Swap with Caterina! - Part 2

Good evening! I hope that everyone has spent a delightful Christmas day!

And here, as promised, a few more pics of the items that Caterina sent me for the swap.

Some bags (they came in two different patterns!!!!) for the purchases made by my mini dolls :)

And some magazines that illustrate the latest fashions of the 19th century. Believe it or not, you can really browse through these magazines! Inside there's plenty of pics of men and women's clothing and accessories.

Also a pair of leather gloves! The fingers of the gloves are so tiny...and of course the gloves can be worn by my dolls, so they won't have cold hands during wintertime! The gloves came, just like everything else, in a very chic box, with tissue paper inside; just like the sort of packaging that you would get in the most exquisite boutiques!

Thank you so much Caterina, you've made me very happy with all these gifts!

But....this is not it yet! There's more to come in another post :)

Mini hugs, Lucia

Swap with Caterina!

I have been waiting almost a week now to take pics of the miniatures that Caterina sent me for the swap we organized months ago. I was hoping to take pics of my new minis in a decent daylight. But thanks to the snow and all the rain we have been having in the past week...well, today I've eventually given up, and I'm showing to you all the amazing work that Caterina has done!

First of all, you can see the most perfect tuxedo shirt, I love it. The details are amazing, I really don't know how Caterina can work on such a small scale in such an accurate way!

And then.....oh, my god, this pair of shoes is just breathtaking! The white covers can actually be taken away, and the black leather shoes have got the most tiny laces ever! And guess what's the best part of it?! The shoes can be really worn by a miniature man!

And then.....some shirt collars, amazingly detailed. And some shirt wrists (I'm sure there's gotta be a specific name in english?).

Everything is so beautiful, but there was so much more in the package that I received from Caterina. I'll write another post to show you everything else, don't worry :)

Clown bear

Here it is, my latest creation! I decided that my toy shop couldn't go without a vintage-style clown bear, and so of course I had to make one. This time life has been easier, as the bear is not as tiny as the one I've shown you in a previous post. It has been a lot of fun time too making this little thing come to life.

Hope you like it!

Mini hugs, Lucia

Swap with Caterina! - Part 2

As promised....here are a few more pics of other hats I've sent to Caterina! I hope you'll like them!

Which one amongst all the hats I've shown you you like best?!

I hope you're having a good, creative weekend!

Lucia

Swap with Caterina!

Hello everyone!

Here I am, finally, after having survived one week without the internet...I imagine I've missed so many things out there in blogland, I'll have a lot to catch up on your blogs :)

Still, in the meantime I thought I'd show you some details of some miniature hats I' made for Caterina (Cockerina). She asked me if I could replicate the traditional hats of the South-Tyrol.

So here they are, my miniature replicas of her hats. I found this swap very challenging, as I've had to experiment with new fabrics, and new hat shapes. But it has been been also very fun! A lot of fun :)

I'm really pleased with my results, and hopefully Caterina will like her new hats when she gets them. No, don't worry, I haven't spoilt her the surprise, she already knows what she's going to receive!

Mini hugs,

Lucia

PS. More pics of the hats will come soon, so stay tuned!

A tiny chubby bear

Hi everyone!

May I introduce you to my latest creation?! It's a cute chubby bear, it took me a lot of sweat to make, and it's only slightly bigger than a penny (oh, sorry, I forgot to take a pic with the coin as a scale!). I was about to give up on this bear, too tiny and too many mistakes, too many holes in the fabric (made in the process of turning the fabric inside out). And a silly smile on the face of the bear. But because I'm so stubborn I HAD to finish it. So here it is. After all I'm proud of my new bear, it will look alright in my toy shop :)

Right, now back to hat making, I've got a swap for Cockerina, and I need to finish it...Hope you'll forgive me Cate for my lateness...

I hope you're all having a good weekend!

Mini hugs,

Lucia

Swap with Kaisa (Miltonia)!

Hello everyone! Yes, I've been very quiet lately, but don't get me wrong. It's not like I haven't been working on miniatures...I actually have been working on minis quite hard!

A few people have asked me if they could swap some minis, and I've gladly accepted every single proposal. With the outcome that now I'm struggling to make all the minis in a fairly decent amount of time :) But hey, I'm having fun!

Today I've received a package from Kaisa, and I have no words to express how happy I am with the goodies she sent me!

A delightful pram, which will definitely go in my toy shop, a wicker basket (which will possibly be used to house some miniature teddy bears (for the toy shop, of course), a wicker basket for a pet (uhm, I'm in need for a dog or cat now! And then some lovely lingerie, and a shirt, and some minis for my flower shop too :) I really really like all the treasures that Kaisa has sent me, and I hope that she'll like the minis that I've got ready for her, and that hopefully we'll be in the mail by the end of the week!

Thank you very much Kaisa! I've really enjoyed this swap with you!

Mini hugs,

Lucia

Giveaway winnerS!!!!!!!!! And Swap proposal :)

Here we are! It's evening here in Arizona, so it's definitely time to draw the winnerS! Yes, the winnerS. There were so many of you participating in this giveaway, that I decided to pick three winners instead of just one. The thing is, I would have loved to make a hat for each and every one of you, but this would have been impossible. I'm planning to have another giveaway as soon as I reach 200 followers, so don't despair if you haven't been lucky enough this time ;)

Also, if you still want one of my hats and you just can't wait till the next giveaway, how would you like a swap? Would you like to swap your mini works with my hats?! If so, leave me a comment below this post, and we'll arrange something :) But if you fancy a swap, hurry up! I won't be able to make too many hats, since I'm busy with my flight training!

And here is a group picture of the hats of my giveaway. Sorry for the quality of my pics, but it's evening and the light is definitely not one of the best.....

Let's see then who are the lucky winners of this giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first hat goes to......................................................................................................................................

GENEVIEVE - MINIACOLLECTION

The second hat will find a new home with.................................................................................................

EMMA - PARIS MINIATURES

Last but not least, the third hat is for........................................................................................................

LINDA CARSWELL

I hope you'll like your new hats, and I hope you'll find a place for them in one of your past/present/future miniature projects :)

I ask the winners to leave me a comment on this post, with their mailing addresses. I've enabled comments moderation, so you can send me your details safely.

If you want to swap any of your creations with one of my hats, leave a comment here as well.

I hope you've enjoyed my giveaway! Have a good evening :)

Mini hugs, Lucia

Giveaway time!!!!!!

It's definitely time for a giveaway! Yay!!!!! This is my way of saying 'thank you' for following my blog and leaving nice comments on my posts :)

If you want to participate the only things you need to do is:

1) being a follower (if you're not a follower yet, don't worry! You can still participate, the more we are for the giveaway, the better! So just sign in and become a follower);

2) leave a comment on this post.

You do not have to advertise my giveaway on your blog, it's not a requirement. If you want to do so, feel free, and I will enter your name twice in the draw.

My giveaway will be a surprise (but I'm not sure I'll able to resist without showing you any pics.....), and I'll pick the winner on the 5th of September!

Well, the game begins, good luck to everyone!!!!!!!!!

Lucia

Back to miniatures making

So here I am, after a week in the US, more or less settled.

I've had time to unpack the few tools/fabrics/beads/etc I was able to carry with me, and I'm now back to crafting. I've managed to make a hat-pins cushion -to go on the counter of my millinery shop, or course!-. And a straw bonnet, which has proved to be quite tricky; I'd say it's definitely easier to make a regular hat, compared to a bonnet. Still, I thought that a well stocked milliner needs to carry in the range also some bonnets!

Well, it's time to go enjoy that 41° Celsius which reign on Arizona at the moment! More mini making (the give away I'll hold soon!) later on today.

Lucia xx

Haberdashery items

Hi everyone!

I've managed to move to Arizona, yay! I could pack only a few craft tools, so I think I'll have to go on a trip to Michael's (as soon as I find a car that I can use).

I wanted to have a giveaway once reaching 100 followers; well, I've got 104 up to now, so it definitely is time to thank each and every one of you for reading my blog (it's amazing to see that there are people out there interested in what I do!), and for leaving such nice comments every time.

Due to the fact that I was moving to the States I haven't been able to craft any miniature for my giveaway. But please stay tuned as I'll write a post for my give away pretty soon :)

In the meantime I thought you might enjoy seeing these things I made for the haberdashery. I have been wanting to make them for ages, but I couldn't find the right cardboard...too thin, too thick, or not the right color. Then one day I ordered a book from Amazon, and it came in exactly the kind of cardboard I was looking for!!!!! But I didn't realize it straight away. As a matter of fact I threw away in the paper recycling bin this Amazon box; and after a few days, while I was still thinking how to solve the cardboard problem, I remembered about that wrapping....and went digging in the recycling bin ;)

End of a fairy tale (well, kind of!).

Lucia xxx

A very quick note

Just a very quick note to let you all know that I haven't disappeared :)

I'm just very busy at the moment, that's all. I've completely packed my house in Oxfordshire, I'm back home in Italy and I'm expected to move to the USA in this weekend. Sol actually I need to pack for my next destination (Arizona) where I'll be living for about 5 months, before I'll move again. Bleah, I'm starting to hate all this packing/unpacking!

In between all this chaos I still manage to read your blogs, though I haven't got time to leave many comments. Let alone playing with miniatures.

Well, hopefully I'll be able to post some miniature related pics very soon; in the meantime enjoy this pic I took in France last year.

Lucia

A hat! Just one, but what a hat :)

Hello, hello!

It has been a very busy week for me, 7 exams done, hopefully went all right...so I didn't have much time to dedicate to miniatures. Today has been my first day of freedom from my studies, and I've had to start packing all my belongings, since I'll move out on Wednesday. Anyways I've squeezed in some time and I made a few minis, which I'll show you another time, as I haven't taken pics yet. I thought though you might enjoy seeing what I made out of those cold porcelain roses I showed you a few posts ago :)

Now off to bed, tomorrow I'm leaving early to go and visit Bath! (YES, I should be focusing on packing the house, really....but I think it's worth it to visit England a bit, before I leave it....)!

Have a good night!

Lucia

Birthday self-presents!!!!!

It's my birthday on Tuesday, and so I bought myself a few miniatures! I always do it. Every year I indulge with myself and buy a few things for my birthday ;)

Here you can see some yummy pastries from Paris Miniatures. Emma has spoiled me this time, she has even included the 'vanilla' flavored St. Honoré in my order for free! Thank you :)

And of course I couldn't ignore Rosanna's post (she was selling some of her handmade miniatures left over from Simp)....I had to have one of her magnificent embroidered tea cozies!

Here's a pic of all my new miniatures together!

I just wish my birthday was more than once a year...so I would have more excuses to buy myself miniatures!!!!!!

Lucia

Hats!

My millinery shop is slowly coming along, I've made almost enough hats to go in the shop...there's still some empty spaces on the shelves, as you can see from the pictures. And I'm planning to have about 2 or 3 hats on a counter as well. Plus I was thinking about having some up front on a display in order to simulate front shop windows. One thing is for sure, I'm short in hat stands, I need to buy some more. Eventually I'll have to paint them all...but I just wanted to have some fun and try all my hats on the shelves :)

Sorry for the not-so-good pics, but the weather has been cloudy and this is the best I could do with such inclement light!

Lucia

Cold porcelain and hats

Good afternoon everyone! Today I'm showing you a couple more hats I've made, inspired by the Royal Ascot events that have been going on in the past few days! As you can probably imagine, I've looked at so many pictures of the ladies at Ascot...I wish I could go there one day, just for the fun of looking at all those beautiful hats, and take loads of pics as inspirations!

Also, yesterday I've made my very first cold porcelain! I must admit that I was cooking glue and cornstarch at lunch time, so my housemates saw it...and they were pretty amused by it. I don't think they ever thought that someone could cook glue :) I've also posted a pic of my very first roses, made out of cold porcelain of course! I'm pretty pleased with my results of both my first cold porcelain and my first roses!!!!!

Enjoy,

Lucia

Bunka reels

This is what I've been up to in the last week! I made tons of little bunka reels. I had to try all the colors I own...I just couldn't help it. Besides, an haberdasher must have all sorts of colors, otherwise his customers will be very disappointed ;)

I hope you'll enjoy my new miniatures!

Have a very good evening,

Lucia

Pretty vases

These vases have traveled all the way from Tasmania to England! As you can see they've got here in perfect conditions :) Margaret Crosswell is the artisan who made them, I'm sure you know the talented Aussie miniaturist! And, oh my, aren't those tiny roses the cutest you've ever seen?! I feel inspired, I shall make a hat which recalls these vases.

A big thank you to Linda Carswell as well, without whom I wouldn't be the proud owner of such beauties.

Mini hugs, Lucia