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Thursday, September 19, 2019

Autumn's Pantry Bay Window Displays

Hi Guys! I'm back with just a little work on Autumn's Pantry to share for the week. The wedding was beautiful, dad's eye surgery went perfect and some great family memories were made! That will help soften the blow when my parents leave for AZ again, as there are no plans to get together again until mom's 70th birthday in February. Man, it feels weird to say my mom is turning 70!!!


While the schedule has been hectic, I was able to find some time this week to electrify some inexpensive plastic lamps and start on the bay window display area. I thought I would share how easy it is to do these lanterns. You can see by the gold loops that they probably began life as Christmas ornaments. I forget where I got them - probably a craft store, but I've had them in my stash for quite a long time. I was able to find some here and here by doing a Google search for "mini Christmas tree lantern ornament".

You'll need some lanterns and some Candle Flame Bulbs with wires.


These lanterns come apart in two pieces. I just used my tweezers to separate them at the seam then easily pulled them apart.


You'll need to drill a hole into the candle cup in the bottom for the wire to exit. I used a 1/32" bit in my Pin Vice.


To make a channel for the wire to exit the side of the lamp (to keep the bottom flush to the surfave when sitting), I used my Dremel to essentially burnish a channel from the candle cup exit hole to the side of the lantern.


I wanted to keep my rustic theme going for the shop, so I stippled some burnt sienna acrylic paint over the black lamps. It's a super easy rust effect. If you have different lamps with a different color finish, just paint them black, let dry, stipple the burnt sienna, let dry, and varnish.


To blend the wires themselves, I used a Copper Leafing Pen to cover the wires and then let thoroughly dry before installing the bulb into the lantern.


To install the wire, just thread the wire through the hole, place a dab of Tacky Glue in the candle cup, pull the wire taught and let dry. You can glue the exiting wire to the channel, though I did not end up using the channel at all.


The tops of these lanterns snap back on with no need to glue. This is nice in case the need arises later to change the bulb.


I decided where I wanted my lanterns and drilled holes for the wires right into my bay window display shelf. I also added a Jack-O-Lantern with a bulb but did not color it's wire in copper.


The second hole you see in the wall under the shelf is where the wire will exit to plug in to the power strip. I want to combine all four wires into one so that I will only need one plug and so that only a single wire coming out the back has to be camouflaged.


To do this, I needed some Extra Wire and some Shrink Tubing. I separate the two strands on the extra wire and slip a 1/2" piece of shrink tubing onto each strand. I strip back about the same 1/2" of wire coating to expose the wires.



I separate about 1" of each of the lantern wires and strip back 1/2" of coating to expose the wires. Then I combine four of each of the wires from the lanterns into one wire grouping for the "hot" wire and one grouping for the "neutral".



Now I combine each grouping with one of the new wires.



Then I slip the shrink tubing over the join,


I apply heat from my blow dryer until the tubing shrinks (melts) the join into a secure sheathing.


Then tidy up the wires, feed the new, single wire through the hole, cut to length, add a plug and plug in to the power strip.


Cross your fingers, pray and then look to see if the lights really do work!




Whew! We have working lanterns in the bay window displays!



I can't wait for the day when I get to see the shop with all the house lights off!


My next plans are to finish up the flower making and finish off the floor space inside the bay.



I definitely won't be finished by my original deadline of September 23, the first day of fall, but I may make the second deadline of October 1st! We'll see what else life brings to put in my way! No matter - I am having so much fun, and am ever the more grateful for any time that's mini time!

xo xo,
Jodi

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Harvest In Progress... Be Back Soon!


Things may seem to have slowed down with Autumn's Pantry, but let me assure you that much behind the scenes hard work is happening! In spite of having family in town for a wedding, and all of the resulting gatherings and activities, the harvest is in full progress! I won't say much about where I've been spending my limited mini time this past couple weeks, other than fall is a time where many things are still in bloom...


And the trees are beginning to show us that as one door closes, another beautiful one opens. So I decided to capture some of that glory in miniature by making fall leaves.

You'll need leaf punches. They come in several varieties and sizes, these are Small and Mini.


ProMarkers in a variety of fall colors work great for coloring a piece of regular printer paper. Amazon offers sets, but if you want to purchase singles in other colors, Blick is the way to go.


Just use all the colors to make random swirls. If any white spots show, color them with your lightest yellow. Be sure to flip the paper over and cover any bare spots on the back. too.


To soften the lines, you can blend the colors with Ranger Alcohol Blending Solution. Just paint it on with a brush and let dry. If you work on a piece of wax paper, cleanup is a breeze.


Here I've used the Punch Bunch Mini Maple Leaf punch. Those squares on my mat are 1/2" x 1/2" to give you an idea of the size.


One sheet of printer paper makes a pile this large.


If you're a glutton for perfection, you can crinkle them up or add veins.

I hope to be back next week with some more progress, hopefully, being finished with all the flowers.


As the days grow darker and the sun peeks out from the clouds less and less, I tend to get sad. This year, I am trying to think of fall as a way to clear out the old to make way for the new. Fall then, is not a death, but rather a clearing of the way so that all the new, good things can come to us again next spring. I just hope it seems to come as fast as summer seemed to go by!

xo xo,
Jodi

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Welcome Home Fiona!

I am so thrilled to introduce all of you to Fiona and her incredibly talented creator, Pauline Pugliese of New Jersey, USA!


Fiona is 5-1/2" tall, hand made with polymer clay over a wire armature, has a cotton cloth body and can be gently posed. She is the friendly face who welcomes visitors to Autumn's Pantry and is an expert in all things harvest! As you can see, she is a dapper and jovial witch who is perfect for the job!

Fiona

Her lovely white hair is viscose, curled with a hot rod. Her blue/gray eyes look animated and sparkle. Her elderly face is just full of character, incredibly detailed and sculpted by Pauline as a one-of-a-kind creation. You'll have to ask Pauline how she manages to get such a big soul inside such a small being.


Soulful eyes

Pauline also designed and created Fiona's gorgeous costume and beautifully adorned witch's hat. She is as talented at dressing dolls as she is at creating their unique and life like faces! The fingers and arms show the thin skin, veins, age spots and protruding bone of a person who's seen many years. Her dolls imbue a sense of wisdom, and you can sense they just know things.


Seeing Fiona inside the shop, it's as if she were created just for Autumn's Pantry! I can't wait for all of the little Trick-Or-Treaters to meet her!




Pauline has loved miniatures, dollhouses and dolls since she was a little girl, but only got her first dollhouse, a vintage colonial, 5 years ago. Since then, it has become an obsession for her! She's one of us!

Pauline is still pondering her name

As an art major in college, Pauline loved to sketch people, but didn't really enjoy sculpting.  Believe it or not, she didn't attempt her first doll until April of 2018! She fell in love with the process, though she says her first dolls weren't very good. Doll making was much harder than she thought it would be, but she kept at it, and has since created a vast variety of dolls in many periods, ages and of both sexes.

Charlotte

Esmeralda 

Jamie

Zelda

Sylvia

She says "I love all aspects, the costuming, the sculpting, painting the faces, the wigging etc. Once they are finished, they come alive to me. I am a perfectionist and often paint their faces 10 times before I am satisfied! Fiona is the first doll I've made that I really feel I've reached the level of craftsmanship that I aspired to.".

Fiona will be featured in the October issue of



Margaret


What strikes me so much about Pauline's work is that each doll seems to posses so much personality! I follow Pauline on Instagram and have admired her exceptional work for such a long time. I am absolutely enamored with each and every one of her dolls, and feel so lucky to have Fiona to enjoy in person!

The photos I've shared here are such a small sampling, so if you'd like to see more of her incredible work, I recommend looking at her Instagram page. You'll find a wealth of drool provoking photos, including scenes from her incredible dollhouses! She also has a FaceBook Page and periodically lists dolls for sale via eBay.

Back soon with the next installment of  'what has she stuffed into Autumn's Pantry now?'! :O)

xo xo,
Jodi