FALL....Autumn is here?

Miniature Sandwiches

If I were 5 years old- would these sandwiches make me eat my lunch ? I thought these might be really cute made into miniatures- I remember being told I could not leave the table till my plate was clean. I hate mashed potatoes... guess I sat there for a long, long time.

Signs of fall

I have no idea how much rows indian corn is being raised in my great Bluegrass pumpkin patch - nor have I any idea how many of hundreds of pumpkins are there but I can tell you, pumpkins are being picked and being sold. If I took a guess, there are well over 2,000 pumpkins - perfect ones, perfect in shape and in size for carving. Today, I was wondering indian corn- how is it made in miniature??? Tomorrow's search- who makes miniature indian corn!

Luna Parc

I was searching on the internet for silver miniatures.. up came this wonderful site about a man who lives in Sussex County, New Jersey, his home is called "Luna Parc". I want the kitchen utensil bracelet he creates or the gardening necklace or the sled pin.. well, I love his work. Look at his chairs in silver-
but the best thing is his HOME.....
He will be at the Dec 12-13 Sugar Loaf Art Show in Chantilly, Virginia ( I think I am in Virginia then!)

Betsey Johnson- can she be done in miniature

Could I live with a home in PINK! Well, maybe if it was only me who lived in the house.. or beach side or in New York or in a MINIATURE house!

I just thought of this.....

"Tiarras would make me taller"

Pink,pink and more pink !

Pink, pink and more pink from Paris- yes, the most wonderful miniaturists in France..
"Fancy Nancy - I am in heaven" with their work!

Emmaflam & Miniman's Hand Made Dollhouse
Miniature Food and Miniature Food Jewellery

A pair of miniaturists based near Paris, France, with many years of experience making anything and everything in miniature, but seem to now find ourselves as minifood specialists! Until recently we used the name Emmaflam & Miniman, but nobody knows what that means so we're now...ta-dah...Paris Miniatures!

Travel- the days of August

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

the last days of summer...

on to the last days of summer - where one enjoys a good book, a swim , seafood, evening dinners on the patio, another good book, a glass of white wine, a time of the year when one knows the summer shall soon become fall... you shall find me there.. reading a good book, enjoying a swim,
and a great glass of white wine...

and then there is Eloise.....

Thus begins our introduction to Eloise. Born circa 1949 and introduced to us in 1955, Eloise's adventures have come to life in a series of four books. We learn all about Eloise, Nanny, her "rawther" British nanny, her dog Weenie who looks like a cat, and her turtle Skipperdee who eats raisins and wears sneakers. An international traveler, Eloise has been to Paris and Moscow too! Eloise endlessly roams the landmark hotel in search of adventure. She attends weddings, invited or not. She spies on debutantes as they dance in the Terrace Room. The morning routine includes helping the maid change the sheets, even if she doesn't ask for help.

and so at the age of 70 what is Eloise doing now if she were real.....
still living at the Plaza? still traveling? still twirling? whom did she marry or did she?

and then there is me.... who is thinking....

“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.”

Real Life "Building" Furniture

I found this site from a man in England who creates furniture pieces which look like buildings.. wanted to share this country building idea... I have no idea what 3500 British pounds converts too but this is a great idea..this is the description...

http://www.furniturefollies.co.uk

A country house and not just a piece of furniture. This beautifully made storage chest looks like an elegant country house and features nineteen hand made marquetry window panels.

Solidly constructed and mostly in beech, the chest has two removable storage boxes which allow access to the spacious area below.

This chest may resemble a dolls house but don't be fooled, it will take two men to lift it. This is not a toy.

Fancy Nancy

The me, most people do not know is inside me!!!

From the moment I say Jan O'Connor's first book about this wonderful little lady,and illustrator who is the best- Robin Preiss Glasser, I feel in love with Nancy. Maybe because, growing up I certainly was not her- but maybe she was just inside me and had no way of getting out.

So, if I could ever meet the author and the illustrator, I would thank them for as an adult , bringing a Fancy Nancy into the literature world... I always seem to have an extra dollhouse/room box.. I keep thinking about creating Nancy's bedroom in miniature .

hmmmmm.... winter project?

The heat of summer....

The Best Summer Song and a movie for a hot summer day.... give playlist a second to load up the song...


There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care

For it knows
There are no gloomy skies
When seen through the eyes
Of those who are blessed with love

And the sweet secret of
A summer place
Is that it's anywhere
Where two people share
All their hopes
All their dreams
All their love

There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I'm safe and warm
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms

Travel time

From here to Indy and back again- travel time alone is good for lots of things. Time to have a pad of paper beside you so you can jot down the "to do list" which in my case will take 3 months to do,
time to plan ahead, time to reflect, time to wish, time to remember, time to solve a problem, but time passes to quickly ... Time for me to get busy in the studio!

My event of the year

I will attend this event year after year until I am 102 years old- I will travel 1000 miles to get to it... I was at the very first one and will return and return.. as a collector of children's book- well, first edition books period , in fact any great book I have to have - this is a must for anyone who loves to read.

A day so filled with books, authors, and surrounded by people just like me who love to read and will always treasure the sound and feeling of turning a page in a book!

Talent - talent - talent

All I know this beauttiful miniature work comes from a site called After Dark Miniatures- she is from - London- I have no name yet, but I am going to find out more about this talented person. I have found more miniature food sites- some from Tawain, Malaysia- tonight I shall be looking...

Every night...

Every night at 8:30 pm- a ritual I look at the man in the moon and send a message!
I am working on a man in the moon character - what shall he hold?

I just thought this was a perfect message

One of my new signs in my studio says...

Fabricologist Resource Centre"...now does that
sound more impressive than "fabric stash

August .... a busy month

In the past 4 days I have been working hard at being the new NAME ( National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts) A-3 regional Coordinator. I am putting together my team of fellow miniaturists who will truly enjoy taking care of our members in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. I spent 2 days in Louisville at a show called Three Blind Mice- I was so thrilled to have meet so many new people, delighted to have 4 people join NAME as members and am pleased to announce that a NAME club will be formed in Evansville, Indiana.

I head to Indianapolis, Indiana mid week for the ground breaking ceremony for an addition to a miniature museum in Indianapolis - then a day or two at the Indiana State Fair-and by the weekend I am on my way to a miniature show in Dayton , Ohio. I spent time today creating a new website for my region- it was time for a new look and a new web builder site was a must. I inherited a web site builder that was ancient and not very user friendly.

Add to all of this - my son, in the Army, should be receiving his orders to be sent home this week! Which means as soon as the call comes from him stating such, I head to his home in Virginia - I have not written of this but this past February - he suffered a stroke ( he is only 25) .. he is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and was on his way to a career in the intelligence field, then to grad school this fall.. his life and ours has quickly changed. He will continue his education but now will prepare himself for law school.. but first we need to get him well...

These are pictures of exhibits from the NAME National Convention held in Indianapolis a few weeks ago- these are member projects that were on exhibit..

A miniaturist's blog from Finland

I follow this miniaturist's blog- I feel in love with her needle felted animals and I want to share her talents with you.

http://hannajaleijona.blogspot.com

Paper Castle

Please take the time to visit this site for more pictures of this remarkable castle ( site below) The site's author wrote the following...

I had the immense opportunity to see this wonderful paper craft art installation by a genius of the name of Wataru Itou (伊藤航), a young student of a major art university here in Tokyo. The installation is hand made over four years of hard work, complete with electrical lights and a moving train, all made of paper! Clearly, this man must have created one of the most stunning examples of Paper Craft in the world? At the exhibition you will also have the chance to see a video showing Mr. Itou at work in his studio, cutting and folding piece by piece. The exhibition is called Umi no Ue no Oshiro (A Castle On the Ocean ), 海の上のお城. It is exhibited at Umihotaru, a place which in itself is a major attraction: a service area in the middle of the ocean, right between Tokyo City and Chiba Prefecture. If you haven’t checked it out yet, use Google Earth for a close up of what is probably the weirdest parking lot in the world. Well, it’s more than a parking lot actually, but I am saving a more detailed description along with photos for another post. For now, enjoy this wonderful work of art!



http://tokyobling.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/a-paper-craft-castle-on-the-ocean/

To love life....

Give the music a moment to catch up with this picture before you begin to read.....


To just look at these miniature characters makes one smile, you can just imagine the entire scenario, make up a story about them and wish you owned everyone of them for your miniature collection.

I found this picture on a site about clay and have no idea who made them- they are British made...from "Bag of Character" the search is on to find this artist.. who has inspired me...

At the recent NAME convention , I was fortunate to take a fimo clay class called "Chocolate Decadence" - instructor Carl Bronson from the state of Washington- Seattle area ( and guess what- next year's convention is in Seattle". I came home with wonderful chocolate pastries and could be added to the scene. Making food from clay - well, I was a bit apprehensive. Carl made it easy and answered questions that I was just to afraid to ask ( no one wants to ask the dumbest questions in front of 50 people who all seem to know already what they are doing!)

NAME CONVENTION

NAME National Convention 2009 - Indianapolis

the ladies below are members of my Kentucky Bluegrass Miniature Society from Lexington, Kentucky, all with very special talents in this amazing hobby - passion - really,
they are just amazing ladies






Just a few pics from NAME NATIONAL 2009 CONVENTION







NAME - stands for the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts.. last week over 560 members met in Indianapolis for the national convention " A Family Reunion". The week begins with preconvention workshops followed by 3 days of workshops/lectures/roundtables/swaps/vendors/garage sale/ theme luncheons/ auction/banquet/gifts/exhibits and friendship.

Here are just a few pictures.. if you are a miniaturist and not a member of NAME - JOIN- as evey club has great fun/projects- every state has events - every region has events...

BEWARE....

I have just returned from 8 days of convention time for the National Association of Miniaturists Enthusiasts which was held in Indianapolis. I am also delighted to announced the Board of Trustees voted that I become the Regional Coordinator of Region A-3 ( states of Michigan/Indiana/Ohio/Kentucky and a portion of West Virginia)

Convention was a time to visit with old friends, make new friends, ohhhh and aahhh at wonderful artist's creations ( and I added a few to my collection) take a class called "Chocolate Decadence" using fimo clay and volunteer time to a wonderful association. I will be posting pictures of roomboxes/miniatures that captured by eye .

But today I found this wonderful clay creation by

Rosemary Griggs

As a fourth generation southern artist living on Saint Simons Island, my daily work commute consists of walking out the back door, past the koi pond and bird feeders, through the garden and into a very special place - my slightly skewed studio.

http://www.rosemarygriggsclayart.blogspot.com

I found it a delight....

I have begun making Stuart's House!

I have 4 dollhouse kits unmade- do not even ask about how many I have already but one is a "Mother Goose" house filled with anything and everything from her stories, another house is a beautiful white farm house - another a victorian "fairy tale" house, which features items and characters from fairy tales - the best is a Bluette Mooney 2 story shop- it is exquisite and I am now ready to make it a Kentucky Derby hat shop with the hat maker studio upstairs.
So today, as I was searching for a rooombox, I discovered the kits unmade and said- ok, Stuart Little- you have been waiting for me... so I unpacked the kit, placed the pieces on table #3 in my studio and thought, I can have this ready for Christmas!

I leave this Sunday the the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts National Convention - Indianapolis-over 560 miniaturists from all over the United States and world come together for a week of workshops, swaps, mini shopping, seminars, luncheons, and fun.... 7 days of overload on miniatures

The warmth of summer - its beauty in everything summer grows

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse


Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com

MJ - a miniature - he was in everyone's life in some fashion

I like so many- have listened to his music all my life. If you click on the picture you will be able to see how someone created his likeness in such a real way.

1:12 Baker

I just love him! I found him on flickr under a "MINIATURE MADNESS" album. Who ever you are who owns him.. did you make him or did someone else...

3 days of wandering Indiana and being bubbly

To reminisce is grand, I have just returned from seeing friends and family-bringing home blueberry plants, books galore, flea market finds, fruits and vegetables from farmer's markets.
I was able to watch my youngest niece participate in a water polo match ( WINNERS!) , enjoy my hometown's firemen's festival/fair, visit my oldest niece in Indy, have a lunch with 2 of my dearest cheerleaders who 15 years later have grown into amazing people with careers, families and still make me smile and capture again my heart. Time with my siblings and their spouses is always special and then a phone call from my Army son, makes me once again know why the month of July is special and the 4th even more, for I am free to be able to reminisce and make more memories.