Mar 29, 2011

Stonewall tutorial

For the last scene of my show I made a simple stonewall using garbage. The modellers often build from Depron foam (it's a closed cell styrofoam) for its lightness and it's very easy to work with it. I didn't bought a Depron sheet but washed up a Depron tray of a shrink-wrapped food, then cut the rims off. You can draw the stone pattern onto the foam by hand or using a printed pattern and carbon paper. For inspiration you can find many wall pattern on the net. After drawing carve the grout lines out of the foam. For this I used a needle file.





After carving you get a very real looking grouting and too smooth stone surface, so you had to damage the stones in some way. I used acryl based varnish spray for this. This varnish corrodes the depron. I sprayed the stones with this varnish then pressed over with a toothbrush. If you need deeper holes, spray some varnish into a bowl and dip a cotton bud into it, then press the bud into the depron. 



Now you have a very good texture. The following step is the painting. The colors depend on the type of the stones you choose. I made a sandstone wall, so my base color was sand yellow. I used acrylic paint. After the base color you can rich the wall other tones of the same color by dry brushing.



Now you have to fill the grout lines with something, I used dry tile cement for this. Simply spoon some cement onto the wall then sweep it into the gaps with a brush. Then you can fix it with varnish.



I used some grey paint on the lower part of the wall imitating the splashing mud, and some green for mossing. It's still not ready, I think It needs some more painting, but the most part of the work is ready.


I found ideas for this project in a modelling book written by a hungarian man, László Adóba. This book was published in english, too. I got the hungarian version as a Christmas present from my husband. It has many great tricks for making miniature scenes we can use.


Mar 28, 2011

My show

Saturday was a perfect day for me! I've got to know so many kind people! It was a great opportunity to show Hungarians the miniature world and they were so enthusiastic. I planned to go back the second day, too, but you don't believe what happened... Well, to say it elaborately at early dawn I lost my liquids in all ways you can imagine. So I spent Sunday in bed. I was so bitter and indignant at the "perfect" timing. At least the infection didn't come one day earlier! After all this weekend was absolutely positive even with the bad end!
I took some photos about my table . These are the results of the last three weeks. They can fit on a so small space!




Mar 24, 2011

My last scene for the show

This is the last one, a harvest scene! Most of the fruits are old miniatures except the grapes in the butt and some apples. I made a stone wall as a background. I have a lot to do to make it more realistic, but now I have no more time for fiddling.  Tomorrow is the packaging and printing day.
And now I'M GOING INTO THE GARDEN!!! It's May outdoors!



Mar 23, 2011

Cakes and cakes and...

Only two and a half days to the show and a very important scene is ready! There are old cakes on the upper shelf (I have no time for making new ones), but the individual pastries are new creations. I took some funny photos about the display cabinet with a real sized cake shovel and fork. The arranging inside the cabinet is very nerve-racking even that the back walls are movable.






After the show I will make new cakes for the upper shelf and some boxes of cookies onto the counter and the whole cabinet will be put into my Etsy shop. This show will be only a presentation not a fair, so all my miniatures will come home with me.

Mar 21, 2011

New scene for the show

This is a new little scene for my show being this Saturday. In my original plan this trunk would be the main character of an old attic, but I have no time to make the roof structure. Now I have to make a lot of toys from my childhood. There are three essential children's book in front of the trunk I loved when I was a little girl and these books are in my daughter"s library, too. Next time perhaps you can peek into the trunk...




Mar 16, 2011

My first show!!!

Thanks for your best wishes for the interwiev! It was wonderful, I had a great conversation with a very kind woman. I always enjoy when adults become children again looking at miniatures, and they smile and crow and have to touch them to believe they are real. The interview is under construction now, I will try to translate it after appearing.
I was asked for making a miniature show at their open days at the end of March. I'm so excited! It would be the first time I can display my works and make a live presentation of using Fimo. I work at full blast. Only ten days to the date! Hope my family don't die of hunger, but mommy has other important business!
I make little scenes about different themes. You can see the first one is a bakery set. After the show I will put it onto my Etsy store.









Something has been modified with my camera, the colors are so strange. I have to study the manual to find a   solution.

Mar 7, 2011

Still life in 3D

Tomorrow is a big day of my miniature life. There is a very famous store in Hungary for artists, artisans and amateurs. A few weeks ago they sent me an email about a potential interview with me. Of course I said yes (YES!). This interview will be tomorrow and it will be a very important occasion for me. This would make the miniature world known in Hungary, and through my works! This is a very big honour and responsibility, too. I prepared with a special scene, my old idea, a three-dimensional still life in 1:12 scale. I think this scene would be a good work to make Hungarians interested in this hobby or art.







This miniature scene will be my first item in my new shop on Meska. Meska is the hungarian version of Etsy. Maybe it would lie untouched on the shop for mounths or never be sold, but I have to try!