2013 Miniature Fantasies--Totebag Favors

From Rochelle Howard

From Deb Baker

 

 

From Overland Park Mini Club

From Laura Way; www.dollhousestore.com

 From B Griggs

From Katie Marsh

Gazing Ball

Mardi Gras mask. Lots of work to make one---has beads, glitter, feathers

Candy dish from Carol Shea

From Gail Holly

2 birdhouses, large terra cotta planter

Planter bracket from quilling paper; from Rebekah Dennis

From Miniature Fantansies; I received 2 in my bag.

Wooden bowl and "fan" from Judy Moeder

2 flower baskets, no name in bag

From Kyra Smith

From Carol Shea

2013 Miniature Fantasies--Table Gifts

Everyone at the brunch received a potting table. It is a miniature version of one found at the Home Depot. Some tables were painted, some were stained, and some were left unfinished.

Gift from Nellie Miller, who is in the same Mini Club as me. I had no idea she would be present until I went to register for the brunch.

My EXCHANGE GIFT from Rochelle Howard (only 3 people participated at our table). I felt like I had won the jackpot. Plus I received all of what you see in that nice box you see in the back. See how the chair leg can slide out so you can lounge? I thought that was cool. Rochelle said she made it from a kit from long ago.

Table gifts from Barbie and Lily (9 yrs old) Letchworth. Lily won the table centerpiece I coveted.

2013 Miniature Fantasies Show--Table Centerpieces

I heard about The Miniature Fantasies Show from Mary Wrenn and attended for the 1st time this past weekend (March 7-9). It takes place in Kansas City, Missouri every other year. The event was held at the Ramada Inn, located in an industrial area of the city. There is a casino Isle of Capri off of the highway and about 3-4 miles from the hotel. Although you don't think of luxury when you say Ramada Inn, the hotel has undergone a renovation and the rooms we stayed in had granite counters in the bathroom and nice carpet in public areas and the bedrooms. I would give the hotel 2.5 stars, worth a stay if you can stay for under $90.

The event was a lot of fun. I signed up for the BRUNCH, which included a totebag of favors, opportunity to win the table centerpiece, and a silent auction of very nice completed miniatures. I'll be posting pics of the event everyday for the week, so I hope you will check it out.

Below are pics of the TABLE CENTERPIECES. There were about 7 people per table and 5 tables total.

Table Centerpiece at my table. There was no assigned seating, so you can pick your table and I picked this table BECAUSE of the centerpiece. Centerpiece was created by Rochelle Howard, who sat next to me.
Rochelle created the "stucco" by adding SALT to the paint. Clever idea.

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Table 5

2012 NAME DAY ROOMBOX QUARTER SCALE

This is the 2012 NAME DAY Roombox kit from Quarter Connection.
Roombox size: 4 3/8 x 2 1/2 x 2 3/4.
I made mine into the deluxe bathroom suite I would have in my dreams.
The bath tub, sink, and toilet are BPF that I repainted white.

The bathrobe was a gift from Jene Bondi.
The chandelier I received from the 2011 Quarter Connect online Convention swap.
The vanity mirror is a Karen Cary kit. The vanity table, stool and accessories on table I made.
The shelf contents are mostly beads.

Left side view.

 If you are new to quarter scale (QS) miniatures, Quarter Connection is a great online group to join and learn about QS. They have a nice NAME DAY roombox or project yearly, an online convention every other (odd) yr, various contests throughout the yr to encourage you to finish a project(s). Sharing pictures of your finished projects (limit to quarter scale) is highly encouraged and you often get some nice feedback from other members. You can ask questions, get tips and advice from other members about making minis. It's a fun group.

You can check them out here

MARY ENGELBREIT VINTAGE KITCHEN QUARTER SCALE

This was a kit from Suzanne Larson-Tamburo. She had a limited number of kits, but I was fortunate to get one in Charlotte even though I missed the opportunity to take the wkshop class. Took me about 2-3 days to complete. A clever kit. The frame and shelf contents graphics are from an ME notecard. You apply a stylus to the plates and bowls graphics to give a 3D appearance.

I added hinges and acrylic from a notecard box to the frame opening because I'm paranoid about getting dust into my minis.

The dog is by Gayle Clausen and a gift from Sandy Davis. The food mixer, blender and cutting board was a roundtable kit from Portland Small Scale Houseparty. It was a challenge making or finding accessories for the counters. I ended up using more graphics from the ME book "Life is a Bowl of Cherries" and used a stylus to make a 2D picture look like 3D.

See the outlet graphic I added?

The FRAME is 3 7/8 x 3 3/8. The ROOMBOX is 3 1/4 x 2 3/4 x 1".

TOWER HOUSE DOLLS TOY BABY PRAM KIT

This is a cute kit from Tower House Dolls. A lot of fun to make. Looks complicated, but actually very easy. If you have never "woven", don't be intimidated---it's easy. Once you complete one project, you'll want to make all sorts of woven/wicker furniture.

It took me about 8 hrs to complete this kit. All the hard stuff has been done for you. The instruction booklet is well written and easy to follow. She also emails you a video on how to "weave wicker".

Finished size of pram--1 5/8 L x 1 w x 2 3/4 h.

The hardest part about this kit was getting the trim to "stick" to the top portion of the pram. If you mess up weaving, no problem---you remove the cord and redo.

The baby is 1 1/4 long. Dressing the baby is easy. I recommend you use a #12 sharp sewing needle and FabriTac when handling the silk. The instructions make no mention of which needle or type of glue to use, a glaring omission in my opinion. You can tear the silk and have ugly glue stains if you don't use the right kind of needle or glue. All the bows have been made for you, so you just glue in place. That is very nice, because making bows is a fiddly and time consuming affair.

The baby dolls come pre-painted and they are jointed. Her dolls are very nice quality.

You also make the mattress, which is 1 5/8 L x 3/4 w.

Now that I measured everything, this kit would be suitable for half scale projects. You should have no trouble fitting in this baby and pram in any 1" scale dollhouse.

You can check out Sandra Morris' website here

GARDEN LOVER STUDIO

This is a kit/wkshop from Judi Hamilton of Colorado. It was a lot of fun and easy to complete. Took me about one day to complete. Everything you see was included except for the flowers you see (the blue flowers on the potting bench was made by Judi---I just had to glue in place).

Left side of box. The hanging flower bouquets are PRESERVED German Statice that I preserved myself. The planter of flowers I bought yrs ago. I added the watering can from my stash. The sunflowers and poppies I made.

I "painted" the birdhouse with Sharpie pens. I painted the teacup with a toothpick.

You can also "age" paper with print using a wood stain. It gives a similar effect to soaking the paper in tea, without the mess of making tea. I was surprised that the stain did not wipe of the print.

Right side view. I "painted" the handles of the gardening tools with Sharpie pens.

To "age" the furniture, I wiped on gel wood stain and lightly wiped off the excess. After painting the wood furniture, I sanded with 400 grit sandpaper. Sanding blends the paint surface, smooths the wood, and lightly takes off the paint on edges and surfaces that gives the effect of worn, aged furniture. It also saves a lot of time painting multiple coats.

Best part of this project--it closes up and prevents dust! I added a grosgrain ribbon so I could hang the box. The holes were made with a hand held push drill. Being cardboard, the push drill had no problem making a smooth clean hole. You thread the ribbon through the hole and make a knot at the end and repeat for the second hole.

This was originally a decorative box that held notecards and envelopes. Makes for a great smaller 1" scale roombox with some creativity. Size of box---5 3/4 square, 2 1/4 deep.