Never Pee Against a Witch's Door

Today I have a naughty treat for you. Remember when I was complaining at the start of lockdown exactly a year ago that I didn't have the right bits and pieces to make a birdbath? Well, while I was confined to the house, I had lots of time to mutter to myself and scratch around until I was able to make something that fit my mood.

My personal version of Mannekin Pis. The original lives in Brussels and has been making a statement since the 15th century. Legend has it that a little boy had a pee against a witch's door and when she caught him in the act, the furious crone froze him in place forever. Totally sounds like something I would do...

My Mannekin had humble beginnings. A plastic charm, a metal bead cap, and a pie crust from Barbie play food, here already painted grey. Assembling the birdbath was a simple matter of glue and paint. The water however, made me scratch my head for quite a while.

After watching some Youtube videos, I decided that the best course of action would be to use nylon thread to guide the flow of resin 'water'. I drilled a small hole in the strategic spot and glued several strands of filament in place.

Initially, he overshot the mark by quite a bit but after adjusting for flow pressure and wind force, I managed to glue the strands down where I wanted them. I mixed up a batch of clear resin, let become sticky in the measuring cup, then sculpted it into place over the thread and into the basin. 

At the same time, I worked on a birdbath that my friend Cheryl printed for me using a 3D printer. This being in the middle of lockdown, friends were not allowed to visit one another at home and the police could stop you on the road and ask your business. We arranged a clandestine meeting at a petrol station, fully masked and gloved. I walked past her car and threw some homemade fudge through the window. She walked past mine and tossed my printed goodies in the back seat. We never made eye contact and drove off in different directions like spies, mission accomplished.

My Cheryl-printed birdbath, also mounted on a bead cap. And below are some more views. Resin printers allow for minute detail. How I wish I had one too.

We are in this for a year already and some days it's hard to find a ray of light. Wishing you a blessed week my friends. And whatever you do, remember the consequences when you pee against a door!

Sweet Dreams are Made of This

If it weren't for the worldwide predicament, I could invite you for a sleepover.

We certainly have enough beds. Instead, here is a little dollhouse mattress making tutorial.

My project for January was to construct 1:12 scale dollhouse beds. They are made entirely of scrap materials I had in my stash. I loosely followed the YouTube tutorial by Julie Warren. Some of the beds will go to Dawn @livecreatively365 for decorating and dressing, and the rest I will paint and furnish with mattresses so that people can add their own finishing touches.

These are the colours I have in mind. The beds still need some sanding and several coats of paint, but I couldn't wait to get started with the mattresses so let's jump right to that.

I had a large piece of old stripy curtain in my stash. You can see in the selvage that it was originally blue with a charcoal stipe but now it's a gentle, faded grey. Perfect!

 

My first attempt was the mattress on the left, following Ara's tutorial at Bentley House. Hers is a tutorial for a no-sew mattress using foam core board so if you are averse to sewing, head straight over there. Ara's tutorials are inspirational. I spent hours trying to glue the sides of the mattress neatly. I don't really like using glue on fabric. I believe that if it can be sewn, it should be sewn. Eventually, I gave up and sewed the mattress by hand, but it still didn't look great. Then I invented my own method. Ta da, mattress on the right. I can make three of those in an hour.

The core of my dollhouse mattress consists of three layers - a piece of cereal box measured to fit the base of the bed, a layer of 14mm foam, and a layer of blue craft felt. This is what I had in my stash. When I make more mattresses, I will use slightly thicker foam and possibly quilt batting instead of felt but the materials I had on hand actually worked better than I expected. Glue the layers together.

Mark out a 15mm block grid on the card, then use an awl to poke a hole at each intersection. You can see that I snipped a small triangle off the corners of the card. This is because I want the mattress corners to be rounded.

I used a piece of card the same size as the mattress as a template and added a 10mm seam allowance all around. Cut the fabric with the stripes running lengthwise. Next, I cut a 30mm-wide strip of fabric long enough to go around the mattress. This time the stripes run across. Sew the strip around the mattress cover. Here you can see how it looks on the wrong side and turned right side out.

When making miniatures with fabric, ironing the seams is very important. Compare left and right, smooth seams make all the difference.

The mattresses inside their covers. You can see the wrong side and the right side. It should be a snug fit.

Fold the raw edges over the card and glue down. Start with the long sides, then glue the short ends.

Now comes the fun part. Using a long needle and strong thread, start from the back and sew a little tuft in each of the grid holes you made. It is important to stick the needle straight through the mattress. Make a 2mm stitch on the top side of the mattress, then poke the needle straight through to the back and out the same hole. Move on to the next hole and tuft the entire mattress. You can pull the stitches tight as you go. Because you're using a continuous strand of thread, it's possible to pull on the thread at the back to tighten or release the tufts until they are equal.

Back and front of the finished mattress.

I tidied up the back by gluing a piece of grey felt over the threads.

I love my dollhouse beds so far.

This little bed is mine. I'm ready to crawl under the blankets and read a book.

The Future is Open

 

This might look empty to you, but it's a harbinger of great things to come in the future. Soon. Like, 2021. I've had enough of living in The Co-Void already.

The project started in my imagination when I saw these in a wholesaler's warehouse two years ago. They were hideously expensive but I coveted them from the moment I set eyes on the boxes. In January, the company had a closing down sale and six were left, priced to go. A bit battered but still sturdy and at $2 per box, you can't buy the materials to construct your own.

I feel a cat-like attraction to hollow things. My thinking isn't 'Will my bum fit?' though, it's 'What can I put in there?'. These boxes were screaming miniature display.

The first order of the day was getting rid of Michael Jackson.

It needed many layers of paint but eventually, I could say, 'Bye-bye Michael'. This happened in June; you can see that we're in the middle of winter and the garden is quite dull. It was also the middle of lockdown here in South Africa and I had nothing to do except to watch paint dry.

Next, I made some neat liners for the box and the lid. Being unable to scoot out to the craft shop for inspiration, I found a wallpaper sample on the internet, rescaled and tiled in Word, and printed it on ordinary paper in grayscale.

I added some little shelves and sealed all the surfaces with matt varnish for durability.

Fast forward a few weeks and back to the exterior of the boxes. I glued Velcro to the spines and outside edges of each box.

This way, many boxes can become one. 

Stood on its side and opened up, I have 80cm x 90cm of display area with 36 little shelves the perfect size on which to display miniatures.

It breaks down in less than a minute and stores in a box light-weight and ready to transport to a show. Now all I need is a miniature show. And stock. And customers would be nice.

I hope that you're doing what you need to do to stay safe and that this year hasn't been terribly unkind to you. My heart goes out to the people I'm in contact with remotely who have suffered everything from misfortune to outright tragedy in the last few months. I carry your sadness with me and I think of you every day.

Personally, I've never experienced so many awful things crammed into such a short time. My family has been visited by setbacks, sickness, and death and it's been a trial for all of us but I will tell you about it in another post.

Right now all I can say is that despite the hardship, I'm being extraordinarily creative and productive. I'm studying, experimenting, making things. 

I'm looking forward to a day when life can move forward and I can start growing again instead of lying dormant waiting for this season to pass. I hope that on the day when you see this display bursting with miniatures at a show, you will celebrate with me. Even if we have to wear a mask and hugs are not allowed. The way we do things needs to change but humanity is robust; we can hold on to hope and adapt. We're going to get through this!

Soft Landing

I've met many people who start a project and work on it exclusively until it's finished. They build a puzzle, crochet a blanket, make jam, whatever. But they won't start with the next thing until they finished the one before. All I can say is that their homes must stay very tidy during this pandemic and I envy them.
Even at the end of the world as we know it, my habits remain unchanged. I'm sculpting, sewing, painting, writing, casting silicone all at once and all over the place. And when I'm not busy with that, I'm gardening, spring cleaning, working with tarantulas, doing ballet with a kitchen chair for a barre.
The upside of this is that I'm never bored. In fact, I have so many projects on the go that I often find things that I left half-finished and feel excited to rediscover them and carry on.
The downside is that it can sometimes be a long while before I finally see the fruits of my labour and I tend to lose track of time. There are people out there who are writing a lockdown count-down so that they can tell their grandchildren all about what they were doing when the big bad virus threatened the world. Someone reminded me that today is day eleven of the South African stay-at-home order and that we're halfway through it already. My reaction was, 'Whaaaaat, I haven't even started with half the things I had planned'! So, if time is dragging for you, my recommendation is that you take your mind off it by starting a few more projects.

For me, one thing often leads to another. I made a whole lot of cloth face masks (yes, western countries are finally starting to adopt the idea that we will be wearing them in public spaces for the foreseeable future) and I ended up with a pile of postage-stamp-sized fabric offcuts. Many had pretty pictures or interesting patterns on them and I was wondering what I could make with such small pieces? Dollhouse cushions, of course! So, the ironing board and the sewing machine are still standing around and I've made more than 100 cushions so far. It's a bit addictive. Heaven knows what I will do with them all.

 

If you want to make some dollhouse cushions of your own, I highly recommend the tutorial on Jessica Cloe's blog. Here are pictures of some of my favourites so far. I soldered the wrought-iron day bed a while ago and when I took it out to use as a photo prop, it made me think I should heat up the soldering iron and make a few more...
Wishing you soft landings in the coming week.

 

 

 

 

 

1zu12 Rheda Show Report

Just when the awesomeness of Germany started having a comfortable lived-in feel, there was the 1zu12 miniature show at Rheda. I went as a spectator this time, but I hope to exhibit there in future.
I met some of my greatest miniature heroes in person at the show and I spent an entire day marvelling at the variety and the quality of miniatures on offer.

This is one of those times when a picture can't do justice to the subject but I'm going to try, with lots of comments added. Grab a cup of tea and walk through the show with me.

The show started with a squeeze to get in the doors at 11am. For my South African friends, this is something like the frantic first day of HobbyX, nothing like strolling into a miniature show at home. But also not like HobbyX because people here are well behaved and they keep a polite distance.

(In an aside: I've noticed this sign in several places like the bank and hospital. Now I know what that gap in the queue is called - a discretion zone. You don't need to worry that someone is going to sneeze down your neck).

Some super cute needle felted dolls and teddies. Unfortunately, I didn't get the exhibitor's name, she was very busy selling her wares. (Birgit thinks the creator is Natasja Woord of Creahobby).

Miniature babies and the most exquisitely dressed dolls by Victoria Heredia from Spain. She doesn't have a website and doesn't speak a word of English or German but we communicated mini just fine using gestures and facial expressions. I hope to meet her again.

One perfect teacup from Elisabeth Causeret. Every dollhouse needs her pottery.

The incredible porcelain painting of Rita and Horst Kruger. The tiles measure 10mm square and are paper thin. Knowing a little bit about porcelain painting, I can appreciate the fine work and many firings needed to make just one perfect tile.

Will Werson's wickerwork. Delicate but sturdy and oh so evenly woven.

Vonas Miniaturen. Using exotic wood, antique ivory, and precious metals, this artist crafts one of a kind miniatures on a lathe. Perfectly proportioned and to scale, I could only stare in wonder.

 Gerd Felka's stand was a blaze of colour. Impossible to resist.

Shirley Scheibehenne doesn't limit herself to teddy bears. Her tiny birds and bats were fascinating.

And here's an icon of the miniature world I wanted to meet for a long time. Ray Storey's miniature lighting and glass are the stuff dreams are made of.

Helga Sadowski's miniature people and mice have so much character. We had a good chat about the best types of clay to use, and where to shop for supplies in Germany. Thanks, Helga!

If you don't know the work of Vera Rijgensberg yet, visit her website. I was impressed by the evocative style of her work.

The literature of Kathrin Hohensee. Her displays are as neat and precise as her miniature books.

The amazing work of miniature doll artist Daniela Kiefhaber. Look closely. The doll in the tiny nutshell is a Hitty. She's carved from wood and fully jointed.

Eric's wooden home furnishings reminded me of my friend Maryna's work. Everything a well equipped dollhouse needs.

A glut of the most perfect micro dolls in polymer clay. This is the work of Paola Ojeda and Alvaro Rodriguez of Taller Targioni in Spain. They don't have a website so if you see them at a fair, don't miss the opportunity to visit their stand.

Valerie Casson. I met her, in person. My heart sings! Some day I hope to have the privilege of attending a workshop she presents.

Doris Tussing's little people were definitely the most life-like dolls at the show. I couldn't stop looking, and every time you shift your eyes, you notice a new detail.

Whew, you made it to the end. Are your eyes aching? I can assure you not as much as my feet. There were more than 200 exhibitors at the show and I visited all of them two or three times.