Wednesday, August 31, 2011

New projects, and some product reviews for fun :)

I have no pictures yet, but I'm working on three projects at the same time.  One being my custom order for another Harry Potter tree that will be slightly different than the first.  One of the crucial parts has been held up somewhere and I've had to contact the seller to find out what's going on :(  Shipping problems, don't you just love them?  I can't advance far on the tree without this part.  So it's a waiting game right now.  I have thought of some fun new ideas for this tree though :)  Like a Howler.  Do you remember in the second HP movie there was a talking red envelope from Molly Weasley to Ron?  It yelled at him :)  I've made a small one of those, and it's turned out very well indeed :)  It's shape is perfect as I can get it!  It's very cute and will be on the tree.  I can't believe I was able to make something that small look as close as that to the one in the movie.  It wasn't easy at that size, let me tell you.  If my part ever comes in, I'll post pictures as soon as I get somewhere on the tree. 

My other projects are this:  a purple sparkly gothic victorian witch tree in time for Halloween that will have less of a base on it due to time contraints right now.  I'm still working on my floors (Guess what takes off the black tar paper like stuff that you'll sometimes find over the top of old wood floors that have have other flooring laid over them?  You'll never guess!  Liquid Fabric Softener!  Of all the things, who ever found that out and how did they find that out?  I scraped on that floor for an hour and got nowhere.  So I looked up what to do online and found one site that said try this.  It worked like a charm!)  and I still have family coming in in less than two weeks.  So in other words, I have to hurry up and get these floors done!  So my time is limited and progress will be slow. 

The other thing I've got started is a grand little dressing table/chest of drawers with a small seat that will done up very fancy for Marie Antoinette!  I've started painting it out in a pale sparkly blue, and the little vanity seat the same way.  I'm looking into making her wig that will be mounted on a hat stand.  This one will take me some time because I can't do it badly.  I want to do it very very well.  The furniture pieces are nice, in fact the little seat is Bespaq but I've altered it to match the other thing.  Let's just say that it'll be a sweet little set when I'm done :)    

Now for some products that I CAN'T live without!  I am a complete bath and body product addict and even though I make my own, I still have to pick up these particular things when I run out of them.  Too fantastic to do without! 
Number one thing I can't live without?  Oil perfumes.  Why?  They wear closer to the body (which is good if you don't want to gag everyone around you or if you work in an office where that's taboo) and still smell great.  The bottles are small, inexpensive, tuck easily into a purse and usually don't leak if you do.  The one drawback is that they some times don't last the whole day.  But just a dab more and you're back to scent heaven :)  The bonus?  Because they are inexpensive you can buy a variety of different scents which is entertaining.  You never have to smell like the same thing all the time.  Another neat thing is that they often explore gourmand scents (foody or sweet scents) that you usually don't see in the retail stores.  So if you're like me and a candle burning that smells like something baking makes you happy-then a perfume like this may be heaven in a bottle for you to wear.  And of course there is a full range of all kinds of scents ranging from floral to completely weird like dirt!  Anything you can imagine, really.  If you can think of it, some company has probably made it :)  

My personal favorites?  

1) Possets Perfumes, bottled happiness:  http://www.possets.com/
Shipping is super fast, the prices are very reasonable and so is the shipping and the customer service is perfect.    My personal favorites are:
this is a soft sweet lavender that is non herbal and simply comfort in a bottle.  It smells like heaven.  I have to reapply it every so often but it's well worth the trouble.  I rub just a little through the dry ends of my hair and it keeps the scent all day as well as moisturizes my hair.  Fantastic!
This is a glorious sweet, candied amber that upon first sniff is a little strange but once on, my goodness!  If it were a color is would be gold.  
Great for the holidays is the amusingly named Gingerbread Whorehouse: 
this is no simple gingerbread scent!  It's gingerbread all dolled up and ready to go out on the town prowling :)  Too cool!

A few other companies worth noting:  Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab which is on the higher end of the price range:   http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/welcome.html
Their most famous perfume would have to be Snake Oil:   
"SNAKE OIL

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla."
this is great, but needs to age about a year before using.  Is it worth the wait?  Oh yeah, big time!  Sometimes you can find some one ebay that's pre-aged already because followers of this perfume house know this.

One last company with good perfumes is Solstice Scents:  http://www.solsticescents.com/
Notably, their vanilla perfume called Cenobite is the richest and best vanilla I've ever tried:
I like the spray glace because it's large and lasts a long time.  This is a generous and nice seller with incredible packaging.  Opening the box is even a delight :)

One last product I'll never be without is Haus of Gloi's sugar scrub called Vice:
which is sheer heaven on dry skin and smells like mocha coffee. 



 





   

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Update, Now Sold-Dollhouse Miniature Harry Potter Gryffindor Common Room Fireplace completed at last!

Update, this is now sold/on layaway in my store and is no longer available for purchase.

Ok seriously, this was harder than you know what for me!  It's not perfect, There are a few little things I would change if I could.  But it's the first thing I've ever built from scratch, so be kind!  I tried my best and I think although it has a few bumps in certain areas that could have been smoother, it's still pretty darn good for a first try!  And I will say it did get a little heavier than I would have liked due to all the clay I had to use on the structure.  There is wood under there, and it wasn't thin wood either because I wanted it sturdy and not breakable.  You could probably drive a car over this thing and it would be just fine :)  And I'm quite sure that this is truly one of a kind, because who in the hello would be crazy enough to build this thing but me?  Talk about time consuming!  It took me forever!  Every slate tile was hand-snipped, painted and pieced together onto the exterior!  It was hand sculpted all over the place as well, because I found I needed to build out the chimney bottom a bit more.  I hand sculpted the larger grate inside, added in real fireplace ashes that are glued down in place and then coated over the top of them as well.  I hand-burnt the fireplace logs and placed them all as they are with glue.  I hand-sculpted Sirius Black's face and then added bits of wood fiber around him for hair, beard, moustache.  I painted him, sparkled him in fire-orange glitter.  I made flames, very well done as I could get them out of shimmery plastic that I also painted here and there with orange.  A semi-burnt Daily Prophet newspaper hangs out of the fireplace with a front cover of Harry and Hermoine hugging before the Tri-Wizard Tournament as taken by Rita Skeeter.  It looks as though Harry has just tried to dispose of it like garbage to be burnt :)  The top of this fireplace is made of thinner wood and is open on the top for ease of cutting with some type of strong clippers or saw, so it can be cut to the tallness of your room so that it reaches the very top of the room.  I can do this for you should you give me correct measurements or you could do it at home with a small saw like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Hacksaw-Small-Sharp-Cutting-Junior-Hand-Saw-Tool-/160537150316?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2560c2836c.   I know one thing, I will NOT make another.  This was far too difficult a build for me and took a very long time.  So when it goes, it's gone for
good :(  OOAK!  I think I did a good job, considering it was a totally new thing for me to try.  Here's some very bad inside, night time pictures of the fireplace. I'll have to retake them outside in natural bright light to really show how much better it can look than these show:










Gosh these are so awful!  You can even make out Sirius Black's face in them or the "very clear in person" newspaper :(  I'll try again tomorrow and redo this blog post with new outside pictures.

Oh, and I just listed a piece from my own personal collection that has been in storage (sealed safe and clean inside a large plastic container the same as I store my minis I'm selling).  I bought too many when I was starting to collect about a year and a half ago.  This one was made from parts I bought from other sellers (like Erica VanHorn of EV Miniatures) and also some of my own tid bits I made.  I'll be listing pieces as I unwrap them because I just don't have the time to deal with them or set up my witch cottage (or the room for that matter).  I would be too scared kids or pets would ruin them in this crazy house!  So out of storage they will go, and into my store as I can.  There is even a witch's bathroom set :)




I distress painted the very nice hutch cabinet myself to look old and witchy.  This is currently available in my store.  There are several expensive parts on this, like the scroll and hand-blown glass leeches jar, as well as all of the hand-blown glass canning jars.  And the books were professionally made, as well as the tiny pumpkin cake with a slice taken out of it and laid on the side.  Cute!
            

Monday, August 22, 2011

Adventures in Crafting, Renovating, and Dog Treats

I sold my last theme tree, and I still have orders for two more custom trees.  I'll post updates as I make them.  THANKFULLY though I am good to start some other projects.  I have a long lineup of custom orders, but I'm waiting on parts to come in.  While I wait, here's what I've been up to:

1) Restoration of my extremely needy old farm house that was built about 120 years ago.  We decided to remove the carpeting because there are interesting old wood floors underneath that looked promising.  The living room looked pretty good, and we knew it would be a cinch to sand them out and refinish them.  Things WERE looking up.  And then we got to the dining room.  All I can say is whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!  Carpet removal found serious issues we weren't prepared for.  Million year old nasty blue linoleum with thick black glue underneath, and what else?  A section of the original floor boards cut out to make way for a crawl space into the basement.  Holy crap!  Holy Greek Tragedy Batman!  One panicked call to my Mother revealed it's not so bad after all.  In our area there are many old buildings that have been condemned and abandoned so it'll be easy to find old wood to patch in the missing floor boards.  Apparently she's done it before with a friend who was redoing an old house.  Ok so that's good.  But the black glue removal?  That's another story.  Here's what I'm dealing with:
Isn't that....pretty?  ***enter the sounds of vomiting***
It only took me almost an hour to get that little spot cleared away.  I felt like Cinderella without the possibility of parol or ballgowns or dances with Princes (my prince was gone picking up the kids from a birthday party).  Considering I have a whole dining room of this mess, I think that assessment is accurate.  That flippin' floor better look like the neatest floor that ever was when I'm done with it!


       
2) In the middle of all this horror, I decided temporary escape was a good idea.  What's better than doing something right now?  Doing it later of course!  Procrastination is survival in my case.  So I decided to make our english bulldog Tinkerbell some homemade dog treats :)  Now I had prepared for this by picking up a squirrel-shaped cookie cutter on ebay: 
Because it's funny :)  Here's what they looked like after I used them on the doggie treats I was making:


Tink decided she really loved these!  She gobbles them up and then sniffs my hand for the following five minutes and begs for more :)  Bad nighttime picture of these though. 

 Here's the recipe I used:

1 cup rolled oats


1/3 cup margarine or butter

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons chicken or beef instant bullion

1/2 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg, beaten

2 cups white or wheat flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Grease cookie sheets. In large bowl combone rolled oats, margarine and water; let stand for 10 minutes. Sitr in cornmeal, sugar, boullion, milk,cheese and egg. Mix well. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form stiff dough.



On floured surface, knead in remaining flour until dough is smooth and no longer sticky, 3 to 4 minutes. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2 inch thickness; cut with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.



Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Store loosely covered. Makes 3 1/2 dozen large biscuits.

To this I added some leftover chicken and veggies from supper the other night.  I blended them up and tossed the goop in.  I keep these in the fridge, and they would freeze well too. 
Tinky thought they were the bees knees!

Ugh I'm so full, I'm all tired out!


3)  Adventures in crafting:  I caught one of those little fairies again!  Here she is:
 




Fairy Studies-Miniature Captured Fairy Number 2 Celestine the Sleep Fairy
This little fairy-who is around 2 1/2 inches long (1/12 scale), has a hang tag with her capture information on it.

The tag reads:


Captured Fairy

Genus: La Dormetta de Poitou

Explanation: Sleep Fairy, assures children have pleasant dreams

Location captured: Within the Ardennes Hills of France

Name of Fairy Captured: a wee little Fae by the name of Celestine

Date captured: August 22nd, 2011

Release Date: August 30th, 2011

Need a little piece of serenity in a mad world? How about a little nature scene right there in front of you? Moss, mushrooms, tiny fairy hanging in her little cage :) Don't worry about her, she will be let go after she's been studied and photographed :)

Her cage is a little under 7 inches tall, it is filled with plant material such as mushrooms, grasses, moss, etc. The cage hanger stand is 13 1/2 inches tall.
She is a sleepy little girl, but hey, she is a sleep fairy after all. Her wings are real wings, glittered and polished so they will hold up (although they ARE still a little fragile, if you go poking around the inside of the cage you can break them if you aren't careful)
The fairy is hand-sculpted by Sherry, dressed, haired, and decorated by me with lightly powdered with some extra fine glitter which is also sprinkled lightly on the moss around her as well. She was just captured after all. She wears only a powder blue petal skirt with a bejeweled barrette on top. Her hair is tibetan wool and is arranged in a wild and sweet way so that she looks like natural, wild fairy with blowsy, wind-swept hair. She is not removeable and the cage does not open.

This item, as with all my other items-is SO MUCH BETTER IN PERSON. I don't have the best camera for internet posting.









Saturday, August 20, 2011

My last miniature theme tree done :)

I am SICK TO DEATH of trees lol!  I have one custom order for one that I'm still waiting on parts for and then I am so done!  Yicky, I need to move on to other things :)  I have two custom orders (but I'm waiting on parts) so I'll be working on my Harry Potter Gryffindor Common Room Fire Place in the mean time.  Yay!  Here's what I did with my Candy Tree:



I included this candy cabinet with this one because I felt like it :)  Ok I wanted to try a new candy technique and then I just went ahead and finished the cabinet afterward.  The whole cabinet is "candied", meaning the whole thing is covered in a faux sugar coating :)  It's pretty cool in person.  I liked it.  It's really "crystallized" in person.  Anyone can put candy in a cabinet, but most people don't have the cabinet itself candy-like.  I just took it a step further than most people.  The decorations are simple, but could be easily added to.  Imagination is key, the sky's the limit!  Basically it's next best thing to being a free add on to this tree because I usually sell these trees for around this price anyway.  So it's a two for one deal :)  And trust me when I say, you'll find no one doing this amount of work at this price!  

Now I have a quick question for you all.  Does anyone know where I can find a clear shot of Dumbledore's memory cabinet, the one with the fancy cathedral top?  I can't find a close up shot that's good of the top of that thing!   

Friday, August 19, 2011

Dollhouse Miniature Macbeth Witch Halloween Tree done, and more work on the candy tree

At the time I shot these pictures, the Macbeth sign had not been clear coated so it looks a bit bad.  It looked much better afterward.  This tree was sold, so it won't be available but it's still interesting to look at :)



This one is themed to go witches and is covered in jack-o-lanterns, candies, vintage witch images and spell bottles. This tree took me several days to complete and I will not make another just like it. It is meant to be OOAK. The sign which is hard to see in the pictures says: Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble, eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog, By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. ~ It's Shakespeare, from Macbeth. Underneath the tree are the cutest witch boots, caramel apples with sprinkles, a Ouija board, a potted thing of mushrooms (around the back), pumpkins, etc. The tree topper is a fancy witch hat suited to the style of the tree.


~~~~The sign needed one more coat of clear coat before I took the pictures but I had to get the shots taken while the light was still good. It looked much better after it was coated.

I still have along ways to go on my last tree, the candy tree.  I'll post updates after I get more work done on it.  I'm planning on having standing candy canes, candied mushrooms growing out of the ground, there may be a gummy bear or two, and more candy on the tree.  I've been too busy with the start of school to get anywhere and today is my son's birthday, tomorrow my daughter has someone else's birthday party, and so on and so forth.  It just gets difficult sometimes to find time!  Here's what I have so far, and please keep in mind I have barely started the ground cover yet:



I know the fine details are hard to make out in the pictures so I will explain what's on the tree right now:
Several lolly pop displays in various colors, an ice cream cone standing in a bucket of chocolate bars and the ice cream has pieces of chocolate bar on it and cherries, a chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream sundae with a cherry on top and a spoon in it, a smaller dish of whipped topping covered ice cream, a cake on a plate with candy sprinkles all over it, caramel apples on a plate with various toppings, a bucket of round suckers in various colors, a bucket of creamy candy scoops, chocolate frogs, packages in a variety of colors, candy-colored butterfly ornaments, and regular honeydukes, colored ornaments in various designs.  I wanted this tree to work equally as well in a candy shop as it would in Honeydukes or any scene like that.  Nothing is labeled.  But the colors work well for Honeydukes, notice in the picture with the Honeydukes background that the colors match almost exactly.  The blue-green of the shop walls matches the candy buckets almost exactly.  It was as close as I could get it-and that is the real Honeydukes shop in Florida.  The baby pink of the spiraled tree garland matches the pink spiral staircase in pictures of Honeydukes.  That being said, since the tree is non specific, it can be used for any candy shop and would fit just fine.  I'll post an update when I finish it, but I am so tired right now and can't see straight :)  Too many days of being on the dead go!


Now please understand I cannot reply to your comments, but that doesn't mean I don't want to! I wish I could, but a glitch is making it so Sherry and I neither one can comment back :( Sorry about that, I wish they would fix it soon! But rest assured we read your comments and love hearing the feedback on our work!











Monday, August 15, 2011

A smidge more work done on the miniature vintage witch tree :)

UPDATE-THIS TREE IS NOW SOLD.  If I ever make another one, it will not be exactly like this one.  These trees are meant to be OOAK and while I can remake the theme, they will never be exactly alike :)

Ok, I am just loving this tree!  I can't remember one I've wanted to keep more than I would this one :)  I have a thing for witches anyway, long before Harry Potter came out and now worse after it did :)  I think it's because as a child I wanted to believe magic was real and anything was truly possible.  As an adult, not much has changed :)  I still like to think there are things about the world that we don't understand, and that there are possibilities we haven't uncovered yet.  One of my favorite signs reads:  "Those who do not believe in magic will never find it."  :)  I love that!  And by magic I don't really think spells and potions.  To me it means, look at the world and see magic all around you in every single wondrous thing in creation.  Don't think of things as mundane, don't pass something beautiful without noticing because you're too busy to appreciate the wonder around you :)  Believe every wonderful thing IS magic :)  If you can't see the gifts around you for what they really are, your life will never have any magic moments because you take things for granted.
That's what I get out of it anyway.  I remember when I was a child, my cat chased a little mouse into an antique metal jug of my Mom's.  The cat had knocked it over trying to get the mouse and the mouse apparently had ran into this "safe haven" that had been presented to him.  Mom picked up the jug and found the little thing cowering in the bottom of the jug.  She was disgusted and trying to figure out how to get rid of it.  She sat it down upright so he couldn't get out and went to tell my dad.  I knew they carried disease and that all people hated them and wanted them dead.  I knew my Dad would too.  As I looked into the jug at the tiny little creature, I felt nothing but curiosity and pity.  His little whiskers were twitching, he was scared to death.  His beady little black eyes stared up at me.  He was kind of cute in his own way :)  A tiny little pest probably soon to meet his untimely death.  I picked up the jug and put on my shoes and walked quite awhile and then dumped him out next to a tree.  When I got back, my Mom just shook her head and took the jug to wash it out (quite well, I might add) in the sink.  My Dad lectured about how he would probably find his way back in the house and poop somewhere :)  

"To see the world in a grain of sand, heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, eternity in an hour."  ~William Blake

Now for the tree:



I still have much to do, like add a sign somehow to the wooden post as well as an owl.  Make a plate of caramel apples, fill the other jack-o-lantern buckets, make a lolly for on the witch hat, decorate the back better and add a few more things to the front.  But it's looking cute.  Love that tossed down witch's death warrant on the ground in front :)  That's too funny.  And all the potion bottles turned out cute.  

My pictures are terrible though :)  Man this is so much better in person!

I'm still trying to decide what to put on the sign though.  Any ideas anyone? 

        

Sunday, August 14, 2011

New miniature items arrive and new miniature trees are began :)

While I await parts for some customer orders to come in I've began two new trees because they are so much fun!  One last candy tree in a more "less specific" candy format.  This tree will not have Honeydukes specific candies but rather an assortment of candies that could be used in any candy shop, including Honeydukes.  No named jars, etc.  It will have a few jars, but they will not have labels.  Still decorated, but not labeled.  Just a candy tree, usable anywhere :)  The reason it would work in Honeydukes still is because it is in Honeydukes pastel colors.  The tree itself has been painted a light green and sparkled and will have a bottom scenery like a scene off of a candyland game board with lollies sticking out of the ground.  You can't see from the picture but there is a soft fuzzy grass all over the base that does not show up well in the picture.  The little pots will have tissue paper in a variety of colors in them with candies sticking out.  Like lollies and piles of wrapped candies.  The topper will have a splendid lolly display sticking out of the blue bow.  
       
I also started another tree, a vintage witch candy tree that should be very cool when I'm done.  Which I'm far from done right now.  I have a basic start on it.  I plan on adding in cool vintage witch picture ornaments, candies inside the jack-o-lantern holders, etc. and to top it off I'm planning a witchy sign sticking out of the mossy and creepy bottom scenery that will have some witchy clever saying on it with a feathered owl perched on the top of the sign.  I'm loving it right now and it can only get better from here :)  It has nowhere to go but up.  The tree topper is one of Sherry's witch hats that has been slightly altered by me to suit the tree style.  I know this one will turn out spectacular in the end!  It was inspired by my love of vintage witches and Halloween.  And fall is coming, I can feel it in the morning air when I step outside.  My favorite time of year!  So crisp and fresh and cool.  And colorful where I live, the trees turn pretty colors :)  Anyway, here's what I have so far:  


These haunted/spooky miniature topiaries I just made sold right away.

Now I have to tell you abut Sherry's latest creation that is just fantastic!  Man did she do a good job and the pictures do not do this piece justice!  She's made a Harry Potter mini again that is so "magical" in person.  A Dumbledore's study cabinet with an hand-feathered owl and Dumbledore's glasses :)  Take a look!

 
       How cool is that?!  I love it!  She said she was sad to see it go, she loved her little owl :)  And I must say it is very well done in person!  And the books are handmade and well aged looking.  Very well done Sherry!  And those tiny little glasses she made by hand.  That could not have been easy!  I will say Sherry has begun ordering parts for the splendid octagon cabinet in Dumbledore's study that was filled with nothing but gorgeous clear glass bottles.  Does anyone remember that cabinet from the movie?  It was stunning.  I know for a fact that she has ordered 50 lovely hand-blown glass bottles to use in the cabinet from the Ukraine.  It will have to be specially built and she is claiming it will be as well done as she can make it.  She's putting her heart into this one :)  I'm sure it will be the only one in existence when she makes it, because it's just too difficult to do!  No one is brave enough to try it but Sherry!  I sure wasn't gonna :)  Although I have always admired that cabinet. 

I am still SLOWLY working on my Gryffindor common room fireplace.  It's built, basically.  But it's very very hard for me and will take me awhile.  I think I have a good start though!  And it's very sturdy.  Too soon for pictures but I'll post them when I get comfortable enough with my progress to show you all :)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Dollhouse Miniature Coraline Themed Tree is done :)

First let me welcome my newest followers!  Hi hons!  I'm not currently able to post comments on any one's blogs or even respond to comments here because of some crazy "tick" going on with blogger right now.  So please don't think I'm not reading or wishing I could respond to comments left here!  I appreciate every comment left on my work, whether good or bad :) 

Omg I barely had time to work on this tree because things have been so busy as my house!  School starts next week and thus we've been running around trying to get everything done and bought.  And there have been numerous doctor visits (taking my Mom and Grandma to the doctor as well as getting my kids school physicals, etc.) so there hasn't been much time.  Plus we're still trying to work on our house here and there since this well over a hundred years old farmhouse needs some TLC and fixing up.  Most nights finds me trudging upstairs late after cleaning up the supper mess to do a few little things to my minis before dropping into bed exhausted at 2 am.  My hope is that things will calm down a little and fall into a routine when school starts again!  Anyways, here's what I did with the Coraline tree:




Ok what I ended up doing was hand-sculpting the mouse, the Other Mother's needle hand, the Coraline doll with button eyes, and too many other little things that are too numerous to mention.  It took me quite awhile and tons of work.  But I think it turned out wonderful and highly detailed even though some of the things I might do to it didn't happen.  It was too full with what I did have on and around it to add more without ruining the look of it.  Plus I didn't want anything to distract from the well done sculptures beneath the tree.  I wanted to let them take center stage and trust me they are much better in person!  And the mangy cat sculpture has a wire frame for stability and strength.  The mouse's tail as well.  The tree is built strong :) 

It will be available in my store today because the customer who reserved it backed out due to personal reasons.  If anyone wants it please let me know if you need layaway.  Trust me when I say the price will be good compared to what other sellers would charge for this amount of work! 


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Blog Giveaway Winners Announced :) 19th Day Minis 2nd blog giveaway is over!

Hello all, as you know every 50 new followers we host a blog giveaway!  This time around we had a customer only giveaway for those people who have supported Sherry and I during the time we have had our etsy.com shop open:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/tarayvonne?ref=si_shop by making purchases from our store which enables us to keep up our favorite hobby!
Next time will be for everyone!  Tell a friend to follow us here on this blog and hurry along our next giveaway :)  Each new follower who joins pushes the next giveaway time closer and closer :)  We love you guys and can't wait to give you more goodies!  

Anyways, I put names in a hat and had my daughter draw names to be completely fair and unbiased.  I have some good friends I have made along the way here and there are so many of you by now that I couldn't in good conscience draw myself so I had my little girl do it :)  She's 9 so she was very excited she was the one picking who won :)  Nothing keeps you completely honest like your child there watching you!  
Well anyway, my husband was at work and I couldn't wait to see who won out of all my dear buddies :)  

The first name she drew was...Michelle from Kentucky!  Congrats Michelle!  Michelle chose the largest blue candy shelf as her prize :)  She is a new customer who recently ordered a selection of individual Honeydukes candies from us to add in to her Honeydukes she's making :)  We'd love to see it when you get finished Michelle!

The second name she drew was Zepha from Illinois!  Congrats Zepha!  She chose the second pink candy shelf for her Honeydukes she's making :)  Zepha is the proud owner of a 19th Day Minis collection including the Red Queen Trolley and the first Honeydukes Trolley I made with the witch on it that everyone loved so much :)  Thanks Zepha!  Enjoy your new prize :)

The third name she drew was Benedetta from Italy!  Benedetta has won the last available item which was the small lolly display table.  Benedetta owns the Alice in Wonderland Tree I made recently along with several other 19th Day Minis items :)  Thank you Benedetta!  I hope you like your lolly display table when you see it in person :)  

We appreciate all of you and I am so sorry I couldn't have gifts for everyone who entered!  I wish you all could have won!  Thanks to all who did enter and please remember there will be more giveaways in the future with new prizes to be won :)  Keep entering to win and next time it could be you!  AND, next time will be for everyone who follows this blog so keep checking in :)

Hugs!  ~Tara, 19th Day Minis   
         

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Dollhouse Miniature Coraline-Themed Christmas Tree in Progress and updates on the Giveaway

I have been hard at work making the next tree which is a Coraline theme tree.  This tree may also be spoken for, I'll let you know when I get it closer to done whether my new client has truly decided to buy this.  The last Honeydukes tree is indeed sold, currently on layaway in my store.  Thank you for inquiring, but it did sell.  Sorry!  Perhaps one day I'll get around to another version of a Honeydukes tree :)  I'm trying to keep these all OOAK so if someone should order one when I'm ready in the future it will have to be a little different :)  I have another Harry Potter tree custom order so I'll post updates as I make the new one of those :)  Anyways, I'll show you what I have done to this one I'm making now.  The circus mouse on top of the tree is not quite finished yet, I still have to make him arms and a hat.  Small sculpts like this are always a challenge!  He is one inch tall, yikes!  Try making clay button eyes with four holes THAT small, not easy to do!  I still have a ton of work to do on this one, I'll update it one more time when I finish it completely :)  Here's what I have so far:
What I have on here:  circus mouse, button key, spools of thread, growing plants like calla lilies and other flowers (Coraline loves to garden), spider ornament (the other mother turns into a spider creature), a dragonfly which is an exact copy of Coraline's hair clip and dragonflies crop up over the course of the movie, stars like the ones on her sweater the other mother makes her, the red ball on top with the star on it was one of the ghost children's eyes, big frothy whips of cotton candy that are quite pretty in person (during the mouse circus these were shot out of a cannon),  prettily painted frames with pictures of Coraline and the other mother in them, and a variety of other bulb ornaments in shades that suit the look of the tree.  And as I said before, the tree itself is indigo blue and sparkly which doesn't show up on the pictures well :(  I'm having a terrible time taking pictures right now because of a foggy camera lens (humidity is thick here right now).  I plan on making the other Mother's needle hand climbing the side of the tree before I'm all done.  At one point during the movie the hand is snapped off her body and comes after Coraline, hehe.  It crawls along like a spider on it's fingertips.  It seems fitting it should be climbing on this tree :) 

The tree skirt matches the other mother because she turns into a spider chick :)  And the ruffle perfectly matches the color of the tree, indigo blue.
      Foggy pics, ugh :(  Stupid humidity!  It's so bad here right now I can't remember it being this bad for years.

The base will have a variety of things like the "little me" Coraline doll with button eyes, a welcome home cake like the other mother makes for her, and a variety of other things specific to the movie :)  Should be cute when done.  Like I said, I'll post pics when it's all finished up.  

Now for the giveaway news:

The giveaway will commence tomorrow so please submit your name here at my etsy store IF you have previously bought something from our store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tarayvonne?ref=si_shop  you will be eligible!  I'm very sorry but this time around is only for loyal customers who have supported Sherry and I's work.  Next time we have a giveaway it will be for everyone but this time it's only for customers of our store.  We wanted to do something nice for those people who have supported and loved our work and made it possible for us to keep doing this :)  You mean the world to us!  Thank you! 

Please submit your name to the above web address if you have not done so previously, the names entry closes at 12 noon US central time tomorrow.  Thank you and good luck! 

Hugs-Tara, 19th Day Minis