Collage Frame DIY

Here's a joke for you: What's the difference between a regular frame and a collage frame?  Around $40.  Ha ha!

Tootie Pie needs a collage frame for one of her Daisy projects.  I told my husband that I could make one, but he decided to try to find one.  After around three hours, he called me and asked if I could make one.  No problem.

Actually, it really is easy.  All it requires is a bit of measuring and a square, plus a sharp X-Acto blade or, what I used, carpet cutter.  I used a spare piece of cardstock that was slightly too small for the frame, so I backed it with a piece of cardboard from Tootie Pie's Tinkerbell Tea Set she received for her birthday.  I cut the holes in the cardstock, then glued it to the backing, leaving the top part open to slide the pictures in.  It only took around one hours to complete, and I have a custom frame for a fraction of the price.  Sweet!

How to Make Exceptionally Unnatural Looking Miniature Grass from Foam Rubber

It may be grass,
or miniature
primordial ooze.

I took a before picture to
wow you with the
amazing results

Another don't from moi.  I thought one item my Undersized Urbanite entry was lacking that others had was landscaping.  I would like to add this to my Spring Fling build.  So, I followed some instructions on eHow using foam rubber, since I had some on hand.  I measured the paint perfectly, so I didn't need to drain any extra out.  However!  I failed to take into account the whiteness of the foam rubber, and my spring green lighted to neon alien skin color.  So, I'm chalking this up to a learning experience.  Next time, I will mix my paint much darker so that when it blends with the green, it will actually look like grass.  Oh, well.

Vote for My Spring Fling Design

Can you believe such a place exists?

I have some choices to make. I'd like to make a fairy house, but Tootie Pie came up with an inspired idea: she wants a Hello Kitty home.  I'd still like to try a castle. So, we'll need your help. Vote above for your favorite.

Is there such a thing as
too sparkly?

A Folly or Garage?

I am fresh off the fun of one miniature contest and I'm already looking at joining another.  Should I?  It is Greenleaf's Spring Fling, and the kit is $20 including shipping.  I have been wanting to make a castle, especially since we have very posh Petite Princess furniture, and I've been eyeing the egg carton brick technique and carved foam for a while.  Should I make an architectural folly, or a garage?

As I'm writing this, I already know the answer.  Yes, a garage is practical, and I could have an organized and clean garage, if only in miniature.  But it is no fun.  A folly: even the name is fun and cute.  I think I will fashion a princess tower, with turrets and spires and passageways.  I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

A two-legged tree house? Because "one leg is dangerous, and three are too stable and boring". Love it! Okay, I'm in!

Princess Tootie Pie Is Six!

Princess Tootie Pie's new silky
pyjamas.

Why, oh why, were light up
Cinderella slippers not
available when I was six?

Our formal celebration will be this Saturday, but we went shopping yesterday and she opened her presents from me.  She said she wanted to shop at "The Sparkle Store".  I needed to ask a few questions about that. She wanted to buy sparkles, so of course, that would necessitate a trip to the Sparkle Store. Duh, Mom! She wanted to buy jewels, and after a bit of investigative work on my part, and some internet sleuthing, it seemed like a big "Bucket of Bling" was in order.  We went to Michaels, and got a bag of jewels, some Crayola Pip Squeak glitter glue, a crown, and some markers that blend three colors together.  Thank goodness for those 40% off coupons, because bling ain't cheap, people.

 

My princess

 

 

Today, I took her to school to celebrate with brownie cupcakes from Costco, personalized with homemade frosting and pink edible sand.  I got to stay for circle time and sang some songs featuring the "ell" and "unch" family of words.  Laura got to use the pointer for her classmates.  I walked out of her school with such a huge smile on my face, and I had a nicer demeanor to my own students, and the good mood still is with me as I write this. 

Surrounded by her besties, who were brought
to the rug by the hand.  They are inspecting the
crown, but of course.

My six-year old!

Tootie Pie is my joy, my world, my life.  I love her never-ending tall tales, her infectious giggle, her amazing curiosity and intellect, and her songs that she creates on the fly and tries to pass off as a known hit.  We have developed such a bond that I can reason with her through her little bêtises (like letting one friend know about another friend's party that she wasn't invited to, or loading a school toilet with too much toilet paper) and she listens.  Goodness knows that a child that listens is every parents' dream.  She doesn't always mind me, but she does learn and improve every day.  And she started out good.  Imagine the woman she will become!  She will rule the world, I tell you!

How does one not leave this bunch with a smile?




Do Your Civic Duty: Vote!

I did it!  I made the deadline, mostly.  From what I can tell, not everyone who participated made the deadline.  I would have liked to make shades for each room, and I didn't get the lighting working (aside from the capiz shell chandelier), and I didn't even try to finish the rug.  That's been "in progress" for a year.  The contest took a backseat to the latest project, Tootie Pie's sixth birthday party.  But, I'm not embarrassed by my entry.  It is not up to the standards of Brae at Otterine (seriously!), but one day I may be a her level.  One day in the distant future.  Or, a parallel universe.  But, I'm still proud of myself.

Trying to make a mold of the one
original, large window that came
with the house.  The mold release is
critical, folks.  I almost removed a
finger trying to get my original out
of the mold.

Voting ends in less than a week.  You may place your vote here, and a synopsis of the finalists is here.  I'm still going through all the entries myself.  Big thank yous to Christina of Little Victorian for starting the contest.

My goal, as I stated in the beginning, was not to win, but to learn and network.  So, I've already reached my goal.  Another goal will be to not come in last place.  I'm reaching for the stars here, I know, since, if I'm honest, my entry is nowhere near as good as most of the others.  But, I did my best.  I'm proud how it turned out. 

I had a great time trying my hand at so many different disciplines.  I suffered a punctured finger, spray painted my face (luckily I was wearing my glasses), I knotted my hair up in the electric drill, and got more hot glue burns than I could count.   Seriously, I had a great time.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Undersized Urbanite Final Reveal

"Befores" on Left

"Afters" on Right

The master bedroom

The bathroom

The kitchen

The kid's room

 The living room

The dining room

There is a tutu-clad giant outside the window
and door.  Still working on the lights, held
up with tape.

The laptop is browsing "The Hardway"

We've come a long way, baby.  I bought this dollhouse on a whim, seeking mini furniture for the dollhouse I built for my daughter two Christmases ago.  I actually did not want it at all, since it is large, but the estate sale organizer negotiated it down to $10 for the furniture and house, so I wasn't going to leave it there.  A bout of cancer, a dental emergency, and an intrusive party to be planned all conspired to prevent me from participating in this event, but I perservered.  If anything, Undersized Urbanite kept me from totally losing it.  Please let the cancer influence your vote, also!

If you'd like more details on the progress, check out all of my posts here.

Capiz chandelier, Chinoiserie wall art, Nelson
ball clock in a corner of the dining room.



A transformed corner of  the master bedroom

A corner of the kid's room.



Always dishes to be done.

My cute cape!

Fondant Kitty

Hello! Kitty!  Squeal!  She's so cute.  I made her out of marshmallow fondant.  Cake topper for next week.  Her dress is still a little marbled, but do you think anyone will notice.  No!  I think they will be in shock from her adorableness.

Alright, I have so much fun planning these parties.  It is a ton of work, but so creative and I love every minute of it!  It's a great release of stress and tension of the real world.  Here's hoping I get my reveal done for the Undersized Urbanite contest.  It's due tonight!  Of course it is!

Kitty Pinata in Her Full Regalia and a Flower Craft

I finally attached Hello Kitty's bow and crown.  Here she is in her completed state.  Also, I am attaching a project for the craft area of the party: make your own flowers from construction paper.  I need to make two more finger food dishes this weekend, and make the marshmellow fondant decorations.  I am going to buy a premade cake.  Then, the day of the party I make the fruit pops and P&B sushi, and hopefully kick back and enjoy the day!

Door Frames AND Window Frames

My to-do list for the Undersized Urbanite is reduced to three items: working lamps, Moroccan rug, and the newly added item of window shades.  The deadline is in a week and a day.  I can't believe that I am so nearly done.  Of course, dollhouses are never "done", and I will be changing things up after the deadline I'm sure.

I wanted to make door frames to hide the edges of the wallpaper.  I forgot to frame the front door!  But, the inner door frames are now trimmed, and, since I realized how nice this finishing touch looked, I then made window trim.  The pictures below also show a new corner bookcase in the master bedroom, as well as the Chinoiserie plaster sakura wall art in the dining room.