A Periwinkle Day

Hello there!

A few life changes here. We have moved state and traveled from Illinois (urgh) to Nebraska (yay!) and currently reside in scenic Omaha. We love it.

In the midst of moving, there was so much miniature stock that I decided to get the Etsy shop filled up again. I was on a roll for awhile there and then my hours at work got so out of hand that the shop suffered. Well, that job was lost ages ago so plenty of time for painty days. Joy.

I guess the miniature teams have had a shuffle on Etsy so I've moved from Team MIDS (it was disbanded) to Team Miniature Art. Great to be back in the swing of things again.

Started the ball rolling with periwinkle (my favorite) and this adorable cottage dresser. Periwinkle things nearly always stay in Jemjoopland but we'll sacrifice just this one *wink

Currently listed in the shop


(I know, right?!)

Happy Mini Making!

Miniature Bedroom Roombox for Pukifee girls

BJD

Littlefee "Flora" http://featherfall.ca http://dollfairyland.com

Well, like I needed a new hobby in my life...but I seem to have found one.

Dolls, surprisingly, haven't really been an interest of mine even though I'm a miniaturist. Mainly I specialize in furniture and accessories as houses in general are a real passion of mine. I took a few miniature doll classes but never really got that doll bug.

Then this past February, my wonderful friend Kim was downsizing her Blythe collection and was extremely (extremely) kind in sending two my way (thanks Kim!), a Pow Wow Poncho and an I Love You It's True. So I have been having much fun ever since customizing their faces and outfitting them from Etsy and eBay. My husband then bought me a lilac-haired Prima Dolly Violetina in March that I had been drooling over, that one was customised by Tam at http://dollymolly.etsy.com


Soooooo, last Saturday I took these three Blythe girls of mine and went to a doll meetup in Madison, Wisconsin that was a semi-Blythe/BJD group called Dairyland BJD. Members from IL & WI get together a few times during the year and this was the summer meetup. It was potluck so everyone brought a dish to share. The dolls were set up at various tables and there were also sale tables where you could buy or trade doll items. My favorite were the three panel discussions: How to Restring a Doll, History of Dolls, and Making Doll Clothing. They were mostly Dollfie; Super Dollfie (SD) and Miniature Super Dollfie (MSD) and various other smaller types.


Ball Jointed Dolls (BJD) have moveable neck, elbow, wrist, waist, knee, and foot joints and are interesting because they can hold poses and artists are making them quite realistic. Inside their bodies are elastic bands and some can even stand on one foot. Great for photographs. I won't post individual dolls from the show as the owners might take copyright issue, but there are some pictures above from various BJD supply websites. You could also search BJD, SD, or Dollfie on Flickr.

Soul Doll SD "Gisele" http://denverdoll.com

They were amazing at the show, they measure from 70 cm (2.5') down to 17 cm (8.5") and included individual faceups, clothing, tattoos, wigs, custom eyes, etc. The sky is the limit. One of the members also made a likeness of Johnny Depp and another is working on a Cate Blanchett doll. There was an exact replica in style and costume of Mary Tudor and Ann Boleyn. People are really so talented.

S&G SD Elf "Afta" http://denverdoll.com

So I'll be mulling this one over and looking around at bodies, heads, and various body parts and don't be surprised if a BJD pops up on the sidebar under those three super cute Blythe girls. Fair warning :O)

Any other BJD fans out there in blogland?

New Flower Jugs 1/12 & 1/24

Just added to the
shop

Skull Domes, Floo Powder, & Witchy Tags

1/12 Miniature aged plastic skull domes for your Harry Potter or Halloween setting. Just two of these made and each are slightly different. Just added to the shop



1/12 scale miniature 1/2" wide pot of Floo Powder for your fireplace "Diagonally!"



Witchy Hat Tags

Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms Teacher at Hogwarts

A few years back I attempted a handmade 1/12 doll and chose Filius Flitwick, Harry Potter's Charms teacher..."wingardium leviosa" and the feather lesson from the first film. I had the pleasure of taking a Rik Pierce class called Tanglewood and thought Professor Flitwick's classroom would be an interesting scene to build. His classroom is still in the works but he's all ready to report for lessons this Autumn when term starts.

We're all excited here about Half Blood Prince being released this week so in honor of the new film I'm posting little Professor Flitwick.

Miss Sally World, an incredibly talented UK artist, made the head and hands from the still movie pictures and I made the body and dressed him. He's got small clay shoes and a fancy vest with tiny golden bead buttons. His wand is a regular old toothpick, shaped and painted, and Sally kindly molded his hand just so he could hold it.

Have a magical week :O)

Edit: This is the Tanglewood room box


and the interior is on my webshots (can't seem to copy it over full size)

Mini Tips

Simple, but ingenius. This is a little tip shared by Ladybug Sue Thwaite. I was privileged to take her Baby House class when we were living in England. She was over there for Miniatura . The class was 1/90th and involved lots of tiny tinies that had to be glued, painted, and otherwise manipulated so she provided us with sticks and blue tack. Very useful, and you can just rework the sticky tack when it gets too messy or painted. Just flip it over and re-use. Sue has a million great ideas.

Another tip for getting around little edges and corners is to use small emery boards. Even better when you cut the boards in half or thirds to get right in there. These were on display near the checkout of our old "chemist" and it occured to me, while waiting for a prescription, that these would be a little bit better than using just a folded piece of sandpaper. Somewhat easier on the hands if you've got a lot of work area, because the card backing provides structure.

The Great American Dollhouse Museum

The Great American Dollhouse Museum is now open and is located at 344 Swope Avenue in Danville, Kentucky 40422

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11:00-5:00
Closed Sunday and Monday

Admission: $7.00 adults; $5.00 children 2-12

6,000 sq. ft. of artisan quality miniatures, sounds like an amazing place to visit. Hundreds of historically accurate houses, educational classrooms, a hands-on playroom for the little ones, and a gift shop for all budgets make this an inviting family trip. (Not to mention the fact that it is blessedly air-conditioned.) Sure makes me want to load up the car and head over there.

Also, check out "Get Involved" section for dollhouse builder and seamstress volunteering.

Follow Lori on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DollhouseMuseum

Halloween Spooky Witch Dresser

Yes, it's still June. It's probably the nature of miniatures to think ahead in terms of holidays and I've got Halloween on the brain for the last couple of weeks. I had great plans for Halloween miniatures last year in the run up to Autumn & Christmas. We had just gotten a hard-won Dolls & Miniatures category at Etsy and all systems were go. But best laid plans and all that. I ended up on bedrest for little Olly and made very little for either holiday. I'm going to make all that great stuff for this year instead.

In the meantime, this 1/12 Spooky Witch Dresser (sold on ebay) was a real hoot to make back in 2006. There were all sorts of goodies crammed in every which way on shelves and behind doors. Witchy poo's stripey socks have been washed and hung up to dry, and she's got a permanent lager tap in one of her cupboards. Burp! Her multi-colored spellmaking candles line the shelves and she's baked a cake full of eye of newt. There is a skeletal hand holding a poisoned apple, jam jars filled with all manner of things you shouldn't be preserving, and behind one of those cupboard doors is actually the mummified remains of a postman skeleton still dressed in all his finery and clutching his little leather bag. We never did find out what he did to make her so cross. Enjoy! :O)