On holiday, so a little time for minis.

 Hello Readers,

Yes I am hopeless but unfortunately real life often does get in the way of my mini life. With my current position at work it tends to be the school holidays that I get to finally get back into mini making. My poor Victorian house gets covered over for up to ten weeks at a time and every now and then I lift its covers and say....yes one day I will get back to completing you....after all where is all that furniture going to go?


I recently bit the bullet so to speak, purchasing some miniature tiles for my house...due to the cost I could really only afford to do 3 areas. (Seriously the tiles I purchased are more expensive then the real life tiles I have in my current house....scary I know)

 The first area was the house foyer or entrance...this went pretty smoothly. I used matboard as a base and glued each tile to it. They are really bright, which has lead me to wonder...what on earth (Colour wise) am I going to put with it?









The 2nd area I tried was the bathroom...ok so I was totally clueless when it came to the border tiles but what I have is it.....I managed to pull it apart several times and had enough...note to self...never use border tiles again....I'm sure there is some sort of magic number that makes it work...but I have no clue...hopefully my fixtures can cover the multitude of mistakes.

I started the veranda today...so far so good...very painful at the edges but I might have to have many  decorative planter boxes...I don't know....maybe I am too critical of my own skills but its never quite what I want it to look like...


I wish I could be like many of the miniature makers I talk with online...some of them throw something together fairly quickly....and make quick decisions....does anyone else agonize about every little detail?

Well back to gluing....those tiles await...
IndyPoppy

Where did the year go?

 Hello Followers, long time no talking....yes well that is my fault as real life house building has got in the way.

One thing I have managed to do though is work on a smaller scale project. In the last few months I attended a workshop on how to build this lovely house by Red Cottage Miniatures. It's 1/24th scale and I love it. The kit comes complete with staircases, windows, doors and trims...

It is also my first attempt at using paperclay for the exterior. During the workshop I learned aging techniques as well as paint ideas.

The house also enabled me to test my lack of skill in the lighting department. I used tape wire for this project and certainly will be using it again.

Anyway as a side project I have been busy with my facebook group...If you haven''t joined already Id love to see you there.

www.facebook.com/groups/Worldofdollhousesandminiatures/'

We now have over 5000 lovely people chatting away about their miniatures.

Talk Soon, Indypoppy

Shingle Time: Will it ever end?

 Hello Readers,

Well I was determined to try and finish shingling my house before the end of January and I'm not too far off achieving my goal.

They are split cedar shingles that came precut and ready to lay. As you can see there is quite a variation in their colour but I'm happy with the look.

 Tips:

1. BOTTOM EDGE: Most miniaturist recomend you start by gluing a small (about 1/4) of a shingle long ways along the bottom edge of your roof. This enables the shingles to lay flatter. If you don't do this your shingles will stick out.

2. SCISSORS: The cedar shingles are easily cut with scissors (please don't use your best craft scissors for this project....hide them....hide them!!!!!)

3. DRAW LINES: Draw lines for shingles to line up to!!!!!! (I didn't do this so well in this project so its a little wobbly)  Take a look at my old post and you will see what I mean.
http://tailsofadventurewithindyandpoppy.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/the-roof-is-on-but-not-complete.html

4. GLUE: Choose your glue: I used wood glue....according to some miniaturist it's a big no no. But I had minimal problems using it. The main thing to remember is to take your time. Glue on a few...leave it for ten minutes...then do another section. Too much at one time will lead to shingles moving...falling off or drying crooked.

5. MIX IT: If your shingles came in separate bags. Mix them up before you start. The shingle colours very so much but if you don't mix them it will stand out.

I hope this helps: It is a bit of trial and error, but if you take your time you will be suprised by your results.

Well its time for more shingles

Talk soon, IndyPoppy

More Painting.

Hello Everyone,
What a difference paint can make. I've actually started to get excited again about the house as it now looks like a house.


As you can imagine there has been hours of work in painting. 2 undercoats and at least 3 colour coats. The windows have been painful also. The paint seems to disapear and takes several coats to get any coverage at all. (I have used good quality paint for this project and it still has been painful)

Getting closer to shingle time.

So for tips:

1. Paint: It is worth getting a good quality paint. I figure you want your house to last a long time, ( and it does go a long way)

2. You can use a big brush but I found a brush the same size as the cladding.....I had hardly any drips and didn't miss to manyparts. It also can get into those fidly areas that a big brush can't.

3. Sand, sand and sand. Before you paint.....sand between coats as well.

4 If you can purchase window that have removeable glass (plastic) buy them. A great way to guarentee clean windows.
IndyPoppy

Happy New Year. Time to Paint.

Happy New Year: Ok so I'm a little late with my greetings, but I've been a bit busy. This time last year I was rushing around painting my real life house so I had very little time for minis. This year, I'm set. My goal is to get going, hopefully painting and shingle-ing the house before I start back at work.

I was really unsure about my paint choice but I really like blue, so the cedar cladding has had a coat of paint with "duck egg blue". I plan to trim it in white, but would also like another colour. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The chimney has had it first coat of paint and Im pretty chuffed with the effect so far. You may remember from a previous post that I used coffee stirrers to make the individual bricks.  See it here:

http://tailsofadventurewithindyandpoppy.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/chimney-almost-complete.html

I really like the effect so far....Im actually hesitant to put another coat on. Both paints are acrylic.

Anyway...its time to give the house another coat! So its off to the shed for me.

IndyPoppy

Christmas must be getting closer.

Good Evening readers.

Well you do find dollhouses everywhere. Today I was in one of my favourite shops checking out their Christmas decorations when I stumbled upon this lovely. It's a Wedgewood display for their beautiful Christmas Decoration. I so want one!!! Alas not for sale. So perhaps it should be a future project. I also thought you could use it to place your very special miniatures in it as well...ahh the possibilities are endless.

IndyPoppy

Dry Fit: Window time.

 Hello Readers:

As I am nearly finished my cladding (one wall to go) I decided to see if the pre made windows would fit. After a bit of sanding with the Dremel (Im starting to love this tool!) most fitted in fairly well.

I'm not planning on glueing them in until much latter as I will prepping each one before installation. Most of the windows came with the kit. The only thing that is a little disappointing is that they aren't opening.

I have to admit, they really do start to make it look like a house and not so much like a shell which it has looked like for a long......long....long time.

Till next time,
Keep on mini-ing.

IndyPoppy

Scroll Saw: First attempt.

Hi Readers,
I have been very nervous about having a go with my new scroll saw so yesterday I thought I'd give it a go. In my previous post I mentioned that I would attempt to use old blinds for the timber. Well I found it fairly easy to cut, but one downside was chipping. It didn't seem to happen over the entire piece of wood, but some parts I recut as I was not happy with the result. Anyway here it is. A sewing box. It will need a bit more sanding and then staining, but I'm pretty happy as it was my first attempt.

A Bargain?

 Hello Readers,
I have always wanted a power tool of my own so I finally bit the bullet and purchased one. On a few blogs and forum posts people mentioned using a scroll saw to make miniatures. After a bit of research I thought I'd look into it.

Many of our hardware shops in Australia sell cut priced scroll saws...so the question was...do I go with a cheaper one or do I go for something a little bit more pricey. After seeing (and HEARING....add swear words here!!!!) my boyfriend use cheaper power tools that failed within a few hours of use I thought.....pay a bit more and so I did.

So here is my new "baby" a Makita scroll saw. I had a quick go this afternoon and WOW, I was so impressed! NO TIMBER IS SAFE!!!!!!!

I know it won't be able to cut really small stuff, however for the items I want to make I think it will be great.

 Now to my cheaper find this week. I was looking for a cheap supply of timber and thought...what about an old timber blind. So with this in mind I was off to our closest recycling centre and found this beauty for $5. As you can see I have already pulled it apart, ready to use.

The timber is about 5cm wide and only a few mm thick which I thought would be great to use for my kitchen cabinets, bookshelves and other items.


If you have any ideas of what I could use it for...let me know.


Time to experiment!!!!!!

IndyPoppy

PS. Thought Id share with you a quick photo from a recent visit to Australia's capital city, Canberra. Each year they have a spring festival called Floride. They plant thousands of tulips. Here's just one of the many photos I took.

3D Printing...The next Generation Minis.

I have noticed a few people who are designing their own minis and wondered how do they do it? Well the answer is 3D printing.  With this  additive manufacturing process if you think it you can make it!
I have been investigating the idea of a 3D printer since I purchased my digital vinyl/paper cutter. As I found it so easy to use. But after much looking I decided that owning my own printer is definitely out of my price range at the moment. ($1400 is a lot, and imagine how many minis I could buy for that!) So what are my options?
Well I found an online store that could offer me the best of both worlds. I can get my own designs made or I can purchase other people's lovely work. If you haven't visited this site before here it is :
http://www.shapeways.comUsing the information from the Shapeways site I did have a quick go at designing a small piece. A small wall panel part that could be used  in modern scenes. I used a free online program http://www.3dtin.com which allowed me in under 3 mins create a fairly quick attempt. (I'm sure if I spent more time on it, I could achieve much better results) It was fairly easy to use.  I do like the idea of making something that is one of a kind. If I spent more time on it, I would create slightly larger opening or shelves that you could sit your mini art pieces onto. As you can see, I'm well away from creating such custom pieces as you see below. (But you've got to start somewhere right?)

As you know from previous posts I have started a collection of 1/12th modern furniture, my main problem has been cost. I almost fell over when I purchased a chair at the miniature fair. (Did I really pay $!! for it?) After looking for a while on the shapeways site....here are a few of my wish list items.

My first picks are mainly furniture, but it got me thinking.....

I have always thought of making my boyfriend a mechanic's room box. Look at these lovelies that I

could use for it!
 

One thing that I would like to explore is 3D printed animals. I have absolutely no idea on how to go about it but would love to have a 1/12th version of my "fur kids" especially the ones that are no longer with me.

Ksenia agrees with me "Who wouldn't want a 1/12th scale Border Terrier for their house?"

Anyway, I'd love to hear from anyone who has actually gone ahead and printed something. Or what items that you think you would like to have a go at printing. The possibilities are truly endless.
Talk soon, IndyPoppy

Busy, busy, no time for Minis.

Hello Readers,
Yes it has been a very long time since I have blogged about my house. Unfortunately my real life house has been in the way and taking up most of my time. We decided to finally put our house on the market at Christmas, so it meant painting, decorating and lots and lots of packing! One of the first things to be packed was my miniature collection. As we will be living in our studio until the house is built most things are packed up in the shed, so alas, not much mini making.

One thing I did get to do is attend the Sydney Fair. It was a great fair as always. Lots of great displays and of course lots of minis.

Basement front.

Hello Readers,

It's been a while, I've been super busy. (Wish I could say that it was mini-ing, but alas not). But every now and then I get a few minutes to stick a few more "bricks" to my house. I have finally completed the front of the basement and so its now on to the sides. They will be coated with a brick or stone like paint at a later date.

What do you think? Was it worth the effort. I hope so.

IndyPoppy

Modern Miniatures

Hello Readers,
It's been a while and I haven't had much time to make minis. As you may already know, I am collecting items for my Victorian dollhouse and so far I have resisted other eras but......

Well I came across this set on gumtree and I couldn't look away! This is volume 3 of the "Design Interior Collection". There are 9 items in this collection. I'm quite impressed with their details.

This collection is many miniature versions of Charles and Ray Eames famous designs.

Well its the closest I will ever get to one of their designs.

So the hunt is on. I'll be hanging out on eBay I'm sure to find the other sets.

Do you collect any of these and if so what's your favourite piece?

IndyPoppy