Someone Has To Do It

I must admit I am not looking forward to painting all of these parts for the garage.


It has to be done and someone has to do it. Sigh....

I guess that's me?

Hope you have a good day!

Artist At Work

I've been working on some additions for my Pay It Forward swap. :D


Each person will receive not only a pond, but an orginal watercolor painting and an orchid in a hand painted flower pot. All inspired by Claude Monet.


I hope to be able to mail my gifts sometime this week. Thanks everyone for your patience!

Wet Clothes :(

Remember when my hot water heater wouldn't heat water? NOW my washing machine won't spin out the water. I think it's the little switch inside that lid that's broken?

The machine filled up and agitated the clothes. Now the wet clothes are just sitting there soaking. Could get stinky if I leave things like this...




Where would you find a washing machine repairman on a holiday weekend anyway? Do I dare try to do THIS myself too?

Wish me luck! :D

Michelle's Garden Party

My co-worker, Michelle, had a birthday/garden party yesterday. Her neighbors are helping her transform her yard. She received plants for her garden as birthday gifts. What a great idea!

The tree stump you see here was a tree that fell onto her house during the April tornadoes. She got the roof fixed, then her neighbors decided the stump would make a nice place for a planter.

These are some of the plants she received as gifts. I bought her a pink Flower Carpet rose, some purple salvia and a hydrangea plant.


This is the fountain her neighbors installed. They also built the flagstone patio. Michelle LOVED everything! Her garden is going to be beautiful!



The party was a huge success! I had such a great time meeting Michelle's family and friends too. I was VERY tempted to bring home one of these darling kittens! :D



I had to resist, but they are SO adorable! I hope she is able to find good homes for them.

Hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend. Do you have any special plans?

Five Ponds Finished!

Here are the five ponds I've finally finished for the Pay It Forward swap. :D

Drora

Mary

Rosamargarita

Ludmila

Lainie


I hope you like them!

I'm going to a garden party later. I'll be sure to take my camera!

Gifts From Drora!

Look at the precious gifts I received from Drora in Israel! These are the things she made for me as part of the Pay It Forward Swap. Aren't they beautiful?!!!


I LOVE the straw purse with the sunflowers! The shells are from the Sea of Galilee. Drora even sent a gift for Grandma's sewing room! Please poke the photo to see the details!

Thank you SO MUCH Drora! I'm so happy! I truly appreciate all of the hard work you did to make these! They are all just perfect! :D

Pond Plants in Progress

I'm still working on some plants for the ponds. I waited too long to "plant" the water lilies. The resin dried too much and I couldn't get the stiffened embroidery floss stems to go in.

So....I had to remake the lilies.

I learned something. That's good. Every day you learn something is a good day!

400 Followers!

I haven't even finished the gifts for my 350 Followers Give-A-Way and now there are 400 Followers! Welcome! I hope you enjoy your visits here!

I decided to re-paint the bottom of the ponds after visiting Monet's Gallery website.


I had to rescue two fish from the first pond I made. Thankfully, they popped right out. Now I have two fish for each pond. I found a couple of little turtles too. :D

I've decided to make a base for each pond. This is a bamboo coaster that Cheryl sent to me while she lived in Hawaii. Cheryl is now enjoying her first grandchild in Florida. Congratulations Cheryl!


I think I'll change the color of the stones so they blend in with the bamboo better. I'm still making plants too. I may even add a bench or pergola for some dimension?

If I keep thinking of more things to add I may never get these finished! I hope my Pay It Forward partners are very patient! :D

Thanks for following along with this project. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Water Lilies

I started making some water lilies for the ponds this morning. I made more than I need so I can choose the best ones.

I'm using a 3/8 inch woodsie to tear the green paper for the leaves. I think that might work?

Hope you have a good day! I've got to go get ready for work. Sigh....

Quite By Accident

I painted the ponds with one coat of Gesso. Then I used the edge of a little piece of wood pressed into the foam to make stones.

One problem that concerns me is crumbling. The floral foam is so soft the you can sand it with your finger. I'm hoping two coats Gesso, some paint and a final fixative spray will harden it enough.


Quite by accident, I discovered moss! Well, not REAL moss, but the green that's showing could be moss, right?

My plan is to tint the second coat of Gesso with gray and dab it on with a sponge. I can always paint away some "moss" if I think there is too much. I may add some real/fake moss here and there too?

The ponds will need plants too. I like making plants. :D


Here are some water lilies in progress.

The Koi fish are in the "water." It's really humid here right now so the resin is still sticky. That will need to cure for a few more days before I can add it to the ponds.

I was unsure how the resin would react with the foam, so I'm making that part separately. I'm really having fun with this!

Hope you have a nice day!

Hello and Goodbye

I would like to say "Hello" to all of my new followers! Welcome to each and everyone of you!

I will be mailing Flor's little house to her today. Before I say "Goodbye" to the house, I took some photos to share with you.


The house is 2 1/2 inches tall. I used Grandpa's dollhouse kit found on Ebay. Then I added the porch, window boxes and other details.

The doors on the back were remodeled with Casey's famous fans. I couldn't find my tiny hinges so I use fabric ones. Here is a photo of the interior.


I had so much fun building this house. I've only made two 1:144 scale houses so far but I'm sure there will be more. :D

Congratulations again Flor! I hope your little house arrives safe and sound and that you like it.



Now it's time to get back to my Pay It Forward ponds. Hope you have a beautiful day!

Pond Carving

These are the bases for the ponds I am making. I sliced a block of floral foam and then cut circles using one of my serrated kitchen knives. Hey, I don't cook so why not use what I have for mini making? :D


I'm using a paint can opener to carve out the centers. Bit by bit they are starting to look like ponds.

I used the side of a little piece of a Starbuck's stick to make indentions on a sample piece for the stones. I think once they are painted they will look fine?

Hope you have a happy Friday!

UPDATE! I just came home for lunch and I was able to sign in!!! I did notice that my sweet son had been visiting (ala remote log in). He fixed whatever was wrong!!! Thanks Brian!!!!

Ponds In Progress

I decided to try to make miniature ponds to give to my Pay It Forward partners.

I've never used epoxy resin before. I'm finding that is a very SLOW process. Each pour has to dry before the next one can be added.

I found these little Koi fish on Ebay. I think they are so cute. The base will be made of floral foam sealed with Gesso, then painted.

I'm going to try a different technique to make the edges of the pond look like stones.

Hopefully, I will be able to post from home soon. Back to work now. Real work, that is!

Hope you have a nice day!

Bad Blogger

I still can't sign in to my blog from home. Can't post, can't share photos, can't do anything!

I really shouldn't post while I'm at work either since I'm supposed to be WORKING. LOL

I've started making my five gifts for the Pay It Forward swap. I hope my partners have patience! I'm using something that takes a week to dry. I'll show you some progress when I can. :D

Hope you have a good day. I hope to be back to blogging soon?!

Trouble

I have been unable to sign in to my blog for four days! Not sure what is going on???

I just tried here at work and I'm on. Must be something wrong with my home computer? My son will try to figure it out this evening.

I've finished Flor's little house. It's really cute and I wanted to show you a photo. Maybe later today?

I haven't been able to comment on anyone's blog either. Four days with NO blogging is making me a very unhappy camper!

Good news! Dylan is doing SO much better! He is walking and eating a little too. Thanks for your prayers and concern! :D

Better get back to work! Hope to "SEE" you soon!?

This May Take A Little Longer Than I Thought

I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and went to work on the little house. I added an interior wall. Then I decided the house needs some window boxes with flowers. :D

I found this website that you will like. Heritage Laserworks. Here is a sample of some of the trim they have. Go ahead, drool. I did!


I won't be ordering any trim for Flor's house, but I will certainly keep this site in mind for later!

Question? This is the first tab and slot dollhouse I have built. Are you supposed to spackel the places where the tabs show on the exterior or cover them with trim? There is not much room for trim on a wall that is 3/4 wide and 1 1/2 in tall!

I'm really getting hooked on these baby houses. They are just SO cute! :D

Quick Update

Dylan seems to be getting a little better. The steroids are working. He can stand up straight and even walk a few steps without falling over. His favorite thing to do, other than eat, is to sleep. :D


I'll take him back to the vet tomorrow. Hopefully, nothing else will need to be done for him. Thank you for all of your sweet comments and concern. {{HUGS}}

I'm back to work on Flor's little house. It's almost finished! I need to fix the doors, touch up here and there and then I can glue it together.



I also need to find the tiny hinges I bought a while ago. They could be anywhere?!!

Yes, that IS sand on my work table. Not sure how that got there???

I hope to have the house finished so I can mail it to Flor on Saturday. I'll be sure to post a photo before I do that.

Hope you have a great evening!

We Have A Winner!

I called my son, the Graduate, today and asked him to pick a number between 1 and 103! That's how many people entered to win my Follower's Give-A-Way!

Tim picked number 78. The winner is Flor from Flor & FF. Congratulations!!!

Flor has a wonderful blog! Please go visit and congratulate her. Her little house will be sent to her unfurnished, but Flor makes beautiful furniture! Go see! :D

I had hoped to post a photo of the completed house today but real life has gotten in the way. These are my two best friends. Dylan and Nugget.


I had to take my older dachshund Dylan, back to the vet this afternoon. They were boarded there this past weekend. Dylan seemed fine when I picked him up up this morning.

The news was not good. Dylan has a ruptured disc in his back. He can't walk without his back legs folding up underneath him. The vet told me that this usually happens when they jump but Dylan isn't a jumper. When he couldn't climb up the back stairs to get back inside I knew something was wrong. Then I saw that he was having trouble walking.

For now, it will be wait and see how he does with the steroids the doctor gave him. He is not allowed any exercise at all. I have to carry him everywhere and not let him try to walk.

Dachshunds are prone to back injuries and I feel so helpless. There is one veterinarian here in Birmingham who does back surgery on dachshunds. Sometimes he is able to save them. It is a very expensive procedure and there is no guarantee.

It saddens me to announce the the give-a-way winner and then follow that with this news.

As I am able, I will finish Flor's little house, post a photo and then send it on its way to Mexico!



Thanks to everyone who entered my give-a-way! I am so excited to see my follower's list grow and meet so many new miniaturists. WELCOME to my new friends and thank you to those who have been there from the beginning!

Please pray for my little friend and for me to have the peace to make the right decisions for him.

The Graduate!

Hello everyone! My trip to Florida was so much fun! On Saturday evening, my son Timothy, graduated with a Doctoral Degree in Pharmacy. I am so very proud of him!

Friday evening the school had a beautiful hooding ceremony where Tim received his doctoral hood and the class recited the Oath of a Pharmacist.

Our entire weekend was one of joy and celebration. We went to the beach a couple of times too. The weather couldn't have been nicer!


There was even a rainbow in the sky after the graduation!



Tomorrow, I will ask Tim to pick the winner of my 350+ Follower's Give-A-Way! There are 88 entries so far! I can't wait to see who wins! :D

Thank you all so much for following Beautiful Mini Blessings! I hope you too, had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Look What I Won!

I am SO excited! I won Jollie's first Give-A-Way! All of these beautiful little things will be mine, all mine!

They are PERFECT for my beach house! Thank you SO much Jollie for picking me!

I will be choosing the winner of MY Give-A-Way on Monday. I am thrilled to see that 88 followers have entered! Welcome to all of my NEW followers too! I can't wait to see who wins!

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for my trip to Florida. My son Tim, will be graduating with a Doctorate in Pharmacy. I am SO proud of him!


I'll be back on Monday to choose the winner. I hope to have the little house finished by then?

Thank you Jollie, for choosing me as the winner of YOUR great give-a-way! I love each and every little thing! :D

Quick Pic

Here is a quick picture of the progress I've made on the little house. I decided that the tiny turning porch posts didn't look quite right so I changed them.

I'm making the roof shingles from sand paper. I like how that looks so far. :D

It's time to get out the magnifying lamp and do some sanding and touch ups.

Hope YOU have fun making minis today!