Nada!

That's right -- zero, zip, zilch, nada was done with minis today! Instead, I spent my day boning up on Excel, which isn't really an issue -- but wanted to make sure I was up to date with the 2010 version. I have high hopes, that after an interview on Monday I may well be putting this to use with a new job(she says as she crosses her fingers.) Would be so much nicer in regards to the schedule, pay, and benefits than where I'm at now -- and addendum here, with the pay increase(more mini money!)

In addition to this, I've managed two dates in the same week -- sadly this really is a record in the life of me. The scary part is just how much I've enjoyed my time with him. He possesses a good vocabulary, is very much a comedian, and smart enough to debate various topics with. Where I live that's unheard of, probably why it's incredibly easy to tell he's not from around here. lol

So far, this week has been filled with unexpected surprises which have sidetracked me from my minis -- but I'm hoping sincerely, that after this lull -- it will lead to extra time and money for all these little things I love, and oddly someone who may not have the bug but listens when I talk of them.  :)

Until tomorrow, I hope everyone has a great one!

Quick update...

Wanted to do a quick update for today as I'll be out tonight(second date in one week, that's a first in the entirety of my life! lol) Anyways, for today I have been slowly but surely wetting down and etching stones into drywall mud. I may well end up doing some additional spackle to make some a bit more dimensional on the walls -- but looking good so far.

I've also been going back through on FaceBook and several other sites with mini retailers -- still looking for instructions for the old Walmer kit. I feel like I aught to be able to piece it together, even without the instructions -- but, I don't figure it hurts to keep looking... You know, just in case. lol

Anyways, here's to hoping tonight goes well for me as well as for all of you!  :)

New idea(to me at least!)

Sorry guys, not in too much of a posting mood at the moment. Thought I'd update though that I've been digging through my fabrics and ribbons to do more wall coverings out of for the Petite Dreams home. Other than that all I've managed to do today is cut out numerous little half inch squares of cardstock. Looking to make these into a tile floor, and learned a nice trick if you're doing a floor out of paper and want it to look like nice shiny tile. Seems obvious now, but until I saw it I hadn't thought of it -- Peel and Stick Laminate sheets. They look like they aught to work out perfect!

Until tomorrow...

Had fun... :)

Okay... I admit -- I came home and logging into Blogger was the last thing on my mind last night. Yes, from that you all can assume I had fun. I honestly think he was the most well behaved gentleman last night I've had the pleasure to go out and spend time with. Not only that but we had fun, played pool half the night while talking philosophy and politics -- of which we were in basic agreement about. Found that totally amusing as I tend to be an odd duck out where I live with some of my thoughts. Conservative on some points, and as I've been told annoyingly liberal on others -- he's the same blessed way. lol Still had some good points of discussion though, and had fun throughout. Hoping to do this again soon.

So to get back to dollhousing related business. Applied more thatch to the main part of the Tiffani's roof, the addition is already covered. I have also started laying out the last floor that I have to finish for this -- and then wonderfully enough she aught to be done. Hope to have final pics up of her soon, then try to focus on finishing up the Petite Dreams home and work on my niece's gifts for their upcoming birthdays. One in June, one in July -- so yeah, no rest for the weary. lol

Hope you all are doing great, until tomorrow :)

Not a thing for the day...

Sorry guys, I really for once did not touch one blessed aspect of any one house today. Instead I watched a couple of awesome playoff games as far as the NBA went. I've been rooting for the underdog Nuggets and they pulled off a win tonight, which was a great game -- just an awesome match up tonight in general. Didn't get to see all of the Grizzlies game, but that one just left me wondering where the heck did that team come from?!? Dark horses in that would've been an understatement, but they killed it!

Promise, I intend to get some decent mini-ing done tomorrow. Though the post may be later, as for the first time in a verrrrrry long while I'm being taken out on a date. Not too sure how that's going to go, but should prove interesting at the very least.

Until tomorrow...

New pics!

Got a couple of things finally done -- and more importantly photographed. So proud, seeing as I always forget the pictures! lol Anyways first up, one of Miss Tiffani's upper floors is totally complete, but for a coat of varnish. Really happy with how this one came out, as it's been sometime since I tried anything with pyrography. Went with a celtic knotwork pattern and I really like it. :)

Second thing I've captured a quick pic of is one of the nursery walls for the Petite Dreams dollhouse, finally found a chair rail to complete the look I was going for. A nice piece of old ribbon from I believe wreath making days way back in the 90's. lol It works though, as this room will be uber-girly since the other kids' room is quite a bit darker. Only thing I have yet to do is Mod Podge it so it lays completely flat against the popsicle stick wainscoting. 

Hope everyone has enjoyed the day, and if celebrating Easter I hope it was a blessed holiday for you. Until tomorrow -- have fun, be creative, and live life to the fullest!

More Tiffani time...

It doesn't look like much, but I managed to finish applying the last of the drywall compound into all the little cracks and corners I missed previously. Tomorrow since I'll have the day with no other types of work, will dampen it just enough to press in my stones pattern with a dull tipped pencil. Hopefully will have the interior cleaned up enough then to go ahead and start with my paint washes.


Hope you all have a safe and happy Easter! Until tomorrow...

Short but sweet...

Power's been flickering on and off with all the rain moving through. Just going to update today with I found some old fabrics(shirts) that aught to work well for upholstery. Also, have been digging through all of my wallpapers and scrapbook papers for a couple of those puzzle houses. One started randomly screaming to me that it knew what it wanted -- hasn't quieted down yet. Though luckily I've got papers for 3 of 5 rooms so far. Browsing through printies now...

Be happy and safe guys, til tomorrow!

So late.. I'm seemingly early! lol

Sorry guys, was the first day of a new job -- when I finished up I treated myself to a great old fashioned fried dinner and a night of relaxing thereafter. On the bright side while glued to a headset and computer isn't all that fun, it has it's perks that I'm working with my dog and cat by my side... and that I get to browse on-line looking for mini inspirations. There's a lot out there, and it amazed me how even a word difference can bring up a whole new slew of possibilities. :)

I've also figured out one other point in regards to past work I've attempted to do and share. The Cold Porcelain I previously posted about -- it was all my doing, I thought I'd applied it too thick to the floor. Wasn't the case, but what I did do was cook it too much! Sooo, now that I've figured out my idiocy I'm going to attempt a new batch and see if I can't create some mini magic with it. Another blog I follow is Katie's Clay Corner -- she uses more polymer clay like Fimo and such, but very inspirational!

Love the Heat Gun!

I have decided that a good heat gun could be a dollhouse rehabbers bestest friend in the world! Absoulutely love it! :) Today I worked out in the shop on the town house. I have all of the wood trims out and off of this house, removed the last of the wood flooring, and also managed to get the majority of the vinyl wallpaper out of it. Though tomorrow when I finish up with work I intend to go out and use some hot water and fabric softener to get the last of the paper backing off the walls and floors. I also managed to remove the closet from the top floor today.

Have been contemplating just how I'm going to change the floor/ceiling heights to make this more in keeping with 1:12th scale.. From really seeing the house without all the extras today, I think I'll be taking it completely apart. :( Was hoping to avoid that, but on the bright side -- should be pretty simple to fill in the grooves where the parts slide together and use the router to put the grooves where I want the ceiling pieces to go. With moving them, I believe I should be able to fit in a fourth floor.... hopefully.

Still really like the idea of the exterior done in brick, and am contemplating if I'm going to make this still in the theme of a hotel/apartments... or if I'm going to make it one huge house for a well to do family. Have a couple of other large house kits now, so it wouldn't be completely out of place if I did it the second way. Though I keep thinking it'd be nice to be able to do it up like apartments or a hotel, and donate it to a hospital or children's home. That way there'd be plenty of room for little hands to play. I do like this houses stability for that reason alone, I wouldn't worry about kids playing with it and breaking anything because it's so solid... So much to contemplate! lol

For now, going back to applying fabric to some walls for the Petite Dreams home, and then hopefully getting some sleep. Want to be fresh for the job at hand tomorrow. :)

Have a good one guys!

Lots accomplished today...

Just not anything mini. Tomorrow I should be back to mini-ing I hope.

Till tomorrow kiddos :)

More trim work...

Not too much to update on dollhouse wise today. I did finish removing the last of the trim on the town house with the heat gun. Now I'm just going to be buckling down to really clean it up and remove all of the excesses of glue and paint. fun fun

In addition to that, I received the replacement parts today for this. Also, as I type this entry the pocket door walls are clamped and drying. I really like how this turned out, and all fairly easy. I'll try to get the step by step pics up with-in the next day or so.


Hope all is well out in bloglandia with everyone!

Actually early!

Haven't worked on "inside" houses too much today. Have spent a good portion of the day out in the shop however! Proud to announce that with the wonderful heat gun I have removed all of the exterior trim on the Victorian Townhouse, have also removed all of the interior trim from the top two floors as well. This just leaves the trim and the remaining "hardwood" flooring of the first floor. I've also gotten all of the flooring off of the top two floors as well as the wallpaper! :)


Funny, because so far every time I have looked at this dollhouse I've had the thought of "What am I going to do with you?!?" Now that I'm getting some of the stuff out of it like the broken window and door frames -- seems like I'm finally getting some good visuals in my mind as to what it can be. I still love the idea of doing it up like an apartment building or perhaps leave it as a one family dwelling -- but really trick it out... Like leave siding(though corrected to be in scale for 1:12) on the bay, and then make the majority of the sides and front be bricked... Perhaps with a bit of a colored stucco around the top, and some added corbels around the roof edge. Not completely sure which bent I'm going to follow on this, but the ideas are surely cooking now at least!

I've also managed to wallpaper another wall in the Petite Dreams home, don't think I updated on here when I got that done. Since I don't see going back out to the shop tonight, I think I'm going to attempt to finish up the faux pocket doors between the kids bedrooms... Have also really been thinking about if I can still hinge the front. Would want to recess the hinges into the wall so they aren't sticking out and unsightly, but that way the girls could really have full access to all the rooms. That's going to require a bit more planning on my part... I really want this to be a dollhouse that they not only enjoy now, but can look back on in a decade or two and hopefully have some great memories.

Until tomorrow, hope you all are safe and happy. Have a good one. :)

Flooring update...

The beginning...

Transferring pattern with knife

I know, I know, I seem to be obsessed with getting the floors right in my dollhouses. However, while I like different wall decor -- the floors really seem to be the thing for me to judge character of a house by. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to some, but for me it's like when I meet a person -- I always tend to look at their feet and what type of shoes they have on. You can truly tell a good deal by these points, both in a house and on a person.

As it stands, I've not finished the bedroom floor -- but we're quite close on it. All I've done for this one is sketch out a pattern on graph paper, then went ahead and traced it on to some tracing paper. Once I did this I colored behind the pattern with charcoal(just use your pencil if you need to). From there I ended up having to take my utility knife and poke holes through the pattern to transfer the lines to the floor. This was incredibly idiotic of me, and you won't need to worry about this step if you're smart and wait to stain your flooring after you transfer the pattern. From there I'm just using my wood burner to make the pattern more permanent.

Where I'm at...

Was thinking of painting in the ropes in the pattern, but I think it looks a bit more rustic with just the stain and the pyrography.. What do you think? I'm going for an older Tudor styled cottage, preferably of a Celtic persuasion -- thus the choice of interlace for the flooring pattern :)

Until tomorrow, hope you all are safe and happy.

Another quick one...

Sorry guys, but it'll be another short one today. Trying to get my blood sugar up at the moment(44 isn't a good number.) So typing this as quick as I can while sucking down some juice and munching some peanut butter toast. My later post however I promise some floor eye candy from my work on Miss Tiffani!

Gave up on clay for floooring... for now

Not to say that the Tiffani isn't still going to have stone floors and stone for the lower half of the walls -- it's just that I'll be going with my old favorite to do so. Drywall compound! :) I love the fact that you can smooth this on, let it sit for 15 mins or so and go back and etch in your stones... and if you're like me and aren't completely satisfied the first time take a wet cloth smoosh it all together and start again. Once dry and painted -- you really won't have to worry about it chipping or anything.

Sometimes it takes examples like this to prove to me that sometimes simple really is best. Okay all the time really, but my mind likes to forget that occasionally. lol

Later...

Nothing to update at the moment other than that I've been dealing with low blood sugars and a nasty migraine today. Will update later when I'm not having to squint my eyes to look at the computer screen...

Hope you all are good.

One down -- one to go...

Blanket that is! That's right, I was actually able to completely finish one blanket in about an hour or so today. It's a smaller blanket -- what I could see being folded and put on the back of a sofa, or perhaps the foot of a bed for a bit of added warmth. Not posting pics until I see if I can keep myself on the ball and get the other one done. This one was crocheted, which isn't saying a whole lot since it's the only stitch I've tried and managed without screwing up completely. But it doesn't look half bad, and if I can do it I'm convinced anyone can! Definitely see a quick tutorial out of this one soon.

The other one I'm going to attempt is a quilt. I'm going to go ahead and just say the woman whom makes these -- they are superb! Her name is Gillian and you can find her quilt tutorial here. Truly I look at artisans such as this, and am amazed at how easy they make this look... Maybe it's just that I make things more difficult, don't know and honestly don't care -- because either way you cut it her work is fantabulous! :)

Refitting beams...

Miss Tiffani in dry fit...

As mentioned yesterday Miss Tiffani and I had been working at getting her spiffied up. She now has a good bit of "stucco" look to her with the paper, and I am putting her beams back in. Had previously glued them, but went ahead and pulled them out to make sure I could get the entirety of the ceiling stuccoed(papered). As she stands now we've only to finish with her thatch roof, and finish dressing her floors. Then we'll see about some furnishings. Odd as it may seem but I've had a story line in my mind for this one's inhabitant. Just have yet to try and make her... Seems while I fell confident enough in sculpting with foods like fondant etc -- not so much in clay. Going to have to overcome that though, and soon from the way this house is flying together now.

As for the Petite Dreams home, have started on my second attempt at the flooring for the nursery. Trying Stonex clay for this attempt, actually forgot I had this on hand. So maybe this will get me comfortable enough with clay handling to give a go at the cold porcelain clay again. I already know that I like the feel of that better than this, but I don't like to see anything go to waste without trying it first. Sooo, I'll let you know how that goes in a day or so once it's all dry(crossing my fingers).

Also, last bit for the day -- trying my hand at mini blankets. Going to attempt at least two, and do them differently. If all turns out well, I may finally have a tutorial or two to post soon. :)

Until tomorrow, have a great one!

It's hot, hot, hot!

Loved it today -- lots of sunshine and warmth! This finally felt like spring here -- got to go out and play fetch with my boy, worked out in the shop with the heat gun and paint scraper on the town house, finished the floor for the horse room(little girls' bedroom I presume), and gesso'd the heck out of the Tiffani. Felt like a no house left behind kind of day for me. lol

As for the gesso-ing, I've been being called by Miss Tiffani to come back and pay some attention to her. Had finished up a good bit on the floors -- and the exterior walls, but the rest... that was a different story. As she stands now -- her ceilings and walls have all been primed, and she's being fit for her "stucco." Was planning on just using spackle, but found a roll of anaglypta paper that's supposed to look like textured drywall -- think 70's if you need a visual. Tried it out, and have to say it works a LOT quicker and easier for a stucco type look. Added benefit, it looks pretty smart too! She's quieting down now that I've quit using her for storage and pulled her out back into the light if you will.

Quick one today...

Going to be a quick post today, for the simple reason -- I found a new tool out in the shop... and I've been having a lot of fun! lol I'd heard there were plenty of uses for heat guns, and I'll throw out the common sense warning of they're hot so be careful. But the town house will no longer be that icky bubble gum pink coloration! The heat gun has been so good at bubbling it up, so I can scrape the paint right off :)

Besides this I also figured out I'll be using my utility knives and dremel tool a good bit, but I can change the siding that was milled into this pretty easily to be 1:12 as opposed to play scale. That has made my pretty happy as well. Think I just needed a day or so away from the Petite Dreams house, and the town house is big enough and just sitting out there staring at me when I go out to work...

Going to try and be good and update with pictures on all my various projects I've been working on with-in the next day or two. Til then, have a great one!

Spring was here today!

Yes it most definitely was! Today was one of those days you wake up and just HAVE to clean. lol Those moods don't strike me so often, I like my order and whatnot -- but not often do I get down on my hands and knees to vacuum under the bed and really chase dust bunnies. Today, was one of those days. The really spectacular part about this, is I not only went through like a mad woman cleaning my room/work area for dollhouses -- but also carried this effort out to the shop. Looks much neater, more organized, and A LOT less dusty out there now too.. :)

Besides all my cleaning I also got out some of my foam core and really started playing around with my walls. I had wanted to put in walls between the "nursery" and the kids' bedroom on the third floor, as well as the walls on the second floor... Only problem with that idea was just how little access and light one had to those back rooms then. Wanted originally to put working lights in this house, but as you'll recall I vetoed that idea when I figured out where it was meant to go to. With seven little girls -- just didn't want to take the chance of the lights and electricity and having something bad happen. Sooo... had been dwelling on how to solve this little issue for the last little while. Then it hit me at least how to solve the issue on the third floor -- pocket doors!

Going to have to wing it to see if I can do this, but I don't think it aught to be so difficult(hopefully).

Til tomorrow guys have a good one!

Good day!!!

Good day in that we found out poor Fred dog just has some allergies. Thankfully the vet prescribed some antibiotics and steroids to help him get past the hot spots he's had popping up... As it was stated to us, a sign of spring. Since he is thought to be an older puppy, that may be why the allergies are starting to pop up -- getting more sensitive to life. Was so proud of him though -- did wonderful with the car trip(he normally is not a big fan of these), and then threw himself at the vet assistant. He has a weakness for females, and evidently nice blonds that speak sweetly will woo him every time. lol

As far as dollhousing went, I finally gave in to the floor and cracked out my first attempt at clay. Sanded it back down, and tomorrow intend to just do a couple of light quick coats of spray paint to prime the mdf again. Then -- trying it all over again, just going to be smart and not roll the clay so thick! lol If nothing else, I look at the first go as a lesson learned in what not to do.  :)

Have also chosen and customized my design for my encaustic tile for the porch. It will be simple black and white, and I'm probably making it more difficult on myself by cutting each tile out of my cardstock to glue on. However, so far it looks pretty darned good(at least I think so)!

Hope everyone's having a good one, and I'll talk to ya tomorrow.

This and that today...

Today was a little bit of this and that today, basically as far as the Petite Dreams house goes -- still have yet to make myself happy with the puzzle floor. Wondering if it's not my fault in rolling it too thick as to why I'm still having issues with cracking? Going to attempt to fill the cracks again with the last bit of my first batch of cold porcelain. If it doesn't work out, I have to figure I either rolled it too thick... or maybe didn't mix it up as well as I thought the first go around. Nah! lol If I don't get rid of the cracks this go around I'll just settle into the kitchen to make up another small batch until I get it right. If I'm nothing else, I'm persistent! It will be right or not at all. lol

Also, found a great site last night in my browsing to find instructions for the Bay Mansion! It's called the Dollhouse Workshop and Builder's Forum. I believe this was started by one of the founders of the Small Stuff forum on Yahoo, but can't guarantee it. As it is, they collect directions for kits from companies that have gone out of business. If you are looking for directions for a kit, you have only to ask -- if they have them, they'll post 'em! Cannot begin to tell you how glad I am I came across this site last night, and yeah I bookmarked it!  :)

Which brings me to one of my downer points for the day... I had also e-mailed an on-line store by the name of The Dollhouse and Miniatures Shoppe. I will give this party their due in that they have components for certain houses that you can't readily find elsewhere. As it was, they had the Bay Mansion porch posts listed -- so thought it was worth a shot at least to see if they might have the directions for the kit, or know of a source that I may be able find them. At least I got a reply, but it was rather much like salt in a wide open gaping wound to be told sorry, I have them -- and I'm not sharing. lol

I have to pity this poor person, whomever they may be, for the simple matter that since day 1 of my journey into miniatures -- everyone it seems I've come across has been so kind and sharing. Then I come across someone like this... I wonder how alone they must be in real life with an attitude like that? Suppose in actuality I can't help but feel as sorry for the poor schmuck as I do for my sister and her husband. I feel sorry for them for their choice of living lies and trying to force those lies onto others, even when knowing the truth. Just as I feel sorry for this person for trying to make themself out to feel better by being what I can only say after reading the e-mail was cruel.

No matter what I may need in the future, I will not be shopping from their site -- ever. But, I will keep my fingers crossed that doc may come through on the Dollhouse Workshop and Builder's Forum. For now I ask for anyone who's willing to keep their fingers crossed for my brother beagle tomorrow, we'll be taking him to the vet. Thinking he has some sort of allergy that has him nibbling himself raw. :(

Not yet...

Where I'm at so far.

Okay, so like my pattern of before when I say I'm looking to have something done at a set time -- I don't. lol I'd apologize, but a couple of things came up and I figure to deal with them now and have a nice finished product in the end. Was really thinking this was the bestest clay I've used as I'd had no cracking, had to turn the heater on last night due to the cold though -- and of course woke up to not one but several cracks in the morning. Had made some extra clay though and just rolled snakes of it and shimmied it into the cracks to fill them up. So, had to wait on that to dry before being able to get the rest of my photos of that. :/

Part of the label on box #1

Good news today though -- the Bay Mansion showed up, and goodness is it BIG! The kit that I got was evidently the "upgraded" version with the windows and doors included. It came in 3 boxes, the first of which was about 50 lbs, the second was about 20 lbs, and the third was 14 lbs if I'm recalling this correctly. Add 20 lbs to that and in pieces with no additions this puppy weighs just about as much as I do. Box #1 is also almost as tall as me too... ;)

Still waiting on the directions from Walmer, though I talked with their representative and she's hoping to have news for me tomorrow in regards to this. Soo, tonight though I've promised myself I'm not starting on this til I get some of my other projects completed I did at least open the boxes and have fun looking through all the pieces. I find it funny I could do so, because I remember opening that first kit box for my niece Alyssa's Laurel -- pure horror! lol Truly it was like "How do you make a house from THIS?" Found out though, you can do it and it's quite addicting... Probably why I'm still glancing at the boxes, taking out various pieces, and quite simply grinning like a loon!

Have to say though one thing I've really enjoyed with this is seeing some of the paperwork that came with it. Like the original COD slip, the packing slips, the label from the store I presume it was bought from,  and the labeled subpacks... Just seems very much like by putting it together I'll join a link with so many others that have already made their mark. That sounds more grandiose than what I care for, so I guess simply put -- I like the idea that I'll be able to make this into a structure that was worth the time and effort they put into it... at least I hope I can. Guess only time will tell, but I really want to get my hands on this!

Til tomorrow I'll leave you with a few pics of the paper trail I'm finding in the boxes...

Kit delineation

Store I'm presuming it was bought from

Amount paid in 1983, made me realize again the great deal I got!

It worked!!! :)

Cold Porcelain Paste Recipe

Ingredients

- 2 cups of Corn Starch

- 2 cups of Elmer's Glue or wood glue (should be white, and has to be a PVA)

- 1 Tbs of lemon juice (it acts as a conservative)

-2 Tbs baby oil (you could use any oil like mineral, cooking, baby or even Vaseline petroleum jelly will work)
   
- 1 Tbs of white liquid tempera paint

- 1 Tbs of cold cream (non greasy, without lanolin and silicone, I used Ponds)

- Glass bowl (microwave compatible)

- Wooden spoon

This is the recipe I found for cold porcelain, and I have to say after buying an airdry clay that cracked all to heck on my eldest niece's dh -- wasn't too sure about trying this again. However, in finding not only the recipe, but also some good handling tips -- so much happier with this! I'll tell you now that I won't be posting pics until tomorrow, b/c I'd like to have the pics from start to finish of it all.

However, I will share what I've found -- and I will say this should make about a cup all together of the clay. The glue needs to be high tack -- either white wood glue, PVA, or something like Elmer's Glue All. I've even heard of folks using tacky glue in this, and I'd suppose whatever you can get your hands on that's not too expensive -- go for it.

The lemon juice is working as a conservative in the recipe... Very much like what formalin would do in some of the other recipes I'd found -- this however is cheaper, more easily obtainable, and won't kill your skin.

As for the cold cream, like I said I used Pond's Cold Cream -- you only use this on your hands at the time of kneading, and I don't believe I used a full tbsp. You don't want it greasy, but this helps so the clay/paste doesn't stick to your hands.

Now for the how to portion... bwahahahaha

Just kidding, it's really not bad!

Basically you just need to mix all the ingredients in the glass bowl excepting the hand cream(again that's just for your hands when kneading). You can even use a hand mixer to really make sure you get it all mixed, and not chunky(that's what I got trying to do it by hand). Either way though you want it to not have lumps, and be smooth or I guess a uniform consistency if you will. Once smooth, place the bowl   in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. You'll want to open the microwave each minute and mix the clay with your wooden spoon. This is so it cooks evenly -- as with variations in sizes of cups used for measuring, microwave power, heat, etc... well you get the point there, there's a lot of variables that can adjust how your clay is going to cook. If necessary you can monitor every 30 seconds for the last minute.

Once your clay is cooked I would suggest laying out a piece of wax paper and securing it to your counter top or table. Then you can use your cold cream and spread it about on this paper, as well as on your hands. Then place the clay on top, from what I've been able to discern the hotter the better when kneading. Makes for a smoother final clay product. Suggestion I read said to knead for at least 5-7 minutes, the more you knead -- again the better the product will be to work with. Tip I also read says to coil after you're done kneading to prevent the formation of air bubbles. From there you can seal it up in a plastic zip lock bag and stick it in the fridge for at least 24 hours. You could also use cling wrap, or saran wrap -- just note to anyone else doing this, you may want to use a touch of the cold cream to grease the plastic to keep your clay moist.

Hope this might help someone else, have to say I'm really happy with this so far!

Giving clay a chance

For anyone seeing the title to this entry it may not make a lot of sense. So many miniaturists are polymer clay lovers -- but for myself a) it's not readily available and b) what is available has ghastly prices. So I've been hunting up cold porcelain recipes for the last few days and think I've found the one that looked best for my usage at the moment. I'm going to attempt the nursery puzzle piece floor using this, and see how it turns out. If it's good and doesn't crack all to pieces like the air dry clay I attempted to use for my nieces dh bathroom floor, then I'll share the recipe which is free domain and what tips I've found to use with it.

For the moment, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and watching it dry -- praying to goodness it doesn't crack.

Til tomorrow...

Day off from minis

Mainly because I just couldn't wrap my mind around an idea long enough to follow through on it today. lol At this point the more I looked at what I'd done with the Victorian the more I was dissatisfied(ended up pulling out my puzzle pieced vinyl flooring).  I still really like the idea of a puzzle floor, I just REALLY didn't like that look with the vinyl flooring. So, in all likelihood I'll sand down the floor, prime it again and may just attempt it with cardstock...

For now though I don't have too much more to say other than that I'm going to go pop some Excedrin and pray for my head to quit pounding.

Til tomorrow, hope you all have a good one.