Dark Discoveries Magazine

 Great new mag I just got in the mail - Dark Discoveries from Journalstone Publishing. Can't wait to check it out!

 Issue #23 has an interview with Jonathan Maberry and some great short fiction to read!


* See table of contents

* Submissions  open Oct. 1 (Oct-June)  - pays 5 cents word.

Miniatures Monday: Colorful Porch Idea

Every time I've seen this pic, I've just loved the colors! So I figured I better save it!

I see this as inspiration for a future miniature porch with all kinds of flowers and wicker furniture. Aren't the colors great?  I wish I could see the rest of the house. Please do share if you see it and find the source.

Miniatures Monday: New ladies shop bookshelves

Here are the bookshelves I just finished decorating for the larger room of the two-part ladies' shop. The shelves will hold purses, hats and probably perfumes. I really like how these came out. The bottom gold scrapbook paper had glitter-like dots in a design.

This is the larger room box, which is built but not decorated yet.

Other shop items from previous posts:
* See mini lipstick stand
 * Smaller roombox for shoes, etc.  - Before pic
* Victorian cabinet - Mini Perfumes 

http://candidcanine.blogspot.com - http://cverstraete.com

New AIM Miniatures Magazine #46

New free issue of the Artisans in Miniature (AIM) Magazine #46 celebrating shopkeepers. Download here.

 * Includes some great how-to projects!

* Make a vanity train case
* Medical printie labels by Jean Day
* Make 1/4" inch or half-scale poppies
* Cute summer dress pattern to make four summer dresses for a 4" tall doll by Kathi Mendenhall

* A pic of my finished half-scale hutch is on pg. 69

Miniatures in A to Z Blog Challenge Magazine

Something a bit different:

My blog post during the A to Z blog challenge (D is for Miniature Dresses) is included in a neat online magazine, The Woven Tale Press.

 Fun way to peruse a variety of different topics. Check it out!

New Zombie story, "Staying Alive"

Check out my take on surviving in city vs. country during a zombie attack in "Staying Alive: City vs. Country" over at the New Zombie-Fiction blog.

Another miniatures project for the Ladies' Shoppe - mini lipsticks

Thought I'd posted this here too... Thought  this came out really neat. Fiddly but worth trying. Going to do another with a different graphic... Isn't that cool? Something for a table in the ladies' shoppe...

Miniatures Monday, New Ladies Shop in Progress - Preview

Wanted to share a quick preview pic of the miniature Ladies' Shoppe I'm setting up. This is the smaller roombox. I have a larger one which will hold more items as well.

The two large cabinets in back are - ta-da! - thimble cabinets!! Been saving them and thought they'd look perfect painted white and filled with shoes and shoe boxes. I have another one to use for potion bottles in a wizard room I have to finish. 

Just was setting up this room to see what fits. The space on the right wall will have mirrors and a hanging rack with dresses.

It'll be neat to see the before and after photos once everything is painted and decorated. I got this box decorated from the flea market for -- $5. All it needed was a top molding and I have to put electric in yet.  (click for larger pic)

Why My Love Life Sucks, The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer - it takes a geek to be a hero

Today author Shevi Arnold talks about her book Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer)

Blurb-

Seventeen-year-old Gilbert Garfinkle is the ultimate tech geek. He likes to take apart, figure out, and fix things, and he dreams of someday fixing the world. But now his own life has been taken apart by the one thing he'll never be able to figure out. Her name is Amber, and she's a gorgeous girl with a killer smile who wants to turn him into her platonic BFF--literally forever! It's the ultimate geek's ultimate nightmare, and it leaves Gilbert asking life's ultimate question: "Why me?"  

Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer) is a funny novel about geeks, girls, gadgets, vampires, and the start of a most unlikely friendship. It's the first book in The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, the series that proves it takes the ultimate geek to be the ultimate hero.

Meet Shevi Arnold:

When I was little, I'd take them apart and analyze them, kind of like what Gilbert Garfinkle--the hero of Why My Love Life Sucks--does with electronics. This continued into my college years, when I majored in English Literature and Theater Studies.

For twelve years I worked in magazines and newspapers as an editorial cartoonist, illustrator, editor, arts-and-entertainment writer (specializing in children's entertainment and, of course, comedy), and a consumer columnist.

My last job was at the Jerusalem Post, but I had to quit when my family decided to move to New Jersey to pursue better education options for my autistic son.

This was in February 2001. Since then I've written 40 picture books and seven novels for kids and teens, four of which I've indie published. I was an ABNA quarterfinalist with Why My Love Life Sucks, and I won third place in SmartWriter's Write It Now contest in the the YA category (which was judged by Alex Flinn, the author of Beastly) for my romantic, YA ghost story, Ride of Your Life.

* Check out the Next Stop on the tour at LM Preston's Ramblings

Links:

* Read an excerpt free @ Freado

Pinterest- http://pinterest.com/shevistories/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheviStories

Blog: http://shevi.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shevistories

Website: http://www.shevistories.com/Home.html

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SheviStories

Facebook Event-

https://www.facebook.com/events/592818107403748/?context=create#

BUY:

BN.com: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/why-my-love-life-sucks-shevi-arnold/1114274136?ean=2940015949377&itm=1&usri=shevi+arnold

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/280989

Story A Day 12-14, zombies, sky and mothers

* In case you can't find the other links, I've removed the stories from online so I can publish them elsewhere.

Catching up for Story A Day for May so there're three stories and an amazing video.

Today's prompt is to finish Sam's Story. Sam just got a dream promotion, or so he/she thinks....

# 14
Sam's Story
by Christine Verstraete

The dream job Sam had wanted was finally within reach.

Any other time she would've jumped at the chance...

She took the letter from the envelope and read it once more.

All her hard work had finally paid off. All those hours and late night meetings.

Lead, it said. No more late nights. The opportunity to do more of the kind of projects she liked.

With a sigh, Sam crumpled the envelope and threw it on the floor.

It was too late now. Joke's on her.

Hands on the trigger, she held tight to the gun and peered through the upper window at the throng of zombies surrounding what was left of the mail delivery person, hoping they'd go away soon, hoping they'd go to some other house.

(c) 2013 C. Verstraete

* 128 words
--------

(A change of pace - loved this when I saw it!)



#13

Above

by Christine Verstraete

From my perch above, all is beauty.

Dots of light become stars on earth. Seas are spots of azure. The land is green and bright.

No decay, no death, no war.

Perfection.

(c) 2013 C. Verstraete

* 32 words

 - inspired by the beautiful photos and song of Canadian Astronaut and Commander Chris Hadfield.

-----

#12

... A mother's love never dies...

Mother's Day

by Christine Verstraete

No one expected the virus to do this.

No one.

Those who died came back and wandered the earth. Hungry, devouring, unexpected.

But the babies... so innocent, so precious.

When they began undying, panic set in. No one knew what to do.

I took them in.

I looked at my hungry charges, their faces gray, their eyes a milky white.

I filled the baby bottle with liquid protein made from raw meat. Disgusting, but necessary. The zombie baby grabbed it eagerly and began to suck.

It worked... for now. I wasn't sure how I'd handle it if they stayed alive and undead, if they continued to grow and thrive.

For now, I cared for them like any mother would, smiling when the baby's tiny hand caressed my cheek.

(c) 2013 C. Verstraete

* 128 words

Miniatures Monday - Victorian-style cabinet

This is one of those wood cabinets from Michaels. I want to fill it with a bunch of different type boxes. I decorated it with scrapbook paper on the back and top, then glued Victorian lady figures on the front and inner doors that I found at The Graphics Fairy.

 I love how this came out!  There is lace on the shelves and the shelf edge. I put Victorian lady stickers on the back walls. I replaced the knobs with regular dollhouse knobs that I painted white.

Next, I want to decorate another cabinet with a large door and a pole inside to hang miniature clothes. These will go in the display room for my miniature ladies' shoppe that I'm planning. More minis are at my website.

New zombie book bookmarks, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie

I had to share! Just got my bookmarks for GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie. Aren't they cool?? (minus the fingerprint of course!)

The black is glossy in front which is kind of neat. Stay tuned for a giveaway with some other stuff.

Blueberry Muffins, a treasure among the Vikings? Yes, in The Buttersmiths' Gold

Taking a break between A Story A Day to share this book  - a cute concept! Check out the trailer at the end and be sure to enter the contest for an Amazon gift card!

The Buttersmiths' Gold

BATTLES. BLUEBERRIES. BOVINES.

TORBJORN AND STORFJELL’S HISTORY UNFOLDS IN AN EPIC Evertaster NOVELLA.

Everyone knows the most coveted treasure of the Viking Age was blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins so succulent that if you sniffed just a whiff, you'd want a whole bite. If you bit a bite, you'd want a batch; if you snatched a batch, you'd stop at nothing short of going to war just to claim them all. 

Young Torbjorn Trofastsonn comes from the clan that makes them. He's a Viking through and through – he's thirteen winters old, larger than most respectable rocks, and most of all, a Buttersmith.

That's what he thinks anyway, until a charismatic merchant makes Torbjorn question his place among the muffin-makers. When Torbjorn lets the secret of his clan's muffin recipe slip, he calls doom and destruction down upon his peaceful village and forces his brother Storfjell and his clansmen to do the one thing they are ill-prepared to do: battle for their lives.

   About The Buttersmiths' Gold

The Buttersmiths' Gold is a spin off novella in the Evertaster series that tells the story of two Viking brothers and their adventurous past.

The Evertaster series (Book #1 released June 14, 2012) is about Guster Johnsonville, who goes searching for a legendary taste rumored to be the most delicious in all of history. Along the way he meets a slew of mysterious characters, including two Viking brothers Torbjorn and Storfjell. The Buttersmiths' Gold is their story. 124 pages. By Adam Glendon Sidwell. Published by Future House Publishing.

Evertaster, Book #1:

A legendary taste. Sought after for centuries. Shrouded in secrecy.

When 11-year-old Guster Johnsonville rejects his mother’s casserole for the umpteenth time, she takes him into the city of New Orleans to find him something to eat. There, in a dark, abandoned corner of the city they meet a dying pastry maker. In his last breath he entrusts them with a secret: an ancient recipe that makes the most delicious taste the world will ever know — a taste that will change the fate of humanity forever.

Forced to flee by a cult of murderous chefs, the Johnsonvilles embark on a perilous journey to ancient ruins, faraway jungles and forgotten caves. Along the way they discover the truth: Guster is an Evertaster — a kid so picky that nothing but the legendary taste itself will save him from starvation. With the sinister chefs hot on Guster’s heels and the chefs’ reign of terror spreading, Guster and his family must find the legendary taste before it’s too late.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



** Watch the trailer

Mini Treasures Miniatures Award for 2013

  A nice surprise! Candid Canine was named one of the 25 favorite blogs that help bring visitors to  the Mini Treasures Wiki, a great resource site. Tons of mini links and things to find there.

Thanks Johanna!

* Check out the Mini Treasures Pinterest board

* Mini Treasures blog

Story a Day 2, Disconnect, a zombie story

Today is Day 2 of A Story A Day for May.


(I've deleted many of the stories so I can use them elsewhere... but here is one to read:)

Disconnect

By. C.A. Verstraete

As his memory faded, Josh bemoaned the loss of his life, the loss of friends, family, and oddly enough, the loss of his phone and being connected.

Minute by minute the essence of who he was grew weaker as the zombie poisons made their way into his bloodstream and attacked every living cell.

In those last few moments before the world, and life as he knew it, disappeared behind the milky white film forming over his eyes, he took one last longing look around him.

As darkness fell, he gave a final, sad cry. The phone dropped from his hand, pulling with it one of his rotting fingers, both shattering like broken dreams on the blood-spattered sidewalk.

* 117 words, inspired by a post at Story A Day, http://storyaday.org/writing-prompt-social-speech/

(c) 2013 C. Verstraete

*** Why the weird stories, why zombies, you ask? Well, it begins with my book, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie, coming in August...

A to Z Blog Challenge - W to Z - White Hutch & Yellow Dollhouse

 * The posts are part of the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013. **

-------------------------

I fell behind so I'm doubling up a few posts to catch up.

I wanted to share some of my favorite dollhouse projects. Hope you enjoyed seeing some different minis this month.

W- for my White Hutch and White Cabinet 

  

 I am planning a large ladies shoppe and a smaller display room so am painting some furniture. The first is the Michael's wood hutch. I used scrapbook paper and a Paris graphic from the Graphics Fairy. Love how it turned out! I put regular gold knobs that I painted, too.

X -  Extremely - dare I say it? Cute.  Joy Cox makes the cutest faces on her mini dolls like this half scale witch on ebay uk. 

Y - See Yellow House below.  Z: Zombies, of course. I want to leave this post up a few  days so Z will be for Zombies and a Walking Dead mini scene made by miniaturist Dorothy, which will be featured shortly at my other blog, GirlZombieAuthors. And check back here for a Story a Day for May. Well, I'll try.

The cabinet was the standard mahogany color. It simply looks better painted and papered! I plan to fill it with miniature shoes and purses. (Ignore the fingers and dirty mirror. ha!)

***********************************************

Y - My Yellow House 

This is one of my favorite miniature projects. Had some pix up a loooong time ago, so this is probably new to most.

The house was a kit I bought years ago which though half scale was sold as a children's playhouse. (Wish I'd bought the other kit as they're long gone; forgot who made it.)

(One of the sides.  Lilies were handmade. Other flowers were a kit; resin birdhouses on wall.)

  I didn't stick to scale as at the time I had these kits which were a smaller 1" scale and filled in with other things, which to me still fit. I did use a half scale chair and items on the porch. 

The stones in the chimney and outside of front porch  are those polished rocks you find at museums attached in stucco (lightweight Spackle - wall compound.) 

I tried to do other different things like use a small wood birdhouse topped with a woodsie for a table.

(Other side has iris, trailing vines and a bench where someone stopped for a break. And  had to have a flamingo!)

(Just about every house I build has to have a dog, of course. The flowers were made in a film canister (remember those?) that is scored, painted and has gold metal tape attached.) 

Hope you enjoyed seeing the project! 

A to Z Blog Challenge - V is for Miniature Violin -the real thing

  * The posts are part of the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013. ** 

I fell behind so I'll have to double up posts next week.

(Photo: David Edwards)

Today I wanted to share an amazing miniature violin, handmade by UK artisan David Edwards. It is an incredible 2-inches long.

Edwards made the 1/12th scale violin last year in pearwood with fingerboard, tailpiece and pegs in ebony. The bridge is recycled ivory. The strings and tailgut are real gut. There is a sound post inside just like the real instrument and it is resting on a full-size violin peg. 

See more of Edwards' work at his blog or Facebook page.

A to Z Blog Challenge - U is for Unusual Minis

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is U for Something Unusual in Miniature ....

Sharing a little Halloween bed I made - Love the bat pillow!  This is half scale (6 inches = 1 foot)

A to Z Blog Challenge - T is for Miniature Christmas Tree

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is T for Miniature  Christmas Tree


'Tis not the season, but you can't have Santa (see yesterday's S post) without a Christmas tree...

A to Z Blog Challenge - S is for Seeing my zombie book Girl Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie in person!

A second post I have to add! for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013!

  Got the advanced reader copy today for GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie!

A teensy slight change - and it looks really cool!

A to Z Blog Challenge - S is for Miniature Santa

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is S for Miniature Santa

Couldn't think of a better fit than Santa for S, right?

See my Santa's Christmas Cottage on the website, click miniatures. 

A to Z Blog Challenge - R is for Red Miniatures

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is  R for  Red Miniatures

Thought I'd share a couple miniatures in a fun color -  RED!

Cake in a red tin for the Queen's 60th anniversary
Victorian purses with a red lining.

A to Z Blog Challenge - Q is for Quick Miniature Jars and Canisters

**Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 

(click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)**

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is Q for Quick 
Mini Canning Jars and Canisters

Tough one! I wondered, what to do for Q? Then I thought of the quick, easy project I wanted to share. So here goes:

Mini Jars and Canisters - C. Verstraete 

Materials:

 * Round beads (the beads are in a package with several colors from the Dollar Tree.) What's neat  is that unlike pony beads, these beads are cut "straight" on the sides and across the top, almost like a straw, which makes them perfect for jars. (They are 1/4" high.)

* Standard 1/8" round hole office punch
* Thin clear plastic, like from a package covering
* Colored clay - I use air-dry, Crayola Model Magic clay, which I paint with acrylics.
* Bits of herbal and black tea from tea bags
* Small flat-backed black bead.
* Canning label printies, shrunk down with names written on
* Printed cotton, tacky glue
* Thin cardboard or box card (tea or cereal boxes work well)
* Smallest size gold brad
* Smallest pony beads
* Silver alphabet bead
* Printie tea label

 NOTE: These are all smaller beads so I made the jars for my half scale house. Use larger size beads for 1-inch scale.

Directions:

* Canister:

1 Punch out round piece of plastic and glue to bottom of bead. When dry, fill with tea from a tea bag.

2  Punch out second round plastic piece for top and glue to bead. Glue small flat-backed black bead to top for "handle."

3. Glue label to front of jar. (which was on but I have to re-glue them. ha!)


* Canning Jar:

(Photos: back row, from left: Pony bead, dollar store bead.)

1. Form pieces of clay into shapes like vegetables, and paint desired color with acrylic paints. Note: these are so small that you don't have to be exact; it's just to give an illusion of something being in the jars.

2. Punch out plastic circle and glue to bottom of the dollar store bead (as in first jar in front.) Fill with clay "food" shapes. Punch out three circles from card. Stack and glue together, then glue stack to underside of desired fabric.

3. Cut fabric around stack in a circle shape, leaving a slight edge. Glue stack to top of jar. Put dots of glue on fabric edge and fold around jar to make a fabric covered lid.

(You can try gluing a piece of string on fabric edge and glue on a separate small bow to give the illusion of a closing tie, but the jar is pretty small.) Add a canning label to front with desired name penned in.

* Small pony bead jar - Square tea tin:

(Photo: left regular, larger size pony bead, smaller pony beads for half scale topped with smallest brad; silver alphabet bead)

1. Pony bead jar - stack and glue together two of smallest size pony beads. Use different colors to match  contents if possible. Glue smallest size gold brad to top. Print out reduced canning or fruit label. Wrap around beads and glue.

2.  Square alphabet bead tea tin: I had a bunch of these beads and realized the size is perfect for a half scale tin. Print out reduced tea package art or scenery for a label. Glue label to all sides of bead. Glue smallest size gold brad to the top.  (I use a small square piece of wood for a 1" scale tin.) 

(--From Candid Canine)

A to Z Blog Challenge - P is for Miniature Pumpkins

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is P for Miniature Pumpkins

I love these. Pumpkins are fun in real life and in miniature, of course!

A to Z Blog Challenge - O for Other things in miniature but real

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is O for Other Things in Miniature - but real

Since I already scheduled S I thought I'd share  something else you might like to see.
We also raise dwarf seahorses.  You can friend me on facebook to see more pix and videos -  (christine.verstraete) Here are a couple pix:

  

A to Z Blog Challenge - N for Miniature Notebook

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is N for Miniature Notebook

This was  fun project. Even in miniature you need to take notes, right?  I should make a totebag to go with it too...and matching shoes, and.... you know how that works in real life.... ha!

A to Z Blog Challenge: M is for Miniatures, of course!

Thanks for coming back for the A to Z Blog Challenge 2013 (click link to see the 1,000+ blogs enrolled. yes that many!)

(And if you like horror and all things zombie, I and my co-bloggers will also be blogging daily over at GirlZombieAuthors so be sure to check it out.)

Today's letter is M for Miniatures, what else?

It's easy to post about what you love to do  -and I love creating new things or thinking up new projects It's just getting them done that's the problem. haa!

Today I'll share some miniature books I've made. The books in the bookends are free miniature book printies on my website, click miniatures. Coming: mini zombie book covers so check back!

 ** So, what's your favorite hobby?