My review of a Scrapbooking video on crafttv.com which includes a giveaway for my followers!

Several weeks ago I was contacted by a very nice man called Eric, who explained that he works for www.dailycraft.com. He offered me a free online Scrap booking class with the condition that I write a review on my blog. I was very excited when he said the daily craft website would include a giveaway prize to my followers. I have wanted to have a giveaway on my blog for quite some time, it has just not been possible up to now.

I chose the video Design ideas for Scrap booking and Papercraft . The video is made up of 9 Chapters, with tutorials from 6 different ladies. The video is about an hour in length. Once you purchase a video is stays in your account, it will never expire. You can go back and refer to it as needed! The directions are easy to understand. I think many of my blog followers, especially those who enjoy paper craft, would enjoy the Design Ideas for Scrap booking and Paper Craft video.

One technique from the video I watched explained how to use embossing powder and a matte spray to achieve the look of glass on the picture of a clock! This has many uses for us miniaturists. You could use it to mimic a window, miniature clock, or whatever else you dream up.

The videos that you can purchase on the daily craft website are available internationally. Go to  the daily craft website to view all the videos available. They have videos on quilting, sewing, crochet, knitting, scrap booking and paper craft. If you win, you can choose the video of your choice.

Ok, let's get to the rules that will qualify you to be entered in this giveaway!

1. Be a follower of this blog, via google friend connect, email, RRS feed or Networked Blogs.
2. Leave a comment on this post explaining why you would like to be entered in the giveaway

Optional but very much appreciated: if you have a blog, mention my giveaway on your blog or even better, include a picture of the giveaway on the sidebar of your blog. My lovely friend Jazzi of Jazzi's Minis has written an excellent tutorial on how to put a picture of the giveaway on your blog sidebar.
Read her tutorial here.

I will use the random.org tool to choose a winner. I will be choosing a winner on June 27, one month from now. Good luck everyone!

Hugs and Kisses to all my lovely followers,

Ruth

Shelves stained, wallpaper trim added

Hello my friends!

Yesterday I went over to a friend's house and we both worked on two separate miniature projects. She made an adorable mini trunk with matt board, and I worked on my kitchen shadow box.

I contemplated painting the sink and the other shelf that were part of the original scene white, but then I realized that pieces of furniture in a kitchen roombox at the beginning of the 20th century would likely be unpainted wood.

So I decided to stain the shelves and add some wallpaper trim to the shelves for aesthetic appeal.

Here is the picture showing the updates to my project.

The shelf with the dishes on it will be mounted on the wall. The butter churn will be painted white or stained. I'm still planning to add scenic water and an old wash rag to go into the white pail. I'm going to take everything out of the box, scrub off any accumulated dirt, and remove the existing wallpaper.

Then I will paint the whole shadowbox white, and probably add the some of the blue wallpaper I have used to line the shelves as a border along the back wall.

There are a couple other things I am considering adding to the scene. Jars of Jam, vintage groceries, an old calendar and clock glued to the wall.

I'm having lots of fun with this one!

Follow my blog with Networked Blogs

Since Google Reader is being deleted as of July 1rst, 2013, I decided to register my blog with Networked Blogs so that my followers will have another way of following me.

Why am I doing this? Blogger only allows you to follow 300 blogs via Google Friend Connect. I know some of my followers are currently following more than 300 blogs. If you are following more than 300 blogs with Google Friend Connect, you can choose to follow your favorite blogs through Networked Blogs, Bloglovin', by email, or a reader other than Goolge. (For example, I follow some blogs using Yahoo reader.)

To learn more about following blogs via Networked Blogs, go here to learn more.

Any questions? Feel free to comment on this post or email me by clicking on the mail icon at the top of my blog and I will be happy to help you out.

Talk to you soon!

Ruth

The Progression of My Early 20th Century Kitchen Shadowbox

I first introduced you to this shadowbox in this post about kit bashing. The items I ordered from ebay have arrived so it's time to get to work!

This is what the shadowbox looks like now:

Click on the picture to enlarge it!

I did some research about what farm kitchens looked like around the 1900s, and decided to "upgrade" the kitchen so that I can sell it at the miniature show and sale in September.

I already had some blue spatter pots, so I ordered a blue spatter Jug, plates, and cups to match. I also ordered the adorable sacs of flour, sugar, salt and potatoes. I took the white pail out of the kitchen sink. It might go back in again, but I want to put something in the pail. I'm thinking perhaps a wash rag in water. The "shelf" that is positioned in front of the shadowbox will be mounted on the wall eventually, as will the towel rack.

The original kitchen items are old dollar store pieces, and will need to be sanded before I paint them, since they are shellacked with quite a heavy varnish. I love the process of putting together these small scenes.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all my new followers. I am delighted to have you "along for the ride" as I chronicle my miniature adventures!

Hugs and Kisses to all my lovely followers,

Ruth

The Mini Wiki Treasures Annual Awards

When I first became interested in miniatures last February, I started looking around on the internet for miniature resources and  the Mini Wiki Treasures Page was one of the first things I found. I spent hours combing through all the pages, which are organized by topic. I still always go back to the pages when I'm planning a new mini project. People from all over the world post pictures of their projects, and I've found it is such an excellent resource.

Last May the Mini Wiki Treasures Annual Awards were announced. You win an award if you are one of the top blogs that has contributed to the site. Last May I said to myself, "I want to be on that list next year".

And I am! You can read about the awards here.

I became involved in editing the pages, have joined their flickr group, and was supposed to be involved in their Advent Calendar but had to withdraw for personal reasons. I received the award partly because of my involvement in editing the site but mostly because I donated a prize to celebrate Mini Wiki Treasures fourth birthday.

I just mailed it off this morning, to a woman in Finland.

This is Saara from Finland's prize:

I have been designing my own labels and soap boxes in gimp, which is a free program similar to photoshop. What I didn't take into account was that my previous display box design wouldn't show the entire soap box! I played around with the arrangement a bit, reminded myself to stop being a perfectionist, and am pleased with the result. Every time I make something new, I learn something new.
That's what I love about miniatures.

Hugs to all,

Ruth