Tag : miniature

4 posts

Creating miniature terrain and dioramas is a passion of mine although I rarely indulge myself in it. Silly, I know.

I think one of the main issues it that I have to spray paint outdoors and it’s not really warm enough to do that 2/3 of the year. With that said, I was totally inspired to create a diorama after finding a couple Minion figures at the dollar store.

I have a coworker that is a true kid at heart. She loves Disney. She loves Minions. She loves dinosaurs…especially T-rex. So when I saw the Minions, I tossed them in my basket with her in mind. I honestly was just going to sneak and leave them at her desk randomly. But then I decided to challenge myself to a diorama.

This was what I came up with. The white structural pieces are a thick craft foam. I also used a cracker box and stir straws. I wish I had taken photos along the way but I get into a groove and don’t think about anything else.

The backing plate is a plastic card that some game pieces came in from a collectable pirate ship trading card game I believe. It pays to never throw random stuff like this away. I figured that if I fill the various depressions with unique bits that it would appear like a control panel of sorts.

The spray paint really starts to make it take shape. Provides the cohesive color to tie the whole thing together.

Next I started on the paint. Adding layer upon layer to give depth and interest. Highlighting some areas, edges and so forth.

I made a few barrels from paper cylinders that protected spark plugs. I punched circles from cracker box that were almost big enough. I filled the inside with hot glue to take up space then gently settled the cardboard circles in each end.

This slightly open appearance screamed to have something leaking out of it. I used yellow and chartreuse paint to create some sort of ooze. After the paint was dry I added Diamond Glaze to give it a shiny, wet look.

I gave some highlights to the goggly eyes and other panel pieces to emphasize the dome shaped buttons or screens.

I used a plastic plug and the metal button off my jeans pocket to create an oversized control button. I figured the crazy looking minion would be just right to be manning the control while his partner with the hard hat looked on with a dopey smile.

I love how the stir sticks work so well as piping or conduit.

When I gave her the little diorama, she almost cried. She was so happy which in turn made my day!

My spring break was spent quietly at home catching up on projects and knocking items off the perpetual to-do list. Not very exciting but that’s ok.

My first major accomplishment was tackling all the scraps that had been piling up. Truth be told there are still more but these were the ones that were really bugging me as well as the ones that required no ironing before cutting.

I also went through my wardrobe and got rid of two grocery bags of clothes that no longer fit. This is a nice problem to have. I’ve lost over 25 lbs now and decided it was time to purge the old to make room for a few new things I’ve purchased.

As I mentioned last week I’m super excited about gardening season. The garlic I planted last fall is poking through the leaf mulch. My seedlings are doing well. I even planted carrots, radishes and beets straight into my garden box since they are cool weather crops. I’m hoping they do better this way…although it was 87°F today…crazy! We had snow flakes in the air just last week. 

I was inspired to create a little diorama with a coworker in mind after finding some of her favorite characters at the dollar store. I’ll share the completed piece along with process photos in another post after I give it to her.

Today’s hot weather and the first day back to school called for a nice cold one after dinner.

I’ll leave you with Marvin making sure the newly delivered box of toilet paper didn’t get up and walk away.

What are you doing today?

Three days…that’s the long and short of it.

Three days until I’m done with work until late August. But also three days until my oldest is done with high school. Technically he has already graduated since everything is checked off and he has his “card” but he must still attend school until the end. The actual “walk” is on Friday. Yep…getting my tissues ready now.

For me this last week off school is chaotic which can sway from “easy breezy” to “smack you in the face difficult” to “wait, what just happened?” all in one class period. So needless to say, in that respect, the days are long.

Outside of school days, I’ve been keeping busy with little mini projects and helping a friend with the monumental task of cleaning out her parents house now that is sold. I know how hard it is and I wish I could lend a greater hand but timing on these things isn’t always the best.

My first mini project was making a pair of glasses for a co-workers wedding cake topper. She had mentioned that she ordered some Barbie glasses off the internet. I told her I doubted they’d fit and mentioned that I’d made a pair of glasses for a Gnome a couple years back.

The glasses made the gnome a dead ringer for the neighbor kid…err…adult now. Too funny!


Long story short…the Barbie glasses were WAY to small for the would be groom so I was given the challenge of creating a suitable pair.

I think they turned out pretty good. I sent a photo to the bride and she approves.

Over the weekend, my rows of beans and snow peas popped out of the ground. It’s amazing how quickly that happens. I swear if you had all day you could watch them wiggle their way through the soil and unfurl their leaves in a splendid little dance.

 I made another bunting this time for the deck garden. Since I still need to stain the deck rails I decided to try out something new with the bunting.

I used some bamboo to act as mini flag poles suspending the bunting at the front of the garden. The hope is that the flutter of the flags might deter the deer from munching on the plants. This wasn’t my original plan so I’ll need to make a little extension so it can reach all the way around.

Anyone notice my after dinner beer in accordance with the T Stands for Tuesday guidelines?  I’m trying to be a good kid and follow the rules….sometimes it is difficult. :) I forget. It happens.

 

I’ve worked a bit on some journal spilling. Creating a background then quickly with a very free hand (aka messy) spilling my thoughts of the moment. I may leave things as is or I may use my writing as a part of the background. Not sure, so it sits.

I brought home a little basket of treasures from my friends house. Mostly spools of thread, a few vintage dress patterns and some double pointed knitting needles. You should have seen me walking home with my little basket under my arm. I felt like Little Red Riding Hood. I even saw a large critter on the way home. Only it wasn’t a wolf…it was its slightly small cousin a coyote. Its crazy! We’ve noticed a big jump in sightings lately. I have seen 4 in the past 2 weeks. But seeing one while out walking only 2.5 blocks from we was a little disconcerting.

Its the last Tuesday of the school year for me…. but what are you doing today?

I was going through photos on my phone and realized that I never posted about the gift box I created for J’s birthday. The major gift he was getting from us and his uncle was a subscription to Loot Crate. Since there was nothing physical to give at that point, we thought a coupon of sorts would be in order. Loot CrateThen the wheels started turning and I thought how about a 3D crate that he could keep as a memento on a shelf as well. A physical reminder of the subscription.

I started with black foam core cutting it down to create the box.Loot Crate

Next I stamped a wood plank rubber stamp on the back side of a cereal box with Staz-on ink.Loot Crate

I then used walnut ink and watered down acrylic paint to make the cardboard appear as wood.Loot Crate

After assembly I added more light stamping for a distressed appearance. I wanted to make it look as if that crate had traveled the world. Loot Crate

It was a fun little project and had much more impact than a plain old coupon.

Loot Crate

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