Happy New Year

Happy 2017!

After the deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mom (and don’t even get me started on all those who passed away in the weeks and months before that) I wasn’t really all that sad to say goodbye to 2016. I’m not really big on making resolutions. I always aim way too high and then feel a bit like a failure. So, every year I try to just be better. Help make the world better by being a better human.

For Christmas I received a gift certificate for the exact amount of the 2017 Creatin’ Contest kit. And my gears have been turning. However, I wanted to finish sharing all the inside details of the tent before I move on to the next build.

So, back to Africa.

 

My tiny traveler has to use her limited storage space efficiently. While researching campaign furniture, I came across tent pole straps with hooks. The unusable space on the center pole suddenly becomes useful vertical storage. The strap is made from hooks I purchased from miniatures.com and leather fringe found in the jewelry department at JoAnn’s fabric. The boots were a splurge, but they are so darn cute (boots and binoculars also from miniatures.com).  The messenger bag is made with masking tape, the leather fringe, and paint. The butterfly net is a fancy toothpick, tulle, and some wire. I used super glue to make both of these items since I needed something that would grab quickly.

The pictures were found on google. They were resized using photoshop and printed out. I put a layer of clear packing tape, gave the tape a light sanding to bring down the shime a little, and then cut them out.

The basket was found on miniatures.com. The fabric is just scraps that were doused with a heavy amount of starch and then left to dry. The blue vase was picked up at my local dollhouse store. The brass urn was found at a thrift store.

The canteen is air dry clay, wrapped in masking tape, painted, and then more of that leather fringe for the handle.

Behind the bed is a brass lamp fitting that is being used as a sort of umbrella stand, except it holds spears and walking sticks. The spear is a bamboo skewer, aluminum foil, and some thread. the dark walking stick is carved out of a small dowel and painted. The one with the ball is a loose interpretation of a self defense weapon. Its a bead on the end of a skewer, coated in tissue paper and glue, then painted.

The shields were wood discs that were soaked in hot water until they were malleable, then tied onto a spoon to create a curve. I let them dry for a few days. Three of the shields were given texture with tissue paper and glue. The long skinny brown shield was given its woven texture with fabric from an old tie. All of the shields have edging made from waxed string.

The beaded Masai necklace is micro beads glued onto card stock and painted. It was a pain in the butt to make and I’m not 100% happy with it, but by gosh it was going in.

The mud cloth tapestry was inspired by one that I found on Etsy. I printed it out in the size I wanted, used graphite to transfer the design to the fabric I wanted to use, then used super fine tipped pens to ink the design. My eyes were so angry at me after that. I may need to start thinking about glasses.

The little flashlight on the bed was a piece of a mechanical pencil. A little paint, some aluminum foil, and *bam* you have a flashlight.

The trunks were made using wooden building blocks. The pencil is a toothpick that was sanded down and painted. The vase is the top of an acorn on a piece of Fimo clay. It was painted and then I added puka shells made out of Fimo. The giraffe statue (there is also a lion and elephant) were made by glueing tiny toy animals to a wooden base, coated them with spackling paste to make them look a little bit more carved, and then painted black.

The brass lamp was found on miniatures.com, but it didn’t light up. I wanted it to look like it had flame, so I decided I was going to make it light up. I soaked it in water to loosen the glue that held on the glass hurricane. After that was removed I used my handy dandy Dremel with a drill bit to drill down through the center of the brass base (I added a tiny drop of water in the cup that holds the hurricane to keep things cool- also, I’d recommend wearing safety glasses). I thread the wires of a tiny chip light that’s battery operated (found on miniatures.com) through the hole and glued it in place. The hurricane was glued back in place. The battery is hidden in the trunk that is under the cot.

• bird cage was found at a thrift store
• journals were purchased at my local miniatures store and altered

The vase and magnifying glass were found on, you guessed it, miniatures.com. The gloriosa lilies were made by me. The jar for the butterfly was found at Michaels in their very limited miniatures section. The butterfly is a species found in Kenya. The pictures was found using google, resized using photoshop, and printed out. I used a ball stylus to give them a little bit of dimension. They were then glued to small sticks from my yard and then glued into the jars.

I think I’m going to stop there for tonight. I’ll post a little bit more about the details around the work table and then move on to fun new ideas!

I hope everyone had a safe and healthy holiday season. If this year is anything like last year, it will be 2018 in a blink.