Update on This Is No Mini

This is a picture of 2 of the 3 alligator trappers who are here to try to remove that big gator that hangs around the pool. They carry polls and bows and arrows and they are currently trying to call the gator.

Rooster Kitchen in Miniature

I am working on making a rooster kitchen and you'll see here a Michael's hutch that I've decorated with plates of roosters that I made, and a hand-made kitchen table that's got an egg being made for something. I also made the little tea pot from clay but purchased at a garage sale the various birds shown there.

Gingerbread Scene

This was fairly easy to make, and fun as well because I had to make some gingerbread and some ginger cookies to get the models. :) There is a little bowl with the gingerbread mixed in it on the table, so again, I wanted to know exactly what the real thing looked like. I made gingerbread men cookies by first cooking polymer clay after rolling it out thin and texturing it, and then after cooking I just used a paper punch to make the cookies. I found a book on Christmas cookies and used that as the background for the scene, for the walls, with a page open showing gingerbread cookies. I used a pen to scribe in boards on the luan plywood floors, and then stained that. I really like using that plywood to simulate wood floors.

This is no mini!

I was thrilled to find my dream house and have been busy moving in for the last few weeks, so I haven't had time for my crafting. However, although I thought this place was perfect, as you can see in the picture, what visits the dock often isn't so perfect. Well, hopefully I'll get back to my minis soon.

Miniature Boulangerie

I bought the ceramic baker at a dollar store and just looking at him makes me smile, so I decided to create a bakery for him. The breads and bowls are all of polymer clay. Some of the baskets were made by a friend and some are painted metal baskets from a thrift store.

Fimo Bowls

I've been testing some of the newer Fimo special effects clays and this mustard-colored clay had flecks in it that I thought might work for old ceramic "yellowware" mixing bowls. I've learned I prefer Fimo to Premo for bowls and plates because it is more flexible and less brittle for me. I need to add an elastic clay for Premo to prevent the breaking of such thin pieces.

Experimenting with bricks

I pressed terra-cotta colored clay onto a metal brick mold so see how it would look in clay. After baking this test piece, I wiped on a white acrylic paint, taking most off the raised areas. I'll try to make a fireplace with it next.

Real Gold Leaf Plates

My grandfather gave me some genuine gold leaf that's about a hundred years old and was made in Germany. I used a little of that to cover polymer clay and create these dollhouse plates. The crackle finish comes from rolling the clay a bit after adding the gold.

Miniature Produce Stand

Fruit and vegetable stand

I built the stand in a peaches crate and used polymer clay for all of the fruits and vegetables. It's all in 1:12 scale.