Oh, Wolverine, what did they do to you?

I've been kind of busy lately, helping with my sister's upcoming wedding (I love you Kimberly!)  So fewer tiny stuff and more regular-sized stuff.  But I did manage to pick up a new arrival.

The saddest Wolverine ever.  I got him for ten cents.

Yes, he is missing two of his claws on one hand.  Yes, he's in a permanent sitting position. Yes, a lot of the paint is worn off of his body (even, scandalously, his rear end).

I want to show you what he looks like now, because hopefully I'll be able to give his legs some joints and spruce him up to better-than-new!  Happy arting!

Gifty Gift Gift

My sister got back from South Africa!  She brought me back exactly what I asked for: a little something for the dollhouse.

They look just like little vases, or jugs, hard as rock!  I'm so thrilled with them!  They make the perfect new additions.

Love you, Kimberly!!

My room is clean(ish) for the first time ever, and I'm focusing most of everything on that.  Today I went through papers and trashed a lot of junk I didn't need.

In lieu of an art picture (I swear, they're percolating, I have ideas for miniatures just a-waitin' to come out), here's a picture-picture of my glorious room, which was mostly cleaned by my mom, for money, while I was out of the way for a week:

Okay, I'm sorry for being so mega slowsville lately!  I have a writing deadline... today.  So I've been mostly doing that.  Speaking of... I need to get back to it!

I'll leave you with this super cute picture in the spirit of summer.

It's one of those drink cosies, but it makes the perfect little kiddy pool!  I got it at a garage sale!  Happy arting!

I've been having a really wild week!  No real art to speak of, but I started pressing flowers for projects (and possibly miniatures), trying to write, babysitting, and more, and while I'm inspired to make things, the motivation just isn't there right now.  It's like being an RC car and having good, fresh batteries but the whole car is upside down so no one's getting anywhere.

So I'm giving myself the week off.  I'm going to be obnoxiously relaxed, give my brain a break from building, and start focusing on other stuff without the nagging guilt at the back of my head that says, "Make something."  I'll get to it.  And when I do it's going to be awesome!

What do you folks do when you find yourself in an artistic rut?

Slots of Fun

Garage Sale Saturdays was a huge success!  I got material, watches to dismantle, and... a working slot machine.

I didn't have a table handy so I used a clay container.  Pretty neat, huh?  Though, I must say, the last thing that anyone in the dollhouse needs is a gambling problem.  The house is 80% full of depressives (see: Poe, Van Gogh, the Crow, Batman, etc).

Okey dokey!  I've been doing a lot of shopping lately!  Garage sale Saturday was a huge success for me!  I got doilies to use as tablecloths, and a whole stack of fabric (for free!)  I also got a furby, because I love those creepy little things. 

This week is super busy for me, as far as real life goes, so I might be slowsville for a bit.  But I am working on some new arrivals (I have the foil and pipecleaner skeletons all ready to go!)

I'm also trying to decide what to do, as far as coloring the front door and the window frames.  Since the house is this gorgeous shade of light blue, I need to choose the right colors to go along with it.  Do I want to go clashy, or matchy?  I'm leaning toward clashy, because (let's be honest) I always am!  Maybe a golden door?

Okay, you folks, I know that I've been quiet lately, but I'm working on flooring and I want to post it when it's finished.  So I'll give you something from Garage Sale Saturday.

I got a tiny rubber ducky!  Among other things.

Look how interested in the duckie Van Gogh is!  He must be in a mood.

I haven't forgotten you!  I've been working on a painting commission and my writing.

But I have an idea, fresh from Valentine's Day.

Empty boxes of chocolate work great for compartmented, stackable mini storage.  And if you have a rectangular one, you could do some fiddling and end up with shelves.

Real art coming soon, I promise you!

This is my one-hundredth post!  Thank you so much for being with me on this incredible journey thus far! 

Now, I had a little bit of something ready, but it seems a little weak for a hundredth post.

Then again, so does this.

Keep on following.  Many more adventures are in store for us!

What sort of thing should I make next?  Give me suggestions, and I'll figure out a way to make it on the cheap!

For the budget-conscious among us, now is the golden age in miniatures: after Christmas ornament sales.

The librarian at the school I volunteer at hooked me up!   

Here's a clearer view.  I just yanked off the hanging bits, and it's the perfect furniture.  Also: there's a camel.

Here's a free decoration that you can get.  Seashells.

Nature already makes them in scale!  Tiny seashells look just like bigger seashells, just tinier!  Same with tiny snail shells.

My collection right now is kind of pitiful, but think about how neat they'll look all in a basket.  And with more of them.

Today I brought the Doctor on an adventure in New York!  This is us on the Subway.  If you're asking about the face I'm making, you're required to make this face when you're riding the Subway.  I would've gotten arrested otherwise.

This is the tree at Rockefeller.  It was more squat than I thought it would be, but pretty neat.

We ate at a pub that had a burger called Oscar Wilde!  I had fish and chips instead.

This is me reading at a train station with my cane and Batman backpack.

And, finally, here's a picture of me and Spiderman in New York!  I'm no Mary Jane Watson, but hello tiger!  The only way this could be better is if I ran into Batman and the Justice League, too!

And... for some actual art content. I tried to work with the thimbles, but my ordinary go-to, nailpolish, wasn't really covering.  I'm still playing around with it, but no pics worth mentioning. Speaking of mentioning... feel free to comment! 

Happy arting!

So, everyone in the dollhouse got coal.  They all deserved it.

Otherwise, I visited Pennsylvania today!  It's so weird to travel an hour and get into a new state.  It takes an hour to get into Houston from my house!  It takes ten hours to get from all the way east to all the way west in Texas.  As long as sixteen hours diagonally!  You can drive all through daylight and still be in the Lone Star State.

And we went shopping at Odd Lots.  It's the first time I've ever been there, and I had a blast!

I got tons of scrapbooking paper for wallpapering the dollhouse, ten pieces for a dollar.

And I got a padholder that could work as a bedframe, a pack of tiny things that my sister found for the kitchen.

Tiny flowers, two packs for a dollar, scrapbooking frames that'll work brilliantly as dollhouse frames, and two thimbles for free that'll stand up on their own or hang up as planters!  Oh, my dears, tomorrow I'm going to play!

Happy arting!

Today is Christmas Eve, and as usual the Doctor is getting into capers.

All joking aside, there was a fourth wise man in the Christmas scene.

While the Doctor chatted with a young lady about politics (he's against politics, she's for them)....

...Van Gogh and Poe terrorized a tiny house.

Poe tried out the slot machine, but all he got out of it was some lousy Christmas cheer.

Van Gogh marveled at that strange square contraption.

The Doctor warned this young rodent about the dangers of tanning and...

...after that he flirted with a young lady that is way out of his league, and quite tall besides!

Happy arting and merry Christmas Eve!

P.S.  I'm sorry about all the editing!  This comp will only let me post one picture at a time!

I know I've been making a lot of excuses lately but ommmmggggg the holidays are coming up so I am doing all of the art for people as presents!  As it stands, my dollhouse has becomes a disaster area.  So, not one to skimp on the photographs, I've supplied one:

Di. Sas. Ter.  Today I made a notebook for a friend of mine, and I bound another small book that I still need to make a cover for.  I actually bound the book, instead of gluing it all together and wondering why it looks wonky!  I'm more excited about that than is humanly possible.  I learned from a tutorial in Microcrafts! 

I got a book out of the library and it rocks my world!  It's called Microcrafts and it is stunning.  You can make cats smaller than a quarter, bind tiny books, and make tiny felt planet mobiles (including Pluto). 

I think I'm in love.

I've been doing some art, off and on, but (alas) I still haven't gotten batteries.  Art is forthcoming, though.  Tomorrow or the next day there will be art, or my name isn't Balthazar Jones.

Erm.

Happy arting!

Garage sale Saturday strikes again!

This time, I found a kit for a little gingerbread house and a tiny stove magnet to go in that house.

The pic is a little blurry, but there's a cat curled up beneath it and a pie on the stovetop!

I also found the sweetest little furniture set.

Happy arting!

I have a few little art projects simmering for you folks, but I'm also desperately trying to make wordcount for NaNoWriMo.

So, instead, I want to show you some new materials that I'm crazy about.  I went thriftstore shopping when they were having their once a month sale to see if I could get some fabric for either upholstery or othersuch tomfoolery, and I found some interesting stuff!

A pleather skirt with a snakeskin pattern, leather pants, and this really funky printed dress.   I'll try to actually finish a project tomorrow or the next day!!

Garage Sale Saturday was a semi-success!  I got a few watches for dismantling, and I got a terrible Superman.  When I say "terrible Superman," the words don't really do justice to how truly terrible this Superman is.  Pictures don't, either, since the camera keeps getting blurry shots.  It must be his Kryptonian physique.

There's Oscar Wilde sleeping on the floor in front of him.  Anyway, Superman has hands that are scraped up with gouges and he's missing the tip of his nose.  He's going to be a real fixer upper.

Also: there's been some interest in the couch I made, so I made up a kind of tutorial.  This isn't size-accurate, just a visual representation, so that you can do your own thing and experiment with what works for you.

Fold on the blue lines, attach the red lines together perpendicularly.  Stuff where you feel it needs stuffing, cover every piece with fabric.  The backing goes onto the back of the main part to cover up where you attached the fabric (I used hot glue).  I made four rounded rectangles as the arm fronts and arm backs, and I sandwiched the blue folding tabs between them before I glued the red to red.  It's really a lot easier than it sounds!  Happy arting!