Merry Christmas!

My friend Merlin, his magical Polar Bear and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and healthy and Happy New Year. To those who have followed me, thank you so much your encouragement and comments. I'm not that great of a blogger but I enjoy reading what everyone has to say and read what you all have to show. Looking forward to more in 2010!

Tabitha

...ooops...dropped it.... ;-)

Nah..I'd never do that! My dear friend Nikki from Witch and Wizard miniatures tossed this ball my way and I was happy to catch it. As I understand it, I have to answer 8 questions about myself, so here goes:

Names that I am called: Well, Mom, of course. “Oh, Honey”, for another. Susan, Aunt Sue, occasionally Bubbela. Mrs. Wener (at school). Unlike HS and college, people no longer call me by names I do not like…..because I simply do not answer .

Three Items I am wearing: I am currently wearing denim capris, a white t-shirt and sneakers…basically my uniform.

Three things I did yesterday, last night and today: Yesterday I put up all the outside Christmas lights that I had planned to…and they all seem to work for now.
Last night I made a week late Thanksgiving Dinner. We were invited out on Thanksgiving but I always like to make a turkey and they are so dang cheap at this time of the year.
Today I made some kind of “Brazilian Rice” for my son’s Spanish class. Why do these teachers give assignments to students that only their parents can complete?? I mean how is a kid supposed to make a dish and serve it up hot for 8th period??? Weird.

Name two things you have eaten: Left-over Turkey and gravy and left-over “Brazilian” rice (I guess it wasn’t a big hit with the class. I thought it was quite tasty…

Two people I have rung today: The Sears repairman since my refrigerator doesn’t seem to be cooling properly (yet again) and my dearest friend Jill to complain about said refrigerator and the fact the I have been given a “window” of 8am to 5pm for the repair guy to show up…grrr.


Two things I will do today: Well, today is already over….so. Tomorrow I will wait patiently all day for the repairman to show up and I will put the lights on my Christmas tree whilst I wait. In-between, I’ll do laundry. An utterly thrilling day…

Three Best Loved Drinks:
Meridian chardonnay…extremely well chilled, a well made latte, and ice cold water on a hot Florida summer day.

Three Things I Intensely Wish:
1) I wish for my son to grow healthy, wealthy and wise…actually, healthy and wise would be adequate, though it would be nice if he could take care of his mother in her dotage.
2) I wish that my husband’s family would stop making him feel guilty for every little thing….
3) I wish everyone could realize their most cherished dreams without interference from outside influences….to experience the joy and satisfaction of being all they ever wanted to be.

Thank you Nik! I enjoyed doing this. I am going to pass the ball to......

Ara at http://afminimansion.blogspot.com/

She actually has two blogs, one for the Addams family and one for Bentley Mansion.

Have fun Ara!

Tabitha

Minaiture Glittered Houses

Let me start by saying I am not a big fan of Martha Stewart but I often bought the Holiday issues of the magazine because they were so pretty....

Now, onto business. Yesterday, I stumbled across some little cardboard glittered house in a local gift shop. They were to be used as Christmas tree ornaments and I remembered that my Grandmother had some that were her mother's.... and now my mother's. I think they came from Germany.

I recalled seeing an article about making them in one of the old MS Living mags so I started hunting through my collection and found it in the Christmas 2000 issue. I reduced the template by 45% and copied it onto colored cards stock. The directions say to paint both sides but I chose the colored cardstock instead. I didn't cut out the doors or windows. I will glue on a different color. Here are my steps:

I scored on the lines and glued the basic house toegther (this is actually the church). The I put the roof on, first one side then the other.

Then I made the steeple. and glued it to the roof followed by the steeple roof. This was a little futzy.

I also made a roofed entry ....

Not bad for a quick and dirty sample. I think I will use a different color for the roofs. I will stick with card stock, though and not paint it. I will thin the white glue just a bit, brush it on and then glitter.

I think I will reduce the template down to 35%. This church is 1in by 2in by 2.5 in high. It is ok for a table decoration but I think I'd like it a little smaller. There is a smaller house template that may be ok. I haven't tried it yet.

I would love to share this template with you but I am not sure how to do that. I have the fullsized template saved to my 'puter as a pdf. Any advice how to make that availlable?

Actually, I have found the article on line and it includes the template. You can reduce it to any size you wish. Just go here:

Glittered Houses

Tabitha

Remember Mug Drumpus....?

...The snarky little Troll went Trick or Treating by himself...no adult supervision! Bad boy..

....and look where he headed first thing!

But there were lots of nice treats inside...event though a the remains of who knows who were lurking off to the side. The resident witch has left her new broom from Kat leaning against the door so I imagine she'll be back to hand them out soon. He'll have to be patient...a trait he, like most trolls, is in short supply of. :-)

Seriously... Remember back to the first show I did way back in July? The pitiful one where the highlight was winning the purple ribbon for best overall exhibit? This is the little "inside/outside" roombox that won. I couldn't get a really good longshot so there isn't one but I think the close-ups are good.

The outside porch light, smoldering cauldron (see in the corner behind the cobwebs) and inside chandelier illuminate with a battery pack hidden under the roof (not shown but it is a mansard with gargoyles and a vulture on the top).

The pumpkins on the table and floor also light up. I made the vignette from a tutorial I found on line. The lights are a string of 10 with a battery pack used for Christmas decorations.

Kat the Hat Lady made the broom. Mug's trick or treat pail and the skeleton parts are from Micheal's. Other that I made everything else. I've had the box for ages. Used styrofoam trays from the grocery for the stone on the inside and outside of the box. Light weight, cheap, easy to use and paint.This weekend, I traveled to another miniature show.

Very few dealers (with little stock) and only 3 artisans but I did manage to pick up a few items. My biggest coup was this Abbey corner from a company called Earth and Tree. There was a club table where members could sell things they no longer wanted or needed. Someone started this project and decided it wasn't for them. I snapped it up for a song. It's a sturdy piece but not too heavy.

My friend Larry Bolduc from Unicorn Studios (designer of the Great Hall and class instructor) was there with some of his new medieval castings. I love this fireplace surround and will probably add a third wall to the Abbey and use it there.

You can see Larry's things at www.larrybolduc.com

I am sorry that I haven't been blogging much myself lately. I've been up to my elbows in alligators (as they say) with costuming for the Merry Wives of Windsor. This tech week so it's crazy and opening night is Friday. All I can say is that it is a boatload of work for three performances. I have been reading what everyone else is up to though....so many busy people!

Tabitha

Artisan Thomas Saunders

When the maillady showed up today she brought me a package from Canada. In it were two of the cutest little boxes....notice the message on the one.... from Tom Sanders. He does beautiful turnings in stone, wood and acrylic. Health problems have prevented him from "turning" much this year and he thought he might not be able to return to it at all. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across these pieces of his on Esty. Naturally, I snapped them up!

One of the really cool things he does is the little certificate of authenticity. Each piece is numbered and signed. I bought two bowls, a serving platter and a mortar and pestle. You can poke the pictures to make them bigger....

Here're some better side views......

I put the morter and pestle on the serving tray to show better against the pale grey stone.

I haven't found a website or blog for him but you can visit his Esty shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6056208 Enjoy!

Tabitha

Grace White....amazing!

I stumbled across this extremely talented lady this morning whilst surfing the Net. Her minatures are inspired by "Master and Commander" (film/book?) and I am blown away by her skill and imagination. She is a book conservator by training and I this attention to detail shows in her miniature creations.

Below is just a teeny example of what she has done in the form of books but there is so much more that you all must go to her photostream and see for yourselves. I love all of it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graceewhite/

On the right side bar, click on either "Aubrey-Maturin" miniatures or "Other mini's". You are in for a real delight! I looked for a blog or website but couldn't find one.

Tabitha

Brass "stuff" from the hardware store...

For Nikki...and anyone else who is interested. Sometimes I spend hours at the hardware store looking for things suitable for mini's.

In the Chronographoscope below, I used lamp bits and pieces for the stand. All found at my local hardware store and all solid brass. Makes for a nice sturdy stand. I have no idea what this is called or what it is really used for but I think it lends it self to something. It is metal and it comes in several sizes. This is the smallest.

This is a compression fitting for gas line hook-ups. It also comes in several sizes. This is the middle size, I think. I used it on the end of one of my large telescopes.

This is called a knurled nut. It comes in three sizes. This is the middle size. I've used these for lots of things. Again, solid brass.

So you never really know where you are going to find "stuff" for mini's. Give your neighborhood hardware store a try. Poke the pictues for a closer look.

Happy Hunting!

Tabitha