Stocking up!

I was able to finish the miniature flowers I mentioned in my previous post AND some other 'springy' miniatures that were on my to-do-list. 

As I'm writing this I'm taking pictures so I can list them in my Etsy shop (hopefully) today. Gosh...I do sound busy, don't I?? 

Here's a little sneak preview of the new stuff being delivered to the shop.

As you can see the sun is really shining, how I love spring!

Real versus Miniature

How to cultivate irisses in pots in the real world?

What you need is:

bulbs

pots

soil

garden tools

water and sunlight

patience and determination

How to cultivate irisses in the miniature world?

What you need is:

paper

pots

glue

coffee grounds

scissors and punches

patience and determination

I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm a total failure as a gardener in real life that's why I try my luck in the miniature world!

I'm dreaming of a pink Christmas

I definitively have something wrong with my sense of time. It's kinda...ehm...mixed up. I make spring decoration items in the fall and now I'm already busy with Christmas!

 

And I'm back to shabby chic again which means bows, whites, pinks, blues, flowers and lace are scattered all over my worktop.

Here's a little sneak peek of what I'm making...a pink forest!

 

Oh...by the way, I'm humming 'Let it Glow, Let it Glow, Let it Glow' nowadays. LOL

It was great!

Everything was perfect on vacation...beautiful weather, amazing scenery, great nature, wonderful food and wine...

After only one day of leasuring around to rest after the long drive in the car, it was time to go sightseeing and fully play the role as tourist.

In our holiday home we found a bunch of leaflets with things you could do and see in the area so we daily we picked one out randomly and were on our way. Every day was a surprise where we would end up and it was quite adventurous. We visited a waterfall, hiked  a trail through the mountains, visited a local brewery (I really don't like beer at all), attended a local party the firebrigade organized, followed a trail barefoot through the woods (so much fun!), ate a few times at the pub where all the locals went to dinner, saw great craftmanship like someone blowing glass and cutting wood...

 

It was funny how holiday activity brings so much rest and peace. I felt totally distressed and full of energy the whole two weeks.

In the evenings we enjoyed the view onto the moutains and see the sun go down. No television, hardly any phonecalls (except to check if everything and everybody was doing well back home), no work, no stress...it was PERFECT!

 

Ofcourse I couldn't help myself from making some miniatures, I brought along my needle felting stuff and having all the time in the world I was able to make a few little animals.

 

 

One day I made a mouse and was so echanted by it I sort of couldn't stop making those until I had a whole family. I gave a few away and it's a funny thought: we're back at home but  some of the mice stayed behind. I hope they have the same great time we had!

Sleepy mice snuggled up in a pod...

Not only mice appeared from my needle! They were soon joined by bears, cats and a dog!

 

 

 

It was a great vacation but it's always nice to be back. There's no place like home!

I'm off to catch up reading your blogs and see what you've been up to, talk to you soon.

 

A bunch of little compartments in a row.

You probably know the feeling: as soon as you start with dollhouses and miniatures you find yourself collecting all scraps and bits for future creations. Nothing gets thrown in the bin without careful examination and being looked at with miniaturist eyes...hmmm...maybe I should save that! And before you know it you have a box for ribbons, another for buttons, a shoebox for wooden pieced you're sure you going to use and a plastic containers with undefined parts that are undoubtedly handy in the future.

After seeing your boxes pile up to Mount Everest height you decide to label them. And for a while you're able to find your treasures again...

 

When I was in an arts&crafts store I saw the most efficient way to store all those tiny bits and pieces: a cabinet with drawers that had loads of little compartments. The cabinets were used at printer compagnies to store all those tiny metal letters.

 

After searching and searching I finally found one, not in the best shape but affordable. After the necessary restorations, a lot of scraping of old paint, sanding and new layers of  varnish the cabinet looked amazing.

 

 

Now I have enough room to store all my precious miniatures to be!

 

Wow...I think I'm getting organized.

 

Time flies...

Is it already july 14th??? I've been so busy lately time just seems to fly. In between birthday celebrations of our youngest son and the festivities because one of our elder sons completed high school, I even found time to make some more miniatures for my webshop.

I've been totally into the shabby chic theme lately,  i'm even thinking in pink and blue, roses, lace and bows . Yesterday I've been filling the webshop with the new items but I just can't resist showing off a bit here. Here are some pictures to give you an impression.

Shutters...geese...crowns...containers...shelves....

banners...tables...birdhouses...

and lots of chairs...

I mean really lots!

Roses and dots...

Pinks...whites...blues...

By the way...I'm stunned how fast the miniatures sell. I have one eye on my email and the first orders are coming in. Yeah!! (hands up in the air).

See you all soon, I'm off to get some groceries and I really..really should mop the floor. On the other hand, the kids love pizza and the floor isn't sticky yet. I'm going to upholster some miniature chairs!

As promised...

This morning I couldn't wait to take some pictures with the photobox I made. It was so much fun filling it with the miniatures that will be listed in my webshop soon. Here's a little peek at the first pictures I made. I know what I'll be doing today!

So if you happen to see a woman with a French shabby chic shop under one arm, a box full of miniatures under the other and a camera around her neck, looking for the best daylight AND with a huge smile on her face don't be alarmed...it's just me and usually I'm quite harmless.

Have a great day everyone!

A posh photobox

Whenever I want to take pictures of my miniatures I use these two boxes: one with wallpaper and a simple wooden pattern on the floor and one with a garden theme. They are easy in use because I can take the anywhere I want to catch the best natural light and using the boxes enabled me to arrange the miniatures in little scenes...

A few days ago I was in the garden with the boxes to take photographs and then it suddenly hit me...I wanted something different, something prettier, something shabby chic; a new photobox!

So out came the wood, the cardboard, the paint, the tools and I couldn't wait to bring the idea to life. Why not make a miniature shop as photobox?

A shop needs a huge window to display the merchandise so I used all kinds of leftover wooden bits and pieces to create one.

A shop with a vintage French look was the idea that stuck in my mind. I decided to decorate the front of the shop with cardboard.

As primer I used Gesso

I decided on egg-white paint with a drop of medium taupe for the wall, I didn't mix the paints thoroughly because I wanted different shades on the wall.

I chose softblue and egg-white paint for the window and door. For the door and window I used grey paint as undercoat.

And this is the result after the paintjob: the front of the shop with the window and door and two side walls.

After attaching the walls to the base I painted the outside floor grey.

I found used sandpaper that was perfect for floor tiles so I cut the sandpaper in little squares and glued those on the outside floor.

As finishing touch I used green flower soft  as grass peeping through the tiles.

Because I was going to use this project as a photobox I didn't want a roof on it. Instead I cut out a strip of cardboard and found some cheap thin wood I had lying around. I cut rectangles out of the wood and glued that on the cardboard. After drying I painted the rooftiles grey and glued the cardboard on top of the walls.

I made a decal with the name of the shop and pasted that above the front door.

And here it is...my new photobox!

The whole project only took 3 days and I'm so pleased with the result. I can't wait to fill it up and start making pictures again.

Have a great day!
Peggy