strawberries....and sooo many gifts!

a tad late, but better than never, as 'they' say right? (who are these 'they' everyone speaks of anyway?!?!)

1:12 strawberries in air dry clay, tracing paper and acrylics. i tried to make it such that you can see the seeds....it's sorta kinda half successful....far better than my initial attempts at strawberries i think ^ ^ these are sooo addictive to make! approx 3-4mm big. i don't know yet what i'll use them for....

and yea. i have really wrinkly palms -_-" something about a hard life....etc.....i hope and think that the worst is over now ^ ^

ON TO THE REALLY FUN STUFF XD XD

so i've been busy with CNY preps, commissions and stuff, and now that most of it is over i am trying to catch up with my posts...i did quite a number of swaps with other miniaturists......SHOW AND TELL TIME! i actually received one more package late today from Dale of http://dalesdreams.blogspot.com, i'd won her birthday giveaway!!! i never win anything so this was a really pleasant surprise! i'll blog about that soon too. PROMISE! ^ ^

in reverse chronological order....here's what i've received....i hope i didn't miss out anyone yikes my memory isn't what it used to be. which is a good thing! well. kinda hard to explain. but it's definitely a plus for my bf's sanity's sake LOL



Kim of http://www.flickr.com/photos/fairchildart/ sent me these wonderful items! i'd initiated a swap with her as i've been a fan of her works for a while now, and since we had a small exchange about some cute little sundae glasses that made me go "nghghghhg" inside...i asked if she would help me procure some, and also requested a sample of her works.....she sent me the cutest jellybean filled dish and a breakfast set!


i remember gasping aloud when i saw this on her flickr set. that runny yolk!!! SLURP :9


the cookie cutters are TOO TOO CUTE XD



and omgomgomgomg!!! i'd been hankering after this set for a while, Kim must be psychic :O so dainty, and beautiful! i was telling Nyann how i daren't open it up....AHHHHHHHHHHHH but how else would i use it then!?!? :(


here are the sundae glasses! they put a small dent in my PP acct but i think they're worth it ^ ^ Yotsuba's gonna have different parfaits for each day of the week XD

Thank you soooooooooo much Kim!

(which reminds me, Dale once educated me on the difference between a sundae and a soft serve icecream. gee i hadn't known there was difference and i felt so silly for it hehehe )



looks like i hit jackpot, eh?? LOL!

Linda of http://lindaslittles.blogspot.com wanted to send me some papers she printed herself, and i was caught unawares by her package! i didn't expect this huge haul of items and materials for mini use! as in all my swap requests, i would ask for utensils, kitchenware etc. since i enjoy collecting them (you should see my re-ment and sylvanian families collection....i guess that's my cue to put 'em together for a photoshoot haha )



i have a soft spot for cutlery. they're sooo dainty and hard to obtain in accurate 1:12 scale, so these were definitely a treat to me! i believe this is chrysnbon too..... but look also at the detail on that ham!



here's some of the papers she printed for me. sadly, my paper puncher just would not work on them :( i think it's too blunt, and since i can't use the puncher without the mega-aid (recurrent thumb injury) i can't seem to punch them out accurately either, and the 3 that i tried were slightly torn too :( i guess i'll have to try again another day the old fashioned way....*snip snip snip



the basket, wooden bowl and jug in the upper right hand corner are also from Linda. I hadn't realised there was an additional film canister in the parcel, and had neglected to photograph it with the main batch of items!

the rest of the items were purchases from Talina http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittiesmademedoit/ who does amazing work and restorations. she gave me the little 'glass' bowls and pie tins ^ ^ i hope my pies made it to her safe and sound...

Thank you Talina and Linda!

and of course, EVERYBODY knows Petitplat / Stephanie XD http://petitplatbysk.blogspot.com/
she specially handpainted these platters for me!! look at how GORGEOUS they are :O


only the upper right 3 weren't painted by her. she also included the cutest cake and tart! i truly truly am in awe of her works. then again, any regular reader of this blog would know by now XD gush much? YES! :X

Thank you Stephanie!!! *huggles*


and lookit this little cutie! ok i'm referring to the puppet. hwa hwa hwa. http://www.flickr.com/photos/beckynot has a WICKED WICKED sense of humour! this is my 2nd swap with her...Yotsuba's super happy with her new toy!

Thank you Becky!


i need to find a way to display all my minis...the cafe has been sorely neglected and what better excuse to get it done up for all these wonderful items, eh? ok. time for bed! thank you so much everyone!!!

first attempts at fish.....

so....i've been a little....hesitant (?) about making fish. firstly, i don't enjoy eating it much. secondly, it seems like a lot of hard work. AND IT IS. thirdly, it would require i pick up a paintbrush, and those who read this blog regularly would know i am fearful of painting. anything. even my toenails.

so here i present to you, my first attempts at fish.




the larger one on the left is supposed to be Saba, i think it is the most successful of the lot. i did one of the shisamo (on the right) first. i would take a better pic, but my cam ran low on battery power. RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! i then decided to do a pair of shisamo to see if i could replicate it, since my attempts at molding it were unsuccessful. yeah. they have no eyes. cos i ate them! nono, cos i wasn't sure how to make them, and thought i'd fill them in later. but i think they're ok too....maybe?


so since i'm on a roll here..i'd decided to attempt one in 1:3 too. this shisamo is about 4cm long. man. what a disaster LOL! again, i will try to take a better pic once the battery has recharged. it's got a better sheen than what is captured here, and i'm rather proud of my first four fishies!

the 1:12 fishies will be part of a trade i'd promised Yuki/Amatheria since gosh. last Nov maybe? I vaguely recall offering to send him some washi paper....then TDA came along and i got caught up, then commissions came along and some other swaps....and since he said it was no rush i'd lumbered along and and....eeps. SORRY! so here are the items i've made today, i specially put aside some time to complete the set. he'd wanted japanese foods, all sorts, and since i'm totally unimaginative, i decided to simply make some basic japanese items. i probably will add a bowl of rice, and maybe a miso soup, if he doesn't already have those items. not sure though, we'll see :) meanwhile, enjoy the pics, and as always CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms are welcome! i can take a hit, or two....and yea i know about the eyes already so....







i definitely will attempt making more fish in the future. i think i've finally conquered my fear of painting foods. XD



oh. and remember that the giveaway is still on in my previous post ;)