Another birthday mail

Today the postman brought another mail for me, and these beautiful minis are in the envelope! Zsuzsa, one of the very few Hungarian miniaturist sent me this present. Look at these corncobs and garlics! They are perfect for my Hungarian country kitchen! I immediately fell in love with the coffee grinder, it's fantastic! Thank you very much, Zsuzsa! This is my first mini birthday, and I like it undeniably! You can see Zsuzsa's works on her blog: http://almokminiaturben.blogspot.com/.

My daily mini work was a hard thing! I had to make desperate efforts for this sprayer! Our family sprayer is on the first photo. It's a very very old piece! The other three photos are my version in 1:12 scale. This will be the center in the shed.

I send these blackberries from my garden to my new followers! I'm happy you are here!

Slowing down

My project is going very slowly, because I had no time for it nowadays. But I managed to make some minis. I used paper and enamel paint for the bucket and the milk can. The vat was an experimenting before making a barrel for a future harvest scene. The shell is for the porch, carving from wood.

I made some tiny petals for geranium out of fimo. I choosed the harder way again. I don't know whether I will have nerve to arrange them into a flower or not, now they are resting on a plate waiting for me.

  
This is a stolen photo of the porch, just to arouse your interest! It's pity the sun is behind clouds, so the lights are not too good.

Some of you invited me to your giveaway to sign up for, and I didn't answer. I had made a promise when I had participated in the first giveaway, that if I won it I wouldn't enter into another one for a long time. And I won. So my promise is binding me, forgive me, please! But I follow up every giveaway and craving after your minis!
And another apology to my new followers for not follow their blogs, but there is an error on my computer. When my husband signed up for follower of my blog changed the Google account, and I can't rechange it, so I can't follow a blog as Bözse. It's very annoying, and we don't know the solution at the moment.

Beautiful present

Look what the postman brought yesterday, a red cat Anikó (http://rozsaszinvilagminiaturben.blogspot.com/) had made for me. My birthday vill be next week, so this is a wonderful birthday present. I always want a real cat like this one! Thank you, Anikó! I'm so happy! She (I think it's a girl) feels at home at the step of the porch sleeping all day.
 

I prepare a small package for Anikó, too, but It's a secret...

Basket evolution

If you follow my blog you know the basket making is my bogey. I tried many way to imitate woven basket, but none of them could show the delicate details of a real basket. These pictures present the evolution of my basket making. The first is a very primitive version. There is no real base or rim, only toothpicks thrusted into a wood base, and raffia woven around them. It's not my favourite piece. I realized I had to learn the real basket weaving techniques. So I submerged into the net looking for basket tutorials. Two post ago I showed you the basket for the apricots, which I made using wire and thread. The weaving is fine, but the thread is heary. I would use simple wire for rows, but the wire is too smooth and shiny. For the stakes of the third one I coated wire with raffia, and the rows are raffia, and I really make a basket. For the forth one I used the raffia coated wire for the rows, too. This is the best, or no? What do you know? Thread or wire? The best solution would be a thin paper coated wire or any coated wire, but of course there is any such material in Hungary. I make a mountain out of a molehill,  
don't I? Maybe I ought to use simple wire, and painted it after weaving.

When I can't see what I'm doing...

Ok, I'm fanatic! One of my Hungarian follower used this attribute at me, and she was absolutely right. Today I made 21 walnuts. Two others have rolled by, never turned up again... Perhaps tomorrow I will try to take nutmeats into one, but I don't promise this!

I have 100 followers! Thank you for all the kind comments and backing all of you have given to me! And special welcome for my husband, Ricsi, who never says a bad word about my crazy hobby.

And now I need your opinion about my plan to register as an Etsy seller. I know I'm only a beginner, but it would be great to earn at least the cost of the materials I use. I would try to sell hungarian style minis and others, what I have a taste for. I need truthful judgment about it, you are so better familiar with this. There are so many good miniaturist among the Etsy sellers, I'm not sure in me at all.

Harvest

This is the first basket of my own I like. I used thread for this version, and some bleach on the ready basket to add some variety for the colour. I planned to take a real apricot next to the minis as a measure, but this year the weather hadn't been too gracious to my orchard, so we had only 19 pieces on the tree. They are in a better place now...

Pottery

Today I was a potter (not the Harry type). I made some jug, mainly for containing water. I had managed to buy a perfect fine brush for these tiny original hungarian pattern. I used fimo, again. I made other things, too, but they are waiting for paint. My eyes need some rest after these jugs!

It's hot like in a volcano here, so I go back into the water.

Some decoration

The pepper garland and the gourd are two typical decorations of the hungarian country house. Making the peppers was very time consuming! The shining is still missing, I have to use some varnish on them.

94!? I mean ninety-four!? My husband has made a promise for me to follow my blog when I would reach the 100.

I send these Achilleas from my garden to my new followers. I'm happy you like my blog!

Some old minis

I made a bench for the porch. The rods of the backrest are carved toothpicks. For ten good pieces I made at least twenty. They always broke in two on carving. I haven't choose a colour for the bench yet, maybe pale yellow or green... I don't want to paint it brown.

Making these minis was a pleasure for me. But the wheel was a hard challenge! I made the pieces, then assembled them, then took apart, refining and cutting, and assembling again...not fit...refining, cutting, and so on... Now it's ready, but not a perfect circle. Travelling on this wheel would be very bumpy! The frame is the door of a rabbit-hutch, or something else. The axe in the log is my favourite.

Sometimes you find treasure by accident. I was working in my garden when I saw piles of dried tiny leaves everywhere.  These are the disintegrated catkins of our birch trees dispersed by the wind. They are perfect leaves for an autumn scene, aren't they? I collected a good amount of them.

  

Otherwise I have a massive sore throat. What a stupid thing in july! I draw along a cup of hot tea all the time.

Roof

Cutting and attaching the tiles onto the structure wasn't so hard as I thought, but the painting... It's still not ready! I made some progress on the shed, too. The wall with the window is openable making the arranging possible inside the shed. My hand is too large to manage through the door.

Ahhh!!! Godzilla! My daughter, Kata.

Now up to make the furniture and accessoires! It will be more amusing for me!

The gate is ready!

At last I finished the structure of the roof, only the tiles are in the air. So many tiles to cut! Brrr!!! The board ceiling and the roof-beams are glued together, but not glued to the wall, so the roof structure is removable for the present.

I made a traditional board fence and gate. I enjoy searching the net for photos about folk architecture and objects. This latch on the gate was very common in the rural Hungary. The key is hanging on a nail on the gate column.  The carving of the columns was more elaborate in some territory. I choosed a simple type!

I have 80 followers! It's fantastic! I send these daylilies from my garden for you all!

There are two more hungarian blogs about miniatures! I talked two of my hungarian followers, who already had made some minis, into creating their own blogs. They have very clever hands! You can see their works here:

http://mijuu-rozsaszinvilagminiaturben.blogspot.com/

http://almokminiaturben.blogspot.com/

I hope their husbands are not very angry with me!