zondag 17 april 2011

Give (far) away

Who's the lucky one? Where will the give away go to?
First I added a few new names to the basket where everyone was waiting patiently...

My youngest son asked if he could do the drawing and he took his job very seriously. He stirred the names for about 10 minutes until  he was finally ready to choose one.

The winner is:

Congratulations De!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These mini's will be on your way soon.


donderdag 14 april 2011

Just wow!

Sometimes I can't believe my luck. A few days ago I was cruising through blog land and became a follower of  Sjoukje. She's been into dollhouses and miniatures for some time but just started her blog http://maisondupompier.blogspot.com/ 
I was amazed at the tiny creations she made. After a week of blogging she had 3 followers and wanted to give us something for following her. Now...how great is that?

Look what the mailman delivered just one hour ago!

A fantastic sailboat and an amazing little pillow

Another look at the sailboat, it's just perfect. So tiny and detailed!

The pillow has this cute heart in the middle and is soooooo shabby chic, I love it!

To give you a better impression on how tiny these beauties are I took a picture with a ruler behind them.

I'm going to sit and admire them for another few hours...wait...hold on! I was so hasty to show you these treasures I haven't even thanked Sjoukje properly yet! THANK YOU SJOUKJE!!!

(my day sure is!)


I confess...I'm a fake

Yeah!! My images are back!!


I'm no painter...I lack the talent, skills and the abilities.
I've been wondering for ages how to transfer a printed picture on wood. I could ofcourse just cut out the image and paste it on with glue but I really wanted pictures to look like they were painted on wood.
I'm horrible in painting myself so why not cheat a little and just use some magic?
I stumbled upon  something called 'Powerprint'. Although I haven't seen it used in miniature land till now I decided to give it a try. And finally I can say I'm getting the results I was hoping for.

What do you need to transfer an image/print on wood?
- Powerprint (laserjet printer medium)
- A picture (laser printed)
- Paintbrush
- Pressure roller
- Hairdryer
- Water
- Sponge

Some  tips before you start:
  1. Make sure the picture you want to transfer has colors that won´t run. I use laserjet prints because inkjet prints will do just that. You can use photographs or pictures out of a magazine as well.
  2. Also remember that white isn´t a color that will transfer. The white color will look transparent after transferring. To keep the white colors transfer unto a white background.
  3. If you want to print text on the surface don´t forget to print the text in mirror or else the letters will be in reverse after transferring and unreadable.

First cut out the picture you want to transfer.
Prepare the surface you want your picture to be transferred on, I've sanded a piece of wood, painted it white and sanded it again. 
Use a paintbrush to apply the Powerprint. Make strokes horizontally and vertically to cover the whole surface
Do the same with the image you want to transfer, apply on  the printed side, not the backside.


Place the image on the  wood and make sure you press it firmly, use a roller to apply pressure evenly. I've used the handle of one of my tools as roller.  If excess powerprint attaches to your roller clean with a damp cloth,  powerprint is sticky stuff.

Dry the picture for  10 minutes with a hairdryer. Turn your work around from time to time to dry front and back.  Be patient  to allow the work to totally . The perfect time to have a cup of tea or coffee!

Let the picture cool off.

Moisten the sponge with water and carefully stroke upon the paper surface of the picture. You´ll notice the layers of paper will loosen. With the sponge and your fingertip carefully scrape away the layers of paper untill you see the picture again.




Let the work dry in between and you might see some white paper left. Continue the process until you have only the image left. At this stage be careful not to be to enthusiastic and scratch away the image itself.
The image on the left still has some layers of paper left, the image on the right is almost done.
As finishing touch I have applied some bronze coloured paint on the edges of the picture. When all was dry I've applied a coat of satin varnish.

woensdag 13 april 2011

Waiting and waiting

As you might have noticed all my pictures are gone due to maintenance at the photobucket site where I upload most of them. I'm sitting here waiting (im)patiently until everything turns back to normal. I better go have a cup of coffee and check back later. They better hurry or I'll be tearing my hair out here!

maandag 11 april 2011

I just love surprises!

I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the amazing total of  300 followers. And trying to be real organised (which I'm usually not) I decided to be in time for the next give-away. The comments on the chair were marvelous so I thought to myself...why not do it again?
I worked on the third give-away behind the screens and it's READY!!!!

Here it is...I hope you like it.


The chair...plant table and pot of hydrangea

AND
Birdcage, two candelsticks, picture and deer statue

I saved the entries from the previous give-away and I took the liberty to include everyone in the drawing for this one. So...if you already asked to be included you don't have to do it again. If you want to take your chance on winning this give-away and haven't included your name in the previous one, you can do so below. Please remember you have to be a follower of this blog.
I'll be drawing the winner coming saturday, April 16th


GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!


I'm sitting here with a huge smile on my face, I'm so happy so many people are interested in this blog. Please excuse me...I just HAVE to go do a happy happy joy joy dance here!

zaterdag 9 april 2011

We have a winner!!!!!!

I've had an early start this morning, the weather is beautiful and the garden is luring me outside. But first thing's first...the drawing of the give-away.

Here we go....
Everyone listed
Who will be the lucky one????


Congratulations Rosa / Yayin!!!!
Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've already send you an email to obtain your address, the give-away will be on the way to sunny Spain as soon as possible.


vrijdag 8 april 2011

Heating up the place

I've joined another blog http://poppenhuiskladblogger.blogspot.com/ and since that one is merely in Dutch I'll be using English here. I haven't been blogging much lately but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I'll show you what I've been up to the following days.
 To my big surprise so many of you have entered the give-away...I'm stunned. What a great response! Tomorrow is the big day and I'm really wondering where the goodies will go to...maybe the gift has to travel across oceans, mountains and borders to get to it's destination!
Guess what? Already over 300 followers, I'll soon be having another give-away!!!!! Any suggestions on what you'd like to win are welcome!



Well...spring is in the air, the temperature is climbing slowly, we're turning off the central heating and we all have days of lingering in the sunshine on our minds. The perfect setting to create the following; a coalbox in miniature :o)

I made a box out of balsa wood with a removable lid at the front. After covering it with Gesso I painted it greyish and gave it a more used look.
Here you see the basic box:

I made tiny coal scoops out of the tinfoil of waxine light cups

After attaching a hook on the side of the box from which the scoop can hang, a knob on the front of the lid and a handle on top this is how the coalbox looks



The box is filled with tiny stones resembling coal

The living room is getting cozier and cozier...


See you all tomorrow, I can hardly wait!