Vignettes Created in 2009

Not sure why the top photo is so tiny. It is the first vignette I made in Jan. 2009. This is a 25th anniversary gift for my sister and her husband. The chair and table are kits; everything else I created by hand. The walls are decorated with wedding photos from their big day, as well as our parents' and Joe's parents' weddings. A photo album on the chair has photos from their wedding day to the latest grandchild. A six pack of Joe's favorite beer rests on the floor. I'd have to say the champagne glasses were the most difficult to create. I made them from clay. Now that I know the splendors of lite brite pegs, the next time I need champagne flutes I'll carve clear pegs.

This is the vignette I created to commemorate my Mother in Law's 90th birthday in May. She loved it! The chest and chair are kits though my husband had to craft new legs for the chair - the originals were lost in my moves over the years. Thanks Jim! The wallpaper I've had forever and the rug is a printie.

And last, but not least, I created this vignette for my Mom's birthday in July 2009. She loves to garden and has quite the green thumb. I thought with this she could enjoy a touch of summer even when it's snowing outside. There's an inchworm in there! That was my first tree and I'm rather proud of it. There's a nesting robin in the tree and a cardinal. Two chickadees are bathing. The birdbath bowl is the bottom of a bubble gum machine ball. The fence is made from wooden stir sticks (thanks for the cafe raids, Meg!!) I hand painted the background to match the paper on the sides. On hindsight, I wish I had handpainted the sides as well.

All in all, I was very pleased to get these projects done. They were lots of fun. I have several more in the planning stages.

Toodles til later!

Cyndy

Santa has a dog!

So Jolly Ol' Saint Nick is up to his eyeballs in toys, reindeer and elves. Why not add a puppy to the mix? This little dog - complete with Christmas hat - will fit right in. I can picture him eagerly awaiting to sample Mrs. Claus' baking... Also pictured are the wreath earrings mentioned in my previous post, and the wreath that came with the puppy - spent another quarter on the two of them. Now what can I name this doggie?

Santa's House

This is my Santa's House which I created several years ago. The kit was sold by a local hardware store. I made my Halloween haunted house from the same kit; it's not nearly as pretty.

Not that this is particularly pretty itself. When I moved to GA in 2006, I had to leave behind non-essentials (ie: my miniatures, for starters). In my absence, a family of real mice moved into my dollhouses and shops. They chewed on furniture and polyclay veggies. (Does that mean my mini potatoes look that authentic?) They ate baskets and gnawed shelves. They made mousy messes everywhere. Even Santa's roof.... That was tackled first with a good scrub brush and lots of soap.

So, you see, all my buildings are in desperate need of rehabilitation. I am starting with Santa's house. You can see I didn't do such a great job of sanding and there are gaps at the tabs and slots (tsk! tsk!) And the spots I missed while painting! Thankfully I have a new eyeglass prescription now.

These are some goodies I've found this year for Santa's house. A nice Christmas-y plaid fabric (2 cloth napkins) for 75 cents; the packages and sign are button covers I picked up at a yard sale for a quarter. Another find from yesterday's thrift store shopping: a pair of mini wreaths with bows and golden bells (they began life as earrings) - again, a 25 cent purchase. (I don't know who loves my finds more - me or my DH. It just goes to show, miniatures don't have to be costly.)

When it's all said and done, Mrs. Claus will be in the kitchen, removing a cookie sheet of freshly baked Rudolph cookies while Santa studies his world time zones map in his upstairs office. (Or maybe he'll be napping in front of the fire in the living room.) I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Real life has been hectic of late. I don't know if I'll get back here soon, so I'll take this time to wish one and all the very best this Holiday season. However you may celebrate, I send blessings to you and best wishes for health and happiness in the New Year ahead.

Toodles!

Cyndy