Gingerbread Houses

I haven't written a blog post for a while but I have been really busy making things. My favourite newest makes are the gingerbread houses. They take a lot of time to make and a lot of time to prepare. 

I began making these around a month ago with a list of embellishments that I needed for the decoration. So I began making candy canes, snowmen, cookies etc. I may have overdone it slightly but as I have a catering background my old college tutor would be impressed with my mise-en-place! 

I completed the houses over three days - Day one - I built the houses then cooked them. Day two - put the decoration onto the roof and cooked. Day three - put the houses onto the tray and decorated the gardens. 

Each house is unique and individual as I didn't want to replicate any house. I've made twelve so far and I'm quite happy with my miniature gingerbread village. 

Big blanket, mini blanket

I've been very busy the past few weeks, mainly making lots of miniature blankets. I've know got into the routine of making a few foodie things in the morning, I then have to do 'the job that pays the bills' before coming home and spending a couple of hours crocheting. 

I'm venturing away from the granny squares and have tried a few patterns, my trusty crochet for beginners book with how to do many different stitches is coming in handy but I there are some I seem to struggle with. Granny squares are so easy and theraptic to do after I come home from work. 

My latest project is a blanket based on one I made last year which will go into my own dollshouse and it's another giant granny square! This is the progress so far. 

Christmas cookie biscuits

Christmas is coming ... 

I decided to make some more modern kind of foodstuffs and Pinterest came to my aid again with seasonal Christmas biscuits.  I always look at the food on there and think is it possible to make it in miniature and more importantly make it look real in miniature from polymer clay.

I decided I'd have a go at making seasonal cookies. As usual I have ideas of how to do lots of different ones but decided to start with two simple designs - snowman and robin. 

This is the basic robin in the making. On the left tile - a yellowy clay for the beak, red for the chest and brown for the body. The tiny caviar beads are used for the eyes. On the right hand tile is the biscuit base and the stages of making the robin. 

Left to right how the different pieces were assembled. 

After cooking they I glazed them with a semi matt varnish.

The snowmen were made in the same way with glittery fimo for the snow effect and caviar beads for the eyes, nose and mouth. Each biscuit is around 7mm round which in the real world would be 8.5cm which is more a cookie than a biscuit size. I did try and size it down to a biscuit but it seemed too small and this seemed a much better size. 

Happy birthday Magenta Minis!

Magenta minis is one year old ! This time last year I decided to start selling my miniatures on etsy. It's been a good year of learning new skills, meeting new people, learning about the whole world of social media marketing and making and selling minis!!

I'm still as passionate about it as ever, and hope to continue crossing things off my to do list as I go ..

Chocolate brownie.

I haven't abandoned the food side of things. I was waiting for more clay to be delivered and then I decided to buy some new cutters and I'm waiting for them now. I had been using cheap plastic plunge cutters but fimo and other polymer clays react with the plastic and eats away at it resulting in it being unusable. 

It took me a while to find a UK source. I could find plenty in the USA and a high postage to match which would have been too costly. Eventually Google led me to www.clayarond.com and have found the cutters and other fimo goodies. 

Anyway while I'm waiting for them to be delivered I made a chocolate brownie, ice cream and chopped nuts dessert. It helps the diet that it's calorie free. The plate is sat on a pound coin which is 22mm across. 

Miniature crochet

A couple of weeks ago I bought a lot of 1ply wool and a couple of crochet hooks. And began crocheting.

The first piece was a bit of a disaster. Kept snagging the wool and I was using a 1mm hook, This was the result which I was happy that I'd achieved something but unhappy that is was so messy.

I tried again with a 0.6 mm hook and oddly I am doing much better with the smallersize. I've begun with easy bedspreads in the style of a big granny square and it's the perfect way to end the day as I can't mix or colour clay at night.

I thin I'll do a few of these before I tackle anything more complicated .

The never ending to do list.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down and went through all my half finished, half loved projects - both big and small and said no more making or buying until everything was finished. Not just miniature projects but big ones too as I had a lonely knitted sock without the second one made and a blanket that was nowhere near finished. 

The socks are now finished. Once I'd sat down and started knitting it didn't take too long. That's the beauty of knitting plain socks without a pattern they can be made in no time at all.

The (full size) blanket is a different beast. There are pictures of the work in progress on my instagram account www.instagram.com/c6c8 but after I finish writing this today I am back making more crocheted flowers as there aren't enough to make the central panel yet. Then all I have to do is the border round the edge so it fits onto my bed. 

It is a time consuming monster but I really want to get as much of it done over the weekend as I can. 

So everything is ticking along, I have a list of miniature food that I would like to make to put into the shop as I haven't actually made anything while finishing the half finished things. I haven't abandoned the miniatures as I've been doing other stuff that isn't sitting down and actually making anything. Mainly I have been painting and gluing and finishing another half finished project which is the miniature food frames. Also on my to do list is to do a blog post about them, at some point in the future. 

And then what do I do? I happened to be on facebook and a lady was selling a lot of 1ply and 2ply wool. I'd looked at doing mini crochet before, even looked online to buy some but always didn't quite get to the buying part. I have enough hobbies, there aren't enough hours in the day, I have a full time job when will I get the time to it .... so I bought it! 

There is a certain method to the madness. There is honestly. My dollhouse is filled with things that are a reflection of my life. It's not an accurate replica of the house I live in, but inspired by it. So there is a craft room, a dollshouse (which is actually a Tetley tea house that was free with a box of tea many many years ago), small photos from holidays, a kitchen full of food, a bed cover that have been cross stitched, cushions, books etc etc. One thing I haven't got though is anything crocheted because it's one of those skills I've always admired but never tried. 

Now I can though with my newly acquired instant stash of wool!! Eventually when I attempt something with it there will be an update but when that will be is an entirely different matter.