Mission Couch

It was a busy week of miniature making in dalesdreams studio. ;)  Since sunshine couldn't be found outside, I turned on all the lights and made my own sunshine inside. :)
This is a mission couch I upholstered for Ray of minibuilder on etsy.

His work is so incredible.

I used to work in an antiques shop and after a while, your hand knows what the good stuff is by the way it feels in your hand.

Fine glass, you can tell when you hold it, same with fine china. A strand of real pearls, I'll never forget the first time I held a strand of real pearls, I absolutely know why women love them so much! ;)

That is the same with handling one of Ray's creations. Fine detailing and craftsmanship, this couch feels so good in your hand.

I love this fabric, it looks like aged leather in 1/12th scale.

Last time I looked, it wasn't in his shop yet, but, I'd keep an eye out for it. It's a wonderful compliment to the mission chair and ottoman he has in his shop now.

Not many trick or treaters this year. :(

Could have been the damp weather.

Hope you have an enjoyable Halloween. :)

Oh, some funny thoughts before I go. What unusual things turn up in your work room? This week, I had a pot lid and a large bread knife in my studio. Hubby was afraid to pick up the pot lid, he thought there might be a mouse trapped under it. Not!

The pot lid was a template for a circle to make a pattern for a table cloth. By the way, did you know most plates are around 10" in diameter? I needed a nine inch circle.

The bread knife, I used to shave down a piece of half inch foam into a piece of 1/4" foam. Not an easy task I tell you. ;)

Alright, until next time! :)

***Update, he's listed the couch, you can find it here.***

1/18th Scale!

This chair is 1/18th scale.

I had never heard of such a scale, but, I certainly don't know everything. ;)

   

It was made by Ray of Minibuilder on etsy.

Since it's in a tinier scale than what I normally work in, it's really small!

It measures less than three inches tall.

Can you imagine?

Yup, it's tiny.

And, that's all I'm going to say about the chair for right now.

You, my dear readers, are going to have to wait to hear more about this chair and.... ;)

Welcome to another follower, Marilyn, she has a blog called Dolls, etc.

Welcome!

To Rosanna, she has not one blog, but two, you can see them here and here.

I don't know how the numbers work out, but now, I'm just seven followers away from 100.

Do new followers always end up at the top or do some come in and hide in the middle some where? lol ;)

Welcome!

Welcome to another new follower, Beatrice. She's French and I just discovered her blog the other day. Her blog is beautiful, her pictures are great and she has the most fabulous miniatures. Lots of eye candy! You can see her blog here.

Well, I'm now ten followers shy of 100. As promised, I will be doing a giveaway on my blog when I reach 100 followers. I'll be giving a $20. gift certificate to my etsy shop. All you have to do is comment on one of my blog posts since the last giveaway to be entered to win. The last giveaway was so much fun to do. I'm looking forward to this next one. :)

I've been knee deep with custom orders and collaborations as of late. Here are some Japanese floor cushions I made for Yuki of Amatheria. I can't wait to see what he does with them, he makes some of the most unusual miniatures. :) If you haven't been to his shop, you should definitely check it out.

He wanted them to be flat, flat, flat. Think they are flat enough? ;) They are just 4cm square.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new followers, Victoria and Diane. :)

In the Pink with Minis! :)

Well, if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I love hot pink.

You might have already guessed that from my banner. ;)

So, I thought I would share with you, my dear readers, some minis in my collection that are pink. :)

This is an acrylic turning from BertiesMiniatures. It is so shiny, it seems like it's glass. I love the combination of the organic shape of the colors combined with the pure traditional lines of the vase.

This is so tiny, you would not believe how hard it was to get a clear photograph of it!

This is a wedding cake topper from WhimsyCottageMinis.

She has become a dear, dear friend over the past year and she gave this to me, because it was the same as my wedding cake topper when I got married. I had a pink cake. :)  And, a pink wedding gown. :)

She has also given me a black and pink necklace but, it was even tinier and I could not manage to get a picture of it, no matter how much I tried. :(  I don't know how you do it Whims, taking the pictures or making the tiniest things I've ever seen with such great details and attention to those details. :)

I love the traditional shape of this turning. The hot pink is a nice surprise. :)

This turning was made by MikeRowe and the lid is even removeable.

Mike has been making miniature guns and they are just incredible!

I got this miniature painting from SandBoxArt. The flowers remind me of rhododendrons. Is there anyone out there that hasn't dreamed of a house with a white picket fence? lol I think this painting is going to get a shiny black frame.... someday... :)

Christmas is around the corner and shabby chic gals know, no home is complete without a pink Christmas tree, or two, or three. :)  I've never had a pink tree in RL. ;)

The tiny pair, will look cute on a table or perhaps the fireplace mantle...

These trees came from saturdayfinds. I just peeked in her shop and she's starting to list more of these bottle brush trees. I had gotten these last year.

I got this cute suede suitcase from minide, you might know her from her blog.

Isn't this cute! :)

This little treasure I brought back from Paris.

Yup, I mention Paris when ever possible. lol

It truly is one of the best cities in the world!

Every romantic thing they say about it, is so true. :)

The majority of these things came from Etsy.

Many of them are from my mates from TeamMIDS, a group of artisans that create in 1/12th scale.

I hope you enjoyed my show and tell in Pink. :)

Here's hoping you're in the pink as well.

What did you do today? anything mini?

Just a short post, as it's been a long day, feels like a long week already! ;)

I designed a new mattress today and I really like this much better than the way I have been doing mattresses in the past. I hope you can see in the picture, white on white was not a good idea (giggles).

This turned out so sleek and smooth and really looks like a real mattress, I think. What do you think?

It was made for minibydesign for a custom order. I haven't even gotten to see the bed yet, but, when I get a picture, I'll post it.

Making that mattress today, gives me the confidence to start attempting furniture, which is what I have always wanted to do. I have fabric in my stash that has been waiting to become chairs, couches and loveseats. :)

I've also been working on fine napkin folding for a custom order.

I might have to blog more about this. A challenge, but, as you can see, I've got it pinned. lol ;)

I'm not going to say a word about this chair. Some of you readers may know about it, please don't spill the beans quite yet. ;)

Next time, a more interesting post, I hope.  ;)

And Now for Something Completely Different!

Last week, I was busy with a brand new project that I'm so excited to reveal here.

And, no, it's not pillows, but something completely different. :)

This one has a great shade of green that has a vintage appeal.

I brought this fabric back from Paris.

I love this one, it's so sweet! :)

Traditional modern country, it looks great with the kitchen table and chairs that I got from Minibuilder.

This blue makes me think of those special boxes you get from Tiffany's. :)

A touch of French Country.

 This reminds me of Mary Engelbreit or Mackenzie Childs.

We seem to share our joy of black and white, checks and polka dots.

I really enjoyed working on these hutches. Each one received several coats of paint, was then distressed, varnished to seal the effect and then embellished.

These will be heading into my etsy shop soon, but, I couldn't wait to share them with you all. :)

Until next time!

Lots Going on in the Mini World!

Stick-Eastlake Victorian

Sorry, that was my first attempt at getting a picture from another site, I'm learning! ;)

Well, I've just been spinning in circles as of late, there is so much to do and I'm involved in so many different projects at the moment.

I collaborate with Ray from Minibuilder upholstering his chairs, and with Richard from minibydesign I upholstered his deco couch, now, I'm working with Yuki from Amatheria with a project that will be Japanese inspired.

Busy, busy, busy!

I love it!

Recently, I heard from the gal that I did a custom order for, I blog about it here and here. She ended up having her farmhouse in the county fair and won first place and best in show. I was hoping to get pictures of it all decorated in it's Fourth of July glory, but, the house is too busy for a photo shoot. It's been on tour to area libraries. How cool is that? It's entertaining and bringing smiles to all that see it. You can see more detailed pictures of the farmhouse and it's awards and process here.

Okay, so you are probably wondering what is that tiny picture on the top of my blog is. That was my poor attempt at trying to copy a picture. This is the inspiration for my customer's next project and you can see more pictures of that here.

It almost has a bit of eerieness to it. Fitting with Halloween being just around the corner.

 I'm signed up for the bits of textiles that will be inside. :)

And, there's more, but, it's pending and I'll know at the end of the month how that goes. For now, I'm keeping it a secret and crossing my fingers. ;)

Until next time!

Dollhouse Wiring

Well, look what the mailman brought me the other day. :)

Dollhuse electrical wiring supplies.

And, my first lighting fixture, a ceiling lamp for a bedroom.

These all came from Cir-Kit Concepts, Inc.

This is what we ordered  (same order they are pictured)  ck1003, ck203 and ck3717.

Hubby and I both searched around the net for dollhouse wiring sites and this is what he ended up choosing for me.

The only thing is, their shopping cart system does not work if you have IE8, they are working to change that, in the mean time, you can order over the phone as I did.

The stuff arrived the next day, they fed ex everything.

So, hubby said he would start wiring the house, one room at a time as he learns what to do. I'll take pictures of the process. Now, if I can just get wiring the dollhouse in his Top Five Things to Do, we'll be good. ;)

Until then, I'm going to explore shingling the roof and stoning the chimney wall. And hope that it won't interfere with any wiring in the future. ;)

A Weekend in Happy Valley :)

:)

Dollhouse Miniature Tutorial on Faux Painting Technique

Well, I don't consider myself a painter by any means, but, I think these came out pretty good. :)

They started out as those resin urns you sometimes see in the craft stores.

I didn't like the yellowish color that they were originally, so I thought I'd faux paint them to look like cement.

First I painted them white, as I didn't want the yellowish color to peek through.

Then, I mixed up some gray, using some black and white acrylic paint I had on hand.

I just pounced the paint on to them.

The pouncing created a nice texture that really makes them look like cement.

But, I wanted more detailing and age to them.

So, I thought I'd use a wash of black to highlight them.

I got a good bit of water.

And then, just a drop of black paint.

Using that tiny brush, I just went in and around all of the nooks and crannies.

Of course, when I explained what I was going to do, my nearest and dearest mini friends kept telling me they would look "charred" in the end. (they shall remain nameless) I don't think they look charred at all. :)

Now, they are ready to go off to GoldenUnicornMinis She is going to fill them with some mini greens for me, some spiky in the center, some trailing over the edges and and more mixed greens to fill in.

I can't wait to see how they will look then! :)

 I just got some real life urns that look just like these, how funny is that? ;)

Until, next time! :)