TRANSLATE

Friday, November 1, 2013


DON'T FAINT!!! ANOTHER POST SO SOON AFTER THE LAST? I wanted to show these to you in my last post but didn't get to put the pictures up, so.... These are the two orchid benches that will go into my greenhouse. I made them from craft sticks I bought at Hobby Lobby. They are the thin coffee stirrer/corndog stick kind. Had to "weed" through two or three packages to get enough of them that were straight! You get what you pay for! Anyway, I made it up as I went along so I don't have a pattern. I did use graph paper covered with a sheet of clear contact paper (sticky back plastic) so that I could keep my pieces squared up. All the lovely orchids were made by Pim Sukerd. On the bottom shelf of one of the benches is a bonsai planter I made of sculpey and painted with acrylics. I made this at the same time I made my tall pot for my bonsai tree. A couple of the orchids are set into what feels and looks like lava chunks. They are very light in weight so I'm not really sure. Will try to post a picture of what the display looks like so far sometime soon. Still have a ways to go on it but real life does have a way of interferring with our minis, doesn't it? I've also been exploring another love of mine which is paper crafting/mini albums (king of like scrap booking and altered art mixed. Check out Pinterest for "Mini Albums"; if you're like me, it will blow you away. Some beautiful work being done. Also look for MySistersScrapper and FollowingthePaperTrail on You Tube. Super great work! Hope everyone has a great weekend! Supposed to be rainy here but we need it badly......

Wednesday, October 30, 2013








Haven’t been doing much in the way of minis lately…… I am still working on my florist and greenhouse display when I can. Here is a picture of the water feature that will be placed underneath and arbor between the greenhouse and the florist shop. It is made using ¾ inch builder’s foam rigid insulation board. I painted it a very dark grey, almost black, and then glued on cardboard egg carton or drink holder bricks. I then aged and dry-brushed them with a mixture of black, grey, tan, brown and a little white. Blotch it with a paper towel. I made the pond part with a piece of plastic packaging with a picture of goldfish glued underneath. I then added a layer of clear dimensional magic type finish, making a few circles where the water would be falling. I cut a little strip of thick plastic bag and cut one side into jagged shreds and glued it into a circle where my water would fall and then dotted it with the clear finish. (It looked like a crown with the points falling over) This makes the “splash”. I made little ledges of matboard around the inner edge of the pond area to sit the “pond/fish picture” into once it dried. I made the Papyrus by gluing 4 or 5 lengths of jute twine around the end of pieces of heavy gauge (18?) covered floral wire. After it dried I brushed it out with a small brass wire brush I purchased at the Dollar Store, and then drybrushed it with green acrylic paint. Some were left more brown to indicate “spent” foliage. The water lettuce plants on the left are painted and punched crepe paper. I used a pear shape punch that I purchased from Hanky Panky Crafts. I glued the “petals”with the small pear stem ends toward the center. Glue one layer of 5 then another layer over that staggering the second layer over the 1st five “petals. Turn the assembly over after it dries and curl the leaves of the 1st layer toward the center of the plant. Place a tiny irregular crumples round in the center and you have water lettuce. I dotted landscape foam (model railroad supplies) in some of the cracks of the stones. The lotus plant is from a wonderful artisan named Pim Sukerd. I haven’t seen or heard anything on her in a long time so I don’t even know if she is still making minis. She lives in Thailand, I think, and was having a lot of flooding in her house. I have tried to locate her online but have not found anything. Most all of the plants in the shop and greenhouse are by her also. Beautiful orchids and roses! I will try to get my pictures of that up, too, as soon as I can. I am including a picture of the goldfish I worked up for my pond.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Hello everyone!

Here is a picture of my spaghetti on a polymer clay plate......


I made the plate by rolling white clay out thin; dust your work surface with cornstarch and place clay over that. Then lay a piece of plastic/saran wrap over it and cut it out with a round cutter. Doing it this way gives a nice rounded edge for the underside of the plate. Turn the plate over carefully to avoid mis-shaping the round. Dust off some of the corn starch with a soft brush and press the center to indent slightly. Use even pressure and it will make the edge of the plate raise up a little. Bake according to the clay package directions. After it is cool I glaze with Gallery Glass in my selected color adding dots around the edge with a contrasting color. LET DRY VERY WELL. I sealed this one with the old formula FIMO glaze. Experiment with other finishes to see which one you like. Some can be sticky, though. After it is dry, I glue on my pre baked foods..........

I make the noodles by extruding out a teeny snake about 3 or 4 inches long and curl and twist it together with a couple of toothpicks. Do this on a piece of foil with a bit of tacky glue underneath the noodles to keep them from sliding around while you're working.
The sauce on the spaghetti is made of liquid Sculpey mixed with a touch of red clay, a little teeny bit of chocolate brown and a speck of black. It definitely helps to have a portion of the real food in front of you. Mix all of this together and add a bit of craft sand in a tan color to add texture. Pile it on top of your noodles. Add a green clay basil leaf for garnish and shavings of parmesan cheese made from the noodle color clay. Bake, glue onto the plate and add a touch of gloss glaze to the sauce.

Hope I will be able to post again soon.....I have another project in the planning stage and am still working on my flower shop. So much to do, so little free time!

Have a good weekend!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Hey, ya'll......
It's been a while since my last post; been busy with real life and work but finally had a few minutes to sit down and write a tutorial.
Everything is okay with us, I just pray that it stays that way!
Louie is doing good, that's the main thing.
Here is the tutorial; I also use this method, up to the coiling, to make plates of spaghetti, too. Just twist the snake into a pile and top with sauce. Will get a few pics of my spaghetti and post that soon.
Hope you enjoy!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Just wanted to post an update....
Hubby is able to walk a little better now and is using his walker more.
He is doing much better! Thanks be to God and all of your prayers are much appreciated!
Working on the next tutorial when I can; I am still pretty busy with daily life but that has eased up a bit.
Hope everyone out there is doing good....
Gail

Sunday, July 14, 2013

A quick update on my Hubby, Louie:
God has answered prayer and he is much improved! We have some medical equipment on the way that will help us out a lot. God's Spirit has calmed some of the fears that we had and several of our problems have been resolved.
Thank God for strength to carry on each day!
We have good indication and many reasons to believe and hope that hubby will get most of his mobility back that he had before hospital.
It was thought at first that he may have some kidney failure but whether the first test was incorrect or there actually was something wrong, we don't know, but a kidney specialist says there is nothing wrong with his kidneys so one way or another, that prayer was answered.
Hopefully it won't be much longer before things will be much better.
Thank you to all for your wonderful comments and especially your prayers!
It really means a lot!
Maybe I can get another tutorial up soon. What I have in mind for you is, I think, a great idea!
Gail

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Just a short update as to what is going on.......
My Husband, who has Multiple Sclerosis, has been in hospital and we are now home trying to regain his strength and what little bit of mobility he may still have.
Please pray for us as I have to keep my job for our insurance. I have no one and no resources to pay for someone to stay with him during the daytime. I have some vacation time to use but it is not unlimited. I am very tired due to rising several times at night to care for him and then taking care of him in the daytime, too. His social security disability has just started last month and he will have a two year waiting period for Medicare. Medicaid won't pick up until we have spent what little bit of savings we have. Tried to get help through MS Society once but the answer was we make too much money. If it is a $1.00 over the limit, it's too much.
God does answer prayer and already has in several instances in the past two weeks. If we can just get him back on his feet to be able to take care of himself during the daytime like he did before.
Need prayer more than anything else.
If anyone out there knows of any help we may be able to obtain, please email me privately   pinehaven1998@gmail.com
Thank you all for your kind comments about my miniatures. Hopefully things will return to normal quickly and I will be able to post another how-to before long.
Gail Harmon Cason

 

Monday, July 1, 2013







           This is a different version made into a settee; It is a little dirty since it has been outdoors in       a fairy garden :

Hope everyone is doing okay....maybe it won't be long before I can put another how-to up.
See you later!

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Here I am again......
As I was clearing out some of the items in the craft room, I ran across my modern tables made from pizza "thingies" that you sometimes get in the middle to keep the box lid from touching the food.
Anyway, I spray painted two of them silver and topped them with stained wood circles. The circles are a little smaller than the span of the legs but I think it makes it look more modern this way.
 
 
 
Here is a picture of my niece and her new hubby...
 
Hope everyone has a good week!
 

Monday, March 25, 2013

Hi, everyone.....
Been a while since I have posted, I know.
My niece was married at the beginning of this month and we have been so busy with that. Also, my husband has had to take early retirement due to his health so I have lots of extra "jobs" round the house now. It takes just about all of me to work full time and do that, so.....my minis are suffering.
I am having a major clear out of my craft room and actually the whole house needs good clean, so I will be absent from the blogger world for a little longer.
I will show you a project that I worked on over the winter, though.

 
 
I bought some acrylic mirror in the auto department of WalMart, which is easily cut to size.  The bottom picture (sorry for the blur) is shot at a strange angle to get the details but it makes it appear to be un-matched on the side mirrors. I assure you it is level with the other side when viewed from the front.
Anyway, I framed it out with thin card then painted it gold. I stongly advise keeping the plastic film on while working as the mirror can become easily scratched, which is why I decided to antique it after all. After the frame is dry, remove the film and use a scruffy old paint brush to stipple and dot black acrylic craft paint around the edges at random. Make sure the brush is dry and dab off the excess onto paper towel so you have only a tiny bit left. Some of the paint will get onto the frame, too, but that is okay as it will add a little antique finish. Don't antique too much, though, a little around the edges is best, I think. I glued a little stand to the center back of the middle mirror to keep it from tipping backwards.
The vanity tray is gold color middy braid (purchase from the sewing department at Hobby Lobby) glued around an oval Woodsie; then lined with light olive color suede cloth or fabric. The box in the middle with the clear stones is a vintage necklace clasp I discovered on ebay; the jar on the left is a clear pony bead topped with a nail polish painted then decorated scrapbook brad; the jar on the right is the knob from a pocket watch winding stem. These make perfect little decorative accents. I found a small batch of these on ebay while searching for pocketwatch hands/parts.
 
Hopefully I will be able to finish my Spring clean and get back to my minis, which I so dearly love.
Until then, keep mini-ing to keep your sanity!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

AM I CRAZY?

Does anyone know why we can't upload pictures from our pc anymore?
I had to open a Picasa web album to be able to place the peacock room pictures on my blog.....
I thought perhaps it was an issue with IE and upgraded to version 9 but that did not help.

I hate that version, too. It would be better if I could hide my favorites and then call it back up with one button like I did on version 8. I may just not know how......???

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR VERY NICE COMMENTS ON MY MINIATURES.
I DO HOPE TO BE ABLE TO POST MORE OFTEN AND PUT MORE TUTORIALS UP.
WE'LL SEE........

Saturday, January 12, 2013

PEACOCK LANTERN

HELLO OUT THERE IN BLOGGER LAND.....
LONG TIME NO POST!
I finally finished one of my lantern rooms; the black colored one with the wide black stripes on the back walls.
I made it into a peacock reading corner.  

Stem wire makes the quill; eyes are reduced pictures cut out and glued to the end of each wire. Paint the wire with white. Run a thin bead of glue along the edge of black cotton fabric, let dry and cut a strip about 1/2 inch wide. Pull threads to ravel the edge as shown. Glue the strip to the "back" of the wire and up around the edge of the "eye" and back down the other side. Let dry and then trim at a sort of jagged edge; highlight with a gold marker/pen and place in a vase.