A Smashing Year 2016 for My Miniature World.

Hello everyone,

I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Christmas. It has been a busy week for me, mostly enjoying and playing with the kids with the new gifts Santa has left them. I am not sure if Santa got the toys only for the kids as I enjoyed playing with them as much as they did.

Greetings from Miss Leah and new acquaintances 

Once again we come to an end for the year......and what a Smashing Year it has been especially for My Miniature World. I still can't believe all the achievements I have accomplished within this year. What can I say I have reached all the goals that I have planned out for, so I am very thankful that 2016 has been kind to me.

Like every year a run through of what I have accomplished for the year 2016 and what to expect for 2017. Before starting I wanted to thank you all for your constant support and encouragement. I just don't know what I will do without you. My Miniature World Blog has reached 211 known followers and 137 new followers on Google +.  The blog has been very successful as it has reached over 192,300 views. Just for 2016 it had 100,000 views. I still can't believe it! Thank you so much. I don't have words.  I hope you enjoy it and I will do my best to keep it interesting.

The love for this hobby has never dimmed I guess. I love it. I just enjoy making miniatures and building dolls houses. A big thank you goes to my wonderful husband Gilbert for his love and support. Even if he is not into miniatures he does help me in so many ways so I can keep up with my hobby. He is really working hard on the new premises which finally we have accomplished. Cross fingers it will soon be ready and I can't wait to move the dolls houses in it.  Also a big thank you goes to my family and friends for keeping me strong when I start doubting myself.

So we started 2016 continuing with the lovely Tudor project Kate's Cottage. I love this project. It make me smile thinking how many times I backed away from it because I was to scared to start it. In January 2017 there will be an Article about Kate's Cottage on the Dolls House Miniaturist Magazine. 

In February we had started working on our Vintage DHE Dolls House The Tudor Manor. I have decorated it in a 1930's style with some nice pieces. My Tudor Manor has also been featured in a published book and I have to admit I love it more as it was built by the DHE founders themselves.

In March we also got to celebrate my 20th Anniversary since I started the hobby in dolls housing. So far I have over 20 built dolls house projects and a few minor displays. There is still so much that I need to build. If health and life permits they will all have their turn in the coming years.

In Summer I got to renovate the Summer House called Sea Shells. It looks summery as it should be. I have to admit I loved every miniature of it and I finally got the look that I wanted for this house and so there will be no changing it for only God knows how many times I changed the furniture and moved things around in this house. I was never satisfied with it but now it's perfect. I wish I could shrink and live in it myself.

Out of no where and definitely not in this year's plans came Rose Cottage. Another lovely 3 room vintage DHE Dolls house that I have managed to get and add to my collections. I have left most of the wall paper and flooring but I added lights, changed most of the furniture and added more detail. Even the lovely couple that lived there remained in the same house and had a new addition to their family. 

After that I started the Queen' Mary's bedroom Diorama.  It is not complete and there is some more detail that I need to add.  Also next July I will be visiting the original Queen Mary's Dolls House in Windsor Castle. I am so looking forward to that.

Finally for December I got to decorate an old DHE Shadow Box for Christmas. I love it and my family enjoyed it through out the month.

While building these project I got to make some wonderful miniatures to add to them and I also made a few smaller scale projects. And so that is a wrap up for this year!

Through this year I had several articles and tutorials printed on various dolls house magazines. The Dolls houses featured were Miss Leah's Boutique, No 35 Leah's, The Toll House, The Coffee Corner, Santa's Work Shop. You can all read the articles in the Media Section.

My Miniature World Shop at etsy has the best year ever since it's opening. We offer over 400 miniature items to choose from. We have quite a selection of hand painted miniatures, decorative ceramics, unique hand made miniatures, furniture and over 65 miniature readable books available in download and in kit form which you can also find on our blog in My Miniature World Books section. A big thank you goes to my wonderful father for the lovely detailed hand painted miniatures. Thank you for your love and your wisdom. It is a blessing to work and be so close to you xxxx. I am working on a new range of miniature and books for the coming year.

A big thank you goes to all my friends and fans following from My Miniature World on facebook for your support. We have reached over 15,000 likes. Also a big thank you goes to the members of My Miniature World Group on facebook which has reached over 950 members. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely creations and friendship. This group is meant to share projects, difficulties and friendship. You can all join in!

And just like the previous years we also had the Advent Calendar for 2016. A small treat for you friends, followers and fans that I am sure that you all enjoyed. We had an amazing feedback this year and just for the month of December it has reached over 4,500 views just for the Calendar. There is a big chance that we will be having something different for next year that you will enjoy. 

Santa came early this year and once again I got another lovely discontinued dolls house by the Dolls House Emporium. I am so looking forward to this house. Pembroke Grange a lovely property that I have some great ideas already for it.

Pembroke Grange

So what are you lovely people are to expect from me for next year.

The Start of Woodcutter's Cottage with the Old English Garden. There is a good chance that a little barn will be added to it as well. Next week I will be sharing with you some great progress on it.

Miss Leah will be returning with us with a new adventure and a new property for Regent Street. New folk have moved in too and my my Miss Leah is drawn to young gentleman. 

Hopefully I will also start off Pembroke Grange. My heart is so set up on this one but only time can tell. I know I have a very busy year ahead of me especially with the new premises for My Miniature World but step by step we will get there.

This is all planned out for now and before ending the year it is good to end it with a Free Give Away.

This time we have the miniature readable book called The Dolls Christmas Party.

Free Give Away 

All you have to do is:

1) Be or Become a follower of our Blog

2) Leave a comment on this post so I'll know who wants to take part.

Closing date will be 7th January 2017 and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

Wishing you all and your loved ones a very 

Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017.

Take Care and see you soon in the new year with the progress of Woodcutter's Cottage. Keep tuned!

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

Christmas Tutorial - Miniature Gingerbread Man in Teacup

Hello everyone,

Are you all excited? Christmas Eve is here! I have to admit as much as I love Christmas Day, I love Christmas Eve the most. It brings all the excitement and magic for Christmas. I remember as a child I loved it. Preparing for Santa and hoping that I will sleep before he arrives. I have passed the same tradition to my children and I just love to see them so excited.

Today is the last day of our Advent Calendar 2016.  I hope you have enjoyed it and found the tutorials useful as much as I have found them myself. They will remain up till New Year's Day.

As it is Christmas Eve today I wanted to share with you a Christmas Tutorial that I made. This is a miniature Gingerbread Man in a teacup which can be used as a Christmas decoration or just to put in your Christmas themed project. I actually have mine hanging on the Christmas tree.

Christmas miniature - Gingerbread Man in Teacup

What you will be needing to make this miniature is:

Ochre, White and Red color Polymer Clay.

Liquid polymer clay

A miniature ceramic cup and saucer.

The first step is to take the Ochre color polymer clay flatten the clay and make a tiny gingerbread man that can easily fit in your tea cup. You can use tiny cutters if you like.

Once you are happy with your gingerbread man, texture it with a soft toothbrush and add some brown pastel color to make it looked baked.

Add your ginger bread man in the tea cup. Pose it like he is enjoying a warm bath in the teacup. Here you can also add some features to his face and arms.

Mix some liquid polymer clay with chocolate brown pastel on a piece of foil. Once it is mixed properly, gently more the mixture in the cup and let it set.

Using white clay make two tiny white balls approximately 3 mm diameter to make marshmallows.

Make two very thin logs of white and red clay. You can make them as long as you want. I  have made the red one thinner than the white. Twist them together and make a thin log.

Once the log is done. Cut the log in approx 15mm parts and shape them in candy canes. 

At this point bake the candy cakes. the gingerbread man in teacup with the liquid clay and the marshmallows for about half and an hour on a very low heat or as the polymer clay's instructions on the packet.

5 minutes before removing your clay out of the oven add the tiny marshmallows to the tea cup. This is an important step that you shouldn't skip. If you add the marshmallows to the cup before the liquid clay is slightly baked there is a big chance that they will end up drowning to the bottom of the cup.

Once the clay has cooled down you can decorate your ceramics. This is just an option. You can also use acrylics to decorate your ceramics.

Add some glazing or clear nail polish varnish to the top of the teacup.

Stick the tea cup to the saucer and add the candy canes to the side of the saucer.

And your tiny miniature is complete.

Here is the tea cup with the ginger bread man in a Christmas scene. To turn it into a Christmas decoration all you have to do is pass some golden string in the teacups handle and hang it on your tree.

I hope you will find this tutorial useful.

Wishing you all my dear friends, family, clients and fans a very Merry Christmas. Thank you all for your love and support.

So this is all for today. Hopefully we will be updating you with some progress on our new project . Keep tuned for more,

Take care and see you soon.

Hugs.

Rebecca xxx

New Project - The Woodcutter's Cottage

Hello everyone,

How are you all? Hope you are enjoying your weekend and are all set for Christmas. Sorry for not posting before but just like most of us Christmas time keeps me busy.  One week to go and it will be Christmas Day..... I can't believe how time flies. Before I start I wanted to welcome a new follower to my blog; Welcome Zulueta E!

Hope that you are all enjoying this year's Advent Calendar.

The Queen Mary's Bedroom Diorama is still not complete as I still need to add some more details but I am pleased and all set to start my new Dolls House Project The Woodcutter's Cottage

The Woodcutter's Cottage is another discontinued Dolls House Emporium kit which I had for quite some time. 

It is a cute little cottage with four rooms and a nice staircase. The picture of above and below are old pictures from a DHE Catalog.

To add on to the little cottage just like the 1st picture I will be adding the Old English Garden which is another discontinued Dolls House Emporium Kit. I believe that the 2 kits were meant for each other. 

So my Woodcutter's cottage has been out of the box for the past four years just before my little Leah was born. I remember that I was all set to start it off after settling down with the new arrival. How wrong was I! I can't believe that I have prolonged this project for four years and built and completed so many projects before  it. For some reason I always have put it aside and started something else. Now I have put my foot down and will start working on this one.

I like it's layout. It's not big but I do have smaller dolls houses than this one. The pieces are very easy to put together and I have some great ideas for it.

So far I have dry built the building to see what I will be needing.

I am thinking of using a stencil to brick the outer walls for it.I always loved these staircases by DHE. They are so compact and look lovely in place.

There are quite a few windows and pieces to add to it.

I have started by painting the windows and doors and what I liked about them is that the door and the circular window on top have stained glass sticker effect.

So far this is what I have done as I am still waiting for some supplies. During the Christmas Rush post can be quite frustrating but I don't mind. In the mean time I will be painting some walls and start working  on the outside of the house.

This is all for today. I am quite excited to really start working on this dolls house. 

Hopefully I will be posting a post before Christmas and hopefully I will be updating you with some works of this house so keep tuned.

Take Care and see you soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxxx

Christmas Shadow Box

Hello Everyone,

How are you all? Hope you are fine. Are you all set for Christmas? I am looking forward to it like always. I love Christmas and I enjoy it especially with the kids and sharing the excitement of it all. There is so much to do and so much to prepare for. I also wanted to welcome two new followers to my blog; mfdez and Sylvie Vanden Berghe. Welcome!

Today I wanted to share with you my new Christmas Project. I have made a new Christmas Shadow Box display.

Finally I have found myself one of the Dolls House Emporium's Old Shadow Boxes and best of all the one in Mahogany. I always imagined this to be decorated with a Christmas Scene.

A few years ago I had decorated a Room Box with a Christmas Scene but for some reason it doesn't appeal to me like it used to and I believe that there is so much potential for the room box, that it looks wasted. 

Room Box

The pieces that I had used for the room box I decided to move them into the Shadow Box. There was no way I was going to used them for a Christmas project. I had gotten the lovely Resin pieces from DHE for free a few years ago and it was a pity if I didn't use them.

So the first thing I did was wall paper the walls and flooring. I have designed the pattern for the floor and printed it. On the walls I have added like a brick wall to add a little detail to the walls.

Once those were done I tried out the pieces that I wanted to add to make sure that everything will fit in the display.

At the ceiling of the shadow box I have also added embossed paper and added one single battery led light.

Once the pieces were all in place I started decorating the room with Christmas Decorations and accessories. And I was really happy to that most of the accessories used in the room box actually fitted in the shadow box. Also I was even happier to see the shadow box so full.

I enjoyed adding the little pieces and the decorations. It is fun to decorate a Christmas scene in Miniature. Now the Shadow Box is set in the Living Room and just in time for Christmas.

So I really hoped you have liked my new Christmas project. I already have some plans for now the empty Room box.

Before closing this post I wanted to remind you of our Christmas Advent Calendar. I hope you are all enjoying it. From what I can see so far it has reached over 2,000 views. Thank you all for your support and it is always a pleasure to see so many people interested.

Hopefully, as I am still working on the Queen Mary's bedroom Diorama, I am to start a new dolls house project.

Make sure to be good and don't forget to write Santa a letter. I have done one and my letter is pretty much the same as last year's. I am sure that you are not surprised!

So I guess this is all for today. Hope that you are all in the Christmas Spirit. Keep tuned for the next blog post. 

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxxx