It's a Tiny Tiny World

Dollhouse Done

2012-12-20T10:21:00.001-08:00

As much as its gonna be because I delivered it this morning. Good news is she loves it! Bad news is Jose dropped it and broke the fence. But it can be repaired.

Anna from "Little Things- Mikro..." I'm so sorry I couldn't link your site because I'm updating on my phone since my computer is broken and my Internet is down and my work IT has now blocked all blogging sites! Anyways, Anna, a very generous and kind person has made some goodies for the house but they have not gotten here yet. When they do I will post pictures and give them to my coworker to add to the girls' house! So thank you Anna!

Typing on my phone is tedious so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Scramblings

2012-12-17T15:06:00.001-08:00

Deadlines. Not my friend. Working u til the very end! I WILL give this to my coworker, finished as can be by THURSDAY at the latest. Hold me accountable. Sorry Roo, but your Munny has been pushed to the side. Ahhh!!!!

Traveling Case: A Work Progress at Work

2012-08-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

I've been manufacturing this little travel case entirely at work... inside my cubicle. Hee hee

Closed

All open! The drawer is lined with gold paper. Fancy shmancy.

I added a bar, so the stuff wouldn't fall out.

It's pretty teeny. Only 1 3/4 inches tall.

New Projects

2012-08-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

I have hopped back on the mini wagon with a ferociousness.

I am currently in the process of making a steamer trunk and an apothecary traveling case.

These pictures are in different stages of the process.

And this is the very beginning of my apothecary traveling case.

It'll end up getting structured something like this. Except I plan to tweak the inside compartments.

Month Sans Roo

2012-08-09T09:28:00.003-07:00

I've been seriously absent from my tiny world. My son Roo went for a month to my parents house in Massachusetts to go to camp and frolic with his overindulgent Nana and Poppy while I slave away at work. :)

He loves it, and it gives me a nice break from single parenting. Time to recoup!

So while he was away I didn't work on my minis at all.

I went to Vegas with my friends, beach partied, acted like what I feel a normal person of my age does when they aren't a mother to a young child. It felt good, but BOY did I miss him. <3

Me dressed up for various venues.

I flew home to MA to pick him up and took some pics of my mom's dollhouse. Anyone know if it's a kit or handmade?

We went to a dollhouse store that's in the area and my mom bought me some little things I wanted. She's the best! She also bought HERSELF a mini music stand (she's a concert pianist and plays many other instruments) and a little shelf thingie to put her mini food and dishes on. I think she's getting back into because of me. She said she might want to set up her dollhouse inside so it's not all bare (see pics below) with all her minis in a shoebox. Haha

I also won this awesome piece on Ebay. I plan n using it for Dumbledore's memory cabinet. It's so lovely and magical looking.

Now that my Rooey is back, I plan to get back on the mini making proverbial ball!

Hello Tiny World

2012-07-05T15:00:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a while because I am trying to get in shape.
I am THE most out of shape person I know!!
I know I am not fat, and I have a decent looking body in a bathing suit, nothing to be TOO ashamed of, but I'm not entirely pleased with it.
I want to look better, be stronger, and have more endurance.

I've been going to Crossfit at the gym James goes to and it's been kicking my @$$ to tell the truth.
There are women there that are MUCH heavier than me, and look a lot flabbier, but they can outrun me, lift more weight than me, squat more reps than me, and get a better time on our WAD (workout of the day). It's just slightly depressing realizing that I am so out of shape I wonder how I am functioning, moving, and alive.

I have asthma, but that is no excuse! I am an out of shape blob, proved by my near immobility due to soreness that has occurred after my gym trips. I could barely walk a day after my first Crossfit experience, and I almost fell down the stairs as my legs buckled and thighs burned I was so sore. I actually thought I had INJURED my left arm it hurt so badly, and I spent two days soaking in a bath of Epsom Salts.

Such is the reason of my mini neglect.
Lack of time (taken up by Crossfit) and lack of mobility (in legs, arms, fingers, neck, EVERYTHING). I didn't even have the energy to lift a pair of scissors.

Got to get back on the horse though! These are some items I shall be selling in my future Etsy. I'm working on finishing up examples and taking decent photographs of them (which has proved to be immensely difficile).

Now, I designed all the labels you see myself, EXCEPT for the Bezoar label. I'm not sure who made it, as I found it on Google Images, and therefore am not sure if I am "allowed" to use it.

Please know that I would never knowingly copy or use anyone else's work.
However there are some images for potion labels I found on Google Images that I am unsure if I can use and sell my products with those images on them. I believe the images are for public use, but I really don't know if I can sell minis for my profit using them. I will post some pictures of the minis I have made with those labels later, and you can input your thoughts on this subject. If I can't use them, it's really no big deal, I can make my own labels. I just really liked them and thought they look cool. And I can keep the ones I have made for my own personal collection.

Just please don't jump down my throat. I am an admittedly novice mini maker and seller and am not knowledgeable in all the "rules and regulations" of copyrights etc... I am trying to learn though and would never purposefully offend anyone by stealing their idea. I have read some harsh blog posts, calling out copycats, and while most likely deserved, I don't know the full story. I just hope no such posts will ever be directed at me!

...looking over my photos, I realize I probably should have shown what's INSIDE the bottles haha oops.
I guess I'll have to retake these with some of the actual product next to the jar.

Mandrake #1 Winner!

2012-06-21T14:27:00.001-07:00

I've been very lucky recently! I won my first giveaway a few weeks back, and then just won my second!
I have gone through my entire life not winning anything, so this has come as such a nice surprise for me :)

The amazingly talented and detail oriented Tara from 19th Day Miniatures had a giveaway of three Mandrakes. The first winner got to choose which out of the three they wanted, and the second got to choose between the remaining two, and the third winner got the last one.

Well I was the last winner, and I would have been happy to receive ANY of them. BUT AS IT SO HAPPENS...I WANTED THE #1 MANDRAKE AND THAT'S WHAT I GOT!!!!!! Oh lucky lucky meeee!! *evil smile*

I personally liked the first one the best and would have picked it had I been the first winner. Woo to the HOO! I'm so happy with it. It's absolutely gorgeous, so incredibly detailed! I love how it has grains of sand/dirt embedded into the Mandrake's body so it genuinely looks like it came up out of the earth.

Isn't she amazing?! I named her Zola.

Thank you so much Tara!!

Bunkbeds: Check!

2012-06-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Finished up the girls bunkbed bedding!

You can't tell but you can actually tuck a dolly into the covers. It's like a pocket. So she can be slipped in like she's actually in bed, under the blankets.

Here they are in the girls' bedroom. I added legs to the bedside table as well. I really like how they turned out.

Slacking

2012-06-13T11:32:00.001-07:00

I've been slacking on the girl's dollhouse.

I've read 6 books in the last 3 days. Tweaking out on novels.
I LOVE reading. It's my favorite.

All the books I read were great...EXCEPT "50 Shades of Grey"
OMG.
I read it only because everyone's been talking about it and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
WELL! GIVE ME AN HOUR OF MY LIFE BACK.
It was terrible. Truly bad.
The writing was extremely poor, the story made me feel sick, and at the end I felt AWFUL. Seriously AWFUL. I wish I'd never read it and I don't understand why people enjoyed it. I, apparently, am not into S&M. Or abuse.

And last Wednesday I went to LA Times Rock/Style 2012 at the Hollywood Roosevelt and it was really really fun. There was a fashion show and the Pierces performed. It was free food and alcohol but I had to drive so I didn't drink a lot.... UNTIL THE VALET LOST MY CAR KEYS.

It was a mess. I had to be chauffeured (sp?) home, and then to work the next morning, then picked up from work and I drive a Toyota Prius, which has an electric key so they can't just be duplicated. I thought I was going to have to get my car towed to a dealership and all this nonsense, and the keys cost around $1000 to make. LUCKILY, the freaking valet FOUND my key in someone else's car, so I went and picked it up on Thursday, after work. But the whole fiasco was a headache and I was literally so tired from it all that I felt sick and slept all Saturday.

I met Jack Nicholson! I have now touched 6 famous people: Jack Nicholson, Fat Joe, Lucy Liu, Matthew Broderick, Alexis Bledel, and Courtney Cox.

Anyways, in terms of the dollhouse, this is what I have accomplished in the last few days:

The furniture, my mom got me when I first told her I was getting into dollhousing. It's simple children's furniture that I don't actually really want, so I asked her permission to give it to the girls and of course she said yes! So therein lies the perfect nursery furniture. :) The baby bottle was a surprise find at the dollar store. They had packs of 12 (for baby showers) in blue and pink for... you guessed it- $1.

The cupboard is $1 at Michael's. I repainted it. The trunk is also from Michael's and was super cheap. I took off the front latch and decorated with a coat of paint and Hello Kitty stickers. The swing is a Sylvanian Families plastic thingie, and the Hello Kitty is an eraser! The tree is a placecard holder, also under $1 at Michael's.

I made the bunkbeds from an Apple iPhone case! They came out pretty nice. I just need to add mattresses and bedding. I made the pillows but then got lazy. I really like the rug, it has these funky raised bumps on them. If I was a kid... (oh wait, I AM a big kid!) I would think this rug was awesome. Yes, yes, I think it's rad. I put candles on the (so far still unfinished) dresser (which I'm not even sure I'm going to use in this room) but it's obviously a no-no and fire hazard for small children. I just thought they looked cute, but wouldn't want to send the wrong idea to three impressionable girls. So I think they won't go in the finished room haha! I'm trying to mostly re-use and recycle items to make the furniture in this house, since it's a low-budget project. The bedsire table is a gift box. I'm going to add legs to it, because it's too low.

Say hello to the living room. The side table is a gift box that will get some wooden legs. The couches I made a long time ago as my first attemps at constructing furniture. I wasn't 100% satisfied with how they came out, but I'm sure the girls won't care! The rug is a fabric swatch from Joanne's that I've been using pieces of in different scenes and rooms.

I made this cute picture fram on Microsoft Word and scavenged photos of the girls from my co-worker's Facebook. I really like how it turned out!

TTFN!

My Mother's Minis

2012-06-06T12:10:00.001-07:00

My mom has a dollhouse! And minis to go with it!

...I knew this... a long time ago. I guess I just wasn't into it then so I didn't pay much attention.
Now that I AM into it, my mom has become very excited to show me her minis.
Of course, they're not modern because she's old (hehe) and they are from her childhood dollhouse. But I have realized that I am not a one-niche-kind-of-woman, and I am actually interested in many different types of minis: Modern, Medieval, Harry Potter, Witchy/Wizardry, Antique, etc...

My blog subscriptions mirror my interests. And they are eclectic.

Last night my mom sent me some pictures of her minis, and they are really cool! A lot of them look amazing- especially the dolls! How detailed! How well made! They don't make them like THAT anymore!

So, I'm here to share. Without further ado: Introducing, my mother's minis!

Oooh I'm just in awe of the dolls.

I guess the table can angle up for some reason?

I think I saw this swing on someone else's blog? But I can't be sure. Maybe it's not the same one.

EEK I love the stove too! My mom said it's cast iron.

Her mini tea set is prettier than mine.

So is her piano.

Her box of accessories. The pie looks tasty. I haven't eaten yet today.

This is my mom!! She's going to be 62 in August but everyone says she looks much younger. She doesn't dye her hair! She only has a couple of grey hairs. I bought her that dress for Mother's Day :) I love her so much!!!! And I miss her. She lives in Massachusetts, where I grew up. She's so cute. That's my little sister's reflection in the window taking the picture. She cracks me up!

She didn't take a picture of the dollhouse. But it's pretty cool too. I'll ask her to take a pic later.
My mom has no idea where any of her items came from because they were mostly gifts she got when she was little. So if anyone has any idea of the history of any of the items pictured, please let me know! She said she'd love to know any information on them!

...I think she'll let me have them tee hee

Long Overdue

2012-06-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

I feel so badly I almost didn't want to write this post, but I have to as it's totally deserved.

A VERY LONG TIME AGO, I purchased this wonderful chocolate chip cookie prep board that I just had to have. It was amazingly realistic and my first delve into taking a slight interest in miniature foods. The artist's blog is: http://ilovelittlethings.blogspot.com/ and her mini foods are so realistic!

Anyways, I am embarrassed that it took me this long to write a post about the truly spectacular things she sent me. My excuse is that I just got caught up in so many other tangents in the mini world and... ok I'm just indecently forgetful.

Back when I got my purchase, I was still so new to the mini world that I did not know that sometimes, lovely mini makers will include a special bonus gift in their package to you. So not only did I get my wonderful chocolate chip cookie prep board, she ALSO sent me some fried chicken, french fries, and a coke bottle! I originally thought that there had been some mistake and she sent it to me by accident or that I had accidentally ordered it as well... but after reading some more of the blogs I follow, I soon realized she had added it specially for me :)

I want to take the time to thank her SO much for the generosity and the incredible quality of her goods.
If anyone should need mini food- check out her blog here: http://ilovelittlethings.blogspot.com/

The recipe card is so teeny weeny! Everything looks even better and you can see the painstaking details more in real life.

I have not taken the fried chicken out of the package yet, because I was afraid more of the crispy part would fall off and I was saving it for a mini scene which I have yet to make- as I have yet to finish a kitchen or dining room... sigh. I get so distracted! Mini ADD.

Sorry it took me so long to post about this, and THANK YOU!

The Girls' House: Phase 1

2012-06-04T11:06:00.001-07:00

I have put together the house for the girls!
It was much harder than I thought. I actually broke a sweat and let out a few muttered curse words.
For some reason, I'm an idiot, and even though I did a dry run, I STILL managed to put in two of the divider pieces backwards. I wood glued them in so I couldn't take them out so I had to do a lot of sanding and pushing and pulling to get them to fit right...backwards.

But it came together. And now the FUN part begins! Decorating!
Except wallpapering this b*tch sucked. Big time. It's not perfectly square is the problem. I really should have tried to wallpaper it before I put it together. I think that would have been easier and in turn would have stopped me from putting in those dividers backwards. Oh well.

I only did two rooms. Don't judge me. I'm bad at wallpapering.

This room is going to be the playroom. It leads out onto the deck.

This room gave me so much grief. Getting the paper up and over those "square" support beams was awful. And there's still an unsightly bump on the top left hand back side but there's just no fixing it now. I have to remind myself that this house is intended for 3 girls under the age of 8, so I doubt they'll notice or care.

I think I'm going to actually keep the square rug instead of the Hello Kitty shaped rug I was playing around with in here.

This will be the 2 older girls' room. I plan to make bunkbeds. The rug isn't going to be this white one, I just put it in because the floor looked so bare without a rug. But I want to do a neon green circular rug I think. It will match the neon green in the wallpaper (and I bought material for bedding) and kind of represent grass.

I haven't decided if I'm going to paint the outside of the house or not. I'm torn because I love the natural wood look, but does it look too unfinished if I don't paint it? Then I was thinking of doing chalkboard paint somwhere because that's really cool and then the kids can draw on it with chalk or those chalk markers. Hm... lots to think about. And I don't want to spend too much money on this project so I'm trying to recycle and find new uses for things. However, I did spend money on the "wallpaper" AKA scrapbook paper, rug, and bedding. But in total I think I spent no more than $10 so far. So that's good.

I'm also going to install a few light fixtures. I'm going to do it how Megan did it on her blog. She has a tutorial there so hopefully I can follow it and get it right. I've never attempted electrical so, *crosses fingers* I hope it's as easy as she says.

The House that Dad Built II

2012-06-01T14:04:00.003-07:00

I've been so busy, what with Roo's Parent's Night and finding, transporting, and setting up our new dresser (HOORAY!) that I haven't had the time to get started on putting together the dollhouse kits my dad sent me! ...Ok, I also was slightly (read "very") intimidated by them.

Yeeks that's a lot of very big, heavy, confusing, and non-instruction bearing wood pieces.

My dad, not one for instructions (because he's such a genius he never needs them! I'm not kidding or being sarcastic. He once put together and installed a new dishwasher and Insinkerator for me without looking at the manual once) just sent me all the pieces and supposed I'd figure out what piece goes where by some alphabeticals and numerals. A goes to A, I get it... but I was seriously confused anyways.

I decided, to be safe, not to just glue it and screw it right off the bat. So I set it up (all the pieces fit together beautifully) as a dry run and just propped it against my coffee table.

Lookin' good!

I plan to do french doors in the bottom where that big door cut out is, and sliding glass doors on the top right that opens into the patio, as well as putting up railings of some sort or plexiglass around the sides of the patio so no mini people fall to their mini deaths.

I had to put in some furniture to test the scale for size!

Me likey! Instant hardwood flooring hehe

Of course, I need to paint and wallpaper and etc etc...

Nice, my kitchen pieces fit! Now I am so glad I made each counter piece individual so they can be moved around and put together like a puzzle to fit any sized space.

Well I had done all this last night, but when I came out in the morning, Roo (who wakes up earlier than me and gets dressed and watches T.V.) had set up "his" mini room the way HE likes it! He won't really play with the dollhouse while other people are around, but I know he likes it because he'll set up mini scenes and I can hear him playing with the little dolls and stuff when I'm in my room.

More things going on now than how I had it set up. I like it. It seems more like a realistic kids room with the bit of clutter. By nature, Roo is actually pretty neat for a kid. Unlike me- I'm a disaster slob.

When I asked him about it, Roo said that the boy in yellow was him, and the boy in blue was his, "little brother that I call poopie and beat him up." Wonderful. So happy for my future kids with a big brother like Roo. -.-

And we found a new dresser on Craigslist! THANK GOODNESS! No more ghetto livin'

From shabby,

To chic!

Now I want to make a dresser like this in mini! I really love it. In the picture it came out as brown, but in real life, it's a much softer looking almost grey color.

Mysterious Dollhouse 1

2012-05-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

This dollhouse is being sold on Craigslist for the bargain price of... $20!!! I would get it except I just got two huge packages in the mail which are the dollhouses my dad has made for me and my coworker's grandchildren... and James might kill me if I spend money on more dollhouse things since I promised I wouldn't until I've sold some of what I have. Also, we're trying to save up for a new dresser.

But this dollhouse just has so much character!

Here's the link: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/bab/3044911233.html

I don't know why I like it. I just do.

However, this is why I cannot buy it:

Dollhouse kits from dad, waiting to be assembled. They are ridiculously heavy. I can't carry one by myself. I presume they'll be incredibly sturdy. I peeked inside and the wood he used is at least a half an inch thick.

James tried to be "handy" and "fix" our two dressers.

This is what happened.

It's gotten worse from this picture. Now we have had to pull out all the drawers and basically just stack them. It's so ghetto. We are scouring Craigslist looking for replacement(s).

Children's Books

2012-05-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some of Roo and my favorite children's books.

All of them except "The Giving Tree" are printed with the front cover on both sides.
The inside pages are blank, but they can be opened. I was THINKING about having them actually be readable but... ugh. It's a lot of work. And who's really going to ACTUALLY read them? I don't know... I just like my minis to be totally accurate and detailed and as close to the real thing as possible, even if nobody knows it but me.

I didn't put the blank pages inside "The Lorax" yet, as you can see. :)

Great. Now I really want to do readable ones. No, no, must keep working to build up stock for future Etsy.

Memoirs of a Geisha

2012-05-23T15:16:00.001-07:00

It's one of my favorite books. I loved the movie too, not because it was actually good, but because of the amazing cinematography and gorgeous kimonos and breathtaking scenery, and the metaphoric slow flowing way the story was unfolded on film.

Anyways, for my modern dollhouse which is in transit, I need some more modern books!
As I want it to look like a house I'd actually live in, it's going to be decked out in MY style with stuff I like in it!

Hence the making of one of my favorite books.

I constructed the cover myself using Microsoft Word and compiled a bunch of images I found on Google to make the complete cover. The inside is blank.

The book I actually own is a different cover. This cover came out after the movie did. I may make the other cover as well. This one just looked so bold and modern. Rawr!

I must find and design more (mini)books for my (doll)house!

Advancements, Improvements, and Updates

2012-05-22T12:08:00.001-07:00

I made a set of the "Standard Book of Spells" books... well except for Grade 6 & 7. I didn't get to them last night!

I really like how they came out. They look text book-y and each is full of spells and pictures that I have taken the liberty of assuming they learned in that specific grade. The covers start out light and are going to fade to black. Almost every spell has a picture to go with it that I found that matches up. Making up the insides of the books took FOREVER, but I'm pretty pleased.

I've found that binding the books so that they EASILY open to be readable is tricky. All the books can be opened and read but then they want to STAY opened, so to get them back flat I have to press them again.

Each book gets a bit thicker as the grade levels go up and the amount of spellwork the students are learning increases. The insides of the books are really cool if I do say so myself. I like reading through them!

I have improved my chocolate frogs as I've become more adept at sculpting. I have not, however, improved my photography skills.

Ew my windowsill is dusty...

They look better in person...

And HOORAY my Dad emailed me to let me know he has finished the dollhouse kits for my coworker's grandchildren (and one for me hehe) and mailed them! I thought it was just going to be a gluing project... but I was wrong. I'm a little intimidated, but I'll figure it out... hopefully. I really am sort of a moron when it comes to measurements and construction.

Pilot drill what? Phillips bit huh? Heated screws for HIDDEN LOCATIONS??

I suppose he thinks I'm a wizard and it's JAMES that might have a cordless drill. I have no such powers of finding hidden things... I can't even find the "hidden hole" in a bowtie when you're tying it and I worked in retail for a year! And I certainly do not have a cordless drill.

I have a hammer and a screwdriver and a mini electric sander which now I'm glad I bought since it looks like it will be put to use. Oh boy. I hope it's easier than he made it sound...

Candles

2012-05-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

I tried my hand at making mini candles. I'm pleased with them for my first time.
I think that for the rest I'm going to use all translucent clay and make them a bit smaller.
They also need to be glazed.

Also, I forgot to post these earlier. Roo made me a wonderful Mother's Day card and a coupon book which I intend to put to good use! I only took a picture of a few of the coupons.

Being a mom is the BEST! And I'm so lucky to have such a great kid. He also got me a flower :)

If At First You Don't Succeed

2012-05-14T11:42:00.001-07:00

Yeah well I've been try-trying again with this whole book cover dealio but I'm just not satisfied yet.

Thank you to my followers who lent their support and advice, I really appreciate it!

We got a new printer at work that prints color really nicely so I've been testing that out.

Though they are a lot clearer, they're also granier.

I'm really am proud of the insides of the books though. I compiled the nifty facts myself and found pictures to go along with them. I hand cut each page and the books open easily for reading. The inside first and last pages are cut from a soft gold flecked paper.

I wish there was a cropping function for pictures... or maybe there is an I don't know how haha

This is "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" by Emeric Switch

Why is there a cross on it? Because the book is actually a Bible? Or maybe because it looks like a "T" ...T for Transfiguration. Use your imagination. lol

I don't know if I like how when I fold the covers, it turns white on the folded parts because the color rubs off or gets separated. It makes the books look worn and old which can be cool... I don't know how to remedy the problem. Maybe using photo paper I think.

Spirit's (Roo's Bearded Dragon) skin in a bottle. It just needs to be labeled! I made the stopper out of granite Sculpey. Could be better, but it was my first try!

James caught me putting some of these dead mealworms that Spirit eats into a mini glass bottle last night and was totally disgusted that not only would I touch them with my bare hands, but that I'm actually going to display the dead worms inside a little bottle. They look really awesomely authentic! Flobberworms anyone?

I love GOOOOOLD

2012-05-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

I wish I could print gold on the covers of my mini books. I've seen it done. I just don't know how to do it. Sigh.

How do people get their printed book covers looking so crisp when they're so tiny?!
I wish I knew.
Last night I spent over an hour trying to figure out how to make a decent looking book cover using Microsoft Word. Alas. No luck. I went to bed frustrated.

Also I think my cauldrons need some pewtery shine. I think I need that powder stuff.
However, I'm strapped for cash and James will kill me if I start putting more money into my minis!

I really wish I had a craft room.

I wish I wish I wish.
Sometimes when I look at other amazing miniature maker's blogs I think all the things I made are pieces of junk. Who would ever want any of my stuff? People are so talented.
I'm disheartened today.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow. :)

Thanks, Spirit!

2012-05-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting and waiting for Spirit, Roo's Bearded Dragon to shed again so I can harvest his skin to put into my mini bottles. Boomslang skin anyone? The tricky part is, the little bugger EATS the skin he sheds so I have to be really quick to get it, OR peel it off of him which I think is bad and hurts him, because he does NOT seem to like it... and Roo yells that I'm hurting him when I do it. So I've just been watching and waiting patiently to swoop in and steal his shedded skin. This is all I could manage to get!! Sheesh. And he only sheds maybe once every month and a half or less. It does look cool. That's Roo's hand in the picture.

I attempted to make a no-sew (I can't really sew) invisibility cape. The one I, myself, imagined when I read the books- not the one in the movie which is this furry looking thing. In the books it's described as silver and "like water woven into fabric." I am not happy with how this cape turned out. The fabric is too stiff so it won't hang in nice drapes around my mini model, and I just cut it out haphazardly with no pattern and it's too short in the front. I think it's going in the TRASH! The only thing I like is how it's kind of see through... it almost gives a pretense of invisibility.

Ugh. Rubbish.

"Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit" covered in Dragon hide.

These shall eventually be for sale in my future Etsy.

WHO AM I?

2012-05-04T16:18:00.003-07:00

Gilderoy Lockhart published a book of the same name after his own spell rebounded and he obliviated himself!

Anyways, I realized that I had no information about myself on this blog, no pictures of anything but my minis and my fingers holding them, and not even an email address to contact me at. I read somewhere that half of being successful as a small business owner is advertising yourself, not just your products. That made sense to me. It's nice to know a bit about the person making and selling the items you are buying - especially in the more intimate realm that I shall be trying to sell in. The blogs I most enjoy reading are ones where I feel more connected to the writer; by reading a little bit about their lives, families, other interests, etc... I feel like I know them- even though I don't.

And because before, when I first started this blog, I was woefully ignorant of the technology and didn't even know how to post a profile picture, and just figured out how to get back to the "old blog setting" or whatever it's really called, I just kept putting it off.

But hello! To my 7 followers... nice to meet you :)

My name is Anna and I am 27 years old, though most people assume I am much younger (it's those Asian genes). I have 7 year old son nicknamed "Roo" who is extremely artistic himself (I have posted some examples of his artwork in a previous post), a chihuahua mix named Lola, my son has a bearded dragon whom he named "Spirit," and a boyfriend called James.

I recently moved to Los Angeles, having previously lived for a year in San Diego, a year in New York City (on Wall St.), and grew up in Western Massachusetts.

I love Hello Kitty, Harry Potter, my family, friends, food, and God. But not in that order.

I graduated with a Bachelor's in Psychology from UMass (University of Massachusetts) which has come to no use thus far in my career path.

If you read my blog, you know that I was accepted into the MSW (Masters of Social Work) program at USC recently and was overjoyed that I actually got in. My dream in life is to be a social worker/caseworker and to work with children and families in the foster care/adoption field. However, it has become apparent that I really need an MSW to do this, so for now, I work at a company that makes airplane parts doing marketing and sales. I started here as a receptionist but got a promotion after 3 months! Now I have my very own first cubicle ever and in general, like my work.

After filling out the FAFSA (financial aid) paperwork and mailing it in, I was able to get government loans for school but scholarships are not even available to graduate students. So I am not able to go to USC and pursue my MSW degree right now because I simply can't afford it.

After much thought (and some tears) I decided to defer my acceptance until January of 2013 (you can defer for up to a year) so I have some time to apply for outside grants, and try to save money so I can go back to school to get that pesky degree. Being $100,000 in debt after 2 years isn't worth getting a degree where the most you can get paid is around $50,000 in that career. Sad.

I had my son earlier than was desireable for me (I was 18 when I got pregnant and 19 when I had him), and it's been a bit of a struggle since then to do what I want to do with my life, as I had a more important one to look after. My parents are a HUGE support and are the best people I know, and I love my family more than anything. Roo's father isn't very involved in his life and just last year started seeing him on a (semi) regular basis (one weekend a month). But that's another story.

In the meantime, I have decided to sell my minis to try to raise money for my post-grad savings fund.
I have been working really hard, every day, to crank out some inventory so I can open an Etsy.
So know that if you buy from me, you are helping to send a hopeful social worker to graduate school!! :)

Well, there's an introduction and now for some pictures!

The one and only Roo!

Roo and our dog Lola

Spirit, Roo's Bearded Dragon. Roo built him this jungle out of Legos...and pushed him on the swing...

This is me and my boyfriend James at his Army Ball

Snazzy!

Roo and James vegging out

My brother and Roo

My sister and Roo

Roo, my mommy, and me hehehe we were goofing around with her new iMac's photobooth. This isn't even the weirdest picture we took... trust me.

The ONLY picture I could find of my dad that I had on the internet!

Family picture! This is from 2008.

Family Picture with my parents' dog Charlie, I think taken last year, 2011.

Well that's everybody I mentioned I think!

It's funny, as I was looking for pictures of the people in my family, I realized that ALL the pictures I could find of my family members had Roo in them too! Obviously we know who is the most popular person in the family hahaha. Really! I couldn't find any pictures of them alone!

I'm an open-book type of person. Welcome!

The House That Dad Built

2012-05-03T10:01:00.001-07:00

Rather... the house dad is in the process of building!

I have a co-worker, an older woman, a grandma! (Okay she's not that old she's like 50 something?). Anyways, she was my first "friend" at work when I started working at this job. She answered all my questions, and sat next to me in the front office, and kept me company. She was so unjudgemental and welcoming and warm. She has had some financial problems as many of us do in this economy and she loves her grandkids more than ANYTHING.

There was one time she left for lunch a little bit early because she had to go bring her granddaughter a snack at school because the little girl has diabetes and her mother forgot to pack her a snack! From what I gather, the mother of her three granddaughters is a bit... forgetful. My co-worker is always doing things for the kids and said she wishes she could take custody of them but she really can't afford it. Her and her husband are still taking care of his 2 kids (her stepkids) and they still live with them.

She mentioned once a while ago that she really wished she could get the three little girls ages 7, 5, and 18 months a dollhouse for them to all play with. One of those really big ones so they could all have space to play. She showed me a couple pics but they were all, of course, hundreds of dollars.

This is when I decided to build her grandkids a dollhouse and give it to her for them for Christmas. CHRISTMAS IS MY DEADLINE!

My dad, is an architect and owns a contracting company that renovates and builds houses and such.
So I asked him to help me out!

After much research on my part, I designed a simple layout for a dollhouse much like a Lundby but bigger and asked him to cut me the boards and stuff and mail them to me (he lives in Massachusetts, I live in LA), and I could put them together, paint it, decorate it, make it some furnishings, and light it (if I work up the balls). I'm afraid of electricity.

He just sent me a picture the other day of the dollhouse under construction!
EEK I'm SO EXCITED! He said my mom even helped him sand it LOL.

It's crazy how cheaply a dollhouse can be made, yet they sell for hundreds.
He said he's thinking of making a couple more to auction off at his work's silent auction (they give all the proceeds to charity).

I should note, that I also COERCED him into making a double. One for meeee!!!!
I am going to get rid of my old Craigslist fixer upper that I got for $50, and turn this one into my dream modern dollhouse. YES YES YES!! I cannot wait for him to mail the pieces to me!

It's like he made me a dollhouse kit haha. He had tons of scrap wood lying around and has a huge workshop in our basement with all kinds of tools and heavy machinery, so he whipped this up in one weekend. He said he got frustrated because he made one of the panels backwards (like I know what that means). But it was pretty simple. I have NO skills with wood and am afraid of power tools so YAY DAD!!

A work in progress, but isn't it gorgeous?! I am going to make that ledge into a deck. I think I'll put clear railing-things up all around it.

Now I really need to learn how to wire a dollhouse haha.

Winning!

2012-04-30T13:56:00.001-07:00

I never win anything. Seriously.
I know a lot of people say that, but I bet you've won something at least once.
Even my boyfriend has won 100,000 coins on Bejeweled Blitz spins. Me, never. The most I've gotten is 25,000.

But that has all changed. Now, I can say that I have won something once. And what a great win it was.

I won Mini Dork's Glam Collection giveaway!!! Jelly? You should be. Because they're gorgeous and look great in my house.

LOOOOOOVE!!!!!!!

A close up.

Please excuse the unfinished dresser. I've recently been distracted from finishing it by HP minis. I have two loves in miniature, apparently. The room looks pretty bare. I haven't even finished the windows. But I wanted to display my prizes NOW!!

Thank you thank you, Mini Dork for making this beautiful items, and the giveaway God for choosing me to recieve them.

I like having large pictures. I don't like blogs where the pics are all teeny weeny and you have to poke them to see it bigger and it opens up a whole new black screen thing. Not all things are good in miniature. I like my photos HUGE! So I can see all the details.

Potted tree: Michael's Craft Store
White wire bed: Dollhouse store (because it was on sale, half off!)
Bedding: Made by me
Unfinished dresser: Made by me
Mirror: Michael's Craft Store
Books: Made by me
Glam Collection: Made by Mini Dork

Cupboard Under the Stairs or Hut-on-the-Rock?

2012-04-25T12:18:00.001-07:00

In the first Harry Potter book, Harry's original letter is addressed to him at his Cupboard under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Surrey address. However, he does not actually GET this letter. Uncle Vernon burns it I believe. The letter he actually ends up recieving is addressed to him when they are hiding away at the Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea.

So, which one would Harry have? He'd most likely have saved the Hut-on-the-Rock letter as his acceptance to Hogwarts letter, right?

But this letter is not the famous one. It's not the REAL "first" letter. It's not the one with address shown in the movie, and not as well known.

WHICH ADDRESS TO PUT ON THE LETTER and put in Harry's Trunk?!!!
I'm torn.

The letters can be taken in and out of the envelope, which I left unsealed. I'm thinking I should reprint them on older looking aged paper.

And I made this cool dragon skin covered book.

It's supposed to be "From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon-Keeper's Guide" but I really couldn't figure out how to fit the title on the front of the book without it looking stupid.

So I put it on the title page. When you open the book, you can see it.

There is information on each dragon species and a full 2 page picture to go along with it.