Halloween in Miniature 2010 - Day 4: Meet some of the guests

Halloween Appetizers: C. Verstraete - Finger tacos or eyeballs anyone?

Welcome to Day 4 of this year's 12 Days of Halloween in Miniature party! Wow, quite the crowd! (Hey, where's your ticket? Sorry, if you missed the front door, go back to Day 1.)

I hope you had enough to eat and are enjoying yourself? Grab a few appetizers I made and let's meet some of the guests, shall we?



Shh! Better step lightly. Matilda's prone to get a bit grumpy if she doesn't finish reading the latest issue of Ghosts Weekly, so we better let her be for now.



Florine the half-Scale Witch, however, is a right friendly soul and loves to talk! Say hello and keep moving unless you don't mind hearing about her latest spell and her failed baked toad recipe for the next hour! Oh, look it's Wizard Adair. Such a handsome fellow and I hear he's got some spells that make Merlin look like an amateur!



The dolls are all by British doll maker Angela Haworth of Molly's House. (Dolls are 1" to 1 foot (a man is 6" tall) and half or 1/24th scale is 1/2" to 1 foot or 3" tall.)

Angela, who's been creating in miniature "for as long as I can remember" first began crafting as a girl by making accessories for her Sindy and Barbie dolls. Years later, she hoped to get her daughter interested in miniatures, but it never worked out that way.

"I got into dollhouse scale when I was expecting my daughter 14 years ago," she says. "I was planning on making a house for her, but it turned into a hobby for myself."

A limited budget forced her to make her own dolls and furnishings, but it was something she found she enjoyed. When she received a 1/24th scale furniture set as a gift, Angela realized she liked working even smaller.

She now sculpts her own dolls in polymer clay in both scales (along with trying some quarter scale figures too!), and also dresses porcelain dolls from parts she buys.


Which witch?


Sculpting has been fun, she says, as "I love the characters that come from the clay. I can start off making one person but another, totally different character will emerge."

Angela's favorite themes are Medieval, fantasy and Tudor. Lucky for her, she can find real-life inspiration just a short distance away. "We are so lucky to have three Tudor houses, all decked out with Tudor furniture, just a short bus ride away (I don't drive). In the summer holidays we visit some of the larger Georgian houses that are a little further away. Walking around these old houses, I like to imagine the characters that might have lived there, and I come home and try and turn these into dolls."

Wasn't that a great visit? Well, let's see who we run into next...



** Back: Day 3 **Next: Halloween in Miniature, Day 5

** Visit Angela's blog and say hello.

** Cool free Halloween signs.

Halloween in Miniature 2010 - Day 3: The Revolt in the Kitchen

Welcome back to 12 Days of Halloween in Miniature 2010: Day 3. (If you arrived late, enter the party at Day 1.)

Now, as to all that banging and yelling going on in the kitchen... Have you ever seen what the term "bad" vegetables really means? It looks like Pat Benedict of Woopitydooart, has been trying to do some "veggie taming" again... and it just doesn't work!


Revenge of the Veggies... where's that Pepto when you need it?

These wild veggies are just part of an amazing array of creatures that come from Patty's creative mind and hands. She also is known for her one-inch-scale witches (see day 1) and amazing witch brooms with faces (a how-to on her brooms was in the Oct. Issue #90 of American Miniaturist Magazine).

A fan of Halloween in all scales, (her real-life party decorations should be featured in Haunted Homes and Gardens!), Patty began sculpting with bread dough "way back" in the Seventies. "I was a stay at home mom who created a little business while our three children were growing up," she recalls.

Heh,heh, where did those veggies go? (Older castle witch)

"I went back to work in the late '80s as a visual merchandiser (retail window displays) for major shopping mall developers, but I always created dolls (now made from polymer clay) for an extra income."

In 2003, she decided to work full-time on her newfound love, dollhouse size dolls, and. she says, "I've been working ever since trying to perfect the 1:12th size . . . it’s an exciting and fun challenge that keeps me totally involved in my work."

"I have a quirky style and love to create unique Halloween-theme miniature dolls that have a lot of expression and interact with the other miniatures around them. I’m excited about the future and the next challenge I'll meet when I walk up the stairs to my orange Halloween-theme studio in our attic."

Oops, we've been talking so long, I fear we're neglecting our other guests so let's go into the other room, shall we?


* Back: Day 2

* Next: Halloween in Miniature: Day 4

* Vintage Halloween postcards

Halloween in Miniature 2010: Day 2 - Grab some Halloween Treats!

Thanks for stopping by for Day 2 of this year's 12 Days of Halloween in Miniature. If you missed the kick-off, see Day 1 here.

Are you hungry? Oh, I heard some growling... yeah maybe with this crowd, it's best to get the food out early. Well, have we got some fantastic treats for you!

Miniature food artisan and IGMA Fellow Kiva Atkinson has been busy slaving over a hot oven, cooking up some creepy favorites, sure to kill, er, tempt your tastebuds. haaa!

In fact, it's surprising that Kiva hasn't blown up her oven yet! (Did you hear a big ka-boom?)

"I am really going nuts this Halloween," she says. "I'm making more stuff than I've made at any other time during Halloween. This season always puts my creativity into overdrive!"

Bone Soup, anyone?

She says she's inspired "from looking at cooking magazines..." (Hmm, Martha Ghoulert maybe? Sorry, couldn't resist!)

As for those delicious bones, Kiva says that like any good cook, she never tires of trying out different variations on old favorites, like some bone soup or roasted bones or... Femur anyone?

Salty Bones, better than pretzels!

She does "cute" just as well, however. After all, every ghoul needs something for their sweet tooth, right? haa!

Witch Treats


Speckled Pumpkins

Skull Cookies

Oh, will you look at the time! Uh-oh, what's that noise in the kitchen? (No, it's not Kiva!) It looks like one of the guests is having some kind of problem...

* Next: Halloween in Miniature: Day 3.

* Get some free Halloween clipart.

Halloween in Miniature 2010 - Day 1: Welcome to the Party!

Welcome, Welcome! Please come right in and make yourself comfortable for this year's 12 Days of Halloween in Miniature! It's going to be a fantastic party!

Don't be shy! Make yourself right at home. There are tons of spooky but fun people expected to attend, and there'll be plenty of great Halloween treats to eat -- and no tricks, promise! haa!

Oh, look, there is Pat Benedict's Witch CC - (short for Cotton Candy). The lady has a real sweet tooth - but watch out - her treats definitely have a bite! (Haa!)

Don't worry, this witch is a friendly soul, they say, besides being a real whiz at coordinating! Love the stylish witchy hat! I wonder if she got it from a certain well-known English milliner? Wait'll you see her latest creations. Wow! Well, be sure to say hello, and we'll be visiting with Patty and that "hat lady" in an upcoming post.

My little witch Imelda will take you around to meet everyone. We don't want anyone feeling left out now, do we?


Have a sip of our house specialty, the Golden Eye Wine, (still has quite a kick!) and come back tomorrow to meet more of the guests!

** Contest: For fun, one person commenting during the 12 days will win a couple of my handmade medieval books for their own haunted setting or wizardly table.

(Note: each day's next event will be linked at the end of each post.)

How About a Swap?

I'd love to swap one of my flower-filled pumpkin planters and/or a small medieval book for?? Email me at profile and let's see what we can figure out!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

* Go to Halloween in Miniature 2010: Day 2

* Enjoy my Halloween miniatures menu

Upcoming Blog Halloween Parties!

IT'S HALLOWEEN PARTY TIME!!

Got your costume? Let's go trick or treating!

Don't forget to stop back here tomorrow, Weds. 10/20, for my 12 Days of Halloween in Miniature.

Comment during the party and you could win two of my handmade mini medieval books. (Dollhouse size in case you didn't know!)

Then how about some party hopping? See some more great stops below!









My friend Courtney over at Haunt Jaunts, a travel blog for restless spirits, is having a boorific Halloween Party all October!

Knowing Courts, she'll have all kinds of weird stuff (she's already posted on gruesome masks, (Ick!) and match your dog costumes! ha!), plus she's having some great giveaways, and all kinds of Halloween fun!







** Mark your calendar for next Monday, 10/25 for the Open House at Karin's blog, Mini Ramblings and Musings. Karin's gonna have the punch out, so stop by and say hi! Make sure you follow her and comment for a chance to win your very own mini Jack O'Lantern (not sure if it's haunted or not!)



** After that, let's go across the pond where Kat the Hat Lady in England is also having a party from Oct. 30-Nov. 2! Visit her party blog and post a comment with your Halloween link and join the fun!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Miniatures Monday: New Wizard Boxes

After seeing the amazing magic and amulet boxes made by members of the Mini Doll List (I'll share the link later when I find it again), I was inspired to make some magic boxes for my wizard.



















The room is done in paper clay but needs to be painted and decorated yet. I thought it would look neat to have some shelves and cabinets filled with various boxes and potion bottles. I wanted it to be slightly different from the fortune teller's house, which will have an assortment of crystal balls and other items.

New Cool Webcode from Google

Thought I'd share this new (well new to me) code I found from Google to generate a changing feed you can put on your website. Pretty neat...

I'm going to try linking my blog on my site... The nice thing is it's not linked to ads like other feeds I've tried and it will find the links automatically.

See easy-to-follow directions here.

Coming: 12 Days of Halloween in Miniature 2010!

Don't forget to stop by Wednesday, Oct. 20 for the kick-off to this year's 12 Days of Halloween in Miniature party!

Great creepy food, spooky guests, and unique miniature stuff!!




Bonus Contest! Comment on the posts beginning Wednesday for a chance to win two of my handmade miniature medieval books, perfect for a haunted, witch or wizard scene!

** And Happy Pink Saturday! Stop by Beverly's blog and say hello!

New Video for Searching for a Starry Night mystery

Finally! I've wanted to do this for a loooong time, but every program I tried I just couldn't get it to look right. Well, this was like video-for-dummies. I don't think it came out too bad, but tell me what you think?

* Read more about the book and download chapter 1 of Searching for a Starry Night. #1 on Kindle for miniatures! (If video fails to load, refresh page or see at website.)

New Story Coming in DAW Steampunk Romance Anthology

Yay! Just got word that my latest story, now renamed, "Kinetic Dreams," has been accepted for a steampunk romance anthology coming from DAW Books...

The new story continues the saga of Alva Edison, "sister" of Thomas Edison, that appears in the first anthology, STEAMPUNK'D, coming out Nov. 2, also from DAW Books.

In the first story, "Edison Kinetic Light and Steam Power," an ailing Alva Edison helps rescue her inventor brother, Thomas, and helps him find the answers to Mr. H. G. Wells's kinetic time traveling flying machine.

In the new story, Alva still marvels about not only finding relief for her crippling arthritis, but being married to her handsome doctor. Her happiness, however, is soon threatened by her brother Thomas's strange claims about traveling through time, even as a future threat draws near. Will she face the unimaginable and help her brother find a solution, or is her family doomed?

I must admit I have really enjoyed writing about the Edisons and I'm thinking of a new storyline for a novella to continue their stories. Maybe that can be my NanoWriMo project once I get the zombie book finished. Hmm...

Writing Opportunity: New Kindle Singles

Amazon announced a new program, "Kindle Singles," for novella-length stories, 10,000 to 30,000 words described as "twice the length of a New Yorker feature or a few chapters of a typical book."

The stories will be sold in their own Kindle Store section, be priced for less than typical books and be readable on the Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, and Android-based devices. Stories also Will be backed-up online in a reader's Kindle library on Amazon.

To be considered for Kindle Singles, contact digital-publications@amazon.com.

Read more about the program here.

New Poll: Mysteries Top Reading Choice over Romances - Finally!

Well, looks like pollsters are finally catching on to what many of us already know - that mysteries and thrillers are favorite reads.

A recent Harris Poll cited in Publishers Weekly noted that mysteries, thrillers, and crime novels beat out chick-lit and romance novels by a large margin; and that more women than men read mysteries, thrillers, and crime novels.

The August online poll of 2,775 U.S. adults found that of those who read at least one book in a year (only one?):
* Nearly half (48%) read mysteries, thrillers and crime novels
* Science fiction was read by 26%
* "Literature" (?) was read by 24%
* One in 10 read graphic novels (11%) in the past year.

Top nonfiction reading choices were history (31%), biographies (29%) and religious/spiritual books (26%).

By age, 61% of readers 65 and up -mostly women - were more likely to read mystery, thriller, and crime novels.

Guess I'm a statistic; mysteries -mostly cozy or a thriller - are my first reading choice, along with some horror and occasional sci-fi.

** That said, what are your reading choices?

Miniatures Monday: Celebrate National Dollhouse & Miniatures Month! Halloween Miniatures

This has to be my absolutely favorite celebration!! Despite doing miniatures for (mumble-mumble) years. (ha! - yes that long!), I haven't tired of working on small things!

For fun, I thought I'd include some new Halloween miniatures I got from a swap with the Yahoo Groups' Half Scale Group. Perfect since I'm working on a half scale Halloween scene (deciding which house to use - it keeps wanting to be bigger since I keep collecting stuff. The original clock case may not be large enough!)



I made a smaller version of a "hand" snack and a small Halloween cake.



A bunch of cakes! You'll never guess what they're made of - small wood furniture plugs that are painted and topped with slick paint, glitter and Halloween confetti, then glued to a small button. It's fun coming up with new color combinations. Now I have to make a bunch more again for my 1/2" bakery.




** And what have you been working on??

Miniature Eye Candy: Mexican Corner Room

Thought I'd share a few older rooms and photos that I haven't shown in awhile. These may be familiar to some readers and new to others.

I made this corner room of foam core board covered with tinted lightweight Spackle. I liked adding the small roof and thought it added something to the room. The floor is mat board, which I painted and cut lines for tiles. Many of the items were from a miniatures group swap. I love the colors! Sometimes a smaller project is fun as you can fit a lot in, but actually get it done. (My problem. ha!) Ole!

* See more of minis at the Verstraete Miniatures Gallery.

Wear Pink and Click for National Breast Cancer Month!

In the United States alone, more than 207,000 persons will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, according to the American Cancer Society.

Practically every family in the country and across the world has been touched by breast cancer... mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, grandmothers...

Don't forget to CLICK at the Breast Cancer Site each day to give free mammograms to women in need in hopes of early treatment and continue to pray for a cure for this scourge!

** Today is also PINK SATURDAY, so stop by Beverly's blog and say hello!

National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month - Adopt a dog like Petey from Searching for a Starry Night!

October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.

Every dog deserves a loving home. Even Petey from Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery was adopted from a shelter. For Petey, having "the energy of ten dogs," as Sam says, may have worn out his former owners. Or maybe it was because his coat was a little blotchy and less than show perfect.

No matter. Whatever the reason, Petey goes home with Helena Sanchez, the clerk at the pet shop where Sam and Lita like to go help with the animals.

For Sam and her best friend, Lita, "Petey-sitting" and spending time with their new canine companion while Helena shops for her upcoming wedding becomes a new and memorable experience, especially given Petey's often playful attitude and mischievousness. He especially plays an important role in their search for the missing miniature "Starry Night" replica that Sam and Lita hope to find.

BUY:

* KINDLE
* Print
* B&N eBook
* Kobo (Smartphone, Tablet, Ereader)
* Sony Reader

Let's Play Killer - Your Own Serial Killer Doll

I first spotted this over on the Lipstick Chronicles blog and thought... huh?

So, it appears that the character from the Dexter show, (drawn from the novel, Darkly Dreaming Dexter) whom Wikipedia describes as "a blood spatter analyst who moonlights as a serial killer" for a police department in case you didn't know, is now a doll - to be precise, a 7-inch action figure.

Gee, what a great gift huh? And he even comes with his own knife...


The show has won acclaim and the novel has drawn praise as well... I did watch a few episodes when it aired briefly on regular TV instead of cable as I wondered what it was all about. Frankly, it made me sick seeing him in his element.

I'm all for freedom of the press and freedom of expression but... I still can't get my mind past this. While some TV cop/murder shows tend to often glorify the crime, making it almost attractive to those who may be sociopathic, this is a guy who tries to do good yet his way of thinking still has him killing... and pleasuring in it.

Yes, brilliant characterization, interesting fictional idea, but... does it go too far? Should killing be "entertainment?" (Yes it often is I know in horror novels; but you expect monsters or "killers" to be creepy, not enjoying themselves like Dexter who still indulges in his 'weakness' as his "secret" while trying to live a normal life on the surface.) The worst was the radio commercial that aired having him talking to his infant daughter; it just seemed too freaky.

And now... an action figure? It's, well, creepy. Yes, creeps don't need anyone to give them ideas, but why glorify it any further? What do you think?

Halloween Partying at Haunt Jaunts!

My friend, Courtney, over at Haunt Jaunts, a travel blog for restless spirits who love haunted places, is having a Hallowen Party all month!

Get in on the prizes, spooky fun and all kinds of who-knows-what! (Leave it to Courts to talk about the pervy Halloween costumes! And she's probably right, some are kind of creepy!)

** Stop by and see what she has brewing. I'll be popping in over there later in the month.

** Also check out Haunt Jaunts at Facebook.

New Miniatures How-To: Halloween Pillows in AIM Magazine

The fun Halloween pillows pictured here are part of a new how-to I did for the spooky Halloween/October issue of Artisans in Miniature (AIM) Magazine.




All the pillows are made from cotton Halloween fabric - and beware: glitter! (I love glitter, but... you'll see my warning in the magazine. haa!) It's a fun, easy way to decorate your mini house for Halloween! (The furniture shown is half scale, but the pillows can be used in any size.) And guess what? No worry: they're no-sew! (I used glue!)


Also, here's another photo of the first pillow I did, a bat cut-out which I just love! I added a smaller bat cut-out on the end of the bed, too.