Queen Anne chair sneak peek

With the wedding drawing nearer every day I've been busy with lots of details. We had some great weather last week and so I was able to take some time for minis too. I love working on our balcony and thankfully I have a really comfy chair :) 

What I came up with is this Queen Anne chair. I got the plan from the book I bought last year although I followed it only partially. I didn't make tenon joint but I jointed the whole chair with pegs. How can you get so tiny pegs? Well, you sand down a toothpick of course! 

Although it still has many flaws and isn't complete yet I am so very proud of this chair. It is by far the most detailed piece I've made. It took me quite some time to figure everything out but I think that the second one should be easier to make since I know where I made mistakes with this one. I heard somewhere that if you know of one way how not to do/make something you're one step closer to knowing how to do it properly (or something along those lines). 

As far as a first attempt at this style goes I think it turned out great. I was afraid that it wouldn't go together properly and was completely thrilled when it did! That feeling when you put everything together and you see that it's going to work..... it just makes all the trial and error worth it!

I would love to hear what you think! It's still not finished of course but it already has the general shape. I'm not sure if I'll be able to put on the brackets on either side of the legs. Perhaps I should have made them before I glued everything together, but I was just too excited to see if it would turn out as it should. I will try to add them to this one but if not the next one will definitely have them. And next time there will be more pictures of the process and hopefully of this one finished. I already have the cabriole legs for three more chairs so I'll be able to take lots of photos!

Until next time!

*Poof*

The person behind the miniatures :) Photo by Inaya

Hello again :)

I think that I have never shared a picture of myself here... I've decided it's about time you see the person behind the miniatures you've been seeing for a few years now :)

Last Saturday we had a little pre-wedding photo shoot with Inaya. She is a brilliant photographer! If you remember she photographed some of my minis and she will also be doing our wedding photos. We love how the pictures turned out and we also had a lot of fun on Saturday :) So thank you again Inaya for a wonderful afternoon and amazing photos!

I asked her for a picture of me with one of my minis so I could share it with all of you :)

So this is me :) The face behind all the minis :)

If anyone is interested you can also see more of our photos from that day in her blog post. I've decided not to put them here, but anyone who is interested can still see them :)

Hope you all have a great week and make lots of minis!

Until next time!

*Poof*

Giveaway results are in :)

Thank you everyone for your well wishes and lovely comments! As promised I have drawn two winners.

I decided to do this the old fashioned way and write names on pieces of paper and then draw.

The winner of the stool is.....

Congratulations Lisa! Please send me your shipping info so this can get to you as soon as possible.

And the secret prize winner who will get to choose one of these wands is...

Congratulations Blanche! Please let me know which wand you would prefer and of course your address. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway. There will be more goodies for everyone this year so check back often :)

And of course congratulations to both winners!

Until next time!

*Poof*

My miniatures through the eyes of a professional photographer

Remember the amazing photos my friend took of my minis? Well, she sent me a new round. Again, I was speechless when I saw them. My fiance said they're worth more than gold since they got me to shut up for a few minutes, hahah. He was kidding.... I think he was kidding.... I hope he was kidding, hahha.

I would like to thank everyone for the lovely comments. It means so much to know that people enjoy my work since I love sharing my process and end results with all of you.

Of course these photos were again taken by the fabulously talented Inaya. You can also find her on facebook. And now without further ado....

What do you think? Amazing, right? These are all things you've already seen on this blog. Isn't it interesting how they can look so much better this way? I don't think I'll ever stop admiring them :) Thank you again Inaya!!

In other news....

Recently I've had some time to set up a facebook page. You can find the link on the right side of this blog or just click here. Just in case you don't want to miss any blog updates or are curious to see more WIP photos. I have decided to post occasional snapshots of my worktable there that won't be on the blog. If you're interested head on over and take a look. I will also have another giveaway only for facebook in the very near future so keep an eye out for that also.

I wish everyone a very happy Easter with lots of colourful Easter Eggs :)

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

Giveaway extension and secret prize revealed!!!

First of all, thank you for all your wonderful comments! I enjoy hearing from all of you and of course with everyone good luck in the giveaway ;)

Lately I've had some free time and decided to try my hand at something new. Now I can finally tell you what I've been up to.... wood turning!!

Of course the first thing I had to turn were some wands. The next thing I had to turn were scroll handles. I have so many ideas and can't wait to try more. I got the idea from somewhere in blogland (have no idea where tough) to turn my rotary tool into a makeshift lathe. Instead of mounting a drill bit I mounted a skewer and the rest is history :) My dad thought me how to properly hold the chisels since he owns a big real life lathe, but the principle is the same here. 

I have decided to extend the giveaway so instead of ending on April 20th it is now going to end after the holidays on May 10th. Everything else stays the same (if you post about it on your blog/tumblr/facebook your chances will double).

Of course you're all wondering what is going to be the secret prize.....

The winner will be able to choose from one of these four wands, which will come with it's own box.

I did turn a few more wands but they still need some paint and varnish. 

The scrolls turned out great too! I'm very excited about turning wood since it opens up a whole new range of possibilities. 

After turning the scroll 'handles' (is there a proper scientific name for them?) I aged the paper with Distress Ink and painted the wood with gold. It almost looks like metal :)

I found some very old tarock cards in the basement and of course I immediately whisked them away upstairs... aren't they handy for photos?

At first I made two of these. I turned a pair of handles, intending for them to be the same style of scroll as the first one, but then when I added the paper I decided it looked better this way. And besides, they can't all be the same, right? 

I would love to see what you think of my newest skill (well, learning a new skill). It's so much fun I can't wait to make more turnings!! 

Until next time!

*Poof*

How another artist can transform your miniatures a.k.a. my miniatures photographed by a professional

A friend of mine offered to take pictures of my miniatures. She is a brilliant photographer and I think I should just let the pictures speak for themselves. 

You can see more of her work on her website Inaya or on her facebook page Inaya Portfelj.

All of these miniatures were made by me....can you believe it?! I almost didn't believe these are mine, hahaha. It's such a wonder how a talented person can present your miniatures in a totally different way!

Thank you again Ines for these amazing photos!!

Until next time!

*Poof*

Birthday Giveaway!

Again I have disappeared for a few weeks.... it seems like a never ending story that real life always gets in the way of mini making. But I am going to make it up to all of you.... How?

I think it's about time for me to have another giveaway. And since today is my birthday, what better time than now? I'm in a very celebratory mood today and have decided to give myself the gift of giving. I think I should make this an annual giveaway.... there was a birthday giveaway last year too and why not... it's always nice to make someone happy, isn't it.

I will draw one person who will receive ....

This is a vanity chair completely made by hand by yours truly :) It's finished with 'fake' goldleaf and looks slightly worn. The padding is red velvet. 

And the rules are:

1. Be a follower of this blog (either by blogger or bloglovin)
2. Leave a comment on this blog entry to let me know you wish to be included in the draw

For a chance to be entered in the giveaway twice, post about this giveaway on your blog/tumblr/facebook/... (if it's on facebook or tumblr please say so in the comment so I will know you posted)

The giveaway will end on Easter Sunday, April 20th at midnight CET. I will announce the winner on April 21st. The winner will be chosen by a random generator.

There will also be a mystery prize and everyone who will participate in the giveaway will be in the draw for this prize also.

And this is something I wish I could share with each and every one of you...

My birthday cake, which more or less says 'Congratulations to Jana for one quarter of a century'

I don't think I've ever said anything about my age, but well, today I turned 25.... on March 25th, hahaha!

I would like to take this chance to thank everyone for their lovely comments on my blog. I don't post as often as I'd like but I appreciate all the support and I cherish every single comment! Thank you for being with me.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Finished Chair and Patisserie Goodies

I've been extremely busy lately with real life and so I didn't get to play with my minis a lot during the last few weeks. The house has also been on hold for now but I'm hoping to return to it soon.

Although I'm very busy with work, I finished my thesis and now I have to wait for a date for my formal presentation. I'm very glad that's going to be over soon. Also planning the wedding and such... I'm going to make a lot of things myself - invitations, thank you cards, wedding favors,.... as much as I possibly can. We're going to have a small wedding so at least there won't be a ton of the same things to make. But still, I need to design everything which I think will take a lot more time than actually making things. Oh well.... I'm looking forward to it thought. You only get married one, right? Well, generally speaking :)

Ok, I got a bit carried away....

I wanted to show you the progress I made on the white lantern I'm making for a relative. I've finished the chair, 'baked' a lot of goodies and played with paper a bit. Today was the first day I had for minis in quite some time. And I have such great luck that I have a nasty cold, I've been sneezing and coughing all day, not to mention my runny nose. Uugh... and even though I didn't really feel all that good I couldn't wait to get some mini time so I got out of bed for a few hours to make a couple of things...

Just finished it today. I love how it turned out! It kind of reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.... perhaps that should be my next project.... an Alice lantern.... hmmm...

I baked all sorts of cookies for the etagere. I love these, my mother bakes these in real life. They're very big in real life too so I decided to make them big in miniature too.

Mmmmm......

Well, considering that this was my first experimenting with Fimo after over a year I think the sweets turned out pretty ok. I'm no expert for sure but they look somewhat like they're supposed to, right?

The whole etagere.... I'm sorry for the bad pics, I promise to get better ones up sometime soon. We've been having horrible weather and there is no chance of going outside for pictures.

Since I was in bed for the most part of the day I decided to try and design a few shopping bags and gift boxes. So far I've assembled a shopping bag. I think it turned out wonderfully and will look great in the patisserie. It still needs handles though....

I know, I know, these are the boxes for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. I cheated a little and filled them with some rock candy. I just love the boxes so much I couldn't resist. And it's impossible to read the sign so I can get away with it.

This is what I'm thinking for the table.... although I probably won't use this piece of cake.... I'm planning on making a half eaten one.

Ok, now I'm going to sleep and hope this pounding in my head is going to go away. Again, I'll try to take some better pics soon but in the mean time I hope you like what I've been up to. I'd love to know what you think of these so far. Nothing on the table is glued yet but the etagere is so not much correcting there I'm afraid. 

Until next time!

*Poof*