Miniature Monday - Beads and Miniature Hookahs

I wanted to try my hand at making hookahs for my mini marketplace scene.

There was a lot of bead and jewelry finding sorting and selecting (and lots of shopping too!)  This is what I've come up with so far:

I started out with a wire twisted at the bottom so it wouldn't fall out of the silver bead.  These beads are laid out in the order I strung and glued them onto the wire.





This is the finished product!

Some of these are not complete.  When I couldn't decide what to do next, I left them alone and will take another look later.

I also made a bunch of perfume bottles and jars.  I really enjoyed this adventure.

 

This is my absolute most favorite Hookah.  I just have to put in the hoses and it's DONE!

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Miniature Monday - Merchant of Granada

I’m starting 2013 off right attending an amazing workshop with Ron Hubble. 

Several local establishments that used to offer Miniature workshops have closed in the past decade.  One of my friends graciously arranged to host Ron, and turned her lower level workshop into our classroom.  There are 9 of us in attendance and for the past four days, we’ve been working on this:

Oh my goodness!  If you want to see his pictures of this project, visit his website HERE.

He is an amazing artist and teacher.  We are so lucky that he agreed to travel to teach us.

I thought I’d share our setup and a few pictures of mine in progress.



My work area during the workshop. I had to clean up at the end of each day to      be ready for the next!

This is the second time Ron has been out to New York City to teach us.  We had such a great time AND finished the project. 

Now I'm ready for some more excitement putting in all of my accessories.  The funny thing is, it takes me longer to decide on what's going where.

Since there are fewer miniature shops, when you go to a show, speak with the vendors and ask around for workshops.  You will find that there are plenty of opportunities to have them visit and teach your group.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ketsia

Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone,

As we welcome the year 2013, I'm wishing you continued peace, health, abundance and lots and lots of miniatures!

Ketsia

Miniature Monday: Cooped Up

This lovely piece was created by Wright Guide Miniatures - http://www.wrightguideminis.com/.  I found it while browsing at Philadelphia Miniaturia - http://philadelphiaminiaturia.com/ (love that show!)

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday: 2 Lovely Ladies

I purchased these two lovely ladies at a local show in New Jersey many years ago.  I can't remember the very talented artist, but all of the work on her table was amazing.

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday: For the Kitchen

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday: 2011 Hallmark Ornaments

These are my favorite Hallmark 2011 Ornaments purchased to use in my miniature settings:

I actually purchased these in November because I knew they would go fast!  The train set is a Lionel Santa Fe Super Chief.  I will most likely put this in my toy store, but I've been thinking about making a mini train layout with its table for my dollhouse.  The yellow and blue house is a Fisher Price Farmhouse.  It's even got a car and driver.  The book display is a page and character from "Where The Wild Things Are".  I'm going to use this in my bookstore.  The house is part of a series with the year on the front stoop.

I've taken a few pictures with resin dolls so that you can see how terrific the scale is:

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  I wish you all a healthy, happy and love filled 2012.  Thank you so much for your support and for sharing this first year of miniature adventures with me.

Ketsia

Miniature Monday: Black Wicker

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday: Knitting Corner

If you are a Miniaturist, you quickly discover that miniatures take up a lot of space (I know that's funny.)  I often enjoy making tiny scenes to tell a little story.  If you don't have much space or supplies for miniature's, this post will hopefully inspire to create with what you have.

This itty bitty display was created in a 4" acrylic cube.

The chair was a Christmas ornament from Restoration Hardware.  I clipped off the ornament hook with my heavy clippers, and sanded the metal down to remove some of the shine.  The stone floor was a piece of scrap flooring tile that I had from a previous project. I rolled up balls of thread to put into the basket and I actually knit that quarter inch onto those tiny knitting needles:

The kitty and plant were both purchases.

The tiny 1/12th scale vignette tells a sweet story and always makes me smile!

Thanks for looking!

Miniature Monday Project: My Witch and Her Castle - Part 4 Final!

The next part of my process was to patina the roof.  Although the color was fine, I wanted to give it a little something.  I used Americana acrylic paint in Asphaltum, Sophisticated Finishes - Copper Metallic Surfacer and Patina Geen Antiquing Solution.  You can find these at your craft or art stores.

The dark acrylic paint served as my base coat.

I then layered two coats of the Copper Metallic Surfacer. 

While the second coat is tacky, I lightly brushed on the Patina Green Antiquing Solution.  This is what the roof looks like before the solution has completed "antiquing":

And this is the completed effect a few hours after it's dry:

Here is the structure.  I have to add something over the fireplace, and I'm going to hang a fire breathing dragon from the inside of the dome.

I made this table out of wood strips, used Anita's Crackle Finish then aged it with burnt umber acrylic wash.  I made most of the items in the room and on the table from found objects, beads, bits of wood.  The candles are made from polymer clay.  The stacked books are leather bound and created by my friend, Marilyn Crockett.

That's a baby dragon peering into the fireplace!

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