Books – a few of my favorite covers

I always judge my mini books solely by the covers, though I do occasionally add books that I like for their content in real life. As I was making up books, I figured I’d share a few of my favorite covers. Some of these might be hard to see since I am photographing the minis I made. They do lose some legibility from printing so small, but I don’t want to violate any copyright laws by posting book covers that might not be in the public domain. You can always search for the titles online if you’d like a better look.

The House Mouse, by Dorothy Joan Harris and Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. This has a super cute dollhouse with a mouse occupant! I’d like to make the cover illustration as a wall hanging mini house.

I was able to find only the cover, so I made the spine and back in Photoshop. For the back, I used the image again and eliminated the text.

Sweet of the Year by Emily Ridgway. This came from abebooks.com, an excellent source of book covers and sometimes spines. I love the villa in the garden illustration.

This one had the spine in the image, so I duplicated the front image for the back cover, flipping it in the opposite direction.

Amphibian by Carla Gunn. Froggy. Enough said. :D

Return of the Bird Tribes by Ken Carey. Beautiful illustration.

I made up the spine and back cover, this time using solid colors and dropping in a UPC box on the back cover. This is one of grandma’s many modern additions to her library. ;]

Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant. Lovely colors and graphics. This is apparently a funny book, but I’ve not read it.

Taming the Wolf by Greg Stone. This is actually a self help book on resolving conflict, but the cover to me says adventure in the wilderness. I could see this cover being on the sequel to The Return of the Bird Tribes shown above. :D

The White Mary by Kira Salak. Love this cover – the greens, the butterfly, the layout!

I made the back by copying the butterfly graphic, rotating it and removing the text. I made the spine by copying the green background, duplicating it in mirror image and adding text. I also added the UPC box again. I later found the actual spine and back cover, but I liked mine so well I printed it instead.

Utopia by Thomas Moore. This is a book first published in 1516, though I don’t believe this is the original cover. Ever After is one of my favorite movies for its fun take on the Cinderella story, not to mention the costumes, and this book plays a part in that movie. When I first stumbled onto the cover during my online searches, I knew I had to use it.

I created the back by mirroring the front, removing the text and copying some of the border design elements into the middle. The spine is a section of the front cover, with text replaced.

Obviously, I haven’t used any covers I don’t find appealing in one way or another, but these are some of the highlights.

Categories: Miniatures, The Haunted Heritage
December 3, 2011 | 0 comments

Navajo rug – introduction

Natalia Frank recently stitched a gorgeous Navajo design on 40ct silk gauze. I am one quarter Navajo, though I don’t know much about the culture since I’ve not had much contact with that side of my family since I was very young. I thought it was a perfect way to bring that part of me into my miniature art, like gathering the pieces that make me who I am to include in my mini projects.

I checked out numerous books from the library and found many designs I liked, but it wasn’t until I did a google search that I found the perfect piece: a beautiful contemporary weaving presented by Steve Getzwiller (below, see the second weaving from the left for the one I was immediately drawn to). You can see more of these wonderful works here. So many intricate and beautiful designs to admire.  I love the corn stalk weaving on the far left, too. True artisan work!

I was instantly drawn to the colors and shapes of that one particular design, so I set out to find a better photo. This was the best I could do. That is Steve Getzwiller.

I wrote to Natalia to see how she charts her patterns, and she offered to chart it for me. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to her. She saved me so much time and headache since I had no idea where to begin. She has captured the beauty of the rug in miniature scale, and I will soon begin to stitch.

Mine will be cross-stitched on 32ct Jobelan in parchment, though I do plan to stitch the entire rug, including the background. I just thought it would be easier on my eyes than stark white. I like the coloration as it appears in the first photo above considering the room I plan to put it in, so I’ll use colors similar to those instead of the warmer earth tones of the second photo.

I have the project on a wood frame since that’s what I had on hand. It is held in place with thumbtacks on the right side. I’ve picked my colors from my existing stash of floss, though I need to buy more of the center background color. I plan to buy several skeins so the dye lots will match since it covers a large open area. Most of the other colors won’t require as much, so I’m set as far as those go. I went with a subdued palette though I think the contrast levels will be quite nice overall.

With the fresh beginning, I am getting into the groove of it. I’ve set myself a goal of stitching at least ten hours per week. That should keep a steady pace going.

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs
December 2, 2011 | 0 comments

Coffee table and a birdbath

The Chair, The Sofa, the fireplace and the bookcase are such statement pieces in the parlor, as well as the fancy stairs, that I needed an equally expressive coffee table. I bought a closeout Bespaq Eddington Walnut coffee table for its lines though the color was off.

When it arrived, two of the legs had broken in shipment. The damage wasn’t so severe that it couldn’t be repaired, and it was the perfect excuse I needed to refinish the beautiful table. I don’t think I could have convinced myself to paint it otherwise. Here it is before (you can see the leg glued back together on the right).

And, here it is after. I painted it Black Cherry by Folk Art then added a satin varnish. I thought about painting it black at first but figured I would lose the beautiful detail work. It’s a subtle change but it darkened the finish just enough.

The paint is rather sheer so it kept most of the beautiful wood grain. I scratched up the top just a little and added a top coat of furniture wax. Instantly, the table has a history and has seen many a visitor.

It fits in perfectly with the over the top parlor pieces! The red pulls in color from the upholstery, the front door and the slightly darker mahogany bookcase.

The other new item I have is this aged metal birdbath by Island Crafts & Miniatures. It’s going to look awesome in the overgrown lawn! :D

It has the perfect patina!

Both the coffee table and the birdbath are from Dejoux Miniatures.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
December 1, 2011 | 0 comments

Wood and brass train

In a recent craigslist miniature lot purchase, there was a beautiful wood and brass toy train. The wheels spin and the cars are attached to one another with hooks. Isn’t it wonderful?! So tiny!

I’m not sure where I’ll display it, but I wanted to share it.

Categories: Miniatures
November 30, 2011 | 0 comments

Beautiful flower in a milk carton planter

I’ve added a little bit of life to the Heritage from a True2Scale kit. It comes with the glossy printed milk carton bottom, clay, synthetic soil, a stem and a little paper sheet with leaves and flower petals you color yourself. I chose to make mine a vibrant red orange, my favorite color. I added a bit of the soil included with the kit to the center of the flower as well as a light sprinkling of the foam I’ve been using as moss on the chimney.

The kit was very simple to put together and the results are so realistic! :D Love!!!!

Categories: Flowers, plants, and trees
November 28, 2011 | 0 comments