My world has just become a little smaller.......

I lost one of my dear friends, Judith Howard, to cancer this morning. She was so special!
She lived in the United Kingdom. We have been Pen Pals for over 20 years and had each visited the other "in person". I feel such a dreadful loss. Please pray for her family. She leaves a husband and their three grown children and several grandchildren.
She will be so greatly missed!
gail

Hello, All.....
I have added some new items to my etsy shop, finally!

If you care to take a look, this is the link:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GAILofTHELITTLEHOUSE?ref=pr_shop_more

Hope to have another tutorial up before much longer.
Hope everyone is doing well!

Just a quick post to let you know about sealing the Gallery Glass.......

I used clear China Glaze Quick Dry Top Coat for nails, working quickly so as not to create blobs and streaks as it does dry very fast.

It worked okay but I still get a little tendency for the bottles to want to stick together.

If anyone comes up with a better solution, I would like to know.

Have a good week everyone!

MADE A FEW MORE......

Had a day off today so I played around a little.

On one I ran the lines around the bottle instead of up and down.

On another I dotted the bottle directly with the Gallery Glass.

I experimented with some alcohol ink in green on another striped bottle.

Alcohol ink gave it a vintage/aged look. My blue alcohol ink may be old or separated because I got a very spotty look with bits of darker "pieces" of color that look like little tiny chunks of something stuck to the inside. For some things we may want this look. Anyway, I will try again this weekend....

 

Just wanted to share with you all.....

Have a good rest-of-the-week!

 

 



I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING.........

You know those little bottles that some medications come in?

Well, I have thrown away a lot of these because I thought they are too big for 12th scale. They are a little shy of 1 1/2 inches tall. Even so, I have decided to do a little experimenting with a few of them and this is what I came up with.

I have seen 12th scale blown glass ribbed style jars/bottles and cannot afford to purchase them.

I used my pliers to carefully remove the metal rim and then trimmed the rubber stopper on the bottom to make it more lid like.

I then removed the labels and used alcohol swabs to clean the adhesive and any remaining label that wouldn't come off.

I ran lots and lots of lines of Gallery Glass clear onto some smooth plastic lids and let dry well. It does take a steady hand but if you squeeze and draw it across fairly quickly from left to right (if you are right handed) then you can get thin lines about 1/16th of an inch or so in width.

LET DRY WELL............

The next day, I peeled up a line and placed it on the bottle starting where the neck and "shoulder" of the top and ran it down the side and ended just under the bottom. Run your finger over it to make sure it is stuck well. The gallery glass does stretch when you are laying it so if your lines are a little wider in spots you can adjust it a little as you place it.  



The last picture shows my first attempt. I placed my lines too far apart and it didn't look right to me. My second and third  attempts are more of what I am looking for. Like I said these are rather large to use in 12th scale but pasta, cracker and cookie storage in the mini pantry does come to mind.

In my previous experiments with gallery glass my projects hardened over time and were not sticky. I still don't like to store items with gallery glass touching each other as it probably would stick them together.

Hope you will experiment with this idea and come up with some of your own ideas....

Have a great week!

 

(It is much more difficult to get the lines straight and an even width if you make them directly onto the bottles)

 

  

Need Takeout Containers?

Gum and medications that come packaged in the blister packs can be use for takeout and grocery store packaging.
I had some gum packaging and made them into containers for cookies, salads, whatever.....

 Cut sets of two apart as shown

Remove all the foil; I even used an emery board to help....

Make a STRAIGHT line between the two pieces with your craft knife being careful not to cut all the way through. You are trying to make a hinge.

I used my fingernail to help manipulate the fold

 This is what it should look like

Trim the edges evenly rounding the corners very carefully

 

Clean up any rough or jagged edges

And you have clear plastic containers for your store or take out foods

 

Hope everyone has a good week!

 

 

 

 

 

 



JUST CAN'T GET IT RIGHT...........

Hi, All!
Been working with a life sized pattern for ladies lingerie to try and get a workable mini pattern.
I just can’t get the proportion of the bra cups correct to make them curve out.
You may have better luck than I.
Here is the pattern I am trying to adapt:

Also, this one:

If you want really spectacular mini lingerie, check out this blog and etsy shop:
http://marliesandminis.blogspot.com/
She is also on Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200550989628808165/
Over the past year or so I have been able to acquire a modest collection of Marlies bra and panty sets.

Absolutely gorgeous! Her work is so neat and precise. I’ve never seen any others to beat it. My pictures do not do them justice.

The bra actually opens in the back with tiny hooks. She even makes a matching box for them! Just beautiful!

I don't think I will ever achieve Marlies' results but we can try, can't we?

At least now you have a pattern to practice on.....

See you again soon!

“IN A BIND” FOR TINY TRIM OR LACE?

(Using lace type seam binding for mini trims)

Okay, bad pun, I know...

I know vendors sell tiny laces and trims but sometimes you’re in the middle of a project and either don’t have any or can’t wait for an order to arrive. Many of you probably have done this and some of us haven’t even thought about it. Pictured below are a couple of examples of obtaining narrow trim or lace from Seam Binding or the edges of lace trim. Just cut the edge off very carefully. Handle gently just in case it may unravel on the cut edge. We could apply some thinned tacky glue or FrayCheck on the lace or trim before cutting. Let it dry well before trimming off.

Here is an example of the use of the edge from Lace type Seam Binding:

Use for trim on lingerie...

(I need to work on my bra pattern. This one is definitely for a flat chested gal!)

...or to simulate a zipper in a seam

And an example of a tiny edge trimmed from narrow lace:                                                                

Use to edge a tiny square of fabric for a handkerchief

The rosebuds are made by just tying a knot in embroidery thread. Twist it between your thumb and finger while making the loop to give it several “turns” and then carefully and slowly pull the knot together. The green leaves are just a tiny bow tied with a single strand of embroidery floss and dotted with glue on the center knot before cutting off the “tails”. Glue the rose bud on top of the leaves. Making your roses this way is a lot easier and less expensive than using silk ribbon. Of course you don’t get the same look but you can get a much smaller bud. And there’s no stitching and no messy underside on your project.

 

As soon as I am able to tweak my lingerie patterns and get them just right I will try and post them along with some tips I have found to help me. It may take me a while so please be patient......
Hope everyone has a good week!