"Paperwork"

Anne is a very kind mini-friend of mine, and she helped me by printing some things for me since my printer gone crazy... Among other things she printed a new carpet-pattern for me, so now I can sew at other places than beside my computer =) 

I can see the missing row Brae talks about now I have the chart in my hand, I don't know if I will fix it or not, if I add the extra rows, I will have to keep it in mind every time I look at the chart in the middle, and if I forget I will get the whole thing wrong.. we will see, I've already started and didn't know where the missing row were, so I'll have to change some things if I add that row...

I also got this cute puzzle (found it on this lovely blog): http://wilminidesign.blogspot.nl/2012/12/blokkenpuzzel.html I had puzzles like that when I was a kid, so I was so glad to get one in miniature! It takes more time than I expected to put this puzzle together, so I only did 3 pieces today when my kid was asleep =) The poor thing is missing out of all the fun while she is sleeping ;) But like I've said before, she is just to young for minis right now. 

I painted a layer of nail polish over the pictures to fixate the ink. I don't have any spray, I guess that would be perfect for this, but the nail polish worked, I didn't smudge the pictures =)

 I never use the tweezers but I tried today, and I think it will be useful to my 1:144 scale work =)

This is how far I got today, I will carry on tomorrow =)

Yesterday at my daughters nap I made a bed for my mini-house. I lost the fun of that project, I got bored like always, but I might get the spirit back in a while or a year or so ;) I liked making the house, not so much the furniture.. and I just realized my wallpaper wont show at lots of places when the furniture is in place, what a waste of time and work... but if I don't glue the furniture to the walls I might shift them around and get a look at all the wallpapers so it wasn't a total waste.. ;)

 I'm thinking of adding some details to the bed, and a quilt of course. =)

Hannah

Finished the carpet

Yes, I'm done! I almost can't believe it myself =) I'm no good at finishing projects, but this time I really wanted to get done, and I forbid myself to start a new carpet before I was done with this one =) (I wanted to start a new one I saw at Otterines blog, but I didn't fell for temptations this time =) )

I was done with the stitching some time ago, and realized I didn't know how to finish, should I fold the ends, or what do one do after the stitching is done?!
I felt a bit stupid but I had one idea how to finish, and it looked like this: http://www.janetgranger.co.uk/tut_hemming.htm So it was nice to see I wasn't totally clueless =) Now I'm completely done, with the hem and all. I most say I'm proud of myself to have had the patient to make this.
It took me 6 month + one week or so. First I spent an hour or two stitching everyday, then I just spent a couple of minutes a day (like 5-15 minutes). But all these months I have made at least a couple stitches a day. This carpet brings me lots of memories, I started after my daughters just turned one year old and when we went to visit my mother-in-law, and then I stitched every day while putting my daughter to sleep at the afternoon. I will always think of my baby-girl when I see this carpet =) She is so big now, but still my little baby ;) Sometimes I sell stuff I've made, but I've worked so hard on this and like I said it's full of memories, so I don't think I will ever sell it, (maybe if I get like one million kronor or so.. ;) ) I hope my daughter wants it after me, and her children and there children.. ;) Well enough with the emotional!
I hope to start the new carpet soon! I just have to figure out how to get it in the right size. This carpet has 83 stitches on the short side, but the new one had like 146 or something.. I don't want the new carpet to be twice as big.. How do I solve this?
Do I have to look for another fabric, is there fabrics that has smaller squares than this?! I just want to get started! And maybe I will have to learn half stitches or something and not do the cross-stitch as in this first carpet, it takes so mush time, but maybe half-stitches or what ever they are called takes as much time?!

I got a small package in the mail today =) (I just love mail) It was this cute guinea pig from
Anna, I couldn't resist buying it =) It looks a bit like my guinea pig Emelie. I will try to make a friend for her, because I had two of them when I was younger. Emelie a short-haired, and Lina a more long-haired guinea pig. (I didn't unwrap the hay, she will have to wait for a cage until she gets her hay again...)

And by the way I think I finally got the hang of strawberry canes! hurray!! I tried a couple of times before and it looked really bad.. but today I think I got it, I will have to wait to see after I've baked it, but it looks good now =)

Take care
Hannah

Small houses, and a big one

I did made a lot of these small houses back in 2004 and earlier too I think. I sold some, gave away some and kept quite a lot ;)

This is a house that's in the middle of a great renovation ;) I thought of making a little doll that was working on the wallpaper, but I never got started on that..

And another one =) I made some furniture of a clay based on salt and painted them. I'm not that found of them.. tried to make them look like Lundby furniture, but I didn't do so well... (and not that many either)

And a third house =) Don't know how I thought I could do the wallpaper or painting after I assemble the house... Well, we will see if this ever get finished ;)

And, after all these small houses I brought home my "big" house, in 1:12 scale =) I bought this 2004-2005 I think. But I had such a hard time decide what to do with it, so I just stopped and left it undone. But now I felt like trying to make something out of it.

I'm thinking of  giving the façade a makeover, but I don't know how, yet... wood? or bricks? or plastering?

I started renovated the upper floor to be a nursery and a children's room. 

I think I will save the pink wallpaper in the nursery  =) and I might do a children's room at the right. I Don't known if I will save the blue wallpaper or not. I LOVE baby dolls, I might just fill the whole house with babies ;) And I love animals too.. The house most have at least 2 dogs and some cats and maybe the guinea pig I bought from Anna and maybe some birds =) 

 

At the middle floor I'm thinking of a bedroom and a bathroom.

Downstairs I think I will have a living room/ dining room. I started painting the floor, but didn't like it, so I stopped ;) I think I will make a wooden floor from the sticks from popsicles or other wooden sticks I have bought on Biltema (a great swedish store) =) and to the right I want a kitchen, maybe with tiles and a light green wallpaper (I love lime green)

This will be so much fun doing this house, but a lot of work too, and I don't have any deadline, so we never know if I ever get finished ;) It took me 8-9 years to get an idea how I want it, and it might take as many years to complete it, and if it takes too long I might change my mind about things and having to do it all over again... ;)

Hannah

Dalamöbler

I thought I had shown this before, but apparently I forgot...
Sara got some furnitures for the dollhouse and I pointed out that I really like this cabinet, and just because she is so nice, she sent it to me!! And the clock too. I've thought of collecting these furniture with the "Dalahorse" (From Lundby) for several years now, but I never get started, but now I'm on the go ;) I know there are a blue table and some chairs too, and a chest. I will keep my eyes open for them, I think they will fit right in my "Tomtehus" (Santa's house) Since I have family in Dalarna ( a place where they make this red decorated wooden horses) I especially like this =)
In this catalog you can see parts of this serie. http://peppesdollhousepage.com/PDF/lundby%201972.pdf The serie is cold Leksand, a city where I have family =) But that cabinet doesn't have a door, but in 74's catalogue the name is Scandia and this one looks like my cabinet: http://peppesdollhousepage.com/PDF/lundby%201974a.pdf

On the package there were this cute knife on a plate, the fork unfortunately fell of during the trip. Sara bought them at the Swedish store, Gallerix, but I couldn't find any more of them while I visited. Too bad, they are so cute =)

Thank you so much Sara! You are really too kind!

And when I'm talking about my "tomtehus" I found this fireplace I made several years ago. Like everything els I mad at that time, its not finished. I still don't know really what to do with it, but I might decorate it a bit and off course paint the whole thing. I've made it from a plastic kind of styrofoam, used to protect something in a package =) I thought it looked just like a fireplace so I made one, without knowing where to put it =) And I got one more piece so I could make another one if "I have to" ;)

Work in progress...

This is so cute! http://everylittlethingblog.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/1144-scale-garfield/#comment-1428
I want that house, but haven't found it in sweden, and I bet its very expensive too...
My own 1:144 scale house is moving along =) I've made a roof and a roof window today. I have to fix the bricks on the roof window later. Was a bit to egeer and glued the window on to the roof before I was done.. But I haven't glued on the roof yet =) Will paint it first. I think it will be black.

The new roof, made of corrugated cardboard and the roof window of egg carton like the rest of the house.

I added some fake wood to the door a couple of days ago.

 

Maybe I should make some furniture before I attach the roof, we will see if I remember to do that ;)

You can look out to the sky from the bedroom with the new roof window ;) (All windows has "glass" from a plastic wrapper.)

I don't know why, but I just thought it would be nice to ad some round pieces of wood at the edges, I will ad some at the sides of the house too, but here you can see the addition to the window =) I think I will paint them, with or the same colour as the house? I don't know yet.
I'm so exited to keep working on this, that's nice, I usually get bored of things long before I'm done =) Hope the good feeling will last long enough to finish this project ;) When I get the time I will ad a porch with a fence and some more paint.

Hannah

Staircase and an intressting package =)

Guess what? I won a new clay from Polyform products =) I like there page on Facebook and they had a lot of lottery where the 3 first comments won a piece of clay. I got lucky enough to win this golden one:

There were a postman (woman) ringing my doorbell and I had to sign for the package just like in American movies ;) I thought it was very exiting, I cant remember I've ever sign for a package at the door like that =) (Its great to be happy by little, because then you have lots to be happy about ;) ) I don't think I have anything from the USA before, like I said before, I never buy things from abroad. The package went to customs and I got lots of papers, which makes me think it is as hard to buy from out of EU as I thought.... But this time I didn't buy anything so I didn't have to pay any customs, (but I have no idea how that works) but I got lots of paper anyway...

Enough about customs =) The clay looks very nice. I  might do some vases or a door knob or?? we will see =)  unfortunately I could not try it today, because I have the worse pain in my shoulder, have no idea why, but it hurts real bad when I move or do things with the arm. Maybe I should give it a rest, but I'm sitting here typing anyway.. typing doesn't hurt that much... and I did a staircase to my 1:144 scale house today, then the shoulder hurt too much so I got to stop...

Feels like I always say that I'm not really happy with my results.. and I cant say I'm happy with this staircase either... I made it of a toothpick and some cardboard. The cardboard broke, I was too brutal when I stuck the toothpick trough it... And its not straight.. and...
But I don't think I will be able to make it better, so it will have to do, like everything else! My patient isn't that great when it comes to things like this, I want everything to be done quickly, rather yesterday than tomorrow ;) I get a picture in my head what I want to make, but then I cant, and then I get frustrated and take short cuts to be done faster but then I'm not totally satisfied with my work.. I just have to remind myself I'm doing this for FUN, nothing else!
Soon I hope to glue down the walls and make a roof. I will make a window at the roof too and a porch. But I don't think I will get the time for it this week, maybe next =)

I just want to remind you to vote on a house here: http://www.littlevictorian.com/2013/05/undersized-urbanite-2013-voting-is-open.html There are many lovely houses, so I had a hard time picking 3 for my votes, but I'm done, and I don't want to tell you who got my votes coz I like them all ;)

A little of this and a little of that ;)

I went on a small exhibition on a library. If your in Sweden, go see it ;) AnneLo has just started a blog, so you can see a slideshow of some lovely room-boxes, made in exiting "boxes" like a coffee pot, lanterns and old wooden boxes. I was stunned, it was sooooo beautiful.

Like I said I had a birthday last week and I got some nice things =) (you already saw the book) I got boxes (to store all my small things) from my husband. And a cabinet with small boxes from my father, perfect to store my clay, and I got some new clay too =) And even more boxes from my mum. Guess what I had wished for ;) Its perfect with boxes like this to store the small things I've done, and to store different materials like clay, wooden pieces and fabrics =)

The boxes from my husband

The one from my father, Ewa and my babybrother =)

I've already filled this one with clay =)

And the one from my mother =)

And finally the one I already got, I got this from my mother years ago, and I filled it with lots of small stuff =)

And I think making minis helps me with my sorrow, first I was to sad after losing my dog, but now I feel like making things again. The creative dry up didn't last long =) I just can't stop making things. I do work on my carpet awhile every day. Its soothing to embroider and my daughter likes when I sit beside her bed and embroider when she have to take her nap. So its a perfect way to be creative and make something, and still be calm and it doesn't take much time to prepare, just fetch the embroider and start stitching =)
So I did some stitches today, and sooooon the carpet will be done (that means, time to start the next one ;) )

Today at my usual "alone-time" I worked on my little house.
I have done all the wallpapers, and today I fixed the floors. I have to say I did a sloppy job with the floors, but the house is so tiny and I didn't have enough patient to make the floors great. I did a sloppy, fast job, and still it took me some hours to get done, and start assembling the house.

First floor =) The kitchen (at the right) and the hallway/living room (at the left) The kitchen got a piece of a colour chart as the floor which I cut like tiles (This is not straight at all!! and the tiles are in different sizes and.. NOT a great work, but it will have to do)
The living room got veneer flooring. (I cut thin stripes with a pair of regular scissors, I thought it would be to hard to cut shorter stripes and simulate wooden planks, so this long ones will have to do, yes, you hear how I have to compromise with the floors, but in the end I hope I will be happy with the result anyway =) )

I Wonder if I should remake the front.. I tried to cut some smaller bricks over the windows, but I don't like the outcome.. But I might be to lazy to start over again...

Anyhow I will paint the bricks a bit more, in different shades.

The side

And the second floor (the middle walls didn't feel like standing for the photo, I hope they will tomorrow ;) )
A hallway, bedroom and a bathroom. The hallway have regular white paper as the floor, cut to simulate planks. The bedroom got fake wood that we striped of the old TV before it went to the dump. And the bathroom floor is made the same way as the kitchen floor.

And my winning painting came in the mail today. How lovely is this?! I absolutely love it! Liduina is so talented!! Please check out her blog, if you haven't already =)
I will have to make a brilliant frame to this, so it suits the painting! Have to think about it a couple of days.. and were to hang it, right now I haven't given it to my dollhouses yet, I have it for myself over my workplace =)

And last but not least ;) Welcome to my newest followers!
Steinworks
Minna Hatara
Mª Jesus (cant find your blog, make a comment with the address and I will link it here) =)
Wyrna

A new book

I got a new book for my birthday yesterday. Nukkekoti Väinölän Tapaan by Maria Malmström. Its in Finish, so its impossible to read ;) But the pictures are so beautiful and I think I will understand most of it just by looking at the pictures. There are some great tutorials and like I said, wonderful pictures!
So I recommend this book to all who loves miniatures. You can buy it at http://www.adlibris.com
Or just look at her blog: http://maria-malmstrom.blogspot.fi/ or her facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/NukkekotiVainola

Jag fick en ny bok i födelsedagspresent igår, Nukkekoti Väinölän Tapaan av Maria Malmström. Den är på finska, så den är ju omöjlig att förstå ;) Men det är så vackra bilder och jag tror att jag ska fatta bara av att se på bilderna. Den har många bra steg-för-steg beskrivningar och som sagt massa fina bilder!
Så denna bok kan jag rekommendera. Den finns att köpa här: http://www.adlibris.com
Eller så kollar ni bara in hennes blogg: http://maria-malmstrom.blogspot.fi/ eller facebook-sida: http://www.facebook.com/NukkekotiVainola

I've had a sad day since my 8,5 year old dog died today, so I haven't done any minis today and I dont know when my creativity will be flowing again.. we will see.. Maybe its a great way to forget my sorrows for awhile, but today I'm just having a sad day and hopefully I will be able to be happy soon again, even if it doesn't feels like it right now...
I did this miniature of my dog last year: He was so much cuter than this miniature, and loving and caring, but very shy. You can see the original post her: http://hannahsminiatyrer.blogspot.se/2012/10/miniossian.html

Idag var en sorglig dag då min 8,5åriga hund har dött. Så det blev inget pyssel idag och jag vet inte när jag får tillbaka min skaparlust. Vi får se. Men det kanske är ett bra sätt att tänka på annat, men idag ville jag bara vara ledsen. Förhoppningsvis blir jag glad snart igen. (Klart jag blir, men just nu känns det så hopplöst)
Jag gjorde ju en miniatyr av honom förra året. Men den gör honom såklart inte rättvisa. Här kan ni se mitt förra inlägg om detta: http://hannahsminiatyrer.blogspot.se/2012/10/miniossian.html

Can you spot the mini dog? =) He is sitting on the sleeping Ossian's neck, over the text.
Kan ni se mini-hunden? Han sitter på nacken på en sovande Ossian, över texten på bilden. =)

1:144 house

I never buy things from other countries because I think its hard and scary. But I would love a dollhouse kit, but I dont have the room, so I thought a house in 1:144 scale would suit me. I found 2 very nice houses in Sweden at Crazy4minis, but they are so expensive =(  Then I saw this house: http://www.realgoodtoys.com/products/1-2-inch-scale-classic-bungalow-dollhouse-kit (not 1:144, but 1:24..) and that one didn't look to hard to do myself (in 1:144 scale). So I made a drawing and starting cut out the pieces of cardboard. Very much fun, but hard work because I hate to count. It's not true to scale, I just do like I want, a bit of visual estimate, like everything I do ;)
I have done doll-houses for doll-houses before, but they were a bit more simple.

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Jag tycker det är svårt och läskigt att handla från utlandet, så det gör jag aldrig. Men jag ville så gärna ha en byggsats till ett hus och eftersom jag har lite dåligt med plats tänkte jag satsa på ett hus i skala 1:144. Jag hittade två jättefina hus i Sverige hos crazy4minis, men de är dyra!! Sen såg jag detta hus (i och för sig i skala 1:24, men ändå): http://www.realgoodtoys.com/products/1-2-inch-scale-classic-bungalow-dollhouse-kit

 och det såg inte för svårt ut att göra själv. Så jag började rita en ritning. Och klippte ut i kartong. Kul, men svårt då jag hatar att räkna. Detta blir inte helt skalenligt, utan på ögonmått, som allt jag gör =)

Jag har ju gjort dockskåp till dockskåpet förut, men de var av lite enklare modell.

I decided to do the wallpaper before I assembled the house =) Its a bit hard to get it nice when its so tiny =)

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Jag bestämde mig för att tapetsera innan jag satt ihop huset, det är ju ganska pilligt att få ihop ett sånt här litet hus snyggt.. =)

I used a thin cardboard that showed new fabrics from Ikea, they have great patterns and a perfect size to this house =) I cut out the door and made a spline of regular white paper around the door.

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Jag tog tunna kartongbitar från Ikea där de visar upp sina nya tygmönster, fanns massa olika fina mönster och de hade perfekt storlek till detta hus. Jag skar ut ett valv och gjorde en list av vanligt vitt papper.

It takes a lot more time to do this than I thought =) And every time I think I'm ready to assemble the house, I come up with some thing new I should do before that... Im going to paint egg carton for the facade and right now I'm thinking of how to make the stairs.

To be continued =)

Det tar mycket längre tid att göra ett sånt här hus än jag först trodde. =) Och varje gång jag tror att jag är redo att sätta ihop huset, så kommer jag på något mer jag ska göra innan.. Jag ska måla äggkartong till fasaden och just nu funderar jag på hur jag ska göra trapporna.

Fortsättning följer =)