update, minis and yard :o)

busy busy busy.....almost finished a porch! relcaimed wood from sis's old porch...8 feet by 12 feet!! so far have spent a whopping $14 on it LOL :o) proud of myself!!!

and a mini commission :o)

yard work, not mini! (letting you know I am here still LOL)

Since coming home from Chicago I have been doing a lot of yard work here up in the mountains! Being about 8000 ft elevation there is very little time to grow things compared to other places. Just hope we dont get snow again before summer! Our main goal to begin with was to put up a fence that is tall enough to keep our hound dog in the yard as he is tall and can jump. We used free wood pallets to take our fence up higher and I fixed our gates and made them taller. Sharing some before pics here and hopefully get some progress pics today. I built a pond (a previous very large pond was kind of destroyed by our dogs! mainly Peter who loved to walk in there and eventually pulled out the whole pump system and destroyed it!) have laid a little concrete and planted some things :o)

this is the front of the yard with only one pallet high of fence, as it has been for years. I gathered rocks and built up the bed to plant things and put fun yard art I have had hanging around in. Most of the dirt in there is from our horses, dried manure :o)

half of the old pond that is now completely dismantled. That tree, I call her Grandmother, is the oldest Pinion tree on our property. We are hoping this year is a pinion year as that means yummy pinion nuts! each tree produces nuts about once every 7 years. We can also make money collecting the nuts and selling them too!

old pond in that dark spot on the left

the view from our porch, front door. there is a pool on the left that we need to contain with pallets and wood etc, Dave is putting up a planter box there to keep dogs from going under porch. and far in the distance is a wonderful mountain range. Yesterday I sat out on the porch with coffee enjoying it and watching ravens fly around our property and through the area...they sound so cool!

planter box built....mostly rocks in the bottom to fill it up.

and flowers in the box now! or course some have died, cats walk on them as does the puppy...had to put up a fence around it LOL

my display

Yay I did get a good pic of the set up!! :o)

I am back!

I am back from Chicago and it was a great show! saw friends, so many I don't remember their names because I am horrible with names but know faces more often than not! was very fun and was actually a good show for me financially so that is even better! I did not get anything fun except a cd for dressing dolls, to inspire me. But did hit a couple arts and crafts stores and finally got some mold making material! yay! been playing with it today...excited! Also got some wonderful crackle medium that is like a clear glaze. Excited for new items! Oh and Victoria's works made quite the splash!!! ;O) http://www.etsy.com/shop/DarkSquirrel
I got home tues night but spent all day yesterday in bed reading Hunger Games! :o) so today I am back to work LOL I must apologize for lack of pictures. I am pretty sure I got at least one of my booth, but I am horrible getting pictures because I guess I live in the moment rather than thinking of taking pictures!!! Tomorrow!

I will be gone!!!

So I am all done making things, and packing things! wish me luck! I am off to Chicago tomorrow and will not be back till the 25th :o) take care!!!

the gourd all but done

one gourd is done but the other I am having troubles with the floor!! running out of time! ahhhhhh but other than the floor it is all done!!! Still feels like there is so much to do before I hit the road on Tuesday. I drive for 2 days to Chicago. for those not familiar with the states, I live in New Mexico. I drive through northern New Mexico, into the top part of Texas, through Texas to Oklahoma and from Oklahoma into Missouri. I drive from one end of Missouri to the other, cross the Mississippi River and into Western Illinois and then on up to Eastern Illinios to Chicago! I normally drive for over 12 hours the first day, stopping in Missouri somewhere for the night :O). I like to drive and this is my quiet time (no kids or animals) for days! Really is my only vacation in the year.

fireplaces done!

So all my fireplaces are finished and hubby made the cranes so those are all attached too! today is dolls dolls dolls again! :o)

a mini of a sort :o)

I have always had larger dogs in my life, and still do. But I have always wanted a short dog. Not a miniature fragile dog, just a small dog! My son's friend's family has a pure bred basset hound and she had puppies. The dad of the puppies was not a basset so they are mutts. I went to their house and fell in love with this "mini" hound dog! We have a very tall skinny hound dog so she fits right in :o) Her name is Buttercup and she is just adorable!!!!!!!! She has the fat short legs of the basset and the big feet :o)

fireplace cranes!!

I have been playing around with how to make fireplace cranes for my fireplaces and came up with a prototype and then asked hubby if he could make some. They are awesome!!!! :o) and they can hold 2 pots! This is one of the fireplaces that has been grouted but is not done yet, still needs to be darker :o)

fireplaces

got some more rocking done yesterday (till i ran out of adhesive!) and also worked on dolls (pics soon of them :o)...need to get more adhesive today so I don't run out again! One of the worst parts of living so far from town, can't just run down the street to a  hardware store! :o)

painting today :o)

Ok before I immerse myself in the crunch of minis I have to finish a painting, a commision, today....not a mini LOL. I did start rocking the fireplaces yesterday in between cleaning up property and bbqing on a beautiful spring day!!! My daughter actually went down the road with me into the ditches to get rocks for the fireplaces LOL I forgot I needed more wood though for the mantles of the fireplaces, so that means another trip to town soon! sighh. thought I had everything I needed :o)

Rest of my time will be dolls!

Once I eurathane the shelves, finish the gourds, and stone my fireplaces I will be doing nothing but making dolls till the Chicago Three Blind Mice show! crunch time!!! I have 2 more weeks of work left ahhhhhh...work but also grand expectation as I have a new display and new items to show and best of all get to chill with my bestest friend for a few days! :o)
Here is a link to the Three Blind Mice Show... http://3blindmiceshow.com/chicago_spring/
....taking place in the same town and same time as the Tom Bishop show!

gourds and display made and painted!

So gourds have all their leaves and flowers painted, the tall straight one has grass down now!

I finished the display steps and painted them with 3 coats of primer....going to eurathane them today so they are easy to clean!

one of 2 new display systems that will be built

Realized i need more wood to finish the second one. It will be painted white and will be far easier to lift and deal with than my heavy boxes that I used to stack for displaying. Top shelf is for bigger things like gourds, next shelf down will be my fireplaces, and then the other 2 shelves are for dolls :o)

shelves in one gourd

Here is the gourd with shelves now! time to do some more mudding of the walls, fill in any cracks and then when dry I can paint!!! Likely painting the apoxie leaves/flowers/vines today. Am thinking this gourd could well be like a roadside fruit and veggie stand :o) That means I should also make a few produce items to put in the gourd wagon to add atmosphere and suggestion to prospective buyers...and a sign maybe? planted in the ground outside?

more progress

Again, in the need to stand up more....and a need to do some work outside where it was sunny, i worked on the gourds. grouted all the stonework, painted a bit, and then added the apoxie details. Going to make some built in shelves in the whacky gourd. so the interior is not finished at all yet.

Gourd path

In my attempt to stand up most of the day yesterday to save my back a bit I cut wood for fireplaces that will be stone and worked on gourd houses. I created a path and stairs to the one gourd house and grouted the rocks on the foundation and steps of the other gourd. Here is a picture of the pathway. I am also playing around with putting a piece of wood on top of the gourd and make steps or a ladder leading to the "roof" where it will be extra gardening space. I like the idea of giving a buyer many options for further decorating and designing. :o)

the gourds

As I worked on ghosts and dolls yesterday I also squeezed in the gourds. I made some paper mache up and used it to make something of a built up terrain to the one gourd, which will be covered with grass, to give more depth to the piece, and then rocked the "foundation" of the other gourd and made a rock step :o)

2 ghosts :o)

Here is a pic of Samuel and his dog Max, being sold separately.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/96115095/samuel-a-young-ghost-dollhouse-miniature
http://www.etsy.com/listing/96115574/max-a-puppy-dog-ghost-dollhouse?ref=v1_other_1

ok couldnt wait...gourds :o)

So as i wake up with coffee, got a couple pics of the gourd houses I am making...I sure hope the seeds from the wacky necked gourd sprout and grow! I saw one in a book once that was grown from a trellis, hanging down, and they somehow tied a knot in the neck while it grew!!!!! how cool!!!
I will keep you posted on the progress of these. They will go to Chicago with me because I would never really trust shipping these things!

some furniture I listed

Spent the day making animal faces (including a couple raven heads) for dolls. Never made a raven doll, just small more realistic ravens, and so am a bit excited about them. Started on a couple gourd houses, one with a neck straight up in the air and the other with a very crazy fun long swirly neck. they will both be on bases, not on wheels. Will try to get pics today :o)
In terms of finishing things, I made a few benches and got around to painting a couple wood pieces yesterday, in between other work.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/96058615/a-primitive-shabby-chic-bench-miniature?ref=v1_other_1

http://www.etsy.com/listing/96058348/a-primitive-shabby-chic-table-or-potting?ref=v1_other_2

Sculpting mania begins for Chicago

First of all, yay!!! My ghost Peter sold :o)
Chicago looms just 3 weeks from now, well 3 weeks of work, one day of organizng all my show stuff, a day packing, then 2 days driving!! So my next couple of weeks will be spent sculpting away!!!! although I cannot sit all day or my old body screams with back stiffness/pain...so may work on things like a couple of gourd houses in between where i get to stand and stretch other muscles!! I dont know about other artists/miniaturists but I find i start out sitting up straight and slowly end up in some strange hunched position as i focus in on tiny things!!!
for anyone who has not seen any of my gourd houses or wagons, here is a pic of a groud vineyard house I have that will go to Chicago with me :o)

finished dino skulls!

Here is a pic of one of them, in my art gallery :o) http://www.etsy.com/listing/95985845/a-t-rex-dinosaur-skull-miniature

who wants a ghost?

Here is Peter :o) He is about 5 3/4 inches tall and like all my dolls is hand sculpted from polymer onto a wire body that is posable. I think he is lonely. He is $55.00 and then $5.00 for shipping anywhere!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/95972448/peter-a-ghost-dollhouse-miniature-doll

skulls

I have long wanted to get these plastic dinosaur skulls and do something with them. Finally got some, have painted and given them what I hope is a more realistic aged look... this is the idea I am working on! :o)

Another box, shelf unit :o)

busy busy busy again today getting ready for Chicago...meanwhile...

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95943717/a-rustic-or-art-deco-shelving-unit

Part of my new line, Steampunk Victorian Wall art

I started this whole line of art for the dollhouse after researching and seeing that there was really no art pieces for the dollhouse other than paintings! Here is a steampunk Victorian piece I just listed! I sure hope no one copies me! :o) http://www.etsy.com/listing/95905762/steampunk-victorian-modern-wall-art-for

Thank you for following! :o)

I see I have a few followers already!! thank you ladies!! :o) XXX

Missalina an elf :o)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95905219/missalina-an-elf-dollhouse-miniature

New designs for displaying in Chicago

While I like my layout for shows I think maybe it is too earthy and dark? (pic my best friend not me LOL)

so going for white displays. also been thinking how to make the most of every inch, which can get cluttered when I have some larger things like gourd houses! In addition, because I have been making a lot of  littler things that are more affordable I need ways to display them. I had this shelf unit I built years ago to house stamps. It was in 2 pieces and so I connected them, and primed them all white and clean looking.

And then I have a cabin of sorts that I made and have been using for taking pics of things. I took off the roof, painted it all white and It will serve as something of an art studio to display the little art pieces I am  making.



the Chicago show

For anyone interested here is a link to the show next month!
http://3blindmiceshow.com/chicago_spring/

Welcome!

Ok I got rid of my old blog because it took up too much time (I was on dial up). We finally have high speed so now I have the time to do this!
First off, getting ready for a show, the Three Blind Mice show, in Chicago right now, and trying to finish some commission dolls too. There are so many ideas in my head and it reminds me....Dont you just love miniatures because there are no limits to what you can do, what era or theme you can choose? and what you can create that may not even exist in the real world of theme? :o)
My most recent obsession is miniature art in various forms, furniture is included in this. I have made several assemblage altered art dolls and just love them!!!



I am also going to begin offering things for sale here on the blog. So here we go!!!!