Mini Makers

Still Waiting........

2010-05-26T04:24:00.004-04:00

No pasta machine yet I ordered it a week ago and I have been told its on its way. Yesterday I tried to roll some clay with a jam jar. I just gave up I don't know how I ever managed without my pasta machine. I haven't made anything for over a week. But I managed to put the above together out of pieces I had already made.
To top it all I have a throat infection so I am going to wrap up warm and watch Tv until my wonderful new pasta machine arrives.

The Miniature Way February issue

2010-02-08T08:32:00.002-05:00

Where has the time gone? The February issue of The Miniature Way is now available - featuring our own Pam Hannypanny Dolls!
Take a look at how great those babies are:
http://cdhm.org/news/newsletter0210.php

New Miniature I-Mag debuts today!

2010-01-01T11:11:00.002-05:00

Happy 2010 MiniMakers! Today is exciting for me since it marks the debut of a project near and dear to my heart: The Miniature Way on-line magazine!
I've spent a couple decades as a print journalist, so this on-line idea is an amazing new horizon for me personally. Located on our off-Etsy site, the magazine has been months in the making and combines the talents of several writers and on-line techs. It has exceeded my expectations for its debut.
This month's debut issue features the artistry of doll artist and dollhouse creator extraordinaire Beatrice Thierus whose dollhouse La Vie en Rose is an incredible look at a French countryside chateau; an introduction to artist Deborah Gouldthorpe of Fairy Glow Gallery; multiple uses of found objects for updating your dollhouse; a focus on how to use calipers; miniature book review; and much more!
Look for a familiar face in the February issue - a look at the creative woman behind Hannypanny dolls!
Please take a look and I hope you enjoy our efforts:
http://cdhm.org/news/newsletter0110.php

FREE SHIPPING for Christmas

2009-12-08T14:02:00.006-05:00

Just for Christmas I have free shipping on many of my items. Drop by to my store "Sarah Maloney" and pick up a holiday bargain.

Fairy House

2009-08-20T14:47:00.005-04:00

My name is Courtney, my mom, Susan and I recently opened up our Etsy shop, Our Fanciful Creations in July, and absolutely love making our little polymer clay creations. She and I always enjoyed decorating my dollhouses when I was a child, and I was truly fascinated at how small everything was. I suppose our love for miniatures back then created a desire for us to start making miniatures today! We have recently been working on our fairy houses. We just listed this little "peek inside" fairy house today...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29608985

http://ourfancifulcreations.etsy.com

We are so excited about being part of the Etsy Minimakers team!

FREE SHIPPING WEEKEND

2009-08-15T08:58:00.008-04:00

Has anyone else jumped on the wagon with free shipping this weekend? See Etsy's Storque for more details!

My shop has FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING this weekend!
ALL PURCHASES of

1. HORSEHAIR BASKETS
2. MINIATURES
3. JEWELRY Or WEARABLES (pins, necklaces, earrings, charms)

have free shipping, worldwide, August 14-18. LIMITED TIME OFFER! This includes my kit on how to coil your own horsehair medallion necklace!

So now is a very good time to dive in and get one, if you have been waiting for a deal!

Dolhouse cakes

2009-08-04T13:38:00.007-04:00

Hi everyone! My name is Adrine. I have always been in love with clay especially polymer clay since year 2005. I am also into beading making handmade jewelry. Recently I am just into miniature cakes and I find that they are so interesting and there are so many different techniques to it. There are so many kinds of clay I am playing with recently and totally engrossed in miniature food especially cakes and tarts. I have been practicing everyday and coming out with something new everytime. :) Hope you guys like what I created here.

You can also view more by visiting my etsy store http://aldesigns.etsy.com

Dollhouse Kitchen

2009-07-30T06:27:00.003-04:00

My name is Sarah and I love to make 12th dollhouse food with the odd fossil and taxidermy piece thrown in. As its the summer holidays and traditionally a quiet time on the dollhouse mini front I am using this time to start my Halloween and Christmas mini making. My two must favourite seasons although Christmas probably just wins by a whisker. I am working on Christmas cupcakes and sweets at the moment. If you would like to see my blog visit

http://miniature-dollhouse.blogspot.com/ or perhaps have a peek at some of my previous work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/29460878@N06/

Sarah

Mountain State Dollhouse Show & Sale

2009-07-29T08:52:00.002-04:00

The Mountain State Miniature Enthusiasts of Fairmont, WV, would like to invite miniaturists of all ages to attend the MSME Miniature Sale at the Fairfield Inn on Saturday, September 26.
The show is the only one of its kind in the Mountain State and will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Vendors of unique miniature items are still welcome to participate. For a contact name and e-mail please convo Blue Crawdad Works on Etsy.
Fairmont is located in the Northern portion of West Virginia and the Fairfield Inn is easy to find, just off I-79. Show hours will be from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

And the Winner Is....Barb!

2009-07-26T08:44:00.003-04:00

Using the randomizer, the winner of the horsehair basket giveaway has been determined...comment #46. Barb from strandsoflight.etsy.com. Congratulations Barb! Stay tuned for another great giveaway!

pamela
bazketmakr

Another Miniature Basket Giveaway

2009-07-25T12:26:00.003-04:00

There is only one day left on the horsehair basket giveaway on the Etsy Treasury Team Blog. I forgot to post it here earlier, please forgive me. There is still time to enter! Please see the Etsy Treasury Team Blog for details! I will post the winner here when s/he is chosen! thanks so much!
Pamela
bazketmakr

Skeletons in my bit box! A Tutorial from Cauldron Craft Miniatures!

2009-07-10T11:41:00.005-04:00

Finding Bits for Making Halloween & Spooky Miniatures!

Hello mini lovers! I'm Grimdeva of Cauldron Craft Miniatures & Oddities, specializing in spooky and fantasy miniatures. Are you building a Haunted Mansion or just seeking unique ideas and materials for a Halloween Roombox? Well, in my blog I'm giving up some of my super secret sources for spooky bits and pieces! You might be surprised where tiny skeletons may be found... go take a peek for yourself by following the link below.

http://cauldroncraftminiatures.blogspot.com/2009/07/dollhouse-miniature-tutorial-how-to.html

Turn all of this...

Into this!!!

And the Winner is....Woolies!

2009-06-24T09:10:00.000-04:00

Congratulations, Sara! Your comment was picked by the randomizer as the winner of the teeny tiny horsehair basket.

For those of you who do not know Sara, please check out her Etsy shop, Woolies , where she makes and sells "natural stuffies!" Visit her Woolies Blog where she has regular giveaways. She also is the proprietor of the Etsy shop Buster and Boo,

Congrats again, Sara, you will need to convo me with your address so i can get your tiny treasury out to you right away!

pamela

An artful Life: Stamping with photoshop

2009-06-16T23:24:00.002-04:00

An artful Life: Stamping with photoshop

Miniature Horseahair Basket Giveaway!

2009-06-10T18:03:00.001-04:00

This tiny horsehair basket is being given away on my blog, Catching the Moon!

Horsehair baskets are great collectibles, and are wonderful for dollhouses or shadow boxes. This one come packaged ready to give, in a recycled, eco-friendly box.

There are no less than 5 *five* ways to enter, and the deadline is June 14, 2009...so hurry!

Congratulations Hannypanny Pam!!!

2009-04-23T10:50:00.004-04:00

Pam (hannypanny & hittycity) is featured in the May edition of American Miniaturist! Check out the baby madness! Way to go Pam!

Mini Houses in History

2009-02-15T14:45:00.003-05:00

The economy is less than stable but miniaturists have thought small for a lot of years.
The idea of tiny scale has been around for centuries in religious objects, as a wealthy person’s curio cabinet or a teaching aid. The earliest known example of a miniature model dates from the third millennia BC Ukraine. It shows a circular hut with two women, one grinding corn on the porch and the other sitting beside a stove inside the hut. Also inside the hut are three storage jars and a low table.
An unusual historic miniature representation is the casket interior of a wealthy Roman woman in 2 AD that was carved in high relief depicting a model room including the lady herself reclining on a chaise. Or maybe not so unusual considering funerary goods throughout the ages included miniature representations of everyday items. And, truthfully, haven’t some of us die hard mini fans thought of being buried with our treasures, a la King Tut?
It wasn’t until 1558 when a Bavarian Duke had the first true dollhouse created for his daughter. It featured an elaborately crafted interior and exterior and even had the stables and an orchard in the lower portions – bringing the outside in for a truly spectacular house. Unfortunately, the house itself perished in a fire in the 1600s, but detailed records of it remain.
By the 17th century Holland’s elite class sought to have the most elaborate Dutch cabinet gracing their parlour. This piece of often elaborately inlaid and decorated furniture featured locking cabinet doors hiding multiple shelves that, depending on how wealthy you were, were filled to bursting with collectible miniature furniture, accessories and foods created by the finest craftsmen.
From this fad came baby houses in 18th century England, once again with exterior and interior details on a miniature house instead of a mundane cabinet. The hobby naturally spread to America and by the 19th century lithographed houses by Gottschalk, Bliss and Schoenhut were on toy store shelves. These colorful paper lithographed houses are highly collectible today no matter their condition. By the 20th century the hobby became affordable to the masses in general – not simply to the wealthy or the poor-but-determined crafter - with lithographed cardboard, pressboard and eventually, metal.
After the metal shortages of WWII ended, tin houses by the likes of T. Cohn, Marx, Playsteel, Meritoy and Jayline started filling shelves. And as supplies grew more plentiful, the creativity of individual crafters was unleashed.
Famous houses were created by dedicated miniaturists both for themselves and famous recipients. In England, Queen Mary’s dedicated subjects gifted her with a magnificent mansion in 1924. British artist Sir Nevile Wilkinson created Titania’s Palace based upon his daughter Gwendolyn’s claim of seeing a fairy in their garden and lamenting that they had to live in holes in the ground instead of a grand house. Twenty years later Queen Titania had a grand 18-room palace resplendent with 3,000 works of miniature art to call home with her subjects.
Not to be outdone, American crafters were creating their own dream houses with gusto.
In 1928 America, silent screen star Colleen Moore, with the help of some of Hollywood’s most talented craftsmen, created the nine-foot square Fairy Castle. The castle features running water and electricity and could be disassembled into two hundred pieces for transport. Unlike Wilkinson’s castle, built to house fairies, Moore’s castle featured a fairy tale/mythic theme: the Wizard of Oz characters, Aesop’s Fables denizens, King Neptune and Mother Goose to name a few, all star in different rooms.
Earlier, in 1878, President Rutherford B. Haye's darling daughter Fannie became the recipient of an amazing five foot tall Victorian dollhouse from a Methodist Church ladies group. It dwarfed the earlier gift of a four foot bay windowed house from her mother.
Beginning in 1916 New York City socialite Carrie Stettheimer created the 17-room Stettheimer House and the well-known artists and literati who visited her filled it with amazing scale works of art, notably Marcel Duchamps’ Nude Descending a Staircase and Venus, by Gaston Lachaise. It is a colorful, avant-garde look at the Art Deco period enhanced by NYC Museum workers’ creations of caricature dolls of the above artists and literati as well as the three famed Stettheimer sisters and their mother enjoying a Christmas party.
By 1976, America feasted its collective eyes on the amazing White House in Miniature when it went on tour - a complete recreation of the president's home made by John Zweifel and family. The Zweifels and a group of close friends and family have spent more than 500,000 hours building this 50-foot replica in 1:12 scale over the course of 38 years. And they aren’t finished. White House décor trends are monitored and updates to the model reflect the changes made during each administration.
While the replica was on tour in Holland, an anti-American group attacked and vandalized the building, smashing and destroying much of it. Miniaturists around the world responded by sending replacement items, donating hours of skilled labor and working tirelessly to restore the work.
Today, a mini hobby allows grand flights of fantasy to spring to life in a troubled economy where larger pleasures are out of reach. For us, dreams can come true.
Interested in more fabulous historical mini creations? Look for "The Dollhouse Book" by Stephanie Finnegan; "A Fabulous Dollhouse of the Twenties" by John Noble (updated version coming in April by Sheila Clark); "Colleen Moore's Dollhouse" by Colleen Moore; "Dollhouses, Miniature Kitchens and Shops from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center" by Susan Hight Rountree; "The White House in Miniature: Based on the White house Replica by John, Jan and the Zweifel Family" by Gail Buckland and Kathleen Culbert-Aguilar; and "A World of Dollhouses" by Flora Gill Jacobs.

Hello Mini Makers

2008-12-13T22:42:00.002-05:00

What has everyone been up to? I've been busy making jewelry lately. I also took a one day class on collaging and had a lot of fun learning it.

Congratulations to Greenlupa!!

2008-10-29T12:36:00.003-04:00

Congratulations on the article. I think it is well deserved recognition of your amazing art! You must be over the top with excitement about it. I am so happy for you! :)
- Rachel

Congratulations Team Leader Greenlupa

2008-10-28T11:07:00.023-04:00

Team Leader Greenlupa (Alice Bell) is featured in the November issue of American Miniaturist magazine with an outstanding 12 pages! Divided into two articles, one story centers on living the mini potter way while the second is a tutorial on making a miniature pottery lamp.

"I am really thrilled beyond belief - I keep pinching myself to make sure it's real," she said.

"The features are just amazing and the pictures were super. I'm really grateful to CDHM.org for giving me the opportunity. Artists in the miniatures field can be some of the friendliest, most helpful people around and Marlene at CDHM is really tenacious about promoting her members," Alice said.

Congratulations Stephanie Petit Plat!!!

2008-09-03T10:55:00.006-04:00

The miniature winner of the Mini-Mud Challenge is Petit Plat by SK, Stephanie! Her miniature gateau was created based on the Sunny Yellow Cupcake Plate entered by Mud Team artist Jenny Blasen Pottery. Shrink the plate or enlarge the cake and you have a perfect match!

Congratulations Stephanie on having the winning entry, your cake looks scrumptious!

2008-08-23T23:49:00.003-04:00

Team Minimakers submissions for the Minimaker / Mud Team Challenge

Mini-Mud Challenge Results

2008-08-22T11:33:00.003-04:00

It's time to let the voting public take a look at the results. How do our creations compare?
From Aug. 26-31, entries in the Mini-Mud Challenge will be available on the Mud Team website http://etysmudteam.craft-sense.com/ for everyone to vote on their favorite entry.
Voters will receive (via email) a 10 percent discount code good in all shops participating in the challenge. See the Mud Team website for a complete list of participating Etsy shops.

What's the Big Deal about the Small Things?

2008-08-14T14:23:00.010-04:00

From my perspective, it is the challenge and the pure joy of creating something in miniature.

I was blessed to come from a maternal line of creative women. My Grandmother was a beader, my Mother a crocheter, quilter and oil painting artist, and my Sister and I, well, we made every kind of art and craft imaginable and then some. I would say my strongest drives are in design, building, painting and sewing.

About 12 years ago, I got bitten by the dollhouse miniature bug, and built and sold a slew of dollhouses, completely furnished. We lived on a busy main street and about once a month would set up tables in the front yard and put the dollhouses (and other crafts) for sale. Let me tell you, it was quite a display and nearly caused several accidents when people would glance over, driving by and slam on their brakes to pull over and stop. I sold huge farmhouse dollhouses and even the Southern Manison, completely furnished for about $300. I can't believe I did that. But, for me, it is all about the creating. I've never kept one of my dollhouses, I have sold them all. By the time I finished one house, I was already planning the next one. You might say I am driven to create.

Then, about 2 years into the dollhouse building, I signed up and took some Decorative Painting classes. About 4 of them. That's all it took, and I was off on a 8 year binge of building (life-size) furniture and accents and painting them. I bought all the woodwoking tools and power saws and set up my woodworking shop in my garage. You've heard of a "powder-puff mechanic? Well, I became a "powder-puff woodcutter. I ended up teaching this wonderful art for 7 years at a large craft store in my area. I was even commissioned to paint several wall murals, two of them in the craft store. I even had my 15 minutes of fame when I was published in a major Tole Painting magazine.

And then, about 2-3 years ago, I decided to combine the artistic painting with the miniatures. It just seemed logical. So I started building and artistically painting dollhouses and dollhouse miniature furniture. Sometimes with a paintbrush and sometimes with a mouse. Sometimes with fabric.

I am an intuitive creator, meaning that I create as I go. I don't do sketches or anything in advance. I usually have some picture in my mind of how a project will look when I start, but it just develops as I go, and may end up completely different.

I currently have a line of about 300 dollhouse miniatures that I have designed. I make and sell them again and again. And of course, anything I paint with a brush, is always one-of-a-kind. I have a very small sampling on Etsy, most of the rest are on my website.

I also continue to cut wood and paint things in "life-size" and sell those on another of my websites.

I have boxes and boxes of pictures, way too many to put here, but this is probably my favorite-to-date dollhouse that I built, painted and decorated.

p.s. if the slideshow stalls or stops, just move your cursor and it will move again....... :)

Cool Slideshows

This is the first dollhouse I artistically painted and some others that I painted later.

And here are a few furniture pieces and misc.

So, you can plainly see that I am not obsessed. However, if/when the day ever comes that I cannot create something, then you can figure that I have gone the the Great Beyond and will continue my work there.*grin*

Hope you enjoyed looking - the Small Things really ARE a Big Deal!
PrettyUniqueDesigns.etsy.com

Hello!

2008-08-08T15:21:00.002-04:00

I am also someone who has never blogged before. As a matter of fact, I am pretty computer illiterate, which has just aged me..................

I have done a lot of different kinds of things. I have sewn, painted, done ceramics, and just created. Which is what kept my little classrooms in childcare busy as little bees while I was working as a childcare teacher. Create, Create, Create! That's what it was all about.

My first experience with little furniture and stuff was when my daughter was a little girl (we won't say how little she is not now....) and her father and I built a dollhouse for her for christmas. We put it on a table he had built special for it, We made a yard with a playground, patio and bbq area on it. All the grass and trees and a flower bed. He painstakingly cut all the little pickets for a picket fence and I did the interior. Painting, and sewing, ect.
I have refound how fun it is to do the dollhouse stuff. I started with etsy doing my "recrafting" (redoing things I have found at yard sales, thrift stores, ect. that needed a new lease on life), and found a couple of dollhouse cupboards at a yard sale. I bought them, and as they were totally unfinished, I painted them. I found that doing the little details, it took me back some years, and I found it to be a pleasant relaxing experience. And it remains that way. I now go out and buy them from craft stores and have a lot of them still to do!

Well, that's about all for now, except thanks for the invite, to my "twin" by name, Alice. I appreciate it and look forward to learning a lot from othter etsians!

Alice #2

2008-08-05T15:52:00.006-04:00

Hello everyone!

First time ever I "blog". So I will tell you a bit about me and what I'm doing! I started making miniature food in July 2007, when I was in holidays. I was searching for a "new hobby" (I know it sounds weird, but it's the truth!) and found a French website about miniatures. I quickly began making miniature food in order to make a mini bakery (which has never been made btw). I have to admit it wasn't my real first time with minis, I made some for my barbies when I was a child.

I really started to get addicted to minis at Christmas and I bought the Angie Scarr's book. I made some and saw it was far too much only for me, and as the addiction was becoming bigger I thought of selling them. And it turned out far better than I ever expected!!!

I love making sweet food and fruits, cakes, tarts and patisserie. But I really like it when someone comes to me and asks me to do something totally new!

Here are some of my minis:

Miniature tarts are my favorites! I love them in real life and I love making mini version of them!!

Donuts are also a real mini addiction! And I never eat some! That's funny I think ^^

Mini Jewelry
I also started making mini jewelry due to a custom order! And those are selling very rapidly. I made some jewelry for myself ^^

Ok, that's enough! It was a long post, but I surely won't write every day!!!
If you want see more:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/_sk/
http://PetitPlat.etsy.com

Thanks for reading!
Stephanie aka PetitPlat (which means LittlePlate)

Thanks for the invite!

2008-08-04T21:17:00.001-04:00

Hi Alice!

Just wanted to say a quick thanks for the invite! I look forward to meeting everyone :)

xo, ~Lori

http://heartworksbylori.etsy.com

Come to the Virtual Trunk Show!

2008-07-16T13:14:00.001-04:00

Do you have a dollhouse? A shadowbox? An empty china cupboard? How about filling it with miniature artworks? The MiniMakers team of scale miniature artists is hosting a showcase of team members' creations today at 6 p.m. est in the Etsy Labs Treehouse.
Here is your chance to do some early Christmas shopping for friends and family (or buy something special for yourself you just know no one else would think to get you!) and meet the team artists and ask them how they do what they do.
It takes a lot of patience - not to mention good eyesight - to create pieces from 1:8 scale all the way to 144th scale! All sorts of items will be available, from miniature foods to tiny plants to furniture to pottery and other interior decor items. Hope to see you there!!!

Tip your hat to Cogan's Creations

2008-06-21T20:40:00.004-04:00

"I started down the miniature-loving and making path about three years ago when I saw a dollhouse that my in-laws had made. I had always wanted a dollhouse, and had been crafting other things for years, so I decided that I'd make one for myself," said Sue of Cogan's Creations, home of exquisite crocheted minis.

"As I was searching on E-bay for the dollhouse and its furnishings - that I couldn't make - when I found the CDHM (Custom Dolls, Houses & Miniatures) group. And from then on I was hooked on miniatures....I was just so much in awe of all of the talent found in that group of people," she said.

Her shop on Etsy offers a wide variety of items in addition to the delicate miniature crocheted and embellished lacy sun hats and placemats. Her daughter and mother also frequently contribute handcrafted items as well, although non-miniature in nature she welcomes the all-in-the-family concept of her on-line store.

"I would have to say that my mother JoAnn was/is my greatest inspiration, not only in my crafting, but in life in general. She has more talent in her little finger than I can ever hope to achieve," she said.

Besides her miniature works, Sue creates charming full-size personality-filled teddy bears.

"In addition to my teddy bears I'm working on a couple of 1/12 scale houses, one for a contest. One is a lighthouse, which is structurally complete, but needs all of the finishing touches and the furnishings made/added. The other is The Adams house, specific to the annual contest on miniatures.com. It's still in the box but will be started in the next couple of months - when my world outside of crafting slows down enough for me to devote even an hour a day to making things!" she said.

Naturally, her crochet hooks are her favorite tools.

"Aside from the creative portion of my brain," she added.

"And probably the single biggest thing that I would love to create but haven't yet is a successful business!"

"I've been sewing, crocheting, and crafting for as long as I can remember. There is no greater pleasure than creating something with your own two hands that brings happiness to someone else," she added.

Let's get creative!

2008-06-20T19:11:00.002-04:00

The challenge is ON! It's Mud Team /vs/ MiniMakers!

The challenge items have been posted and now we need to choose: what piece inspires YOU most? How creative can you be to create something that will complement your selection? Example: one of our crafty food makers chooses the sunny yellow plate and makes a selection of baked goods that look splendid on yellow.

We have until mid-August to work on our entry and get it photographed. Then, on Aug. 23, submit the photo to the Mud Team website for posting. Judging by the visiting public will take place Aug. 26-28, incentive to vote will be a 10 percent discount code good in all shops participating in the challenge.

Inside the Box of Trix

2008-06-16T19:11:00.005-04:00

Box of Trix made her first miniature items in 1987 from Fimo, blissfully unaware that there were either collectors of such objects or even different scales.

"I was making jewellery and just decided to make 'little ornaments,' as I called them, of trays with tea pot, cups cakes and cheeseboards etc. It was only when a customer at my craft stall asked if they were 12th scale that I found out more about scales & sizing," she said.

Her first scaled project was a dollhouse for her daughter's 10th birthday.

"That was 6 years ago and I enjoyed it so much I became interested in making pieces to furnish and decorate it," she said.

This led to her own very first kit which to this day remains a best-seller of the four kits she has developed, the ‘Boxoftrix Chocolate Box Kit.’

From boxed chocolates she expanded to finely detailed miniature needlework.

"I have always had a love for embroidery and it was when I was studying city and guilds embroidery and combining some of my work with a jewellery course at the same college that my embroidered miniatures came along much later in 2004," she said.

Her pieces quickly expanded to include a silk embroidered work basket, shoes and opening handbag. Then her interest lit upon the creation of fine art.

"I was admiring some miniature paintings online and reading about miniature art when I decided it might be nice to do my textile art pieces in miniature. My first piece was ‘Poppies.’ I now do custom pieces for private collections," she said.

These pieces have included copies of Monet’s ‘Madame in the Garden’ and Van Gogh ‘Vincent’s Room.’

"I'm working on developing a fifth kit which will be my first embroidery kit," she said.

She finds her inspiration in the enthusiasm of other miniature makers.

"I like to see true scale in a piece. I am always in awe of those skilled in things that I can't or have never attempted to do, such as glassware, detailed furniture and crochet," she said.

Currently, she is stitching away on a new kit and a miniature patchwork silk embroidered cushion.

"I'm also working on a ‘Van Gogh’ self portrait," she said.

Her favorite tools, quite naturally, are the needle, hoop and her mini-iron.

In addition to the stitched artworks she would like to have time to create her very own cottage.

"My mother bought me a 12th scale cottage kit for my birthday three years ago. I had big plans to make it into a haberdashery and tearoom with a ladies apartment upstairs and have been purchasing things for this project ever since. But I have never had the time or space to do it!" she said.

Box of Trix is a member of The Embroiderers Guild, IGMA and CDHM and has had work published in various issues of the UK magazine ‘Dolls House & Miniature Scene.’

Thank you for welcoming me

2008-06-15T21:59:00.002-04:00

Hi All,

Thanks for welcoming me to minimakers. Love all the linked sites and "meeting" all the other miniature makers! This has inspired me to create more miniatures!
Cathy (CathyMichaelsDesign)

Pay court to Court's Confections

2008-06-09T20:17:00.005-04:00

Court's Confections trip down the mini path began at the tender age of four when her grandmother decided she needed a dollhouse.

"My grandmother made me a wonderful house when I was only four years old. But it wasn't until two years ago I started making my own mini cakes and food," she said.

Her tiny food garners oohs, ahhs and YUMs! from all who see them. An intricate Chocolate Tower Cake looks like something featured on a Food Network Chocolate Challenge, while a platter of cheese and fruits accompanying a bottle of wine looks like the perfect snack. She has taken the art of the photo cake and shrunk it for the dollhouse.

"It's a unique miniature sheet (or round) cake created just for you! I will decorate your cake with your photo or non-copyrighted image in whatever colors you wish! I ask people to email me their color and shape preference in a JPEG or other format I can edit. It's a perfect gift for weddings, baby showers, party favors, holidays or just because it's fun. I like to tell people my cakes are handcrafted with love from polymer clay by a professional cake decorator with a passion for miniatures," she said.

Her grandmother's gift paved the way for a lifetime of fun.

"This is my true passion. I used to be a regular cake decorator but much prefer the tiny ones. I pull a lot of my inspiration from real cakes I used to create. I am always thinking of new creations," she said.

A member of Custom Dolls, Houses & Miniatures, she says she is always inspired by all the artisans she has met there.

"They are spectacular," she gushed.

The current challenge for her talented fingers is a commissioned Strawberry Shortcake, an item that would fit perfectly in her dream creation.

"Some day I'd love to create a miniature complete bakery roombox," she said.

She is also a member of IGMA.

Mini pots and a place to put them

2008-06-01T21:44:00.004-04:00

Greenlupa has loved miniatures ever since she was sculpting with Play-Doh. But a chance discovery of a magazine called Creative Crafts & Miniatures with a cover story on miniature food was the beginning of a dollhouse scale obsession in her young life.

"I started making stacks of pancakes with melty butter pats in the middles with air dry clay after I saw that. Once I sort of mastered the pancakes I found Sculpey clay and did a few really tiny carousels designed to go inside a dollhouse as a child's toy. If you grasped the top and base separately you could make the horses go up and down by turning it," she said.

It's been a few decades since the pancakes and carousels, and she has since moved on to pottery and hand carved and painted wooden furniture, featured in her Etsy shop Blue Crawdad Works.

"I love to whittle. I've had a knife collection ever since I was little - courtesy of my grandfather's influence - and spent a summer at our Cedar Lakes Ripley Craft Show as an apprentice to a wood carver. That was a great learning experience."

Her carved Halloween-themed wooden pieces either begin life as chunky wooden dollhouse furniture or are built from scratch using the ever-growing spare lumber collection in her basement.

"I've built two dollhouses, one a monster three-story Victorian and the other a Halloween special, so there are lots of different sizes of wood scraps left over. I love Halloween, it's a season of pure imagination so anything goes - I can include bits of stained glass, fabric, printed papers or anything that strikes my fancy. I also make full-size stained glass pieces so I always have plenty of those scraps too. It adds such sparkle and life to a piece. And I'm a bit of a magpie at heart, I love the sparklies and bright colors," she explained.

Her love of pottery began a couple decades ago in college but it wasn't until the past year that she downsized the full scale pots into dollhouse size.

"I primarily threw porcelain and carved it. Porcelain is not an easy medium but dollhouse pieces are harder! You have to find creative ways to throw the piece - fingers are just too big to create mini mugs, sugar bowls or creamers - and take the clay shrinkage rate into account for the right finished size. Then you have to have a way to stabilize it to trim and then you have to follow different methods of glazing to get a nice finished piece. All in all, much harder than full-size."

She still carves some of the mini pieces, using a low fire white clay body that is almost as smooth as the porcelain.

"I carve my faces, flowers, shapes, whatever, into the piece while it's leather hard when there's less chance of breakage and it's still relatively easy to carve. I use a sgraffito tool, it has a curved blade on one end and an arrow-shaped blade on the other that is great for carving out almost any shape."

"Plates, platters and bowls are not so bad, teapots are only traumatic when my dog eats one I've spent a long time making. I have a Belgian Shepherd with a nose for finished pots. He won't touch the raw clay in a ball waiting to be thrown - and thank goodness the clay I use isn't toxic. No, he waits until I've agonized over a pot, attaching a handle, completing a teapot, then waits until my back is turned and SLURP out comes the tongue and the pot vanishes. Now I keep them sealed in an old, lidded aluminum cake pan," she said.

A recent find has been black clay, a boon to some new Halloween pieces in the planning stages.

"I loved the Halloween of the 20s-40s, it was a haunted, spooky, fun party atmosphere, and that's the style I want for my pottery and furniture. I've made basic pieces and other holiday themes but my favorite will always be Halloween. My heart lives in Halloweentown."

Her work has been influenced by antique Halloween images, decorative full-size pots and architectural details. A pair of famous mini architects are also her role models.

"My greatest inspiration has been Pat & Noel Thomas. Their techniques for building miniature houses will be hard for anyone to surpass. I've learned a lot just from reading their old articles in Nutshell News. There are also the mini artists on Etsy & CDHM, I love seeing other peoples' work. It's so inspiring and gives me a level of creativity and workmanship to shoot for to see another potter's work or any other miniature piece. I still love looking at mini food. I don't know if I'll ever get the time to attain any level of realism of my own in that genre but I still love to admire someone else's efforts."

In addition to admiring everyone else's artistic efforts she is currently working on a series of new Halloween pieces and garden accessories.

"And taking better pictures. The laughable part about that is I love to take photos and often have a camera in my hands catching the dogs, bugs, trees, odd angles, etc. But great photos for my shop items just seem to elude me! I'm also having a lot of fun with the Halloween house I'm kit bashing from a Blueberry Cottage kit. I even changed the floor plan so it's pretty unrecognizable as how it started life. I'm incorporating stained glass, metal, wood carving and unusual things. This is my imagination house where anything can go. The Victorian was my dream house. I'd wanted a dollhouse for so long when I was little that Dad finally caved and told me if I could build it in cardboard then he would fund the wooden version. I'm not sure it will ever be totally finished - there are a lot of changes I've made because my world at age 16 didn't include a lot of technical detail for building anything."

Luckily that deficit has changed, in part due to an overwhelming curiosity about just about everything (as long as it isn't math).

"I'm numerically dyslexic, so there are a LOT of challenges out there when I'm doing anything with numbers - especially figuring out scales," she admitted ruefully.

Favorite tools definitely include her potter's wheel and kiln, the sgraffito tool and a Flexishaft Dremel.

"I will carve anything, I also like to carve semi-precious gemstones using diamond bits in the Dremel, but those take a long time to do. And I'm pretty partial to a utility knife, the handle is thick enough to fit my palm well and the blade is stubby enough to dig into spots that a pocket knife can't easily get.

She is a member of CDHM (Custom Dolls, Houses & Miniatures), IGMA (International Guild of Miniature Artists) and founded the Etsy Street Team MiniMakers.

Are Andy's Rascals guilty of being cute or what?

2008-05-23T20:29:00.005-04:00

When Andy of Andy's Rascals first discovered MiniMakers, she wasn't certain her expressively creative sculpts would be a "fit" in scaled dollhouse creations. Imagine her surprise to discover she had created her Rascals in an appropriate dollhouse scale without even realizing it.

"When my kids were little and the house was filled with excitement, drama and trauma it occurred to me that the children I was living with were not represented anywhere! They were sometimes sweet (mostly not!), and very, very real and true to themselves. So funny, so sad, so everything!"

A trip to a local ceramic shop with a friend soon set her on the path to creating one-of-a-kind, detailed clay figurines and selling to a local gift store. Under the name Tompin (a Swedish home spirit) they created almost 1,200 figurines. Clay wasn't the best medium for the Rascals and soon they were created using a new material that would withstand multiple castings.

"Then we did craft shows, then only Victorian Country Christmas for 11 years--and here we are on Etsy! I love each Rascal, and each one is done from a picture of a real child. I do my best to bring life to them, even making their eyes, lips and tongues glisten! The expressions seem to change depending on your mood, since real faces are not perfectly symmetrical in expression. The collection has grown to 108 designs including Noah's Ark and animals, a Nativity set, fantasy figures (mermaids, etc.), and others," said Andy.

It was during the series of craft shows that she won an award for the best craft.

"I started very early loving tiny things, and had a real locking treasure chest filled with my tiny treasures! I was fascinated with the miniature groceries with the real readable print. Even as an adult, when the first copiers came out and could reproduce magazine and newspapers in miniature in readable copies, I did it and shared it with my kids. We were always making and collecting things for the Barbies that would work in the proper scale. Flowering crab apples produce perfect Barbie apples, a bread and glycerin recipe let us make "real" bread and pizza dough - topped with real Italian herbs - cinnamon rolls were topped with real cinnamon - we were always looking for things to add to Barbie's kitchen," said Andy, creator of the Rascals and a microbiologist.

Although she admires many mini artists, Toothfairy Miniatures holds a special place in her heart.

"Because of my interest in food, Toothfairyminiatures blows me away!

"Currently, I'm just beginning my next item, and want to do a sleeping mermaid, a dancing adult angel with real hair (we just saw Cirque du Soleil and I'm inspired), and a wild, untamed girl, like Mizzdraconia's "Daughter of Ran" with wild eyes, only in a younger version. Also, I'm looking for the perfect picture for a little Eve," she listed enthusiastically.

To create the Rascals, Andy has a variety of favorite tools.

"I have an old curved blade for clay shaping that has shaped itself perfectly over the years for me, and dental tools for carving, and a standard wooden clay shaping piece with a flat, pointy end. Although it isn't a tool, my recent greatest discovery is wax that is like oil clay in its texture, but firm enough to be an extended arm or leg. Sculpting wax is perfect for miniatures, I think. It does then need to be molded and cast in a firm material," she said.

So what rascally creation is lurking in the "someday" folder?

"There are so many things I'd love to do! Since I've discovered the Minimakers, I've been thinking I'd love to create my perfect kitchen in miniature - a country kitchen in Italy or Provence with a fireplace, herbs hanging from the rafters, a sunny window looking over the vegetable and herb garden, wood burning oven, thick walled rammed earth walls, and a big wooden table in the middle. Or, a witches cabin with jars and jars of amazing dried things, like a Chinese herb store! Or . . ."

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

2008-05-23T20:27:00.002-04:00

Congratulations Paulette for having the Mad Hatter's Tea Party featured as a Luxury Gift in the Luxury Gift Guide for $100 and up!
What a super feature!

Congratulations Front Page Cath!

2008-05-20T08:27:00.002-04:00

Golden Unicorn Miniatures scored a front page shot in a treasury yesterday! Whoo hoo!!! Go Cath!

Mini-shop

2008-05-13T12:28:00.003-04:00

After a couple year of making individual item, one thing I always want to do is make baked minis for a bakery shop or such.

I spent time to fill this mini-shop with variety different kind of breads and buns with repeatedly made them, practice makes perfect. I'm practicing and there are loads of bread and bun to make. :)

1:24th Scale Cakes

2008-04-21T08:58:00.007-04:00

Beside 1:12th scale minis, my another favorite scale is 1:24th. I've been working on this scale and made some cakes for quite some time.

It's slightly different from my 1:12th scale work, the 1:24th cakes were more fruit cake while the 1:12th ones were and are more flower cakes. I guess this is because I lately am more with my big hand day. lol

The half scale cakes I made were mostly in ~7/16", but in some case I could make it up to ~9/16 and 19/32". It's amazing that some of my mini-collector friends also buy some 1:24th cakes too! It could be that the smaller scales are tiny and lovely that some of us just couldn't resist! :D

Artist Jillian

2008-04-19T16:15:00.004-04:00

For Jillian, it all started with a tiny grocery store.

"I think I always loved miniatures. As a child I had a miniature grocery shop and loved tiny things that were also grown-up things that normally I wasn't allowed to touch," she said.

Growing up is a good way around that "don't touch the fragile things" rule, but she didn't outgrow her love of tiny things. In 1999 she started creating miniature art works of her own.

"I think I just started doing it to see if I could, and found out that miniature art was an acceptable type of art to do. Randy Fenton is probably my greatest inspiration, but much of my inspiration comes from miniatures centuries old, too," she said.

Currently she doesn't have anything specific on her easel but a certain mini organ grinder lurks in the back of her mind.

"I have an unfinished organ grinder on a teensy stretch canvas I need to finish someday," she admitted.

When her art isn't awaiting her attention on an easel it has a special home.

"I have a miniature art gallery roombox to house my collection of miniature original paintings," she said.

As a watercolorist she doesn't necessarily have a favorite tool for her paintings, but uses a variety of brushes, paints and papers to achieve her fluid results. In addition to the watercolors, she is a graphic artist and an illustrator, among other artistic pursuits.

Jillian belongs to the Miniature Art Society of Florida and is a past member of the Australian Miniature Art Society.

"I had miniature art travel the world in an exhibition to galleries in 2001-2002," she said.

"I've won several awards for my 'normal' size art but I currently 'specialize' in ACEO/ATC (collectible 2.5x3.5" art cards)."

Warm Fuzzies, and I'm so glad the Minimaker team exists.

2008-04-14T17:12:00.003-04:00

I am just rediscovering miniatures and was very honored to have information posted here on the blog. I am looking forward to participating with the minimaker's team.

I am just in awe of the wonderful work that is here and
so pleased to be a part of this fine and talented community of people.

My head is full of ideas and collaborative projects, it's such fun to
connect with a like minded group of individuals.

Thanks for taking the time to include me,

Kathy

Adorning others

2008-04-12T19:49:00.005-04:00

Adorn Yourself's fascination with a small scale pottery line began with thoughts of an heirloom teaset to adorn her small daughter's tea table.

"When my daughter was born in 1982 I wanted to be able to make her a complete tea set suitable as a keepsake," said Kathy.

"Many of the pieces were created, but never seemed to make it into the same kiln load so they never quite made it to form a full, matching set that would be a keepsake. The minis just got played with," she added.

Before dreams of that exquisite heirloom set she had created miniature pots as a means of testing glazes on certain forms before mixing a large batch. These pots were not necessarily to any size scale, and meant only as a form to demonstrate the properties of the different glazes she created.

"I would not call myself a true miniaturist because many of my items are not to exact scale, but I do enjoy creating small scale pottery. I can't say that there has been one true inspiration but I've learned a lot from many people. I've also learned just how difficult it is to make these tiny scale pieces, even more difficult than throwing full-size pots," she said.

Her current projects include creating lidded forms and learning to stay true to the traditional dollhouse scale of 1:12.

"I try every day to throw a few and evaluate and measure them. I'm also working on some glazes and painting techniques to enhance the forms. I've made a few very tiny clay stamps, and some plaster press molds to see how they will work with the forms. I love terra cotta and as soon as I'm able I want to make some majolica replicas of some of the redware and slipware I've seen," she said.

Her favorite tools include such offbeat items as barbecue skewers, dental tools, a garlic press and her own fingernails for creating the clay pieces and medical syringes for glazing. With these and a little bit of imagination, it's possible for anything to appear in her kiln. Lurking in her imagination at the moment is a lamp.

"I'd love to make a lamp with a pressed cut tin shade," she said.

She is retired from a career in social work. Current health problems have restricted her membership in clubs and participation in shows. She is a past member of the Manitoba Craft Council and the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba.

Mad Hatter Tea Party wins 1st Place in CDHM Contest

2008-04-12T19:23:00.004-04:00

Here is my Mad Hatter's Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland. I made it to enter in the CDHM Myths, Fables & Fairy Tales contest. I'm happy to say it took 1st place! That was exciting! It's all 1:12th scale, with Alice, the hatter, hare and dormouse all made from polymer clay. Their clothing and hair is also clay, as are the dishes and everything else on the table. The table and chairs are wooden, the chair cushions are clay, and the big chair Alice is sitting in is also clay. My favorite part of the whole scene is the tea splashing out of the Hatter's teapot and into the cup. In fact, it's the first part of the whole scene that I made. Later, I made the Hatter to fit the teapot.

The MiniMakers Flyer

2008-04-10T08:58:00.005-04:00

Finally, after a lot of talk about making a package insert for the group, here it is! Those of you that are included on the flyer, convo me your email address so I can send you the actual PDF that you can print from.

Paulette

The Magical Watercolors of BDorsa

2008-04-05T20:38:00.004-04:00

Idle hands are not always ready for mischief. Sometimes, they just need a paintbrush and a little square of watercolor paper.

"About three years ago I began painting ACEOs to keep busy while sections of my larger paintings were drying. I'd put the larger paintings aside and pick up an ACEO-sized piece of paper," said Bridget Dorsa, whose tiny dollhouse watercolors are gaining a popular following in her Etsy shop, BDorsa.

ACEO stands for 'Art Cards, Editions and Originals'. They are collectible miniature artworks that can be created in any variety of media - originals or prints - so long as they measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches. They are small, low cost examples of artists' work allowing people to collect a variety of different types of art with a small investment. They also make nifty larger dollhouse paintings and pictures.

"I quickly became enchanted by the challenge of painting on a smaller scale and met many great ACEO artists in art groups," said Bridget.

Others have become enamoured of her work as well. She is a member of the Waterway Art Association and the Brunswick County Art Council and has participated in numerous local art shows in North Carolina, including the Spring Art Show at the Franklin Square Art Gallery.

"My artwork is currently being shown at the Sunset River Marketplace Gallery. One of my larger paintings, “Highway to Hell”, was one of 64 pieces of art accepted into the Waccamaw Art Guild 2007 Juried Art Show at The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum," she said.

Her watercolor career began in 2005 but she has only been creating true dollhouse size works - smaller than ACEOs - for a little over a year.

"I'm a big fan of Amy Weber's art (Studio 33). Besides ACEOs she paints teeny tiny paintings with incredible detail. When I saw them my first thought was that tiny original paintings would be perfect for a dollhouse so I set out to create some of my own."

She is also inspired by Katey of BlueEyesDuckStudios and is studying art and being mentored by the award winning NC artist Rusty Hughes who studied art extensively in Europe.

"I'm working mainly on tiny landscapes and seascapes right now with a few florals. I like mountain scenes too, because they also translate well into tiny paintings."

Her favorite tool is Fabriano 300 lb cold press watercolor paper and a black .001 archival permanent ink pen.

"The paper's weight makes it perfect for small art as it is heavy enough that it won't curl up. And those pens are a must for details in small paintings," she explained.

Future plans for this talented artist includes more water in her works.

"I'd like to try some mini abstracts and underwater scenes such as mermaids, fish and seahorses. I'd also like to try mixed media collages."

Her fans can't wait.

MiniMember Spotlight: Aleah Klay

2008-04-01T07:07:00.000-04:00

Our first MiniMember Spotlight feature kicks off with sculptress Aleah Klay.

She began her mini path by mixing scales in her drawings before she transferred to sculpting.

"I thought it was facinating to have "living" small characters mixed with life-size characters. I remember a drawing I did of a haunted house with pumpkin characters on the porch. These pumpkins had animated faces and were "alive" and VERY afraid because behind the haunted house was a wicked witch drawn to life scale reaching out to grab the mini pumpkin characters. Since she was life scale I only drew her hands and face in the background," she said.

Her own collection of action figures and her brothers' Dungeons and Dragons figurines piqued her interest in 3-D art.

"I didn't find out about how huge the art doll and dollhouse community was until a couple years after I started selling my mini's on Ebay," she said.

She credits her participation in Ebay and membership in the miniatures on-line site CDHM (Custom Dolls, Houses & Miniatures) with finding some of the people who have inspired her most.

"I am inspired by people who do selfless things. Amber Matthies, Trollflings, is always there for me. Tells me to knock it off when I complain about some little mistakes in my sculpts. She looks out for her fellow artist's, and is quick to give advice. Marlene Buffington, chikzilla, who started CDHM - I could write a book on what she's done for me alone, and another ten books on what she's done for the miniatures community. Pat Carlson, Skywind, took me in for a week during m y first visit to Florida and it remains one of the happiest times in my life. I will never forget that week. Carie Schoen, kelbycarie, supported me when I nearly quit sculpting about a year ago. She sent me a set of sculpting tools she made - her tools are little works of art. They are my all-time favorite tools and I love them. And Michelle Bradshaw, Pixiwillow, she was the first artist I worked up the guts to ask for help from and she gave me some tips. The list goes on and on....but I'll stop now," she said with a laugh.

Current projects are Teddy bear fairy bugs and a fairy bug house. A project she just hasn't been able to work out came to her in a dream.

"I often create characters I dream about but there is one dream I just cannot figure out a good way to recreate. It played out like a fast pace movie and involved many scales, zooming in and out through the dream. I would focus in on one thing from up high in a vast heavenly world, then as it got closer and closer it warped into something else. In one case a tiny flower changed into a flower-like being. And then out of the background would come a giant hand or stomping foot or a face. Then the dream would focus in on that giant creature and so on the dream went. I've had many vivid memories from that dream, most of them are odd creatures and plants."

Her dreams have brought a tiny corner of the fantastical to life for a great many people, including her teammates on MiniMakers!

Tea Time!

2008-03-27T11:51:00.003-04:00

Today we have variety of cake serves for your tea time, key lime cream, strawberry cream, double chocolate, chocolate-cookie and cream or if you like we also have a single serve dish with chocolate strawberry cake, all are freshly baked from my Tooth Fairy mini-bakery shop. :)
I'm inspired by Martha W. Puff's collection and her mini-bakery shop. I started my miniature life by collecting what others made and then, began to make my own. I started out my mini making with 1:12th scale 3-tier wedding cakes and jumped down to 1-tier 1:24th scale cakes, to long stem roses, to 1:12th scale cookie and some simple bakeries and finally back to 1:12th scale cakes and pastries. I also tried 1:48th scale cakes and real cake replication with the 'made to order' service.

Many of my mini-collector friends display their miniature collection at their place to share them with their family and friends and some use the minis for ornament (was just last Christmas) and some wear the minis as jewelry - earrings, pendants, bracelets, etc.

However, my main obsession is making dollhouse miniatures... :)

Hello everyone!

2008-03-25T19:31:00.006-04:00

Let me introduce myself! I'm Linda & I live in the North East of England with dogs, hens, pheasants & of course a hubby!

I'm very new to this blogging, so please don't shout at me..you can laugh all you like...if I'm making a complete mess of this!

I am a mini food fanatic whose main aim in life these days is to create miniature food, generally 1/12th scale, that is as detailed & as realistic as I can possibly get it. I will spend days getting just the "right" look & texture to my mini foods, but curse, very long & loud, when I have to make the "real" thing for my poor "better half"...& if only the "real" thing looked as appetising as the mini variety....!

I particularly love to create fish & shellfish dishes, perhaps because I love to eat them...at the moment the flavour of the month are fresh mussels!

I also enjoy creating "gory" Tudor pieces, they would use chopping blocks made from large logs to butcher the meat for their tables & this one depicts a boar's head being butchered! Nice!!

Challenge Winner

2008-03-01T08:26:00.000-05:00

Polka Dot Toadstool's fast, nimble fingers won the Spring MiniMakers Challenge with her kite-flying elf riding a snail. To see this cute little guy, go to: http://flickr.com/photos/24119352@N08/2301384098/in/pool-550123@N21
Or visit her Etsy shop at polkadottoadstool.etsy.com
Congratulations Cheri!

Miniature Embroidered Cushions

2008-02-18T04:36:00.003-05:00

This is a selection of hand embroidered miniature cushions I did. They are sitting on a blue velvet chaise which was the first piece of miniature furniature I made. It now lives in my daughters dolls house. She has a few handmade cushions in there too but these particular ones are for sale in my Etsy store.

The thimble shown next to the chaise will give you some idea of the size of these little art cushions. The average measurement of the cushions is about one and a half inches square.

The Piano Lesson

2008-02-06T17:17:00.000-05:00

Here is my first setting of scale people - the Piano Lesson. Mrs. Mueller and her little student Alexis are made from polymer clay, as is their clothing, using my own technique for making realistic cloth-like fabric. I made the old wooden piano, the beaded lamp, area rug and little sheet music too. It was a lot of fun and I'm already working on my next little scene.

Valentine Minis

2008-01-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is the next selling focus, and anything red or hearty will reign. Since my Valentine has four legs and a tail and tends to try to eat my pottery if he can get away with it the only miniatures he's going to get are some carob cookies. That just means everyone else is in luck who wants dollhouse minis. I have a couple red items ready to go, including a baking set and a triple stacked cookie server. See Blue Crawdad Works for these items later this week!

The blog is up!

2008-01-13T14:01:00.000-05:00

At long last, mechanical difficulties are over and the MiniMaker blog is up and ready for pictures from our talented team members. The art of the dollhouse and roombox setting is exactling. The oldest houses didn't seem to have an exact scale and were used as teaching aids for young girls on home management. Actually not a bad idea to include in today's training for boys and girls if you threw in a little budget balancing and check-writing! The closest scale then would probably be almost fashion-doll/model horse size, or 1":8'. Some of the most technically exact pieces come from Germany and even had running water and electricity. The later tin houses popular in America in the 30s-70s were 3/4" scale and held realistic plastic furniture, people and even a bird cage and dog house. Now, the standard scale for the most popular houses is 1":12" but the half inch scale is gaining on it quickly as collectors find there's only so much room in the real house for the dollhouses. And filling those houses can range from primitives like Shaker or Mission styles to frilly Victorian, earthy country or even fantasy houses like a Hobbit hole (see sidebar site). Crafting expertise has grown as the hobby has attained a greater standard. Colleen Moore's Castle is a fantasy exhibit worth seeing at least once in your life (see sidebar site) and the Smithsonian collection features miniatures that put real life items to shame with intricacy details.
Our artists feature a diverse collection of items from food to pottery to people to houses to landscaping and more. Instead of waiting for a miniatures show, they are all available right here with shops filled with items and many also take commissions. See our member listing at right and take a look at what they have to offer. There's something for everyone's house!

Under construction

2007-10-24T09:20:00.000-04:00

Our site is currently under construction. Please check back in November - or whenever blogspot gets the photo upload fixed - for your mini fix!