A New Project, Thank you and Welcome

I've been at a stand still with Jaynie's Loft for some time now.  I have so many ideas but nothing seems to be coming together.  I keep trying to work out a floor plan and not getting anywhere.  So I've decided to put it to the side for a bit, with the hope that I will be able to see things clearer when I come back to it.

I've decided to work on the  Farmstand kit  that I bought recently,  I will need to add to it, to make it a few inches taller, so Jaynie doesn't bump here head.  I was planning to add a stone textured base to raise it up but that would raise the window/counter up too high.   I will have to figure out how to add to the top.

I'm doing some straightening up and organizing while I gather some of the supplies that I will be using, then I hope that this project will go together smoothly.

I'm also planning to add links to any tutorials and printies that I use to  M's Lists  as  Project  - Farmstand and garden.


I want to send a big Thank You  to  Drora  for the wonderful gifts that she sent.

How luck am I to have such a generous and talented  friend .

Look at all the lovely little things that she has shared.

The flower and the water cooler will work great with the farmstand, all of the rest will go into Jaynie's Loft. (If I can ever figure it out)

BTW  all the gifts are sitting on a  vinyl  floor tile, I'm thinking that it may make a good base for the farmstand.   What do you think?

 Here is a close up of the upper floor of the dollhouse,  I just keep looking at all the amazing details.  I love the little mirror over the dressing table.













And here's the lower floor, doesn't the sofa look very comfy with the tiny pillows.

Jaynie also sends a big thank you and a great big hug.









I want to send a late but warm welcome to 4 new followers who all have wonderful blogs.

Rosario  of  Tinkerbell and Casitas  who recently posted pictures of cute little Ada, a fairy baby that she made.   Jaynie went by for a visit, now she wants me to make her a  blender  and a few  baskets  like the ones that Rosario made so nicely. 

Fabiola of   The Magical World of Fabiola  who just won the 'you inspire me blog'  award.  She  has listed 5 of her habits, so it's a good time to visit and get to know her a bit.   She is working on a pretty little shop which she is filling with beautifully detailed items.  Fabiola is also offering her followers a chance to win some lovely baby items with her  300 followers giveaway , ends May 17.

Lucy of   Evalina Rose   makes amazingly tiny knit items with so much detail.  She recently showed her handsom little bear,  I'm looking forward to reading more of the story of Humble and his friend Pie.   Lucy has also been working on making some darling mini babies and other lovely items in clay.

Heather  of  The Majokko Shop  has cute and creative blog featuring her sweet little friends.   Anna has been very busy lately, she shared how she made a very nice little paper house, she also enjoys Treasure Hunting AKA Geocaching  with Heather, they have had some fun adventures and found some nice little treasures.

Thank you for visiting, Mary

Welcome and Thank You

First I want to send a warm welcome to

Luisa of   la casa di Lu  who has a wonderful blog that showcases many beautiful minis in shabby chic style.  Luisa is also having a  give-away  where she is generously offering the chance to win some of her mini treasures. 

Second  I want to send a big thank you to Maria of   Pretty Things Ireland   for sending me a package full of wonderful gifts.

 Look
Maria even decorated the container and included a lovely postcard, isn't she sweet .

I just love the comforter and pillows, the colors and pattern are so pretty.  

I really did a poor job taking a picture of this, you can't really see the beautiful lace trim. 

Little fabric baskets that are just perfect for Jaynie's kitchen.

A rose in a vase, a pretty tray, tiny fancy soaps, perfume bottles

and look at the cutest little bunny.   I've been looking for one but had not found one that I liked.  I really like this one, he will go outside Jaynie's loft, either wild in the garden or as a pet in a hutch.

 And so  many tiny treasures that I'm sure I missed something.

Some beautiful fabric to help decorate Jaynie's loft.

Another pretty tray, tiny necklaces, a gift bag, a calla lily,  bows, plaques, butterflies, a cat, darling button  flowers,

and bread, Jaynie will never be hungry.




Thank you Maria, I love every little bit and will enjoy using them.   I'm going to try to copy and make more fabric baskets and fancy soap for Jaynie, they are so cute.

Thank you for visiting, Mary

The Post Office Was Fast

Kathi    and  Maria   both received their gifts that I mailed out just last Friday.   Now I can show you some pictures.

For Maria in Ireland I made a Christmas storage tote and ornaments.

Heres a closer look at the ornaments.

I also sent some beads that could be used for ornaments.

I finished the edges on this piece of woven fabric.  It could be used as a table cloth or a baby's blanket.  I really like the colors.








And some findings.  (sorry  for the blurry picture)

I also sent a piece of fabric that I like for rugs, some small zip top bags, a roll of Christmas tape (I used this to decorate the tote).   And a salt shaker that I thought made a good trash can, then I noticed that the top also  made a nice large bowl.   

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                 

I also gathered a few beads, a bit of greenery,  a small piece of my favorite fabric and some other bits and pieces.


I also sent  an undecorated pine wreath and 2 small silver frames that I did not get pictures of.    You can see  pictures on   Maria's blog .

I also made Kathi a Christmas storage tote,  I made some of Kathi's ornaments in her favorite colors.

Some beads, some beachy ones and a few others.  These could be used to make more ornaments or something else.  I'm sure Kathi will find some very creative ways to use them. 

The sparkly beads look very orangy on my computer, they are actually silver.

Some little bits and pieces.

And a few more things in Kathi's favorite color.  I couldn't resist the color of this tape.  I look forward to seeing how Kathi will use it, big or small.

I bought a roll for myself also,  I'll show you how I use it after I figure it out.  I saw a video on YouTube on making a wallet with duct tape, I may give it a try.

And some glass beads in Kathi colors.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing all my little things. 

Thank you for visiting, Mary

Gifts from Rachel

I received beautiful gifts from dear  Rachel a couple of weeks ago, while I was sitting with my swollen toe up.  These lovely gifts brightened my day.

This beautifully detailed corset,  all the little bits of lace, ribbon and tiny beads, it's just perfect.   I love the tiny flower print fabric.

"Look at the beautiful hat, it's mine"  That's Jaynie, she grabbed it and put it on right away.
This is just so amazing, the tiny flowers, you can't see it from the picture but the green one is sparkly, so very pretty.  I just love love those feathers.

"They have to have another Royal Wedding now that I have the perfect hat." 

I don't think that's going to happen Jaynie, but  I agree it is a great hat.

And a beautifully stitched mat and 2 cakes.
I love the colors and pattern, so nice. 



Rachel got over her fear of Fimo with great success.  Look at the orange and kiwi slices, the whipped cream, yummy!

Thank you so much for these great gifts, Rachel.  I love everything,  now I have to start planning a way to display them, so that I can look at them all the time.

Thank you for visiting, Mary



PIF Swap Gifts

Rachel of miniaturemaid has received the gifts that I sent her for the PIF Swap.  Now I can show you what I sent to her.

I made Rachel a few books and bookends,  but one of the books was not an ordinary book.  It has a secret compartment that can hold a secret treasure, so I made a tiny necklace with a Swarovski crystal pendant.

I read a tutorial on making a hidden compartment book in life size quite a while back.  The idea of cutting up a book makes me a bit queazy but I thought that it might make a good mini project some day.  Then  a few months  ago Casey  posted a tutorial on making one using a post-it-note pad.

I decided that it was time to try it.   I used different materials than Casey.  I used paper and cardboard for the covers, I like the cardboard pieces from a box of Lipton tea bags for books.  I used white craft foam for the pages, it's easy to cut with scissors for regular books and it was fairly easy to cut out the center with a craft knife.   Most of it was just like making a book that doesn't open, just don't glue down the front cover and add the liner page.  Casey's tutorial helped with lining the cut out section.

I made the bookends with polymer clay and I made the necklace with fine wire and very tiny glass seed beads.   I had to twist the necklace up bit to fit it in the book.    I'm thinking now that I  a chocolate bar would also make a good hidden treasure.

Rachel was looking for plain paper doilies so I got out my punch and an assortment of paper.  I tried to include lots of diffrent types of paper.   I like the pink marbled paper, it's the same one that I used for the lining for the book.

Then some of the things were the same as what I sent to Drora.

Green beans,  baked potatoes and pats of butter made with polymer clay.

Some  mini bits and pieces.


I also sent some stickers, some small zip close bags, some tiny elastics and some pieces of white ribbon.



I also sent some beads and some metal findings  different from the ones that I sent Drora but some how I lost my pictures.  Hopefully  Rachel will post pictures of those.

I really enjoyed making special gifts for this swap,  I still have 3 openings if you would like to participate.

Thank you for visiting, Mary

PIF Swap Gifts

Drora   received the gifts that I sent for the PIF Swap and has posted some pictures on her blog.

Rachel  has not received hers yet,  some of what I sent was the same and some was different. 

 Rachel if you don't want to spoil the surprise you should not read any further.


Everyone else scan down to see.

Here is  what the packages looked like before I stuffed them into 2 envelopes.  The ones on the left are Drora's, the right Rachel's.

When I read on Drora's blog that she was putting together a sewing room I knew that I had to share some bits of fabric that I had got just a few days before.  I store my fat quarters of fabric in plastic baskets, so I made a couple for her. 

I  made the plate from polymer clay, the candles from birthday cake candles, I picked brown and gold colored stones from a pack that I bought at Walmart.  (sorting again)  I also think it would also look nice with a few of Drora's lovely shells that she has shared with so many of us.

I also made some clay stamps and formers out of polymer clay and included some other things that I like to use as tools with clay.    Drora has some lovely teapots that she made with polymer clay and beads.  She also made really nice scissors for her sewing room. 

And I made some food,  some cut green beans in zip lock bag,  2 baked potatoes and some pats of butter.   The bags are 1" x 1" equal to 1 gallon freezer bags in mini.

I left everything loose, so that they can be used  differently if wanted.

Then I gathered some bits and pieces.

Some metal findings,  I can't wait to see how Drora uses these.   I know that she will find uses for some of them in the smaller scales that she sometimes works in.

 Some beads, mostly porcelain,  one blown glass and a few glittery plastic.  I think that they all make good vases in different scales but could be used many ways.

And some other bits and pieces that I have collected that I think work in 1/12 th scale.  I
think that the  glittery flat bottomed marble makes a good  paperweight  and the green bead makes a good bar of soap.



I also included some small zip close bags, some small elastics and some white ribbon pieces.  I use lots of small  bags to try to organize all the bits and pieces that I collect.   The small elastics are great for holding things together while glue dries and have many other uses.   Jaynie is wearing a bright orange one doubled over as a bracelet, she wants more summer jewelery,  maybe soon. 

Drora,   I'm glad that you liked your gifts,  I enjoyed making and gathering them to share with you.          

I still have 3 opening in my PIF Swap,  if you would like me to send a special gift to you click here 

and follow the rules.

Thanks for visiting,  Mary

They're Really Mine

I received my PIF Swap gifts from   Kathi   a few days ago.   Pictures do not do them justice.   They are so beautiful, I can’t stop looking at them.

Here's a closer look at the pond, look at all the details.  Cute little fishies, sly kitty, tiny turtle, lilypads, waterlilies, glittery stones, clear water, mossy stone wall.  Did I miss anything?  I bet I did.

I tried my hand at setting up a quick and simple scene. It took me a little over an hour to get things set up and take a few pictures.

Thanks again Kathi, these gifts will be cherished, I love them.


Thanks for visiting,  Mary

Gifts, Chairs and a Hutch, Oh My

I received my first mini gifts.

Thank you much  Drora  .   They are so cute and well made. I feel very special to have these minis all the way from Israel.

Jaynie really likes the bag,
she says it is just perfect and
 sends her thanks also.

 Casey    has been making ¼” scale couches and chairs.  It reminded me of an idea that I drawn out a while ago.  The general idea came from a printie of  a chair that was part of Santa’s house. (I don’t remember from where)

I redrew the pattern in 1/2" scale on 1/4" graph paper.

 Then I changed it to make it from a single piece










Then I shrunk it to 50%

    I cut it from a green index card,  folded and  glued.  

This is what I got, one with and one without the wings.

  

 

They are not very well done but just give an idea of how they come out.

I'm still woking on the hutch,  I found paper for the backing, it is not what I was looking for but once I saw it I liked it.    Now I’m thinking of trying a reddish brown like the one in the paper for the counter top shelf,

 I welcome comments, please let me know what you think.

Thanks for visiting,  Mary

So Excited

I just read Kathi's   post, she put up pictures of the finished ponds that she has made for the PIF swap. They are so beautiful, I’m so glad that I joined in. 

Kathi  always puts so much attention and energy into each project.  I always enjoy watching them come together and I’m not surprised that so many others  (401 followers) enjoy watching her work also.

I still need 3 more people to join my PIF swap.  I’m working on special gifts for Drora and Rachel now.   If you would like me to send you a gift also, go to my posting about the PIF swap and follow the rules.

Rachel if you would please email me your address so that I can send your gift.  If all goes well I will have your gift ready next week.

I'm still not able to comment, it's getting very frustrating.  I hope that they fix this soon.


Thanks for visiting, Mary