Side Tracked...

Well I'm sorry to report that I haven't worked on The Three Little Pigs: Revenge at all since my last post. I am so close to loading everything in, but I got totally side tracked!

Usually when I post photos they consist of progress on the current project I'm working on or things I learn to make along the way. Sometimes I post product reviews, and sometimes I post about a new project that's entered the queue. Rarely do I post about new minis on their own, but that is only because up until now I usually make my own or purchase mass produced minis. I often bash them a bit to make them unique, but usually since they are part of the current build there's no need for a post all their own.

Until Now...

Before I get to the good stuff, I'll share a little background...

Brae posts beautiful photos of her new minis and her projects. She has often shared tips on how she sets up her mini photo shoots, using props and lighting and scenery - they are really extraordinary. I enjoy those posts so much! So I thought, now that I am beginning to purchase artisan made minis (and not only for current projects but just because they are wonderful), I should have some quick set up items on hand to use as backdrops for the photos! Then I can share, too!

I picked out a couple scrapbook papers and pasted them to some 8.5 x 11 mat board. I sandwiched them between waxed paper, stacking heavy books on top of them overnight to keep them from curling. Once they were ready I added a piece of baseboard to each panel.

 For the first flooring sheet I pasted a leftover strip of Houseworks wood flooring to mat board and weighted that overnight as well. Then I sanded, varnished, sanded and varnished for a natural walnut look. I like the dark wood and tropical blue together!

For the second floor, I wanted something a little deeper for bigger items. I have some wood veneer sheets leftover in the pack that I purchased last fall for Alki Point. I selected a light one with a good wood pattern. I cut it into strips about 1" wide, then glued them on to a piece of scrap wood. I clamped and let dry overnight, then used wood filler to help disguise any of the larger spaces between the boards. I sanded, added pilot holes for straight pin nails, nailed them in, then set to work with color washes to make the floor look like reclaimed barn wood. Once I was happy with the finishing, I sealed it with a good coat of matte Mod Podge. I love the effect!

Now that I had the backdrops, I needed a prop to set things on. I just love to make mini kits, and I just happened to have the sideboard kit from The Daisy House stashed away for an occasion just as this!

I also happened to need to try out the new FolkArt chalk paints and waxes I picked up! I love it when opportunity knocks! Especially when it's a mini one!

FolkArt Chalk Paint Colors

It took a couple days of sanding, gluing, drying etc. to get the kit done before I could start painting. I started off with a coat of the FolkArt chalk paint called Sheepskin. It goes on pretty thick and you need to leave it to dry for at least two hours before you can sand it, so this also took some time. After the second coat was dried and sanded, I painted over the top in black - also two coats drying and sanding. Then using a light touch, you just sand away the black to create "wear" spots, exposing the sheepskin color underneath.

FolkArt Wax comes in clear, white and antiquing (brown)

I then used the FolkArt White Wax. For this process, you brush it on, wipe away a bit, then leave to dry overnight. Then you come back and buff it with a lint free cloth. The more you buff, the shinier the piece will become. After my white wax dried, I went over it with the FolkArt Antiquing Wax. It is brown in color, and leaves a nice dark finish with wonderful contrast in the cracks and crevices. I love how the finished sideboard looks against each of the backgrounds!

I am planning to use this process, but with different colors, on all of the furniture I make for The Beachside Bungalow. Very exciting!!! You can find some helpful How To videos for these products on YouTube!

Now that I have a background and a finished prop, I can share my new found treasures and links to where I purchased them! Many of them I only found out about because other wonderful mini bloggers shared, too! Thank you all so much!

First, I have never really been a doll person. I liked them, but never coveted a special one for my own. Gertrude, whom I purchased nearly a year ago, was a different story. I just had to rescue that poor lady! You can read about her here.
But when I came across the ball jointed dolls from OOAKhandmade on Etsy, I just had to have one - well not JUST. I waited 2-1/2 years for one! That is because to me they are expensive! Unless you happen to win one of the bidding wars on eBay. Then you can get them for about $100 less. But with the eBay auctions, you take what you get. When you order one, you get to pick all sorts of features, and the doll is made especially for you. One of the things I liked most about her dolls is that they are fully posable, and completely anatomically correct! Yes, she makes male dolls, too! Maybe someday...

Meet Kairi (feminine name for The Sea). She stands 5-1/2", has medium brown hair and blue eyes.

She is fully anatomically correct, although I have taken the liberty to respectfully protect her privacy here. But trust me - she definitely has a ba~dunk~a~dunk!

She'll eventually reside in 549 Tide Pool Cove, though it is now only the Beachside Bungalow kit.

She arrived from Poland naked, in her own special cotton sack, inside a personalized wooden box. She has an extra set of hands, and feet with built in high heel shoes. The certificate of authenticity is signed, and her serial number displayed.

She was weary after such a long journey, so the first thing I showed her was her new wardrobe. It is filled with clothing, shoes, purses and unmentionables from Paolae Sara Miniature, OOAKhandmade, and Jings Creations, all on Etsy.

She was over the moon! I had so much more for her, but I'll need to move the pole up higher in her wardrobe in order for them to hang properly. I plan to finish her bedroom set using the chalk and wax paints. Luckily, she loves the beach, and contemporary/casual with a touch of shabby is her thing!

She also received some very special gifts from MiniFromItaly, also on Etsy. The work on these items is absolutely amazing!

Bra and Panties in a gift box

Sunflower Purse and Wallet, Belt and stellar Sandals

Gertrude was so excited to meet her! Another girl to talk to! They hit it off right away! I'm so glad because they're going to have to be roomies at Alki Point until Kairi's house is finished! Lucky for them Starbucks is right next door! They are still open in spite of ongoing construction...

Enoch, as curious as ever, had to get a look at the new girl. He is extremely shy, and will most likely watch for several weeks before he lets Kairi see him. Probably a good idea - not everyone believes they exist, so it's quite a shock when they see him.

The next work surge is due to hit any day now, so mini-ing time will be precious few until I'm all through it again. Then it's back to work on the Creatin' Contest build. All the while the deadline looms closer still...

Enjoy the distant but familiar smell of wood stove smoke, the refreshing chill of cold bed sheets, and the leaves crunching under your feet!

Jodi

P.S! I cannot believe that I forgot to mention The Pillows from Brae's Etsy shop, and The Hamper from Anita's Etsy shop. I highly recommend both!!!

A fresh start in the work room!

The Sugarplum was started in earnest a few weeks ago, and then LIFE happened. After the four day trip with my mom I came home with bronchitis. I'd let you know in my last post that while I was gone my wonderful husband cleared out my office/work shop (living and dining rooms) and tore out the carpeting in preparation for laminate floors. It was great news for a messy miniaturist with two little puppies and a rapidly shedding beagle. Not so great news because I was really sick for another four days before I could help get the rooms back together again...

New color over old color

When finally I could muster any strength, I decided since the rooms were empty it was a great time to re-paint the dining room. I have never liked the color I ended up with a few years back (never trust a new paint mixer at Home Depot), a pale and cold blue which was supposed to be a warm blue/green, so it was the opportunity I needed for a do over. I got the perfect shade of Valspar called Steely Blue, and the paint itself was thick and really easy to work with. I love it! It will be my go to brand from now on! I primed first because I was going from satin to flat, and one coat covered the primer amazingly. I did three coats though, because I love the durability and depth of color that way.

Yellow ceiling and coral trim.

While I was at it, I got rid of the pale yellow ceiling and the coral moldings (what was I thinking), opting instead for white. Once the ceiling was painted and the coral edited out, I decided that the crown molding, chair rail, baseboards and bead board really needed a freshening up as well. Russ painted the second ceiling coat and the crown molding because heights give me the willies. Thanks honey!

Finished!

Raised the light.

Now the room is bright and clean! The hutch and buffet, which were given to me by my grandma, have found a home in other areas in the house. This means that I can line up all of the drawer units and other storage items along one wall, giving me much more room to move around in the space. No more bruised hips and stubbed toes? I doubt it - when I am focused on minis I hardly remember that my body is there! But having more room to slide from work station to work station on my table in my wheeled office chair will be liberating!

Why does it still look messy? Need to work on that.

Need to add a shelf for finished projects, maybe?

Here's the space before the work table comes in.

Hopefully, by the time I call it a night I'll have the work table back in here and ready for me to play. Right now though, I need something to eat and to let my aching muscles relax a bit.

The rest of the house is in shambles, so I have to spend the next two days hitting the reset on everything. Then work Fri-Sat and hike with the hubs and puppies Sunday. I have high hopes that next week I will be able to carve out some time again on the Sugarplum. Strike that - NEXT WEEK I WILL MAKE TIME FOR MINIS A PRIORITY AND MAKE SOME PROGRESS ON THE SUGARPLUM!!!

Here's a shot of Gertie enjoying a cup of coffee in the newly cleaned and dusted Starbucks. She likes to watch the progress on everything, and when she's finished she just strolls on over to Alki Point for the night.

TTYS :O) Hopefully with some exciting progress!

And The Winner Is...

Drum roll please...

Please send an email with your shipping address to jodihippler (at) gmail (dot com).

I have some very exciting things for you! As soon as you receive them, we can share what you got with everyone!

I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. For reading and encouraging. It is truly an honor to be part of such an outstandingly kind and incredibly talented community. In a world where kindness is the exception, I treasure the kindred soul in each one of you!

Now let's make 2016 a year where all of our mini dreams become reality! Then let's share them with each other!

No One Around Here Is Flawless

I am finding that as I get older, it's a lot easier to be honest with myself, and to actually accept that I have a few character flaws. Some of them I really need to work on, and some of them I am really okay with.

One of the things I am okay with admitting is that I am either completely board with something, or completely obsessed with it. Enter 3D modeling and printing...

I was watching the first season of House Of Cards with my husband the other night (we are starting with the first season so we can binge watch the other seasons on a lazy, rainy weekend), and I kept noticing all of the incredible set decor. Things like lamps and headboards. Suddenly I am designing them in my head and not even paying attention to the show! Thank goodness for the rewind button!

 I'd been watching quite a few tutorials on SkillShare lately. One was by Lauren Slowik from Shapeways. It was interesting, but the way she went about creating and uploading the image wasn't going to work for me. My subscription to PhotoShop has expired, and I am still really on the fence about committing again when I rarely ever use it. Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, I just signed up with TinkerCad (it's free) and started playing with shapes. I can design with shapes - I really don't need to do much sketching on paper, so this was perfect!

I started by Googling some real life sized lamp measurements, then converting them to 1:12 scale. Then I took some of the ideas in my head and quickly drew them on paper, just so I wouldn't forget. I converted the measurements to millimeters, then began to "doodle" in TinkerCad.

I just so happened to have a 1:12th lamp shade with a built in 12v standard bulb/socket holder. It was easy to use the dimensions in my lamp and base designs. They should perfectly cradle the bulbs and support the shades. I made all of the bases hollow and made cord exits on the bases. I have finished a couple lamps so far, and I have drawings for a couple more. Once I am finished, I'll order them and see it they actually do work the way I planned! If so, maybe I'll try a couple headboards!


See! Obsessed with 3D printing! Meanwhile, the barn sits among my messes on the dining room table, just waiting until I am no longer board with it. As soon as I am not, I will become obsessed with it again.








Oh! By the way... I went and retrieved Enoch. He was hiding behind some trees waiting for campfire stories to begin. I talked him into letting me repair his loose leg. Poor guy! That must have hurt!

While he was recovering, he and Gerdy chatted up a storm. They have become fast friends, and Enoch agreed to carry her wherever she needs to go. Must be tough when arthritis sets in and you can't straighten your legs out any more.

I guess we all have some flaws.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Welcome Home My Friend

A week or so ago, in my New Friends post, I mentioned that I had rescued a poor little woman I'd seen on eBay. Well, here is why I just had to save her...

For one thing, she was only listed as "Elderly Woman" in the auction. The poor thing wasn't even given a name! Second, the auction also mentioned that she was from the Chicken Ranch in Texas. I am sure most of you know that the Chicken Ranch was a real brothel from very early in the 20th century until the 70's. A few years after it was finally shut down, the movie Best Little Whorehouse In Texas came out. It was based on the activities of the brothel. The history is very interesting, so click the link above to learn more.




I could only imagine the horrors that go along with growing old in a brothel. I just had to help her. Imagine wearing this outfit every day!

When this poor lady arrived in a coffin, giving her a new life was even more poetic! The nerve! Even on the coffin she was referred to as "Elderly Woman"! She even had a price tag!

As soon as I freed her from that Styrofoam death, the little lady and I had a long, heartfelt, warm and beautiful conversation. I PROMISED her that she would never again be treated with such indignity! I said that she was officially retired from that former life, and in this new life, she would be well taken care of. I would build her beautiful homes to live in. I would bring her new friends. Her and I would be friends.






The first order of business was to liberate her from that sequined and inappropriate get up. We made her a nice dress in a soft cotton knit. She loved the tie dye pattern, and said teal was one of her favorite colors.

We smoothed the stick mess out of her hair, cut off the bad ends, and added a nice braid. She said her eye sight was fading a bit, so we dabbed on a nice deep ebony to improve her vision. She now sees life in a whole new light, and is looking forward to many happy days ahead.








Everyone, meet Gertrude. Or as she likes to be called, Gerdy. Welcome home my new friend!