Microscopic Sculptures

Has everyone seen Willard Wigan?

I don't have permission to post his photos on this blog (Haven't asked, maybe I will one day) but I thought you might like to see the link! You can also look at him on tv, on youtube. It's fascinating.
He makes art that you need a microscope to see, and fits into the eye of a needle.

Salmon

by Sarah Maloney. A pewter fish kettle containing a salmon with sliced onion, lemon and herbs.

Fish kettle measures 50mm by 17mm excluding handles.

Changing Seasons

For something a little different today, I wanted to show some pictures of the outside of a dollhouse, that the creator, Doreen, has decorated. Each season she changes the outside of her dollhouse to match! I think it's a great idea and it would certainly add to the display of the house. One thing I personally love about miniatures is that projects are 'never done', and you can always add to it. Of course not all dollhouses have a garden, but you could put snow on the roof or windowsill, or decorate the inside of the house for various holidays, and the dollhouse therefore becomes a seasonal ornament!

Debbies Tiny Treasures

Debbies Tiny Treasures

Thankyou, Debbie, for participating in the Fluffy Bricks Competition! Debbies Blog, "Debbies Tiny Treasures"covers her miniatures and a bit of her life!

"

I didn't start making miniatures until 1989, when I received my first Handmade Doll's House that my Mum & Dad, had, had built for me, by their friend Jack, a Master Carpenter.
I'd always been into Craft's and decided that I'd have a go at making my own miniature pieces to fill my house. I found some Fimo in a craft shop and the rest, they say is History. (Although some of my first attempts should have gone in the bin)..
I've made some wonderful friends in the Miniature World, who have been a source of inspiration and encouragement. For that I thank them.
Like I've always said "Its the small things that make life Beautiful".. "

Artists Portfolio

This Artist's Portfolio is by Julia Connett

"This is a leather bound portfolio in one 12th scale.It contains 3 sketches and would be an asset to any miniature artists studio. It measures 2 1/4"x2". "

Competition Winner!

The winner of the competition was Debbie! I'll be in contact with her soon to ask her what she'd like me to put up.

Thanks to all who participated! I've really appreciated the links around the internet. :)

Life

Hello everyone! No update today, because I'm in the middle of a house cleaning adventure. Today I rediscovered my polly pockets, my little ponies, trolls, soft toys, and 'Quints'. Remember those?
I'm sure that I loved polly pockets and quints more than usual people do, because I was such a miniaturist even then! I also found my 'String Family'- anyone remember those books? I made my own string family and they had a house in one of my drawers. Good times! For some reason I didn't make "Borrowers", because I thought hey, if they're real, they don't need me to make a little pretend home for them- they wouldn't live in it anyway.

I'll count up the points for the competition as soon as I have time- if there are any you haven't claimed, now's your chance.

I'm also on a really bad laptop that keeps clicking on the middle of sentences as I'm typing, and it's 41 degrees today, yes that's right, celcius, and I'm supposed to be helping find a host for the next step in my internet empire that a friend and I are creating. You heard it here first folks, we're creating a site for 'good news'. And then many more sites after it. Any profits from this website, and this blog too by the way, goes towards our websites, and also to helping him raise enough money for a PHD. Yes, we have high hopes. But every little bit counts, right?

Also, I'd LOVE more photo submissions from people. Don't be afraid! My cache of photos grows ever smaller, and this is your chance to show off! Or if you know of someone who does some great things, pass me their contact details. You do'nt need to have a shop, or be an artisan.

Gumby and Pokey

70s, 80s and 90s dollhouse bedrooms need toys too! This is a miniature Gumby and Pokey. They're made from polymer clay and are 13 mm tall.

This is by Sonia.

Brazilian Pink Toe Tarantula Terrarium

"This 1/12th scale (1" = 1') miniature tarantula is the most realistic tarantula I've made to date. The photos do not do him justice. When seen in person, people often ask me if he is, or was at one time, alive. Please note: No spiders were harmed in the making of this highly detailed miniature replica!

The tarantula is made of polymer clay and flocked for realism. He has glass eyes. He is approximately 1/2" in diameter, scale for a full-grown tarantula. His little home measures 2 1/8" long by 1 1/8" deep by 3/4" high and is complete with sand, greenery, half-log hideout, and filled 'water' dish.

He posed for the second photo before being glued into his home as these little guys are extremely difficult to photograph inside their plastic vivariums."

By WhimsyCottageMinis

Spilled Vase of Flowers

Miniaturists often enjoy setting up scenes in their dollhouses, and come up with this sort of miniature!

Six beautiful pale pink roses sculpted individually from polymer clay are set into clear polymer clay ‘water’ in a tiny real glass vase. A little green lichen is added for foliage.
Each rose is made in two slightly different tones of pink for added realism.

Unfortunately the vase has been knocked over and some of the water has already spilled out.


If you pick it up, the 'water' is stiff and immoveable, so you can place the 'spilled flowers' anywhere you want!


This example is by Carol.

Two Or Three Things!

Hello everyone!

I've got a couple of things to say today. :)

1. Thanks of course, to the people who have been submitting photos or letting me put their photos up. I'm a little short on submissions right now, so I'd love it if you'd send me some! I don't know you exist to ask you, especially if you don't have an Etsy shop. You certainly do not need to be an 'artisan' to submit things to this blog, I know that 'ordinary' miniaturists can make fantastic things too. I do ask that your photos are clear and of good quality. I might post a tutorial on the sorts of things I want, later on, or find one online that covers everything. If I 'reject' your photos on that basis, please do not take it as any sort of commentary on what it is a photo *of*.

Interesting model railway layouts and other 'related' miniature hobbies photos are also very welcome to be submitted- they won't be put up all the time, but an occasional set of photos for other scales would be interesting I think!

2. Thanks to those participating in the competition! I *do* need you to reply to the competition entry however, with what you've done that's pointsworthy. I really want to make this blog as popular as possible with miniaturists and non miniaturists alike! If you have suggestions on how I can do that, feel free to share.

3. If you missed it before, there's a link on the side of the blog, where I'm trying to create a forum for people to be able to find other miniaturists to have as online or real life friends! Miniaturists of any scale.

The Diet

This is from CWPoppets.

"The Diet is a 1/12th dollhouse scale scene.
The little hairy guy is 5.5 inches/ 14 cm tall. The photo's don't do him justice. He looks much better. ;-)
He is made of polymer clay with posable arms. His clothes are handmade from cotton prints.
The fridge is storebought but the vegetables and fruits inside are also handmade by me from polymer clay."

From Living: And it also looks like the fridge was hand made by *somebody*. I love his hairy feet! Definitely 'fluffy brick' quality to this.

Competition Time!

{If you're here to read the blog, don't forget to scroll down for the photos!}

I really want to make this blog popular- Both in the miniatures community, and in the 'outside world'- because we all know these miniatures are fantastic, and I want them to be seen! But I can't do this alone.

If you'd like to help me out, I'd love it if you'd pass on the link to the blog- not just to miniaturists! Anyone can love looking at these. I'd love it if you'd submit photos, or encourage your friends to submit photos.

To reward those who help out, I'd like to offer a points based competition. The prize is a FREE advertising entry! (and it doesn't even have to be for a miniatures site/blog/shop!) After a week, I'll add up the points.

For posting the link on another site, blog or forum, including in your signature- 25 points
For posting the link in comments to a blog- 5 points
For submitting photos- 2 points per photo
PLUS 10 points per photo I put up.
For comments on this blog- 2 points per comment
15 points if you begin to 'Follow' me.



When you do something pointsworthy, you must post a reply to this entry stating what you have done, for those points to be counted. Yes even if you've submitted photos or commented on my blog somewhere- I need it to be easy to count. If you're not a blogger member, please make sure that your identity is clear, and that you leave contact details, with each post. Thanks!

In the event of ties, a group advertising post will be made.

Some ideas of things you could advertise- Your miniatures site, shop or club, your blog, your lj, your etsy shop, something for sale, your totally unrelated website, your business...

Good Luck! And thankyou for your time and help! I hope I can make this project far reaching, with your assistance.


And so you don't feel cheated, here's a photo of a 'bed pig' I made- a Victorian hot water bottle.

Kitty Litter

Well, this is a disgusting one. Is it a fluffy brick? Somehow, I think so!

"Okay, now I know these are a bit gross.. BUT who has a perfectly clean kitty litter box? lol.
Perfect for a Crazy cat lady or multiple kittty cat dollhouse.. or just hidden in a Dollhouse basement. "

This is by Canadian artist Melanie Clark.

An Award

Jody over at minileapsandbounds has given me a blogging award! Thanks so much.
... unfortunately I think she's covered all the blogs that I know of that I read! I really only read miniatures blogs at the moment. Am I allowed to 'give' the award to 'all people who have blogs who have submitted photos to me'? Because that's what I'm doing. :P

Knitted Dolls

This is from Susann. She knits miniature dolls. Her knitted dolls range from just a little smaller than a half inch through to 1 and 3/8inches.
The first is 1 inch tall and is a Maori doll.
The second is Lizzie also 1 inch. She is one of a number of period style dolls that Susann makes.

The Maori doll is knitted on 0.7mm wire needles and the Lizze doll is on 0.5mm ones.
Her dress however in knitted using 0.38mm wire. She uses wires down to 0.25mm though this size is hard work.

1:144 Scale Pub

This is Insomesmallway's rendition of an English Pub. It is all wood, and it is made from laser cutting, a technique that can create some very finely cut wood products. They've called it The Swan, and it looks like many pubs in England.

The Pub sits on a base just 5 1/2" wide and three inches deep. It has a main room, an upstairs lounge, and a Games room. The back roof lifts up and the back door opens to view the interior.

This is a 1:144 scale dollhouse miniature- the tiniest scale that people use on a regular basis. It's 'Dollhouse for a dollhouse' size.

In some small way

Little Dog

This is another 1:12 scale miniature dog from KaysK9s. She uses a technique called 'felting' to create miniature animals! They're usually portraits of people's pets.

Christmas Art Deco House Part 2

Katina has sent me photos of more of the art deco house! See the previous post for more.
This is the bathroom, nursery and study. The furniture was custom made for her, by "Some extremely talented people!", and once again she made lots of the accessories and soft furnishings.

Christmas Art Deco

This is from "Katina" in the UK. It's a Christmas Themed Art Deco House, and she made all the food and other soft furnishings! It's a living/dining area and bedroom.