12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 8, O Christmas Tree

**(Go to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas in Miniature - Next: Day 9)

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, someone gave to me...

The perfect Christmas Tree. (Pictured: Miniature Christmas room, Smithsonian Museum Store)

If you truly want to celebrate Christmas in miniature, then getting the perfect Christmas tree is a must. What kind of tree to get or how to decorate it? I found some great sources for Christmas trees and decorating ideas.

The Smithsonian Museum Store has a beautiful parlor set that'll have you in the Christmas spirit in no time. A chorus of "O Christmas Tree" and a mug of Wassail anyone?

Or how about something more original?

This 9" tall, one-of-a-kind "Peace" Tree by Alice Zinn at Mini Christmas features 50 lights and handmade ornaments. It features that "new look" using larger than normal ornaments I've been seeing on real trees.

Do you feel creative? Try making your own tree. Victoria Miniland has a great video on How To Make A Miniature Christmas Tree.

A Patriotic Christmas


What better inspiration than the gorgeous White House Christmas tree? See the 2008 White House Christmas tree and the beautiful decorations in this video.

Visit the White House web pages for history on the National Christmas tree, more about the decorations, (check out the gingerbread White House!) and even a hot chocolate recipe!

The George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, hosted the incredible Miniature White House last Christmas season. See photos of the miniature rooms here.

The amazing house, which I'd love to see in person someday, represents more than 30 years of work by the Zwiefel family. The house, 55' long and 20' wide, presents up-to-date views of all the rooms in the White House. I wonder if they'll do the Obama administration changes, also.

*Come back tomorrow for more Christmas in miniature!

12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 7

Ok, I'm going a little off-subject today...

(Go to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas - Next: Day 8)

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, someone gave to me....

Cake - Lots of Cake!

I have cake on my mind! Maybe these aren't all Christmasy, but I thought they were fun. I was trolling around Etsy to see what kinds of miniature Birthday Cakes I could find to celebrate my birthday today. (No, I'm not telling you how old, ha!)



I must like her work. This pretty Poinsettia Cake is again from Blue Kitty Miniatures.

I never knew that miniature food was so wearable! Forget the high-fashion designers! Think of the fashion statement you can make with miniatures!

First, Lorettared offers some amusing cake jewelry - earrings and rings.


I like this pretty Marie Antoinette layered cake.

Or how about her pretty traditional Birthday Cake that you can wear as a necklace? (How fun!)




This is cute, even if you can't wear it. I like this stacked cake from PalmTree Princess on Etsy.




I'm surprised at how many artists make cake rings. Who needs diamonds?

How about a Cherry Cake from Coffi Shop for that ring finger?




Or you can match your favorite dress with this cute Mini Kiwi Cake ring from PeekaPoo.



Always Amy offers this Celebration Cake ring.



Mmm, I'm full. Would you like another slice?

Come back tomorrow and see what other Christmas miniatures I find!

12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 6 - Christmas Sweets + Blog Award

To me, one of the most fun aspects of collecting miniatures is the amazing food.

*** (go to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas in Miniature. Next: Day 7)

It's truly an art form to be able to duplicate real life food and make it look just as real - and appetizing - in small scale.

There are a number of artists who have the gift of making the greatest food that'll make you drool. The best part? No calories!

(Pictured: Vanilla Cake, Betsy Niederer (kachookie))

For the Sixth Day of Christmas, someone gave to me...

** Some appetizing cakes and cookies.

* IGMA (International Guild of Miniature Artisans) Fellow Betsy Niederer has to be the queen of miniature food. Too bad her recent appearance on Martha Stewart was so short. The audience truly didn't get the full "flavor" of Betsy's amazing food. See more of her work here. Try your hand at making a miniature cake with her tutorial.

(Pictured: Kiva Atkinson pie and mice)

* IGMA Artisan Kiva Atkinson also makes a wide range of food from bread, to cakes, meats, Tudor food, fish and more.

Her meats are juicy and real, her fruits amazing, but her sense of humor, her animals and her haunted things will also tickle your funny bone! (The realism of her different fish and seafood has to be seen to be believed!)

(Pictured: Rachel's Christmas cake)

* What makes the cakes and desserts made by Rachel of Miniatures by Rachel so unique is their delicate coloring, beautiful designs and patterns.

What's interesting is that unlike other artists who usually use polymer clays, Rachel uses air dry clays and cold porcelain. The sheer beauty of her work is enough to keep you mesmerized for hours.


** Did I make you hungry? Be sure to come back tomorrow for more amazing Christmas miniatures!


---------
Blog Award!

On another note, Thanks to my friend Katie of Katie's Clay Corner for giving me this Blog Award for Outstanding Work!

Funny how the web has connected us all. The award began in Portugal and sped to the UK to Debbie's Tiny Treasures and is whizzing its way around the world!

Thanks to both of you! How it works is the recipient is supposed to pass the award on to 6 other people. So my six picks are:

* Dani of Blog Book Tours for all she does!

* Smehreen at The Mini Food blog for coming up with such a cool idea!

* Gayle at Fatal Foodies for the fun blog idea

* Kitty at Minis by Kitty for her great work and friendship

* Helen at Straight from Hel for her informative posts.

* Morgan Mandel for all she does for the writing community, too.

Those are my six picks. Not easy to choose only six!

12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 5 - Christmas Food

***(Go to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas in Miniature - Next: Day 6)

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, someone gave to me...

An appetizing spread of good things to eat. After all, it wouldn't be Christmas, would it?, without all kinds of desserts, and cookies, and a meal with the family.

So, pull up a chair and share a pre-Christmas meal with us here. A toast to the New Year! Pass the potatoes, please.

(Pictured: Christmas Dinner in the Making by Sarah Maloney in her Etsy Shop.)

Now that we've had our fill at dinner - it was good, wasn't it? - how about some dessert?

There's sure to be something to please everyone's sweet tooth on this year's menu.

How about a cake that is a gift in itself? (Pictured: Christmas Gift
cake (and other cute cakes)from Blue Kitty Miniatures.)



Or maybe Gingerbread is more to your liking? It appears that even a tiny visitor is enjoying this cake set on a 3" x 3" base. (Pictured: Gingerbread Mouse House from JT Nee.)


Of course, if you're too stuffed, then there's always room for Jello(TM). This delicious jelly dessert from She Counts Crows is part of an interesting concept - a Mini of the Month Club for $100. Something to look forward to each month.



In our family, homemade pumpkin pie is always a favorite. And this time, you don't have to feel embarrassed about wearing your food with these fun pumpkin pie earrings. This and other faux food jewelry is from The Clay Connection, also at Etsy.



And if that isn't enough, how about that perennial favorite - fruit cake? Well the joke about it lasting longer than Twinkies takes on a new twist.



Now you can keep that fruitcake forever as a piece of jewelry. This fruit cake charm at Etsy is just over 1/2" tall.

Dinner may be over, but wait! Before you go to bed, don't forget to leave something for Santa!



He's sure to enjoy this yummy looking cup of hot chocolate and these delightful cookies from Lilliput Miniatures.

Hmm, on second thought, maybe there's something else we can leave for Santa, huh?

Stop back tomorrow for some other fun Christmas miniatures!

12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 4 - Here Comes Santa Claus!

**(Go to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas in Miniature. - Next: Day 5)

On the fourth day of Christmas, someone gave to me...

An adorable Santa Cookie Bouquet, just under 1.5" tall, from PJ Jammers Shop on Etsy. Actually, that's simply too cute to even consider eating it!


Thanks to cartoonist Thomas Nast, the modern Santa is usually depicted as a fat, jolly old guy dressed in red.

But Santa still takes on different guises, depending on where Christmas is being celebrated around the world.

Here are a few interesting Santas I found online:


Oops! It appears that Angelique Miniatures caught Santa snoozing after a long night of deliveries. Or was it too many Christmas cookies?



Doll maker Lucie Winsky had the inside scoop that the Jolly Old Elf was tired of plain 'ol red, so he became a "Calypso" Santa for the season.

Of course, no matter where Santa is, it's not Christmas without a parade. Check out this amazing slide show of a Santa Parade, complete with miniature floats!


Merry Christmas!

** Come back tomorrow for an amazing Christmas meal - in miniature.

12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 3

(Pictured: Christmas Fireplace/Wanna in El Paso)

Nothing says Christmas more than a room with a brightly lit Christmas tree, the logs burning in the fireplace, the stockings hung with care, a scent of pine in the air...

In miniature, it's much the same. Decorating means decking every corner, baking up a storm, and making sure the kiddies are snug in their beds, dreaming of Santa.

So today I'll feature a few cheery scenes that typify the spirit of Christmas.

On the third day of Christmas, someone gave to me...

A room full of Christmas cheer... well okay, it's not a room, but what represents Christmas better than a table full of gifts, rolls of paper and that corner of chaos that is called gift wrapping?



Wanna in El Paso has a knack for creating some fun scenes for herself, friends, family and working with her grandkids. Besides her fireplace dome, check out her Christmas miscellaneous page for links to other scenes that are sure to have you singing Jingle Bells. (Check out the Egg Nog table and the riding horse collection!)

For more Christmas than a trip to the North Pole, a visit to Mini-Mum's Christmas Gallery is definitely in order. Pages upon pages of Christmas is here for you to enjoy.

For a unique twist, forget the Gingerbread House. How about a Gingerbread Church or train by Ellen?

That's just a sampling of the Christmas miniatures available, so get a cup of hot chocolate, put on the Christmas carols and enjoy!

* Go to Day 4 - Back to Day 1

12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 2

On the second day of Christmas, someone gave to me...

Well, I certainly wish that my friend, Kitty, gave me her wonderful Christmas Shoppe.

But she gave me some photos and I love the way she put everything together. She always inspires me and gives me some great finishing ideas. Hopefully I'll finish my own shop soon.

Kitty makes some fantastic cakes, teapots and other items in polymer clay.

This is a fun project. I love her teapots and the colors!




****(Go to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas in Miniature - Next: Day 3)

* For fun, visit the North Pole!

* Try some free clay projects with Sculpey polymer clay.

* Your Turn: Do you make any Christmas crafts? What do you like to create?

12 Days of Christmas in Miniature, Day 1

For fun, I decided to feature The 12 Days of Christmas this month - with a twist. Of course, all the items I feature will be in miniature. Well, you're not surprised, are you?

Be sure to come back each day to see what wonderful item I find and feature. (Next: Day 2)

On the First Day of Christmas, someone gave to me...

A tin full of cookies, sweets, and candy canes, all three!

I spotted this delightful tin on the Mini Food Blog and fell in love! Don't they look good enough to eat?

* See Stephanie's other amazing miniature Christmas food in her Etsy shop.

* Religious meaning of the 12 Days of Christmas

** Your Turn: Have a favorite Holiday food? Please share!

Searching For A Starry Night 2009 Eppie Finalist

I just found out that Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery - which is also available as an ebook - is a finalist in the children's/ya category for the 2009 Eppie Awards from the Epic Foundation. The winner is chosen in March. Woo-hoo! A great pre-birthday gift!

Searching For A Starry Night Goes to School!

Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery has gotten good grades recently from students in Wisconsin, Illinois, and New York.

Although I couldn't be there in person, author Terrie Moran chose to read portions of Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, as part of Literacy Day at the Brian Piccolo Middle School in Far Rockaway, New York.

Terrie, along with authors Chris Grabenstein, and Marco Conelli, spent time reading to individual classes and at the end of the day, they addressed the Sixth Grade Assembly. The book also is now in the school's library.

You can see more photos at Terrie's blog. Thank you, Terrie, for sharing my book with these fantastic kids!


Meeting with Home Schoolers

Recently, I had the chance to talk to a great group of Home Schoolers from Wisconsin and Illinois. We talked about the book and several of the kids liked to write stories, so it was fun to give them a few tips on writing. (Pictured: Kids crafting and young writer Hannah with my book.)



(Pictured: Chloe with her card corner) We had a craft time, too, with the kids making their own greeting card corners (small vignettes made of foam core board, a standard greeting card and scrapbook paper) to start their own miniatures collection.

(Pictured: Josh, Julie and mom)

I had a lot of fun meeting kids who are enthusiastic about writing and reading. A great group of kids!