Passing along the craze...

     It is with great joy I share my post with you all today! Here is our story:

     When I had my swap date with miniaturist Jane she told me of a wonderful little find at Michael's Craft stores, Creatology's 3D pop out puzzles... in dollhouse form, for only 7 bucks each!! Needless to say, I drove immediately from our meet and greet to Michaels, only to be very disappointed. These fabulous little kits had been long since discontinued and no matter how many times I searched the aisles of the store, there was not even one little kit to bring home. *sigh* 

     Well, I tend to get a touch obsessive, and so I turned to the internet with a glimmer of hope (I mean what would be a better Christmas gift for my Real Life Little (RLL) than her own dollhouse to design, build, and play with?!)  Thankfully, a nice gal on Ebay had two of the kits, and had only marked the price up by one dollar, and so I said "sold!!!" and our little kits came in the mail the following week.  RLL opened her present and hung her mouth wide open saying, "for me Mommy? I get to have my own dollhouse like yours?" *awwwwwww!*

     And so a few weekends later, we sat down to begin our project together.  I do have to tell you that this was an exercise in patience for me... I tend to be a crafter-taker-over-er who wants to have all the control of making creative decisions (it's important to know your weaknesses...) BUT, I managed to swallow my instincts, and give the creative reigns over to my very precious and super creative four-year old.  SHE DID GREAT!!! I am so stinking proud of her, and I just know you will be too!

     She picked all the paint colors, did all of the interior painting herself (mom helped with the exterior paint per her instructions), decided which felt pieces to use for her carpets, made a plan of which little room would be which, made all of the pictures herself (with no input from Mom whatsoever), selected and placed the buttons for the stone walls, decided to add some sparkle to her roof and a beautiful flower, and my absolute favorite: made a clock for her house out of a big button, paper and markers.  She did this awesome little clock completely by herself!  I had no idea what she was making, but glue-and-scissors-and-markers-all-over later, she showed me the most magnificent wall clock "to go in my son's room, Mom." 

Her super awesome clock is on the left of the window.

Original artwork for the walls.

My Real Life Little (4 yrs) and her precious first dollhouse. :)

     And so, the craze continues into another generation.  She could hardly wait as we drove to the toy store to find the perfect little animals to go inside her new little house. We have yet to make furniture, but she has been very creative in improvising for the time being.  Last time I checked in her little house, she had socks for sleeping bags and craft poms for pillows.   She also insisted that I help her make super hero capes out of felt for her little family..."'cuz they are SUPER, mom!" *lol*

    
     Nothing gives this Momma greater joy than to see her sweet kiddo's mind think "mini."  It truly is wonderful to see this fulfilling and amazing hobby be passed down to our younger generations.  I hope that this is just the beginning of her tiny collection, and that we have many more wonderful experiences like this one to share together.  :)

Blessings to you all and thank you for taking the time to let me gloat! :)

Wow! Is it really 2014?!

I first need to apologize... it feels like a whirlwind of time and space has elapsed before my eyes, I am so sorry I have been MIA for a while.  I pray that your Christmas and Holiday season were as fruitful and blessed as ours. :0)

My temporary hiatus was far from "relaxing" as it was all in part to some very chaotic events.  I had some family emergencies (all is well now), Christmas vacations back West, Holiday parties to plan, new career ventures to start, miniatures for my etsy shop to make...the list could go on. BUT NOW,  finally, some time to blog and catch up! Whew!

So, as I long ago promised, I wanted to share some of the treasures I was fortunate enough to get via a live, IN PERSON swap with miniaturist Jane.   How excited we both were to learn that we were local enough to meet in person!  So we picked a half way point and met up at a library to discuss all things tiny.  Lol, we got "shushed" by the librarian more than once...we were VERY excited to meet!!

Jane is an extremely talented miniaturist.  Her little works are pieces of art.  It was such a privilege to not only get to take home some of her tiny creations, but to ask her questions and learn about her techniques.  She truly spoiled me rotten! (and I'm not complaining!!) :0) These are just a few of my very favorites, but I have more that I will share when I begin blogging about the progress of my Warehouse Market project (more details later).

These little sweets were added to my favorite little home, and they add, yet again, a dimension of reality that just warms my heart.

Can you even stand how adorable this little mouse is?!?  That face!  She hand crafted this little guy from a mold she had made of an orginal she had painstakingly sculpted.  I cannot get over the detail and the beautiful colors that make him look so real. 

This week he has a special little place hiding in my attic by the holiday decorations.  My daughter loves to find his attic hiding spots as it has now become a game of hide and seek.  Mommy hides the mouse, my Little finds the mouse. :0)

 

And these candles!  I feel in love with these drippy candles when I was admiring Jane's tree house. If you have not seen it, you must! It is one of the most fascinating mini-artworks I have ever seen... and my goal is to see it in person this year. (hint, hint Jane, lol).  These are also handmade of polymer, with just the right amount of detail to make each unique.  Those little wicks just gets me!

As I mentioned, this was just a drop in the bucket of what Jane can do.  It was one of my favorite days ever! There is NOTHING quite as fun as chatting up the tiny with others who appreciate and love it as much (or more) than you do.

Most importantly, I now am blessed to have a new friend in life! :0) I can't wait for our next meet up, and am hoping it gets to happen soon.  Maybe this time we'll be able to chat without being shushed!! (Lol, NOT likely!!)

If you haven't, please, please do yourself a favor and check out Jane's tiny blog by following the link on her name.  But be warned, you won't want to stop looking at all she has done!!! :0) Thank you Jane!!