Speaking of Lists...

It seems that a lot of us participating in this year's HBS Creatin' Contest are beginning to realize that the December 16th entry deadline is coming up rather quickly! Several of us have been posting and chatting about our To Do lists. In my case, it seems that as soon as I check something off, I realize I need to add several more things. Talk about lighting a fire under your butt!

The highest priority item on my list was addressing the fireplace's flame lighting. It was the age old story of how everything was working just perfectly until I lost access to the connections, and then it just stopped working. It took me a good while to sit and think about a Plan B. But I finally just got out all the parts and made myself sit there until I came up with a solution.

The first thing was to remove the grate with logs from the fireplace. I had to cut the original wires in order to free it. Then I removed the non working bulbs and saved them for another project some day. Rather than trying to connect the new lights to the 12 volt system, my only option seemed to be running them using a 9 volt battery system.

I debated for a long time about having access to the switch while still camouflaging the battery and wires. In the end, I remembered Brae's hidden battery in her firewood box and that gave me an idea. If I loosened the firewood from the fireplace cubby and made it so that it could slide in and out that would solve all my issues.

I inserted the new lights into the fire grate, drilled a hole into the side wall of the fireplace, strung the light wires through, met them up with the switch wires in the firewood cubby, attached all wires together then and heat shrink tubed them securely. Now I only needed to come up with the camouflaged log system.

I grabbed some quick wood scrap and Woodsies and came up with a sort of log/battery box toboggan. When it's inserted into the cubby, you (almost) can't see a thing!

To celebrate after the resolved lighting issue, I decided it was time to mount the head of that Big Old Bad Woolf! It will serve as a reminder that no matter how big the bullies are in your life, just look them right in the eye and you'll persevere in the end!

Now that one important item was finally crossed off the list, it was time to move onto some of the fun details for the project! The oldest piggy, Bob, knew that it would be important and inspirational to chronicle the events that took place with The Big Bad Wolf. He's been typing up a novel about it since very near the beginning. He used to have his typewriter sitting on the kitchen table, but now that his brothers were sharing the space he needed a dedicated writing desk. I took one of the HOM kits in my stash and gave it some new legs that would fit better into our cartoony scene, For the seating, I added a bigger seat, padding and fabric to a little milking stool.

It was also important for Bob to have everyday supplies like pencils, paper pad, stamps, envelopes, tape, twine and a ruler. I'll have to hunt for some scissors to add in the drawer soon.

Here's the extra large but somehow perfect typewriter with the last page of the story being written. I think Bob's publisher is going to be pleased!

I'll leave you with a few up to date progress shots. There are still many items on my list that I'd like to include on the project. We'll see how many I end up with time for.

I am always looking to the next mini projects in the queue. It's embarrassing to admit, but in my daily gratitude conversations with the universe, I often express just how lovely my life is, and that when it's my time to leave this Earth I will do so with no regrets. I always include an asterisk at the end of the conversation, though, asking if I can please stay until such and such mini projects are finished. I bet I get some head shaking with that request. What can I say - I really love miniatures.

I'd love some wisdom and feedback on a particular decision that I am struggling to make. After the contest build is completed, do I start on the Beachside Bungalow, or finish the Shabby Chic Soap Shop first? I am leaning toward finishing the soap shop. What do you all think???

Thanks for your two cents...

Jodi

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!!!

The Birds And The Bees...

One of the details that I wanted to add to the Creatin' Contest build was a skep for honey bees. I thought about all of the different methods I could use, and decided that hemp twine should both be doable and realistic-ish. This is one example of what a real skep looks like:

Before I started, I did a little research in hopes that if I knew how the structure was intended to work, I'd do a better job and be able to come up with a similar design in 1/12th scale. This description is courtesy of Wikipedia:

Skeps, which are baskets placed open-end-down, have been used for about 2000 years. Initially they were made from wicker plastered with mud and dung but from the Middle Ages they were made of straw. In northern and western Europe, skeps were made of coils of grass or straw. In its simplest form, there is a single entrance at the bottom of the skep. Again, there is no internal structure provided for the bees and the colony must produce its own honeycomb, which is attached to the inside of the skep.

Here is a great 1:1 tutorial on how to make your own: How To Build A Bee Skep

Amazingly intricate and lovely!

On a side note, my dad and brother went to a class on bee keeping last spring. They had two hives going in my brother's yard for several months. The things I learned about bees from both of them is truly fascinating! Unfortunately, his first hive had mites and the second swarmed (vacated the hive to find one more suitable). I think he will try again this spring.

Anyway, I knew I was going to need a form in a sort of half egg or rounded pyramid shape. I began scavenging in all my little nooks and crannies and came up with a good candidate: the body from a small broken resin doll. The plan was to wrap the twine around the form and secure the shape with watered down Tacky Glue. I used my Dremel sanding bit to reshape it just a bit.

I began by taping the twine to the bottom of the form, then ran it vertically up to the top and taped it there, then back down to the bottom to begin wrapping.

I wrapped several rows, but stopped there to paint on some of the glue. I didn't want it to start unraveling as the curve in the form began to taper. I let it dry for about 30 minutes or so, then continued all of the rows to the top before applying glue. I left the string long to use in a later step.

 While that dried, I began working on the tray for the bottom. This is the part of the structure that is removable to access the honey. I had a Woodsie circle that was the perfect size. I sanded, painted (FolkArt Honeycomb, appropriately) and drilled two holes in the bottom for stringing the twine.

Once the skep had dried, I needed to carefully remove it from the form. My clay tool has very thin metal and worked perfectly to pry it loose.

Once it was free of the form I coated the inside with a heavy coat of glue.

Once that was dry, I began to attach the tray to the bottom. I strung a nice long piece of twine in the bottom left hole, then brought it out through the top of the skep. I made a loop that was long enough for the skep to hang from. I then threaded the twine back down through the tray's right hole and made another knot. 

To secure the tray and make sure it can't be pulled down any farther than the loop, I secured it using the string leftover from wrapping the twine. I trimmed it down and glued it onto the inside of the skep. 

I trimmed the excess twine from under the tray, cut an access door in the front and viola - a 1/12th scale working bee skep! Hooray!

Now all I needed were bees! Okay - let's give that a try! I started with some natural pipe cleaners (yellow ones would work beautifully, but these are what I had), a yellow Sharpie, a black Sharpie, some black waxed hemp twine and a mini leaf punch. 

I colored the pipe cleaner yellow first, then went back and added black lines. The execution would have worked better if I had done 2 things: 1. Used a black Sharpie with a finer tip. 2. Let the ink dry thoroughly before I handled them.

I cut them into about 3/8" pieces and got a little creeped out! Don't they look like dead bees just laying there!

The waxed hemp twine has four layers of smaller string twisted together. I untwisted them and cut them into about 1-1/2" lengths. I used the leaf punch on parchment paper for the wings.

I tied the waxed hemp about 2/3 up the bodies and left the strings long. The idea was to use them to attach the wings, one on each string, then wrap the string around again and tie another knot for the antennae. Unfortunately, the wings just looked too big and not translucent enough, so I scrapped that idea. Our little bees will have tiny, imaginary wings unless I can come up with a better solution. Using the waxed hemp for the antennae worked great, though!

And here is one of the finished bees hanging out on the skep. I put several more around the house on flowers and such, too. They are large enough to see, and perfect for a fantasy build like this one!

Can you spot another one?

Now for the birds... Well, their houses anyway. I will need to order some birdies!

I wanted to add some cutsie bird houses, so I broke out my scrap bags. It only took a couple minutes to sort through and grab what I'd need and to configure five of them! I cut the roofs at different angles for variety.

I'm not the world's most steady handed painter, so I decided to paint all of the components before I assembled them.

It wasn't long before they turned into this...

They were cute and all, but still not quite there... How about some decoupaged flowers, and a couple cute buckets?

Now we were getting somewhere!

Not bad for only doing some research, sorting through scraps and a weekend's worth of work!

Have a great week everyone! See you next fall! :O)

Jodi

P.S. - There were so many photos that I left them smaller this time. You can always click on them to see enlarged slides.