Happy Halloween 2015!

It is time to go to the Halloween party!  The children are going with their moms, who are also in costume, of course! 

(The red-haired witch is by Marina from etsy doll store: www.etsy.com/shop/Marinart).

Their friends have been very busy decorating the outside of Waterside Way!

And the inside of their apartment!

(The paper hanging ghosts are also complimentary projects from Ann Vanture's free newsletter subscription:  Ann-Vanture@PaperMinis.com.)

Even their dog is in costume!

(I bought the black cat pillows from Otterine's etsy shop.)

There is lots of great Halloween-themed food. 

(The little paper candy basket is made from complimentary printouts from Ann Vanture's newsletter and the subscription is free.  The black spider paper tablecloth is a complimentary printout from American Miniaturist. We made the orange cake with a spider web last Halloween from an article in American Miniaturist- see last year's Happy Halloween post.) 

There is a witch telling fortunes in one corner.  

(The background is from another complimentary project from Ann

Vanture's complimentary mini printouts in her newsletter - which hopefully I will do next year).

Some friends are bobbing for apples.

(Another gift in the Holiday themed NAME swap).

And they were hoping to get flying lessons at midnight, but their parents said they can't stay up that late. 

(Lanky witch from Adora Bella Minis; pumpkin on books is from KastleKelm from eBay.  And the table is from ebay seller:barblip. But I made the crystal ball and the little sign, as you undoubtedly guessed). 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween Costumes Required!

I wanted to make the fairy costume that was one of the projects in the recent Dolls' House Magazine, but my daughter said she didn't want her doll to have a fairy costume.  She wanted a puppy costume like hers.  And then my son wanted an astronaut costume like his. And so I have been making 2 mini costumes at night for several days now.

(Of course, I had already bought some materials to make the fairy costume, so maybe next year. . .)

***

The children have been invited to a Halloween party tomorrow night - "Costumes Required!"  - so they are very excited to have these costumes.  

(The sign is from the October American Miniaturist magazine and I received the pumpkin on the door as part of a NAME swap (one of my favorite swaps - the theme was holidays).  

1/144 Brick Wall Roombox

I am working on a miniature dollhouse crafting room (among all my many other projects), so I started searching eBay for 1/144 furniture and dollhouses to add to the room.  I came across a 1/144 roombox that I loved, but  I am trying to stick to my budget and the interior decoration was not quite my style. (Still, I keep going back to its image on eBay and admiring it).

 So I tried to create my own.  I realized that what I liked was the exposed brick interior wall and the windows.

 I have to say it is kind of fun to work in 1/144 scale because I can just use my exacto knife and clay to create furniture!  Hopefully one day, I will have the same comfort with power tools.  And a little bit of green from railroad scenery in a wood box and you've got a plant.

Here is a table made from a part of a wooden coffee stirrer with legs from staples (using staples as legs was an idea from the NAME monthly projects coordinator).  I had to trim the staples.   And there's a little white chair made out of clay propped up against the pink eraser.

 And here is the roombox (although still a work in progress).  I made the windows by cutting out holes in the coffee stirrers.

The interior brick paper and flooring was from the About.com Miniature posts of Lesley Shepherd and the outer brick wallpaper was railroad N scale.

And at least with 1/144, it doesn't take up a lot of room! (These are probably famous last words for many a miniaturist).

Portent Potions

Welcome to our "Portent Potions" class. 

Always a good thing to know before Halloween begins. 

The bookcase, round table and light are from my childhood dollhouse.  My childhood dollhouse had a library with a "secret" door and staircase.  My mom made all those books individually.  Most everything else was purchased on eBay or Etsy (although I made the book he is reading, the "Witch Spell Notes" notebook and the little silver test tub of red bubbles.)  I even bought the roombox on eBay from seller: innovativedh12570.  I was very happy to get the wizard and the dragon.  I had been looking for awhile and I was sure I was going to be outbid.  And I am afraid that after my cat died, I bought a lot of dollhouse animals. In fact, my eBay feed is now filled with 1/12 animals.  

The purple glitter house is from Karen Aird.  The little grey Halloween house is a True2Scale kit that I made.  It was easy and lots of fun. 

Here is the True2Scale Halloween House kit lit up with a blue LED light inside -- still in mid-progress during this photo as I have not yet added the wire trees etc. 

The funny thing is that I saw Pottery Barn selling these kinds of house (in the RL size version) as Halloween decoration for your RL apartment.  But now that I have made it in mini version, I think it would be pretty easy to make in the bigger version for my apartment decoration.  But for now, I will stay with the mini version :)

Sometimes you just need a massage

Dolls are by Paola Ragonesi

I am glad it's the weekend!  Hope you all have a great weekend!