Saturday, April 28, 2012

Sturbridge Workshop - Hurry!

It's been a rainy Saturday; perfect weather for packing up the workshop supplies for Texas Miniature Showcase. Mr. T2S and I are really looking forward to having a fun class with a few little surprises included. 

Speaking of workshops, Sturbridge is just around the corner. If you are interested in taking the vintage-inspired Christmas hutch with glitter houses (scroll down the workshop list), please don't delay in registering. There is a very limited amount of time to let me know if you are interested. Please contact me through my website. 


On another note, life after the Chicago show is finally getting back to normal. We spent the last couple of weeks frantically preparing for our late addition to the Chicago dealer list and now we are taking a little rest before Dallas. We enjoyed meeting so many people in Chicago and seeing the extraordinary talents of miniaturists from around the globe. It was a very exciting experience for us!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

A Study in Bleue

I was feeling inspired by the giant forsythia bush in my garden. These will be part of a new collection of kits.



Monday, March 26, 2012

50 Miniature Spring Tutorials




















If you would like to add a link to the list, please leave a comment. Your suggestions are always welcome!
  1. Customizing a plastic sheep Paizley Pawz
  2. Needle felted sheep about.com
  3. Grass Steve via thewhistlepost.com
  4. Stone wall Carol Jones via YouTube
  5. Cold porcelain daffodils Diane Harfield via YouTube
  6. Baskets from paper Alice Zinn
  7. Wicker basket Miniatures & maisons de poupées
  8. Oval basket about.com
  9. Bunny-shaped wooden basket babsiluv
  10. Hat straw basket Doll Artists' Workshop
  11. Opened parasol Gisele's Miniature Creations
  12. Easter Peddler's Cart Joann L. Swanson
  13. Leeks Angie Scarr
  14. Pansies Alice Buerkle
  15. Roof thatching Earth and Tree
  16. Hats Cynthia Howe
  17. Straw hat Jean Day
  18. Printable hat box Jean Day
  19. Fantasy fairy wings Deb Wood via CDHM
  20. Watering can 1inchscaleminisbykris
  21. Coloring Easter eggs Mary Eccher
  22. Baby in a christening gown Doll Artists' Workshop
  23. Printables for baby Erika via Picasa
  24. Duck or bunny slippers Doll Artists' Workshop
  25. Chocolate bunnies about.com
  26. Hat-shaped cake about.com
  27. Easter cookies about.com
  28. Ham cane and slices drn7ztfsj via YouTube
  29. Scene inside of egg about.com
  30. Chocolate Easter eggs about.com
  31. Marshmallow Easter treats about.com
  32. Easter cupcakes about.com
  33. Easter lilies about.com
  34. Vintage seed packets printable Jean Day
  35. Chicks about.com
  36. Easter egg tree MsMiniLover via YouTube
  37. Bread ring Joannesminis via YouTube
  38. Birdhouses Joannesminis via YouTube
  39. Birds nest about.com
  40. Bird cage Court of Gypsies Miniatures
  41. Wicker bird cage about.com
  42. Paper tulips Brenda Shahzada via My Small Obsession
  43. Tulips about.com
  44. Irises about.com
  45. Pussy willows about.com
  46. Narcissus (in Italian) Pressature con il microonde
  47. Jonquils (French) Les Maisons de Miki 
  48. Printable flower pots True2Scale
  49. Easter bunny mold clayminis 
  50. Bunny cross stitch pattern Minna
Additional tutorials suggested by readers:

Friday, March 23, 2012

A Retreat into Quarter Scale

I was fortunate to be invited to an annual retreat for miniaturists. Last weekend, thirteen talented ladies gathered in a lovely house in the countryside for four days. We laughed, ate well, and shared our passion for miniatures while working on individual projects.

I took the opportunity to try a 1:48 scale Corner Shop from Petite Properties. Even though I have been hesitant to work in this small scale, I've really enjoyed it so far. I'm using the basic shell pieces that were provided, and creating the rest from bits and pieces of paper and wire. I think it will become a French flower shop. I hope to post more pics of it as it progresses.






The flooring is made from individual pieces of painted paper.


Ceiling of the first floor.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Online Show - Shopping in My Pajamas

How often can you shop for minis from all over the world, dressed in your pajamas? If you haven't already stopped by the online show, you may wish to drop in for a visit. There are so many dealers! I bought a couple of lovely kits from Jean Day. I'm looking forward to putting these together!



Thursday, March 1, 2012

New Item for the Atlanta Show

I hope to see you in Atlanta this weekend. We'll have our newest item with us  – blue decals. They would be just lovely with some bright yellow narcissus. I think I just added another item to my list of "kits to create"!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blue decal set shown with 1:24 scale glitter houses.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Workshops in Texas and Sturbridge

In the upper Midwest, Spring is in the air! Or perhaps my burgeoning tulips are just being optimistic. This Spring, Mr. T2S and I will be busy preparing for several shows and teaching our first class, the Vintage-Inspired Christmas Hutch with Glitter Houses. If you will be attending the Texas Miniature Showcase in May, or the Sturbridge Miniatures Festival in June, I hope you will join us. We'll have fun working with LED lighting, paper techniques and assembling glitter houses. The lighted glitter houses and the decorations will be added to a hutch that has been beautifully painted and aged by Jo Dewane Miniatures (the QUEEN of mini aging techniques!).



Vintage Style Christmas Hutch with Glitter Houses 
1” scale Aged Hutch (prepared by Jo Dewane) holds 2 sizes of glitter houses which you will assemble and light.
Learn to work with LED lights to create this charming Christmas display. The light switch and battery are housed behind the cabinet doors, allowing you to easily add and remove the hutch from your scene. You will be given tips and shown techniques for working with paper, as we assemble 2 sizes of glitter houses and decorate them. Materials and instructions to make the decorations shown will also be included in the class.
Tools required: 6” ruler, sharp tweezers, x-acto knife with new blades, small paint brushes (old and new), small wire cutters, work light, small sharp scissors, white glue, magnification if needed.

Class registration for the Texas Miniature Showcase is available on their website. If you are interested in attending the class in Sturbridge, please contact me. We will also be teaching a class at Philadelphia Miniaturia in November. I hope you can join us!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Highlights from Orlando

Warm hospitality, greasy food, Carmen Miranda, and a good mattress. That, in a nutshell, was our weekend at the Orlando show. Several fellow bloggers and blog readers stopped by our table to say hello. It was fun to meet the people creating the posts and leaving comments! I had the opportunity to finally meet the blogger of Tabitha Corsica and view her stunning creations!

Mr. T2S and I went to Epcot on Friday and had a blast dodging raindrops and eating our way around the World Showcase! Perhaps I should have left out the bratwurst from the German village... but after a trip to the Italian village and a glass of Chianti, the grease in my tummy was soon dispersed and I was ready for the Chinese village. Mmmm...yummy!

A "shop window" scene from the UK village.

Our layover in Atlanta gave me some time to check out the exhibit on display–Recycle Runway. Artist, Nancy Judd, creates fashion from garbage to promote conservation. Truly amazing work!

Do you recognize the plastic bags from Target?
The Carmen Miranda style dress and head piece took 100 hours to create.


Coca-Cola couture