Tams Minis

Toy Store Progress

2008-10-15T23:22:00.002-05:00

Well, I've made some progress on the toy store - still have some things to finish, but can give you a good idea of what it's going to look like. I'm having probs resizing on photobucket lately, so if they are too large to fit on the screen, please keep checking back!

Entire store so far - I've added the floor for the attic, as well as a couple extra goodies to show that the attic will be a storage space.

Little House on the Prairie books - these were made for me by Grace Shaw. She also made the first six Trixie Belden books for me, that are displayed in my Memory House.

Bead toys:

Mr. Potato Head

The Toy Store is Getting a New Home!

2008-09-27T19:30:00.002-05:00

Last spring, I found a wonderful wooden box sitting on a curb here in town. This box was too wonderful to be neglected and thrown out, so I picked it up and brought it home. It's been sitting here waiting patiently to become something other than a "catch all". The hinged lid has a checker/chess board on both sides, which it what finally made me decide it would work well as the toy store. I'm excited to finally have a scene I'll be able to keep the cats out of! LOL

Tonight, I'm cleaning the box thoroughly and deciding on wall paper. It will have a small attic space that will be papered with newsprint. The downstairs, which is the actual store, I'm still undecided on. I'm wanting to get this done in just a couple days time, so wish me luck! (Then, it can be on to the fun of making new counters, toys, shelves, etc.)

I'll have pictures to post in just a little while. See you then!

A Couple Old Projects

2008-09-23T13:23:00.003-05:00

I guess I'll never get all my projects on here! Everytime I think I've posted them all, I find a couple more I missed! LOL

Actually, I'm not absolutely certain that I missed the toy store, but in scrolling back, I can't find a picture of it anywhere. So, here it is again. The roombox is made of foamcore, it was a group project I lead on my yahoo group.

I made a lot of the toys, as well as the shelves and the counters. The bead toys were especially fun! I used a polymer clay base and colored paperclips for the wires. The beads are made from polymer clay as well. They were a bit tricky to figure out, but after quite a bit of trial and error, I found a way to make it work. I'm seriously thinking about writing an article for AM on doing a toy store - step by step.

Ice Cream Parlor

2008-06-10T23:15:00.003-05:00

I finally have made some progress with this project! It feels wonderful!! The last couple days I've been rearranging the counters and such. I also wanted to add some color to it. I still have some work to do, but am pleased to finally have some pictures to share! I'll add signs tomorrow, at least that's the plan!

More Projects

2008-06-04T21:10:00.003-05:00

I found a few more pictures of projects that I haven't posted yet, so here goes! lol

This is the picnic set up on the deck of the Newberg:

This is the apartment on the top floor of my bakery. I play around with this quite a bit, trying to find the perfect placement for everything.

This is the Delaney, my first landscaping project. Not too bad for a first try, right?

This is the concession stand I made to be given as a prize in a hospitality contest at work. What a lucky winner!

This last picture is a mini jello I made from TLS. Tanya taught me this little trick. I filled my mold with TLS and baked according to directions. When it was still a bit warm, I carefully removed it from the mold. Once completely cool, I painted it with gallery glass. I need to get some other colors - like green! lol

I made it to the doctor today. I'm now waiting for some test results. Continue to keep your fingers crossed!!

Miscellaneous

2008-06-03T15:00:00.003-05:00

I'm going through my photobucket account to see what pics/scenes I haven't mentioned on here yet. There's just a few, so we'll put them all in one post and then I'll be caught up and ready to move forward!

The first is my Thanksgiving scene in a cornacopia. This scene, with a how-to, was published in the Nov 2007 issue of American Miniaturist. I no longer remember where I came up with the idea, but it's one that I just love. I like the unusual containers for scenes and this was my first. This picture was taken on Sept. 26, 2006.

This next one is a Valentine's scene that I did in February 2007 for a contest in a forum I used to belong to.

This is the view without the cover to the gazebo on:

This is with the cover on:

This is a little bakery stand I did as a group project last fall on my yahoo group. I gave it to my friend, Bonnie.

I've been wiped out the last week or so, haven't been able to work on any of my projects, which is why we're still seeing my previous scenes. I'm going in to the doctor tomorrow to get checked for anemia, thyroid, whatever to see if we can find what's wrong.

The Jellybean

2008-05-27T15:48:00.002-05:00

Today, we'll see the "Jellybean", a large dollhouse Jerry built me from scratch to keep me busy. Unfotunately, the Jellybean has met with an accident and is patiently waiting for me to rebuild it. Once I get to it, many of the rooms will receive a complete new look. Here is what it used to look like, though:

master bedroom:

The picture on the right wall is a miniaturized picture from our vow renewal in June 2004. The lampshade is made from a cover from a tube at the doctor's lab. They came in to take my blood and I asked for a tube in return. She thought I was crazy, til I told her why I wanted it! Now, whenever she sees me, I get one automatically! The wedding dress I made in an online class a few years ago. I no longer remember who taught the class, so I can't give proper credit.

Eddie's room:

When Jerry told me he was building this monster-huge house for me, I got very excited. The kids have all been bugging to make them their own mini bedrooms and this house gave me the chance. I let each of them choose wallpaper, etc. for their rooms. Eddie had wanted flames, but we couldn't find anything he liked. So, he settled for this paper. He also insisted that his mini room be messy like his real room.

Melaina's room:

Melaina LOVES Point of Grace, a Christian pop band. So, her room has a lot of pictures of them, all their "cd's", etc. Melaina made the yellow teddy bear herself out of fimo. She is becoming quite the miniaturist herself!

Ashleigh's room:

Ash's favorite book as a little girl was Good Night Moon. She still has a copy of that book that she loves and she wanted it included in her room. So, I made a miniature version of it - printed thoughout. There is also a plate of spaghetti in there, because it's her favorite food. Her love of butterflies is reflected in the quilt on the wall and also the butterfly on the wall.

Katrina's room:

Katrina is Jerry's daughter, whom we rarely get to see. Not knowing a lot about her, I just went for a little girl's look. The bed in this picture was eventually replaced, but I don't have a new pic.

Kitchen:

I bought the cupboards off of ebay. When the house is rebuilt, I plan to put food on the plates. There is now corned beef and cabbage in a pan on the stove. This room is going to undergo a lot of changes when the house is done.

Living Room:

The pic on the wall is my Dad and his brother when they were very small. The tv is a salt and pepper shaker I found at an antique shop. I've since seen them on ebay for double what I paid for this one.

Memory Room:

There are so many fun things in this room!!! It won't be a memory room when the house is rebuilt, because I now have a memory house and many of these things have been moved to it. But, I'll tell you what you're seeing. In the middle of the top shelf of the hutch is a replica of my Dad's box of ashes. He passed away when I was 11, and my five brothers and sisters were all younger than me. Mom had him cremated and we kept his ashes at home, which was a great comfort to us all. The other object on the top shelf is a miniaturized version of my brothers memorial card. He passed away in 2004 from lupus. The small brown object on the "counter" of the hutch is a replica of a small wooden box we bought Dad for his last Father's Day - it says "Dad" on the top of it. Not seen in this picture, but next to the chair are some Trixie Belden books. I loved this series as a young girl - still do to this day. I made a couple miniature versions. In the Memory house, I have mini versions of the first six books in the series, made by Grace from TreeFeathers. I love her books - she is so talented! On the wall between the windows is a picture of my brother (the one who passed away in 04) and I. The drawing on the left wall is a mini version of a drawing that was done of my husband and his brothers when they were young. There's also a pic of Jerry and I, as well as mini McDonalds ad.

Ok, so this picture shows the Trixie books! You can also see the trunk and the table in this one, so I can continue to tell you why some things are in this room. The cowboy hat in the trunk is another memory of Shawn, it's just like the one he always wore, as you can see in the picture. There's a pic of the McDonalds where Jerry and I met, as well as the first house we lived in. A mini wedding album is by the chair, and the table holds a lot of pics of the kids, us, etc. The teapot and silver tea set is a memory of drinking tea with my Gran the last time we were at her house. Jerry's mom has always had gumball machines, which is why I included one in here.

Den:
This room was done just to give me a place to put a bunch of items I received in a log cabin swap! LOL Unfortunately, I no longer remember who made what, or even what group it was for.

Game room:
Checkers, Pac Man, air hockey, pool and ping pong, they have it all!

Put it all together!
This is an interior view of the entire house, to give you an idea how big it is.

The Newberg

2008-05-25T23:03:00.002-05:00

On January 31, 2003, Jerry came home with a Newberg kit that he had picked up for $20.00 at a truck stop in MN somewhere. This is the first house I built after a year break. Now that I'm getting ready to set up my display, I will be re-doing the nursery in this house, hopefully the bathroom, too. Here's what it looks like right now.

Here are the rooms, in no particular order:
Music Room:

Kitchen:

Living Room:

Bedroom:

Bathroom:

Nursery: (can you see why I want to re-do it??)

I'd welcome any suggestions for the nursery (or any other room!)

Mini McDonalds

2008-05-25T23:03:00.001-05:00

I met my husband while working at McDonalds in Dodge City, Kansas. Since then, McDonalds has always had a special place in my heart, as silly as that sounds. A couple years ago, I made a roombox of the Dodge City restaurant, complete with the stagecoach booth they have.

Keep checking back, because as I plan for this years' dollhouse display uptown, I'll post pics of former projects. Some of them, I'll re-do before the display.

Planning the Next Display

2008-05-25T17:41:00.002-05:00

Today was my son's graduation. I'm so proud of him! So, my minis have been waiting for me to get back to them. Guess that'll happen tomorrow.

For the next month, I'm going to be preparing for the annual display that I do in uptown Watertown. There's a store on "main street" with HUGE windows that I have been asked to display my houses in once a year. That occured in July last year, so I'm planning for the same this year. I need to check out each house and see what needs to be fixed, changed, etc. One thing I want to do is a new nursery in the Newberg. There's some repairs that needs to be done to my Mexican restaurant. My cats got ahold of it not too long ago. I also need to finish building the porch of the Adams, which is the new home for my hacienda.

Ice Cream Parlor

2008-05-22T21:41:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm not doing so great with the daily posts! I'm truly sorry and I'll try to do better.

My most recent project is an ice cream parlor. I found the tuts for it quite some time ago online. I've been wanting to make it, but have always had other projects going on. I'm doing it as a group project for my yahoo group. We're having great fun with it. It's the first project I've done in awhile that I get to keep for myself, which is very exciting! Although as a group, we're only to the counters, I've found some extra time and have gotten some of my ice cream treats done as well. It's just as cute as I had thought it would be! But, don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

I would gladly post a link to where I found the original directions, but the page is no longer there. I'm very glad that I saved them when I first found them.

Caught up - sorta! ;)

2008-04-20T20:18:00.017-05:00

Ok, all my posts from my other blog have been moved here. Now, I will daily post about current projects, etc., as well as try to add about projects I did before I ever started that blog. Eventually, all the pics, etc. from my website will also be here and I'll have everything in one place. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it???

"Tamales" progress

2008-04-20T20:18:00.016-05:00

Jun 20 2007, 09:16 PM
First, a special thank you to my friends at Greenleaf who have helped me in naming the Mexican Restaurant! I love it!I'm having great fun with this project, did I say that already?? LOL!

This is what I have so far - complete with some food on the tables. I used some of the tacos and burritos I had made previously, but added a couple things and tonight am working on some more. I made some fajitas, because when I go to "Guadalajaras", that's what I always order. It's one of my favorite Mexican dishes. This was fairly easy - first, I made a small ball of red clay and cut it into wedges, for tomatoes. I did the same with translucent for onions. I made some small pieces of meat using a mixture I came up with when attempting the leg of lamb from Sue Heaser's book. I twisted these a bit to give the shape. Then, I added some green clay as green bell peppers. I baked these, then I made a mixture of TLS and brown pastels. I mixed the baked clay into this, then sprinkled it with black pastel, to represent pepper. I re-baked. Then, I placed that in a pan I had made from clay and covered it with varnish. I was quite pleased with how this turned out.

Last night, I started on the drinks for the patrons of my lil restaurant. I made margaritas for them. I used the plastic "bowl" from the lock on a bakery container for the main part of the glass. A couple beads made the stem and a circle punched from the bakery container with a reg hole punch served as the base. I should have used superglue, but I was out and didn't feel like going to the store. So, I used hot glue, which worked great, but I'm still trying to get all the strings off of it! For the actual margarita, I mixed clear nail polish, clear gallery glass and light green pastel. This mixture, when first made, has the consistency of snot! Pretty nasty! Boy, I had fun teasing my kids with it!! LOL I filled the bowl of the glasses and set them aside to set up. Worked like a charm!

Tonight, I am working on making tamales. If that's the name of the restaurant, well, there has to be some tamales in there!!! It took me a bit to come up with a way to get the texture on these right, but think I succeeded. I have a couple more to make, then I can bake them and we'll see how they turned out. I'm using ecru colored clay (premo sculpy). I rolled it out and cut it into sections. I placed some brown clay in the center and rolled the ecru around it. Then, I rolled the outside around a bottle cap to get the ridge pattern. This worked better than trying to put each line into the clay individually! Then, I used a pin at the edges to give a bit of texture to both the "masa mixture" and the "meat". They look fairly good to me, but I'll post pics later so you all can judge. After the tamales, I plan to try Spanish rice. Wish me luck and cross your fingers! I am still doing some thinking about chairs. I have a tut around here to make chairs from film cannister lids. Unfortunately, I haven't had a roll of film in this house in over three years, ever since we switched to digital. I posted to free cycle tonight, because I was too lazy to go to either Express Photo or even Walmart to see if I can get some from either place. Not only lazy, but both places are a nice distance from the house and I try not to waste gas. Might go ahead and go to Express tomorrow, since I have to take my daughter that direction anyway. Trying to think of a way that I can make the chairs and keep with the same colors/patterns I already have in the restaurant.

My Mexican Restaurant

2008-04-20T20:18:00.015-05:00

I'm really having a great time with this project! Mother Necessity came by and helped me come up with some beautiful "tiled" tables that I am very happy with! Because we are trying to save every cent we can, I'm doing this project all with supplies I have on hand, with the exception of the foamcore. I found some punch outs, from the Newberg I think, that I decided to use for tables. I drew a checkerboard design on them, then painted in each square with either green, red or yellow. I gave it a turquoise border and covered the whole thing with polyurethane. With the exception that not all of my lines are perfectly straight, I love the results. I used the bottom half of a Michael's hutch for the front counter. I did the top the same way I did the tables, and painted the rest with the same colors. I found some brightly colored birds in my bead container. Not sure what their intended use was, but they look great on the walls. I'm still working on the trim, so there's still some places that look pretty rough yet. I balance the parts I don't like (trim) with the parts I do (decorating). I'm still trying to decide what I have that I can make the chairs from and if it would be too crowded to put a table or two in the center. I can't decide about the tables until I get the other three tables all in. Here's what it's looking like so far though.

Tonight I had to make a barbecue for a class I'm teaching tomorrow. We're doing the barbecue in honor of Father's Day. It's basically a trash-to-treasure project, but it turns out pretty cute. I'm gonna make a few steaks to throw on it.

Mini Catch up

2008-04-20T20:18:00.014-05:00

Jun 14 2007, 08:37 PM
Well, it's been forever again! I can't believe I used to be quite faithful at journalling! I started a Mexican restaurant last week, out of foamcore. My reasoning is that since I can't start building another house, a foamcore project gives me something to do without "building". It's just a one room structure that won't have a roof, although it will have the beams. When I did the hacienda, I found some texturized spray paint in the perfect adobe color that I used. I, unfortunately didn't have any left, so I had to get creative. I found an acrylic paint in the perfect color, Apple Barrel Creamy Peach #20582. But, I had to figure out how to get the texture to it. Our Walmart recently added a lot of craft items, one of them being craft sand. So, I bought some and experimented. I mixed quite a bit of the sand into the paint and tried it out. It worked wonderfully! I was quite pleased with the effect I acheived. I'm using craft sticks for paint, with Apple Barrel Laguna for the color. That's as far as I've gotten so far. I can't believe this project is taking me so long, but I managed to get sick with a kidney infection, which really slowed me down. I did finally get back to it today, though.

Making a Photo Cake

2008-04-20T20:18:00.013-05:00

May 22, 2007I am making a graduation roombox as my daughter's graduation present. The first challenge I had was recreating her photo cake. I've never even seen one in miniature before, so I didn't know who to ask or how to begin. I took the bull by the horns last night and was very pleased with the final result!

This is before the added trim frosting:

No matter how I tried, I couldn't get a decent picture of the final project. But, you can see how it turned out when I added all the frosting squiggleys on the sides. The real cake had a few more colors, but I didn't want to clutter this one up, so stopped at two.

DuraCraft Sierra

2008-04-20T20:18:00.012-05:00

May 25, 2007I received a nice surprise in the mail on Tuesday. A friend of mine sent me the Sierra by DuraCraft! I was so thrilled and immediately started working on it! It was sent to me to give me an idea of how to do a cabin like this for a mini weekend I'm helping with for another forum. I was surprised at how quickly and easily it went together. In fact, if it weren't for drying time, I might have finished it the same day. I didn't think to take pictures during the building process, but I do have pictures of the "final" project. I plan to follow Joann Swanson's directions to texture and color the "logs", so I haven't done that yet. I have to go on a small shopping spree first.

Tonight I started making a table for the cabin. I'm using dowels for the edges of the table and slightly larger dowels for the legs. I used a pocket knife to whittle away parts of the dowels to give them a log-look. I'm using a piece of basswood for the table and the smaller dowels will go all around the edges of that. When I have it together, I will stain the whole thing. I'll post pics of it later on. If it works out, then we'll use this table as part of the project at the mini weekend. Now I'm on the hunt for a pattern for a stove to use for the cabin as well. The bed was made with scraps of the "logs" from the cabin and another piece of basswood. It was pretty easy and we've decided to use it, too.

My First TLS (transluscent liquid sculpy) experiments

2008-04-20T20:18:00.011-05:00

May 16, 2007When I had to take my daughter down to Sioux Falls about a month ago, I finally was able to find some TLS. I've read lots about ways ppl have used this, but hadn't had the chance to give it a try for myself. So far, I've successfully made frosting and a lemon pie using it. I have a "stew" in the oven right now, we'll see how that turns out! If it's ok, I'll add a pic of it as well. My pie needs a bit more filling, but this serves to show what it turned out like - for now.

Jerry is building my haunted house kit - it finally made it's way out of the box!! He's doing it as a rustic cottage, with the exterior walls all done in shingles. I don't know how he has the patience, but it's turning out awesome! We already have a lot of the little goodies for the inside, once he gets that far. Here are a couple pictures of the progress on this one.

I also finally managed to try to make Holly's parlor stove. Here's a pic of my efforts. Holly, you made this an easy, fool-proof project. Thank you!

Feb 2007

2008-04-20T20:18:00.010-05:00

Feb 2007 - Well, let's see if I do any better at blogging this time. I want to keep track of my mini projects, what I do and when, etc. It's a rather bad time in life right now, but I have done a few minis. Last week (on 3/18/07) I made some St. Patricks Day cakes,

a cherry pie (that I still need to add a crust to), and some cheesecakes. A few weeks ago is when I was successful at making a complete leg of lamb dinner - the meat didn't turn out quite as pink as I would've liked, but it did have wonderful texture and the bone looked remarkably real! I had made all the various vegetables before and it was really no big deal. This pic was taken 2/5/07.

Monday, I finally had the chance to try making some bacon, which I was really pleased with. It turned out wonderfully. This was made 2/17/07.

Recovering from Surgery

2008-04-20T20:18:00.009-05:00

March 5, 2007 - My surgery was the 22nd. I'm doing ok. They put a partial cast on my arm this time. Dr. told Jer that they had to do a lot of "digging" around the tendon and veins. It hurts a lot - more than I let on. No mini work for awhile still and typing is still very difficult.

Teaching???

2008-04-20T20:18:00.008-05:00

May 25 2007, 01:31 PM
I am teaching my first class tomorrow - online. I can't believe that I am doing this - I don't see myself as good enough to teach others. It's a polymer clay bread class, and I have done lots of breads. Tonight, I went ahead and made some more, taking pictures of each step to post on the board during the class. I must say, I got the color better tonight than I have ever managed before. I made a shelf to go in the bay window of my bakery today - I'll put my pies there and will have more room on the other shelves for breads and cakes and such. Pictures will follow tomorrow when I finally get the shelf put in. Progress is slow on my Sugarplum. I'm excited about the house, but there are some real life issues going on right now that are dampening my spirit on it. Hope things straighten out soon!

Sugarplum progress and a few bonus items

2008-04-20T20:18:00.007-05:00

May 25 2007, 01:32 PM
Tonight I stopped procrastinating and started the egg carton "stone work" on the Sugarplum. I am genuinely surprised at how it's turning out so far. I have one entire wall done - the one with the chimney. I plan to do the chimney different, somehow, so have left it alone for the time being. I also got started on the front wall, behind the porch. I don't want to do the rest of it until I get the window box put on the window. I opted for using my pastels for coloring, which was a pain, but turned out well. I didn't make it to the craft store to find paint in the color I wanted and I didn't want to put it off any longer!

Yesterday's class went very well. I was pleased with the turn out and the pictures I've seen of bread people made. I made Irish soda bread during class, because I had already made regular bread the night before in order to take pictures to post along with the steps. I really love the way they turned out and I can't wait to finish my cottage so at least one of them can take their rightful place in the Irish kitchen! The other might stay in the bakery.

Awhile back, I saw a package of wood pieces at Walmart. I snatched them up, because our Walmart isn't going to be carrying them much longer. They just sat here until Jerry asked me if I had plans for them. I told him no, so he decided to use them to make an outhouse. I tell ya, it was so much fun to sit working on the egg carton stones on the Sugarplum with him at the same table working on this outhouse. I think it turned out pretty cute, although we do still need to weather it. I felt like a queen when he made it for me!

More progress on the Irish cottage

2008-04-20T20:18:00.006-05:00

May 25 2007, 01:33 PM
Last night I finished the front of the cottage. My fingers sure are getting sore from tearing the egg carton to make those small stones!! I still love the way it's turning out, though. It's well worth it! The benches on the front porch are also finished now. Today, I put the back wall, bay window roof and back roof on as well. I bought the stain and craft sticks for doing the floors and haven't quite decided which I want to do first - floor or roof.

Beginning the Roof

2008-04-20T20:18:00.005-05:00

April 20, 2007

This is the beginning of the roof of the Irish Cottage. You know, I still need to come up with a better name for it! I found a tut somewhere using hot glue and raffia, so that's what I'm using. For now, I am gluing it at the top, in the middle and at the bottom. I looked at the tut long enough to get a general idea, then adapted it to what works for me, which means at first it was trial, error and a bit of screaming! I am doing it in very small sections - maybe 1/4 inch. I put the hot glue on the top and then push the raffia into the glue with a small stick. (this is the result of trial and error and many burns!) I have to hold it a few seconds to get all the pieces in the small bundle to get into the glue and stay. I pull it downward firmly and repeat the process in the middle of the roof, then the bottom. I put a few bunches of raffia on each section for the bulk. As you can see, I still have a ways to go to decide how to do the seams going across the entire roof. Haven't quite figured that out just yet, but I can refer back to that tut. I also stained the floors today, but not sure if I am happy with the results or not. Might have to go back and do that part differently. The gable is now in place, the chimney is finished (built) and all the furniture that came with the kit is done. The only "building" I have left to do is the fireplace trim inside the house. I stained the mantles, but need to stone the rest, which I might get to tomorrow.

Finished the Irish Cottage!

2008-04-20T20:18:00.004-05:00

April 22, 2007
I finished construction of Delaney Cottage a couple nights ago. I stayed up pretty late to do it, but I thought I was so close!!! Here are the pics of the finished construction.

Cottage has a Name!

2008-04-20T20:18:00.003-05:00

April 24, 2007
I have been driving myself about insane trying to come up with a name for my Irish cottage. I wanted a simple, Irish name for it and nothing I was coming up with sounded good to me. Out-of-the-blue yesterday, the name came to me. It's now the "Delaney Cottage". Delaney was my brother's middle name, which is the biggest reason I chose it. I ran across the name in a book I was reading and thought, "how perfect! now it can be named after Shawn!" My family seems to like it as well.Worked some more on the stones last night. Have the top of the bay window wall left to do, as well as the two back walls. Then onto the chimney. The floors are done and I really like the way they look. I should be able to finish it today, just as long as I get to it! I think I'll use most of the furniture that came with the kit in the cottage, adding a few things as well. Can't wait to start putting it together! Have decided that I will definately landscape this house. Had already decided to put it on a base with a turntable. After all the work I've put into the outside of the house, it would be a shame not to be able to admire it as well, right? But, I really thought that it would look pretty strange to have it sit on a plain base, so I have to landscape it, don't you think?? The more plans I make for this house, the more excited I get about it. One thing I've decided from doing this house - it's so much more fun to do a themed house rather than just building it and putting whatever into it! That's pretty much what I did with the Newberg and the Jellybean. Oh, the Jellybean is a dream house for my family and kinda themed house, but not like this one, or the Orchid. I am also working on the story to go with the cottage, because it's so much fun to do. That's something that I learned from the Greenleaf forum and I'm so grateful for it!!

Taco Tut

2008-04-20T20:18:00.002-05:00

May 14, 2007
TACOS AND TORTILLA CHIPS
personal use only please

You will need:polymer clay - translucent, ochre, white, brown, red, yellow, orange, pottery
varnish
½ inch round cutter
ochre artist pastel

TORTILLAS:Mix 1 part ochre, ½ part white, and ¼ part translucent clay.

Roll out to about 1/16 of an inch. (I used third setting on my pasta machine) Cut out circles with your ½ inch cutter.

Gently rub ochre pastel on a piece of paper. For tacos, rub pastel onto one side of each circle. If you wish to make flat tortillas or chips, rub both sides with color.

If you are making tacos, you’ll want to gently fold each circle over to form a shell shape.

Bake for 10 minutes on 275. While still warm, if you are making chips, cut each circle into chips. I cut each circle in half both ways, then cut each piece in half.

Lightly coat pieces with varnish and let dry.

FILLING:Roll a very thin snake of brown clay.

Take a piece of the snake and “bunch it up” to a size to fit in your taco shell. Keep the shape of the snake clearly defined.

Make sure they fit easily into the taco shell, so you can glue it in place after baking.

Bake.TOPPINGS:tomatoes: mix translucent with a trace of red. Roll into thin snake and bake.While warm, cut into tiny pieces.onions: roll translucent into thin snake and bake.While warm, cut into tiny pieces.lettuce: mix translucent with a trace of leaf green.Roll very thin and tear into tiny pieces.Bakecheese: mix ¾ part yellow and ½ part orange clay.Roll into thin snake and bake.While warm, cut into tiny pieces.PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:After gluing the filling into your shells, you simply glue the other toppings to the filling. I mixed my tomatoes and onions together with a bit of glue and applied those with a toothpick. I also used the toothpick to place the lettuce . After the glue dries a bit, then I used a toothpick to place some cheese.

Paper Roses Tut - Part 2

2008-04-20T20:18:00.001-05:00

April 28, 2007
1:12 Scale Paper Roses
personal use only, pleaseYou will need:

sheet of paper in color you would like your rose
heart punch
floral wire
Elmer’s glue
tooth pick

Step 1:Punch out several hearts from your paper. You will need about 8 - 10 hearts per rose.

Step 2:Cut a piece of floral wire. You’ll only want it an inch at the end, but you can cut it longer to make it easier to work. It’s easy to cut it down later.

Step 3:Fold a heart in half, lengthwise and unfold. You will do this with every heart you use for your roses. Use a toothpick to place glue along the crease. Glue to the top of your piece of wire.

4:Put just a bit of glue at the bottom of the crease of your next heart.

You’ll want to attach this heart to the heart already on your wire. You’ll want the round part of this heart to be on the side of the flat part of the first one.

Step 5.Put glue on the bottom of the crease of your next heart. Glue to the bottom of your budding rose, off to one side. Repeat on the other side.

Paper Roses Tut - part 2

2008-04-20T20:18:00.000-05:00

April 28, 2007

Step 6.Glue your next heart along the "seam" formed by the last two hearts. Repeat on the opposite side of your bud.

Repeat Steps 5 and 6 one or two times, until your rose has as many petals as you would like for it to have. Let dry.

Step 7.Once dry, gently shape each "petal" by bending, slightly curling, etc.

April 3, 2007

2008-04-17T19:40:00.006-05:00

Guess I've just been a bit too busy to blog! I can't believe how bad I am at this!! LOLWell, I finished my farmhouse last Friday, I think. Here are those pictures:

Child's room

Parents room

Living Room

Kitchen

Here are a few desserts I've made in the last few days:

Biscotti

Brownies

Cheesecake

Easter Cakes

St. Patricks Day cake

Twinkies

I think I am most proud of the cheesecake. I was laying in bed one night and the idea came to me. It was kinda based on my banana cream pie. I was trying to remember all the gallery glass colors I have seen at Kleins to see if there would be one the right color for cheesecake. I decided that if not, I could mix white with a very small amount of yellow. As luck would have it, the cameo ivory color was perfect! I cut the cake out of model magic with a glue stick lid, and let it dry. Then, after a lot of debating on what would work, I rolled the sides of the cake in glue, then in grated orange peel. I let that dry completely before covering the top of the cake with the gallery glass. Now, I plan to make more and add cherry topping, but the first one I wanted to be a plain cheesecake. I am really pleased with the way that it turned out. The biscotti was made based on a tut I found online, with some changes. It's basically chocolate sculpty with corn meal mixed in for texture. Then, I mixed in sesame seeds. The clay was rolled into a snake about 1/2 inch wide, flat on the bottom and rounded on the top. Then, I sliced it in 1/16 inch slices. It's important to slice before baking, or they don't look right. Bake slices as directed on package. After cooling, mix chocolate colored paint with glue and dip one end of the slices into it. Let dry and you're done. The brownies were made with the same mixture. These, however, I rolled into a rectangle 1/16 inch thick and baked, then cut into individual pieces. I mixed sesame seeds in amber gallery glass and separated immediately. Then, I topped each brownie with one or two of the sesame seeds, which resemble walnuts.

Burritos and Salsa Tutorial

2008-04-17T19:40:00.005-05:00

Personal use only, Please!

TORTILLAS:
Mix 1 part ochre, ½ part white, and ¼ part translucent clay.

Roll out to about 1/16 of an inch. (I used second setting on my pasta machine) Cut out circles with your ½ inch cutter.

FILLING:
Roll small log of brown clay.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER:
Place the log in the top center of your tortilla.

Fold the bottom part of the tortilla up towards filling.

Fold one side towards the middle, then the other side.

Bake as directed on clay package.

SALSA:
Roll out thin snakes of red, green and translucent clay. You’ll want more red clay than the other colors.

Bake as directed on clay package.

While still warm, cut into small pieces.

Mix pieces in a small plastic container. Mix with clear gallery glass.

Place either in mini bowls or on plates next to burritos. Let dry.

BONUS:
I used pottery colored clay and a ¾ inch cutter to make southwestern plates. I rolled my clay very thin and placed it on a baking tile. I cut the circles directly on the tile so they wouldn’t lose shape being transferred. I baked these for 8 minutes. Then, I painted small turquoise dots around the edge of the plate.

May 12, 2007 - A few more minis

2008-04-17T19:40:00.004-05:00

A platter of nachos and tacos - I made these on May 12, 2007.

A black forest cake - yummy!!! Sure wish this was real!

Valentines cookies

May 14, 2007

2008-04-17T19:40:00.003-05:00

I really am not very good at this blogging thing! I even have reminders sent to my email, but I just never get it done! This is graduation week - I don't expect to be online much at all this week! We are also planning to take a trip to see my brother and that is probably coming up as soon as school lets out for the other two kids. So, won't have much time for minis or to be on the computer.I'm trying to remember what I've done since my last entry - which was my cottage and Mexican food. Randomly, here's what I've done:

I played with making these little flowers. Had intended on using them for a swap, but they are very hard on the eyes and I would've needed "forever" to make enough. They will probably go outside the Delaney now - I have lots of these!

No Irish cottage would be complete without tea! The roses were made based on directions I found in a recent magazine. The article was actually how to paint on china, but was easily adaptable to the teapot. I love the effect! Here's what they look like in their proper setting:

Little Miss Loca got ahold of my Travel Trailer and caused some minor damage. I thought it was a good time to remodel a bit. There are before pictures on my website, here are the after.

One day last week, Ash was having a pulmonary function test done at the doctor's. I thought the tube she used for the mouthpiece for this test would make a great hot water heater - so I asked for it. The lady thought I was strange and Ash turned red, but the hot water heater turned out great! (Ash was fine - needed a slight adjustment in her asthma meds)

March 21, 2007

2008-04-17T19:40:00.001-05:00

March 21, 2007I'm behind!! Oh well, let's catch up and move on!I had the partial cast removed on March 5. I then got a brace and permission to work on my minis!!

The first thing I did was make rice krispie treats

breakfast plates

a new display counter for the bakery

a pot of beans

a banana cream pie
[IMG]http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i132/tamsminiworld/DSC05758.jpg[/IMG]

more cakes

a teddy bear

and a pot of corned beef and cabbage

I've decided that I want to do a Willow next, in the same style as my farmhouse. After that, a Sugarplum cottage done like an Irish cottage.

Major Catch Up!!

2008-04-17T19:40:00.000-05:00

I completely forgot I had this blog! Shame on me!!!! The next few posts will be copied from another blog I've had going on. I plan to convert all other blogs to this one so I can have my mini record all in one place. Afterwards, I'll post about my most recently completed project - Angie's Bar.

Good progress, bad blogger!

2006-11-06T13:15:00.000-06:00

Well, I am making pretty good progress on my little Orchid! Just don't seem to be able to remember that I wanted to document that progress in a blog! LOL!! All the interior work is done, except for a couple window frames. I have all the cupboards and appliances in my kitchen and it really resembles the kitchen in the last house Dad lived in! (from here on out, that house will be referred to 1811) I have put a few little accessories in the kitchen already. I am just in too much of a hurry to do the "fun" part! The fixtures are in the bath now, as well as the basic living room furniture. There is still some trim I have to do on the outside, which is what I am working on right now. I also plan to make the bed today. I finally figured out how to add pictures here, so you can actually see my progress.
The kitchen is my favorite room. The centerpiece I received from Sylwia in a swap. She is so talented! More pictures are coming!!!

Slowly Making Progress

2006-10-17T18:25:00.000-05:00

I have the gable and the dormer windows in place and had started shingling. Unfortunately, all the shingles that came with my kit were seriously warped. The material is flexible enough to still work with and so very slowly, I am putting the shingles on. Had hoped to do the front porch and outside trim today, but I didn't make it. My back is very slowly getting better and it decided today to show me who is in charge.

Slight Delay

2006-10-09T16:51:00.000-05:00

I ran into a slight delay on the construction of my Orchid! Friday at around noon, my husband and I were rear-ended. He wasn't hurt, but I spent the afternoon in Emergency going through CAT Scans, X-rays, etc. Not the way I wanted to spend my day! I ended up with whiplash, a concussion, and some sort of back injury. Spent the weekend on pain medication, therefore I slept most of the weekend. Still on the medicine and feel really "out-of-it" right now, but I just have to get busy on this house! My haunted house arrived from Greenleaf today and I'm just in such a hurry to get these done!

Today I am putting the shell together for the Orchid. The outside is painted and I've made patterns of the inside so I can wallpaper. I want to plan my lighting and with my fuzzy mind, can only do this with the basic house together. Progress will be slow, because I'm barely able to keep my eyes open!

Til next time!
Tams

Introduction

2006-10-06T08:13:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! Too cool that I have a blog now! LOL! I'm excited to be able to keep track of my mini progress! Something I wish I had been doing all along.

To catch up on the projects I already have, in no particular order.

The house I've had the longest is my Newberg. This is the first house I did after a year long break from minis for personal reasons. My husband saw the kit at a truck stop for only twenty dollars! He brought it home on New Years eve, but sadly enough it took me about another year to start. Better late than never!

In my Newberg, I have the kitchen that is furnished with the DuraCraft kitchen set. I actually made this for my mother a few years ago for Christmas and she gave it back to me. Nice to see how much a present means, right? My real-life kitchen is red, with Mexican accents. I was going to do this kitchen the same, but didn't get past the red! The living room is done in green. I made a plain, basic couch using scrap pieces of wood and covering them with remnants from the dress that one of my daughters wore for my vow renewal ceremony. Love that special touch! The curtains (valances) are made out of the same material. There is a tiny copy of my brother's memorial card on the bookcase in the living room as well. This house has a wonderful music room full of all kinds of instruments. There is a drum set that I made from a coffee creamer lid (the bass drum) and a couple different sized medicine bottle lids. I'm pretty proud of that trash-to-treasure item. Many of the instruments in this room came from a swap off of a yahoo group. The last three rooms of the Newberg are a bedroom, nursery and bathroom. Will talk more about those another time.

The next project I did was decorate/furnish my Jellybean House. The Jellybean is a HUGE house that my hubby built for me to "keep me busy"! The structure is pretty basic. It has six floors and 11 rooms. I had wanted a house where I could do a bedroom for each of our kids. In the living room is my favorite mini find - a console tv that is actually an antique salt and pepper shaker. I've seen the exact same one on ebay for 10X more than I paid for this one! I made the leather couch in there. Still need to make a door, trim and curtains for this room. BTW, all my projects can be seen at www.geocities.com/tamsajesusfreak There is a full page devoted to each dollhouse. My favorite room of the Jellybean is one I call the Memory Room. I have Trixie Belden books, a tea set (tribute to my Gran), a cowboy hat (memorial of my brother), a replica of my father's box of ashed (Mom kept these and we grew up with them in the house) and many other memorials or mementos of my past.

I've always wanted to do a Spanish-style house. I was so excited to find a tut online for making a one-room hacienda and so that was my next project. I just recently finished it by putting the roof on, etc. A lot of the items in this house were also acquired through a swap. The fireplace I found on ebay and I fell in love with it! I made the terra-cotta colored pottery myself - have never been able to duplicate them! I have pictures of Ritchie Valens and his mother on the wall, La Bamba is one of my favorite movies!! I just recently decided this house was "complete" - we'll see how long that lasts!!! ROFL

At a rummage sale last summer, we found two LaFayette kits and were able to get both for seven dollars. Couldn't pass up that deal! I b uilt one and hubby built the other. I turned mine into a bakery with an apartment upstairs. Somebody was going to buy Jerry's and so I decorated it for her. She never picked it up, so it sits, waiting for me to do something with it. I have some Michaels hutches that I have taken apart and made into cupboards just waiting to go into the house. Each of my kids have claimed one of my houses that they want and this one has been claimed by my oldest daughter. Bearing that in mind, I am going to theme it to her senior year of high school, I think.

My favorite roombox is a recreation of the McDonalds where I met my husband. (As you can tell, memories mean a lot to me!) It even has the stagecoach booth that the McDonalds in Dodge City, Kansas has! I made a fryer and grill, based on a project found in Dollhouse Miniatures last (2005) summer. I used a scaled picture of Jerry to represent him, but dreamed a little bit and used a small Barbie dressed in a McDonalds uniform to represent me. An online friend found somebody from Dodge to go take pictures, lots of them, for me on this project. The purple shirt "I'm" wearing is a tribute to her.

I also have a cabin-style roombox that I put together because I needed a place for my Chrsybon wood stove! Eventually, I still want to do a one-room cabin replica of the house described in Little House on the Prairie. (the house in Kansas).

I found a 50's style diner on ebay and just had to get it. The lady selling it lives about an hour from me, so I picked it up. We forged a friendship from that purchase, making this diner even more special! I built the counter, stools and booths myself, although I also purchased the counter that was supposed to go with this diner. I put this one in a separate 50's diner roombox for my daughter.

My husband rescued an old farm-style house from the back corner of an antique store and I did that one up kinda old-fashioned. It's houses my favorite kitchen. I made an old wood stove for it, based on a project in a book I have. I changed it quite a bit, however. This is the only house I don't have on my geocities site. Someday! LOL

My travel trailer is the last house I have finished. I've seen some people do some wonderful things with this kit - probably for the HBS contest. Mine seems rather plain in comparison, but it represents simple camping life, which was what I wanted. I plan to put a flea market table in front - good way to display minis I have not found homes for - yet!

I recently did a pumpkin scene - again based on an online tut. I hallowed out a styrofoam pumpkin and just did a simple scene in it. Turned out quite cute. My favorite project, mostly because it was totally original, is my Thanksgiving scene. I used a store-bought cornacopia and put a back wall with a half cupboard in it. The counter of the cupboard is filled with yummy food - mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn on the cob, pumpkin pie. The table is all set with the main part of the feast - a fimo turkey. I was surprised at how well and how quickly this one came out!

That brings us up-to-date! I am just starting work on my orchid, that will house a kitchen like the one in the last house my dad lived in. I saw the Realife Miniatures kitchen kit on ebay and it looks exactly like that kitchen from my childhood. The kitchen is put together and waiting patiently for the house to also be finished. I am in a hurry, because I have my Orchid and still waiting LaFayette, with the Greenleaf Haunted House on it's way!!!

More later
Tams