This is the dress that goes with the hat... and here they are together. |
I just love them and I'm so glad that I found them again after having put both the hat and the dress away years ago,... for safe keeping now back to the roses... |
Initially, I was going to display the roses up-right in a glass vase. They looked both stiff and formal and kept toppling over, so I tried deliberately spilling them onto the vanity and liked the resulting effect better. But because the stems are long and the flower heads heavy, they shifted and slid off onto the floor every time I tried to arrange them. So in order to anchor the roses, I poked the stem lengths into one of my new/old birdcages. The cage kept the roses stable as I fiddled and fussed, and arranged and re-arranged everything else including the 2 tiered cake tray, around them. The two tiered cake tray is one that I made from 2 large paper fastener purchased at Michael's. I had a surplus of them as well as some other craft materials and so I mailed a craft care package to our Aussie-based Miniteer- Linda Park (Linda's Mini World blog) Miniteers of Vancouver and she sent me back some lovely photos of how she had used some of the items she'd received. In one of her photos, Linda had a BEAUTIFUL cake stand perched on a table outside her Salon de Tea' and when I inquired about it she told me that she made it from some of the paper fasteners which I had sent her! Simply BRILLIANT!!! I'm hoping that she will show it and do a tutorial on it, because her results are Elegant & Refined but in the meantime I tried a shabby version of my own. Mine doesn't compare at all with Linda's, yet it still works well enough for this composition. I took photos of my cake stand positioned on both sides of the vanity and you will get a better look at it towards the end of this post. |
I removed the wide brimmed hat to make way for the chicken! |
Here are some more rusty bird cages which I made last week. I have taken some photos of the process to share with you as a future tutorial. They were fast, fun and very easy to do. After I painted them, I aged them with the Cinnamon Rust tutorial which I posted in ("Meeting Rusty at the Game") http://studioeminiatures.blogspot.ca/2015/09/meeting-rusty-at-game.html
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The bird cage on the left of the bag is another one of mine and the bird cage to the right was an old purchase which use to be shiny brass, which I've painted brown and aged. |
For this composition, I draped the Monica Roberts dress, and included the 2 blue enamel BEE vases that Janine made for me in back in the 90's. I filled her vase with my loose- leaf version of meadow flowers ( white sand glued onto grassy synthetic fibers) My tall bird cage to the right was fitted with a set of "iron keys" which I found at the HOBBY LOBBY. I gave a set to each of The Miniteers when they came by for our monthly mini get-together. You can see that I've aged my keys with the easy-peasy Cinnamon Rust technique. |
In Janine's ( Minworks blog ), French House Salon she featured a BEAUTIFUL matched set of burgundy eel skin luggage, cleverly constructed by using paper matchboxes as her base. I LOVE HER LUGGAGE! A few days ago, as I was looking at my mini grouping which was still under construction, I decided that it could use some blue. (what about blue luggage?) I would have to give it a try. I used Janine's luggage as inspiration and a simple paper suitcase tutorial I found on youtube by Cheers Charms/ suitcase video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcTmT6JwKAo I cut up a worn out pair of faded blue Ralph Lauren leather gloves which I'd saved for ages. I wrapped the match boxes with it top, bottom and sides. I sliced the suggestion of a lid into the leather with a craft knife, and added hardware made from earring bits and jewelry findings, which were later painted and aged. These were so easy to do and I had fun experimenting with aging the leather and giving the luggage distinctly beat up appearance. Not too shabby for my first try! |
The sexy slides are charms from some wine glass markers which I'd found at the thrift store ( of course) I cut off the jump ring that was attached at the heel and toned down the high gloss black upper with some Revlon Matte nail varnish. I think that they look pretty good under the hot pink silk, ( lining from a man's tie) vanity stool. |
The clock face perched on a plate stand, is a button with the word Paris on it. It is mounted into a brass button cover. The brass was too shiny and too new so I gave it a coat of Revlon Matte Nail polish to dull the finish and when it was dry, I dabbed it with a brown ink pad over the brass and on the clock face, which served to tone it down to a more subtle and suitable patina. |
This poor plant is a rose topiary which I purchased in Seattle Washington a long time ago. It has seen better days. The leaves have faded over the years but the roses are still going strong. I don't know who made it, but I've always liked it even though it has been bashed about from here to eternity as I have tried unsuccessfully, to find a permanent home for it. I have in mind, a future project for this topiary and hopefully by then it can actually put down its tiny mini roots and "bloom where it is planted"! |
The little round blue china dish, is by Tasmanian porcelain artist Margaret Crosswell. She sells only at shows down under and so Linda Parks brought this over for me during her bi-annual Canadian vist last summer. It's perfect! :D |
I had mentioned the tiered cake tray earlier on which I made from large paper fasteners from Michael's. and this will give you a closer look-see. I affixed some tiny leaves and a metal cherub to the top of the tray and laid some doilies on the plates. Most of the pink dainties are made from styrofoam meat packaging, cut using a circle hand punch and then decorated. |
The plate of French Macarons were the result of our January Miniteer's meeting. Linda brought our mini project, which Fatima, Janine and I were Absolutely DELIGHTED with! These macarons were made from tiny, colorful paper brads and very thin craft foam. Aren't they ADORABLE?!!!! |
Well, that's all for now but in conclusion, I hope that 2016 will bring all of my readers many Creative and Happy hours of Mini-making in whichever form they take. Personally, I feel that I'm off to a good start. I'm looking forward to producing more tutorials this year and I already have some waiting in the wings. I will get to those eventually but for now, I think I am still in the mood to make flowers.... meanwhile here's wishing all of you a Happy Valentines Day! eat chocolate, share love, and send ROSES elizabeth |