Miniature Monday; Grandpa's Study

These lovely dolls are waiting for Granpa to tell them a story.  They are by talented doll artist Bonnie Justice.  You can find her here: http://bonniejustice.blogspot.com/

The room box measure 14" tall by 11" wide by 9" deep.  The walls are made from strips of wood cut to create the panels and then stained.  The windows are super thin strips of leading that were cut and placed individually on a piece of acetate to make the window panes.  The old glass look is made from carefully dabbing clear stained glass paint in between the lead strips.

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Miniature Monday

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Miniature Monday - A Quiet Place

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Miniature Monday - Wooden Vase Shop

This shop is 1/12th scale and measures 12"wide by 11"high by 9" deep.  All of the tiny vases are hand turned out of a variety of wood.  I purchase them everywhere I go.

The beautiful doll is made by IGMA Artist Gisele Hanson. The lovely painting in the background was hand done (with itty bitty brushes and acrylic paint) by my friend Heidi Gordon.

YES, that cat has fur! His name is Fred, and he's the store's guard cat.  He was sculpted and painted by Linda, an amazing miniature artist that I purchase from on EBAY.  Check her out - her seller's ID is linda060060.  I wove those baskets with waxed linen thread and stained them walnut.

The potted plant on the shelf was a purchase from Grapevine Miniatures.

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday - Let's go Dutch!

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Miniature Monday - Private Chapel

Yesterday, my family and I celebrated Easter.  That made me think about today's project, a diorama made a while back when I was practicing "stone making."  It's a private chapel in a castle, just for the Lord and Lady.

The box is constructed from 1/4" plywood.  I made the walls and floor by covering them with spackle, and once dry, I carved out each stone.  I then painted and distressed them to look like stone.

The altar is wood and cardstock painted to look like stone.  The candles on the altar are made from polymer clay.  I made each prie dieu (kneelers) with balsa wood stained walnut and a bit of scrapbooking velvet for the upholstery.  I must have made 5 of them before I was pleased with the result!

The mural is a printout. I framed it with wood and painted the wood to look like stone.

The finished piece is closed with an 11X14 purchased frame.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks so much for looking!

Miniature Monday - Two's Company Dolls

Last Fall I happened upon a wonderful Mother/ Daughter team of doll artists;  Jennifer and Elizabeth Yankowski.  Their official name is Two's Company and you can find their blog here.

Their attention to detail is incredible. Tiny folds, tiny accessories, I fell in love.

The way the dolls are dressed and posed tell a story:

The boy is wearing leather boots that are laced up perfectly.  He came with the rooster and the handmade cage.
These two ladies have snuck out for a drink:

Though sold separately, I couldn't resist pairing them. The smiling maid came with her own bottle and a beautifully made duster.  The other so good as the "lookout".

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday - Venetian Palazzo!

Welcome to Miniature Monday! Today's feature is another favorite of mine.  I attended Molly Cromwell's Sturbridge Miniature Festival.  I had a blast shopping and I signed up for the 4 day Venetian Palazzo with Bluette.

The furniture is all made by Bespaq.  They are beautifully detailed pieces.  I used  painting techniques to make the table tops look like marble and the furniture is painted gold with Ceramcoat Metallics.  The amazing flower arrangements are handcrafted by Paula Gilhooley.

The hallway, 2nd floor landing and terrace give the illusion that the space continues.  The chandelier and wrought iron on the landing are both made by Miniature Artist J. Getzan.  I was having a hard time deciding on more accessories, so I've left the scene alone.  As I travel to different miniature shows, I often find pieces that work and I add them.

Thanks for looking!

First Blog Giveaway Winner!

Hello everyone and THANK YOU for participating.  All of the lovely comments truly made my heart soar.

As directed by my wonderful Ustream viewers, I went to Random.org, plugged everyone's name that left a comment into a list and hit ENTER.  Here are the results:

Congratulations to GodsMixedMediaGirl, You are the WINNER!!!!!

Please e-mail me your information and I will send you your prize:

Again, thank you all for participating.  This was so much fun, I will be doing it again.

As always, thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday - The Farmer and his Wife

THANK YOU for all of your wonderful comments on my FIRST blog giveaway.  I am so very grateful for the encouragement and I'm super excited to see who wins next week!

Today's miniature scene features a very talented Doll Artisan,  Marcia Backstrom.  I was lucky enough to win this work of art at an auction. 

The Farmer and his Wife.  Still in love after all these years, surrounded by nature.  Looking at them makes me so happy.  I know, I'm a romantic fool!

Marcia's dolls are amazing.  The age lines in their faces, realistic features, fingers and the tiny details in the clothing.

The scene is 1/12th scale.  To give you an idea of the size, that's my hand next to the dolls.  Amazing isn't it?

Check out Marcia's Website and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday and My First BLOG GIVEAWAY!!

Last week, I was able to do my first Ustream show instructing other artists on how to create a simple miniature scene.  It was a thrilling experience.  I had a very supportive and energetic bunch cheering me on, including my 8 year old son/assistant!  Artists are so willing to learn new techniques.  Most of my viewers were not miniaturists, but I hope I changed that! 

The project, a faux book box that I picked up from Michael’s, was altered on the inside to include a 1/12^th scale miniature scene.  I demonstrated how to cut a false wall, create a window with foamcore and strips of wood, lay a wooden floor, install wallpaper, baseboard and crown moulding. The background behind the window is a magazine image of a peaceful garden.   

We also discussed using materials from sources other than Dollhouse Miniatures.  The chandelier is from an ephemera pack purchased in the scrapbook section of my craft store.  I glued gold beads where the flames should be.  The wallpaper is actually 2 sheets from a Mariposa paper pack. The little girl is a paper doll that I cut out and used Glossy Accents to give dimension to her hair, eyes, lips and shoes.  Almost every person I’ve watched streaming has a black cat, so I’ve included one in this scene. 

The table and vase of roses were from my collection.  I glued the lace cloth and accessories on the table; a cup of coffee/tea, a leather bound art journal, a book on creating still life art and a framed picture.  I also included framed pictures of victorian children on the walls (so cute!)

The general theme of February Ustream shows were “Love and Kindness.”  I tried to do my part by streaming to entertain all the wonderful artists who entertain me!    The other thing I’m doing is GIVING AWAY this wonderful project.  Everyone needs a miniature scene in their life!

 If you are interested in being entered in the drawing, please leave a comment on this post.  Everyone is eligible to enter!  In 3 weeks on 3/18/11, I will close the drawing and select a random winner from the pool of comments.   The winner announced will need to provide me with an address where I can ship the project.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for looking and good luck!

Ketsia

Miniature Monday - The Potting Shed

The other day, my Husband warned me that there was a bit of a catastrophe in the living room.  I walked in to find one of my shadow boxes in pieces, doll parts everywhere!  He'd done an admirable job of picking up everything he saw, but couldn't tell me how it happened...it's another miniature mystery.

Here are photos of the the pieces:

I had to sort the parts and glue everything back together.  Fortunately, living with 3 boys, 2 dogs and 2 cats, I'm really handy with glue.  Here's the fixed shadow box - almost like new, and I didn't cry:

This shadow box can hang on the wall or sit on a shelf.  It measures 14" wide X 10" high X 6" deep. The setting is the outside of a potting shed.  The instructions for this project came from The Miniature Collector Magazine.

The little girl mixing mud in the pot was made by Bonnie Justice.  The two baby boys were from KutiBabies, an Ebay vendor that hasn't sold anything in a while.  I put Grandma together in a workshop taught by Ellen's World at our NYC Club, Big Apple Miniaturists.

I made most of the flowers from punched paper and the little birdhouse from scrap wood.  I also made the pigeons at Grandma's feet from polymer clay (that was an adventure!)

If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday - Witch in the Attic

My sleepy Witch has her "craft" room in the attic of her otherwise normal house.  She was having an afternoon with her wolf friend, and fell asleep with her favorite kitty.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it!

I enjoyed making this little fantasy scene.  There's a lot to look at.  My favorite piece is the little werewolf.  He's sculpted by very talented artist Aleah Klay. Her amazing creations can be found here: http://aleahklay.com/

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday - Half Scale Chateau!

Wouldn’t I love to live in my ½” scale chateau! 

I made this structure in a 4 day workshop with Bill Lankford.  Here’s a link for more information about him:  Bill Lankford Designs

He was an incredible instructor and had a way of using the most unusual materials to create art. I took almost every workshop he offered in the NYC area.  So glad I did because in 2008, he officially retired from teaching classes.  You can still catch him at Miniature Shows with his detailed structures and his line of landscaping items. 

Although it is ½” scale, the cliffs are made from dental plaster, and this structure is super heavy.  I needed a truck and two strong boys to carry it home.  It’s cleverly designed to open in the middle.  I finished the inside with wallpaper, flooring, curtains and furniture.  The landscaping materials are mostly from the model railroad store and Bill.

There’s a “secret” opening under the house, between the cliffs.  It goes from the water, up the stairs to the lowest level which I made into a wine cellar. The resident’s have a boat there for a quick escape.  The water is made from 2 part resin. 

A few years ago, the Daily News had a full page article featuring a picture of this mini chateau and a few of my other pieces.  They also featured the only remaining dollhouse store in Manhattan.  You can read the article in their archives here: NYC Daily News Article  The funniest thing about the experience was my oldest brother, who reads the paper every day, telling me that he saw a lady that kind of looked like me in the paper who also did miniatures. (He was serious!)   He hadn’t read the article and had not seen that it was actually me, DUH!

My friend, Anna, also took the workshop.  She finished hers as a haunted house, complete with dusty furniture and a cemetery:

I’ve had some questions about miniature scale and thought I could answer them today with this post.  Miniaturists are all about getting things “just right.”  It’s often an insane love affair with the ruler. 

Scale is the proportion that a model is to the real thing that it represents. A proportion of 1/12th scale (1:12) means that 1 inch the model equals 12 inches in the real world piece, where 12 inches is understood to be the real world size. If a person measures 5 feet 5 inches tall in the real world, their miniature version in 1/12th scale would be 5 ½ inches tall. This scale is the most popular in the miniature world and when a dollhouse is referred to in general conversation this is the scale most often and usually assumed to be the scale of the discussion.

Scales commonly used in Dollhouses, Ship, Plane and Railroad Models are:

Scale		Number of inches to the foot	Scale Name
1” Scale	1/12th	1 inch = 1 foot	1 inch scale
½” Scale	1/24th	½ inch = 1 foot	G Scale
¼” Scale	1/48th	¼ inch = 1 foot	O Scale
1/8” Scale	1/87th	1/8 inch=1 foot	HO Scale
144th Scale	1/144th	1 inch = 12 Feet (Trust me it’s easier this way!)	Insanity

I’ve completed two 1/144th scale projects and was fortunate that I didn’t end up in the looney bin. I donated one to our club raffle fundraiser, and the other is put away because I don’t want to lose it! This scale is considered a dollhouse’s dollhouse! If you’d like to see lovely examples of this work (NOT mine - LOL) click here: http://nell-miniminis.blogspot.com/

If you have any questions, please let me know and thanks for looking!

Ketsia