Wee C Dollhouse Show Miniature Displays - 1

Had a fun time this past weekend at the Wee C Dollhouse show in Elk Grove Village, IL. One of the best things about this show is the display room - fantastic displays!  I'll share some of the pix of the many projects displayed during the next few days, so be sure to check back. (Sorry I should've used flash on some and didn't.)  ** You can click pix to see them larger. **

A Bakery interior...

This was neat - a club project - tiny items and rooms inside papier mache cupcakes...

Nice detailed pantry....

Cute idea! Watermelon theme kitchen in corner room.

Another cute club project idea  - winter scenes in papier mache boxes topped with stuffed toy snowmen.

* Don't forget to stop back for the next set of pix! - Go to Day 2

Pix: Christine Verstraete - (I'll be glad to post your name and web link if I've included pix of your  project)

Happy Birthday AIM - Artisans in Miniature #44

Happy Fifth Birthday to the Artisans in Miniature (AIM) Magazine!

In issue 44 (Nov 2012)  you can win a birthday cake! I also have several new items pictured in the issue.

See the Scribed page for all the issues - (you may have to sign in to download.)

Miniatures Monday: New hanger dresses

Now that my annual Halloween in Miniature event is over (see links under header if you missed it), I thought I'd share some other things I've been doing.

I've been busy! I had fun designing and making a new hanger dress pattern.The fun part was choosing colors. I especially loved the Halloween style dress and adding the glitter accents. (Those glitter glue pens are great! No mess!)

 I have a pretty red and gold fabric I want to use for a Christmas dress next. Yes, I'm hooked! I'll show some more dresses as I get them made. Dresses will be available for order soon (after the show below) on my website.  I also am making coordinating tote bags.

You can see the dresses, books and other stuff in person -  I'll also be at the Wee C Dollhouse show this Friday and Saturday (11/9-10) Stop by if you're in the area!

2012 Halloween in Miniature Day 7 - Happy Halloween!

Well, it looks like this year’s 2012 HALLOWEEN IN MINIATURE party has come to an end, and now it’s time to go trick-or-treating.

             For fun, here’s a little poem (Poems for Free by Nicholas Gordon) to celebrate the day:

Witches, werewolves, ghosts, and ghouls

Love to frighten little fools.

I'm not frightened! No, not me!

Is that a ghost behind that tree?

(Witch by Detta's Darling Dolls - C. Verstraete  scene - see my miniature haunted house)

Wasn't this fun? Looks like everyone has gone home, but there are a few stragglers (additional pix below).

I want to again thank the talented artisans who contributed to this year's event and helped make it possible.

 A special thanks to Kat Hazelton and Victoria of DarkSquirrel Miniatures for their generosity in donating prizes. Please be sure to visit the websites of these amazing artisans and check out their creations!

* If you missed it... go to the beginning of the  2012 HALLOWEEN IN MINIATURE 
(Day 1)  - (Go back: Day 6) *

2012 Halloween in Miniature Artisans: 

  
  Kiva Atkinson, Kiva’s Miniatures
http://kivasminiatures.com/

Patty Benedict, Woopitydooart - http://woopitydooart.blogspot.com/

  Dana Burton, Dana of Miniature Art - http://www.miniatureart.com/
Mini Doll List - http://minidolllist.com/

Julie Campbell Doll Artist - http://www.juliecampbelldollartist.co.uk/

Kat Hazelton, Kat the Hat Lady - http://www.kat-the-hat-lady.com
Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/katthehatlady

Joyce McBride, miniature witches

Debbie McGrath, Debbie’s Mini Thoughts and Creations 
http://makeminemini-makeminemini.blogspot.com/

  Tracy Topps - Minis On The Edge
http://www.minisontheedge.blogspot.com

Kathy Obrenski, Wee Little West - http://www.weelittlewest.blogspot.com/

Victoria of DarkSquirrel Miniatures - http://darksquirrelminiatures.blogspot.com
Etsy shop: http://darksquirrel.etsy.com

Linda Wooten, Wooten’s Miniatures – http://www.wootenminiatures.com

(All photos and items (c) 2012 by their creators)
(Christine Verstraete - http://canddicanine.blogspot.com) 

** Today's Spooky Reads:  NEETA LYFFE, ZOMBIE EXTERMINATOR & Sequel: I LEFT MY BRAINS IN SAN FRANCISCO- Karina Fabian

By the 2040s, the shambling dead have become an international problem. While governments and special interest groups vie for the most environmentally-friendly way to rid the world of zombies, a new breed has risen: The Zombie Exterminator.

 When zombie exterminator Neeta Lyffe gets sued because a zombie she set afire stumbles onto a lawyer's back porch, she needs money, fast. So she agrees to train apprentice exterminators in a reality TV show that makes Survivor look like a game of tag. But that's nothing compared to having to deal with crazy directors, bickering contestants and paparazzi. Can she keep her ratings up, her bills paid and her apprentices alive and still keep her sanity?

I LEFT MY BRAINS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Sequel to Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator

Zombie problem? Call Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator—but not this weekend.

On vacation at an exterminator’s convention, she's looking to relax, have fun, and enjoy a little romance. Too bad the zombies have a different idea. When they rise from their watery graves to take over the City by the Bay, it looks like it'll be a working vacation after all.







* Get free Halloween animations             

    --- SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!! ---

2012 Halloween in Miniature - Day 6, Hat's Off!

Welcome to Day 6 of the 2012 Halloween in Miniature party!

(Go back to Day 1 - Back: Day 5 - Next: Day 7)  

Step right up. The shop is ready... haunted? Well, no. The ghosts have been busy in other parts of the party, of course! (House by Tracy Topps (Minis on the Edge)

Today seems like a good day to stop by and see what new hats Kat the Hat Lady has available. After all, who doesn't enjoy sprucing up their wardrobe a bit, right?

Kat the Hat Lady can transform almost any fabric or material into fashionable chapeaux - be it real life or in miniature. She is actually a trained milliner and has made some of those crazy hats for the fashionable ladies going to the Royal Ascot horse races - see a story I wrote on her for a previous Halloween event.

Be it pretty, spooky or practical, Kat has probably made a suitable hat. And her brooms.... to fly for! haaa!

This is excellent news to Millicent who insists on only flying with the best! 

(Witches by Joyce McBride).

And you can't blame her for being extra careful, especially after what happened to.... Well, you know. The witches just dread mentioning her name... such a dreadful accident it was...

After that, they all have insisted on having their brooms inspected and  certified before every flight! haa!

As a miniature doll maker, Joyce McBride says she's "always been fascinated by the notion of goblins and trolls and other lesser known beings of folklore. Halloween is the perfect time to explore their stories and have some fun with it."

Joyce comes from a doll making tradition, having learned from her mother as a child. To her, the fun part is making them come alive. "Nearly all my dolls have a story. Most of the time the inspiration for a doll is the story which comes first."

"My favorite here is probably Aunt Elizbet (Pic #8). Her story: "For years she dragged Uncle Bob to all the social gatherings. He never had much to say..." (The real Elizbet was my brother-in-law's aunt who never missed a family get together or community event. She insisted her poor husband go along, even after his health began to fail.)

Joyce says, "most of the dolls pictured are 12th scale miniatures. I've included a few ghosts and other beings that go bump in the night. It wouldn't be Halloween with out them!"

(At least one thing about ghosts... they don't need to eat. haa! More for us!)

ooh.... speaking of food,, did you see Kiva Atkinson's fortune cookies? C'mon open one... what's your fortune? Hope it's a good one!

Hey, only one per person. Sorry, only the first fortune counts! Be sure to come back for the final party tomorrow!  Next: Day 7

(Christine Verstraete - http://candidcanine.blogspot.com)


* TODAY'S SPOOKY READS: LONNIE, ME AND THE HOUND OF HELL - Marian Allen  
GHOSTS ON THE SQUARE AND ELSEWHERE - Southern Indiana Writers

Short stories of animals and oddities. A man's best friend believes he's called the devil's own dog. A little girl is terrorized, with only two little mice to help her. A vampire is sent to clean up a crooked horse race. A gay cat puts his paws on the line to save a friend from aliens. Ten stories included, some never before published.

Lonnie, Me and the Hound of Hell - Balance of Power
Mr. Farrell - The Damned Place Was Full Of Crocodiles
Dog Star -A Devouring Passion
Seeking Shadow -High Stakes
Sledgehammer - Mr. Sugar vs the Martians

History and haunting seems to go hand-in-hand and Corydon,as the first state capital of Indiana, has a heaping helping of both. Ghosts: On the Square . . . and Elsewhere . . . . is a collection of ghostly tales inspired by locations around the historic town square and other locations throughout Harrison County. Ghosts and history....how can you beat that?

2012 Halloween in Miniature Day 5 - Welcome to Frank's Place

Welcome to Day 5 of the 2012 Halloween in Miniature party! If you haven't, check in at Day 1.



 Today, we have a special treat. What would Halloween be without monsters? I refer to the classic of all things that haunts our dreams at night, the Frankenstein monster.

Written by Mary Shelley anonymously in 1818 and then published under her own name in France in 1823, the novel, FRANKENSTEIN, was a look at science gone wrong, barriers crossed, the blurring of life and death. With the release of the classic horror film in 1931, the face of the monster was brought to life (and into our nightmares) forever after as played by Boris Karloff.

This scene of horror, the lab in which Dr. Victor Frankenstein worked on his hideous creation, was recently recreated in miniature by Debbie McGrath, (Debbie's Mini Thoughts and Creations).... Today, we visit the lab, which Debbie has called FRANK'S PLACE...

Debbie, who has been working in miniatures for eight years, usually did shabby chic creations, until she found this miniature body on a gurney. But what to make? "It had sat on my shelf, just looking at me and one day I had a light bulb moment, Halloween was coming up," she recalls. 

"At first I was going to do a morgue -  I could tell some very funny stories about that, I was a nurse for over 33 years and we have a wicked sense of humor - anyway after looking around the web for a while I came across and old clip of Frankenstein and I thought that's it! Frank's Place was born. As I wanted to make it different to what others had done I decided to put a modern twist on it, I got pictures of equipment that had been used in the film. I studied these, I made little drawings of what I thought I could recreate, I used the inside of an old tower from my son's old computer, plus anything I could find in my trash box."

And as all miniaturists know, this is what you save all that stuff for...

Debbie made the machines from bits and pieces that looked like the parts of the machine she wanted to create. "I would just keep adding bits till I was satisfied with the look of it," she explains. "One of the greatest finds from the computer was the little tubular batteries that are in there. Once the plastic coating is taken off you have fantastic containers. These were used for the bottles, I just had to add labels."

And that electric chair added later? Well.... "Now comes the confession, I had been reading 'Fifty Shades of Grey' (thought it was terrible, no real story line and full of sex) but read them all to see if it got any better, (it didn't.)  Anyway they had spoke about his playroom!!!! and I thought of the electric chair...." (ha!)

 The hardest to make, she says, was the power board since she had to match all buttons with the wires (and yes they do press down.) All are connected to the motherboard (from a computer.)

Tip: How to make a machine:

First get a picture of what you want to make, try to get as many pictures as you can from all angles, then starting form the base up, look through any bits that you may have and start to construct it. If it is a box shape I would suggest you make the shape with balsa wood, (this wood is very good as you can file it very easy into shapes.) Paint it either black or metallic silver, then add bits.

 ** Sweet Dreams!  Come back tomorrow and see what's up... Back: Day 4 - Next: Day 6 **

  ** Today's Spooky Read: 

What else but a book on Frankenstein...

MONSTER by Dave Zeltserman, is a new take on the classic. Friedrich Hoffman, the so-called monster, recounts how he was falsely accused of killing his beloved fiancee, tortured and killed for his 'crime', and awoke on the lab table of Victor Frankenstein - a man with all manner of gruesome plans. We see inside his mind as he embarks on a single-minded quest for vengeance; but at what cost to the remnants of his humanity? Intense and Gothic, Monster conjures up nineteenth-century Europe in a blaze of depravity, excess and the supernatural, an ingenious tribute to one of literature's greatest works.

( - Christine Verstraete - http://candidcanine.blogspot.com)

2012 Halloween in Miniature Day 4 - A field trip....

Welcome to DAY 4 of the fantastic 2012 Halloween in Miniature Party. Got your ticket? No? Well, be sure to check in at Day 1.

Today seemed like a good day to show the guests around some of our facility. The party is located on sprawling acreage with everything we need right at hand since, well, some things do require a bit of privacy. Don't want our secrets getting into the wrong hands now...

Since everyone is busy, I've asked the lovely Sephora (by Dana of Miniature Art - check out her busy MiniDoll List) to escort the group. She said she'd be glad to, and maybe she'll even share some of her spellcasting advice. But don't worry, she's a good witch.

She said a must-see place is the amazing 3 Moons Potion Shop where you can get just about anything, from those funny red mushrooms (careful cooking those!), to wonderful bottles of every kind of potion made by proprietress Victoria (of DarkSquirrel Miniatures. -- Did you see the amazing Zombie Away bottle she's giving away as a prize? Be sure to enter on Day 1 (link at top.)

My, what a selection! You can surely spend a bit of time browsing the shelves and bins here!

Oh, and look at the spells and manuscripts. I bet Harry Potter would love this place!

Some of the guests brought their shopping list, I see. 

Oh, look it's the It family. And they have the Baby with! Isn't he/she (well, it is hard to tell...) adorable?

(The Its are by Kat Hazelton (Kat the Hat Lady). I think we'll visit her hat shop next. She has some lovely new additions to her millinery line, I hear.

Oops, what's that growl? No, the guard dog is at the house yet. Must be someone's stomach. Better serve some snacks before we go.




Mmmm, smell that? Peppers, anchovies, mushrooms, oh my! Cook brought over some just-made eyeball pizzas. Yum, nice and crunchy and hot!  (Pizzas by Kiva Atkinson, Kiva's Miniatures.)

All right, we better get back to the house. Drinks and dessert are being served in the parlor. (Don't you just love what Linda's done with the place? The decor is fantastic and I hear all the portraits come to life at night.. (One of the guests reported seeing an eerie glow and ran back to their room last night! Room and portraits, Linda Wooten, Wooten's Miniatures.)

Okay, everyone rest up for our tour tomorrow. See you then!

** Back to Day 3 --- Next: Day 5 **

-- Christine Verstraete - http://candidcanine.blogspot.com

   ** Today's Spooky Read:  PAVLOV'S DOGS - DL Snell, Thom Brannan

Werewolves-- Zombies -- Armageddon...

Dr. Crispin has engineered the saviors of mankind: Pavlov’s Dogs, a team of soldiers capable of transforming into fearsome beasts. But when Crispin and his team welcome a new talented neurotechnician to the island, Dr. Crispin quickly realizes his masterwork has fallen into the hands of a man he does not trust. Should they send the Dogs out into the zombie apocalypse to rescue survivors? Or should they listen to the new neurotechnician, who would have them hoard their resources and post the Dogs as island guards?