How I made the mini cards

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For the cardmakers room I needed lots of cards. Because  I love  card making I did not want to use the cut out printies you often find in magazines  or on line.  You can use them for they are really nice but I wanted   real handmade  cards.

It is actually easier to do than you might think. I made the square cards 1 cm by 1 cm because that was esay to cut. But size it does not really matter much  for cards come in all shapes and sizes. 

The paper you use is important. I found printer paper was too thin and the paper I use for full scale cards was too thick. The solution ?

The envelopes that come with the card blanks you buy are perfect.  If you are not a card maker , recycle old envelopes.  An added bonus is that the envelopes often have a different color on the inside. So you can add more interest to the cards by using that effect and you have two kinds of paper for the price of one . Love a bargain like that !

In the top  photo you will see different techniques I used : Decoupage, nail art stickers, 3 d decoupage, and fabric decoupage.

Nail art is a geat way to begin making mini greetings cards. You can find all kinds of tiny stickers at dollar stores and drug stores.  I really like the tiny white flowers. They look like embossed paper on the cards. Handle them carefully because they tend to break when you lift them off the sticker paper but other than that it is really easy.

There are also flat stickers, little jewels and many other things that will work for your cards.

The next thing I tried was paper decoupage. You will need to find tiny pictures for this. I ended up scanning a sheet of  3 D decoupage pictures  I had and printing them  in the smallest size my printer would do.  All I had to do  then was  cut out the pictures.  At first I used the whole image on the cards. Then   I started adding the little bows and things.  The next step was cutting out parts of the pictures and decoupaging them to the cards. I used Mod Podge and it really worked well.

Different decoupage  cards ready for sale.

My card makers workroom

I had been planning to show this here for a long time. But I just felt too sad  whenever  I saw the photos. I made this a few years back  as an homage to one of my none mini hobbies : Making Greetings Cards.

When the scene which is  inside a book was finished,  I donated it to a Charity so they could sell it at their Christmas Fair. I do not know what happened but the scene disappeared just before the sale. I was told it was stolen . I still feel sad about it going missing. I hope it has not just been thrown out and that whoever has it now is enjoying it.

Anyway I still got some photos of it. I am planning to share the techniques I used to make the mini cards  here. So watch this space !

Found some old photos

 Found some old photos of a project I did years ago. I was pleased to see it again and to be able to share it . The name of the scene was "  Sister  outing  "  I wanted to show an Edwardian girl taking her little sister out for a little outing.

I designed the pattern for the girls dress and hat. It is   done in crochet. I used vintage lace for the decoration. Sadly I do not have a photo that shows the whole dress.

The baby gown and bonnet are also my own design.  They are knitted in DMC tatting thread.  I have lost  the pattern . Must try to do something similar some time soon.

I also desigend and knitted the little blanket for the pram. The pram is a Heidi Ott pram that I covered in hat straw because I prefered the look of wicker and the inside has silk  and vintage lace.

Having fun with things from my stash

I am sure everyone has a stash of mini treasures. Things you recieved as gifts , bought or made yourself but that never really got used in any of your projects.  I love to go over my stash every now and then collect items that fit into  a theme and do a little project with them.



This time I used a hutch that a friend painted for me years ago and it  I put all kinds of things that said kitchen to me.  I am pretty pleased with the result.



I did glue all the items into the hutch because I want to be able to take it with me and show it to some friends. But I used photo glue so I can remove everyhting if I should ever want to do so.


Friends suggested I should offer the hutch for sale. So I am going to give it a try. If you are interested please contact me.

My granddaughter made a dollshouse

I just have to share this with all of you .

Using just a box and some very basic tools , paper and paint my granddaughter Vanessa made this lovely dollshouse with a tiny bit of help from Nana.

It is her very first dollshouse and Nana is very proud of her.  Is it  not it just lovely ?
Now of course we need to get her a real dollshouse   so she can show off more of her talents.

Mini mason jars

I love decorated mason jars ! So I  just had to make some in 12 th scale as wll.

Here are some pictures of the ones I made.

 For those who like to make some too  here are a few tips.

Mini bottles can be expensive but at the dollar store I found 12 of them in a pack. Each was filled with seed beads that I am sure I can use for something some time. If you want smaller bottles look for the ones that hold tiny items for nail art.

The ones I am showing here are the bead bottles .

If you add some paint to the bottle and give it a good swirl it is very easy to get inside painted. Leave to dry upside down so the excess paint comes out. It looks pretty awesome when dry.

A frosted effect on the outside  can be easily done with Mod Podge :  just dab it on with a sponge. For extra effect you can add some white micro glitter.

You can paint the outside of the bottles too. I used a sponge and some gesso to get a nice effect.

For the decoration the sky is the limit. Decoupage works very well as do rub off picture and , nail art stickers . You can find many suitable printables on Pinterest. And if  you can paint you can paint a nice picture on them as well.

Ribbons, yarns silk flowers and small jewelry bits can really add a nice effect/

On some of my jars I replaced the corks with glass buttons for a different look.

The easiest way to make mini candles.

It is a very cold and dark day here in Holland so what better time than today for making some  easy mini candles.  Just follow the steps and have fun.

Erasers often have that nice waxy look that candles also have . So find some erarers in the color and shape you like. Remember you can cut shapes and sizes with a craft knife so you can have  any shape you like.

Now on to the wick.  You will need a pointed needle and a piece of cotton trhead. I used tatting thread. Thread through the eraser, leaving a tail at each end.

Cut thread , leaving a tail for the wick at the top. Tip: secure with tacky glue,

Finished candle glued to a mini suction cup . They make great candle holders.

 Decorate with some plastic berries

Add some clusters of tiny leaves. I use plastic ones but paper would work just as well.

 Add little bits of so called  stretchy vine ( www.,minkitz.com selll this brilliant stuff) for greenery.

   I used some coriander seess because they look like mini walnuts.

All done . I think it looks pretty festive. Hope you will be inspired to create your own version. Would love to see a photo if you make one.