I'm done...maybe. I gave the shade several more layers of paint to make it thicker, and then the beaded part looked okay once it was on and stretched out.
Now I can't decide whether to put a beaded fringe around the bottom...
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Look what happens when I turn off the lights...he he he.
It's too big and I don't like the increase....but it's not stretched out all the way, so once I do that hopefully it will fit better.
I think I can save it...more layers of paint on the wooden part to make that thicker, and maybe some beads in the middle of the diamonds on the larger rows...
If not, I can always start over.
I'm hoping to get a lot done at work today so that I can take the day off tomorrow (since I worked so much last weekend)...wish me luck.
"David Tennant has announced that he will leave the award winning BBC drama Doctor Who when he has completed the filming of four special episodes which will be screened in 2009 and early in 2010."
I'm going to cry!
It is really, really, really hard to weave a miniature basket. Am I doing something wrong? It seems like it should be pretty straightforward. Maybe I'm doing it okay, but it just takes a lot of practice to do it so that it looks nice?
I had it all worked out in my head, and it seemed like I should just be able to pick up some wire and thread and shazam...basket. I guess I'm just a little disappointed and frustrated.
I think I'll wait until my books get here...hopefully one of them has instructions that will help.
After I saw how much Matthew added to my Amazon cart I decided to splurge on a fourth book. I can't wait for one of them to get here.
Now that I've actually got instruction manuals (so to speak) coming, I've been reluctant to do anything more before they get here. I did weave a miniature basket yesterday afternoon...it turned out so bad it went straight in the trash can...I've got an idea to improve my materials and technique and am going to try again tonight. Mostly I just wanted an excuse to sit at my worktable for a while in my new ergonomic recumbent chair...aaahhhhh...it's wonderful.
I didn't have much time to play...I worked at work again this weekend...with the exception of last weekend, I've worked at least one day of each weekend since the beginning of the year. I decided to do this huge project that's been hanging over my head...I started Saturday morning and wasn't going to stop until I was done...I put in twelve hours on Saturday and four on Sunday...now it is COMPLETE and I feel like I'm on top of things again. What a relief! It was so nice to be able to sit and work on it from start to finish without a zillion email/phone/IM/etc interruptions...it was so much easier to not have to figure out where I left off and try to find my train of thought again several times an hour. Maybe if I'm a good girl and get the rest of my work caught up I'll ask for a day off in the middle of the week.
I had a dream last night that I don't remember anything of but the curtains...odd, aren't I? It's sparked an idea for what could be even better dollhouse curtains...not that I don't like the ones I have, but I'm always open to improvement. Imagine crocheted curtains, that the rod can slip through...like this if you were looking down at the top of the curtain...=\=/=\=/=\=/=\=/=\=/=...does that make sense? So it works like a curtain with grommets in the top instead of a rod pocket.
Now I've got to find the 'how to crochet' book I bought...or hit my mom up for more curtains...
I think I'm going to hold off of getting Semiprecious Salvage until my next order.
I'm going to get Finishing Touches and Dollhouse Decorator instead...just waiting to see if my honey remembers what it was he wanted me to get him next time I ordered.
I got WWC ordered...I hope you can find me the first issue...what do want in trade? Cash? Art? Supplies?
I just gave you some soldering tips from Matt in the comments of the last post.
I've been spending the few spare minutes I've had the last couple days rotting my brain away in front of the television and computer.
I did order my chair, and browsed Amazon...I can't remember the name of the book I wanted to get, Susan what was it? Was it this (if not, that looks good anyway)...I should have added it to my wish list when I saw it.
I'm considering Art Making, and Mixed Media Mosiacs...I don't know. I'm also thinking about the new issue of Where Women Create...but it's $15. I'll think about it...I have a had time spending money on books and magazines anymore. Though I should have bought the premier issue of Where Women Create when you told me too...now that I've thought about it and have decided I want it it's sold out, and people are selling copies on ebay for twice the cover price.
I went to my parent's house yesterday...not for the curtains, though I took them with me, but because the more I thought about going the more I realized I missed them and it's been too long since I visited. I had a nice time.
I'm glad I decided not to sew the curtains by hand...not only is the sewing machine tons faster, but Mom has a much better fabric and trim stash than I do. She came upstairs from her sewing room with this trim in hand that was almost perfect. It was too short to use on it's own, so we used one and a half pieces of it to get it the right length. It's lighter and more sheer than the fabric I was going to use, and the stripes go great with the wallpaper.
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I ran a piece of wire through the bottom of the curtain so that I can control how it hangs, and used a bit of double-stick tape on the bottom corners of the window frame to keep it from sticking out too much.
Something I didn't do, which I may not really need to do, is to cut it down the middle so that I have two panels...real curtains wouldn't go all the way across the whole window in one piece. I'll have to think about it...it's probably one of those things nobody but me would notice.
Oh! And as a bonus...the fabric I was going to use, which is leftover from making my bathroom curtains, is now a new curtain for my kitchen window. Thanks, Mom!
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I also stacked some fabric in the Coke crate that sits on the bottom of the hutch, and added some sewing stuff...notions?...to the bottom of the sewing case (haven't done the top bin? box? drawer? case? chest? box? part yet).
I started my lampshade yesterday...it's on hold until I get more beads.
I want to make it white with three zig-zag stripes in an accent color. I have all kinds of white beads in my stash, but nothing smaller than an 11, when I need a 13 or 15. I went downtown to the bead store, but they didn't have any in white that size either...I wasn't expecting that...I'd expect not to find cornflower blue, or fuchsia, but white?
After I left downtown I went to Ben Franklin to get my white beads there. They only sell the little ones in teeny packages, and only ever have two or three of each on the shelf at a time. It sucks to buy them that way, because if I get them at the bead store I get a 10 gram tube for $2.45, but I have to pay $1.25 each for the teeny 1.6 gram packs at Ben Franklin. I suppose I could have ordered them online, but then I'd have to pay shipping, so it'd probably work out to be the same anyway...actually it would be much more, because I'd buy all kinds of beads I don't need since I'm 'paying shipping already'.
Anyway...I bought the two packages they had. The lady who does the ordering wasn't there yesterday, so I'll probably pop in on my lunch hour Monday with one of the empty packages to make sure that she gets me more.
I can't decide on a accent color. I have gold, lime and black in the right size, but none one of those sound appealing. Maybe pink or light blue...I don't know. What do you guys think?
The bead store is right across the street from my favorite toy store, so I went in to browse...came home with a plant stand.
I'm trying to decide if I want to go to my parent's house today to make curtains or not...
I found what miniaturists call "printables" on the web...for free. Check out these art supplies.
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Gloss varnish fixed my books...thanks, Melinda, for your input...I wasn't looking at it quite the way you were, but I should have been.
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Susan sent me links about the book The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death...I've got to see if our library has it. I'll link here to the sites with good pictures...the electron-stained wretch and the National Library of Medicine.
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I used sharpies to color the 5 1/2" tall artist's mannequin that I'm going to use as the artist in my mini-studio. Every time I handle it my hands turn colors. I'm thinking now that I'm not going to use it at all, that the studio doesn't even need an artist. We'll see...I'll probably change my mind a dozen times before I'm finished. Who knows, I may splurge on one of these. But I probably won't splurge enough for this or this (which is the same doll, I'm sure, just with hair and clothes).
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It's been in the 40s and 50s the last few days, we've lost a lot of snow...I can see over snowbanks at intersections now, it's great! It rained yesterday afternoon and evening...now it's below freezing with snow and high winds forecast for today. I know everything has got to be iced over outside, though it can't be too bad because they didn't cancel school...still, I'm not looking forward to my drive to work this morning.
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Sitting at my worktable all hunched over my miniatures is giving me backaches...no matter what chair I try. I had a recumbent chair years ago that I loved...I lost it in a move (I think my ex threw it out because he didn't like it). I've had my eyes open for another one ever since but haven't seen one. I'm going to have to order one online and pay for shipping.