Musings and crafting

Long time no see...

2012-02-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

Please excuse the long long absence.

Since I began my studies, I haven't had the time to write anything other than my class assigments, and to read anything other than my lessons. It has been a long time since I last studied, and it is costing me a little more than I expected. On good news, I passed all my exams with good grades, so the first part of the year is accomplished! Two more parts to go, one of them coming up just in a month...

My writings and my shop have suffered my absence as well. I have barely been able to list anything new, and not a paragraph of a new novel since I finished the last one. I hope I can get even this summer, but as of now, any moment I can manage some time for myself, I just don't have the energy to craft or to write.

Since I really do not have anything new going on, I will share with you this beauty I found on a flower shop here in Madrid:

It is a natural (dyed) black rose. The wonderful thing is that it is preserved! It will not fade or decay, and it looks as if I just took it from the plant. It is not crisp and feels soft and flexible - although I do not touch it much. I could not believe it when I saw it on the glass window - it was the only one they had - and it just had to be mine. One of my philosopher's stones has been found! The mythical and impossible to breed black rose is resting comfortably on my living room - yes, I cheated a bit, don't hold it against me!

My, my, time flies!

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

It seems it was yesterday that I was beginning the lessons at high school! Today I have completed the first test, and we will be having finals by December. So much to do still!

But, for some fun stuff, I just wanted to point out this shop: Restyle. The lovely Lady of the Manners from Gothic Charm School draw my attention to them after they put up a give away contest for their line of purses. Oh, one of those purses had to be mine! Since I did not wait to win (or probably lose) the contest, I went ahead and bought one.

Since I did not have yet any stripy anything, I matched it up with a shirt - it is indeed a shirt, not a jacket.

I paid by PayPal, so no troubles there; except that the charge that PayPal charges sellers for their service they pass on to the customer (me, in this case) but since I had not bought from them before, I deemed it worth it just so there would be no hassles with credit cards and such. And it was just $2 anyway.

So, I chose the 4-day shipping option, and the purchase arrived today (in the time frame promised, but I am in Europe just like them). The order came in an envelope, both items inside plastic bags; there was nothing to be protected, so no issues with that. I am very happy with the purse. I just wanted a big purse to go to school so I did not have to use a backpack, which I don't like one bit. I love it! It's exactly as shown, and for my purposes big enough - I am used to small purses.

The shirt is of synthetic material, and does not have a tag with instructions for cleaning. I am guessing it would need cold wash and very soft ironing. It is not good by itself for winter, though - too thin. But I am sure it will be awesome with a black velvet jacket.

For the little money everything costs, I am happy with the articles. If you are on a budget there are lots of things you can buy without breaking the bank. Just do not expect an exceptional quality.

Life at High School...again!

2011-10-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

It's the end of my first week in high school, and it's more fun than I anticipated sharing classes with a bunch of teens and young adults.
It's easier than I thought to follow the lessons, and the fact is, I'm enjoying myself - I don't know if I will when homework begins to catch up with us...

Fun facts about the HS:
- no toilet paper in the restrooms. Or soap, or towels (not even paper towels), or heaters, or mirrors... I have no idea why (maybe they get stolen?). I guess we are lucky to have waste baskets for sanitary napkins. It's funny though. Now that flu season approaches, how do they expect us to take care of our health? Of course, we have been told already to get our flu vaccinations. The first thing that I tossed in my bag was hand sanitizer. It's going to be a long winter...
- Walls covered with graffiti.
- I have a locker. Yay! First one I got in my life! :)

I think this course is going to be a great way to find myself as a person and to better myself. I am a bit anxious about tests and such, but I hope my old studying habits will kick in and in the end everything will be all right.

The only thing that bothers me a bit is the lack of time to keep writing my novels. I guess I will have to use the recess time...

The Raven trailer

2011-10-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my goth, it's going to be AWESOME!!

See the video.

A new turn to my life

2011-09-29T03:16:00.000-07:00

I just came back from formalizing my application to Lab Technician studies. My classes start on Tuesday! They will take two years to complete, and hopefully I will be able to find work in a clinical or science laboratory.

It is going to be fun, but also a lot of work. I hope my minis won't get left behind in the process, and that I have enough time to keep creating.

Absinthe Wallpapers

2011-09-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the release of their Heritage Verte absinthe, Alandia is offering a beautiful free wallpaper that you can download and enjoy in your own computer. Click here to get it!

New absinthe design up for sale

2011-08-29T01:00:00.001-07:00

A new creation for all of you absinthe fans!

This is a new design of absinthe bottle, created after the real absinthe Ridge, made by Joe and Jules Legate, owners of Ridge Distillery. Joe kindly gave me permission to make a miniature of their handcrafted creation - which by the way I recommend wholeheartedly!
The credit for the design of the label goes to no other than Mr. Gwydion Stone himself, absinthe expert, and owner of Marteau Absinthe - you should try that one too! If you are interested at all in absinthe you should visit The Wormwood Society for answers to any question you may have regarding this delicious drink.

Something very pretty I have just purchased

2011-08-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

It has been ages since I treated myself to a little something from Etsy - actually, this is the first time since we left the US in February. And I am delighted, and can not wait until my parcel arrives!

Let me explain. Since Halloween is almost here, I have been considering buying the Canadian series "The little vampire", starring Joel Dacks, Christopher Stanton and the adorable Marsha Moreau. It was released in 1985 (I was 9!), and it became one of my favorites. All these years I have been yearning for it to be released, and now it is available, although only through Amazon Germany. Well, they had some props in the series that as a child I always wanted to possess:

- a jar of rams (spelling?) - it was a magical black dust that sprinkled over a cloak would make you fly. They kept it on a glass jar with a little bat on the lid - still working on the design of this one...
- a vampire cloak, of course - I made one out of tulle from an old petticoat my mother had. Now I have two velvet cloaks adult size ;)
- a moss rock - they were moss covered rocks that they kept as crypt decorations... And now I have (or I will soon) five!!

I found them on Etsy, and the amazing seller teresab123 was so helpful answering my questions and putting up a listing specially for me. Go check her shop, it is full of beautifully made terrariums, plants, and moss, moss everywhere!! I am sure you'll find something you'll love.

It seems my vampire childhood obsession is almost complete. Now I only have to buy the series and get me a glass of rams. Maybe Lumpi will pay me a visit...

2011-08-25T00:28:00.000-07:00

A new design made specially for all of you mad scientists and medical geeks out there!

This is a set of 10 medical posters that will look splendid in any laboratory, asylum, hospital or medical office. They are real vintage medical drawings printed in parchment paper, for you to hang on the walls, frame or simply lay about. This set includes brains, skeletons, the circulatory system, the heart and muscles. Already available at my shop!

2011-08-12T03:22:00.000-07:00

New apothecary cabinet up for sale in my shop!
Filled to suit your medicinal needs, with real glass bottles and authentic reproductions of vintage apothecary labels.
Grab it today before somebody else does!

Featured!

2011-08-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

One of my lovely customers mentions me and my work regarding her Green Fairy Outfit that she wore at the NADWCon2011: Costume Extravaganza. Scroll down to see it! She looks lovely!

A new witchy cabinet up for sale

2011-07-28T02:49:00.001-07:00

Long time without listing one of these!

This cabinet is already up for sale in my shop. All you see is included, not attached so you can arrange it as you wish. If you would like a cabinet made up to your specifications, please don't be shy and drop me a line.

Review: Elena's necklace from The Vampire Diaries

2011-07-20T00:04:00.001-07:00

I don't normally do this, but I am so so excited with this locket that I just have to share.

Have you heard of "The Vampire Diaries"? They are a series of books that have been made into a TV show. I am not a big fan although I watch it just for fun. In the show, the main character, Elena, is given a necklace as a way to protect herself from the influence of vampires - it's funny that the more the show goes on, the more useless this necklace is, as each vampire she comes across is more and more powerful and they do not seem affected by it. Here is a clip of the chapter in which Stefan gives it to her.

Pic of the show showing the locket

Anyway, as with every popular series, the merchandise pops up to please demanding fans. I have seen several models of lockets that are sold as "Elena's locket", but they are in no way similar to the one the character wears on the show. Some samples:

Locket with the series' logo. Available at the WB store.

Locket with Stefan's crest. Available for sale on Amazon and the WB store.

The CW store used to have this locket. As of today is sold out. Similar to the one in the show but somehow lacking.

I have also seen sellers that have reproductions of pieces of jewelry that appear in the show, some more faithful than others. There are also reproductions of the locket, but as they claim they are hand-made with precious metals, they charge accordingly (some up to $165). If you have this kind of money to spare, go to Etsy and peruse their creations.

However, if you are money conscious, you may want to visit eBay. There are reproductions over there too, and luckily for those of us not living in the US, some sellers ship worldwide. You'll find there official merchandise, as well as other jewelry such as Damon's or Stefan's crest, Caroline's ring, Katherine's cameo and Bonnie's amber necklace.

My locket came from djingang2009. This seller has exact replicas of Elena's locket, for prices as low as $42. These are pictures of the actual locket I got from her (chain came included):

Compare to the one that appears in the show, shown above in the first pic, and you can see they are (at least to my eyes) perfectly identical, except that the one in the show has a patina to make it appeared aged - but that will happen to mine too if I don't polish it. I have taken it to a jeweler and he has confirmed that both the locket and the chain are sterling silver. It has a red stone (supposedly a garnet) in the front, and it is marked 925 in the back:

It opens, of course, and it snaps close very firmly. I don't think there is a risk of it opening unexpectedly. The inside is not polished to look shiny, it's kind of grainy:

A pic of it resting in my hand so you can see the size:

And it came very safely and well packaged in a lovely box, with a little bag full of (supposedly) vervain:

I do not plan on using it with the vervain. As for now, it will be empty, but I may end up putting a lock of my husband's hair inside.

The seller shipped it the next day I paid, and it took it only 12 days to reach me in Spain.

I had been looking for a nice silver locket for quite sometime, and after looking around, I found out that sterling silver lockets are in the range of $40-70, depending on the size and decorations or engravings. So I think that the price of this one is very reasonable. I also like the fact that it's unusually shaped and the design is out of the ordinary.

Even if one is not a big fan of the show, this is a very pretty piece to own, or to give as a gift to that special someone. I certainly could not be more happy.

Absinthe Fountain improved!

2011-06-03T01:25:00.001-07:00

The absinthe fountain is again available at my shop! Better and improved, the reservoir is now smaller, and the water includes 3 tiny faux ice cubes. A different addition to any dollhouse collection, pub, bar or antiques shop.

An original design and exclusively at Kaleidoskopic Romance.

New book design

2011-05-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

This is a new book design for all fans of witches and wizards out there. It has the same size of all my books, but this one has parchment pages - real parchment, not dyed paper. The cover mimics the look of a dragon skin, and a claw or fang holds the book closed. And it can be opened, of course!
This design had been running around in my head for some time, and yesterday I was able to bring it to reality :)
Hope you like it! It is already available in my shop.

New Apothecary cabinet

2011-05-19T06:27:00.001-07:00

Already up for sale, a new Apothecary cabinet for your miniature setting.
As usual, it includes everything you see in the pic, including a metal microscope and a hand sculpted mortar and pestle imitating granite.
It is available in my shop.

New designs for the shop

2011-05-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

It's been quite sometime since I had time to create something entirely new... Actually, the idea for these came after the "holy trinity" set, and it's specially made for fans of gardening and witches or wizards settings. It is a compilation of drawings of real plants:

This set includes wolfsbane, vervain, belladona, hellebore and digitalis.

And this one has fly agaric, sage, bergamot, wild Angelica and dragon's blood.

They will be up for sale in my shop in a couple of days. Also, be prepared for some new miniatures made by my mom. She will have her own special corner in my shop, so stay tuned for her designs. The first mini up for sale will be a set of suitcase and two bags, made from real leather!

Vintage apothecary in my bathroom

2011-05-11T01:36:00.000-07:00

Being in a new house sometimes gives us the opportunity of doing something new with old household items.

I took advantage of this wonderful idea of Cathe Holden, and turned my ordinary red towels in something out of an antique apothecary:

The labels got plenty of time to dry (2 months - I made them before we left the US, and they came with the move by sea), and they have hold up well in the washer; I do not have dryer here, so I don't know how well they could stand a dryer cycle. By the way, if you ever do this, be very careful not to stain the labels with toothpaste; I had a small drop falling in one of the labels and the ink got a bit smeared. It's barely noticeable, but better be safe than sorry.

I also used empty glass coffee containers - gift of my mother-in-law - to make some apothecary jars; labels made by Sligtly Off Center:

The small one I got at the equivalent of a Tree Dollar Store in Spain.

It's funny, I never thought I would miss crafting so much...

A new corset!

2011-05-10T02:42:00.000-07:00

See this? Like it? It's my new corset!!

My dear mom gave it to me as a welcome gift. It arrived yesterday, and it is absolutely divine! It comes from Corsets UK, another fabulous and affordable place to get your corsets. I can not wait to wear it. I think it is going to become my favorite...

By the way, I made a video review of one of my corsets; if you want to take a look it is here.

The shop is open!

2011-05-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce that Kaleidoskopic Romance is open again!

It's been a long wait, but today a new era begins. I have actually began a couple of new designs, which will be up for sale very soon. Have some patience while I fill the shop, since it's almost empty.

As always you are welcome to write, ask any questions, or commission a custom made design. If you have a favorite item that sold, let me know and maybe I can do it again for you.

See you on Etsy!

Lots of news

2011-04-27T03:53:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! It's been some time since my last entry, but life has been hectic.

We are already living in the new apartment. It's great in many ways; it has lots of light - it's a fifth floor -, it has a newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom, and we even have a balcony., which is good now that summer is coming. But I miss greatly my old basement; it's difficult to fit everything in place without it! But I think we have managed pretty well.

Now I have my own study, with room enough for computer stuff and crafting - yay! I just have to find a place for a new sewing machine... I can't wait to open again the shop (very soon, I promise!).

My dollhouse and its contents arrived all in one piece, thanks to my careful packaging (almost piece by piece, which was a nightmare, but I did not want to risk it). I spent yesterday's afternoon putting everything back in its place. It's fun to think that the mini people has moved at the same time as me, to a house similar to the one they had :)

My absinthe stuff has also arrived safely, for which I am very grateful. It's more difficult to find dealers in Europe than it was in the States, much to my surprise. I have tasted my first absinthe brand, Philip Lasala, and I have enjoyed it very much.

Hope everybody is doing fine. I promise I will post soon pictures of the new house.

We have an apartment!

2011-03-24T02:23:00.000-07:00

Yay!!

We signed the contract yesterday, and we already have the keys. The owner needs to move out some furniture, but she said that we can move after Saturday if we want. We don't even need to pay for these last days of March :) I am dying to go and begin decorating to make it our own. This weekend we are going to go looking for a comfy mattress. We have a beautiful vintage hand-made wooden carved bed that I am eager to try. I hope I can post some pics of our new place soon.

It has been a difficult month. Both we and hubby have had 2 colds each already - I guess contamination and being in a crowded city it's not being easy on us after having been living in the green Virginia.

But we have most of our legal documentation in order, and I may even have a job in perspective (crossing fingers!). We still have not got our stuff, but the ship it's supposed to arrive in Valencia today, so hopefully we will by the beginning of April.

We arrived in Spain

2011-02-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

So, we are finally here!

We did not have a very interesting trip, which in this case is something we can be grateful for. No trouble at Dulles, our planes left and arrived on time, our luggage was not lost or stolen - thank goodness!

Both our moms were on the arrival terminal to greet us, and we did have a very nice meal. But hubby is exhausted (napping now, after 2 days of almost not sleeping). It's 5.35 PM here, 6 hours more than our standard EC time - we should be preparing for lunch now.

In any case, I hope I can have news of our new apartment soon - already looking for one!
Wish us luck :)

They say ignorance is bliss...

2011-02-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

and sometimes, just sometimes, I agree with it.

On one hand, I do believe that people should keep learning stuff until the day they die. Knowing as much as you can, and from as much topics as you can manage, it's the ideal way for me to go through life.

We are watching at home NCIS, third season. My favorite character (apart from Abby, for obvious reasons) is Ducky. Damn, the man is good! He knows a lot about a lot of different things. And the best part is, he shares the knowledge! Why people keep telling him to shut up? I want to work with somebody like him! Sign me up, right now!! But Jethro... Yes, I get he is charismatic and all that, but the guy is... Well, Ducky told him yesterday he had been waiting for 3 months to see Giselle, and Jethro muttered something about being sorry for him not been able to see his girlfriend. Imagine a co-worker of yours telling you a jewel like that. What would you think of him? Because I would personally think the guy was a dork, and uneducated, and dumb as a bucket. What would a woman on a date with him talk about? No pop culture, no cultural references, no cinema, no ballet, no theater... It's no wonder the guy has divorced 3 times! He only knows how to work, and not even that. His team does all the research for him. He can barely turn on his own computer!!

And on the other hand, even though Jethro does not watch TV (his own words), I am sure he would enjoy TV shows more than me. NCIS is quite well done in terms of scientific research, unlike CSI, which we no longer watch for that reason; the day we saw the team using a centrifuge to do a DNA analysis, we called it quits. Having a scientist watching shows with you keeps you on edge when there are mistakes about lab work. But when a popular series like Vampire Diaries does things like these, it makes me cringe:

And what is wrong with these shots, you may ask? Well, the first one is fairly obvious. They are playing football! We are taken back to Civil War years - think Gone with the wind. Can you imagine Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler playing football? Really!? Why not making them go horse riding? Play with dogs? Train falcons? Football. Right. Maybe they think audiences can not relate to the Salvatore brothers unless they are doing something that today kids do... Really? They will not see just two brothers playing and spending time with each other? Are they suggesting that young people today are really that stupid?

The second one. Not so obvious, I admit it. But a mistake, nonetheless. They are lacing the corset wrong. Corsets are laced in the waist line, not at the bottom of the back. And with a pattern of Xs method, not with shoestring lacing, since this method does not allow the corset to be fully closed. - and it ends breaking the corset. Since the majority of people today does not wear corsets, it's understandable that somebody does not know how to lace one. Well, Google is your friend. Even YouTube. Search "how to lace a corset". You'll get tutorials, pictures, even videos on how to do it properly. It takes 2 minutes. Why the costume people did not do it? Because they thought nobody would notice, or care? And they would call themselves professionals...

When seeing this, two other movies that showed corset lacing came to my mind. Titanic by James Cameron and Gone with the wind. I went to them to check. And lo and behold:

Rose is also having hers laced wrong...

But Scarlett's are OK!

Why a major production can pay attention to these things and not a popular series? Is it really because people (audience and makers) don't care? Is it because they just assume that, same as Jethro, we are ignorant and uneducated? Well, I refuse to call myself ignorant. And if I see a mistake in YOUR production, I will point it out, and announce that it is in fact YOU the one that is uneducated.

Last absinthe accessories before moving

2011-02-08T10:04:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share my last finds regarding absinthe ritual tools.

I am so happy I found this saucer! I had it on my Amazon wish list and when I went to buy it it was sold out. Luckily for me, I kept searching for it on eBay and one day I found a vendor that had some left. They seem to have disappeared from everywhere. It is a pity that Bonnecaze and Cie. has closed! Love my sugar holder too :)

Also, I got a two level brouilleur. So fun to use! No need for spoons with it, although I adore spoons... Click here for a demonstrative video.

Kubler is as of now my favorite absinthe. I did not particularly enjoy the Lucid - too bitter for my taste, even with sugar. But Kubler is fantastic! We got the bottle around Christmas, and we need to finish it before the move. You can see from the pic that we have been enjoying it :)

Corsets for all occasions

2011-02-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

Did you think that corsets existed only for tight lacing? Think again! Take a look at all these beauties:

Corset choker by ghostlovejewelry

Another style of corset choker, by 666Tristania666

Pinstripe corset choker by annaladymoon

Fingerless corset gloves by fellow Dark Sider ZenAndCoffee. I am warning you, if you visit her shop you will not be able to pick just one...

Corset display for jewelry by AustinJames

Corset bag by fellow Dark Sider beanbun. I need to get me one of these...

The original Coffee Corset by jenngee. I am the happy owner of one of her designs!

Corset cuff by JewelryliciousStyle

Sterling silver corset ring by WarpedMetals

Corset sachet filled with lavender for your drawers, by sherrilenett

And these... I want them. Right now! By lorisplace

The long absence and a new spending habit

2011-01-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

It's been some time since my last entry. Apologies for that!

I'll be moving to my home country, Spain, at the end of February. I have been very, very busy cleaning up the basement, selling the car, preparing the move and a lot more things, so my time in front of the computer has suffered as a result. I hope I can have some moments to share my thoughts now that *almost* everything has been taking care of.

I have had no time to do new mini designs, but I have been collecting some vintage botanical images and converting them to mini prints, very useful for witch and wizard libraries; I hope I can share pics of them very soon. Obviously, my shop will remain closed for some time, until we have had time to set up in Spain. I hope I can continue crafting and sharing minis, but one never knows... Wish me luck with that!

Also, I am beginning a new journey. My dear hubby gifted me a corset for my birthday. A real corset! And I have fallen in love with it, to the point that I hope I can begin to have a nice collection of them.

As with any new hobby, I have spent some time perusing the net, trying to learn as much as I can about corsets. I have already found out many things that I did not know, and I am happy to share them. I hope you forgive my enthusiasm...

First, my very first corset was not a real corset. It is what is called a "fashion corset". It has the shape, and the construction, but it is not meant for tight lacing, and it is recommended for novices and people that want a fancy look for a short period of time, such as a prom or a wedding. This video is particularly helpful if you want to know more details.

Also, here are the instructions for you to learn how to put on a corset by yourself. Previous to this video, I always required help from my husband. Not anymore! I assure you it is easier than it looks :)

And finally, pics of my corsets. Sorry they are commercial pics. I hope I can have some taken soon...

My first corset, bought some years ago. Very comfy! From Medieval Collectibles.

My second corset and first underbust. Bought a couple of years ago, and never used until last week. I made a mistake at ordering, and it is a bit big for me, but I have decided I am going to use it anyway. This is a real corset. From Shaper Corset.

My birthday gift, and used today for the first time. I got 3 people complimenting my outfit, and that made me very happy! Also from Shaper Corset.

This one arrived today on the mail. I have tried it on and it is just gorgeous! It really gives you the hourglass figure. From Orchard Corset.

I have a lot of breaking to do with my corsets, but I am definitely looking forward to it!

New Absinthe minis!

2010-12-09T07:37:00.001-08:00

As I promised, here are the new designs. The French Ban posters and newspaper:

And a new design of Absinthe bottle, after the real brand Pernod:

They are both up for sale in my shop. Sante!

More Absinthe accessories - not minis :)

2010-12-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

The brouilleur and the sugar cubes arrived!

I have already had occasion of using them both. I love the sugar cubes design; it is a pity that the Bonnecaze and Cie website is not available anymore. The brouilleur... I am not so happy about. If you are interested, you can read a review I wrote about it here.

I am currently designing a miniature sugar box that will have the logos featured in the sugar cubes' wrappings; also, I have found a couple of posters that depict the French ban of absinthe, and will have them available in miniature in my shop in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

Absinthe in the movies

2010-11-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

I watched a couple of days ago the new Dorian Gray movie - starring Ben Barnes and Colin Firth. Even though I expected it to be better than it was (big disappointment on that), I was so happy to see that they included a scene (around minute 7) in which you can see a glass with Absinthe, an Absinthe spoon with a sugar cube and a carafe of water:

It only lasts some seconds, and there are no more scenes with Absinthe on them, but it was wonderful that they depicted the French ritual in the correct way.

In case you are curious, I know some more films with Absinthe scenes on them; probably you have seen them too:
- Dracula by Bram Stoker (Francis Ford Coppola) - they prepare it with the French ritual too - one of my favorites and the best depicted Absinthe scene that I have seen.
- Moulin Rouge - they drink it as a shot, if I recall correctly.
- From Hell - Johnny Depp prepares it using the Bohemian (Czech) ritual, which by the way, was invented circa 1990, nearly a century later than when the movie takes place. Mistakes of Hollywood...

You can check the Blog in the Alandia website for more Absinthe movie clips.

Absinthe accessories - Not in Miniature this time!

2010-11-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just need to stop making minis for a while and enjoy a bit of crafting for myself. The Green Fairy has inspired these two accessories:

I did not spend a dime in this necklace - I used some bits and bobs that I had around the house. Actually, it has been years since I used the fairy pendant for the last time. Hopefully it will get a lot more wear now...

I did buy the spoons to make these earrings. Not exactly absinthe spoons, but one can forget about that small detail... They are actually quite long, I hope I don't hurt myself while wearing them!

And also, some Absinthe accessories for my home: The Absinthe Robette vintage add by Privat Livemont:

And to add to my little display, a sugar dish and a French Absinthe ceramic saucer - these were used in French bistros; every time somebody ordered a glass of absinthe the waiter would bring the glass on one of these plates, and at the end of the evening the plates were counted to know the total of the bill:

I'm beginning to have quite a collection of spoons, lol! The bottle is Absinthe Lucid.

And currently waiting on a glass brouiller and a packet of sugar cubes specially made for Absinthe... I'll let you know when they come :)

Absinthe Soap for your miniature scene

2010-11-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

Remember that post about my crafting of anise-scented soap? Well, I thought it would be nice if the mini people could have their own boxes of Absinthe soap, so I made them reality:

The box reminds me of the After Eight chocolates - they have been my favorites for a long time... I wanted to give them a decadence/luxurious feeling, just as the mint-flavored chocolate. And the color of the soaps is milky green, like real Absinthe after the louche. It was not intentional, but it is a happy coincidence. They are up for sale in my shop!

A lovely and wonderful feature, and more Absinthe minis!

2010-11-05T06:02:00.001-07:00

Some days ago I was contacted by a customer that had seen my Absinthe minis. On top of purchasing one of the fountains and tray sets, he asked my permission to use my pics to do a feature of the minis in his blog. I was delighted to learn that it was an all-Absinthe blog, in the Absinthe.fm website.

I have been biting my nails in anticipation, specially because he told me he was planning to take a pic of the minis besides a real size Moulin Vert bottle - the same brand whose label I feature in my bottles. And finally! Here it is!

Picture courtesy of absinthejack. Thank you so so much!

These are the minis of the day: a trio of real Absinthe books, made in miniature:

"Absinthe Cocktails", "The Absinthe Encyclopedia" and "Absinthe: History in a Bottle". I will be listing them separately in the following days in my shop.

Off topic - Absinthe news

2010-11-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today there is a new gadget on my blog; a little list of links that will take you to several websites with lots of info about Absinthe. Find it in the right column, under my shop gallery -->

I have had time only to peruse through them, but they are all filled with lots of questions and answers, as well as history bits and fun facts.

I have included too some links to online Absinthe merchants. Please take note of this disclaimer: the fact that I mention them does not imply that I endorse them. If you are interested in buying Absinthe and Absinthe accessories online, please be an informed customer, take your time and do your own research.

Having fun with labels

2010-11-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Since yesterday I was crafting labels for the new Absinthe bottles, I got creative and spent some time playing around with a new design for my wine bottles. Until now, they were just "Transilvania Merlot", printed in tea-stained paper with the silhouette of a bat underneath:

Cute, but kind of simple. Anyway, since the Vampire Wine has already been invented, I wanted my own private brand of Romania-inspired wine; hence, the Tepes Wine was borne:

I have always loved this portrait of Vlad Tepes, the original Dracula, and I think the color combination grabs the eye against the red color of the bottle. It will be up in my shop in a couple of days.

By the way, I would like to share with you a link to Free Label Maker; they have dozens of PDF labels for you to play with for your projects; no programs to download to make the labels and super easy to use! And free, of course!

A couple of new Absinthe designs

2010-11-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

I just can't get enough of them! This is a new model of bottle; it is made after the real Absinthe brand Red Tunel, and comes with its own elegant black gift bag. Will be up in my shop tomorrow!

And also 3 parchment posters with the Absinthe "holy trinity": wormwood, anise and fennel. For your library, botanical collection, or Absinthe collection. Already for sale!

Absinthe Sunday

2010-10-25T06:38:00.001-07:00

Not only was I included in a delightful treasury by maxemilia; there is a new Absinthe fountain up for sale at my shop. As of now, I'm out of Absinthe sets, but I have ordered more supplies to make them again. Cheers!

Off topic - Back from New Orleans

2010-10-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in NOLA!

We attended a 2-day blues concert for free, tasted Cajun food, walked up and down the French Quarter until our feet hurt, visited the cemeteries... Just wow!

Regarding the Absinthe culture of Nawlins and what I could discover...

I had hoped I could visit the Absinthe Museum of America, but much to my dismay, when we arrived the museum was closed. Not closed as in "we are done for today, please come back tomorrow", but close as in "we don't know if we will be opening again". So sad! We peeked though the windows, and actually could see some stuff, but for the most part everything was packed and the place full of boxes. Maybe they are moving elsewhere, or maybe they just closed. It was quite a bummer, because just some days before I had been reading online reviews of the place (some as new as of July 2010), and they pointed out they had a souvenir shop full of Absinthe memorabilia which I was hoping I could peruse. I didn't even took a picture of the place, it looked so abandoned that I couldn't bring myself to it.

We also saw the Old Absinthe House in Bourbon St. I wanted to taste some Absinthe over there, but my guide said that they actually did not serve real Absinthe; instead, they serve herb saint :( We finally did not go in.

I had also hoped I could buy some Absinthe. They have less alcohol restrictions over there than here in Virginia, and you can buy booze almost anywhere. Funny thing, we went into several shops and did not find Absinthe. However, we found an enchanting vintage-looking grocery shop in Royal St. that had some Pernod bottles; and another shop in Decatur St. that had a lot of variety; they even had Absinthe spoons, but everything was way too overpriced. However, it was a delight being able to look at the selections.

Regarding the dollhouse world...

We found a toy store in Jackson Square that had some dollhouses, as well as miniatures, but they were mostly from Reutter and there was nothing there that could not be found online. We also found a miniature shop for collectors in Royal St., but we did not go in.

Also, we visited the Beauregard-Keyes house in Chartres St., and the owner did have a beautiful and huge dollhouse. The guide told us that it was fully furnished, but he did not open it for us (although I am sure it could be, for the position of the outside walls), but I looked through the open windows and could actually see some of the furniture. I took some pics:

Regarding the vampire world...

We walked through the Garden District, where the former house of Ann Rice was, but we did not see it. It was out of our route, and the blues concert was about to begin. But we visited Lafayette cemetery (where Lestat was said to wander) and St. Louis cemetery N.1. (where voodoo priestess Marie Laveau is interred). I deeply enjoyed Lafayette, but I found St. Louis very care-forgotten and practically in ruins.

We also found a "Boutique Du Vampyre" in Toulouse St. They had t-shirts, period clothing (both costumes and quality material), some jewelry and other curios. They even had a station to make you some customized fangs! So fun!

But now back to every day reality! I am already working on some new Absinthe fountains for the shop, and I'll have to order more supplies for Absinthe sets. They are becoming popular!

First Absinthe Fountain up for sale!

2010-10-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I wish it was evening already so I could have a glass of Absinthe!

The first fountain has been listed in my shop! I am waiting on the arrival of some bottles, and then the Absinthe sets will be available again. Hopefully sometime next week :)

I did it! I made it!

2010-10-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

Remember some posts ago, when I talked about the Absinthe fountain that I purchased for my real size house? Contar gave me an idea that I desperately wanted to try: to make an absinthe fountain in miniature.

I spent some days thinking about the design, and today it all came together. Since my fountain is completely made of glass, and I can't blow glass from scratch, I took as inspiration the Bonnecaze and Cie N. 2 fountain:

And voila! The miniature absinthe fountain became a reality:

Can you see it on the table, next to the Absinthe set?

This design is definitely going to be on my shop. I hope I will be listing the first absinthe fountain in miniature in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

Featured

2010-09-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

My mourning line boxes have made it to Gay's website at I Dreamed I Saw, in a post about death and mourning goods (to use her words). She is also here in Blogger, so go take a look; you won't regret it.

Thank you so much for the feature, Gay!

Drinking Absinthe is going to be a pleasure

2010-09-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Totally off topic, I received today my first absinthe fountain! I am so so excited about it, and I am dying to use it for the first time, along with the absinthe glass - also new!
I'll let you know how it goes...

A macabre addition...

2010-09-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the movie "The Others"? Are you familiar with the Victorian tradition of post-mortem photography? Well, this is the new addition to my mourning line: a box full of post-mortem pics.

I did not know of this tradition, but I was quick on researching it, and I find it fascinating. We see pics as something so natural that we do not consider the money that cost producing a single picture years ago. So much money that families did not spend it in capturing images of the living. After all, they did see their family everyday. But when Death took a loved one, not only they did pictures of the deceased, they posed them as if they were sleeping. I have seen many pictures of parents with their dead babies, and there is a lovely beauty and melancholy to them...

Most of us have Victorian homes, and these pictures were definitely part of them. Maybe a forgotten box could be found in an attic or at the bottom of grandma's trunk...

A new line for Victorian fans!

2010-09-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

My mother asked me some time ago to make a pretty mini fan to go with the wedding gown in her mini shop. Obviously it had to be in white, but when I finished, I made one in black and put it for sale in my shop as a mourning fan.

It occurred to me that I could not only sell fans, but a whole line of Victorian mourning displays. Thus, the Victorian Mourning Line was born!

I have designed all the boxes myself with Victorian artwork. They all open, and some of them even have "something" inside!

I will be listing them in my shop in the following days, so stay tuned!

So happy today! Featured in a Treasury!

2010-08-31T07:39:00.000-07:00

One of my Apothecary cabinets got featured in a Treasury on Etsy, made by SerenHandCrafts:

A beautiful and dark theme, that is making me consider the "Mad Scientist" theme for my Halloween party...

By the way, there is a new set of medicine boxes up for sale in my shop.

Working on something new

2010-08-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

Since I loved so much the idea of Apothecary cabinets, I began to think about other stuff to fill them up, and then it occurred to me that there are other things in Apothecaries and pharmacies, apart from glass bottles - even though they are awesome with their tiny labels!

The idea of making tiny boxes of medicine was obvious with a visit to my bathroom, so I began the search for antique drug labels. And thus, the sets of Apothecary boxes were born!

The first set is already for sale in the Apothecary section of my Etsy shop. The second set will be up in a couple of days. The great thing about them is that you don't need to have a miniature pharmacy to display them. They will fit in any bathroom, drugstore or doctor's office!

By the way, if you like Apothecary labels as much as I do, you will love what Cathe Holden has made to her towels!

Off topic: English and Spanish languages

2010-06-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

My mother tongue is Spanish. I have learned English along the years, since I was in middle school.

Of course, when I have learned the most is when my husband and I moved to the States from Spain. It was the first time that I had really to rely on my skills to talk to and understand people. There was not a teacher in hand to help me or a book to tell me the translation of something that was being said. The lovely people that I met were SO helpful when they talked slowly and looking to my face! To this day, I dread talking on the phone because representatives often talk very fast and not pronouncing clearly.

I have read a lot of books in English - I am talking classics from the XIX Century, as well as modern literature. And naturally, spending A LOT of time on the world wide web helps too, specially to learn new vocabulary. I am better writer than I am speaker - when I talk, my mind goes very fast and I tend to mix up the pronouns (he and she) and the verbal tenses and forms.

It cost me a little bit to understand TV and movies, and we still rely sometimes in subtitles - for example with series such as "The Sopranos". Song lyrics still are tough, depending on who is singing them.

When I began to think in English, as well as talking in English in my dreams, my husband told me that I should be happy, because that means that it's becoming like a second tongue, and that I am almost bilingual.

Well, now I am writing a book in my mother tongue. And to my dismay, I am finding myself relying on my dictionary to find the translation for Spanish words FROM English! I had to look up today "involve", "cue" and "vindictive", because for the life of me, I could not find the equivalent in Spanish. In case you want to know, they are "implicar", "señal" and "vengativo", respectively.

And this happens beside the fact that I talk to my family in Spain every day through Skype, obviously in Spanish. I don't know if I should be happy or worried...

Featured!

2010-06-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

Fellow Etsian and blogger Hurray Kimmay has been so sweet as to feature one of my minis in her blog, on an entry about Apothecary decor, which I particularly am very fond of.

Thank you so much, Kimmay!

Scientist weekend

2010-06-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I are now working long hours in the lab after every body has gone. I help when I can; lately I have been going there 3 hours a day, and I can not sit for a moment because of all the work that there is to do. It is practically impossible to spend all that time between experiments without thinking "How could I do this in miniature?".

To relax tension, I have made this simple but funny vignette:

Yes, in labs there are objects chained to the wall - he said that chained containers are generally made of aluminum, not glass, but I think that seeing green stuff in a glass jar is more fun! It's available in my shop, so go grab it if you like it :)

Spending all this time in the lab has given me new energy to try and make a lab bench in miniature. I'm considering the possibility that most of the stuff that will sit there is too geek-related for the non-scientist to understand (I have made the equivalent of a Kleenex box with wipes for microscope lens - they are called Kim Wipes), so I don't know if it would sell well. We'll see...

More Absinthe crafting

2010-05-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

But this time not in miniature. This time in real-life size, and for personal use, no less!

Have you ever crafted soap? It's so much fun, and I love to do it. The down side is that I can not craft soap all the time or my cupboards would be full of bars - although family and friends get their share sometimes, at Christmas or Valentine's Day. I confess that I don't know how to do the cold process method, and that I have enough with the melt and pour system. Yes, I know it's not the same, but it works for me. And I love making, displaying and using my own soaps!

Well, having fall in love with the Absinthe scent, I wanted to craft an Absinthe soap - that is, with anise scent. It was easy to find anise oil on eBay; I bought it from Bulk Oils, and it was an easy transaction with a fast shipping. But I was dying to get one of the Victorian Blossom molds:

Isn't it lovely? I found it some time ago in Southern Soapers; I could not resist more, and bought one. And with some clear soap, lime green dye, my new mold and the anise oil, I made this:

The two white thingies inside are a couple of real sugar cubes! Not only it looks beautiful, every time I enter the bathroom I can smell the anise scent in the air...

I want to taste your blood...

2010-05-19T08:30:00.001-07:00

The Absinthe tray has not been enough for me. This time the design is more adventurous and not for the faint at heart. I made sometime ago this design for myself, and I simply love it.

My husband asked me if I was making a decanter of wine. I said, "No, look again". He did, and said, "It's blood!". Oh yes, blood for all you vampire lovers out there. No matter if you enjoy Underworld, True Blood or Twilight, this set definitely makes a statement in any diorama.

It is available in my shop. Hurry up before somebody else does!

The Absinthe Tray is finished!

2010-05-13T08:13:00.001-07:00

...and up for sale in my shop!

I love how it came out! I thought the tray was going to be too small to hold everything, but it's perfect.

I have been considering talking with Fake Food Decor (in case you don't know him, he makes the most fabulous and realistic fake food in real life size I have ever seen) and ask him to make one just like this for me. I would love to have an Absinthe display in my living room...

Visited by the Green Fairy

2010-05-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I tasted my first glass of absinthe.

It was something I was very looking forward to do; I had read so much about this drink that I wanted to try it at least once. But alas, the local shops only had big absinthe bottles (which included an absinthe spoon too), but they were expensive (almost $60), and I did not want to buy them, in case I did not like it - it would have been quite a waste of money.

But this time my husband found a tiny bottle of absinthe - only 3.4 oz, and SO CUTE - for less than $10. I was so so excited, that I even talked about the discovery with my friend and comic-provider Justin. He gave us a tip on the only place in town where to find sugar cubes (he confessed that he loves absinthe as well) and off we went for them. Next morning I hurried over to Michie Tavern to buy an absinthe spoon. Yes, I am aware that all this stuff can be found online, but I wanted it right away. And on Saturday evening we prepared the drink and enjoyed it.

It was quite a shock to find out that the most predominant flavor was of anise. When I was younger, there was always a bottle of anise-anisette "La Castellana" in my grandparents' home; and the taste of absinthe was quite similar.

To commemorate this special moment, I am going to make an "Absinthe" miniature that will be available in my shop in a few days. Even though I have made them in the past, absinthe trays are one of my favorite things to make...

The nerve of some people...

2010-04-16T06:29:00.001-07:00

It still amazes me at what lengths people can go to try to make sales...

I just deleted two comments. The first one was of someone that said s/he was sorry about my incident (in the previous post), and the second was the same, but it was signed with an URL of an Etsy shop - of miniatures.

What is wrong with people? I don't know that person; I have never bought from her (or her from me) or talked to her, or e-mailed or anything. What does she think it is perfectly acceptable to come here, and leave a spam? Because that is spam, not self-promotion; it is not even sympathy for what happened to me.

I may have come across her work at Etsy and out of my own write about it, hoping that she may have some success in this competitive world. I even write to the featured artists to let them know about it, and to offer to take down the post if they are not happy. But hey, since you are already "promoting" yourself, I guess you don't need my help.

I would "wish" you good luck and sign my comment with my Etsy shop URL, but your profile is not even available...

Confused

2010-04-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I feel. Really.

I was browsing through miniatures listings on Etsy, and I found pieces of my work on another person's diorama. Yes. One of my cabinets has been stripped down, and the pieces used for another person to create a witch house.

No, they are not copies. The potion bottles have my design on them, the filling I put on them inside, the mortar and pestle I crafted are there.

I don't mind somebody using my cabinets to fit the design of their dollhouse. That's why I don't glue the objects down, so they can be arranged to fit the taste of the new owner, to match and mix with other objects or to display in another room.

What I don't know how to take is somebody taking my work, reusing it in another display and saying to the world: "Hey look. I made this".

Lab Crafting

2010-03-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

Yup, I do not only craft miniatures, but scientific crafting too!

My dear husband is so so busy these days that I pop in at the lab when everybody else is gone to keep him company. But I like to help if I can, and this is what I have been doing lately for him to use in his experiments. Bear with me, because this is long...

He taught me how to use this lathe so I could make holes in the bottom of little Petri dishes.

Dish before the process. The part on the left is the cover.

You secure the dish in the lathe:

And using the blade of the right (and much caution) you make a hole:

Dish after the cutting

When you have made holes in 20-25 dishes, you clean them up, scratching the rests of the plastic that have not come out. If you skip this step, cells get poisoned by the scraps and then they die :(

When you have finished cleaning them, you line them up in the table and take out 30mm round glass microscope covers. You can see them inside the big round dish:

These covers have been previously treated - you clean them 10 minutes under distilled running water, and leave them inside sulfuric acid overnight. The following day you clean them again under distilled running water and put them in a stove to dry overnight. You take the glue and put a circle on the bottom of the dish:

Then you take a glass cover and stick it to the glue:

You have to squeeze out the air bubbles:

And then you put them under an UV light for one hour on each side to cure the glue. Then there is no way the glue breaks or falls. Yup, the same UV that gives you a tan in a tanning saloon (and because I know how UV lights work, you will never see me in a tanning saloon).

Whew! What a work! Good thing is, doing this saves a lot of money for the lab. A ready made Petri dish with glass bottom costs around $10 - yes, research is expensive-. And this is a nice way to lower the costs.

Oh my, what a nerd I am :)

Wow, it's been so many days?

2010-03-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life is too hectic and you forget to write even just a little bit... Well, here are some condensed news.

Hubby and I had to go to Washington DC to do some paperwork, and we stopped at the National Museum of American History; I wanted to see Faith Bradford's dollhouse. And we did! We were lucky, being a Thursday the museum was practically empty and we had some time alone in front of the fabulous dollhouse. I tried to take pics, but with the glass in front of the windows and the low lights was not very easy. Anyway, here is a sneak peak:

Mrs. Lovett's kitchen has not changed much lately. I have not had time to sit and really give it some working time; just a bit here and there. Although I bought some new things for it:

Two metal plates and a set of silver ware. I also made a bottle of gin.

And there's the new kitchen. I made too the "flour covered" dough and working board, as well as some "unbaked" meat pies.

My mom was jealous of my kitchen, so she has made room for one in her dollhouse. She moved outside the sewing room and bought new furniture to decorate it. Of course, she asked me to make a lot of things for her - and so I did. Jennifer's Free Dollhouse and Printable Minis has a lot to offer for a kitchen; grocery and laundry products of different times - both modern and vintage. My mom was so excited when she got my package in the mail yesterday! Here are a couple of pics of her new kitchen:

I stained the barrel for her. The cheese and crackers board and the bowl with the eggs are mine too. She made the white and pink apron.

The Fairy and Persil boxes are from Jennifer's web page. I made too the grocery basket's contents. And you can see in the wall the calendar with the "Kissing on VJ" picture. She made the pink cloth with roses that is hanging on a hook.

Of course, I have not finished yet. She still wants crates with fruit and vegetables, a bucket with water for the mop, a mortar and pestle, a basket with mushrooms... Oh, what did I do, introducing her in the mini-world?

...And more thank you!

2010-03-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks very very much to Gaye for giving me the Kreativ Blogger Award! Wow!

The rules for this award are:
1.Thank the person that gave it to you
2.Copy the logo and place it in your blog
3.Link to the person who nominated you
4.Name 7 things about yourself that nobody knows
5.Nominate 7 kreativ bloggers
6.Post link to the 7 blogs that you nominate
7.Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that you nominate them

I'm passing it onto...
1- Julia of Bearcabinminiatures
2- Carmen of La ventana a mi mundo
3- The Sunny Hours
4-Savannah of Miniature Mumblings
5-Jonna of BuggaBoos
6-Deb from Deb's Minis
7-Julie of Diary of an Edwardian doll's house

Seven things about me:
1- I collect plush animals - specially sea creatures
2- I always dreaded the crafting class at school because I found it very difficult; and my hands did not want to cooperate
3-I made my mother a miniature addict - and I am her supplier!
4-Scary movies make me laugh out loud
5-I have never been afraid of the dark, not even when I was a little girl
6-I still miss sometimes my first pet - my German Shepherd dog
7-I want to live in a castle; if it is haunted, much better

Thank you!!

2010-03-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much to Lara for giving me the Sunshine Award! It's the first one that I get and I feel honored! :)

The rules for the Award are:

1. Post the award on your own blog

2. Name 6 blogs you enjoy in a blog post

3. Let the 6 bloggers know you are passing the award on to them

I am happy to pass it on on the following people:
1- Arancha of Las Miniaturas de los Talis
2-Ara of Addams Family Mini-Mansion
3-Kate of The Whittaker's Miniatures
4-Annie of Obsidian Hall
5-Christel Jensen
6-Vanessa of El mini mundo de Vane

Maybe some of you already have it; if that is so, sorry! Or be happy you got it more than once ;)

Flour sacks and rolling pin arrived!

2010-02-18T06:13:00.001-08:00

Aren't they awfully realistic?
I have to re-make the dough adding talcum powder to simulate flour. I've never done that, we'll see how it turns out...
Now, waiting for the kitchen stove :)

Crafting delicatessen sweets

2010-02-17T11:23:00.001-08:00

It seems that everybody is in love with miniature macaroons lately. Maybe you are familiar with yippiekawaiiyeah? She carries lots of hand-made molds and supplies for making miniature food. Well, I wanted to try the mini macaroons myself and recently purchased a mold from her. It arrived yesterday, and the results are fabulous:

This batch is, as always, for my mother. I have to make yet the box for them, and I am working too in a box of donuts.

Interphase: Crafting minis for the baking table

2010-02-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, I know I should probably be putting on the floor or the wallpaper in the room box, but I need to consider those a bit longer, and in the meantime I did not want to waste time. So here are the first minis that I have made for Mrs. Lovett's baking table:

I am adapting the table's layout so it will be similar to the one shown in the movie. I need to craft (or buy) a lot more of kitchen stuff, but I think this first batch of pies looks delicious! My mom was impressed with the big meat pie and the eggs.

Phase 1: Building up the shadow box

2010-02-14T11:26:00.001-08:00

I have been so excited this week, and I just couldn't wait for the weekend to arrive to begin the work on the shadow box. I'm afraid I was so anxious that I did not take pictures before beginning the work :)
I asked dear hubby for help for the construction part, since it was my first time assembling and I didn't want to mess it up. After all, four hands are better than two... He was busy with some lab work, so I began the fun by staining the furniture that I bought last week:

A hutch, a working table and a buffet table. They were just unfinished - as the bottom part of the drawers shows. I used the same stain for all of them, but I applied it differently to achieve different shades of color. I wanted the table to be somehow "washed out" because of the use. After all, it has to be cleaned every time pies are made. So the top surface is lighter than the rest. The buffet table is the one that is stained most dark. It's going to be used to display the different pies offered for sale. The hutch will display some kitchen stuff - plates, jugs, bottles...

This is a pic of the floor and the ceiling being attached. The glue that I bought worked very well, and was not messy at all. After four hours of drying, we attached both sides and left everything to dry overnight. Sorry, no pic of that. It was almost 11.30 pm and I forgot to take one...

This morning I attached the frames, as well as the one that goes on top of the glass. I was so impatient to try the furniture inside the room that I did it while the frames were drying!

And I gathered up some minis that I had around and filled a bit the hutch:

And the last pic, finally, with the glass in place:

Yay! It has been a most productive weekend! I can't wait to begin to craft stuff to fill up the furniture. I think I'll spend the afternoon making pots, maybe the first pie...

Working for my mom

2010-02-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

Every time my mother says "Could you make something for me?" I get excited. It gives me much satisfaction when she puts in her scenes something hand-crafted by me; specially because, being honest, many of my minis are far from perfect. The fact that my dollhouse has not a popular theme adds to the trouble, since I can not practice with "everyday" objects. Now that I am going to begin Mrs. Lovett Pie Shop I hope I can have the opportunity to craft more usual accessories. By the way, the room box arrived yesterday! I hope I can begin with it on the weekend...

Coming back to my mother's request, these are the last minis I have made for her - sorry, the pic is not very good:

I had just bought for her a gramophone for her parlor, and she was quick to ask for some records to put near it. They are just printables, and very easy to make. I used Jim's page as a template, but I designed my own covers - classical music instead of modern pop music.

The calendar was a freebie that I got with a purchase, and since I did not have a place for it, she asked for it. But she wanted a different pic and asked for this one, called "Kissing on VJ". She saw the statue of San Diego's harbor, and simply loved it.

The pillow is a replica in miniature of one that I have for sale in my shop; she has a dress form with a wedding dress near a bay window and wanted the pillow to place next to it. It was challenging to sew the mini-pillow because the fabric is baroque satin, and as you can see, it doesn't look too good. But I am fortunate that she doesn't care :)

This is her dollhouse; as you can see, the shoes are out of scale, but she doesn't mind. The room is supposed to be the home-shop of a seamstress; hence the mannequin.

This is the inside of the room. I have made for her many of the objects here: The contents of the grocery basket - which, by the way, you can buy here -; the knitting basket of the floor, behind the stove; a blue velvet pillow on the armchair; the appointment book and the inkwell of the table; and some of the contents of the cabinet - some you can see, some you can't - two button jars, some other books, and a sewing basket. I also re-sized for her the fashion posters of the wall.
She made the standing dress and the capelet that hangs in the ironing board, and she filled up the cabinet with different fabrics and trims.

Hope you have enjoyed this peeking into her dollhouse :)

New miniature books found

2010-02-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

Perusing through Kate's blog entries, I found out about two miniature-making books.

I was aware of Sue Heaser's publications, but although I am familiar with Angie Scarr's name, I did not know she also had published books for making miniatures with polymer clay. For those of you who did not know either, here they are:

Miniature Food Masterclass: Materials and techniques for model-makers

Making Miniature Food and Market Stalls

I have ordered both, and I can't wait for them to arrive!

More on Sweeney Todd

2010-02-04T09:34:00.001-08:00

I am one of those people that when find a theme that they like, they squeeze it to death. I was watching yesterday the special features of the Sweeney Todd movie, and found out a lot of interesting facts.

The one I liked the most was founding out that the writer of the original Sweeney Todd tale was Thomas Prest, and that the original title was "A String of Pearls", published by the penny dreadfuls. Being a huge fan of Gothic literature, I ran to Amazon and found the tale available for Kindle, along with a complete version of Varney the Vampire. Of course I purchased both, and I have already begun the lecture of "A string of pearls".

I also didn't know that there was a theatrical musical version starring Angela Lansbury, and I may purchase that as well. I am going to immerse myself in the legend...

The room box is on its way!

2010-02-02T13:53:00.001-08:00

I bought the room box over the weekend and my seller shipped it out yesterday. It's coming from New York, so I hope to have it here maybe in a couple of days. I'm so so excited I can hardly wait...

I re-watch Sweeney Todd just so I could take notes on how the pie shop it's set, and I have been searching eBay like crazy looking for minis to fill it up. I am so impatient because this is the first time I will be decorating a kitchen, and there are so many things that can fit in... Of course, I want to preserve the original ambiance so the room is recognizable, but I also was thinking on how neat and clean should have been for the grand re-opening, so I am kind of mixing both the degraded and the clean state.

I found here a layout sheet so one can design the room before purchasing the furniture and know where everything goes and how much room one have left. My room box is not very big (15 x 10 x10 inches) and I don't have a lot of room, but so far, I am having fun mixing up the furniture, thinking and discarding options.

This project is giving me so much energy that I bought yesterday the BSO of the Sweeney Todd movie, and I don't get tired of hearing it... Specially "The worst pies in London" and "Have a little priest" tracks :)

The room box that I ordered

A tiny project and a big, new project...

2010-01-30T10:58:00.000-08:00

It have been sometime since I wanted to make this. My friend Arantxa gifted me with a lovely Heidi Ott top hat. Lovely, yes, but also plain. So my lady vampire friend insisted that I needed to embellish it up for her. This is how it was before:

And how it was after:

Nothing fancy, as you see, but enough to make it a riding top hat suited for a lady. Here is a pic of it hanging in the hall of the house:

The big project is something that I have been wanting to do for some time. I know that I'm not very original, and that there are people here in blogland doing it as well, but as a big fan of Tim Burton, I was dying to make a Sweeny Todd dollhouse. And recently I found a house that seems made precisely for that. Here it is:

Isn't it perfect? It even has the exterior stairs, and the place for Mrs. Lovett shop has a central door and two windows. But sadly for me, I don't have the room to have another dollhouse. I was quite upset about this, when my husband suggested that I could make a room box, because those can be hung up on the wall, and I became all excited again. I know it's not the same, but what I enjoy most is the decorating part, rather than the building up. So I am now in the hunt for a nice room box, and I can't wait to begin. I will probably make Mrs. Lovett's place first. I love the Tonsorial Parlor, but the posiblities for a meat shop are more wide. After all, Mr. Todd's room is almost empty...

Apothecary cabinet finished!

2010-01-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

It's done! I have put the last new bottle inside it today. This is how the cabinet was before changing:

Halloween sweets and chocolates boxes for the most part.

And this is how it is now:

I think it's pretty filled up... I wanted to add a couple of test tubes in the lower shelf, but I don't want it to appear excessively cluttered. I don't know... The round glass jar has leaves inside that still need to be processed. Here is a pic of the cabinet in its place inside the shop:

I just love all the different jars that I have found!

I stored the Halloween candy and the chocolate bars for future projects, but I could not bear to take out of the house the chocolate boxes, so I simply made some gift bags, and put the boxes inside them; they are currently waiting in the hall of the house to be stored away...

You can download the printable PDF for these bags here.

Birthday Give Away Winner

2010-01-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to announce the winner. Since I only got two correct entries, we tossed a coin, and the winner of the Give Away is Debbie from Tiny Treasures.

Congratulations!

Edited to add: The answer to question number 2 - What was the name of the girl victim of Carmilla? - is Bertha.
If I interested you enough to read the tale, Jonna, I am happy :)
It's public dominion, if you want to look it up in the net: Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

Oh, how I love roses!

2010-01-22T11:24:00.001-08:00

A birthday surprise from my husband.

They are not mini, but they are very nice anyway...

Birthday and minis

2010-01-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

Yay! Another year wiser! No, I am not going to say "older". It's being a birthday somehow wet; it's been raining since yesterday. But no matter, nothing is going to stop me from dressing up this evening when we go to dine...

Mr. Postman just came and delivered some cute minis from Manor House Miniatures. More glass jars for the apothecary cabinet, showing here:

They are the ones in the third and fourth shelves. Just filled up!

Also, I have been spending some minutes in placing Edgar, the pet raven, in his new stand, a Christmas gift from minibuilder. He is so happy to have a place from where he can watch everything!

Can you see him just over the book stand?

I will announce tomorrow the winner of the Birthday Give Away. You still have time (until local 12 am this evening) to participate. Just answer the question here and you can win a hand-made miniature for your dollhouse - Valentine's Day theme.

Sad news

2010-01-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

It's official. Michael's has stopped stocking up on wood miniature cabinets. I have no idea if Don Mechanics has discontinued the line or if Michael's simply doesn't carry them anymore.

I visited yesterday all the Michael's shops that I have in a 100 miles radium to stock up on cabinets for my crafts. I have only 16, and when they are gone, there will be no more.

If you would like to order a custom cabinet, please contact me through my shop.

Mini bottles and apothecary cabinet

2010-01-19T11:52:00.001-08:00

The bottles arrived today; 60 tiny glass bottles to fill up and label! Who can resist that? I had to sit down and finish the first apothecary cabinet. I am so happy how well it turned out! It will be up for sale in my shop tomorrow.

Three different kind of jars, and all of them feature reproductions of real vintage unmodified apothecary labels. And of course, a brass scale and a glass stirrer or pipette.

I made a couple of them for my own cabinet, but I have not taken a pic yet; too little changes to show it. I will wait for it to be complete before showing it again.

I am waiting for more packages with more glass goodies inside...

Birthday Give Away

2010-01-18T13:26:00.000-08:00

I will be celebrating my birthday on Friday the 22nd, and following up the tradition Debbie of Tiny Treasures has begun, I will be giving away a gift on that day.

One lucky winner will get a surprise gift - well, it's a surprise, but I will let you know some things:
- It's a 1/12 scale miniature
- It's hand-made by me
- It will fit in any dollhouse, no matter the style
- It will be perfect for your Valentine's Day

So, now some rules...

1- You have to be a follower of this blog
2- You have to answer correctly one question. Leave me a message in the Comments section; I will keep them hidden until Friday so you may not copy one another.

This is the question: What is the name of the evil main character in the story "The vampyre" by John Polidori?

You have until Friday to answer the question. I will place the name of all the people that answer correctly in a hat and my husband will pull up a winner.

To make it more interesting, if you answer correctly two questions, you will get your name in the hat two times. The second question you may try to answer is: What is the name of the girl that Carmilla the vampire kills before visiting the narrator of the story?

Good luck for everybody!

Update on the Apothecary cabinets

2010-01-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

The first round of bottles for the apothecary cabinets arrived yesterday!

They are a cute set of mini bottles in the characteristic caramel color of antique jars, and I was happy to see that the labels fitted perfectly. In fact, I was so happy with the result that I decided to make some for myself. Here is a first pic of them in my dollhouse shop:

After I began to craft the first cabinet that was going to be sold in my shop, it was painfully obvious to me that I was not going to be able to part with it, unless I had my own cabinet. So I took my food cabinet, emptied it, and began to think about the new apothecary design. Here is a sneak peak of what I have accomplished today:

The first shelf has the bottles that I normally use for potion jars; the second shelf has the new caramel bottles. All of them have a reproduction of a real vintage apothecary label. The third shelf has a candy jar that my mother sent me; I removed the lid, took out the candy canes and filled it up with tiny polymer clay Aspirin pills. The fourth shelf has a mixing bowl and a glass stirrer; I may end up painting lines on it to make it look like a pipette. Take a closer look:

There are 80 pills inside the jar... and you can see that it appears almost empty. I guess I need to make two times that to fill it up almost completely. Oh goodness!

Still waiting on two more packages with mini bottles to arrive...

Sources of inspiration

2010-01-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the Muse can strike from the most strange places...

It had been some time since I wanted to try and make a pharmacy/apothecary/laboratory supplies cabinet.

My husband is a scientist, and I can tell you, a messy table/bench is the last thing you need if you want your work to be successful; dirt can spoil many hours of work if you are dealing with cells, and a glass left in the wrong place can finish in the floor with all your precious DNA inside. So I am not very fond of cluttered furniture, not even when it is in miniature. That's why all my cabinets are so tidy - blame it on the hours that we had to spend in the lab when experiments don't come out OK. I figure that if tidiness is necessary in real scale, more so in the cabinet of a skilled witch or wizard. Think about the protocols that are described in magic books and that you have to follow to the last detail... Anyway, the idea of the mad scientist or Victorian chemist have been going around my head, but I was not sure about how to bring them to reality.

Yesterday I put on a CD that I had not listened to in a long time. It's from Attrition, and it's called "All mine enemys whispers". It is inspired by the story of Mary Ann Cotton, who was sentenced to death in 1873 for killing children with arsenic. Attrition's Martin Bowes is a descendant of the arresting officer, Police Sergeant Tom McCutcheon.

And then the vision stroke me! I saw a dark chemist in London, where this woman went to buy the poison; the unsuspected pharmacist who sold it to her; the neatness of the filled jars in the shelves...

Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, Alexandria

Right now I am on the hunt for different kinds of glass jars to fill the cabinets, and I am already working on the labels, which will be, of course, reproduction of real vintage pharmacy labels.

I hope to have a new line of apothecary cabinets, parallel to the magic cabinets. Science is as much part of my world as it is fantasy. How contradictory the human race can be... Will you come with me on my journey?

Dollhouse accesories from jewelry findings

2010-01-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

I was doing some shopping at Michael's today and found some lovely jewelry findings that may work well in a dollhouse setting.

They belong to the Madame Delphine's collection. I saw some charms small enough that would look lovely on a dresser, as well as mirrors framed with delicate Victorian flowers that could belong on a bedroom or parlor. Here is a link to the collection.

If you have a chance go take a look before they are gone!

Refurbishing the shop

2009-12-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

I always knew that my magic shop was not finished yet; even though it wasn't possible to stock up on more items, I was far from satisfied with it. So, inspired by the lovely Wise Ways Emporium (Deb's magic shop), I looked for new furniture for mine. I was very lucky, and found a double shelf that had just the exact measurements. So, here is a sneak peak...

Before:

After:

Even though it looks almost filled, I can assure that there is still plenty of room to add goodies. The black "wicker" shelf will be up for sale in my shop in a couple of days, filled up with witchy artifacts, so stay tuned...

Finished bed

2009-12-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

The finished bed! I'm very happy how it turned out, specially since it's the first one I have made. The sheets are satin, the bedspread is velveteen and the bed skirt is lace. Two sleeping pillows and one decorative pillow with a black rose complete the ensemble. I have put it up for sale in my shop. I hate to part with it, but there is no more room in my dollhouse. I hope it can find a good new home...

A hobbit's doll house

2009-12-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

Some time ago, I blogged about the idea of making a hobbit hole as dollhouse. Well, somebody else had the same idea, and just recently came across a blog in LiveJournal. ObeliaMedusa had posted some fabulous pictures of her astonishing hobbit dollhouse. Take a look, because this is a delightful work!

Polymer Clay Dollhouse Books

2009-11-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

I have came across many tutorials to make dollhouse books; one of them taught how to make them out of polymer clay, like this one here. I didn't think that polymer clay books looked real enough to display them in my dollhouse, so I learn from one of Sue Heaser's books how to make them out of paper.

But oh surprise! Browsing through Etsy I found that BlueKittyMiniatures had listed a Book of Shadows, with a lovely pentacle on the cover. Carol is famous for her delicious cakes:

Although she sometimes surprises us with cookie jars:

And knitting bags too:

And she currently has available some others magical and whimsical books as well.

I know that Carol doesn't repeat her designs many times, so I snatched it. It just looked so lovely in the picture that I didn't mind that it was a "dummy" book, a book that doesn't open because it is made out of clay. In fact, I wanted it to display it over the lovely book stand that minibuilder had made for me.

So, this morning it arrived all the way from the UK, and it is simply fantastic! I am amazed at the details in the binding and the way the pages are worked. Here is a pic of it, over Ray's book stand:

I guess it's all in the bookmaking technique, because this is one of the most realistic books I have seen! I will have to practice my own skills...

Furniture in dollhouse scale

2009-11-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

That's what you will find at minibuilder. Ray is an awesome carpentry artist that makes furniture from scratch in the most precious woods. He is available for custom work, and his designs are fantastic. Besides, you will not only find the classic dining rooms, chairs, coffee tables and shelves; Ray sometimes surprises us with out-of-the-ordinary furniture like this amazing coffin:

Oh, how I wish my vampire lady slept in a coffin! But she says she is so happy with her recently acquired bed from Wightcrafts...

I have been a fan of Ray's work for some time, and just recently custom ordered a tall book stand for my vampire lady' study. It arrived this morning, and it's fantastic:

I had been looking for one of these for some time. Ray was excellent to work with, and my order was ready very fast - and shipped fast too! I am currently waiting for an special book to arrive to display over the book stand - also artist made, more on that in the future...

A very unusual but very cool bed...

2009-10-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing through the new listings for dollhouses at Etsy, and I came upon this beauty from huesdesigns:

So unique and so well-thought! I love how it includes a bit of soil under the coffin! Many people have forgotten than, according to traditional vampire lore, vampires have to rest in the soil that created them to keep their powers- that means they had to have soil of the land in which they were born as vampires. Why did you think Dracula traveled with coffins full of dirt?

If my lady vampire wasn't used to luxurious beds and fabrics will very much like to have a bed like this one!

ITS HERE! IT'S HERE!!!!

2009-10-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

Pardon the all-caps title, it's just that I am so so excited and happy (clapping hands and doing the happy dancing)! The Tudor bed arrived and it's so SO beautiful!!

I just finished re-arranging the bedroom and wanted to share some pics.

Before:

And after:

Let me share with you the insight of some of the decorations of the bedroom...

The reading corner. My lady is a great fan of the classics, and so she is surrounded by "Carmilla", "Frankenstein" and "The rhyme of the ancient mariner". She also is fond of writing her diary while having a glass of Vampire wine. On the wall there is a map of the Middle Earth.

Breakfast is ready! An artisan-made tray with a silver goblet and a carafe filled with fresh blood.

A corset, a garter and a garter belt abandoned on the floor. Maybe the remains of a night of passion? On the trunk, a box of red roses and a box of chocolates brought by her lover. On the wall, two portraits of Edgar Allan Poe and J.R.R. Tolkien. Some people say she knew them quite well...

Oh, look! The bed has a cupboard underneath. Perfect to keep out of sight that pitcher and basin. And a bed warmer, for those long Winter nights...

Can you honestly say you wouldn't spend a night on this bed? Mmmm, I wonder why I feel such an urge to go see "The Tudors" TV series right now...
Don't forget to check Wightcrafts new designs!

Working on my bed...

2009-10-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not laying on my bed while working! I am working on dressing my old dollhouse bed while my new Tudor bed arrives. I was inspired by debsminis' beautiful beds, and wanted to try and make my own.

It didn't occur to me to take a picture before beginning the process, but here is a catalog picture of how my bed was dressed when I purchased it - my bed is a different model, though; doesn't have a canopy:

Quite simple and unoriginal, right?

When I began to change the house setting for my vampire tenant, I did not want to spend much time working with fabric, so I simply laid a burgundy velvet bedspread over it and made a couple of throw pillows:

You can see the ivory bedding underneath.

Well, the make-over began yesterday. I chose a burgundy and black theme, to be in sync with the rest of the house. What can I say? My vampire loves those colors! The fabrics of choice were lace, satin and velvet. Luscious and decadent. I'll post pics when it's finished...

Bedrooms... My favorite room of any house

2009-10-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Even though many of us spend much of our free time in the living room - with friends, family, enjoying meals, football games, reading, listening to music, watching movies, doing crafts - I have always considered the bedroom the "sanctuary" of any home.

Think about it. It's the place when you go when you like to be alone with your thoughts. Or to write in your diary. Or to rest when you are sick. Or to cuddle with your other half. Only your most beloved people are allowed in this room. It's my favorite room to decorate, and the one that is the most true reflection of what I am. And this applies to my real-life house and my miniature house!

I was browsing through Etsy yesterday and I simply fell in love with Wightcrafts beds and furniture. I was fairly familiar with the Tudor housing style, but Leslie's designs are so well made and so affordable! I bought one of his Tudor beds immediately, and I can't wait for it to arrive. My dollhouse bedroom is going to have a make-over, and I am dying to begin with it!

Here is a sample of Leslie's work:

I understand that this kind of beds are not for everybody, though. So if you are looking for a Victorian style, or a more modern kind of bed, you can not miss out debsminis creations! Her beds are deliciously made, and her way of arranging the fabrics is simply outstanding. It's like somebody just tossed them aside! My all time favorite of hers is the Victorian sleigh bed:

From modern animal print sofas to luscious bed and bunks, she is certainly worth a visit! You can also check out her work on her web page. Everything is to die for!

The camera obscura pictures in miniature

2009-10-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes browsing through a regular miniature catalog can inspire you. Are you familiar with the camera obscura? Before the regular picture camera was invented, people could take a "shadow" or silhouette of their profile to display in frames, as we do with regular pictures. See an example HERE. You can even find frames with silhouettes pictures in miniature that are commercially produced.

But I have a problem with such portraits. Who are the people in them? As the same with antique photographs, why would I want a stranger in the sanctuary of my dollhouse? So, I search for a person that I would like to hang on my dollhouse. My vampire friend is very fond of Thomas Jefferson and his life accomplishments. Did you know that Jefferson owned a camera obscura, and that there is a wall full of frames with silhouttes pictures of his family hanging in one room of Monticello? Well, I found a beautiful silhouette (it even has his signature!), and framed it:

This is how it looks like hanged in my dollhouse's parlor:

Crafting sweets

2009-09-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

As mentioned some entries below, I purchased some round tin boxes to turn them into patisserie boxes. It was such joy to make these, with the help of the Kemper cutters! It took me more than I expected, but I wanted them to be simply perfect. I am so happy how they turned out:

Shortbread cookies box and chocolates box. They both have colored tissue paper on the bottom, and the sweets are glued in place. I was very lucky to find a picture of the typical Danish butter cookies tin to decorate one of the lids!

This is how they look inside the pastry cabinet, in my dollhouse shop:

I made another chocolate box for the living room, to accompany the Absinthe tray. What is Absinthe without a bit of dark chocolate indulgence?

Probably the next cabinet that I'll do for my shop will have at least one chocolate box - this time made from scratch - as well as sweets, or Halloween goodies. We'll see...

Miniature custom made cakes

2009-09-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

When browsing around for ideas to include in my dollhouse pastry shelf, I came upon Dollhouse Delights' shop, and I found this lovely cake:

Dollhouse Delights offers to make a miniature replica of your special occasion cake. Isn't it a wonderful idea? The one in the picture is simply beautiful; my lovely vampire would definitely like one just like it!

Making miniature delights

2009-09-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Browsing the work of great miniature artists that featured little chocolates and cookies with the most whimsical forms I could not help but wonder "How in the world can they make something so tiny?" The answer is simple: cutters! Trivial, right? Well, wrong. Most of the cutters I found at craft stores or Amazon were designed to make jewelry or beads. Not knowing any brands, it was quite difficult for me to find cutters for miniature work.

Until the day I searched for "miniature cutter" on Etsy and came upon the brand Kemper. I was quick on purchasing a set of five, and I couldn't wait for them to arrive and begin experimenting. This is my first set of "shortbread cookies" made from polymer clay - they are a gift for my mom:

In the following days I am going to make more of them, as well as chocolates, to decorate the miniature tin boxes that I mentioned some days ago. Can't wait to see them finished!

Rewards

2009-09-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's truly a pleasure when you add a final touch to an object. I purchased this gorgeous and out-of-the-ordinary Gothic chandelier, and although it's been hanging on its place for some time, I just added the candles. I hand-made them from polymer clay - believe it or not, the holes in which they sit are too small for commercial candles.

My house does not have electric light - I just prefer it that way -, and all the commercial chandeliers that I found were too "normal looking" for my theme. This one comes from janetplanet1 on eBay. She does not have them usually in stock, so keep on checking if you want one!

Hectic August

2009-09-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's almost Fall and it's been some time since my last entry!

On my behalf I would say that it's been quite a hectic August; we went on vacation to Baltimore and Philadelphia, were I have begun a new collecting habit - penny coins. Sure you have seen those machines that you put a penny into and it squeezes it and engraves a design. No? Then, take a look at the Penny Collector web page.

I have been browsing a lot, looking for inspiration for new designs; also making little treasures for my mom's dollhouse; and of course, hunting for new objects for my own dollhouse.

I have purchased some little treasures since last time I shared pics, so here they are:

A whimsical working hourglass for the magic shop; a bit expensive, but worth the price, I think

A door bell for the shop

The lovely mortar and pestle for the study

An unusual book buggy; all these four come from Kerbey Lane Miniatures on eBay

I have been refining my chocolate boxes making technique; I bought a punch to make the top and the bottom more attractive than a simply square. And recently I have acquired some molds to make the bonbons and cookies.
I am waiting for some tin round boxes to arrive to begin crafting like crazy!

Trying some new objects...

2009-07-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Of course, I have watched the most recent movie of Harry Potter. Playing around in my head with new ideas for miniatures based on the popular books, I came up with this cabinet to sell on my shop:

Although the potion and the spirits bottles I have made before, I wanted to try something new, and made this cabinet thinking not on a laboratory, but more on a kitchen. The crate that holds the pumpkins I made it from scratch - it's my first one, and I am quite proud, as well as with the unicorn horns. The apples and the mushrooms were not difficult (not the first time) but I put the mushrooms over a page of an old issue of "The Daily Prophet" that is printed on a replica of parchment paper.

The pumpkins are Putka pods, that are seeds that are shaped like mini pumpkins.

So much fun to make!

Recycling old objects

2009-06-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

When I redesigned my dollhouse to fit the vampire theme, I took out a lot of objects that didn't have a place on it. Many of them are now in my mom's dollhouse. But I have been able to recycle some others.

One of them used to be a quite ugly wood jewelry box, its inside covered in baby blue velvet, with a pearl necklace on display. Although it is not very clear in this picture, this is how it was before:

Here is a catalog picture of the box:

My mom helped me to remove everything from the inside, and I re-made it into a Tarot card box. I covered the inside with red velvet paper, and decorated the lid with a golden sun charm. Now it rests in my dollhouse's shop window:

Crafting with my mom part 3

2009-06-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

While my mom was making all the clothes, I was busy with a new project for my dollhouse. She brought me a pretty cabinet that she didn't need anymore, and I wanted to recycle it for my vampire's study. It was a cabinet from a collection called "Rustic Mediterranean House". This is how it was before - I took out the glass covers from the doors before taking the pic:

As you can see, it is quite lovely, but not suitable for my dollhouse theme. So I turned it into this:

I liked the pattern of the lines, so I kept them, but I painted the cabinet black and the lines in a beautiful burgundy/wine red - mom helped to choose it. The drawer does open, and I covered its inside with a paper that looks like suede, in the same burgundy as the lines. This is how it looks like in the study, with all the accessories already in place (I am waiting for a brass mortar and pestle to add to the lower shelf):

My mother was more anxious than me to see it finished. She wanted to see it in its place before leaving for Spain. She got her wished fulfilled!

Crafting with my mom part 2

2009-06-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after finishing the cloak, my mom entered a sewing frenzy and decided she wanted to make a dress for her dollhouse. Something simple, but recognizable if layered over a bed or ironing board. She made a lovely black velvet dress with spaghetti straps. When she finished, she decided the burgundy taffeta fabric looked much more interesting, and she made this dress:

Isn't it lovely? Well, she made a matching capelet too:

After that, she decided that she did not want the black dress anymore, so I took it for me. And she was so nice as to make another one for me, this time in burgundy:

They both hang now in my closet. I went online after that to order some nice wood hangers... I'm waiting on them :)

Crafting with my mom

2009-06-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post. My mom came to visit, and we've been very busy! Apart from all the stuff you do when you have a relative visiting, we have been crafting for our dollhouses. It's much more fun when we do it together!

Some posts ago, my friend and team colleague Hexotica suggested that I put a velvet cloak hanging from a hook. I am not very good at sewing, so I asked my mom to make the cloak for me. And here it is:

She says it looks like a ghost. Now that I see it on picture, it looks to me like the cloak of the Grim Reaper :D

The lady you can see in the frame is my grandma, when she was young.

Found a fun project...

2009-05-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

Every dollhouse needs a box of chocolates! Yes, even one owned by a vampire. Vampires have visitors, you know?

When I found the blog of miniaturist Debbie, I knew I wanted to try her design of chocolate boxes. It didn't take me long, and here are the results:

The one with the black rose is for me; my vampire has a glass counter with sweets in her shop. Who said witches don't like to pamper themselves? So, the box with the black rose will go there.

The other one is for my mother. She simply loves miniature food! As soon as I show her Debbie's design she wanted one for herself. Wish granted!

Having fun with Jim's Printables

2009-05-06T10:42:00.001-07:00

LOL, I couldn't help it! I needed to stuff the counter of my dollhouse shop with money! I know they won't be visible on display, but that doesn't matter.

Since the dollhouse is supposed to be in Knocturn Alley, the central drawer holds the common European currency, the Euro. In the left drawer there are US bills, and the right one holds checks. What a kerfuffle for the accountant that balances the books!

Well, not every customer deals in galleons...