Mysterious Dollhouse 1

This dollhouse is being sold on Craigslist for the bargain price of... $20!!! I would get it except I just got two huge packages in the mail which are the dollhouses my dad has made for me and my coworker's grandchildren... and James might kill me if I spend money on more dollhouse things since I promised I wouldn't until I've sold some of what I have. Also, we're trying to save up for a new dresser.

But this dollhouse just has so much character!

Here's the link: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/bab/3044911233.html

I don't know why I like it. I just do.

However, this is why I cannot buy it:

Dollhouse kits from dad, waiting to be assembled. They are ridiculously heavy. I can't carry one by myself. I presume they'll be incredibly sturdy. I peeked inside and the wood he used is at least a half an inch thick.

James tried to be "handy" and "fix" our two dressers. 

This is what happened.

It's gotten worse from this picture. Now we have had to pull out all the drawers and basically just stack them. It's so ghetto. We are scouring Craigslist looking for replacement(s).

Children's Books

I've been working on some of Roo and my favorite children's books.

All of them except "The Giving Tree" are printed with the front cover on both sides.
The inside pages are blank, but they can be opened. I was THINKING about having them actually be readable but... ugh. It's a lot of work. And who's really going to ACTUALLY read them? I don't know... I just like my minis to be totally accurate and detailed and as close to the real thing as possible, even if nobody knows it but me.

I didn't put the blank pages inside "The Lorax" yet, as you can see. :)

Great. Now I really want to do readable ones. No, no, must keep working to build up stock for future Etsy.

Memoirs of a Geisha

It's one of my favorite books. I loved the movie too, not because it was actually good, but because of the amazing cinematography and gorgeous kimonos and breathtaking scenery, and the metaphoric slow flowing way the story was unfolded on film.

Anyways, for my modern dollhouse which is in transit, I need some more modern books!
As I want it to look like a house I'd actually live in, it's going to be decked out in MY style with stuff I like in it!

Hence the making of one of my favorite books.

I constructed the cover myself using Microsoft Word and compiled a bunch of images I found on Google to make the complete cover. The inside is blank.

The book I actually own is a different cover. This cover came out after the movie did. I may make the other cover as well. This one just looked so bold and modern. Rawr!

I must find and design more (mini)books for my (doll)house!

Advancements, Improvements, and Updates

I made a set of the "Standard Book of Spells" books... well except for Grade 6 & 7. I didn't get to them last night!

I really like how they came out. They look text book-y and each is full of spells and pictures that I have taken the liberty of assuming they learned in that specific grade. The covers start out light and are going to fade to black. Almost every spell has a picture to go with it that I found that matches up. Making up the insides of the books took FOREVER, but I'm pretty pleased.

I've found that binding the books so that they EASILY open to be readable is tricky. All the books can be opened and read but then they want to STAY opened, so to get them back flat I have to press them again.

Each book gets a bit thicker as the grade levels go up and the amount of spellwork the students are learning increases. The insides of the books are really cool if I do say so myself. I like reading through them!

I have improved my chocolate frogs as I've become more adept at sculpting. I have not, however, improved my photography skills.

Ew my windowsill is dusty...

They look better in person...

And HOORAY my Dad emailed me to let me know he has finished the dollhouse kits for my coworker's grandchildren (and one for me hehe) and mailed them! I thought it was just going to be a gluing project... but I was wrong. I'm a little intimidated, but I'll figure it out... hopefully. I really am sort of a moron when it comes to measurements and construction.

Pilot drill what? Phillips bit huh? Heated screws for HIDDEN LOCATIONS??

I suppose he thinks I'm a wizard and it's JAMES that might have a cordless drill. I have no such powers of finding hidden things... I can't even find the "hidden hole" in a bowtie when you're tying it and I worked in retail for a year! And I certainly do not have a cordless drill.

 I have a hammer and a screwdriver and a mini electric sander which now I'm glad I bought since it looks like it will be put to use. Oh boy. I hope it's easier than he made it sound...

Candles

I tried my hand at making mini candles. I'm pleased with them for my first time.
I think that for the rest I'm going to use all translucent clay and make them a bit smaller.
They also need to be glazed.

Also, I forgot to post these earlier. Roo made me a wonderful Mother's Day card and a coupon book which I intend to put to good use! I only took a picture of a few of the coupons.

Being a mom is the BEST! And I'm so lucky to have such a great kid. He also got me a flower :)

If At First You Don't Succeed

Yeah well I've been try-trying again with this whole book cover dealio but I'm just not satisfied yet.

Thank you to my followers who lent their support and advice, I really appreciate it!

We got a new printer at work that prints color really nicely so I've been testing that out.

Though they are a lot clearer, they're also granier.

I'm really am proud of the insides of the books though. I compiled the nifty facts myself and found pictures to go along with them. I hand cut each page and the books open easily for reading. The inside first and last pages are cut from a soft gold flecked paper.

I wish there was a cropping function for pictures... or maybe there is an I don't know how haha

This is "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" by Emeric Switch

Why is there a cross on it? Because the book is actually a Bible? Or maybe because it looks like a "T" ...T for Transfiguration. Use your imagination. lol



I don't know if I like how when I fold the covers, it turns white on the folded parts because the color rubs off or gets separated. It makes the books look worn and old which can be cool... I don't know how to remedy the problem. Maybe using photo paper I think.

Spirit's (Roo's Bearded Dragon) skin in a bottle. It just needs to be labeled! I made the stopper out of granite Sculpey. Could be better, but it was my first try!

James caught me putting some of these dead mealworms that Spirit eats into a mini glass bottle last night and was totally disgusted that not only would I touch them with my bare hands, but that I'm actually going to display the dead worms inside a little bottle. They look really awesomely authentic! Flobberworms anyone?

I love GOOOOOLD

I wish I could print gold on the covers of my mini books. I've seen it done. I just don't know how to do it. Sigh.

How do people get their printed book covers looking so crisp when they're so tiny?!
I wish I knew.
Last night I spent over an hour trying to figure out how to make a decent looking book cover using Microsoft Word. Alas. No luck. I went to bed frustrated.

Also I think my cauldrons need some pewtery shine. I think I need that powder stuff.
However, I'm strapped for cash and James will kill me if I start putting more money into my minis!

I really wish I had a craft room.

I wish I wish I wish.
Sometimes when I look at other amazing miniature maker's blogs I think all the things I made are pieces of junk. Who would ever want any of my stuff? People are so talented.
I'm disheartened today.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow. :)

Thanks, Spirit!

I've been waiting and waiting for Spirit, Roo's Bearded Dragon to shed again so I can harvest his skin to put into my mini bottles. Boomslang skin anyone? The tricky part is, the little bugger EATS the skin he sheds so I have to be really quick to get it, OR peel it off of him which I think is bad and hurts him, because he does NOT seem to like it... and Roo yells that I'm hurting him when I do it. So I've just been watching and waiting patiently to swoop in and steal his shedded skin. This is all I could manage to get!! Sheesh. And he only sheds maybe once every month and a half or less. It does look cool. That's Roo's hand in the picture.

I attempted to make a no-sew (I can't really sew) invisibility cape. The one I, myself, imagined when I read the books- not the one in the movie which is this furry looking thing. In the books it's described as silver and "like water woven into fabric." I am not happy with how this cape turned out. The fabric is too stiff so it won't hang in nice drapes around my mini model, and I just cut it out haphazardly with no pattern and it's too short in the front. I think it's going in the TRASH! The only thing I like is how it's kind of see through... it almost gives a pretense of invisibility.

Ugh. Rubbish.

 "Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit" covered in Dragon hide.

These shall eventually be for sale in my future Etsy.