!

The Happy House Part 1

2011-05-11T18:49:00.003-04:00

Posted on Wee Creations Yahoo Group by Sarah and Adam:
Most of you know that my brother Adam and I rescued a doll house that was going into the trash and we are trying to fix it and mom said it would be OK to show pics of the first room so you can see how it's coming along. The pics are of the dining room.
The hutch was made by Linda from a swap she had with my g-ma a while back.
The floor cover and table cloth are from another swap but I can't remember who made it. The three plates above the hutch are from a scrapbook section.
The picture on the wall Adam painted it. We both love to pain and so do mom and g-ma and my little brother Alex likes to scribble too so we might showcase one or more of his masterpieces in one of the rooms also. He is so cute!
The hanging lamp is from a living room fan chain g-ma had saved and a finding for the base.
The curtains are pieces of lace I put together. I will be gathering the curtains up in the center and adding a little bow or something to them on there.
The decoration on the stairs side Adam and I made.
The hanging plates were a gift from a friend in Greece. Thank you Lia.
The cake on the table was made using a small water bottle top and puff paints. It is on a button plate with a doily cut from a regular size larger one.

The table and chairs were just a lucky find because it was the only one left and they were hidden way back on a shelf. G-ma found it because she moved some other things out the way and looked behind the boxes.
Since we love Christmas we want to have a little bit of Christmas here and there throughout the house so you will see more touches of Christmas.
The other pic is of Linda Grady's hutch. We love this hutch and since we are making the dining room with a Christmas theme we thought it would look great in there and it does. We love the Poinsettia above the hutch also. Thank you Linda.

Thanks to everyone who swaps with g-ma because we have such pretty things for the dining room now. We learn so much from all who share tutorials, ideas and tips and we love TTT also.

Happy House painted

Inside papered

Sticky Business

2011-04-15T14:02:00.001-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
Here's how I've done it in 1:12 for standard clear sticky tape used in offices, with adjustments for 1:24 in square brackets.

You'll need a round toothpick, a knitting needle or a large safety pin the same diameter as the toothpick - approx. 1/12" across [1:24= use a heavy sewing pin, not the super skinny type used for lace or silk, a hat pin or medium size safety pin], sharp scissors, small ruler, craft knife and cutting mat, craft glue or a glue stick, a small scrap of paper from a paper grocery bag, lunch bag, brown envelope or regular printer paper if you want a white core, and an inch or so of the tape you want to miniaturise.

1) Prepare the core- From your paper, cut a strip 1/16" wide [1:32"] and about 1 1/2" long (which leaves you lots of room for handling). Take your round tool and starting at one end of your strip wrap it twice around the tool. Add the teensiest bit of glue to the strip right where you stopped wrapping to secure the second wrap to the first. When that has set a bit, wrapping 4 [2] more times for a total of 6 [4] rounds, adding glue every round. Cut off the extra paper and glue the end securely. Carefully slide the core up and down the tools a bit to make sure it hasn't stuck to it, then slide the core off gently and set aside to dry. (NOTE: If you are making a wider tape such as masking tape or packaging tape, adjust the core width as well as the tape width in step 2.)

2) Prepare the tape- While the glue finishes drying on the core, take your length of tape and press it to the palm of your hand 2 or 3 times to remove about half of the adhesive. It should still be somewhat tacky when you're done, but have have lost its' 'death grasp', making the next part easier. Find a clean, dry spot on your cutting mat (or make one if your looks like mine does) and stick the tape lightly to the board. Using the ruler to keep your cut straight, cut off a strip 1/16" [1/32"] wide from the long edge of the tape. (See note in Step 1 for making wider tapes.)

3) Assemble- By now your core should be dry, so all you have to do is carefully peel the strip of tape from the cutting mat and roll it evenly around the core. (I find it easiest to hold the core at both ends between my thumb and first finger, and use a combination of tweezers and fingers to place the tape straight and smooth it down onto the core.) Cut any excess off (and if necessary hold the cut end in place with a micro-drop of glue) when the roll is no more than 1/4" [1/8"] wide for clear sticky tape (Scotch tape) or 1/2" [1/4"] for masking tape, Duck tape etc... If you need a larger roll, just cut another strip and keep wrapping. The join won't show as it will be covered by the extras wraps, but the 2 strips be exactly the same width unless you want it to look like a roll of tape left in the rear window of the car all summer.

And if you're really into tape, get out some Fimo and a cut-off straight pin (for the spindle) and make a desk-style tape holder where the roll actually turns around. Just don't bake the holder with the spindle in the grooves of the holder, or you may never get it out to put the tape on. And don't ask me why I have five empty tape holders and five rolls of tape in a little baggie somewhere, or I may have a mini breakdown. :-D

I hope t

Transparency in Paper

2011-04-15T13:10:00.001-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
This is something my mother used to do with plain paper and a vegetable shortening like Crisco to make translucent paper backings for silhouette pictures for her Sunday School classes. This was back in the days when a scrapbook was folded newsprint paper stapled into a plain cover, into which you glued photos, newspaper clippings and the like, with hand-written comments: no fancy paper, stickers, miniature embellishments etc....

Technically this is not a trash project unless you happen to have saved some grease-spotted paper from the bottom of a donut box, but the basic principles of making a piece of opaque paper translucent are the same. All you do is rub some clear vegetable oil (canola, corn etc.) into a piece of bargain-priced paper (it's thinner than the good stuff) and put it on a rack to let the oils soak in. After 2-3 minutes you can check it by holding it up to a light, and touch up any spots you missed.

When you are satisfied with the overall transparency, use a paper towel to soak up any leftover oil, then lightly spray one side with a matte sealer, and when dry, spray the other side. Taa-dah! :-) A sheet of semi-translucent paper for Japanese screens and lanterns, window blinds and all sorts of things. Add colour with a thin wash, sparkles or anything else you can come up with and have fun, 'cause it's better (and cheaper) to make your own! :-)

Build up Steam to bend wood

2011-03-30T13:02:00.002-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
When I made my HS "rattan" furniture I was using chair caning which was to be softened either by steaming, or soaking for 24 hours followed by a dunk in boiling water. I didn't have the time to soak them, nor was their any way I was going to heat up my kitchen by using the stove let alone stand over a kettle of boiling water holding the cane pieces in the steam. So instead I placed 3-4 layers of wet paper towel in a glass cake pan, followed by a small plate and put the pieces of cane on that. Tightly covered with vented plastic wrap and "cooked" on high for a few minutes, the pan built up a good head of steam under the plastic wrap which made the cane moist and quite flexible, but didn't leave it dripping as the cane was not in contact with the wet towelling. I've used the same technique on basswood for some curved drawer fronts, and even gave it a second steaming (just to even out the curve a bit) while it was still strapped to the 3 pieces of dowel and scrap wood I had used as a form, without causing any problems.

BTW, this also often works to release something you have glued incorrectly without damaging the parts, even after the glue has cured for 4 weeks. It works for hot glue, carpenter's and wood glue, tacky and craft glues including WeldBond, Eileen's and Sobo, but NOT with Hypo-Cement, super glues, common plastic model glues, Gorilla Glue or rubber/contact cements. I haven't tried it on any other glues so far, as I tested only the glues I had on hand, gluing wood scraps together, labelling them, and then trying to steam them apart a month later. Not a truly scientific approach, but it was a good way to check what would work, so I would know in case I ever had to correct a gluing error. Not of course, that I would EVER glue a carved door panel on upside down or a chair arm inside out, let alone do something as dumb as gluing the middle floor of a 3-level house in backwards and not notice until 6 months later, when returning to the project and attempting to glue in the staircase. :-D

Scrappy Savings

2011-03-23T12:40:00.004-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
Don't trash a treasure you made from a laser-cut kit simply because the fancy trim, a leg or some other small part has broken or been damaged, for example by an e-vile cat like my sweet little Lucifer. :-D

Before starting a laser-cut kit, take the time to scan and print (or photocopy) any small parts at 100% before you remove them from the sheet of wood. Then make your kit up, saving all the pieces of the unused sheet. When the item has been completely assembled, place the bits of wood and the scan/photocopy in an envelope, write down what the wood came from, and place it in a safe place like a shoebox.

Now when the Victorian gingerbread trim on the peak of a roof is chewed up, your HS window planter brackets snap in half or a leg on your QS spinning wheel mysteriously vanishes, you can replicate it using the saved wood and your copy of the original piece as a template. HINT: If the bits you have are not large enough and you don't have any other wood that thickness, you can cut copies from thinner wood (if you have any) and glue them together so they are the right thickness OR make a few copies from cardstock and glue them together. Coat the cardstock replacement with some ModPodge, a brush-on sealer or even some glue thinned with a drop of water and, when dry completely and the part is rigid, apply whatever finish you used
on the original. (If it was stained wood like my spinning wheel, you'll have to replicate a woodgrain finish using markers or craft paint and the dry-brush technique to show the grain.) Glue the new part in place, and admire your handiwork.

You should also save larger bits from any house kit you assemble, even if it is for someone else, so you build up a stock of sheet wood in all sizes. You've paid for it, so use it. It's amazing the amount of furniture, window and door trim, picture frames, door panels, steps etc... you can make using the leftover wood from just one small house kit.

Smokin Needles Tatoo Parlour

2011-03-17T16:10:00.004-04:00

Take a look at the unique project Chris from All Things Mini has created! The basic plan for the structure has been uploaded to the club so members can make up their own "room and a half'.

She said: These 2 give a fair representation of the whole thing. I actually won an online competition with this some years ago and these were the 2 photos submitted.

what gave you the idea for the project?

DH and I used to have a ceramic studio. In the early 90's part of our income came from attending tattoo conventions where we sold ceramic fighures that we made such as Native Americans, Wizards, Dragons etc. So, I got to know quite a bit about a tattooists setup. I had never since this theme before or since and so was inspired by the almost unique theme. It was my first full size project.

did you make all the items from sctatch?

Absolutely everything is made from scratch. Every page of every album is filled with tattoo artwork known as 'flash'.

which item is your pride and joy?

The whole scene because it was my very first full project. But, particularly the medical couch and stool. DH drew up the plans for these after studying lots of online photos. The stool can be raised and lowered by means of a screw.

I would eventually like to try to recreate this in smaller scales but it is something that will have to be put off until I retire.

Regards,

Chris

Half Inch Garbage Can

2011-03-16T19:31:00.003-04:00

Marjorie Wannamaker wrote:

This morning when I opened up a new bottle of Coffee Mate flavoring (large, hazelnut) there was a new sealed top. Instead of the foil which was difficult for me to pull back there was a plastic pull ring. When I pulled it off, the ring and the round part that sealed the bottle looked to me like a garbage can lid - small for one inch, about right for half inch. All you would have to do is make a tube of cardstock or use a dowel the right size, set the ring over the top and bingo - a garbage can. Since the round "lid" kind of sticks up, just stash a little bit of garbage under the lid. Perfect for any setting, kitchen, bedroom, kids room, whatever.

Clear food Covers

2011-03-05T13:19:00.004-05:00

(see original pic here)

From Chris in Canada:
The Strepsils throat lozenges come in bubble packs which are

flimsy
and have a rounded top, so they're not any good for serving bowls.

BUT when used in pairs (one slipped inside the other) with an optional bead handle on top, they are perfect as clear covers for RL 9-10" plates of food for things like a counter display of fancy cakes or tarts. They are 3/4" tall so even work with a 2-layer cake or meringue pie. You don't have to double them up if you are gluing items in place, AND can promise you will never drop, squeeze or accidentally bump one with your tweezers or another plate. Being fumble-fingered on occasion, I chose to be safe rather than sorry, but it's your choice.

Check those Electronics!

2011-02-16T16:49:00.001-05:00

Tanya wrote:
Be sure you check out those old electronics because there's lots of goodies inside. I found a mini metal file holder inside of an old DVD player.

2011-02-16T16:43:00.002-05:00

Chris from Canadsa wrote:
My daughters are now 32 and 35 and beyond the annual birthday cake, but a few weeks ago I discovered some of those plastic flower-shaped candle holders I used to use in the back of a drawer. I doubt these would sell on eBay, even if they are "rare, vintage and in the original package" , but they are definitely not trash IMHO. Turned upside down with the flower portion painted with a metallic finish and the point with a suitable ivory or cream nail polish, you have a lovely 8-9" candle in a metal holder.
Or cut the part that goes into the cake off flush with the bottom of the flower, and they look like those small containers for floating candles, single roses or arrangements of small flowers from an English garden. By cutting the stem off part-way down and gluing it into a small bead attached to a base (button, jewellery finding etc..) it can be a taller stemmed container or even a porcelain candy dish. The white ones can be used as is or with a coat of clear gloss, but an opalescent nail polish or some glass stain would easily convert the other colours into 'glass' or 'porcelain'.
"BUT," you ask, "what about that pointy stem you cut off?" How about pencils, pens or artist's brushes in a holder, handles for small kitchen utensils, whisk brooms or children's toys, garden stakes, tent pegs, candles in a box and so on........

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T14:37:00.003-05:00

Tanya made this fabulous scene for Valentine's Day....

Don't it just make you all warm and fuzzy?
Here is a link to her Picturetrail album:
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/7251673

All Tied Up!

2011-01-26T16:24:00.003-05:00

Chris From Canada wrote:

Don't pitch broken shoelaces from until you have:

cut the ends off about 2/3" down the lace from where the plastic or metal thing-a-ma-jig ends, assuming they're still there and aren't the reason for changing the laces. Coat the thing-a-ma-jig with paint or nail enamel in the desired colour, and shred the shoelace stump with a pin right up to the thing-a-ma-jig. Trim the threads evenly to between 1/3" and 1/2", and you have an old-fashioned duster. AND
examined the lace to determine whether it is a hollow knit tube or is joined together. If it is a tube, you can make use of the good parts from the wider ones for small knit items like a baby/child's hat, undershirts, panties, and adult socks, leggings, and long sleeves. Dye or decorate (if desired) with food colouring and water, water colours or marker, then measure, mark, cut, treat edges with glue or Fray Stop and hem (or not) as desired.

The round laces for dress shoes, although usually hollow, are generally too tiny for clothing except maybe as an evening gown in 144th, but could possibly work as a body for a snake in a 1:12 museum or zoo scene with the aid of some marker or paint and some stiff reddened thread for the tongue. I can't think of much the flat joined laces could be turned into except perhaps a 1:12 scarf, or a QS doormat, but I am sure someone can come up with something else.

Paperweights

2011-01-23T12:35:00.002-05:00

Those clear little bumper stickers used to cushion doors or prevent ornaments scratching furniture can be turned into a paperweight. Find a seed catalogue or use any tiny picture. Attach the dome to the picture, and the picture is magnified. Trim the bottom of the dome, and there you go!

Drill

2011-01-23T12:24:00.005-05:00

Got a plug that looks like this? Turn it into a drill for your mini handyman.
http://picasaweb.google.com/DaisyCarpi/DIYMiniFuradeira#

Mould-y Things

2011-01-19T11:32:00.003-05:00

Chris from Canada writes:
I am sure many of us have used part of a tube of sealer, closed and sealed it carefully before storing it for the next project, only to find a year or so later that it has hardened into a useless lump. Knowing realistically that you probably won't need it before it becomes useless, use it to replace those pricey commercial moulding products like Mold'n Pour or Fimo Flex. Here's the recipe:

1 part silicone sealer
1 part corn starch
Mineral spirits/paint thinner-enough to thin the mixture so it is thick like muffin or nut-loaf batter.

Work in a well-ventilated area, i.e. outside, in a garage with the door open a bit, under the stove vent with the fan running etc.... Put sealer and corn starch in roughly equal amounts into a disposable container (I used a disposable plastic cup) and then add a small amount of the liquid. Stir vigourously with a popsicle stick, or an old spoon or fork, adding more liquid gradually until it is the consistency of a smooth, very thick batter. It should be pourable with a bit of help from the mixing tool. If you add to much thinner by accident, just add more silicone and cornstarch (equal amounts) and stir again until smooth. And that's it.

If you've never made a mold before, check online as there are countless tuts out there, and the instructions are the same whether you are making a mold of a mosquito or a mastadon molar.

I used vaseline as my release agent for the original, and everything popped out like a dream. I didn't need anything for the copies because the mold is flexible. I experimented with just a tablespoon each of sealer and corn starch and about 1/2-3/4 tsp. of mineral spirits and ended up with enough to make a 1.5" square mold of a fancy button that I want to use to make ceiling medallions (or whatever you call the carved plaster circles that chandeliers used to be hung from). I cast one in plaster which looked great until I dropped it into the drain of the sink :-( and also tried it with air-dry clay and Fimo. These came out nicely too with very clear detail. The worst part is the vinegary smell while the stuff is being mixed and is curing, but once it is finished, there is little or no odour.

Stoned!

2011-01-12T12:58:00.001-05:00

Chris in Canada wrote
To make very realistic mini stonework in any scale without messy moulds, multiple colour washes, egg cartons or (yuck) settling for printies, why not use the real thing? The coarse sand/gravel mix used in parks and school playgrounds is a terrific source of lovely mini stones of all varieties suitable for pathways, fireplaces, walls, house foundations etc... Is everything frozen solid and covered in snow? No problem. Many cities leave out the same sand mix in bins located near stop signs where the road is sloped. It's free, and they usually have a scoop or shovel head inside to use to fill your bucket. If you have no other need for traction aids, just return the unwanted material to where you found it, and if anyone asks what you are doing, just say you have finished building your and didn't need all of it.
After choosing and washing off the stones you want, simply paint the surface you are "stoning" a light grey or off-white to resemble mortar for Justin Case, then glue the stones in place with a clear-drying glue. I use WeldBond as it seems to hold the stones in place better than most of the others. When the glue has dried, mix up some cellulose filler or spackle tinted with a few drops of craft paint and add "mortar" to the spaces between the stones using a finger, coffee stir stick or toothpick, depending on the scale you are working in. HINT: Only do small sections at a time as this stuff dries very quickly, and wipe off any extra mortar from the stones with a damp cloth.
If you want a finished-off look, use something with a rounded end (crochet hook or paintbrush handle, small stylus, dried-out marker) to go around each stone to smooth the mortar. Otherwise you can leave it as sloppy as you want, especially for garden walls. When was the last time YOU saw a cleanly mortared natural stone wall in RL scale?

Yule Tide Shop

2011-01-09T15:21:00.005-05:00

Sandra from Sydney wrote:
Our son Nathan gave me the Petite Properties Yule Tide shop for Christmas.
I painted the walls and completed the floors with strips of paper for floorboards as instructed in the Petite Properties for the first two kits by Petite Properties.
Corner Shop and Washtub Cottage.
This is the link to Sandra's blog - http://snippetsfrommystudio.blogspot.com/
To see the corner shop and washtub cottage, scroll to the very bottom.

The Hole in the Wall Pub

2011-01-07T13:32:00.005-05:00

Tanya has done it again!
Check out her fabulous pub....
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5815043

Epiphany in Spain

2011-01-06T11:13:00.007-05:00

Liz, in Staffordshire wrote:
In Spain, each town or area of a city has it's own "Belem" or Nativity scene. El Masnou, near Barcelona, has a "live" one in the streets every night which has to be seen to be believed. For some reason they always include rabbits, a "naughty" boy and a sort of harvest festival stall with fruit. I can't remember seeing the naughty boy at this one as he's usually doing what should be very private LOL! Some of the model ones are in Churches, others in public buildings and some are huge, with a story of Christ from Christmas to Easter in mini scenes. Most shops also have mini nativities, often handmade, sometimes reflecting the type of shop, in their windows.

You can see a few pictures of Belems and Sagrada Santa (Easter models) here:
Miniatures from Around the World

People order their cake for Epiphany ("King Cake" in English) then queue down the street, so you can tell which is the best baker! It's a bit like tea bread with cream, and inside you find lottle charms and figures, including the King charm. Whoever gets that must be king for the day... and buy the cake next year! We usually buy one and share it round the campsite where we are staying, along with our own Christmas cake, which all the non-British campers find very odd.

As for coal (and we have a family tradition that one of my uncles had just that one year!) you can buy little sacks of "coal" before Epiphany, rather like the "Reindeer Droppings" we see. You also see Three Kings climbing ladders up houses (or blocks of flats!) like the Father Christmases we see here.

The best is in the afternoon or early evening. On our first trip, not knowing anything about it, we saw lots of processions on TV but now we always go out to find it. The Kings are splendidly dressed and might be on one or three floats or even on individual horses. In Cadiz their arrival by boat is heralded by canon fire! The parade can take ages and includes lots of decorated floats with people throwing sweets and/or plastic flowers to all and sundry. It starts off very sedately but they end up "lobbing" them at their friends, who might even "chuck" them back! Everyone is dressed in their best clothes and often all the children in a family are identically dressed - boys in shorts and tights the same as their sisters' skirts and tights, and all ages too. They must cost families a fortune, but it is a frequent sight. All generations are out together and it's one of the few days that most of the men are not in the bar for long as it really is a family occasion. The grandads are the funniest, elbowing everyone else out of the way while they fill carrier bags full of sweets, supposedly for their grandchildren. The teenagers dive for them in a dangerous manner or congregate together shouting for Balthazar.

Balthazar always seems to be the most popular King, and is usually blacked up. They end up with one pink cheek as all the children are held up to kiss them and the make-up gets rubbed off. In Fortuna, in the South East of Spain, we saw a queue form long before the town band could be heard at the front of the Kings' procession. It weaved to and fro filling the square and big children looked after younger ones; it was very rare to see even a very little child being chaperoned by a parent. They must have queued patiently for an hour or more, to be presented with a gift which they acknowledged with a kiss on each "King's" cheek. This wouldn't be seen to be at all odd in Spain or Portugal, where children are treated very differently from here and family values / local friendship groups still seem very strong.
The Spanish know how to party and we are usually ready to stagger off at this point, but I doubt very much if anyone else gets to bed before the 7th!

Cat-astrophe!

2010-12-29T15:31:00.004-05:00

Chris in Canada wrote:
Sometimes life (or in this case, Lucifer the cat) can derail the best laid plans. The little "sweetie" decided to stage a midnight raid on the dining room table where I had been wrapping gifts, and succeeded in unwrapping several of the packages with the furniture inside, damaging and/or losing the contents.

There was however a bit of good arising from this incident. I discovered that paper-maché coffee trays can be a good emergency source of wood filler to repair kitty teeth marks and missing bits of turnings when you are out of PolyFilla, plastic wood and paper clay and everything is closed for the next 2 days. I soaked a small amount in warm water, shredded it with my fingers, pressed out the excess water and kneaded in some craft glue. It came out the consistency of paper clay, only sticky, and handled the same way as long as my fingers were kept wet. It dried to a hard smooth surface, and after sanding and painting you cannot tell where the repairs are, even on the headboard of a bed that was punctured completely through in 2 places by Lucifer's teeth. I even had to stain one bit with a water-based stain and it came out great so I see fewer wasted containers of hardened fillers in my mini future.

Got it Nailed!

2010-11-24T12:50:00.004-05:00

Chris in Canada writes:

Here's an idea that I've been using for a long time to solve a common problem when making minis. It won't turn a piece of trash into a mini, but may save a mini or two from being turned into trash. ;-D

Don't throw away your empty or nearly empty nail polish bottles. Fill them almost to the top with polish remover, screw the cap back on, shake well and let sit overnight. The next day give it a good shake and pour out the contents. Wash with warm water with a few drops of dish soap added, rinse then check to make sure all the gunk on the inside is gone. A Q-tip will remove any small amounts. Also examine the cap and brush. If there is only a small bit left on the brush stem or in the top, you can easily remove it by scraping with the tip of a toothpick or a pin. If it is still really gucky, repeat the treatment with fresh remover.

Use your clean bottle and brush combo to store brush-on sealer, custom colours of paint or stain for any touch-ups you may need as you progress on a project, watered down white glue for stiffening thread or fabric, colour washes and so on. There is nothing more frustrating or wasteful of time and supplies than trying to make an
exact match for a custom mixed colour weeks or months after you made it. I label the bottles with a strip of masking tape noting the project it was made for and where appropriate, a dab of the contents,then keep it with any other supplies I have set out for that project.
When there is no more need for the contents, I wash out the bottle ready for re-filling.

This little light of mine...

2010-11-17T17:10:00.003-05:00

From Chris in Canada:
This tip uses the Breeze brand meter made by Bayer, with which diabetics and pre-diabetics test their glucose levels. (Other meters may use similar lancets, but
everyone I know uses the same type.) Anyhoooo, the lancets come in the form of a ittle tube with the needle point, henceforth referred to as "the stabber" for reasons that should be obvious, covered with a cap. You need both parts (used ones are fine), a straight pin, small scissors, glue, a craft knife or pipe cutting tool, 1/2" or so of heavy white or black thread, paint and clear sealer of your choice, and a tiny bit of 'whatever' including any one of the following: raw Fimo, plasticine, play-doh, putty, paper mache, styrofoam, used bubble gum, or even a scrap of kleenex dipped in glue.
1) Glue the cap securely to the stabber, being careful not to stab yourself in the process.
2) When the glue has set, cut the tube off about 1/2 way down, just above the blunt end of the lancet needle or wherever you think it looks right. (WARNING: If you cut it off too short, you will have to either snip off the needle's end or try to yank it out with pliers. It's your call.)
3) Brush some glue inside the tube and fill it with the 'whatever' right to the top.
4) Coat the top of the 'whatever' with a thin coat of glue and immediately poke a tiny hole in the centre with the pin. Coat one tip of the thread with glue and insert it into the hole, pushing the glue covered 'whatever' around the thread to hold it in place. When the glue has dried, trim your wick with scissors to the length you desire. If you are making a previously lit candle, before adding any
glue, remove a bit of the whatever and shape a depression as if the candle has melted the wax in the centre. Use black thread and cut the wick shorter than you would for a new candle.
5) Paint the candle (stabber part) the desired colour being careful not to get paint on the wick when you do the top of the candle.
IMPORTANT: Stop the candle paint where the little lip sticks out, about 1/64" from the top of the cap. This lip is part of the candle holder, not the candle. Also, adding a wax (paint) drip or two down the side adds realism, but don't over-do it unless you really want it to look like something that belongs in a wizard's workroom.
6) Paint the cap section, including the lip on the stabber, with a metallic finish or use a glossy white and hand-decorate with permanent marker or water decals to resemble porcelain.
7) Finish everything off with a coat of clear sealer. Glossy for the base and semi-gloss or matte for the candle will further enhance the separation between the holder and the candle. Try a metallic pewter paint or a brushed steel nail enamel with a cream or ivory candle, or put a pure white or bright red candle with a copper holder. Add a bit of greenery for a festive look. A pale blue or pink candle on a white porcelain stand decorated with tiny flowers is very feminine, as is a mauve candle with lilac sprays. A drippy orange candle on a black holder screams Hallowe'en, and white on either metallic gold or white is always elegant. Add a seasonal decal or tiny clipping to the candle itself and keep the holder plain.
NOTE: The cap by itself makes quite a nice vase in both 1" and 1:24 (HS) and can also act as a protruding chimney liner, a stove-pipe on a roof (open end up) or even a small scale chimney pot if you paint a small circle on the cap's top to represent the flue.

Remembrance Day

2010-11-11T09:32:00.011-05:00

John McCrae is pictured with his horse Bonfire and his dog Bonneau. His WW1 poem was memorized by many Canadian "boomers", whose parents had vivid memories and experience with a second "War to end all wars".

Three in One

2010-11-10T09:06:00.003-05:00

From Chris in Canada:
I recently tried those new all-in-one laundry sheets with the detergent and softener built in and although I still am not convinced they work as well as the traditional detergents and separate softeners, I love the used sheets for mini uses. They're thick and soft, but also have a firm backing, which makes them perfect for small pillows, furniture padding and for mattresses if multiple layers are used. I also used some today for snow on a lawn, and after a bit of brushing with a wire suede brush, it has just the right amount of fluffiness.

Let's get Corked!

2010-11-05T17:37:00.002-04:00

From Chris in Canada:
Here's a quick and dirty trash idea for used wine corks. If you shave
off paper-thin slices working from top to bottom on the cork, you'll
find it naturally breaks into smaller segments, many of which
resemble the trees, birds, leaves and so on in the Chinese cork
pictures. Select the best ones and build a scene on a pre-cut piece
of acetate using the moisture from a damp finger to temporarily stick
the bits in place. Add another piece of acetate cut to match and
sandwich the whole thing between 2 cardstock "frames" painted shiny
black or dark brown. Add a small stand made from a block of balsa or
Fimo and there's your very own Oriental masterpiece!

Get the Lead out!

2010-10-06T10:43:00.012-04:00

If you have occasion to get your hands on any lead wine-bottle seals found on some imported wines, usually the expensive ones, hang on to them. They are a source of very soft metal that can be easily cut then shaped with simple tools to make mini cooking and eating utensils, fireplace tools, period hardware for doors etc.... NOTE: If you are a Boomer or Zoomer and worried about handling lead, wear plastic gloves.
The metal cases from the tea light candles are great sources of soft metal for all sorts of things. The metal can easily be cut with old scissors and bent to shape.

Reflective Material for Signs, Ornaments, Mobiles

2010-09-22T18:32:00.002-04:00

Chris the CD Crusher in Canada
It was an accident! Honest!!

As for this week's T2T I have just a small one concerning CDs and DVDs. When one is smashed under a car wheel in the driveway, :-} if you look you may find little bits of the silver film sticking out from the broken edges of the clear plastic interior. When you find some, use your fingers or a pair of tweezers to GENTLY coax the film to pull away from the plastic base. It is finicky to do but the reward is worth it because you now have in your possession micro-thin pieces of full-spectrum reflective material. These can be attached anywhere you need something to reflect light with the colour depending on the angle it is viewed from. I don't know how else to put the effect in words, but if you you hold a CD disk in the light and tip it around a bit, you'll see what I mean. Thin strips can be used to outline a poster or sign and added to just about anything in a modern setting, and if glued to light-weight paper, can be punched out when dry and the shapes used as desired. Gluing some film on both sides of the paper means you can punch out shapes to use for hanging ornaments, mobiles, store displays ......... Well, you get the idea.

Corn husk angels

2010-09-15T17:53:00.009-04:00

Finally the hot, humid weather has gone, so last weekend I cooked up some of our fresh Ontario corn inside, instead of on the BBQ. I was putting the husks and silks in my green bin container and thinking about how soon Christmas would be upon us and what tree decorations I would have to replace, when the light turned on. Here were the makings of more corn-husk angels to replace the ones that the cats had mangled a few years ago ...... AND why not use the same husks to make mini corn-husk angels? My original angels were just shy of 2" tall, reduced from instructions I found on-line, but they could be made any size you want by using the thinner husks found closest to the cob.

The green husks and silks are easily dried by letting them air dry in a collander or strainer for a few weeks, or they can be laid in a single layer on a paper towel, covered with another towel and micro-waved. I did mine for 2 minutes on high, let stand for about 5 minutes, them flipped them over, paper towel and all, and nuked them another 2 minutes. I then spread them out on a clean paper towel and let them sit out overnight. Voila, 'almost instant' dried corn husks for free, versus the $4-$5 craft stores charge for a 'kit' consisting of a few corn husks, a cotton ball to use for stuffing the head and some photocopied instructions, probably taken from the internet.

Tonight I made a "HUGE" corn husk angel (LOL!!!), a hair over 7/8" tall without her halo. I wanted to start big and work my way down to 1/2" tall so she would fit into either a 1:12 Christmas scene, or minus wings and wire halo, serve as a decoration for a country style home or a pioneer child's doll. . Her eyes ran due to the fibres of the husks so she looks as if she hasn't slept in a long time, so if I do eyes on another, I'll seal the face first. And I'll use regular bunka for the hair, or some brushed out acrylic yarn, not the stuff I snipped off from the fringed pillow beside me.

Today I made another, this time measuring in at 9/16" including her halo. This size would fit in well in a 1:12 scene, as most RL cornhusk dollies are 6-7" tall. And except for it being a bit fiddly when the time came to tie parts together, she was just as easy to do as her big sister. Next time I plan to go for 1/3, and if that works ............ .... :-D

Pack up your tent

2010-09-08T22:05:00.004-04:00

Ever think about moving, First Nations style?
Now what WOULD a girl carry with her?

Whaddya do with the toddler not old enough to walk - make a portable playpen!

What to do with a Toilet Paper Roll

2010-08-27T21:56:00.003-04:00

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Paper-cuts-Rolls/241623

Street of Houses

2010-08-23T17:41:00.007-04:00

Quarter Scale Minis and Roomboxes -part 3

Fern Rouleau has come up with a wonderful way to display her 1:24 scale houses in her living room, behind the sofa, installing mirror tiles so they would reflect the inside of the homes. She and Bob plan to enclose the project in Plexiglass.

The Dog Days of Summer

2010-08-06T11:21:00.006-04:00

Mary Kennerly writes in the Smallstuff digest:
I found some years-old dried material in the garage and took a picture, though it doesn't include all the species used for the flowers. I bought some of this stuff (most notably a thrift-store hearth-broom - it bleaches nicely and has lovely twisty stems), but generally I found raw materials from this time of year on into fall while dogwalking in vacant lots, along roadsides, and in neglected residential alleyways. The blossom shapes are mostly the calyxes that cupped the original flowers. The most delicate material was the awns of some cereal-type plant, plus some superthin stems of quaking-grass (the "flowers" are pale pink and stuck into one of those awns.

Those red tulips (for a change I tried to make tulipish leaves) came from a hairy, sticky, quite unlovable-looking weed. A more delicate species-tulip starts from another weed, nipplewort. And a head of garlic, or its ornamental garden allium cousins, is yet another source for deeply cupped shapes.

(Teazels are the armature for a couple of the standard plants, providing both the trunk and the head into which greenery is glued, instead of using a plastic ball. Globular seed-pods from the sweet-gum tree also have holes that can be used the same way.)

Once you have the dried stuff, making blossoms is pretty quick. Add stems; paint; and there you are. So very easy. I hope somebody is inspired to do a bit of neighborhood foraging.

In the snapshot of made-up flowers, on the left there's a bunch of orange-petaled flowers with dark-rimmed yellow centers. They're made from feverfew. But feverfew calyxes are even more realistic-looking with the stem clipped short and turned upside down. I seem not to have any on hand to photograph. Worth mentioning, I think, because feverfew, with its bright green foliage and its miniature daisy flowers, is nice to have in the real-life garden. One stem is like a whole bunch of flowers to tuck in a little pitcher.

Mary's album with more information:
http://s891.photobucket.com/albums/ac111/Lutherphotos/MINIS/

Ed. Note - Look for Queen Anne's lace, put a bouquet in a jar with water and food colouring of your choice, and the blossom will pick up the colour.

2010-08-04T18:21:00.003-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
'Visine' brand eye drops now pack some of the varieties in individual size plastic mini-vials for your purse or pocket. The tube part is too big for a 1:12 container as is, but if you cut off the "wings" on either side, cut off the bottom just below where the wings used to end, and shorten the neck a bit, it becomes a bottomless frosted glass bottle. Cutting the bottle shorter makes a ketchup or salad dressing bottle or make it really stubby and you have a funnel.
Next, remove the black printing with a cotton bud dipped in either a spoonful of rubbing alcohol, or a shot of gin, whiskey or vodka. Beer and wine won't work, nor will liqueurs. DO NOT drink the rest quite yet as you'll need your hands steady for the next part.
To make the bottom, puddle some glue on a piece of plastic wrap, place the bottle neck into squeeze-opening tweezers or locking forceps, and sit the bottom of the bottle down evenly in the glue.
Push things around until there is glue everywhere the cut end touches the plastic wrap insde the bottle as well and extending a bit beyond the outside of the bottle's sides. Support the whole thing (I used tweezers and supported the tweezers on a rolled-up paper towel), and leave it until the glue is set and completely clear. OK, you can have that drink now, but one only. When the glue is dry, carefully peel the plastic wrap from the bottom of the bottle. Don't trim the extra off yet! Check the glue bottom and if there are any holes or gaps, fill them with more glue and allow to dry again. (You can have one more drink now, but just one, and you must eat something with it.)
When you have sobered up, if needed after all this time spent waiting for glue to dry, and are satisfied with the new bottom, carefully trim the excess glue around the bottle with small scissors. Remove any burrs and finally apply a thin layer of glue over the bottom and a hair above the bottom edge as insurance and let dry. (Yes, go ahead but save some for the time you make bottles.) :-D

Other uses for these containers:
1) The cap makes a great agitator for a top-loading washing machine, or painted brown could become the paddles in an antique wooden 'washing machine', the sort where you moved a handle bar on the lid back and forth to operate the paddles.
2) Make a toy spaceship: Trim the 'wings' on the cap to look like those found on a space shuttle, cover with metallic nail polish or craft paint, draw some windows or portholes with a fine point marker and add stripes, ID numbers or what-have-you for a child's toy spaceship.
3) Cut the wings completely off the cap, file or sand to remove about half of the protruding base, and you have a drinking glass with a thick glass base. If desired, coat everything with a sheer coloured glaze or fill part way with a drink (glass stain, resin, nail polish or glue will work), draw a simple design with fine point marker or apply a tiny decal.

Glenna is a Star!

2010-08-02T20:50:00.004-04:00

Glenna was featured on the Greenleaf site as member of the month!
Congratulations!
Here is a link to her albums
http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/index.php?autocom=gallery&req=user&user=1021

A Camping we will go!

2010-07-31T11:57:00.003-04:00

Check out Doreen's Coleman stove!
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2010/07/coleman-stove.html

Cant go camping without sleeping bags!
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2010/07/sleeping-bags.html

Doreen is so inventive and her FP family is having so much fun!

Happy Birthday Canada!

2010-07-01T10:44:00.003-04:00

Try this quiz : http://photopeach.com/album/12vwh4m

If you want background to the questions, see the Slideshow: http://photopeach.com/album/12vwh4m

Leonardslee

2010-06-30T23:36:00.000-04:00

Sadly this gem is closing.

Laundry Sink

2010-06-08T10:01:00.002-04:00

Susan made this fantastic laundry room in a soap box. She has a post showing how to make the sink unit on her blog:
http://minicrochetmad.blogspot.com/2010/06/laundry-sink.html

Fishy Business!

2010-06-01T08:14:00.004-04:00

Karin wrote: I've been working on Greenleaf's Springfling contest that just closed today....so couldn't show any photos before now.
The original kit was a garage with attached shed & an additional "house". Well, I had a 20s garage all planned but the building decided otherwise! It decided that it looked more like an old time fishing hut with an attached boat house. So I had to switch it ....and it really makes more sense since I live on the shores of a lake.

The buildings are raised up onto a foamcore "foundation" to allow "waves" and "water" to flow underneath the dock and into the boathouse. Either side of the building is foamcore carved into "stone & rocks" then painted, planted and the remainder covered in sand. The roof is made of corrogated cardboard gessoed & painted to look like an old tin roof. The chimney pipe is made of the cardboard section of a heavy duty wire coat hanger and covered with the foil from a coffee can seal. I used some of the coat hanger wire to make the hangers for the sign and the boathouse light.
The only things not made by me are the flowers in the window, the barrel and the wooden pail. In the pail are tiny clams that I beachcombed from our lake.
The 3 seagulls are thanks to an idea given to me by Leslie from About.com; the fishing rod is thanks to an idea from Doreen Playter. The worms in the can, the sign, seagulls and the light fixture incl lightbulb are fimo clay.

Wish me luck! The contest asked for 3 only! photos and is based on originality. In addition a 2nd contest piggybacks onto this one but closes on July 4th. So that'll give me time to finish the inside and then enter again.

http://orrlakemusings.blogspot.com/
http://minitutesfromorrlake.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/teenytrew

For more fishy ideas see the fish page in MTW.

Devilled Eggs? Nah, make mine Jewelled!

2010-05-26T15:23:00.007-04:00

Sandra Manring does wonderful miniatures.

These unfortunately aren't real eggs....I tried at first using them but ended up breaking them, so I started using the plastic ones from craft stores. I sand a lot to make them smooth, cut holes or whatever in them and then coat them with several layers of nail polish....they have such wonderful colors now that they could be wonderful. I then colored lace with a gold or silver pen and applied rhinestones. ..the tiny figures are RR figures and sometimes men that I cut the legs shorter , apply a dress and hair and no one ever knows.

Sandra's photo sites are:
http://community. webshots. com/user/ britishrose101
http://www.picturet rail.com/ abritishbrat

Rock Pile!

2010-05-19T16:06:00.003-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
Here is a free, quick and easy fake stones for gardens, walls, waterfalls and the like.

Last summer I opened a new package of air-dry clay, used about half for some floor tiles then wrapped the rest tightly in plastic wrap. I put it in that special place most everyone has, WIKICFI , aka 'Where- I-know-I can-find-it' , and promptly forgot all about it. Needless to say, over the 9-10 months it languished in WIKICFI before I discovered it, the soft clay had turned into a rock hard lump. I was just about to pitch it in the trash when the light bulb turned on: a big rock when struck with sufficient force breaks into many little rocks! All it took were some good whacks from a hammer (with the lump in a plastic bag to control the flying debris) to turn this trash into mini rocks.
If you check inside to see what is happening, you should have some miniature rubble, small rough stones, and stone dust along with some large pieces of the lump. A few more whacks to these, and you can fill some baggies with your new stones. They can be shaped with an emery board or file, or even shaved with a craft knife if you need a flat surface. Colour can be added by dry-brushing or whatever technique you are comfortable with. When you are satisfied with the colour, make sure to seal it with a matte-finish sealer for protection.

Recycle Bins

2010-05-18T18:52:00.003-04:00

Susan Ghearing took an ice cube tray and made great recycle bins!
Read how she did it on her blog. Scroll down.
http://susansminitalk.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-miniatures-i-have-made.html

Get Crocked!

2010-05-06T11:44:00.002-04:00

Tanya has made a crock pot from a CPVC cap found at her local hardware store. Check her Picturetrail site to see how she did it!
http://picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/17115956

Mid-town Laundromat

2010-04-27T20:07:00.002-04:00

Tanya has struck again with another wonderful project.
Her laundromat is so detailed and perfect.
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5815043

Sandpaper tool

2010-04-22T11:54:00.001-04:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
If you have always wanted one of those mini sandpaper tools with the rotating strip of sandpaper but don't want to spend a lot of money on something you're not sure you will use, here's my T2T solution. Find an old toothbrush with the type of handle that is flat, not one with the big grip built in. A child's toothbrush is perfect. Cut a thin strip of sandpaper the length and width of the handle. Fold one end of the strip over the tip of the handle so it covers about 1/2" to 3/4" on one side and lay the rest up the other side. Using two small elastic bands, attach the sandpaper to the handle placing one elastic near the tip and the other near the bristle end. Now you can sand in all those little nooks and crannies, moving the sandpaper and elastics when you need fresh sandpaper and using the brush end to help remove the debris. Ta Da! No more missed corners when applying varnish or sealer, and if you make up several using different grits of sandpaper you will always have just what you need. I cut several strips of 4 different grits, labelled each on the back with a pencil and put them in a baggie so I have refills on hand, without having to search for a whole packet of sandpaper to cut off one strip.

Make a mini Generator

2010-04-11T10:05:00.003-04:00

Reminding us to use our "mini-eye" and check all equipment before tossing it, Marjorie Wannamaker wrote - here are pics of our real generator and of a small water fountain pump that doesn't work anymore. I think the small pump looks enough like the real generator that with a little paint, a couple wheels and handles and some labels, I'll have myself a one inch scale generator for my garage. What do you think?
The generator will go into my dollhouse garage. Not really a scene but means something to me; you see we live 20 miles out in the country and several times a year we lose power due to weather or power poles being hit. After several years of being without power in the dead of winter for five days, (this was before the oxygen came into use) we know what is necessary and what is not - like t.v.s, etc. LOL

Easter Basket

2010-03-21T11:45:00.003-04:00

Glenna Humberstone made this charming little bunny in a basket for her Easter project.

She said : the tricky part was to get the bunny small enough to fit in the basket.
The instructions for making the bunny were in American Miniaturist Issue 36.
I made the Easter basket using the plastic square from a punch-out gum packet (Dentyne).
I then bought some braiding cord at Wal-mart. It comes in 3 different colors on one card for about $3.50 (12yds per color). I put glue on the outside of the plastic square, started at the top and wrapped the cord around the square , working my way to the bottom, then adding one final row on the top. Then to make the handle, I took about 12 ins of cord, folded it in half to make 6 ins and started to twist it up tight then held it while I held it in half again and twisted it together to make the handle.

Lamps

2010-03-15T11:36:00.007-04:00

Maureen H from Canada Minis has done it again! Look at the wonderful lamps she made from ping-pong balls, jewelry findings and fish-hooks! The pretty floral decorations are fingernail decals.

She says: If you hold .ping-pong balls up to the light, you may be able to see the line where the two halves are joined so you have a built-in cutting line.
I bought the cat toys shown in the attached picture thinking I might be able to use them somehow. But they’re heat welded and I couldn’t separate the parts easily. However, I did cut the top section away from the join on one of them. It’s a bit smaller than the ping pong ball but you can hold it against the ping pong ball closely enough to be able to use it to pinpoint the middle of your ping pong ball half to add your chain or whatever. You can also hold it tightly against the ping pong ball and use a mechanical pencil to outline the open areas which will give you a rough template for stained glass.

Wreathed with Smiles!

2010-02-24T15:04:00.003-05:00

It is near March and St Patrick's day soon. Susan Gearhing has made several seasonal wreaths.
http://susansminitalk.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-theme-wreaths-to-come.html

Serenity Prayer for Miniaturists

2010-02-22T17:50:00.004-05:00

I have learned that I am better at working with my mind than my hands. Things don't look in reality like they did when I was picturing them in my head. I have learned that I have to accept this and as long as the work is good and pleasing looking I have to accept the things that did not turn out exactly the way I planned. If I continued to fight to get things exactly as I planned, I would get frustrated, then depressed and then I would quit. I've been there and done that and now I just accept the best that my hands can do. I won't settle for junk, but I also don't strive for perfection. My mental health can't handle aiming for perfection.
MaryLou Hasara, Portage, IN

T2T Lawnmower and Fertilizer Spreader

2010-02-21T11:26:00.003-05:00

Tina Macdonald from the Canada Minis group posted this brilliant idea as part of their T2T challenge 2010.

Here is a new (I think) idea for binder clips. Most of one clip became the fertilizer spreader with the addition of two chunks of coffee stirrer to keep it open, two thumb tacks for wheels (extended with black paper disks, and a little printie with the manufacturer name. Scott really does make these things!

The remaining side of the clip became the handle for the lawnmower, with the addition of three bottle caps, four small wooden beads and two toothpicks for axles, and of course, the name of the manufacturer!

Working on a workroom project?

2010-02-17T18:42:00.003-05:00

Tiny woodworking - fascinating! Watch this video.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignArticle.aspx?id=31688

Betsey's Design à la Delft

2010-02-12T11:30:00.011-05:00

Betsey made this project with the Doll's House Details group.
She shows how the initial plan was: "Here is the shop. I put a few bits on the floor to show some inventory. The paper design taped to the entrance will be used to make a painted floor cloth for the sitting area. I gold leafed the cash register."

"I marked off the parquet pieces with pencil and soaked the veneer sheets in warm water for about 5 minutes before I started to cut them up."

"Here is the design all gridded out for the room. This pattern is from The Decorator chapter of the book we are using. Just beginning to glue the pieces down."

"This is how the decorator project ended with the whole house occupied by a store downstairs and a studio upstairs."

Betsey has not refused permission to post.
In a separate project Betsey made these Staffordshire dogs from clay, paintes and varnished them.

A Treasure Trove of Shows!

2010-02-09T00:35:00.005-05:00

You will get lost on this site, I promise you.
Ileana Ottini has an extensive collection of videos about dollhouses.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ileottini#p/u/17/srhyVUGUnFI

This is the Elkin House, one of the featured shows. Get out the popcorn, sit back and relax!

Chipped Enamel - NOT fingernails!

2010-02-02T14:21:00.002-05:00

Chris from Canada tells how to create this effect on base metal pots
First wash the pot in warm soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly. Apply 3-4 coats of your choice of finish, making sure each coat is COMPLETELY dry before you add the next, then leave the pot to dry overnight. And yes, I REALLY MEAN OVERNIGHT, as in a minimum of ten (10) hours. The finish will seem to be dry and feel hard to the touch 2-3 hours after the final coat, but appearances are often deceiving, as evidenced by the goopy mess that may result if you choose not to heed warnings from the VOE (voice of experience).

For chips on the flat surfaces, like the sides and bottom, take a dental pick or other sharp pointy tool and gouge a small uneven hole right down to the metal. Next gouge out a shallower area in a ring around the first hole, the less even, the better. Finally scrape away a few tiny bits from just the top layer. It's like filling chips in the porcelain of a stovetop, only in reverse. If you want to soften the edges of the layers, or create a thin area in the enamel caused by stirring or wear from the rings on a gas stove, use a 1/8" wide slice of emery board or a snippet of fine steel wool held in tweezers to gently remove some of the finish. For chips on edges where the pot has been banged against something, just give the area some very controlled whacks with a screwdriver blade, metal knife handle or miniature hammer, mimicking the knock that would cause the damage. A few whacks will cause small cracks to form so that loose bits of the 'enamel' can be carefully pried off with the tip of a craft knife. If you're lucky, they'll even fall off in tiny chunks by themselves for instant mini chips. Of course, Murphy's Law dictates that this will rarely happen with miniature pots when you want them to chip, but will almost always happen if you so much as gently clip a RL size enamel pot on the front edge of an enamelled stovetop. Note: Photos of my RL stovetop (before repairs) and the offending RL enamel
saucepan are available on request. :-)

NOTE: If you do make a mess of one, just fill the cap of a bottle of nail polish remover with the product and place the pot in the cap. Let it soak for a minute or so, then scrub the nail polish off the pot with an old toothbrush dipped in the polish remover. Follow this with a rinse in clear warm water, then a good swish and wiping down with a bit of dish detergent or shampoo in warm water. Rinse well and towel dry and recall the old adage that starts "If at first you don't succeed ......." :-D

I've done this to several sets of base metal pots and lids, some with a nail enamel (Hard As Nails ???) and others with Plaid Gloss Acrylic Enamel. The acrylic paint dried faster but needed an extra coat and didn't crack well. I had to resort to tiny swipes with a craft knife and a bit of scraping and carving to work down to the metal surface before I could use the steel wool or emery board, but the end result looked the same.

Office to the Max!

2010-01-31T12:10:00.006-05:00

Doreen has been creating the last room in her dollhouse, a study room. In this blogpost, she discusses how she is fabricating the computer pieces the kids need.
The picture here is not the final outcome.

Look at the post in Doreen's blog:
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2010/01/computer-for-study-room.html

Also Fluffy Bricks has some electronics on her blog:
http://fluffybricks.blogspot.com/2009/11/some-modern-minis.html

All Boxed up!

2010-01-30T16:34:00.008-05:00

Fern Rouleau wrote:
I have wanted to do this one for a while and finally decided to get down to it. I found a pretty hand made box from India which was on clearance and cut the front open and put my scene in there. The table is made from pieces of wood and the mats on the floor are from pieces of samples from Lowes. The food is either made by me, some swap items or bought at mini shows. The vases are beads and the two Japanese art displays I picked up a few years ago.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2923072260055119879stEfJq

Hospital IV

2010-01-27T15:41:00.002-05:00

Marjorie Wannamaker wrote:
Yesterday when I emptied a plastic spray type bottle (pump type, not aerosol) of hair spray I noticed that attached to the screw-off lid is a tube that goes down into the liquid. This plastic tubing is attached to a larger rounded bottomed plastic piece and it occurred to me that it looked just like a bottle of IV liquid and the small tubing is the tubing that goes to the patient's IV. So if anyone is doing a hospital setting, you might consider checking this out. You might have to warm the small tubing to be able to get it to your patient.....

Miniature Museum

2010-01-25T21:24:00.003-05:00

Elizabeth Langtree spend 42 years travelling the world and collecting miniatures. Her collection has been gradually sold, with this last project, her miniature museum now being offered on eBay.

A slideshow can be seen at this website:
http://miniaturemuseumexhibit.com/

Thinking Outside the Boat

2010-01-21T11:29:00.007-05:00

A retreat for a sailor or an explorer? Jene Bondi says: It's a retired captain boathouse. Where he is no one knows. Perhaps out fishing? Looking for a lady love? Having a drink at the bar or having quiet time in the bathroom like most men.

Jene shows a wonderful way to think "outside the boat"! There are many detailed pictures, and no wonder Jene took 4 years to complete the project. You just gotta see her webshots album!
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/566118399mDowdY

Bakin' a Cake?

2010-01-17T13:21:00.006-05:00

Fern Rouleau's quarter scale bakery, a 144 scale project.
She says: "the cook is an O gauge train person whose legs I cut off (I can still hear him screaming in pain) and repainted all white. I used masking tape to make a chef's hat and painted that white."
Check out her webshots album for more details.
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2918708820055119879gTDnCn

Make Mini Chocolates - Stay away from the real ones!

2010-01-15T10:45:00.006-05:00

Having trouble keeping to the New Years diet? Presentation is all, and Saskia just completed a treasure trove of chocolates with mini-calorie content!

Saskia says: I made the little chocolats with Fimo. We did a workshop at the SaHMClub. This was a start and I did it my own way. Mixing different colors of clay. Never be afraid to experiment with mixing different colors.
A straw is an excellent tool for making round and oval chocolates, or the tiniest punch you can find. Liquid clay, colored with a little oil paint does the decorating.

Baby Swing Seat from Juice Container Plug

2010-01-13T12:02:00.003-05:00

Chris from Canada wrote:
Last weekend I had another 'Duh' moment when removing the plastic plug from a juice container. Usually I see these as either a rimmed shallow bowl with a towel ring attached or a cat toy, but this time (perhaps as a result of being occupied recently making wicker cradles) I saw a baby's swing seat. Sure enough, it fits both my Annie Riepert 1:12 baby dolls, so with a bit of thread wrapped around the pull loop to cushion it, a cardboard circle to even out the seat and some paint, I had the perfect little baby seat for a 1:12 swing set.

There is more than wine in that bottle!

2010-01-13T11:50:00.004-05:00

Marjorie Wannamaker wrote:
We opened a wine bottle last weekend and it had foil like covering which I
took off as easily as possible without tearing it all up - could be used
to form any metal type item. It is soft enough you could emboss a design in
it and use as a picture or the inserts of doors in a pie safe. No
picture; just theory. The wire "thingie" that held the cork in place looked just
like a footstool to me, and about the right size. You might want to
shorten it just a bit. I believe the cork could be carved to make an item, say a
heart, and then you could use it to print hearts across the top of a
roombox or something.

Vacation Dreamer

2010-01-11T17:26:00.005-05:00

Sand, sun and water seem a long way away in the winter, don't they? If we can't BE there, at least we can dream......
Chris Pecherzewski is very proud of her young grand-daughter Anna, who made this wonderful beach scene (her first mini project!)

See more detail in Chris's Picturetrail album.
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/listing/user/chrispycritter

Winter Wedding

2010-01-10T10:38:00.007-05:00

Carolyn Brown makes fabulous cakes, and much more.

Read all about her in the latest issue of Custom Dollhouses and Miniatures.
http://www.cdhm.org/news/item0110.php

Her Website is:
http://www.mapleleafminiatures.ca/shop/

Find other posts about Carolyn by entering her name in the blog's search bar at the top left of the home page.

Bar none!

2010-01-09T12:26:00.006-05:00

Ana DeLacerda made this fabulous bar.
The details are so well done.

Still Partying?

2010-01-06T15:42:00.004-05:00

Thalia Stambaugh's QS scene, featuring a RL sized Asti bottle.

The wine bottle on the table is a plastic sales tag (see http://littleroomers.blogspot.com/2009/06/quarter-inch-wine-bottles.html)
She wrote: I know the corkscrew confetti is out of scale, but I couldn't resist it. I cut very narrow strips of colored paper and wound it very tightly around a straight pin. Then I sprayed it with satin sealer (to make it keep it's shape) and cut it in tiny pieces. I used micro-glitter in red blue and gold to make the regular confetti.