My Etsy shop is now open.

I am very happy to Announce that my etsyshop : Miniatures by Marianne is now open !

Here is the link :


https://www.etsy.com/shop/MiniaturesbyMarianne?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Showing off some new creations

I have been making some new no clay foods.  People often ask me why I do not use clay. It is very simple :  I am totally unable to make anything out of clay. The kneading and softening the clay is very hard for me for starters .  Another thing is that the baking of polymer clay produces fumes that make me feel sick,  so no clay for me.

I often get asked if my creations will keep as well as the polymer clay ones. I have to admit I do not know exactly how long they will last.  But I have done a lot of tests and  I found they still look very good after quite a few years.  I have bought clay creations that started to fall apart after a few years and I also have some that look very well after like 10 years.  But  because all the materials we use now like modern clays, glues etc are not old enough to tell exactly how they will stand the test of time we have to hope for the best really.  But so far I think mine are doing pretty well.

For me a lot of the fun is trying to find easy to find every day items that I can translate into  yummie looking food. Hope they will inspire  you

Thinking ahead for spring : make a picnic basket

Designing your own pretty plates with handmade decals

Knit a little mini bear

This bear is really tiny and may look hard to make but because the head and body are one piece she is easier to do than you may think. The arms and legs are a bit harder because they are tiny.

One tip before you start : have a safety pin ready to keep all your finished pieces together so they will not get lost.

What you will need :
1 pair of 1 mm knitting needles
Thin wool in white and caramel.
Tiny bit of Fibre fill or cotton wool to stuff the bear
Needle for making up the bear.
Black sewing thread for eyes and nose
Tacky Glue
Blush ( optional)

Head and body ( 1 piece)
Cast on 20 stitches in white for the dress part that doubles up as her body.
Row 1 and 2 : Knit
Row 3- 10 : Stocking stitch ( Knit or right side, purl on wrong side)
Change to camel for the head.
Row 11 _ 20 Stocking Stitch.
Cut thread leaving a long tail.
Thread the the tail through the stitches on the needle and pull tight to close the top of the head. Make a  few stitches to keep everything  in place but do not cut the tail just yet. Put aside.

Arms ( make 2 )
Cast on 6 stitches and work 6 rows of Stocking Stitch.
Cut the thread leaving a tail and thread through the stitches on the needle . Put on safty pin so it will not get lost.

Legs ( make 2)
Cast on 6 stitches and work 4 rows of Stocking Stich. Finish as arms and put on safety pin.

Ears ( make 3 )

Yes you will need 3 earshapes for one will become the bear's nose.

Cast on 3 stiches and knit one row. Cast off the stitches knitwise.
Cut thread leaving a tail.

For the ears : tie the tail and the thread at the cast on on end together to shape ears.
The nose stays flat.
Please put them all on the safety pin for sanities sake !

To make up the bear :
Close the seam on the back of the bear. You can use the caramel tail to close the head and use white thread for the dress.Weave in loose ends. Stuff  the head and the body ( dress) and close the dress at the bottom by making tiny stitches just above the two knit rows. This means there is a little space for the top of the  legs to go under the dress later

Tie white wool or a ribbon around the body at neck level to define the neckline.

To make the arms and legs. Arms and legs to not need stuffing. Just fold them in half and sew together. Weave in lose ends, Sew arms to body at the top of the dress.  The legs will be attached to the bottom of the dress.  The legs will appear as if they are coming from inside the dress. The easiest way to do this is to glue the legs inside the open bottom of the dress. Leave to dry.  Then make tiny stitches through the bottom of the dress catching both layers of the dress and  catching the legs in between the layers.

Ears :
Use the two earshapes on which you tied the threads and sew or glue to the top of the head, Weave in lose ends.

Nose:
The third earshape is going to be the nose. Sew or glue to the bears face checking the photo for placement. Weave in loose ends. With the sewing thread and a needle embroider a little nose and two eyes once again checking the photo for placement.

Optional :
Add a tiny tiny bit of blush to her cheeks. It will define the face just a little bit more.

Have fun with your little bear !

A pretty hutch in shabby chic style

This hutch was painted a grubby looking  dark brown when I recieved it as a gift. I did not like it at all and it stayed in the box for a very long time. Till I saw a picture of a similar looking  full scale hutch done up in shabby chic style.

I had no idea about doing the paint effects so I looked for tips. I found one that suggested rubbing the furniture with a candle and then painting it with white paint. I decided to give it a try and I feel the effect is actually quite nice on most of the hutch. But the  back behind the shelves looked really awful.

I decided to copy the idea I saw on the photo I liked : covering the back wall with pretty little pictures.
 I found these and stored them on my puter and just printed them to size.

I cut out the pictures and glued them in place using Mod Podge. I also finished the  whole thing with a coat of Mod Podge.

I really like the effect and I want to take the theme a bit further and use the same paper to make little boxes and other things to put into the hutch. I think it will make a nice display for perfume and soaps.

Leeks and spring onions without clay.

Leeks out of paper tape !

Three colors of papertape. The kind you use for flower making.  This stuff sticks to itself when you handle it because of the warmth of your hands.

Start with white at the bottom of the leek. Roll tape around a pin.

When you feel the leek is thick enough tear off white tape. Never cut the tape or you will get a seam in your leek.

 Next go for the light green part of the leek. Tear the green  tape ( no cutting if you do not want a seam in your leeks ) and wrap round the top of the white part tapering the light green tape to make the leek longer.

Repeat till you are happy with the length and size.

Repeat the whole thing with the dark green tape for the top part.

 The finished roll of tape for your leek. You can cut it to length now.

Snip the dark end with scissors to create the leaves. If you like you can  add a little bit of brown  paint to the bottom to suggest mud or even some thin threads to suggest roots.

 A spring onion really is a sort of mini leek so you can make them using the same technique just making it thinner and smaller.

 And last but not least you can even cut the leeks into rings like the real stuff.

TIP : the tape is sticky after you handled it . I like to paint my leeks with a thin coat of Mod Podge Matt to stop them feeling just a bit sticky.