Leonardslee

Sadly this gem is closing.

Laundry Sink

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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