This post is about Trash to Treasure minis. For those unfamiliar with the term, trash to treasure involves using everyday items that could be found in a junk drawer and finding creative ways to make them look like beautiful and realistic miniatures.
The quality of the miniature you will end up with depends on your skill level and the materials you have on hand. The best resource you will find on trash to treasure minis can be found here:
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/w/page/20982005/trash_minis
You can literally spend hours, or days, going through every item listed on this site but it's much more fun to scroll down to the bottom and click on the links to albums and pages that other miniaturists have put together about trash to treasure minis.
I was also really excited when I came read the project behind door 14 in the 2011 AIM Advent Calendar. The project is a Christmas Hutch filled with trash to treasure ideas, including delicious looking cakes made from wine corks, and jars of Honey and Jam made using glass beads and glass paint!
Go here to read the 2012 AIM Advent Calendar:
http://www.scribd.com/full/46214573?access_key=key-4g0y5qx4mp8ml6s8ooo
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Monday, 17 December 2012
Christmas Room Box
I have decided that I will make up several scenes, rent a table at our city's Miniature Club Annual Show and Sale, and sell the scenes as well as the miniature soaps, perfumes and vanity sets I am planning to learn how to make and eventually sell on Etsy.
I will likely make some small changes to this room box before I sell it. I would like to decorate the outside so it looks like a Christmas Gift, I will decorate it with Christmas themed wall paper, or maybe scrapbook paper (Wrapping paper would be too fragile) and put a giant bow on top.
I have ordered a miniature gingerbread from Anna's Etsy shop. Many of you are familiar with her wonderful food creations and her blog It's the Little Things. I don't think it will get here before my husband and I leave for Calgary to spend Christmas with our families on the 22nd.
Well, here it is:
I will likely make some small changes to this room box before I sell it. I would like to decorate the outside so it looks like a Christmas Gift, I will decorate it with Christmas themed wall paper, or maybe scrapbook paper (Wrapping paper would be too fragile) and put a giant bow on top.
I have ordered a miniature gingerbread from Anna's Etsy shop. Many of you are familiar with her wonderful food creations and her blog It's the Little Things. I don't think it will get here before my husband and I leave for Calgary to spend Christmas with our families on the 22nd.
Well, here it is:
 |
| I find an angled view from the top shows more detail |
 |
| A straight on shot shows the toys in more detail
Merry Christmas Everyone,
Ruth
|
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Something to cheer me up
The initial shock of hearing of my Grandpa's death has worn off. Sometimes I forget how many people care about me and support me, because often I feel very isolated since I work from home and my husband Mark uses our one car to go work. During the summer I don't mind walking around to run errands or taking public transit, but during the winter, especially when it's cold and snowing, it is not pleasant!
I felt numb yesterday as I let my friends know the news about my Grandpa, and let Mark's mother and sisters know, since I am very close to to them. I slept for at least 10 hours last night, and when I woke up I started to think about how blessed I am to have such an extensive support system. Some of you know that when you comment on a blog post I have written, it arrives directly in my inbox. This is because I have enabled threaded comments. If you would like to set up your comments the same way, click on blogging tips at the top of the page, and click on the link "How to enable threaded comments." The tutorial comes with a picture, which is small, but you can click on it to make it bigger. I didn't reply to most of the kind comments I received in response to yesterday's post because I was so exhausted. I did appreciate all of them and they warmed my heart.
I will share with you some exciting news. For about six months I have been planning to make vintage miniature perfume bottles, soaps, perfume bottles, and vanity sets with a shabby chic theme. I have finally gathered all the materials necessary to make up these tiny treasures. I have a good tutorial as a starting off point, and my own ideas as well. My friend Pat is going to help me learn to use Resin, which I have never used before.
As soon as I feel comfortable making these minis, I will have a giveaway on my blog, and I will open an Etsy shop to sell these miniatures. I am still planning to sell beauty products on Etsy and hope to be shipping to to States within a year (It's too expensive to ship Internationally). I think selling miniature beauty products and full size beauty products on Etsy will be twice as nice! And I will definitely sell my miniatures internationally. I hope you are excited about my plans as I am!
I am going to do some reading up on Shabby Chic and would like to share two fantastic resources:
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/w/page/20981941/shabby_chic
Here is the second one:
http://www.scribd.com/full/29299539?access_key=key-1j6c7v3ujooag21poefp
This issue of AIM magazine is entirely devoted to shabby chic! Take a look on my sidebar. Kat from Four Little Walls is having a great giveaway on her blog. Kat has a special place in my heart because she was the first miniature blogger who started following my blog :) Before then it was just two of my friends. Kat also has a lovely online store linked to her blog. It's filled with Christmas goodies for your Christmas scenes or dollhouse.
Life goes on, and I'm trying to honor my Grandpa's approach to life by living in the moment and taking big bites! My Grandpa remarried in his late 80s, was very active in volunteering, and him and his wife travelled extensively and shared many adventures before his declining health forced him to slow down about 2 years ago.
Hugs to all,
Ruth
I felt numb yesterday as I let my friends know the news about my Grandpa, and let Mark's mother and sisters know, since I am very close to to them. I slept for at least 10 hours last night, and when I woke up I started to think about how blessed I am to have such an extensive support system. Some of you know that when you comment on a blog post I have written, it arrives directly in my inbox. This is because I have enabled threaded comments. If you would like to set up your comments the same way, click on blogging tips at the top of the page, and click on the link "How to enable threaded comments." The tutorial comes with a picture, which is small, but you can click on it to make it bigger. I didn't reply to most of the kind comments I received in response to yesterday's post because I was so exhausted. I did appreciate all of them and they warmed my heart.
I will share with you some exciting news. For about six months I have been planning to make vintage miniature perfume bottles, soaps, perfume bottles, and vanity sets with a shabby chic theme. I have finally gathered all the materials necessary to make up these tiny treasures. I have a good tutorial as a starting off point, and my own ideas as well. My friend Pat is going to help me learn to use Resin, which I have never used before.
As soon as I feel comfortable making these minis, I will have a giveaway on my blog, and I will open an Etsy shop to sell these miniatures. I am still planning to sell beauty products on Etsy and hope to be shipping to to States within a year (It's too expensive to ship Internationally). I think selling miniature beauty products and full size beauty products on Etsy will be twice as nice! And I will definitely sell my miniatures internationally. I hope you are excited about my plans as I am!
I am going to do some reading up on Shabby Chic and would like to share two fantastic resources:
http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/w/page/20981941/shabby_chic
Here is the second one:
http://www.scribd.com/full/29299539?access_key=key-1j6c7v3ujooag21poefp
This issue of AIM magazine is entirely devoted to shabby chic! Take a look on my sidebar. Kat from Four Little Walls is having a great giveaway on her blog. Kat has a special place in my heart because she was the first miniature blogger who started following my blog :) Before then it was just two of my friends. Kat also has a lovely online store linked to her blog. It's filled with Christmas goodies for your Christmas scenes or dollhouse.
Life goes on, and I'm trying to honor my Grandpa's approach to life by living in the moment and taking big bites! My Grandpa remarried in his late 80s, was very active in volunteering, and him and his wife travelled extensively and shared many adventures before his declining health forced him to slow down about 2 years ago.
Hugs to all,
Ruth
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Sooner than I expected
My Grandpa passed away peacefully last night after moving into hospice care. It is what I have wanted for him, to not be any more pain. That does not mean I do not feel a great amount of grief. I am planning to make this simple miniature project to give to my step Grandma at the funeral, which will be happening next week.
It's a fairly simple project, perhaps I will make up several, to give to my Aunts as well.
I'll be flying to Vancouver on Tuesday, to attend the funeral on Wednesday, and then flying back on Thursday. We will do our best to make the funeral service a celebration of my Grandpa's life.
I will share with you an Irish blessing, and one of my Grandpa's favorite Hymn's, which is also a favorite hymn of mine.
I'm not sure if I will resume my crazy Christmas mini scenes after I get back from Vancouver. I will put together the room box, but I think that we'll be it. I feel quite drained and exhausted and I'm not exaggerating when I say I have had very few nights of peaceful sleep since August. Last summer we were living in an apartment in a noisy neighbourhood frequented by drunks who liked to have noisy fights underneath our bedroom window. We moved into this townhouse in October, hoping at last to have peace and quiet, as it is a family friendly townhouse in a quiet neighbourhood. Unfortunately our neighbour on one side of us is about the rudest and least courteous person you can imagine.
After two months, many noise complaints and several calls to the police she finally got an eviction notice and will be gone as of Friday. I think all of you know how much I love posting on my miniature blog, but right now I just want to rest. So I don't know when I will be back.
Love Ruth
It's a fairly simple project, perhaps I will make up several, to give to my Aunts as well.
I'll be flying to Vancouver on Tuesday, to attend the funeral on Wednesday, and then flying back on Thursday. We will do our best to make the funeral service a celebration of my Grandpa's life.
I will share with you an Irish blessing, and one of my Grandpa's favorite Hymn's, which is also a favorite hymn of mine.
This Hymn is called Be Thou My Vision
I'm not sure if I will resume my crazy Christmas mini scenes after I get back from Vancouver. I will put together the room box, but I think that we'll be it. I feel quite drained and exhausted and I'm not exaggerating when I say I have had very few nights of peaceful sleep since August. Last summer we were living in an apartment in a noisy neighbourhood frequented by drunks who liked to have noisy fights underneath our bedroom window. We moved into this townhouse in October, hoping at last to have peace and quiet, as it is a family friendly townhouse in a quiet neighbourhood. Unfortunately our neighbour on one side of us is about the rudest and least courteous person you can imagine.
After two months, many noise complaints and several calls to the police she finally got an eviction notice and will be gone as of Friday. I think all of you know how much I love posting on my miniature blog, but right now I just want to rest. So I don't know when I will be back.
Love Ruth
Monday, 10 December 2012
Christmas Plum Pudding and Candle
I became interested in miniatures last February. Last March, I started browsing through ads on kijiji (it's like newspaper classifieds, online) to see who was selling off dollhouse miniatures they no longer wanted. By March I had also started to dream up future projects I wanted to do. In March I purchased a small room box from a lovely woman named June who had placed an ad on kijji. I told her I wanted to make a Christmas room box, and she had some Christmas items, so I bought some of them too.
Since then, a lot has changed. I started this blog in April. I called it My Krafty Life, because it was also about my homemade beauty products and other crafty pursuits. Eventually, I became frustrated, because I knew I wasn't attracting other mini bloggers because my blog wasn't exclusively about minis. So I split my blog in two.
My small Christmas room box has somehow exploded into about 3 or 4 different Christmas scenes. Right now, I'm having fun just rearranging them and eventually I'll decide what will go in the roombox, and then I'll create maybe two other Christmas scenes. I've also gone a bit crazy (for me) and bought more miniature food than usual on Etsy and bought supplies to take my first tentative steps into....making my own mini food.
Don't get too excited, I'll probably burn at least three batches. I think I'm going crazy in terms of miniature Christmas scenes because it looks like my own Christmas is going to be sad. Some of you know that my Grandpa is ill and dying. If you missed the post I wrote about it in November and would like to read it type Grandpa into the search bar and it will come up.I knew he didn't have much time left. I didn't expect his health to decline as fast as it has. Yesterday my parents flew to Vancouver (about an hour plane ride, about a 16 hr car ride), to help ease his transition from the hospital into a hospice and to stay with him until he dies.
He is now talking openly about wanting to go to Heaven. He is having trouble eating; he tries to eat for my step grandma's sake but finds it hard to summon an appetite. I've spend time around the elderly at the end of their lives. When they stop eating, they don't have much time left. I will grieve for him, of course. But mostly I feel at peace. He is 97 1/2. I think he deserves a rest.
He has always been one for celebration. He has always told me he wants me to go on with my life, that death is a part of life. Minis are always a good distraction. It's nice to focus on Christmas as well, which is about rebirth, family, tradition, and celebration.
Here is what I put together today. I used the candle Wyrna generously sent me. I included a Christmas plum pudding that I bought from Sarah Maloney, who writes the blog Dollhouse Kitchen. The cloth covering the table is a printable that I printed on to cloth fabric sheets you can insert into your inkjet printer.
The silver coffee pot is one that my parents picked up for me when they were travelling in Oregon. Make sure you check out the new giveaways posted on the sidebar of my blog! Anthea is now following my blog. She is offering a great giveaway at her blog Yew Tree Miniatures. She'll even let you choose from two options from her Etsy shops.
Goodnight my dear friends.
Your comments and kind words bring me a lot of comfort at a difficult time.
Since then, a lot has changed. I started this blog in April. I called it My Krafty Life, because it was also about my homemade beauty products and other crafty pursuits. Eventually, I became frustrated, because I knew I wasn't attracting other mini bloggers because my blog wasn't exclusively about minis. So I split my blog in two.
My small Christmas room box has somehow exploded into about 3 or 4 different Christmas scenes. Right now, I'm having fun just rearranging them and eventually I'll decide what will go in the roombox, and then I'll create maybe two other Christmas scenes. I've also gone a bit crazy (for me) and bought more miniature food than usual on Etsy and bought supplies to take my first tentative steps into....making my own mini food.
Don't get too excited, I'll probably burn at least three batches. I think I'm going crazy in terms of miniature Christmas scenes because it looks like my own Christmas is going to be sad. Some of you know that my Grandpa is ill and dying. If you missed the post I wrote about it in November and would like to read it type Grandpa into the search bar and it will come up.I knew he didn't have much time left. I didn't expect his health to decline as fast as it has. Yesterday my parents flew to Vancouver (about an hour plane ride, about a 16 hr car ride), to help ease his transition from the hospital into a hospice and to stay with him until he dies.
He is now talking openly about wanting to go to Heaven. He is having trouble eating; he tries to eat for my step grandma's sake but finds it hard to summon an appetite. I've spend time around the elderly at the end of their lives. When they stop eating, they don't have much time left. I will grieve for him, of course. But mostly I feel at peace. He is 97 1/2. I think he deserves a rest.
He has always been one for celebration. He has always told me he wants me to go on with my life, that death is a part of life. Minis are always a good distraction. It's nice to focus on Christmas as well, which is about rebirth, family, tradition, and celebration.
Here is what I put together today. I used the candle Wyrna generously sent me. I included a Christmas plum pudding that I bought from Sarah Maloney, who writes the blog Dollhouse Kitchen. The cloth covering the table is a printable that I printed on to cloth fabric sheets you can insert into your inkjet printer.
The silver coffee pot is one that my parents picked up for me when they were travelling in Oregon. Make sure you check out the new giveaways posted on the sidebar of my blog! Anthea is now following my blog. She is offering a great giveaway at her blog Yew Tree Miniatures. She'll even let you choose from two options from her Etsy shops.
Goodnight my dear friends.
Your comments and kind words bring me a lot of comfort at a difficult time.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
I feel so lucky
Today I received a wonderful treat in the mail from my warm, generous friend Wyrna. I know some of you already know about Wyrna and how talented she is because you follow her delightful blog, A Fairytale Come True. If you haven't read her blog, you should!
Wyrna sent me these treats all the way from Denmark to cheer me up when she learned that I have been having a hard time lately. I squealed with delight as I opened the package. I couldn't believe how much she had sent. I kept finding more little boxes and bags filled with wonderful things. I took a picture of everything my dear friend sent me.
Wyrna recently asked me for advice on taking better pictures. It did take me awhile to get the knack of it, but once you learn a few simple tricks it's pretty easy. I told her I might right a blogging tutorial on the subject. If you would be interested in a blogging tutorial on taking the best pictures that you can, I will write one in January. Leave a comment on this post if you would like me to write this tutorial! A couple of my lovely followers emailed me yesterday and said they were unable to comment on the post I wrote yesterday. I have been having this problem when trying to post on other blogs all week. It is an issue with Google, not my particular blog. Google is being "glitchy" When I encounter this problem, I either keep trying to post a comment until it eventually works, or come back the next day. The problem is usually fixed within a day or too.
Hugs and Kisses to all my lovely Followers,
Ruth
Wyrna sent me these treats all the way from Denmark to cheer me up when she learned that I have been having a hard time lately. I squealed with delight as I opened the package. I couldn't believe how much she had sent. I kept finding more little boxes and bags filled with wonderful things. I took a picture of everything my dear friend sent me.
Wyrna recently asked me for advice on taking better pictures. It did take me awhile to get the knack of it, but once you learn a few simple tricks it's pretty easy. I told her I might right a blogging tutorial on the subject. If you would be interested in a blogging tutorial on taking the best pictures that you can, I will write one in January. Leave a comment on this post if you would like me to write this tutorial! A couple of my lovely followers emailed me yesterday and said they were unable to comment on the post I wrote yesterday. I have been having this problem when trying to post on other blogs all week. It is an issue with Google, not my particular blog. Google is being "glitchy" When I encounter this problem, I either keep trying to post a comment until it eventually works, or come back the next day. The problem is usually fixed within a day or too.
 |
| I love everything Wyrna, your gift warmed my heart so much! |
Ruth
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Miniature Kitchen Shelf with goodies
I was planning to make a fireplace today, but I couldn't find the materials I was planning to use, so I rounded up some items I had on hand and put together a cute little Christmas Shelf scene.
I'm glad so many of you have found the AIM Christmas Advent Calendar Resource I shared with you useful. I want to let you know there are some more really valuable free tutorials and printies that you can start taking advantage of today!
When I first became interested in minis, I spent hours browsing the web, looking for resources. I would spend so long looking that my eyes would become so strained they would practically bug out and fall out of their sockets! So if I can save my wonderful followers that time and energy I am happy to do that. Here are some more places you can go for excellent, free tutorials and printies: Joann Swansons Blog! I cannot say enough good things about her and how generous she is! This is her blog:http://joannswansondiyminiatures.blogspot.ca/. Not only is she providing a series of mini projects this year, but you can search her blog and use her fabulous projects from the last two years. Enter Sugar and Spice into the search box on the upper right hand corner of her blog. That Christmas project is my personal favourite. You can also search for A Swedish Christmas.
I'm nowhere near done telling you about all the great resources out there! The biggest resource I have found on the web is http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/w/page/20981590/christmas. I have sent you to the page specifically about Christmas, but there are pages upon pages of free resources about every subject you can possibly imagine. All you have to do is enter the subject you're interested in into the search bar, and the relevant page will come up. If you are interested in being involved in Editing this page and adding your own projects, please email me privately. My contact information can be found by clicking on "View my complete profile" and then clicking on "Contact me".
I have a couple more things to do before I post the picture of my project. About.com miniatures provides some nice printies and project ideas. This is the link to the about.com miniature projects: http://miniatures.about.com/od/christmasminiatures/ig/Mini-Christmas-Decorations/ Two more links and then I'm done. Paper minis! These kits are very high quality and inexpensive. If you live in the States they probably won't take long to reach you. If you live else where, they might not reach you in Time for Christmas! But keep them in mind for your future projects! Here's the link: http://www.paperminis.com/. One more link, which The blogger true to scale generously provides each year: http://true2scale.blogspot.ca/2012/11/100-miniature-christmas-tutorials.html
Ok! I think it's finally time to post my own project:) Here it is!
I'm glad so many of you have found the AIM Christmas Advent Calendar Resource I shared with you useful. I want to let you know there are some more really valuable free tutorials and printies that you can start taking advantage of today!
When I first became interested in minis, I spent hours browsing the web, looking for resources. I would spend so long looking that my eyes would become so strained they would practically bug out and fall out of their sockets! So if I can save my wonderful followers that time and energy I am happy to do that. Here are some more places you can go for excellent, free tutorials and printies: Joann Swansons Blog! I cannot say enough good things about her and how generous she is! This is her blog:http://joannswansondiyminiatures.blogspot.ca/. Not only is she providing a series of mini projects this year, but you can search her blog and use her fabulous projects from the last two years. Enter Sugar and Spice into the search box on the upper right hand corner of her blog. That Christmas project is my personal favourite. You can also search for A Swedish Christmas.
I'm nowhere near done telling you about all the great resources out there! The biggest resource I have found on the web is http://minitreasures.pbworks.com/w/page/20981590/christmas. I have sent you to the page specifically about Christmas, but there are pages upon pages of free resources about every subject you can possibly imagine. All you have to do is enter the subject you're interested in into the search bar, and the relevant page will come up. If you are interested in being involved in Editing this page and adding your own projects, please email me privately. My contact information can be found by clicking on "View my complete profile" and then clicking on "Contact me".
I have a couple more things to do before I post the picture of my project. About.com miniatures provides some nice printies and project ideas. This is the link to the about.com miniature projects: http://miniatures.about.com/od/christmasminiatures/ig/Mini-Christmas-Decorations/ Two more links and then I'm done. Paper minis! These kits are very high quality and inexpensive. If you live in the States they probably won't take long to reach you. If you live else where, they might not reach you in Time for Christmas! But keep them in mind for your future projects! Here's the link: http://www.paperminis.com/. One more link, which The blogger true to scale generously provides each year: http://true2scale.blogspot.ca/2012/11/100-miniature-christmas-tutorials.html
Ok! I think it's finally time to post my own project:) Here it is!
 |
| They're a bit difficult to see, but on the bottom shelf are gingerbread men cookies and a bowl of candies!
Never fear! I'm getting a better Camera after Christmas, even if it's just another point and shoot camera with better zoom capacity. I'll buy it myself if I have to! I'll go to the sales they have the week after Christmas and I should be able to get one for about a hundred dollars, which isn't a bad price at all.
Before I go, I'd like to extend I warm welcome to my new followers, and Raven in particular. she is new to blogging, and she is so talented. Please go check out her blog, Raven's Nest, I've made it really easy for you by giving you the link:http://spg35fem.blogspot.ca/. Let's show her our support and let her know what a warm, generous community of miniature bloggers we have. Well, I have to go! I have a husband to take care of and a house to clean. Love, Ruth |
Monday, 3 December 2012
You DON'T want to miss This!
The AIM Advent Calendar features a mini Christmas project for every day in December. They have posted the one for December today, and will go all the way to December 24th. One for every day in December! On their website You will find a link on their website for archived issues. If you click on it you will find the Advent Calendars for 2 previous years
Go here to start reading this advent Calendar: http://artisansinminiature.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-aim-advent-calendar-2012.html
So now you have so many high qualify, free Christmas tutorials at your finger tips.
Just a couple of more things I would like to say. You may have noticed I have change my theme. Again :) I will probably never settle down with one theme. I always end up wanting a change. But I don't want to keep disorienting my followers. So I have decided to stick to the free borders that the blogger plumrose lane offers. That's keeping in as simple as possible.
Please check out the new giveaways I have posted on my sideboard!
Love,
Ruth
Go here to start reading this advent Calendar: http://artisansinminiature.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-aim-advent-calendar-2012.html
So now you have so many high qualify, free Christmas tutorials at your finger tips.
Just a couple of more things I would like to say. You may have noticed I have change my theme. Again :) I will probably never settle down with one theme. I always end up wanting a change. But I don't want to keep disorienting my followers. So I have decided to stick to the free borders that the blogger plumrose lane offers. That's keeping in as simple as possible.
Please check out the new giveaways I have posted on my sideboard!
Love,
Ruth
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
