Eye Candy: Christmas in Miniature

'Tis the season, well almost, even if the stores already had Rudolph fighting off the witches and gremlins for shelf space before Halloween was over.

I'm a traditionalist in that I've ignored any way-too-early Christmas carols and have no intentions of shopping until after Thanksgiving. But working in miniature, of course, means that holidays can be celebrated at any time.

Procrastinator that I am, I still haven't finished the Christmas room I began last year. So for fun (and maybe to push me to finish), I thought I'd share a few of the Christmas miniatures I already finished for my Christmas shoppe.

You also can see photos of my miniature Santa's House at my website.

This was the first time I tried making a Gingerbread House and I plan to do more.

I cheated, though, and made the walls, floor and roof with painted Crayola (TM) Model Magic air-dry clay. The roof pieces are covered with pre-baked FIMO oven-bake clay I cut in slices. The door was framed with bugle beads. (Note: Get a FIMO color chart and a useful color mixing chart here.)

Sweet Tooth

The real fun is making, and collecting, miniature food. These great cakes and cookies were made by my friend, Kitty, who has a way with clay and makes a lot of my food and most of my teapots. I'll feature her cheery Christmas Tea Shoppe later. (I did make the jar using a large bead.)



Other inspirations:

Check out the yummy plate of miniature Christmas cookies or this incredible Gingerbread House I found on Etsy. ( Ha! She even makes miniature food earrings!)


For fun, you can make your own Gingerbread House using this polymer clay tutorial. If you'd prefer an edible version, make this Graham Cracker Gingerbread House.


** Your Turn: What's your favorite Christmas tradition or craft? Is there a favorite decoration you enjoy bringing out every year?

"Eye" Candy - In the Eye of a Needle

Today I thought I'd highlight an incredible artist whose work many may not be familiar with.

I collect and make miniatures, but working in quarter scale or 144th scale is small enough for me. I've worked in these scales but prefer larger projects.

Now imagine something smaller than the eye can see, even smaller than the eye of a needle.

That old question, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, can be demonstrated in the hands of micro-artist Willard Wigan.

For an amazing view of his work, check out this ABC News video.

Searching For A Starry Night spooky excerpt - Book Blog Tour

Today for the Virtual Book Tour, I'm a guest at Joyce Anthony's blog.

Be sure to read a spooky excerpt from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery... Boo!

New Reading Poll!

I, like every other author - and reader - wonders how the economy has affected your reading habits. None of us are reading less, but maybe your buying habits have changed? Please vote in my reading poll.

Your Turn: Share in the comments how your habits have changed, or what you do differently now to continue your book habit.

Happy Halloween Story + Virtual Book Tour

Today is full of Halloween Treats!

** First, how fun! Sam and Lita from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, do the talking and reveal some of their spooky moments at Emma Larkin's blog.

Don't forget to enter my Spooky Scavenger Hunt. See rules at top right column.


Boo! Spooky Story!

What's Halloween without scary stories?

Amy at My Friend Amy's Blog is having a Halloween bash. Vampires, witches, and goblins, oh my. Everyone's sharing a scary Vampire story. So check out my story here and head over to Amy's link HERE to read the others!


The Promise - C. A. Verstraete

Deidre looked in the mirror again and sighed.

He'd promised.

She combed out her long, dishwater blond hair and waited. The curtains flapped through the open window.

Maybe he was like all the rest. But no, he promised he'd be here. He promised to come to her. Tonight.

The clock ticked closer to midnight.

Carefully, she slipped out of the worn jeans and baggy T-shirt. The silky gown slid over her, clinging to her generous curves.

She put a final slick of gloss on her lips and pinned up her hair.

She was ready.

Deidre looked in the mirror and smiled, pleased at the results. Instead of the plain Jane that sat alone every weekend, a young lady dressed in finery stared back. A princess awaiting her prince.

A smile lit her face as, like before, he appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. She didn't question why. It didn't matter once he was here.

Deidre felt his eyes burn into hers. She reached for him.

He whispered in her ear. He promised again to love and cherish her, to make her his bride.

She shivered as his cool fingers caressed her. His cool lips touched her face and lingered on her neck.

Anticipation turned to agony as his fangs plunged into her jugular. A tear trickled down Deidre's cheek as her dreams of the perfect wedding night faded with each weakening beat of her heart.#

(c) 2008 C Verstraete http://candidcanine.blogspot.com

Halloween Searching For A Starry Night Virtual Tour

Today I'm being interviewed by Helen Ginger at Straight from Hel. Be sure to leave a comment here and at Helen's blog.

Don't forget to go pumpkin picking at my website and enter the contest. See rules at top right column.

Halloween Treat



Today's Halloween treat is a fun little quarter scale (1/4" = 1') roombox by Emily Blair. Emily, a full-time college student, has been doing miniatures for 10 years, beginning when she joined a miniatures club at 11! (Kudos to those getting the kids interested!)

Her room, which she says she's still working on, started with one purchase (don't they always?) and grew from there. She bought many of the items at the NAME national convention.

(Note: If you're not familiar with quarter scale, furnishings can be as small as a thumbnail; a room can be a few inches wide.)

Halloween Searching For A Starry Night + Witch Tree Tour Day 2

The Halloween Book Blog Tour for Searching For A Starry Night & The Witch Tree continues.

**See the Bonus Halloween Treat below!**

Today it's a triple header - I'm interviewed by:

* Courtney Mroch at Families.com

* Get a preview with Helen Ginger at Straight from Hel

* And I talk with Mayra Calvari at The Dark Phantom

* Don't forget to go pumpkin picking and enter the contest! See link for rules at top right column. Visit the blogs for the Scavenger Hunt clues!


Halloween Treat


For fun, I'm sharing this amazing miniature ghost hand-sculpted by doll artisan Nancy Cronin whose witches I featured in a previous post.


Nancy is also featured in a story I wrote in the Dec. issue (#174) of DollsHouse and Miniature Scene, now on sale.

Spooky Halloween Book Blog Tour

Spooky Blog Tour and Scavenger Hunt!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Tues. 10/28: Today kicks off the start of my spooky blog tour and scavenger hunt for Halloween!

Enjoy reading some excerpts from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery and from my spooky ebook, The Witch Tree. Learn more about both books and even scarier, learn a little more about me, Christine Verstraete.


Bonus! Halloween Treats!

No trick! Take a chance to win a PDF copy of "The Witch Tree" and some handmade Halloween miniatures for your desk or wherever by following the blog tour.

How to Play

1. Go to each stop on the blog tour. ** See Halloween Blog Tour list in top right column.** Each stop ends with a Scavenger Hunt Clue. The clue refers to a page on my website at http://cverstraete.com/. Only a few specific pages are involved. Don't forget to comment at my blog and on the participating blogs. NOTE: Mention what list or group you're from.

2. Look for the pumpkin pictured here on the page corresponding to each question. Find the pages at http://cverstraete.com/.

3. Email me the list of all 6 places you found the pumpkins, and their corresponding numbers - plus your full mailing address (US Only) - to chrisATcverstraete.com (replace AT with @) - Winners outside US are eligible to win the ebook.

Contest ends Nov. 8, 2008. All 6 answers and numbers must be included. Two winners will be chosen to receive either a spooky miniatures set by mail or a Witch Tree ebook by email.


The Prizes

A pdf of "The Witch Tree" or handmade Halloween miniatures - a medieval book; small orange tulip plant; "Hand" Sandwich plate, pumpkin and witch hat placemat.





Have fun! Boo!

Halloween in Miniature 4: Lost Love

For fun, thought I'd share a new figure I just finished dressing.

Matilda is still waiting for her lost love...

* Come back Tuesday, 10/28 for the start of my spooky book blog tour. Play the Scavenger Hunt for the chance to win a copy of my ebook, The Witch Tree, or a set of spooky Halloween miniatures.

Halloween in Miniature 3: No Bones About It

Illustration: Danse macabre, Hans Holbein, 1493

One of the better aspects of working in miniature is being able to make something that tickles the "funny bone." Appropriate when you're talking about miniature skeletons, right?

Long before Pirates of the Caribbean made skeletons live again, miniaturists were finding "skellies" the perfect inhabitants for that Halloween or haunted scene.

Keeping with the pirate theme, dollmaker Marsha Mees of Sassy Mini Dolls came up with her own fun twist using the miniature skeletons. Ahoy, maties!


Even better was her view of some "upper class" skellies relaxing at home.



Fun Miniature Projects



Wanna in El Paso began making fairy houses as a child and passed on her love of miniatures to her grandchildren. While her teaching career didn't leave much time to spend making things when her two oldest grandsons, now 22 and 20, were young, an Elf Feeding Deer Scene she made never failed to grab their attention.

That scene (which they still enjoy) grabbed the attention of a new set of grandkids, too. Jenna, who'll be 13 in two weeks, was 5 and her brother Joel was 6½ when they decided they wanted to make something, too. All told, Wanna now has more than 30 projects on her website that she made with her grandchildren. Great ideas if you want to do something fun with the grandkids.

"Working with my grandchildren, girls and boys, at their request, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," says Wanna. "They use their imagination and it's fun to brainstorm together to bring their ideas to reality. They have learned about scale, color and design; to follow directions; to use all kinds of techniques and materials; and to take care of their tools. And there's hardly been a project when I haven't learned something from them, as well."

Wanna says the projects are the perfect ways to build memories together. The grandkids even come up with their own ideas like Jenna did with her recent project, "Skeleton Beach." You can read about how she made the project here.

Twisted Fate

Last but not least, miniaturist Dale Fluty went a step further and wrote a poem to accompany his twisted tale of love gone wrong. The jilted skeleton holds a crumpled marriage license and a torn picture of her no-longer-intended in her lap. In her hand lies a small bottle of poison. Take that, Mrs. Haversham.

"She walked down the aisle, but alone there she stood. Her man was a cheater and he left her for good.
The poison she took was quick to claim life.
Forever a bride...
But never a wife! "

Halloween in Miniature: Not-So-Wicked Witches

Following up on my previous post on Wicked Witches, today's post concentrates on some "not-so-wicked" witches in miniature.

In literature, witches often are evil or menacing, a common theme in Grimm's Fairy Tales. Not exactly ideal bedtime fare, but plenty of inspiration if you like to create in miniature.

For instance, while most cartoons show the witch in Hansel and Gretel as more menacing, can't you see this lovely lady more successfully using trickery and her delightful goodies to tempt her visitors?



Dollmaker Marsha Mees of Sassy Mini Dolls was lucky enough to make her witch in a sculpting class with doll artisan Marcia Backstrom at a past Mini Doll Convention. Marsha has since gotten hooked on character dolls and has now started making miniature food, too, she says. A perfect combination!

Home Sweet Haunted Home

What's a haunted house without a witch? When I began making my own haunted house, I took the traditional route incorporating a witch in black working on her spells. (Witch by Detta's Darling Dolls.) While I usually like to make my own dolls, I couldn't resist the face and bought the doll. The fun was making a spooky-enough setting for her.

But not all witches are ugly or look like the Wicked Witch in the classic film, The Wizard of Oz. Some can be pretty, like Glinda the good witch in the film.



My red witch is such an example. One of the projects I've been collecting and making items for is a witch's bakery which will have all kinds of different cakes, the majority made by my talented friend, Kitty, who makes great cakes and fantastic rooms. The customers will be varied. The red witch is one of the "prettier" customers I decided to make. But I can't say who will drop by…



This is one project where even Death will be welcomed to drop in. I plan to dress some of my own skeletons as customers, but in this case, Death, better known as the Grim Reaper, was dressed by North Carolina miniaturist Dale Fluty. Dale, who claims to be a "Halloween Freak," has been making miniatures for about 10 years and began creating miniature dolls about eight years ago.