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Sunday, November 24, 2013

Shoes and cradles

I've said this before, I love shoes =) I love to buy them in "real size", not as much to wear them as I love buying them ;) But when I had a full wardrobe I thought I could make some in miniature instead. But I gave up.
At the fair in Stockholm I bought a pair of shoes, very nice ones, that moved in to my new wardrobe. I started thinking, I most try that again, and clogs, they most be easy to make.... So I started carving, and realized, as always, it' harder than it looks... I thought I should start of with one pair, but, all a sudden the two shoes were very different sizes, so I had to make two new ones, so I got two pairs, and they did match, good enough (until I stared adding the leather). But if I thought carving was the hard part, I was wrong... attaching the leather is not my thing... I tried making leather shoes before, but failed, and now I can truly say that leather is NOT my favourite material! I did manage to finish one pair of clogs, but they are not exactly the same size =( Don't know if I can make some better matches later.. But I haven't even finished the second pair yet, so I will finish them before I even think of doing even more of these =)



I made these of balsa wood and leather from a glove. I tried making the second pair from thicker leather, but that was even harder (off course) But I shaved the leather to make it thinner, but that's hard too, I got some wholes instead... Maybe I'll just keep using the thin leather, but it would be fun to make the second pair in another colour...
Inside my husbands "real" clogs =) I have never had any clogs myself, but my husband is born in the 70's and I guess everyone had clogs in Sweden back then, and he still have some =) Perfect to wear at the balcony for example =) I'm more of the flip flop generation ;) But clogs are more Swedish, so its funnier to make in miniature than my flip flop shoes =) (but I might do some flip flop too one day)

Anyway I was just about to put the schnauzer in my box for things to sell at the fair later, when he run away, to the lady of my house, and he looked at me with those big brown dog-eyes... So I guess he will be moving in with the family later ;)
I'm glad I switch materials now and then, if I keep making 3 dogs a month (like I did this month) I will have to open a kennel real soon =) But I might do that later, but it would be nice to be able to sell some of the dogs too, but I suffer of separation anxiety.... (I'm very glad I don't have to feed and walk all these mini-dogs ;) )

Now he is guarding the cradle while I keep working on the house.
Like I said before I'm working on several cradles right now =) This is the first one to get all finished, or I have to make a pillow and a cozy blanket too.
My baby without the body tried it out, and I think he/she likes it =)
That's all for now =)
Take care
Hannah

I just want to welcome my newest followers too =)

Kati (Can't find your blog right now, please leave a comment with your address, and I will add a link =) )

Friday, November 22, 2013

New book

I try to list every book I get about miniatures and write a little about them, you can see more of my books here: http://hannahsminiatyrer.blogspot.se/search/label/Books



Small dogs by Susa Sachiko
I bought this book on Etsy. It's in Japanese, I don't understand a word of it, but I manage to translate some things using this site: http://www.ocr-extract.com I have only browsed through this one yet, but it looks good! Great instructions! Maybe even better than my first book about needle felting. But the first one is in Swedish, and when it comes to books I really prefer Swedish! I sometimes have a hard time reading English books, because I want to read super-fast, and I'm not as fast in English as in Swedish =) But Japanese takes the price of hard to read books... ;) Impossible! But like I said, great pictures!!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Finally, some dogs

I love dogs. And when I first saw a book about needlefelted dogs I knew I wanted that book, and to try make some of my own. I got the book from my mother for Christmas one year. And I tried... and I was very disappointed. It didn't look like I wanted.. And it was hard making dogs, maybe because I love dogs and know how they really look. But still it's hard to know everything about the anatomy, and you need to know some, to make a realistic dog. So I started making teddy bears, sheep and cats instead, I'm quite afraid of cats actually =) and maybe I didn't have that high demands on myself with the cats, as I have for the dogs, so I got quite happy with the result, it didn't really look like a real cat, but it was cute ;) And it didn't have any scary claws! ;)
But I did get pleased with at least one dog, the miniversion of my Chinese crested. I made it out of wool and his fur. Now the miniversion is all I got since he died in May. So I'm very glad I have a mini-version of him at least.
And as always, I write a lot, I could just have wrote: I have finally made some wool-dogs.
But I got caried away ;)

This poodle is actually the first dog I made, I realized some days ago that just because I was finished once, doesn't have to mean I cant work on it some more later, and fix it, so that I would like it better, and I think this dog went through a good make over =) Hope you agree with me, and like the second picture better than the first....
Before
After
I think she looks better after I added that curly wool. =)
And I started a more regular pudle too, the first one is more of a showdog, this one is cuddling at home, with a shorter cut curly fur ;)

And then I made this schnauzer too. I most say it looks like the picture in my book, but when I googled this breed, it didn't really look like this.... But mine is more a cartoon than a real dog I guess ;) I might go for cartoon on every dog I make, and maybe they will finally look like real ones.. ;) Because every time I try making it realistic, it end up cartoonish...

And a group shot of the new dogs =)
 

I hope to make more dogs soon! Many different breeds =) I'll just work on them until I get sick of it, then I'll do something else for awhile, as always, and after awhile, I might feel for more wool again =)
I hope I will get better and better as I practise, I hate to practise, I want to be great from the start... but who can manage that?! In every thing =) I will keep working on the eyes, I'm not really satisfied with my result so far, but I think it has gotten a little better as I go.

Take care
Hannah

Saturday, November 9, 2013

It's a mess

My dollhouse is very messy at the moment =) The poor family live in the worse renovations mess ever ;)

My pregnant lady were just lying exhausted on the bed (without pillows and quilts) There are so many things to be done to this house and her husband is lying in a box for things that needs to be fixed.. He has no clothes.. And I haven't decided on have many kids there will be in this house, I love dolls and babies =) So she risks having a lot.... ;) One girl is missing hair and clothes and another girl needs clothes and a boy is bought with clothes on, but I don't know if I want to give him new ones... and the baby misses a body =)
And the house... well it's easier to say what I have done, than the things need to be fixed =)

But the lady is very happy I got her a new wardrobe, she started cleaning up the bedroom and hanging in her dress and putting in her shoes right away, even before I got to make the sliding doors..
I found my lady looking around at night, I believe she was looking for the wardrobe, but I had to take it out to build that sliding doors I'd planed =)

This solution is not the best, it looks good, but its very fragile! I have one mirror and one plastic-door. Its a bit hard sliding them... but it will have to do. But I would like to have a blurrier plastic door. Will look for that later, or find a way to make the one I have more blurry =)



Right now I'm working on some cradles, it's a lot of fun. And I thought I could add some to my "to sell box".  =)
I haven't finished the first one yet, but I have cut out the legs now, just need to paint them.

But I haven't forgot about what needs to be done at the house, and the family ;) The dishwasher is on the making...and the last floors in the house still need some fixing up...

I'm thinking of giving names to the dolls =) I just can't decide what... I do know which number the house is, it's 13 =) because the year is 2013 and several people say that 13 is an unlucky number, so I've always loved that number ;)
But I don't know what to make about the facade...
I might redo the outside of the house in several years, I just want to decorate and make furniture now, not make a facade =)


One last picture before I go to sleep... People talk about messy workspaces... they haven't seen mine.. I can't work here any more, but I like to sit in the living-room in the sofa, with a tray, I have a lot of full trays by now too... ;) The strange thing is that I always find what I look for, it's more a working-storage-place and everything is exactly were I put it ;) If I clean, I cant find a thing =) But, I will have to clean soon, it's getting a bit crowded.. I'm glad it's not Christmas yet, because the Santa-house is buried underneath a lot of stuff...

That's all for now, take care
Hannah

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Making a washing machine

I finally started making furniture, I started off with a washing machine in September, but that is not a furniture, it's a machine.. but still, a piece for the house.. =) I was a bit afraid of working with wood. I've been working in clay my whole life, and started both embroider and needle-felting and I did do that bed and then I started sketching on several wooden pieces =)
I miss proper tools and a working place, but with balsa wood I don't need it. I used a knife to cut out the pieces. But you have to be careful with balsa wood, it comes apart very easy! But I think it will do for my washing machine! But I will try a bit harder wood later.. I hope =) (the wardrobe I'm working on right now is made out of hard wooden sticks so I'm doing some progress..)

I started sketching on a squared piece of paper. Like when I built the small 1:144 scale houses. I like sketching on paper, and not on the computer =) But I collect inspiring pictures on my computer to look at when I need some inspiration and help with "how things suppose to look" =) Ikea's site is great, they have all the measurements and great pictures.

At first I thougt I could use a picture from the papers in the hatch, but then I wouldn't be able to open it.
So I started thinking of toilet-paper rolls, but then I remembered that I had saved some aluminium holders for candles, they are perfect for a washing machine =)
 
 I gave it holes with a needle, it's more realistic if you do it the other way, inside out, but it's easier to do like I did, outside in =)
 I glued it to a toilet-paper roll, I thought it would be easier to glue it to the machine this way.

 I don't exactly know what this is, its soft and a little sponge-like.. =) But I used it around the hatch, painted it white first.

I painted the whole machine white and added a button made of paper. And drew some lines =) And added a hatch. The hinge is also made of aluminium from a candle.

 I glued everything in place and stuffed the machine with some paper =)

 I glued some white wooden pieces inside the cylinder, just because my washing machine have things that looks like that ;)
And here is very I stopped...I need some kind of plastic piece for the hatch, but I haven't found it yet, so I didn't post this, because I wanted to finish the machine first... but I never know when I will be done, so I better post this now and I might add a picture of the finish hatch later =) I might add some buttons to the machine too!
This was quite a simple but fun thing to make! I had lots of fun doing it, and I started on a dishwasher too. I will write more about that later, that was much harder to make and I'm not done after a months work.. But I started with the wardrobe instead. Just like I always do =) Start new projects all the time, even before I finish the first one =)

Take care
Hannah

Friday, November 1, 2013

I won, again =)

I'm so lucky! I won a giveaway again =) From Esthig. She is one of my favourite toy-maker! Her toys are so inspiring and well made! Just look at these:


Fantastic toys!!
The books are even "readable" if I only remembered the Spanish I did learn once ;)
The paper clips are fantastic, so small! And the buttons are very cute, I might use some for cloths, but I will have to try to make a bunny or a teddy bear too =) I don't know how it's possible to sew these tiny dolls and bunnies. And guess what?! The bunny can move his arms and legs!!

And the car, beautiful details, just perfect! I will have to practice a lot to get this skilled =) Thank you again Esthig!

I'm working on a wardrobe myself right now =) Having trouble deciding if I should paint it white, or leave it. I do like wood, and I have never fancied white furniture, but I realized I did make a bit of a shabby chic bedroom, with the white floor and the cute flower wallpaper.. hm.. I'm starting to like the shabby chic stile more and more, but I want to have lots of colours in my house, and some wood.. (I do love others shabby chic rooms, but I always thought it wasn't for me...) I'm making another wardrobe, just like the first one, right now, so I can paint one white and have one in wood-colour ;) And try selling on a fair later =)
These are NOT done yet! I will add sliding doors, all the "walls" and a clothes rail to hang the cloths on =)
 
Now I just need lots of cloths and shoes =) And to finish these wardrobes of course ;)

Take care
Hannah