Belated Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas yesterday!

It has been hectic around here, so I haven't had much time to update my blog. The weekend was enjoyable, and I spent a lot of time with my family.

Now that Christmas is over, I have to get back to filling out my orders.. and to think that I thought things would slow down a bit. It's hard to believe that 2011 is almost here!

Until my next post...

Poinsettia

Here is my first attempt at a little poinsettia plant. There are five flowers total, and they should have been darker red... but I'll know next time!

I have a cold right now, so it is very difficult trying to sculpt minis and occasionally blow my nose. I am just glad that my cold will probably be over by Christmas.

Time to work on my miniatures again!

Making & Baking

At last I have downloaded the pictures of my newest Christmas cookie prep board!

As you can see, the board is complete with a rolling pin, a sack of flour, rolled-out dough, two dishes of red and green sugar crystals, a bag of icing, and of course the finished cookies on a little white doily.



The board!




Christmas tree, gingerbread, and star cookies.




Sugar crystals!

A little closer..

The dough!

At last... a closer look at the handmade rolling pin.

Gingerbread House

Now here is a unique little board! This gingerbread house prep board required a lot of time as usual, but it was definitely worth the final result.

Since Christmas is coming up, I thought it would be appropriate to share my little board with you now! Enjoy.



The house in the making, icing bag, rainbow candy canes, peppermints, spearmints, gumdrops, and rainbow sprinkles.



Bottles of rainbow sprinkles, spearmints, peppermints, and gumdrops.





An unfinished side of the ginerbread house.




The colorful jars of candies and decorations.




A jar of glossy spearmints tipped on its side.





Just another shot.

A Tasty Meal

This cold and rainy weather makes me hungry for some more warm turkey dinner! It has been challenging lately because I use natural light to take pictures of my miniatures--and overcast days like these make for poor quality pictures.

Regardless, I was able to get a few pictures of my miniature Thanksgiving dinner a week or two ago. Everything is handmade except for the silverware.


Aerial view of the table.

Close up of the plate.

Turkey!

Gobble-Gobble

Anyone need a turkey? These little fellows visited us all summer long... but now they are in hiding for obvious reasons.

Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite times of the year. There are no excuses for me to not take the time to stop and think about what I am really grateful for. As usual, my list is endless this year. I am especially thankful for the opportunity to make and share my miniatures in numerous ways.

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I would like to extend my thanks to a few people who have helped me particularly with Tweety Petie Products (among other things)... to my mom and dad, to my brothers and sisters, to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, to my nieces, to my relatives, to my friends, to my customers, to my supporters, to my followers, and (last but not least) to two people who have changed my life forever: Cassandra and Tish.

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It is an incredible experience to see my blog grow especially during the past few weeks. My followers make all the difference for me here on blogger. So thank you for all your encouragement and inspiration! It means so much. I cannot put into words the gratitude I feel to each and every one of you. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! More Thanksgiving mini-goodies are to follow.

Good Old Pizza

Having just eaten some tasty pizza for dinner, I thought it would be appropriate to update my blog with a couple pictures of--what else? Pizza! Nothing like good old pizza! This has to be the easiest blog post that I've ever created.

Pizza doesn't have to be fancy to satisfy me. I like just about anything... although I don't particularly desire mushrooms. Will that ever change? I can't imagine it will!

Getting It Done

Well, I am an aunt again! Yesterday my first nephew, Dominic, was born at 11:40am. It was so exciting to hear the news and I can't wait to meet him!

I have been able to spend the past few days working on many, many little miniatures. Just a few more tiny pieces to go, and I will be done with the first custom order on my list. Slowly but surely, I am getting it done! It's a wonderful feeling.

Mmm, I have been craving these little chocolate cupcakes (seen above in the picture) since... well... I don't know when! They are probably my favorite cupcakes that "regular" stores offer. My mom would occasionally bring a box of these home from the bread store for us. As usual, if I can't actually have it in real life, I make it in miniature.

Following the Leader

Today I excitedly went back to work on my miniatures after successfully finishing off the craft show last Saturday. The show was full of wonderful surprises and I met so many nice people. Although I remain busy, I have no reason to complain... I would much rather be busy than bored!

I would like to introduce you to my set of yellow rubber duckies pictured to the right. Simple and cute. You can see two little babies following the leader... a.k.a. their mommy. These little friends found a good new home last Saturday at the show.

Ideas are booming inside of my mind right now. Of course I scribble everything down inside of a notebook so that I won't forget them the next day. Once again, I can't wait to share countless new items... in due time!

Price Tags

I always hate price tags because it means I have to spend money... but I also hate making price tags as well. But I am finally done with making them (again) for my last show of the year this Saturday!

Now all I have to do is start packing everything up and double checking to make sure I have everything. I am always paranoid that I'll forget something important or useful. Trust me, I've had plenty of actual nightmares about this.

I really missed participating in shows during the summer. Getting back to work for 2 shows this fall was more than I needed to refresh my memory. It will be a relief to have some time to rebuild my stock and "run some tests" when it's all over. Not to mention, there are a number of custom orders lined up that are shouting my name that I have to attend to first. While being at the craft show is fun, preparing everything for it is stressful.

Life is good!

Some More Pumpkins

Yes, here are some more little guys! These ones I decided to sell individually and not on a board. The "baby" pumpkins are so cute.

Pumpkins are not the only pieces I have been making lately though. There are lots of new pictures that I have to download pretty soon. What would I do without a digital camera??

In the mean time, I have a long (but hopefully fun) weekend coming up... not to mention halloween on Sunday! Back to my minis now.

Pumpkins!

It was great to be selling my miniatures again at a craft show! Yesterday was very successful and way too much fun. Today I have returned to making minis like crazy as I try to rebuild my stock for my next show on November 6th. I have a very, very busy two weeks ahead of me before the next show.

I have also discovered a love of making pumpkins. It's so fun to make different shapes and sizes. Here is a rustic hand-painted board with eight cute pumpkins... a few of my leaves are scattered in between. Somehow I wish this season came around more often just as an excuse to make more pumpkins... and because I love roasted pumpkin seeds!

Tutorial: Miniature Leaf

Tutorial: Miniature Leaves



Step 1:

Supplies needed (as shown in picture):

• Wax paper


• Toothpick


• Shiner/Glaze (I use Gallery Glass for this project)


• Real leaves from outside


• Leaf paper punch (I am using Vaessen Creative's 5'8" inch Maple Leaf Punch)


• (Optional: Dish soap, water, and 2 hand towels)

Step 2:
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Gather your real leaves from outdoors.
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Step 3:

Retrieve your paper punch and leaf of your choice. Try to align the veins of the leaf down the center of your punch as displayed in this picture. It looks more realistic this way.
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Step 4:

Apply some glaze on a toothpick and spread it across the miniature leaf. Make sure you do not overload the glaze; the goal is a thin layer. Be very gentle so that nothing rips. The glaze will help preserve the leaf and make it just a little bit shiny. I highly recommend this step.
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Step 5:
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Place your leaf punches on a wax sheet of paper and let them dry. Carefully peel them off when they are dry; if you do this properly, they will come off easily. I like to bend my leaves at this point to make a curled effect using my fingers. On occasion, depending on what kind of leaf your are using, it will curl by itself.
You can store your leaves in a box (or a bag), but preferably something that won't smash them together. Note: Some types of leaves will fade/darken in color before or after this process. I personally think it is nice to have a variation in shades, so I don't mind if a couple of my leaves change a bit in color.

The finished product:

All of the leaves are colored and textured just like a real leaf (that's because it is a real one) on both sides! Add these beautiful little leaves with your own miniatures, use them as confetti, or do whatever you like with them.

Cold... but Sunny!

It is really chilly outside, but all the same it is so sunny! I am impatiently waiting for our leaves to turn colors... although the majority of our leaves transform into a plain brown shade. (The neighbors' large, crimson tree across the street puts our tree to shame!) Despite the blisters and splinters that I receive from raking, I will never stop loving autumn!

So here's a little carrot cake to warm up your day... or at least mine! I am craving something sweet at this moment.

For the past two days I have been working very hard on new little miniatures. It is such a wonderful feeling to work with my gooey clay like good old days!

A Purple Birthday

Because today is my birthday, I thought I would share with you my newest birthday cake set. Purple is my favorite color, so I centered the theme around a lilac shade.

As you can see, there is a vanilla (although chocolate is my favorite) cake with purple icing, candles, cookies, and a rectangular present... all purple! My dream has come true!

Now I am going to go and enjoy what is left of today! May I dream of purple tonight.

Macaroons!

Some random cookies.

The cake!

Little White Ducks

Ducks are just too cute! Unfortunately I don't get to see ducks too often where I live. My miniature birds have always been popular. Occasionally I am asked if I make any miniature birds. These new ducks are very simple, but all the same they were very tricky to sculpt. I don't make birds that often because the structure and texture is so time consuming.

Babe was a movie that I always watched when I was growing up... and these little white ducks remind me of little Ferdinand!






My little white friend.



A duck teapot (with a tea cup). His bent "tail" is the handle and his open beak is the spout.

After the Weekend

I have some planning to do for the weekend, so I will not be able to post until after then. =/ All this planning has been the main source from keeping me away from miniatures.

Last evening, two of my cousins and I were invited to dance (at a closed performance) to a live band. The music was just beautiful. It was quite an experience, and one I will never forget!

As I have mentioned before, I have a craft show on the 23rd of this month. I cannot wait! It has been four long months since participating in my last show. Craft shows are fun inside and out.

In the meantime, enjoy the calorie-free snicker doodle cookie earrings (pictured above)! Indeed I have been building my stock of miniature food earrings. The food earrings were extremely popular at my last show.

Stepping Back

I love flipping through old photo albums which simply burst with old memories. This picture (dated 2004) to the right shows me with two trays of miniatures before the baking process.

I can easily and immediately identify every piece in the picture. On these trays, I have several atomic orange candles, pizza slices, dishes (white, yellow, and even orange... back in these days, I didn't have a lot of white clay for dishes), slices of bread, bananas, cucumbers, carrots, and some other random pieces. All this went right into my barbie dollhouse of course!

It is so much fun finding plastic bag fulls of my old, old minis! My sister Margaret and I would make loads of "interesting-looking" food for our barbies. Everytime we saw food on a movie or in a magazine which we liked, we tried our very best to imitate it.

I am currently in the process of retrieving more pictures. In addition, I am going to take some shots of the old pieces which I still have.

All in all, I would have to say that my miniatures have improved since this picture was taken! Haha.

Leeks!

Well, I made my first leeks! They don't look too bad. You can judge them for yourself. I can't wait to add them to vegetable arrangements that I have in mind to make sometime.

Without a doubt, I have been making less miniatures since school started... that I have said before. My entire schedule has been adjusted. I can't wait to unveil some new surprises!

I have been very active for the past three Saturdays. I am looking forward to the upcoming weekend when I can stay at home, and maybe even sit down with my minis.

The bread-making prep board which is now completely finished. You can see a pile of flour, some wheat, brown eggs, one cracked egg, dough, a rolling pin, and a cooked and sliced loaf of bubbly bread.

A Pie for the Season

It is so beautiful outside! I love this time of year. Before you know it, the leaves will begin changing colors. Every season is unique in its own way.

I decided it was time to make another prep board. Miniature prep boards are so much fun and they make great gifts.

Anyway, here is a pumpkin pie prep board. Everything is 100% handmade except for the spoon, pie dish, and the wood for the board.

Enjoy the pictures.





Spoon and bowl. The spoon was bought.




An aerial view. It's hard to see the detail inside of the carved pumpkin.




The top of the pumpkin beside the knife.




Close-up of the seeds.




My little friend.