Swap

Hi again! =)
Now I've finally got my swap packages =) I shipped my swap-packages a while ago and got 3 myself too. The last one from Norway had to wait all week in the post office, I finally got it yesterday.

We had a sad week here. Mums dog has been ill for awhile, he had a heart disease and got pills for it. But lately he had gotten worse and this Wednesday I followed mum and her dog to the vet, there was nothing they could do. And we ended up going home without him =(
This is the worse part of having a pet! We got him as a tiny puppy, he was acctually a birthday gift for me, at my 17th birthday. He was the most energetic dog I ever meet =) He chose my mum and loved her the most, so I got another dog, he passed away 2 years ago, and of course I was reminded of that at this hard time, but it felt good to know what was going to happen and that I could be with them both at their last breath.
He will be missed..
But now to much funnier things, the swap!

This is what I sent:


To Kirsi
A mini book, glow-in-the-dark stars (for the roof), pop corn, pop-up toy, pull-toy-sheep, a lollipop, a train jigsaw puzzle, and a piece of cork (to make pinboards, shoes, you name it)



To Magdalena
(Not the best picture..)
A block-puzzle, pop corn, pull-toy-sheep, glow-in-the-dark stars (for the roof), a lollipop, a train jigsaw puzzle, 4 Art Deco plates and a piece of cork (not in the picture..)



To Anna
A poster, glow-in-the-dark stars (for the roof), pop corn, pop-up toy, pull-toy-sheep, a lollipop, a train jigsaw puzzle, and a piece of cork.

And the packages I got:

From Sara

A few posters, 2 waffles (My daughter really liked these..), 4 red roses, a clock (very cool 3-d effect) and a clay colour tool.

From Anna:

Plants, legs for a table (I have a few parts to chose from to use on this), a poster, Nintendo, spade, packages of seeds, Barba-family, toy bird and "gardening pants".

From Liv

A carpet, kitchen towel (I have been wanting one of these for a while now, so that was extra fun to get), stickers, clock, glass jar with candy, cake stand, cake, pot, cookies, plate, cookie jar, bowl of ice cream, bowl, calender, sign, lemon slices, tea cups with plate and spoon.

It was once again a fun swap =) Exciting waiting for packages and to open them =)

A quick update on how I made my things:
I have made a few of these things before, like the pull toy sheep (old news by now, but still as fun to make!) pop up toy, plates and I did show you the pop corn.
The lollipops are from this tutorial: http://mimundodeminiatura.blogspot.se/2015/03/piruletas-de-colores.html
The block-puzzle: http://wilminidesign.blogspot.nl/2012/12/blokkenpuzzel.html
The glow-in-the-dark stars, are miniatures from my own stars, I thought these were so much fun when I was a kid, and wanted some in my dollhouse too =) Made them out of glow-in-the-dark polymer clay, and then I printed a label, to make them a liitle cooler ;)
And the jigsaw puzzle was fun to make, I printed them here: http://wilminidesign.blogspot.nl/search?q=simplex+puzzel and glued them in different layers, all in paper and cardboard, and cut them out careful and glued "balls of clay" on them. You can actually "play" with the puzzle, my daughter is very found of them, she takes all pieces out, and try to put them back, but its a bit hard since they are sooo small =) Great practice in fine motorics ;)

And a fun thing about swaps, it always makes me very creative and I make a lot of stuff for myself too, not only for the swap. This time I got stuck in clay and have been working on clay every day for a long while now =) I could sit forever, but sometimes I have to eat.. and play with my daughter, so the time I actually spend with clay is not that long.. =)
There have been a lot of cakes for her dollhouse, she just realized she can ask me to do stuff for her, and week as I am, I always end up doing as she said ;) So lots of cake for her dollhouse, and plates and bowls.
And now they have a party:

I think a party will make a good ending to this post, so take care and if you like us finally have summer heat, enjoy, it might be over before you know it =) (They say we will get much colder weather next week, again.. but I enjoyed the sun and heat while it lasted!)

Hannah

More rabbits

I have made a lot of random clay things lately. Pop corn, candy, animals to put fur on, things for my Fantasy roombox. I hope to show everything some day =)
Most people on our swap got a bit delayed, so I'm still waiting for my packages, exciting =) I sent my stuff a bit early instead.. I was happy to get it done, then I didn't have to worry about what to send and when. And that was good, because I got a cold (again!) and had terrible pain in my throat. But I feel much better now. And got well enough to celebrate midsummer at my grandmas yesterday. =)
I will show my swap things as soon as I get my packages, so you have to wait a bit more to see what I made =)

But until then I thought I could show a new rabbit. I get stuck in things, when I make a rabbit, I can't just make one, I have to make them until I get sick of them... And I can never finish a project, I just keep doing random stuff, and the same thing over and over, sorry for that..
I so admire people that has a clear vision, a new project, and then they finish it, work on that thing for weeks, even month or years, and just do what needs to be done. I just start thousands of things and never finish anything..
Anyway I wanted to try to make a rabbit that had two colours. I decided to use white wool and colour it with a black pencil. Next time I'll try to mix two different colours of wool (I just need to wait for a package of new wool first..)

I thought this may be my the mother of my baby bunnies =) 

And she seem friendly with the dog of the house, but I would advice her not to touch that bone of his...

I made this very short and simple video with my furry mini friends =) I bought a stand for my phone and wanted to try stop motion, and it was a lot of fun =)
Remember it's just a quick first attempt, afterwards I saw the giant lamp-foot that shouldn't have been there.. and a few other mistakes..

And I decided to show this Persian cat after all, it's my first clay/wool Persian cat, it was hard to make, and I'm not that pleased with it, the face and the tail is a bit odd. But I hope the next one will be better =) It's a bit of a lottery doing these I think, you don't know if you made a good clay base until you have put fur on it, and then it's too late to fix any mistakes.

Maybe I should try add some whiskers to it. Feels like something is missing..

Next time I hope to show the swap things =)
Take care

Hannah

Baby bunnies

Baby rabbits, how cute are they?! I almost want to buy myself a rabbit again.. But, I don't have space for a big cage and doesn't have the time to take care of a new animal right now. But later, in a few years, I want rabbits again! I got my first rabbit when I was 6 years old, he was amazing, almost like a dog. Came when I called, walked freely in our apartment and walked outside in a leash.

Anyhow, I thing rabbits are great to practice on, in miniature. (I made one before you know: http://hannahsminiatyrer.blogspot.se/2015/01/funny-bunny.html) I need to start sculpting better, but the fun part for me is putting on the fur... =)

I made a few different white rabbits to practice on. Still, dabbling with the sculpting....

Two babies are done by now.

They could need a cage, (Feels a bit hard for me to make, but I have to try some day..) but now they run freely in the Pettersson family house, and couch.. (I hope they are housebroken, don't want any stains on that new couch..)

Little Lovisa was so happy to get two baby bunnies =)

I have been working on a few secret projects now too, since I couldn't help myself and entered a swap =) I will send 3 packages soon, I'll show pictures of what I made and sent later. =)
Swaps are so much fun, but I get a bit stressed out; what to send? how much? and are my things good enough? Well I decided to enter nonetheless.

I have told myself to only work on my own projects now, and don't even think of selling and make to others, but that was too hard, so a swap was just what I needed right now =)

Take care

Hannah

Miniature Pop corn tutorial

Last night Sweden won the Eurovision song contest! =) My family was ready with some pop corn for the big final. (We fell asleep before the end, but saw the rest today) And I had planned ahead and decided to make miniature pop corn too, I never thought of how time consuming it would be to make lots of them =) I made each by hand, maybe unnecessary, but this is how I made them:

 I made a few small "balls" out of white clay.

 Mixed two different shades of brown clay, and used soft pastel.

 Made a mark with the back of a needle, added some clay or soft pastel, or both =)

 Attached it to a bigger white "ball"

 Made another white and brow "lump"

 Add as much clay as you want, then you are done, and on to the next one =)

You can also, instead of using only round parts, use uneven parts to add at the side. I pulled out some uneven pieces with the back of a needle.

And attached that to the white "ball", with some brown in the middle.

After a loooooong while, this was what I had accomplish =)

I found a printie for a popcorn box, similar to the one I have here at home =)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/530158187358578613/

And filled the bottom with styrofoam, this way you don't have to make millions of tiny pop corns ;) I painted my styrofoam with some soft pastel to make it match the rest of the pop corns.

Pop corn for everyone! Even the dolls!

The Pettersson family was gathered in front of the TV, just like us last night.
(You could almost believe I took a picture of my own family here; me, the bump, cute daughter, husband and the box with pop corn.)

Take care

Hannah

Re-Ment gifts

My brother came with birthday gifts for me =) He was in Germany on my birthday, so he came to visit last weekend instead, bringing gifts (from Japan, and some chocolate from Germany)  =)

This needle felting kit is very cute =)

Two Re-Ment sets.

I guess it was a surprise for everyone which set of the 8 different sets shown on the box, that actually was inside the box. At least I could not figure out what was inside =) My Japanese is.. well I cant even read a word, so I don't know if it is written somewhere on the box or not =)

My Melody set

 I got number 1. (number 1 or 5 was my favourite, so I was lucky to get one of them =) )

This was inside the box too, I guess it's candy?! 

I don't know if I dare to eat it.. But it should be safe, right?! Not a bag of some drying powder or something like that, that you should NOT eat.. =)

The cup is very cute! And I love the teabag =)

Rilakkuma set

Here number 8 was my favourite set, and guess what? I got number 8 =)

The sign is very cute!

My daughter really liked these too, and I let her play with them a few days, she is very careful and it's fun when we can enjoy minis together =)

And then I got mail from I love little things =) I won these beautiful cutlery, Thank you very much!!

Take care

Hannah

Growing

I haven't only been growing vegetables this year. =) My belly is growing too, or, first I lost 3kg, but still I look a bit swollen around the waist.. I have been so tired and feeling very sick, ever since January. I use to be able to stay up all night, I'm at my best on the evenings, but now, I have to go to sleep quick.. I'd fall a sleep standing if I don't go to bed.
Some days I feel really sick, especially since I have lost weight and throw up almost every day for several months.. But they always tell me pregnancy is not an illness =) I did throw up and lose weight last pregnancy too, in the beginning. The feeling sick, seem to stay with me longer than usual this time too.. And morning sickness?! more like all day sickness...
I still feel sick at evenings and throw up every now and then, but since two weeks now I actually gain weight again, soon I'll be at normal weight again =)
Feels unbelievable to be waiting for another baby. My little girl, who is already 3 years old is looking forward on being a big sister. She loves talking to the baby and look at my belly.
I thought I could sit and read blogs and do a lot of miniatures before the baby arrives, but I'm just so tired all the time.. too tired to read.. So now you know why I'm so far behind on my blog reading this year.. But I'm hoping I'll have a bit more energy now that the sun comes out more often, and being in the second trimester now.

The baby is expected in October, so I wont be able to attend Stockholm miniature show 11/11 this year. But I'm looking forward on another year, hopefully I will be able to make a few new minis before the baby arrives, we'll have to see what my back and shoulders will allow.. I'm already suffering from back pains, I don't want to think of how I will feel later when I get bigger.. =)

In Sweden we get one ultrasound, in week 18-19. (Mine was yesterday) And I wanted to wait for that before I said anything here on the blog. If everything keep looking good I wont do any more ultrasounds, so next time I'll see my baby is on the delivery. We are all very excited.

Talking about growing, I was jumping of joy yesterday morning when I found 6 small green cherry tomatoes =) I just love vegetables, it's so exciting watching them grow! Like a baby =)

Skandinavisk design i dockskåpet -Yvette Wadsted, Ulf Beckman, Michel Hjorth (foto) Arvinius Förlag ISBN: 9789185689477

I have also been "growing", I got one year older again, and got this lovely book from my mum. LOTS of pictures of Lundby, Brio and Micki dollhouses. Great book. There is an English version of this book too, for all that doesn't read Swedish =)
Here you can have a sneak peak inside the book: http://www.smakprov.se/smakprov/visa/9789185689477/partner/smakprov
At page 226 you can see my Brio Alphyddan house =)

And then this magazine came in the mail! Great magazine! They had a prize guide too, quite exciting to look at, 3 of my houses were valued higher than I thought, nice to know =)

Soon I hope to show you some clay work, I have been eager to work with clay again, but I can't sit still to long without getting back pains, so I do a little now and then, and then I have to get up moving =) If you have a great tip on what miniatures I could do walking around, let me know ;)

Take care
Hannah

Gifts from Ireland

I was lucky enough to win Maria's giveaway =) And last week I got my package:

I thought the knitted dresses looked cute on picture, but they are even better in real life! My daughter took up the green dress, just looking and said (but in swedish): It is totally perfect! And then the same thing with the slippers. She was really impressed by those, and so am I! =)

My doll likes them too =)

Thank you Maria for your wonderful gifts!!

I've had a lot on my mind lately, my mum had surgery again, and had to go to the emergency 2 times after, she didn't heal up well, same thing as last surgery in November. Hope this time will be the last. We have to wait and see.
And I'm not feeling very well myself, but it's nothing bad, but I'll talk more about that later.
A fun thing I done was visiting my brother in Uppsala. Me and my daughter had a wonderful day with my brother. Looked at the big church and walked the streets and finally got to see where my brother lives. =) We had a great day, I only saw a few miniatures in an expensive store, but I manage to buy two small things =) (But the goal with this trip was not to find miniatures, but they make a great memory of this great day)

And finally we got to taste the first bell pepper from our plant. It was delicious =) My little girl has been waiting, and waiting, and she thought this was very exciting. (Me too) =) Hope we get more "home made" vegetables this year =)

Take care

Hannah

I made a couch

Over a year ago I started thinking about making a couch. But what type? And which colour? It took me a year to figure out what I wanted, and then I finally got started before Easter. I did a drawing and I decided to make it out of thick cardboard, fabric and sponges (foam rubber). It took me some more time than I had planned, and now after I wish I had done some things differently, but I feel very happy to finally be done with this!

These are the parts I used + cushions made from the sponges. 

I've already put fabric on the sides on this picture, the sides are also made of cardboard, I used double cardboard for that.

Konrad tried the couch while I was working on the cushions. He is a bit cranky, he has been asking for clothes for years.. So I started making him some bib-and-brace overalls, not what he was asking for.. But I could need a hand with the building, so fancy clothes has to wait for later =)

 The pregnant Lisbeth is very pleased to have a couch to relax in.

I even tried out the couch in the house, but the house is such a mess, still.. I have to fix the window, and I wanted to polish the floor, and I have to take out all the things just lying around.. Much to do, but this house is my "forever-project" so I have no rush =)

Hope you all had a great Easter! I did, only bad thing was that it ended too fast... =)
Take care

Hannah