SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT PRE-ORDERS!

You can now pre-order SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, A Miniature Art Mystery, set for a JUNE 15 release. See Amazon.com link here on right side.

SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT Review!

Woo-hoo! The reviews are coming in...

A young reader shares her opinion on SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, A Miniature Art Mystery:

"Gripping, surprising, and leaving you wanting more… you'll be shocked at the twists and turns…" --Lily Huber, Grade 8

Searching For A Starry Night - mini Petey!

For fun, I was playing with the Model Magic air-dry clay and wanted to see if an idea I had would work. Sometimes, as crafters know, what looks good in your head, doesn't always quite turn out as you envisioned it.

Granted my first examples had a kind of "little piggie" look to the face, with too long of snouts. But hey, not all the dogs in the litter are always picture-perfect! Still, I kind of like this little guy!



After several tries, I ended up with a couple small versions of "Petey," the nosy Dachshund from SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT that I liked. The dogs are about 1 3/4" long (nose to tail) and the same dimensions from the top of his head to the floor.

After the clay dried, I painted them with Folk Art acrylic paint in Nutmeg and sprinkled on light brown velvet flocking. I found on my second try that the flocking seems to stick better on the wet paint instead of adding glue, though it still leaves only a thin layer. I used a 11/0 Czech glass bead for the nose and 1 mm no hole beads for the eyes.

Yes, there are quite a few I've made and have to finish. I was thinking of trying the little dogs for a kid's class at the library, with them only painting and not flocking an already-assembled dog to make it easier. What do you think?

I'm pretty happy with the results. I'd love to hear your comments!

Searching For A Starry Night Interview!

I'm talking today about my upcoming mystery SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, miniatures and other things at the Acme Authors Blog.

If you're still curious, I'm also the Featured Author at Book Place.

So, meander over and leave a comment! Thanks!

Food - in Miniature!

For fun, I've joined several other persons in blogging about food - but in miniature!

Check out the latest realistic offerings, such as pasta, cheeses, cakes and more at The Mini Food Blog.

My first entry features a few of my favorite food scenes.