A Few More Days Until My First Giveaway Results!

Just giving you all a friendly reminder of my first giveaway deadline. Just a few more days left! It ends 12/31/11 midnight (US time). I hope you guys are excited because I am! I will do a random drawing and announce the winner on new years day!

More Miniature Crochet Teddy Bears

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Now, it is time to share my experience with these mini crochet bears with you guys!

Best friends!

Let me tell you how I almost pulled my hair out with frustration trying to work with such small needle and thread, failing many times trying to make a smaller teddy bear. I felt so defeated and was on the verge of giving up. Luckily, with some helpful tips from my very talented friend, Christine from Dandelion Fair, I was able to do it!  Thank you Christine!

I learned that you have to use patterns that are specially made for miniature scale or else it won't work. They were quite challenging, but well worth it!

I used a pattern that I modified a little for both teddy bears and they turned out absolutely adorable. Best of all, they have movable joints!

For the first bear, which I named Abby, I used a size 10 crochet thread and a crochet needle size 1 mm.

Abby is about 2 3/4 inches tall when standing.

This one is special, her name is Rosie.  She is special because I struggled a lot with her. Rosie is made with a size 20 thread, using a 0.6 mm crochet needle. I had such a difficult time making her with such a tiny needle. Rosie didn't turn out as small as I wanted but still a perfect size for 1/12 scale dollhouse.

Rosie is 45 mm tall when standing.

Rosie next to my new 1/24 scale bed set I got for Xmas!

I'm still trying to make a smaller teddy bear and experimenting with different patterns. Please wish me luck!

Also, I'm thinking of including a mini crochet bear as one of the prize items for my 100 follower giveaway. What do you think? Yes, no, maybe?? ;-) If I get a lot of YES, there is something to look forward to for that 100th follower! :-)

Happy Holidays to You!

Happy holidays to all of my followers! Thank you for reading my blog! I hope you have a safe and wonderful time with your family!

This card is designed by my very talented little sister. Check out her website and her comic.

My First Visit to a Mini Store!

Yesterday, my mom and my sister took me to a miniature store in San Carlos, California to have me pick out my Christmas gifts! It was supposed to be a surprise, but they had to tell me because they were afraid of getting the wrong items since they don't know much about miniatures. I was still surprised though because I didn't know there were still miniature stores around!  I can't believe there's one near where I live. I was so ecstatic when they told me about Shellie's Miniature Mania located in old town San Carlos.

Hard to see, but there it is: Shellie's Miniature Mania

I felt like a kid in a candy store, running around, trying to look and touch everything. I had so much to see since they had so many wonderful displays. I felt like I could spend hours in there!

Wow!

They also had building supplies like lighting, flooring, windows and doors, moulding, wallpapers and more! (wow...that rhymed...totally unintentional!)

Ooohlala!

I've actually never seen a 1 inch scale house in person, so I was surprised how big it was! Perhaps too big for me, so I'll stick to my 1/2 inch scale.

My mom and my sister bought me some furniture for my Fairfield which I will show them to you after Christmas since I can't open them until then. I had so much fun in this store! I will have to come back again real soon!

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Shellie's Miniature Mania
732 Laurel St.
San Carlos, Ca 94070 (map)

Much Frustration!

Ever since I finished the staircase, the mansion building process  has been a nightmare!  First of all, as I feared, the walls and the floors started to warp.  I tried many known methods to un-warp them, which worked, but only lasted temporarily. I gave up after many attempts.

Ugh.

I believe one of the reasons why the wood is so stubborn is the paint. As the paint dries,  it shrinks slightly, causing the wood to pull and bend in this shape. I think this goes the same with glue.  All I can do now is to hope that I can fix the issue when I start gluing the pieces together. Fingers crossed!

I started the wall papering process using the free images from www.microjivvy.com. It's a tedious job, but it's going rather smoothly.  I also glued all the windows and doors.

However, once I got to gluing the walls together, that's when everything went down hill.  First of all, I glued the walls together on the wrong edge! However, by the time I realized it, the glue has already set. I gently tried to take them apart...until I heard a sound any miniaturist would cringe to: "SNAP!".  I froze for a moment  until I realized I broke part of the wall and the window! Noooooohohoooo!!!  In a panic and on the verge of crying, I managed to glue the broken pieces together. It was quite dramatic!

The piece I broke. Can you tell?

The directions for this kit are very unclear and hard to understand, which cost me this mistake!!  grrrr....

I hope this is the first and last downfall for this project.  I hope everything will go smoothly from here on. Aaaah...1/144 scale definitely challenges my patience, haha. Now I know why there isn't much people who work with this scale.

The base foundation

Flowers Blooming in Winter

My flower garden is pretty in pink!

I crocheted a bunch of these little flowers and I embellished with Swarovski rhinestones.  I've turned some into flower hair clips and they are absolutely precious!

These spring colors should brighten up the gloomy winter weather!

I also made some button hair clips to go along with my flower ones for my hair clip set. These are going to be wonderful Christmas gifts for my boyfriend's nieces! I hope they like them.

Hair clip set!

Packaged and ready to go!

I'm contemplating on whether to do a tutorial on how to make these flowers...what do you all think? Yay or nay?

More Painting Plus Staircase Construction

Can't get over how tiny it is!

I got most of the painting done and removed all the window and door pieces from their sheets. I used a craft knife to carefully remove them because they're too fragile to be punched out. I also started on the staircase and I'm very happy with how it turned out. There's actually going to be another flight of stairs, but that will come later during the assembly of the house.

Paint palette is perfect to contain these small parts!

I stained and varnished everything that needed staining. Here's  one of the floors that I stained using Minwax brand staining pen, color: Golden Oak. I also added a tile floor to one of the rooms, which will be the kitchen. I'm actually proud of how I came up with the idea. After no luck with finding 1/144 scale floors and tiles online, I used an image from a miniature wallpaper catalog! I sprayed the paper with matte sealer for extra protection before gluing it on the floor. Then, I finished it with high gloss coating and it turned out perfect! I love it when improvisation works!

First floor stained and tiled.

I have more painting to do. After I'm done with that, I will start wallpapering!

Getting Started on My Gingerbread Mansion

I got a 1/144 scale gingerbread mansion kit from my boyfriend for my birthday and I'm excited to be able to finally start on it after a week of studying for my exams!

As I laid all of my pieces out to make sure I have everything, I came to realization of how tiny 1/144 scale is. All the pieces are so tiny and fragile, it makes me very nervous to even hold them. I'm also surprised of how clean and detailed the pieces are. Laser-cut is amazing. Check out these stairs! Aren't they cute?

Teeny stairs!

I decided to go with this color scheme: Pink, white, teal, and light sea green. My house is going to be girly and pretty in pink : )

I started painting the gingerbread pieces and some of the windows while they were still in the sheets. It doesn't look like I've got much done, but painting this much took me couple of hours! The process is very tedious because they're so many small nooks and crannies to be painted. Plus, I was being extra careful not to mess up. I should probably invest in a magnifying visor to help me see better because hours of me hunched over my desk and staring at the small pieces gave me a sore back and strained eyes. Ouch ouch.

By my next post, I'm hoping to finish the painting and start assembling the staircase! Woohoo! 

Next to a quarter just to give you an idea of how small it is!

AND totally changing the subject: we got our tree. Smaller this year, but it's perfect. Our whole house smells like christmas tree, which I LOVE!

We also got our xmas tree this weekend!

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles

I wanted to bake some cookies for the holidays, but I didn't feel like making the trip to the grocery store to buy more ingredients. I wanted to make something easy and with ingredients I already had, so I decided to make snickerdoodles. The main flavor is cinnamon, so they fit into the holiday cookie category in my book. 

Snickerdoodles adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 C. shortening
• 1 1/2 C. white sugar
• 2 egg
• 2 3/4 C sifted flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 T white sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a large bowl, cream the shortening and 1 1/2 C of sugar until creamy. Stir in the eggs one at time. In another bowl, combine and mix sifted flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until blended,

In a smaller bowl, combine and mix 2 T white sugar and 2 tsp of ground cinnamon.

Roll the dough into balls the size of small walnuts and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place them 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Into the oven and bake for precisely 9 minutes. The cookies should be flat with cracks. Leave them on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before transferring to the cooling rack. It will look slightly under-baked but don't worry! Once they're cooled they should be soft, chewy, and delicious! 

Happy Baking and Happy Holidays!

My First Mini Teddy Bear

Combining my love for miniatures and crochet, I made a miniature version of the amigurumi teddy bear I've made before. I followed the same pattern but modified just a little to fit the size of this teddy. I used a crochet thread and a crochet needle, size 8 (1.4mm). My first time working with such tiny needle!

Meet Evey

Evey is about 3.5 inches tall.

In comparison to Daisy

This was quite a challenge because everything was so small! The stitches were tiny and it was hard for me to see what I was doing. Definitely required a lot of time, patience, and focus to make this.

The process of making its leg.

I bet my eyes were crossed the whole time. I can't imagine making anything smaller than this! But you know there's a lot of people out there who does.

For example, here is a talented miniature knitter, Athena Crome. Watch the video, and be amazed!

And also this micro crochet amigurumi by Su-Ami. It's jaw-dropping!!

My goal is to work my way up to crochet a 1/12 scale teddy bear. Wish me luck!

My New Mini Project

It's been way too long since the last time I worked on a mini project! I've been itching to start ever since I finished my 1/2 scale Fairfield, but life got in the way and I kept delaying it.

Finally, my wish came true when my boyfriend got me the 1/144 scale Gingerbread Mansion kit for my birthday! This makes happy Amy!

The Birthday Gift!

Initially, I was planning for my next mini project to be another 1/2 scale house, but considering my current circumstances, I can't afford the space and the money to build it the way I want to (sucks to be a student). Hence, I thought 1/144 scale would be perfect, so that's when I bugged my boyfriend for it for my birthday. This will definitely save space on my tiny craft space and I can still relieve my mini-itch! I've never worked with this scale, so I'm looking forward to the challenge. I will be documenting my progress so please follow my blog!  I'm so excited!

1/144 Scale Gingerbread Mansion

The Real Gingerbread Mansion - So beautiful!

My Very First Amigurumi

I'm still a novice in crocheting, but after much practicing, I'm now able to read some beginner's patterns and I'm able to do some stitches without messing up. When I first started learning how to crochet, my goal was to be able to make an amigurumi and I finally did it! I made my first amigurumi.

Meet Daisy!

I used a free pattern from jennyandteddy's blogspot (great blog btw). I'm so happy how my teddy turned out. I love the big ears and the cute little dress! I may have to make another one for myself since this teddy is gonna be a gift for someone.

Don't you just love it when you make something that turned out exactly the way you want it to be? It's very satisfying and you start to feel so proud of yourself, you just want to pat yourself on the back.

I Didn't Forget About You!

This is a crochet project I started well over a month ago and I swear I didn't forget about it! I just got side tracked with other craft ideas, school, life, and...umm...ok fine, I'll be honest! I just lost some motivation, but don't worry, I got it back and I started working on it again by sewing the squares together.

Progress is slow but it's still going!

As I was lining up my granny squares, I notice some of them were slightly bigger than the others.  I guess this is due to  the uneven tension of the stitches since my crochet skills aren't up to par yet, but once I sewed them together it looked ok. I still need to make more squares...which is the most tedious part of this project. Let's hope I can keep my motivation going. Wish me luck!

I hope your projects are going more productively than mine!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial: Pine Cone Christmas Tree

This time of the year, you start to feel the pressure because you see and hear Christmas everywhere and people are talking about gifts!  You better start getting ready now, because it's just around the corner! Next time you know it, you will be stressing over the last minute gifts and decorations. So, let me make your life a little easier with this tutorial.

Mini xmas tree.

Here is a great craft idea that is easy, simple, and cheap.  Pine Cone Christmas Tree! I vividly remember making this in kindergarden with my teacher. I remember painting it white with multi-colored glitters and giving it to my mom.

You will need:

• Pine cone
• green acrylic paint
• glitter
• hot glue
• regular glue or Modge Podge
• mini terra cotta pot (i got one from Michaels' for 69 cents)
• mini star (optional) I used a wooden star but you can use star shaped buttons or cut out a yellow foam sheet.

Simply, paint the pine cone with green paint and let it dry. Apply some regular glue on the edge of each spine on the pine cone and sprinkle some glitter. Once it's dry, hot glue the pine cone to the terra cotta pot and glue the star on top. Super easy and it's a great craft project to do with your kids!

I painted white on the tips of the "pedals" of the pine cone to give a "snow" effect. Too bad you can't really see the glitter on the snow in the photos. I also applied glitter on the star.

You can get creative with the decorations. Use different paint colors, rhinestones, sequins, beads, fluff balls, ribbons, etc. Go crazy with them and have fun!

Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!

Thanks to my Followers

Since it's the season of thanks, I wanted to take this time to say thank you to all of my wonderful followers. It means a lot when you guys follow my blog and comment on my posts; it motivates me to keep this blog going. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving! *hugs*

Thank YOU!

My First Mini Giveaway!!

Yay!! This is my first giveaway and it's a big one too! The winner will receive what you see in the photos.  Some household items: wall clock, mantel clock, two candles, a beautiful gold framed mirror, and two gold picture frames (all brand new and in 1/12 scale).

Wall Clock

Mantel Clock

Candles

Ornate Gold Wall Mirror

Gold Picture Frames

My First Giveaway!!

Here are the rules to participate:

1. Become my follower (please don't forget!)
2. Publish a link of my giveaway on your blog.
3. Comment on my post to let me know to count you in!

Deadline is until 12/31/11 and I will be doing a random drawing for the winner!