First of all, Happy New Year, everyone :) As you noticed, I've done a bit of a refresh here. The blog is now on my own domain, iseecerulean.com, but all your old links will still work...nothing broke! The new design is responsive to different screen sizes across multiple devices, so should be easier for everyone to read. The post-to-post navigation is improved as well.
Now, on to the last post about the beach house details....
I made the beach from several thin layers of sand poured over layers of Elmer's white glue. I had tons of free beach sand at my disposal, but opted to use clean play sand purchased from the hardware store. I didn't want to sift out debris or have insect eggs hatch later, inside my studio. The last few layers were poured around tiny real shells. The shells were left over from the Chantilly build, I don't remember where I bought them, but they're readily available on ebay....I checked because I couldn't find where I stashed them at first and thought I was going to have to buy new ones.
There is also a bird on the beach, made by Barbara Meyer. He's hard to see but that's why I like him, he looks real.
Barbara also made the cockatoo perched on the planter box and the lizard on the wall by the shower.
The gorgeous goldfish bowl is another item that I bought years ago but didn't have the right home for until now. It was made by Miyuki Kobayashi.
The cactus came from Grapevine Miniatures, the bird-of-paradise plant from Carol's Bloomers. The big palm was made by inserting leafs laser cut by JMG Miniatures into a pine cone. The dracaena was made with leaf sheets and instructions from Pepperwood Miniatures. I made the rest of the plants.
The surfboard is a mass produced piece. I chopped a bit off the bottom end to make it look like it was stuck further down into the sand. The snorkeling gear is handmade, the tag said "by Barb". The beach towels were cut from baby washcloths.
The chairs were purchased from WCD Miniatures, I made the table. The sushi was an ebay find, it came in a round black dish that was larger in diameter than the table, so I forcibly removed some sushi pieces to relocate into a plastic take-out container I made from chewing gum packaging. The chopsticks were cut down from flat toothpicks.
Originally there were two cocktails on the table, a pina colada and a pink martini, but I knocked the table over while dressing it and broke the stem of the martini glass. I replaced it with a bottle of beer off the bar. So as not to waste the pricey martini I flipped it over, filled the empty space with wax, and made it a flask-shaped bottle on the bar, in place of the beer bottle I stole. It adds a nice shot of color there.
The cocktail and beer bottle, as well as the shrimp cocktail between them, were purchased from The Little Dollhouse Company. The fantastic orange sandals were made by Patrizia Santi.
The only thing I've yet to talk about is my unsuccessful experiment in lighting. I used electroluminescent strips in the shower and on the ceilings. They look really neat, but they're not bright enough to light up a room and they cause the power supply to emit a harsh and distasteful buzz. I had to retrofit some LED fixtures to provide enough lighting to view the rooms. I had an electroluminescent, blue, rope light I was going to run along the bottom of the deck, but didn't bother to.
