MiniBella

Mission San Jose

2010-04-04T14:37:00.012+10:00

Today we visited Mission San Jose and the attached Mission Museum.

Who's the funny guy in front there? Has Robert gone and taken Holy Orders? Is that a monk's hood?

These items were among many in the museum. Loved the tabernacle. That's a silvered baptismal shell in the centre, and an olive oil bottle in the last photo.
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This is a shot of the interior of the mission in miniature - made by a miniature club of which our friend Barb Jones was a member. The miniature mission was donated and lives in the Mission Museum now.

California - 20 March 2010 - cool and rainy.

2010-03-31T09:07:00.003+11:00

Barb Jones took us to the chapel at Stanford University. Robert loved it. He got to show off some ecclesiastical knowledge. I was fascinated by the mosaics - I have never seen anything like it. We had depleted batteries in the real camera and I am not sure how my camera phone shots came out yet... I have no idea what's on for this afternoon - but I think it should be reorganizing the luggage....

Violet - before and after...

2008-04-05T07:31:00.005+11:00

Violet - before and after her 'unicorn-ectomy'... that little bit in the center was a bit of surgery to make her shorter. I gave her a bit of paint and made a skirt for her. She needed to be holding something so I gave her a dog to hold. I even did something with those wings...I'll have to take a picture.

Violet's Waterbed

2008-02-15T09:24:00.006+11:00

The painted Lady has a name - "Violet’s Villa"!!!!

Violet is the single mother of twin daughters, Rose and Lily. (Are you catching the floral theme here?) Violet is a ‘free spirit’ and Rose and Lily are following in their mother’s footsteps. You never know who will turn up in Violet’s house... there are often drop in visitors who forget to leave.

I decided Violet needed a waterbed... The fabric is from an old tie I got at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop. (I knew I'd find a use for it.) The bed itself is made from a scrap of MDF and a scrap of black Perspex (Plexiglass) leftover from a kitchen project.

The oversize pink tweezers in the background are 'cheater' chopsticks...very useful for furniture placement.

The Pink Bedroom

2008-02-11T20:52:00.000+11:00

You may recall (if you have been following my hippie house saga) that I made a pink chair and footstool... And now to go with them I have made a bed and floor mat to match.

And as I have been enjoying this project so much and have more 1:24 furniture than I need or know what to do with... I bought the Gothic House at the Reject Shop today - on Clearance for $20. Oh - how could I resist?

Take one resin fairy....

2008-02-11T18:43:00.000+11:00

Subtract one unicorn,

add some paint and cushions...

And voila! Hippie chicks.

The Orange Bathroom

2008-02-03T10:02:00.001+11:00

After scouring the 'dollar stores' I decided that I'd have to make my own bathroom. So out came the polymer clay and using a 'champagne cage' to make the legs I first modeled the basin. The handles are very small faceted beads. Then came the toilet... that was tricky, but after two attempts I achieved something approximating what I had envisaged. The shower is constructed from the plastic from a box of cookies. The back walls were painted orange and the front was left clear. Still work to be done on it - I have to think of what to use as a shower head.

The bathroom will actually be viewed through a doorway -it really is just a little cubbyhole of a room... The wallpaper is gift wrap I got for 50 cents... I spent most of yesterday working on this... oh yeah - and the boring task of painting the ginger bread and railings on the house exterior. Second coats - not even as interesting as laying down the first coat on bare wood where you can see your progress. I still have to put the second coat on the roof... I'd rather watch paint dry. (Sorry, that was rather bad...)

At any rate - I got the scale right... the loo looks just about the right size for Gramps.

Progress is being made!

2008-01-31T11:13:00.001+11:00

The 1:24 scale Painted Lady is progressing nicely... I still have some painting to do, and a bit of constructing, as well. I've managed to make the floors look like wood... I still have to add a floor in that section at the right side where there was only stairs. I needed an extra room. I have the stairs painted, but still have to do the landing. I am modifying the roof so it can be removed to see into the attic room a bit better. I reckon I will be finished in another week - barring interruptions.

Every sofa needs a coffee table.

2008-01-26T10:17:00.000+11:00

I made coffee table for the sofa last night. The woodgrain is actually contact paper which I added early this morning... The table itself was cheap wooden furniture that I made-over. I don't know what happened to the original legs, but I had made some replacements from balsa. I think today I might paint gingerbread for the house... or else sand some parts that I glued last night. Exciting stuff!

The Villa - soon to be 1970s Painted Lady

2008-01-24T18:38:00.000+11:00

Well I actually hauled out the Fantasy Villa 1:24 scale kit I got at The Reject Shop.... The die cuts were remarkably well done and easy to punch out. When I bought this about a year ago I took it out of the box, saw 11 sheets of plywood pieces (well over 200 pieces, some about the size of a 5 cent piece) and said "I don't think so"... and put it away. I am feeling braver now and it wasn't really all that hard. This is the manufacturer's picture of the house.

Here is my temporarily assembled (no glue yet) kit with the first changes I have made - thanks offered to my DH Robert and his bandsaw for taking off the overdone roofline ornaments.

Here is the first bit I have assembled and painted - to test out my colour scheme... I am making this up as a 'Painted Lady' - circa the 1970s. I found some white pearlescent paint at Bunnings - for 50 cents a sample pot - and there were two of them! I made sure they were marked and still got charged $8 each at the checkout... needless to say I only paid the reduced price.

I have a fridge that I painted and 'decorated' with Sakura 'Glaze' (aka 'Aqualip') pens. This fridge is what actually started my flurry of mini-activity. I am having a great deal of fun with this... and my house is getting dusty!

'Recycled'... miniatures.

2008-01-19T16:56:00.000+11:00

I made a 1:24 scale chair today.

Materials:
a toilet paper roll
a screw cap from a soft drink bottle
a piece of broom handle
some fabric from a 50 cent pajama top I got at Vinnies
some fake bunka (fringe) from GoLo

I used a tiny bit of cotton for stuffing. I had a ball. I even made an ottoman.

I think with all the furniture I've been making I better build my 1:24 house kit!

More Before & After

2008-01-18T13:43:00.000+11:00

Here is what I did with some plastic chairs - from the same set as the other pink toy stuff...

The fabric was a shirt I found at Vinnies (St. Vincent de Paul) for 50 cents - needless to say I still have lots of this fabric. The 'bunka' is some dismantled fringe from GoLo. I am still working on a stove and and sink (I have had them forever)...

I am going to put together a box of Christmas UFOs (Unfinished objects) and try to get them done during the year. Every year I put this stuff away with the Christmas decorations and then forget... Maybe this way I'll actually get them done. (I can dream, can't I?)

I have also got the 'Roomboxes' for the ACT Miniature Enthusiasts 2009 show. Yes - I said 2009. My displays for 2008 have been done for months and months... well before I broke my wrist last June.

The little dog in the photo is Flossie - who has been our house-guest for the last fortnight. Her mum and dad are picking her up tomorrow morning. It will be weird being a one dog family after she goes home. It has been fun having her with us. She and Harley have had some elaborate games of 'chase' during her stay. She also taught Harley how to use a doggie door. Good onya, Floss!

Before and After....

2008-01-15T08:07:00.000+11:00

Well - I got obsessed with 'doing something' with some cheap plastic furniture I found on a card in GoLo... It is nearly perfect 1:24 scale. I am making (yet another) Breakaway box... this time a Hippie Room... and I will probably even keep some of the pink and purple original colours. In the photo is the original pink armchair... and the sofa which has been reupholstered.

My mum tells porkies....

2007-12-25T20:42:00.000+11:00

Here I am in my Santa Hat. Sure shocked mum when I left it on and let her take my photo.... She is soooo boring... MERRY CHRISTMAS from me, Harley! (Oh and from the hoomans too).

Christmas Pooch

2007-12-23T07:08:00.000+11:00

Yeah - I decorated the dog too.... Poor Harley puts up with a lot. She refuses to wear her Santa hat, though. I didn't get around to sending Christmas Cards this year so this will have to do. Merry Christmas!

What I've been up to lately

2007-12-22T22:08:00.000+11:00

I've been busy with a lot - but "Not Quite Ready for Christmas" is done... The tree was a swap from a friend in the US - I added the lights.

Merry Christmas to all...even if like me you're not quite ready.

Nearly done now....

2007-12-07T14:22:00.000+11:00

Here it is nearly finished. I have a few more additions in mind, but essentially it is done... That white thing in the back is the AA battery pack for my 1:12 scale Christmas tree 'next door'.

A 1:48 scale Christmas Breakaway Box

2007-12-03T11:34:00.000+11:00

Well - I have the photos downloaded, just have to work out how to get them up here....

Ah! Now that was easy peasy! To the left is the small gift box I started with - basically a throwaway item. Lots of the materials in the project were 'trash' that I rescued.

To the right is a photo of my Holiday Breakaway box near two of my other passions - Coffee and Cola... or maybe that's just one... Caffeine... This should make it clear to non-miniaturists what 1:48 scale looks like.

Below is the not quite finished project. I still need to decorate the Christmas tree and make a few other Chrismas-y things...

The armchair and sofa were the very first minis I ever made... I look at them now and say "I could do better" but they have a certain sentimental value... The coffee table is made from Mini-Magnum sticks (Magnums number amongst my other wicked passions: ice cream). The bookcase is actually paper tole. The rest of the furniture is the brown plastic stuff that comes on a card which has been painted to match the coffee table and bookcase. The snowman in the yard was turned on a lathe by my husband, Robert Boot, then painted by me. The outdoor tree was something I ripped off a cheap ornament and 'planted' in Crayola Model Magic. I can't remember where the inside tree came from, it probably has a similar origin though. The bricks in the yard were leftover printies from another project, the green carpet was a scrap I scavenged from a card, the wallpaper was a scrap leftover that was exactly enough and not a bit more for those two walls, the floor under the table was a scrap that my friend Anne was going to throw away and I said "No - I'll find a use for it." The cake on the table is actually a 1:12 scale petit four made from foam, glue and paint. The tea set on the table was a gift from a friend in the US... it is sterling and will eventually go in my 1:48 scale cabinet house (as it is much too nice for the 'throwaway' box) but it will be here for the holidays.

Day One

2007-11-22T01:27:00.000+11:00

Okay - I've gotten this far. Now all I gotta do is figure out the rest...