From Russia, With Love, Part 2

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, there were more gifts from my friend's travels. Here are the rest:

Matryoshka!!! Not one, but two, and even an unfinished one in case I wanted to give it a try. I don't think I'll be trying to paint that one any time soon. I'm just not that brave.  LOL

Here are what the unfinished ones look like. There are five pieces with this one.

This one is painted red with gold flowers.

I tried to put the smaller ones in front for a better view. I think I tipped over the teeny, tiny one. I can't even begin to tell you how minuscule it is.

And here is my absolute favorite! She is painted pink & brown with beautiful flowers all over her head piece. 

Isn't she precious?

I am totally in love with them! I still have them packed away though.  =(   I want to have them displayed in a special way. I want them to be out in the open where I can see them everyday, but I don't want them to gather any dust or get ruined being exposed. Truth be told, I just don't want anyone to touch them. LOL  That might sound crazy, but I just don't want any greasy little fingerprints on them. Ok, that sounded even worse.....lol. But you get what I mean, right? =)  I'm thinking of putting them in some sort of shadow box decorated appropriately of course. =D  

Oh how I love them so!  =D

Hope you have a beautiful day!

From Russia, With Love

Earlier this year, I had a friend that did a little traveling and brought me back some beautiful gifts. I don't want to get too picture heavy in posting, so I think I'll break them up into several, and of course leaving my favorite for last. =D

Ok, so we'll start here:

I love the painting done on this! It's a bit set-off from the wood and so you can feel all the little dots. The colors are nice and bright, and it's just so well painted. I love it!!!

 A close up:

These little guys were anxious to get out. =)

And they even have their own tiny tree!

Aren't they cute?  =D

Hope you are having a great week so far!  =)

I won a giveaway!!!

Back in July, Gill had a giveaway on her blog to celebrate her first 200 followers! She did it in a very unique way by choosing those of her followers that have made the most comments on her blog. I was in a three-way tie for third place....lol. So now that I have a blog I can post about my gift!  =D It arrived about three weeks later, all the way from Spain.

Isn't it the cutest! I love mini bunting. It just makes me smile. =D  The pillow has an adorable cupcake pattern, and the little jar is full of bath crystals for my mini people to smell like Spring Blossoms...lol.

Thank you so much for the gifts Gill!

If you haven't already stopped by her blog, you should. Her minis will brighten up any space. I am a HUGE fan of her beautiful quilts! http://makeitsmall.blogspot.com/

Regali dalla bella Caterina!

I speak NO Italian so I hope my title makes sense and it's spelled correctly....lol.  =)

A few months ago I received a lovely surprise from Caterina. She was thoughtful enough to ask if there was something specific I would like, and to tell you the truth I was quite embarrassed to ask for anything. After a little coaxing the only thing I really, really wanted was one of her books. I love reading in RL and find mini books to be the cutest things ever! So imagine my surprise and delight when I received this in the mail!!!

Not only did I get a book, I got two! She also sent along that tiny bookmark, because of course my mini people need to remember where they left off in their reading....lol. I haven't undone the little packet of postcards and letter because I don't want to lose any. =)  Isn't that basket so sweet and feminine? And come springtime my mini door shall be dressed with that pretty wreath.

Caterina thank you so much!!! I know you always say that feminine and pretty is not your thing, but you have done a wonderful job and have made this girl quite happy!!!
Caterina's blog has a little bit of everything from minis to informative information about certain cultural things. She also has a recipe blog so stop by and take a look!  http://leminisdicockerina.blogspot.com/

On a side note: Today I'm another year older and I'd also like to wish all the virgo-librans of the world a very happy birthday!!!!!!!

Happy friday to you!!!

For Jenya

This is what I used to decorate the hutch. As you can see, you can cut them up to whatever design you like. I found them where Michaels has all the little packages of small decorative buttons. Lately, it seems that they keep changing things around so I can't give you a specific aisle. I just go around the store looking for them. Which, BTW, I haven't seen them in a while.

Another Giveaway!

It seems to be the week of giveaways! Isn't it wonderful!!!

This time it is Mona at http://www.remmedollhouse.com/2011/09/giveaway-do-you-want-to-win.html?showComment=1316721627318#c1949317447591641045

Aren't her minis great!?!?  =)

A Tisket, A Tasket, My Wonky Lil' Basket & Before/After

Okay, so for some time now I've been searching for some #18 needlepoint fabric to make some baskets I saw in an old Nutshell News magazine. I've checked three different craft stores and the only thrift shop I know of, and nothing! I really like how they look and just wanted to give it a try. I also want to try some of Casey's (http://caseymini.blogspot.com/) techniques with it.
So since I can't find the needlepoint fabric, I decided to try weaving in the meantime. I found a book at the library that I love because it's full of DIY. Very basic, but good for this newbie!  =)  I can get a better sense of scale and how things can be made.
Here is my first attempt at weaving a basket. My poor, sad attempt......

This is the shape I wanted:

ROTFL......It looks nothing like it......LOL! I was trying to keep the wires fanned outwards, but I think I was so focused on keeping the weave tight I lost the shape. I also couldn't find the waxed thread it calls for so I used hemp instead. Oh well, I still have other sizes and shapes to try so....

I also wanted to show you my before & after. The only mini furniture I can afford at the moment are the $1 hutches from Michaels......lol.  I've seen six different styles of them, but you can never find them all at once.

This is one of the them:

And from it I made this:

Ignore the opening of the door handles on the inside of the door. I'm still thinking on whether I should paper the inside of the doors with the same paper that is on the top of it. Not sure if it would be too much.....?

Again I tried to muck it up a bit, but it was not right. I painted, re-painted and re-re-painted it. So, before letting this small, inanimate object force me to use a bunch of colorful words that a lady should never utter, and fling it across the room, I decided to just paint and sand, and call it done!  =D

Happy Thursday to you!!!

Mondodifavola Giveaway!!!

Elena is celebrating her 350+ followers! She creates the most wonderful minis and I just love her style. Good luck to all those who decide to enter!  =D  http://mondodifavola.blogspot.com/

My first swap!

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely lady by the name of Victoria. Since then we've exchanged many an email and have gotten to know each other better. She offered up a swap and of course you had to twist my arm for me to say yes....NOT!!!  =)  It was a few months after discovering this wonderful world and I was thrilled to receive from and send something to another part of the world!  =D

This is what Victoria sent me:

I love the runner and flour canister. The little pink container in front is holding a bunch of tiny cotton balls. So cute!

Lately Victoria has been making all sorts of lovely little things to decorate your mini home. Stop by and say Hi!  http://minicreaciones-vicky.blogspot.com/

And this is what I sent to Victoria:

Once again, that's Katie's bench in the photo. It wasn't part of the swap...lol.  =D

Have a great day!

Some more firsts....

I made some of these some time ago to send to the fabulous Katie of (http://katiesclaycorner.blogspot.com/). That perfectly aged bench you see in the photo is made by her. 

That "heart" you see in the yellow flowerpot is supposed to be a "V".  lol  The two V's were part of a swap I also did a few months ago. I should probably take photos of what I received and post about it. =)

Aside from the "rusty" look, I also really like the "mossy" look....lol. I have other things I want to moss just haven't gotten around to it. There isn't much to show here but I do hope you like it!  =)

Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

1 table, 2 tables, 3 tables.....

I'm still trying to achieve that worn look. I read somewhere that using metallic paste (went looking for it, didn't find it, still don't know what it is) gives the effect of age and depth. It also said that shoe polish can be used as an alternative. So, I found shoe polish! And I must not know how to use it because it was not pretty after applying it. To use it, I ended up dabbing off most of it on a paper towel and applying it with a stiff paintbrush. That's what you see on the round table. I'm not sure if I like it much. It doesn't look as 'dirty' or worn as I've seen around.

I made the base with wood beads and a part of earring, which I also tried to give a little rust to.

I don't see using table two in what seems like is going to be my forever unfinished dollhouse. I whitewashed this one and still want to add some sort of writing/phrase along the round edge. Maybe in the future I'll be able to buy a smaller cottage type house and try my hand at beach cottage shabby.

And table numero 3.....
I see I need to touch up those white spots. =)

I'll seal them when I'm sure of the final look.

Hope everyone is having a great day!!!

Two blog giveaways!!!

The first belongs to Ana.

http://elmundoana.blogspot.com/2011/09/empieza-el-cole-ysorteo.html#comment-form

Ana is always tickled pink in showing her beautiful creations and furniture transformations. =D

 

The second giveaway belongs to Natalia.

http://scarletsailsminiatures.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-giveaway-2011.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScarletSailsMiniatures+%28Scarlet+Sails+Miniatures%29

Natalia's needlework is worth checking out. She also has more than one blog, so make sure to stop by and check those out.

Hopefully I've done everything correctly and the links work.  =)

My very first minis and Thank you!!!

First things first....

I would really like to take a moment to say thank you to each and every one of you. Thank you for giving me such a warm welcome to blogland! Thank you for deciding to be a part of my blog and following me so quickly without really knowing me, and only based on the few things you've seen! Many of you see me sprinkling my comments around on your blogs and probably wondered where the heck I popped up from.....lol.

You can't imagine how happy I am to have found such a place where so many people from literally, all over the world share the same interests. My family, friends and people who know me don't really get why I love crafts and making things so much. I'm sure many of you know about the weird looks and rolling of the eyes. So it really is comforting to know I am not a weirdo for liking what I like. =D

Thank you!!!!!!!!   =D

And now....

I thought I would show you some of the (little) things I've made since discovering minis. These were just things I thought would be manageable to make. You know, being a newbie and all. =D   Like I've said, I love "Marlies" pitchers....lol.

Have a beautiful day!   =)

Extras accompanying the bookcase

I made the bookcase from the previous post as a thank you gift, which BTW, I really hope the recipient likes it. I didn't want to just send a lone bookshelf, so I made a few extras for the journey. They are not intended for the actual bookcase.

After everything was all packed and ready to ship I realized I could have rusted the zinc container a bit (just because I really like the rusted look....lol). It's okay though. We'll just say that it's never been used outside. =) That gray-ish thing on the bottom shelf is what is supposed to be made out of zinc, in case you're wondering. =D

Here's a closer look at the mossy letter. I really like this! Don't know why, just think it's cute!

Sorry for the poor lighting of the pics. It was all rain and gloom here this past week.

Hope everyone had a good weekend and ready for the week ahead!   =)

Bookcase

I've been itching to make some bigger piece of furniture. So far all I've actually made have been small decorative items. Marlies famous pitchers (I really do love these!), picture frames, various containers, etc. So using some bristol board and super sticks this is what I got. I wanted to give it some kind of aging so that it wouldn't look so new. I hope that is how it looks and not just like a messy attempt. LOL  Any advice or pointers to better it will be welcome. =D

I hope everyone is having a beautiful day. Here it has been pouring non-stop since Monday. Although, it seems the sun is trying to make an appearance today. Happy weekend!!!

=D

Jumpin' in.....

Well, after much thought, nerves and insecurities, I've decided to just do it! 


I have a blog! =)  


I don't have any big projects going on and since I've just moved to Miniland, for now I think I'll just make whatever...lol. I hope I can spark an interest in what I end up making. I don't have much to show at the moment, but hopefully that will change soon. And as soon as I figure out this whole blogger thing I can post pics of the few things I have made.=)


I follow many of your blogs and am always in awe of such great talent and creativity. I've learned many things from you and hope to implement these techniques and tips in my new mini making journey.


hugs,


Iris   =)