Dollhouse Miniature Mermaid Nautical Christmas Tree 1/12 scale

I haven't had a lot of time due to personal issues but I did finally finish this nautical mermaid tree I made:

I wish I had more time to talk about it, but I don't right now :(  The details are pretty much in the photos I guess.  

Available here in my store:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/210848737/dollhouse-miniature-mermaid-nautical?ref=shop_home_active_1

Dollhouse Miniature Harry Potter Honeydukes Sweet Shop Candy Display

Hey everyone, I finally finished my Honeydukes Candy display.  Whew, so much going on around here that it's hard to find mini time.  So I won't beat around the bush, here it is:

This is a candy display similar to the one seen in the Harry Potter movies and in Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.  Now my version of Honeydukes miniatures are based more off the version seen in the movie instead of the pristine perfect universal studios version which is a lovely shop, but it's a regular commercial human shop and I feel it lacks the antique charm and weathered finishes of the movie version that looks as though it has been serving magical children for generations. I like the more aged magical version seen in the movie (for a video clip, watch here):

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/File:Harry_Potter_and_the_Prisoner_of_Azkaban_-_Honeydukes
And so I've aged the finish to look as though children have been around it for generations. Nothing in the movie was perfect or new, in any shop or in Hogwarts either. Anyway, the cabinet is a skeleton candy display, with an additional jelly rainbow candy display for added color. The skelly pops are in their own tiered display box. Inside the cabinet are a variety of random candies and a Honeydukes price list on the door. The miniature stands just under 6 inches tall, and just under 4 inches wide because of parts sticking off the sides. 

Available in my etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/194522798/dollhouse-miniature-harry-potter?ref=shop_home_active_1

News and upcoming miniature projects :)

Hey everyone!  How's your summer going so far?  Good I hope?

Well we're in a whirlwind of activity at the ole Hays House, still in the middle of house-wide renovations as well as decluttering and cleaning out the house of all unnecessary junk.  Don't you just hate that?  You look around and figure out that the place is a cluttery mess and you have to do a "house purge" to get everything cleaned out and reorganized.  In my case, I had 15 years of stored crap in my basement that has to go before I lose my marbles.  My workroom has been moved downstairs due to lack of space anywhere else (which is why I wasn't working on minis for so long), and as it is I'm starting to feel like the thing under the stairs in the deep recesses of the house.  Yikes.  Must. Get. Junk. Out. Now.

So that's what we're doing.  And laying kitchen tiles as the same.  And I'm trying to work on minis as well now.

I was contacted by the new editor of American Miniaturist Magazine and invited to submit work for the upcoming Halloween edition.  Right about that time, I got the blue screen of death on my computer and lost all my previous work photos until I get someone to fix it.  Ugh.  Do you ever get the feeling after a rash of bad luck that you're under some sort of curse?  I'm starting to think I've got a curse on my head :)

So anyway, I'll be making some new really good (I hope) minis for that and shooting some new photos since my oldies are currently under blue screen lock down.  I hope something ends up being good enough for publication-that would be so much fun!

I'm currently working on a low side cabinet in the Honeydukes theme which I plan on pulling out all the stops on.  It should be pretty exciting.  I've been getting some requests for more of that theme so I must do a few pieces before I get started on my spooky Halloween stuff.  Speaking of that, I just redid Sherry's (my MIL) Marie Antoinette doll, table and chairs set she made previously.  I really felt it needed to go in a different and more exciting direction and that her hand-sculpted doll would be much more fun as a Halloween type miniature instead.  So she has been re-imagined into the ghost of the Countess Bathory, the infamous blood countess from Hungary.  For the horrific story of what she did, view her wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory        

Oh my goodness, what a crazy woman!  So anyway, I thought it would be neat to make a miniature of her and her atrocious interests for Halloween.  Check out the bloody axe on the table top:

 To make a long story short, she was rumored to have bathed in the blood of her beautiful young victims (possibly numbering in the hundreds if the witnesses were credible) in an effort to stay young herself, as well as drinking the blood. In essence, she was a complete psychopath! Sherry did a wonderful job making her beautiful in sculpt, hair and dress while I took the pleasuring in painting her skin/eyes to look white and sparkly (ghostly) with the blackness of her soul running down her face. She is meant to look tattered, ghostly, haunting, and spooky. In her hand, a wine glass of blood from one of her victims. I decorated her table to reflect her terrible hobbies: bloody candelabra with bleeding candles, bottles and tottles of unknown nefarious purposes, a handcrafted bloody axe, Transylvanian Gazette newspaper, fortune telling orb, a bottle of vampiric blood, a book on vampire forensics, a death warrant scroll, a terrible place setting with a severed skeleton hand holding a red rose, silverware-all covered in ghostly white spiderwebs with one little spider perched on top of a red rose flower arrangement. Tatty black tablecloth covers the table top as well. 
Fit for the finest haunted house or room box in your home :)

Available here at this clickable link below:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/191440687/dollhouse-miniature-ghost-blood-countess?ref=shop_home_active_1

Please stay tuned for soon to be new Harry Potter items that I'm currently working on.

Have a good summer and have some adventures everyone!  Hugs-Tara

Dollhouse Miniature Fairy Fireplace and Witch or Wizard Cauldron

Hey all, how are you this fine day?  I hope you're doing wonderful :)

I'm back a couple new minis (the new shop downstairs is working out well and I feel I'll really be able to work again, time permitting with the reno on the house).  I have a big kitchen floor project coming up (new slate tile) so that might put me out of commission for a little while.  I saw this gorgeous tile floor on the Houzz website and just fell in love:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/7495891/Millsbrae-Kitchen-Remodel-farmhouse-kitchen-cincinnati

For anyone who might want to know where to buy it's located here at home depot (free shipping to a local store):
http://www.homedepot.com/p/MS-International-Montauk-Black-12-in-x-24-in-Gauged-Slate-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-10-sq-ft-case-SHDMONBLK1224G/202919773?N=5yc1vZash2

which shows the tile unsealed (it must be sealed with natural stone sealer to get the look in the Houzz photo).

Ok well anyway, back to the minis again :)

Here's the first, a romantic little fairy fireplace fit for the queen of fairies:

located for sale here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/190174489/dollhouse-miniature-romance-of-the-fairy?ref=listing-1

and this is my witch or wizard cauldron/potion bottle set:

This is the cauldron of nefarious intentions for any witch or wizard of ill repute :) Clearly, something wicked this way comes! This is a larger floor model of cauldron, with bubbling green potion inside. A boney hand reaches up from the depths of the cauldron for help or harm-who knows? A blood like substances swirls around the extended hand, melted flesh and blood perhaps? Drippy candles on the sides of the cauldron, a filigree backer with ledge for holding the leather potion book with page open to "Wing of bat elixir". A detailed beaded page holder book mark holds open the correct page, it looks very wizardy with a full moon hanging off the end. 

You get with this a cool little evil-looking potion bottle as well, with a skull and cross bones on it warning the user that this potion means business! It's solid and well made. A cute little tag hangs from the side. 

Located here for sale:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/190227797/dollhouse-miniature-witch-or-wizard?ref=listing-0

Have a wonderful week everyone!  Be blessed :)

Dollhouse Miniature Nautical Mermaid Cove Grand Buffet 1/12 scale

Hey everyone, long time no see right?  I've been very busy working on my house and haven't had much time for minis for quite awhile.  Sad :(  Part of my problem is I took my work room and made it into a much needed bathroom upstairs.  Nothing worse than trudging down the stairs in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  Too much information right???  Well it did really bum us out to have to do that.  So now I'm lacking a proper work space.  It's much harder to make minis when you feel displaced and have no decent area to work in.  No matter, I'm soon to be fixing up the basement in order to have a work space of my own again.  Hopefully before you know it I'll be churning out minis left and right all over again.  I really look forward to having a work space.  It's be wonderful to be able to be creative again.  Anyway, I did manage to get a moment to myself to make a cute little mermaid buffet cabinet and I have to say that was quite a job.  I sculpted some ea creatures and they weren't easy to do for me.  I do think they turned out quite well though, despite that.  I'm sad they didn't photograph as well as they look in person though.  I feel they are really detailed in person, but it doesn't show up well in the photos.  Well here goes nothing:

  
I've managed to get glitter all over it, which shows up as specks on the cabinet finish.  It's quite pretty in person and yet looks like dust in the pictures, ugh.  And my octopus seems to have a glue stingy behind his leg, which I have pulled off now.  Oops, my bad :)

What's on this: cake pop display in a vase, filigree mermaid picture, sculpted octopus and lobster, mermaid mirror, clam tower with pearls, pastel french macaroons, weathered teapot and platter, bowed flower, seashells and water type plants.  Inside is a few little things like a pot of shrimp in sauce and a basket of seashells.  More photos can be seen here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/186529047/dollhouse-miniature-nautical-mermaid'

I'll soon be back with more little projects.  I've really been missing my mini-making and I want to do a little more of it when I can.

Hey everyone, have a lovely spring and may all of your dreams come true this year :)  Hugs-Tara

Dollhouse Miniature Tea with Fairies Cabinet 1/12 scale

Hello, back with another cutie patootie cabinet in the fairy theme.

Also, I just wanted everyone to know that I will soon be switching focus to smaller individual miniature accessories because I don't have enough time in my personal life to complete these larger pieces at the moment.  I can complete smaller items far better right now so that's what I'll be doing.  I so love the creative process of working on whole decorated furniture pieces but I simply can't find the time.  I'll be making things like small animals, potion bottles, spell boards, cauldrons, potted plants and flower arrangements, wands, etc.  So it'll be small things for quite some time while we roll on our bathroom renovations.  Tonight I'm picking up some tile for a bathroom sink backsplash area, and I'll be tilting a wall for the first time in my life. so exciting!  I can't wait to see how it turns out :)  


 I'm about to leave home soon so I'll have to keep this short and sweet :)

Description:
I just love making little fairy cabinets! They're so darling :) I think this one turned out very well. It's rustic and charming, a little woodland tea cabinet with china and flowers abounding. I can really see this tucked into some woodland glade, hidden at the base of a tree :) Perhaps in a hollowed tree opening even. The top is decorated thus:
Pumpkin stack with vines, red cap mushrooms, a woodland flower arrangement, a tall pillar candle in holder, snail shells, mosses, and a fantastic tiny fairy castle in weathered greens and brown with rustic red and white spotted roof spires as though they were made of mushroom heads :) It's not photographing well, it's so much cooler in person. 
The middle section of the cabinet includes:
Teapot, teacup, platter, a bronze mantle clock, floral arrangements, a framed portrait of a flower fairy, crystals, seashell, drippy candle, mosses, a running rabbit figurine, a tiny mushroom bird.
The outside of the cabinet is mossy, vined, and has one small mushroom growing from the base. Too cute!

Available here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/159070255/dollhouse-miniature-tea-with-a-fairy?ref=shop_home_active

                                                    Have a good day everyone :)  Hugs!

Dollhouse Miniature Mermaid Cove Seashell Cabinet

Hi everyone :)  How have you all been this summer?  I hope you've had a great one!

We're still working on our old farmhouse, and that has really kept me away from minis for quite some time. I'm really trying to fit some mini work in when I can, which is few and far between still at this point.  I'm on a beachy, ocean kick.  We're doing our bathrooms nautical inspired, after a recent trip to the ocean.  We were reminded of how much we love it there.  Here in Illinois we don't have much of an ocean view, so I'm bringing all things related to the sea to us :)  It's fun, and we all love it.  Here's a photo feed of the kinds of fun things we're getting for our new bathrooms if anyone likes nautical things:
http://s651.photobucket.com/user/tara_yvonne_photos/library/Old%20farmhouse%20renovation?sort=2&page=1

So in the middle of designing a couple of nautical bathrooms, it made me want to make a nautical mini.  I started by painting the cabinet a weathered gray because it's a nice light nautical base color. I pearlized the handles, added sparkling sands, beach glass, seashells of all kinds, a hand-made seashell topper for the cabinet which looks like a nautical crown of sorts. There are treasures abounding all over the cabinet, the sort of thing a mermaid might pick up in her daily travels around the ocean. There are water plants growing from the sandy outcroppings of the cabinet, a ship in a bottle, jewels, two genuine stone dolphins, one in jade and the other in rose quartz. The top of the cabinet sports a lovely seashell flower arrangement with gray pearl, a cute vintage photo of a mermaid child, and a basket of beachy flowers and seashells. A gorgeous framed copy of Waterhouse's "The Mermaid" painting graces the door of the cabinet which does not open (sand and plants in front of it).

Roughly 7 1/2 inches tall because of the greenery sticking up, the base is around 4 3/4 inches wide. 

Available here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/158850683/dollhouse-miniature-mermaid-cove

Have a great "rest of the summer", what's left of it guys and girls!  Have a blessed day :)

Dollhouse Miniature Witching Hour Witch Cooking Stove and Side Counter with Witchy Foods

Hello all, long time no see huh?  So sorry, I've been so very busy!  We've been working big time on our old farmhouse, and it hasn't left much time for mini making.  I'll slowly be getting back into minis as I can.  The kids are home from school right now, which also makes it tough to work.  Someone always needs Mom lol.

I started this little witch stove and side counter ages ago, and it's been done for quite some time.  I literally haven't had time to list it until now.  Here's what I did:   I took a stove and grungied it up to make it look more witchy, attached a side counter for more surface preparation area, tiled it and added the background scrolly circle panels to the back of the stove. Then came the fun part, the foods and accessories! A canister of living death draught, witchy "filled" bottles with deadly tags, a grungy clock that says "witching hour", a large kettle with bubbly green icky eyeball potion that has bubbled over the edge, a book of spells and potions with a vintage witch image on the front, a sauteing pan of buttery frog legs, a smaller kettle containing a boiling crow breast with magically pouring blue potion bottle (Hey, she is making some crow pie on the side counter after all :) an icky knife, a small old fashioned lamp, a bottle of flour, A standing recipe for crow pie with a decorative crow on top, a cutting board with a rolled out pie crust top and flour on it with a cute little toadstool rolling pin, and a half-finished crow pie which contains the called for crow breast meat, slices of boiled egg, and meaty gravy. It's so cute in person! Inside the stove on one side is the log fire, the other side has a baking roast with carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, and a bone in roast. Inside the side drawer of the counter are cooking utensils and a pot lid. A little gungy green checked towel completes the look.

The whole thing measures roughly 5 and half inches wide, just under five inches tall, and just over 2 1/2 inches deep.

Here's some rather bad photos, I didn't realize that after sitting so long it would have a bit of dust on it.  I'll of course clean it all up if anyone wants it.

I wish I had time to reshoot the photos but I honestly don't have any time for anything right now.  I can't even stay on here and chat, I have to go to town right now for more building supplies :(

Hugs everyone, I hope you have the BEST summer and may you all have nice vacations!

Back with a new Miniature Witch or Wizard Mucky Cauldron Tower :)

I've been long gone for awhile now, but I'm finally back to work.  I had to take some time off for home improvements.

Here's what I made this time around, a stack of mucky cauldrons with left over potion in them, what a mess! I think these would look fabulous outside a witch or wizard shop, or even inside a wizard-themed room.

Here's the official description:
  The piece roughly measures 4 1/4 inches wide at the base, a little over 5 inches tall, and is a little over 2 inches deep. It's completely hand made, all the cauldrons are hand sculpted, the owl is hand sculpted and painted. The little bottle of cauldron cleaner has a handmade brush for scrubbing the cauldrons out. The cauldrons are mucked up with left over potions, all dribbling and oozing over the sides of the cauldrons. I have a process uniquely my own for making vibrantly-colored faux water or in this case potion :) No one can reproduce this effect but me because I am the only one who knows the process. I personally feel this gives the best effect possible. These are so much better in person, I'm having a rough time taking photos due to the weather right now. Trust me when I say this miniature scene is very nice in person and anyone who buys it will be pleasantly surprised when they see it in person. 

The floor is faux flagstone.

Here's the photos (bad due to weather, look at all the snow we got!)

Ok so it's available here and it's ONE OF A KIND, please don't ask me to make this again anyone!  It was time consuming, yikes.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125503749/dollhouse-miniature-witch-or-wizard-shop?

I would like to draw attention to a charity campaign I just learned of called END7.  Here's a video (it's disturbing, please be advised) for anyone to watch to see what it's about if you choose to:

   

Please like END7 on facebook and anyone who can help out there is information there on how to donate:  
https://www.facebook.com/EndSeven

Thanks for viewing and God bless.

Dollhouse Miniature Wizard of Oz Theme Tree now complete

Sorry for the long wait everyone, but I've been sick with an undiagnosed allergy that's causing me a lot of grief right now and for the past two months I haven't been well.  Still trying to figure out what's causing it, still going through tests at the doctor's.  It's been crazy trying to figure out what's causing me to get sick.  I've tried everything, even pulling out carpet in my house in case it's dust or something like that and cleaning everything in sight.  No idea so far :(

Anyway enough of that, but that's why it took me so long to get this done and not in time for Christmas.  But I did finally get it done.  I'm really happy with how it turned out though!  I feel it's one of my best.  TONS of work though, yikes.  Some very difficult sculpting on this one.

I'll show you pictures and describe what I did below them:

     

This tree is wildly imaginative and so very cute in person. Photos never seem to capture the magic of the minis as they really are in person. There is tons of work in this tree, I worked on it for a month and a half little by little. So many completely handmade and pure sculpted items on this tree, including the flying monkey with real feathers all over him that I made from sculpting clay and then I hand-painted him and added feathers all over his body. I followed a photo of the flying monkeys from the movie as carefully as I could. Another pure sculpt would be little Toto the dog, completely haired in tibetan lambs wool. Squished underneath a large gift box is the Wicked Witch, her little black and white stocking legs sticking out with those famous ruby slippers on her feet. Next to her propped up by some little munchkin is her witches flying broomstick. On the other side of the tree is a piece of snowy ground with completely meticulously handmade red poppies as in the movie. Remember when the Wicked Witch casts a spell for poppies to grow up in between Dorothy and the Emerald City? They made her go to sleep. Glenda the Good Witch cast another spell for snow to fall on the poppies which woke her up, allowing her to get to the Emerald City after all :) And so, snowy poppies on the other side of my tree. Toto stands on the yellow brick road under the tree ready to begin the journey to the Wizard. Various beautifully wrapped gifts sit under the tree, most wrapped elaborately in beautiful fabrics and fluffy bows. On the tree, candles everywhere, gorgeous framed photos from the movie of the most important movie characters including the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Glenda the good witch, the Wicked Witch, Dorothy, and one of the Wicked Witch threatening Dorothy. Also on the tree, hand-sculpted tornado ornaments with all sorts of things coming out of the top and gears flying along the side of the tornados as well. A sculpted pair of ruby slippers with little bows hangs right in the front of the tree toward the bottom where they can be seen well. All sorts of other things cover the tree but I'll let you look over the photos to see them all. These were the most important things I thought I'd mention. 

I'm very very proud of how this tree came out and though it was a lot of work, I feel it's one of my best and I'm thrilled with it :) It's lovely in person!

A smidge over 7 inches tall, the base is roughly 7 1/4 inches wide at the widest point due to the things sticking off of it and around it. This is a wider base to accommodate the various design features like the yellow brick road and snowy poppy field. 

Available here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/119673356/dollhouse-miniature-wizard-of-oz-themed

The Deatheater Cabinet, another Harry Potter inspired Dollhouse Miniature

Hi everyone, it's been so long since I've been able to blog.  How are you all doing out there?

I'm busy as usual, had a few custom orders that kept me busy for awhile but I'm back making some new things.  My poor store is so nearly sold out, even the Dumbledore Memory Vial Cabinet sold.  It's like a ghost town in my Etsy store right now.  My washing machine broke and that threw a wrench in my work time lately.  I'm on my second week of waiting for the technician to come and fix it (of course they didn't have the part and had to order it) so I've been packing our laundry to the laundromat, ick! Our local laundromat leaves much to be desired, ugh.  I'm to the point where I think Sears extended warranties are worthless.

Ok enough whining :)  I'll live, lol. I've been working when I can and I'm working on a Deatheater Cabinet.  You know, like the bad wizards on Harry Potter.  Well it could certainly work for any wizard setting too, just a little on the dark side :)  I still have plenty to do, because I want the inside of the cabinet FULL.  I have plans on making the weird skeletal hand on the pillow that grabs Harry's hand in Chamber of Secrets.  A bottle with a real looking heart inside, more books and wizard gadgets, a horcrux locket, Mad Eye Moody's eyeball eyepatch, etc.  All manner of dark wizard goodies :)  What I've already made:  A gothic-style caged owl, tall potion bottles, a large dragon embryo bottle on a stand, a pewter dragon clawed crystal ball, a creepy skull wand display (inside the cabinet so kinda hard to see here), more jars containing severed parts, a dark crystal ball, a foe glass as seen in Mad Eye Moody's office in the movie Goblet of Fire, a black leather Horcrux Book, a pedestaled real stone statuette that looks like a creature of some sort.  And the cabinet itself is really spooktacular :)  Weathered, distressed, blackened, crowned with crystal spires (green for Slytherin of course) and a totally great blackened metal skull and crossbones topper.  And ghostly white mosses around the stuff on top.  And I've added a set of blackened metal gargoyles to the bottom of the cabinet doors as well.  Ok I'll just show you all what I have done so far (keeping in mind I'm far from finished):

 My pictures aren't very good, too bright out right now.  They kinda glared up a little :(  Anyway, you get the idea of where it's headed.  I should be done with it in a couple days and get it listed.  And then I'm onto some theme trees, including a super exciting Wizard of Oz theme tree!!!  I'm really excited about trying that one :)

Thanks for viewing everyone and have a lovely day!

Updated photographs-New Dollhouse Miniature Witch Sewing Cabinet :)

Updated photos:

Ok it's far too dark out right now for good pictures so please bear with me.  I'll update this later with decent pictures but for now this is all I have.  Remember this fairy sewing cabinet?

This was really popular with people for some reason.  I wanted to do a witchy version of it because hey, it's Halloween season!  So that's what I did.  Here's what I did (and remember these are super bad photos in bad lighting so it looks way worse than it actually is and I'll post new pics later today):

Listing is here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/112398590/dollhouse-miniature-witch-sewing-cabinet

So sorry I'm not having time to respond to comments right now everyone, it's so hectic here I can barely keep up with anything :(  I'm currently shooting tons of photos for Sherry's jewelry store because she brought a huge box of jewelry she made for me to list.  I'm having trouble keeping up with my own store right now.  And I haven't forgotten about my mad tea party, it's just on hold due to the Halloween season stuff.  I'll eventually be back with more of the characters made.  They just take me awhile because making animals and people is much harder for me.

More of Sherry's jewelry:

All available here in her etsy store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HauntedMansionJewels?ref=usr_faveitems&atr_uid=7202128