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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Mixing Bowls

Margaret C in Edmonton wrote:
I've noticed little inserts in the bottle water section that look like little mixing bowls

Recycle those phone books!

Jo in GA wrote:
use the old phone books for workareas..like painting and glueing..then just tear out that messy page and you have a nice clean page..

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Mon Plaisir

Mon Plaisir in Schlossmuseum, Arnstadt
A 200-year-old historical cultural delight, a baroque village in miniature, consisting of several houses, 82 showcases and approximately 400 wax figurines, assembled by princess Augusta Dorothea of Schwarzburg Arnstadt (1666-1751) reflecting life at that time.
Museum Site:
http://www.arnstadt.de/index.php?structureID=1780
Click on Rundgang durch die Ausstellung im Flashformat for pictures.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Hats!

http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/04/ease-of-straw-hat-making.html
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/03/straw-boater-tutorial.html

Trims, Pleats and Lace

Kathi Mendenhall, IGMA Artisan, and owner of La Petite Belle Patterns has written some great posts on trims on the blog, the Creative Doll.
Pleaters:
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/01/pleaters.html

Bunka
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/03/bunka-bunk-bunkawhat-heckis-bunka.html

Tassels
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/02/tassel-tutorial.html
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/11/tutorial-make-your-own-tassels.html

Ruching Ribbon
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/10/ruche-ribbon-how-to.html

Cartridge Pleats
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/09/tutorial-cartridge-pleat.html

Silk ribbon Rose
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/06/making-silk-ribbon-peace-rose.html

Picking fabric and trim which is in scale for your doll:
http://creativedoll.blogspot.com/2008/03/all-about-scale.html

From Cindy Crane:
http://www.miniatureluxuries.com/store/
Use bunka for quick and easy buds!
This also works with silk ribbon. Simply tie the bunka into small knots. The more knots the larger the "rose".
Add a dab of glue to seal the knot, snip off the ends and presto! these can be clustered together for a very pretty look. The same with the silk ribbon, just make loose knots one on top of the other, glue and snip the ends. These work especially well when you need a cluster of roses at the neck of a dress or on a hat. Don't forget to place a small bit of green to fashion leaves and place those among the roses.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Workshop tools


Rita in Germany has a wonderful site full of her work. You will be sorry to leave!
A fabulous site, with English translation. Run your cursor over the windows to see the different sections in her site. The lower floor is empty, but I am sure Rita is working to fill it!
This scene shows a monastery with a worktable and simple tools.
http://www.rwgermini.de/diesaeulendererde.htm

Log Cabin






John Scapes wrote in the Making Miniatures Group:
This is a project I made for my wife being she is a northwoods gal. The kit I purchased was called Adirondack Cabin (by Real Good Toys) and I made some addition's. The brick chimney and the front railing are added. On the interior I also added the fireplace. and interior logs on the walls. All the table and chairs and fireplace and bed's are made from scratch. The yard area items are also made from scratch. This took me 58 hours to complete. As a retired ME I enjoy the challenge.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Make a Braided Rug


Doreen made a wonderful braided rug and shared this TUT on her blog.
http://doreensprojects.blogspot.com/2009/08/making-braided-rug.html

Jo In Ga crocheted hers.

http://www.josdollhouse.net/page38.html

Friday, August 21, 2009

Titania's Palace

Titania's Palace, at Egeskov Castle, about 2 hours from Copenhagen. Probably the world's most fantastic doll's house, is on display in the Rigborg Room

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei6cVDU8VKE&feature=related
Danish children's book author Shane Brox guides you through one of the most beautiful dollhouse palaces in the world; Titania's Palace.

Domes and Boxes to Display Minis

At Michael's, look for the football and baseball display units.

This site sells domes in various sizes.
http://www.volantminiatureshop.com/display.htm

Musée de l'orangerie Miniatures

An art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located on the Place de la Concorde on the bank of the Seine in the old orangery of the Tuileries Palace on the Place de la Concorde near the Concorde metro station.

http://www.marmottan.com/uk/index_uk.asp

On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt, 1868. An early example of plein-air impressionism, in which a gestural and suggestive use of oil paint was presented as a finished work of art.




Cheryl Miller has reproduced Monet's Garden, Dining Room and Kitchen, a wonderful site!
http://miniaturesmuseum.org/index.htm

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Hever Castle


Hever Castle inn Kent was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth the First. This double moated castle sits within 125 acres of stunning gardens and dates back to 1270.
Anne's ghost haunts the castle, appearing within its grounds on Christmas Day, when she is seen drifting silently over the bridge which crosses the river Eden.
http://great-castles.com/index.pl?hevertale.html
There is also a miniature model houses exhibition which looks at country houses through the ages.
http://hevercastle.co.uk/

How to Assemble and Pose a Doll

Sammy Smith has a generously informative page which shows how to assemble and pose dolls.
Her husband Jerry makes marvellous mini furniture.
http://happinessisminiatures.com/howtos.htm

Monday, August 17, 2009

Costumes through the Centuries



Right now, the Gallery of Costumes in Platt Hall, Manchester is closed for major building work, opening again in 2010.
http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/design/fashion+and+costume/art66448

Follow links to the Collection themes.
http://www.manchestergalleries.org/our-other-venues/platt-hall-gallery-of-costume/the-collection/collection-themes/

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Garden Shed


Sonia shows how she made this shop and the items in it.
http://minitink.blogspot.com/2009/08/mi-tienda-de-flores.html



Judy Anderson made this scene of animal chaos! She wrote: A friend found a painted Michael's hutch at a yard sale and bought it with me in mind. (Isn't it nice when your friends feed your addictions?) I've had it for a year not quite knowing what I wanted to do with it, until I saw the article "The evolution of the egg carton" in the August 2009 issue of Miniature collector Magazine. I had a dome (another yard sale find) that would be perfect and lots of egg cartons.
I still need to put a vine of some kind and I was thinking I had a butterfly some where that would go well on the skunk's nose. I keep adding things to it. It was a lot of fun to do and I thank Paddy Culhane for the article.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Linley Sambourne House, Victorian Townhouse


Be sure to watch the entertaining video!
And take the house tour. Also read about Linley Sambourne's career.

http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/linleysambournehouse/general/default.asp

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A Mini Wiki - Share your ideas

This wonderful blog is full of information and offers a new way to share your work with others.
http://minitreasures.blogspot.com/

This is a list of ideas for different projects. Some are for Barbies and other dolls, not minis (IMHO) but some lead to magically talented artisans. They are grouped alphabetically.
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/projects



Cheryl Miller's site is listed under Ateliers.
http://miniaturesmuseum.org/Monets_Studio.htm

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Break a Few Eggs!



Chris in Canada wrote:
Next time you have a papier-mâché carry-out tray or egg carton for recycling (or are making stones for a mini structure) toss a few small pieces on an envelope or baggie. These bits can be soaked in a container of warm water until they get really mushy, wrung out then kneaded with some white craft glue and used just as you would store bought papier-mâché for mouldings, garden sculptures, pond edges, a lightweight core under Fimo doll bodies, etc..... The glue gives the mixture back the strength lost when it is soaked, and you can prepare even a 1/2" ball of it at a time.

Jo in Ga added:
I took the egg cup portions of the egg carton, soaked them in hot water till soft, then turned them inside out to make boulders..

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Lampshades - What Holds'em Up?




A circle of acetate was suggested with the comment made that having tabs on the sides of the acetate circle would make it easier to glue to the shade.
These patterns are for cutting the acetate out. They are sized for the blank patterns provided at Jim's Dollhouse pages
http://www.printmini.com/printables/lamps/shadesptn.shtml
Tape them to the acetate and cut out.




Another suggestion was to use an earring finding like this one.


Pat Carlson has a great tutorial on Custom Dolls, Houses and Miniatures, with instructions on how to make a harp, and a curved lampshade.
http://www.cdhm.org/tutorials/making-miniature-lampshade.html

Make a Quilt



Karen Bainbridge made this quilt - isn't it pretty!


This is taken from the About.com TUT


http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/rag_quilt.htm


Karen's Instructions:
  • Use two fabrics, a green and pink small print and cut one inch strips.
  • Sew together with a quarter inch seam, then re-cut them into one inch sections.
  • Then sew them together in twos which would make 4 squares. Sew two of these 4 squares together and measure them on the bed.
  • In this case, the quilt was 14 squares across so it would hang to the floor and seven or eight rows of squares for the length of the bed. Each bed would probably be a little different.
  • When all the squares are together they measure 1/2inch (which would be a six inch square in real size). When the quilt is big enough, back it with a green rectangle and pin the centre of it and cut it close to the size of the top.
  • Then cut a binding again from the green 1 1/2 (you might want to try 1 3/4 inches) inches wide and fold it in half and press it.
  • Sew along til almost 1/4 inch from the corner and then go off diagonally to the corner. Fold the binding up and then back down to sew the next side of the quilt being careful not to catch the folded piece of fabric underneath in you stitching so try a scant 1/4 inch when you start to sew the side. When all is done you fold the binding to the back and stitch with an invisible applique stitch. This is done by putting your second and following stitch just under where you came up previously. Now where you started and ended might be a little thick and any area that is you will have to cut the thickness out as best you can without cutting through the stitching.
  • Don't quilt the quilt as it would make it too stiff or put a batting into it. It would also make it too thick.
Here is a tutorial for RL quilt binding:
There is a PDF file here you can print out for yourself.
http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/continuous_quiltbinding/index.html



Here is a link to Chris in Canada's quilts:
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/6608497

Tanya's done it again!

Tanya's inventiveness and "mini eye" are just awesome and an inspiration to all.
She found this doll at her local $ store and made it into a shop window display.
See the picture at the link below.

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/17115956


She must be planning a BIG store! LOL! these are some more of her mannequins.
Look for the Mannequin lamp at the link below.

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5815043

Monday, August 10, 2009

Josje's Dollhouse



Josje's site is full of wondrous things! This picture of the kitchen could be taken out of RL decorating book!


Look at the wonderful KLM roombox.
Scroll down to the bottom of the home page for the English version.

http://josje.bouwt.com/

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Coffee Stirrers


Ann from Thorold, Ontario wrote:
The coffee stirrers I get here at McDonald's are flat brown and slightly ribbed (nothing like a straw). I find them very handy to use as wood trim -- for baseboards in a room box or as a chair rail in a dining room. You can also use them as glue spreaders -- cut one end on a slant and it gives you a sharp point for applying tiny drops of glue exactly where you want it.

Miniature World in Victoria BC

There are many displays at this fabulous museum and store!
  • Space 2001
  • Fields of Glory
  • Great Canadian Railway
  • Frontier Land
  • Fantasy Land
  • London Town
  • Dollhouses
  • Swiss Family Robinson
  • World of Dickens
  • Circus World
The site has a wonderful virtual tour.
http://www.miniatureworld.com/


Paint Tins


Doreen Playter has done it again!
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2009/08/paint-cans-brushes-and-wallpaper.html
http://doreensminiatures.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-to-work-on-jennifers-bedroom.html



  1. Measure a real paint can to get the approximate dimensions of the can.
  2. This TUT uses a 5/8" dowel, cut into pieces 5/8 inches long and painted silver.
  3. Cut small circles of paper, scored to give a "lid" look, paint them silver and glue to the top of the can.
  4. The labels came from real cans of paint scanned, stitched and shrunk to the right size.
  5. Glue little black circles to the spot where the handle would go in.
  6. Make holes into the can through these circles.
  7. The handles were made from silver wire bent in shape and fitted into the holes.Make small circles with different colours so that when I am using them for a scene, I can put it on top of the can as if it is an open can of paint the colour of the room.
Try making small circles with different colours to put on top of the can as if it is an open can of paint the colour of the room.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Sculpting the Female Face


Female Face 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV51V8ITWws&feature=related


Female Face 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=det5d-_01a4&NR=1


Female Face 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPaWZkoMtn4&feature=related

Fabulous Farmhouse




Mariana's farmhouse got two ribbons at the county fair in her area, a first
place ribbon and a 'Sweepstake' ribbon, meaning Best of Show.
This is a true labour of love! This is a link to Mariana's Webshots albums. Allow yourself plenty of time to watch the slideshows!
http://community.webshots.com/user/mariana12103
Check out the Chrysnbon bathroom, the Roper range and coil fridge in the kitchen. What an outstanding project!


Ludwina's fabulous crochet. She also does hand-tied carpets.
Check out her website for more beautiful creations like this, her latest. below.
http://dekorativ.tripod.com/doll_house_miniature_carpets/