Kindergarten graduations, vacations, sunburns: summer fun / going quiet for a bit.

Good morning good folk!

This midsummer time will be pretty busy for me and family, we are going to a Faerie Festival here in NY next week. I was thinking of dressing up with my daughter..maybe not the wings but I was kicking around the idea of a leaf dress...ehh we will see ;P

We have some major work around the house, I am finally going to be using our upstairs empty loft area as a workspace. "score" outta the dining room!

I am going code "silent lurker" for a few weeks so if you wondered if I have dropped off the planet, it probably just me.. sun burnt, broken toe, buying my first bathing suit in 5 years ;P

I will be stalking your blogs and sending out some "goodies" to my past swap folk and seeing if there are things I can make for you other folks in your projects so I will contact a few of you.

I am available via Email, Etsy, Google+ for contact anytime.

All my best to you and yours, health, happiness and hugs, see you soonish ;) J.S

Minifanaticus Midsummer Givaway: Winner sits at the fountain

Good morning good folk!

So I printed a few names, threw them babies in a bowl and BAM!

 

This Fanatical draw will be going to..........tiny..tiny drum roll:

 

 

Maria Ireland you have won this...

 

Minfanticus Midsummer Give Away!!!

 

Please contact me via Email or Etsy with a address to send your package..I am assuming its going to Ireland? ;P

 

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Thank you all for your continued friendship and contact, J.S!...ps BOO! *wink*

 



The childs transitional dollhouse: refur'bashing on the cheap

Good evening folks,

A lot of us are sitting in rain, windstorms or tornadoes right now, since the damned planet is about to tear itself friggen asunder!!! er... sorry.. just not ready for global wa'ba < reference ;P

Any whoooosss..

Some of you may remember the first dollhouse I made for my daughter the fairy dollhouse from scratch:

 

While my daughter played with this over the last year she also grew and her imaginary stories became more elaborate. She asked if we could "change" some of the things in the dollhouse.

 

When I asked, she started naming more modern things like refrigerators and faucets, so we broke out the old puzzle piece furniture from Michaels and started working.

 

My daughter is only 6 years old and at this point she is still using small dolls like Lalaloopse dolls and the like so using the puzzle pieces works for the scale. Lets not forget that for this transitional project where my daughter is painting furniture we do not have to consider the big spend..yet.

 

She decided on painting each room a different color and we are slowly adding details as she asks for them, a few clay items a few scraps, magazine clippings.

 

 

I now have a nice list on the wall which she writes random items on in the morning, I am trying to have them completed when she gets home from school but the list is growing *lol*

 

 

I hope you are high and dry, we are about to get flooded ;(

Google reader deadline: Finding your options on my blog

Good morning folks!

I know most of us have chosen a option for the soon to be removal of reader in Google.

I have added a few to the sidebar on the left of this page for folks to get updates from my blog if they choose:

Here are a some in case you have not already made a change:

• Bloglovin
• Google Plus
• Email
• Minatures Group
• Feedly.com

Bloglovin: A lot of people have joined up with this option already. Its a clean simple import and interface.

Google plus: I have discussed this already about the video chat and a few of us have gotten on here to meet up, instant message chat and test out the interface: I use this as a one stop updater myself.

So in google plus you can create circles which are groups: For instance I have a few circles Minifolks if you are a miniature enthusiast, friends, following blogs etc. That way you can sort blogs by subgrouping and on the top of your google plus home page, sort updates, pictures, blogs that way.

It is basically a Facebook , reader, video, instant message, clone all in one. *lol*

 

Email: I have added this for those folks who may prefer to have it remind them, that a post was made if they do not choose the other options:

Miniatures Group: I have also added a link to my online miniatures group, its just another place for folks to find each other that enjoy our little hobby.

Feedly: Jenn and April are using this one so I have added it for you to check out;)

 

Good luck in finding a option, if you have any questions feel free to contact me via all of above or pop in and say hi ;)

Minifanaticus Midsummer Givaway!!!! : You have already been entered

Good morning good folk!!

Sorry for leaving you sitting there for so long, it took me a few to find a good wafting pot ;P

Yes folks Jane likes to be sneaky.

 

So this is how I will do this round: I appreciate all of you readers but I wanted to do something special for those that have been commenting on my little summer projects consistently over the last 2 1/2 months.

So I have created these miniatures for you supportive fine folks to create your own garden room box, shadow box, scene or terrarium.

If you made a comment on my posts, more than once in the last couple of months then you are included in this list:

Kim

Fabiola

Jennybee

Droroa

Wyrna

Jazzi

Emanuela valenza

Lil

Ruth

Jana

Madame Mystery

Maria Ireland

Hannah

Lyssa

liduina

Jennifer plushpussycat

ElizabethS

Rosethe

Tatiana

Ascension

lucille

Stienworks

Susanna Zanchi

12create

 

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Now, not everyone is into fantasy miniatures. So lets clear up the list this way:

• If you are on this list and want to be included in the draw.
• Please say "I am on the list include me"  in comments below:
• No links or mentions are needed since this is a drawn list.
• We will do our draw on the 17th right before Midsummer solstice 

 

 

Thank you again for all your support!! 

Good Luck!!

Midsummer Dreaming: Have a seat and look around ;)

Good evening!

I thought we could continue with our story ;)

So we were in our garden listening to the tinkle of the fountain and the birds playfully splashing in the birdbath.......................

We decide to sit down and rest ourselves and take in the sounds and sights of the garden:

We sit there for many hours until the sun goes down and we can now see the glow of the stone lantern:

 

We have enjoyed our sights sounds and smells of the....DARN IT!! 

 

What are they gonna smell Jane, the funk of your bad story? This place needs something to waft on the breeze!.

 

Ok you gals sit here I will be back shortly *wink*

 

Midsummer Dreaming: The Garden

Good morning good folk!

I was thinking on Midsummer lately, its a magical time. Flowers bloom, dragonflies dance and fairies come to visit your gardens. You have started your fairy gardens haven't you??

While I know a few of you fine gals are about to enter your winter seasons, I thought we could stroll down the summer path for a while with a little story *wink*
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I see us sitting in a wonderful nook filled with speckled light. Nearby is the tinkling sound of a water fountain:

 

 

Can you hear the chirping of the little birds as they dance in the birdbath?



 

It would be so nice to sit here in this garden...er.....

 

CRAP I forgot the bench!!!

 

Ok lets pick this up next post...where are they gonna sit Jane?? Geesh..terrible at this. *wink*



Custom Resin Miniatures Test 1 : Geesh Jane, its only been 4 months

Good morning folks!

I know I said I would figure out the resin thing a while ago, but whadda want I am forgetful ;P


Any whooooooooooos here is some of what I am still learning:

• Heating your mold and resin in the toaster oven works great. DO NOT let a direct heat hit it, so turn on your toaster oven...let it heat up first..let the bulb go out and then place them in. Just like clay.

• Slow mix your resin in small capful batches to get the most clear result.

• Use a release agent on your putty molds: I find using something like a qtip of baby oil and just lightly coating the mold will help the surface become more smooth and clear.

• Sand with a nail buffing grit..like those stages to polish nail files.

• Use multiple pieces for a ornate look.

• coat with nail polish in smooth strokes

So the start would be like any clay based item we worked on : Making a mold from your own design or using your minieye around your house:

I created a simple bottle shape a few small stoppers and things from around the house, and then created a mold from that shape,

 

For now we will think of stoppers for our dollar store jars, we all have a million of those don't we?

 

Combining a few different shapes will make a interesting stopper, you can of course solid mold this or make pieces and glue those together:

 

While I am still working on the best method for clear bottles, you can see some of the items I have already started to mess around with,: step into my lab ;P

 

I don't want to completely spoil my trade secrets here, let see how fast these are on a rip off artists etsy: *LOL*

 

I will say..use your mini eye and think in sections like our pots, vases, and birdbaths ;P

 

 

Let me know if you find out anything to help clear our cloudy confounded conundrum!

Midsummer Festivities: Refurbushing cheap stuff, thrift finds and midsummergivawayfanaticus

Good day fine folk ;)

I want to thank all of you wonderful ladies who gave me well wishes over the last weeks!

The booth day is done and it went well. I had a few hiccups lateness, forgotten wares.. no camera =/ but over all it was a nice day.

I did not make a million dollars on my stuff so you are all stuck with me for a while ;P

I also forgot ..things..my mind..the camera...*sigh*

So instead I decided to create this masterpiece of art in MS paint just so you get the idea of how things looked.

 

As you can see from my AMAZING depiction I had a small table with a few goodies placed on it and a couple of display items.

 

It was 93 degrees yesterday so you could feel the heat rising off of the grass.

 

If you look at this piece of shi....... er art, I created above, you will see at one point the corner of my little tent actually caught fire, so I just doused the fire with the sweat off of my greasy face and all was well.

 

You can see the hot steam rising off of my body, and I did have to move my table back a few times to get the items out of the sun, not that it matters when the shade is 90 deg...

 

I could have made a slight error in location.. now that I think about it..I may have placed my tent on the sun..oh well lesson learned.   *smile*

 

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I wanted to show you a interesting find from my first mini thrift store trip;)

 

I was looking for shadow box materials/ displays and I found this jewelry box for 3 bucks!

 

It is pretty interesting, it about a foot tall glass and wood and when I opened it it almost spoke to me of roombox.

 

Tell me you don't see the same thing as minifolk!

 

Mirror backing..store/ window..ring holder on left/stairs..necklace rack/chandelier RIGHT??

 

So this will sit on my shelf, and maybe I will get to it in the next..5 years ;P

 

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I also wanted to talk about those Michaels hutches and refur'bashing them. 

 

As you can see I have messed around with them ,a few altered shelving, added drawers and started to thing about loading one of them up for the midsummergivawayfanaticus....*wink*

 

Any whooooooooossss how is your day going?