New Glitter Houses and Trees

I've just finished the newest glitter house kit designs! Here is a sample of the 1:12 and 1:24 scale church and the 1:12 scale school. The other buildings include a barn, farmhouse and bungalow. I'll post the other buildings as time permits. They will all have the option of LED lighting.

Miniature Landscape Sculptures

These paint can sculptures were created by Gregory Euclide. I love the paint pouring out to create rivers! You can see more of his work on flickr.

Gregory Euclide via flickr

Gregory Euclide via flickr

Gregory Euclide via flickr

Printables of Vintage Garden Plans

It's that time of year when I start looking through seed catalogs and begin planning my perfect garden. Perhaps it is because I am already tired of the long hours of darkness and the gloomy, cold days in the Northern Hemisphere.

Here are some fun, printable, vintage garden plans. These would be cute framed or just sitting on Milady's desk. These are from the public domain images supplied by Vintage Printable. I've modified them to fit 1:12 scale. Enjoy!

For the best print quality, download the pdf.

Itty Bitty Glitter House

I know that it is past the Christmas season and I should be focusing on other things, but I've been working on prototypes for miniature glitter houses again. These are much smaller than my previous houses. They would be appropriate as ornaments for a Christmas tree or as a village scene in 1:24 scale. This is the first of 5 houses. It is .25" (6mm) tall and is modeled after my own house (a Cape Cod style). This prototype is cut from white paper, but the actual houses will be in pretty colors.

I think I am addicted to making glitter houses!

Top Posts of 2010

Happy New Year! 2010 was an amazing and productive year for me. In March, I stumbled upon the miniatures blogging community, of which I am grateful to have found. Since then, I have made many new friends, became inspired to create more miniatures, and overcame new technical and creative challenges.

In the spirit of auld lang syne, here is another chance to read the 5 most popular posts on this blog from 2010 (according to Blogger statistics):

1. Printable Book "Livre de Fleurs" from 1620
2. Photoshop Tutorial: Aging Paper
3. Vintage Printables 
4. Source for Printable American Newspapers
5. Birthday GIVEAWAY!

I know that I've missed some great posts on your blog. Perhaps you would like to share your blog's most popular posts with your readers? You may use the graphic above.

Thanks for a year of friendship, inspiration and fun!

Christmas Swap

These are the beautiful gifts that Lara made for me. They will fit perfectly into my Victorian house. Aren't the childrens' toys amazing? The tiny flowers and berries will compliment a Thanksgiving table so nicely. And the ornaments have hooks! Everything is so detailed and well made. Thank you, Lara!

Here is the gift I made for Anna. Peggy was originally my partner, but was unable to participate for health reasons. Best wishes to Peggy for a quick recovery! And a big thank you to Caterina for organizing the swap!

Christmas Traditions

I have enjoyed learning how other bloggers are celebrating their Christmases. I think that no matter what part of the world you live in, the central part of the celebration is always the meal.

Rolled oplatky and honey in Slovakia, 1998

My husband is from Slovakia (the eastern part of former Czechoslovakia), so we celebrate a traditional Slovak Christmas Eve. The meal is typically started with a prayer or good wishes said while a family member makes the sign of a cross (made with honey) on your forehead. Crispy wafers (oplatky) with Christmas scenes are distributed with honey and fresh garlic cloves. I know that it sounds awful, but the garlic and honey are a wonderful combination!

Next comes the soup. My husband's family (in Slovakia) always makes sauerkraut soup (kapustnica), made with pork sausage, pork roast, sauerkraut, dried mushrooms and garlic. My husband makes our sauerkraut soup ahead of time so that the flavors have time to marinate. It also makes a rather pungent smell in the kitchen :)

Dinner in Slovakia (we named her Miroslavka), 1998

The next part of the meal is fried fish. In Slovakia, the fish used is carp. Americans have an aversion to this type of fish, so my husband makes cod or trout. At this time of year, many Slovaks visit the fish vendors and take home live fish. When they arrive home, the carp goes into the bathtub to live out the last day or so of his life. This ensures that the carp is fresh for the dinner.  :) The fish is accompanied by potato salad and of course, plenty of liquor (another Slovak tradition).

Wherever you live and whatever your holiday traditions are, I wish you the happiest of holidays!

Happy Holidays and a Gift for You!

Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope that you are enjoying a beautiful season with family and friends.

I just finished designing these mini boxes as a gift to you. Perhaps you will find them useful for your miniature treats and gifts. Happy holidays!

Download the pdf of the box designs.