Suzy's Minis

Here are some links to some of my favourite places on the web to get  free Elf on the Shelf printable colouring pages, props and crafts! The Elf on the Shelf Official page has lots of things to colour and activities  19 Free Elf Props   - This site has a cool superhero costume for your elf! Pimp your Elf   - Elf mail, Mini monopoly game and costumes!! PARENTS Magazine has some nice pictures  Super Coloring - Elf on the shelf pages to print and color as well as pages from popular Fairy tales Get Coloring - Has a few dozen images to colour of the Elf Home made gifts made easy - cute sheets to color Coloring Home - So many cute xmas pages! More printable props Please follow my elf on Instagram @Herbtheelf  Herb the Elf Photo Gallery  Merry Christmas!!!

I have been making candy all week and will have a limited supply available this month  in my eBay store - Redwoodretro   

 Happy November! Are you sick of candy yet?  I bought a huge box this year and only had a few dozen kids because it poured. I'm trying very hard not to eat the leftovers but its not going well. On the plus side, the box they came in is perfect for a 1/6 scale roombox and I've been itching to do an office scene since I bought a mini filing cabinet at Goodwill last month. The only thing I bought new for this room was some Vinyl /mactac Shelf paper from the dollar store that looks like fake woodgrain. I found one that looks just like the cheap pressed wood desks that you saw everywhere in the 80s. This was fun. Im not sure if I'm going to keep this one or not. If I do I am going to redo the walls and add some windows This pic was done with the free app FaceApp   I'm tempted to upgrade because it does such a great job on doll faces!

 Anyone else fed up with this heat lol? I find it hard to work on projects when its humid. I'm so ready for fall that I've started working on Halloween stuff.  I have been going through old newspaper clippings looking for vintage graphics I can use for my Miniature Curiosity shop. I haven't started it yet but Ive been collecting stuff over the summer to use in it.  One of the things I have been looking for at the second hand shops is the Wade figurines. They make such perfect statures and decor for both 1:12 and 1:6 scale minis.  Some can be worth money but most of them are common and I have already found doubles. I'm thinking of painting some of the extras.  I think the wade owls are my favourite and work well as modern Barbie decor I remember getting the nursery rhyme ones in the tea boxes when I was a kid.  I picked up a few already this summer that I am going to save for a Toy or Fairy garden scene.  If you collect these and are looking for a certain one, send me a

Hello from the Barbie Ranch!  I hope you are enjoying this summer season and getting plenty of fresh air and vitamin D. I love to garden but an injured knee has been slowing me down a bit this year. My husband surprised me by making a new flower bed space that is easy to access and he edged it with a Barbie sized fence! Perfect for a ranch. I might need to treat myself to a few S chleich horses :) 

This is a really easy project you can do for all Doll sizes. This one here is 1:6 scale The centre circle should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the dolls head. Felt stretches so if the circle is slightly smaller you can stretch it to fit.  Cut one circle of felt and 3 or 4 matching circles in a sheer fabric Put it together like a sandwich ( in layers) put dots of glue between each layer.  

When I was a teenager I worked at this rustic place called Cullen Country Barns. It was a craft /art store that was made out of old barns.  It also had antiques, food and a garden centre ( owned by the Cullen family who are Canadian famous for their Garden stores)   My mother worked there part time as well and we both taught classes on wreath making, ribbon roses and other 80's crafty stuff. To this day I always think of the barns when I hear the name "Dusty Rose"  -the most popular colour for decorating that year. This is also where I learned how to use polymer clay.  Fimo was fairly new to the Canadian craft scene and I had pretty much only seen it used in the miniature world for dishes and bread.  We got to use a certain amount of product to make sample displays so I remember being very excited to try the clays out.  I've  been wanting to do a craft room scene for my 1:6 dolls for a while and thought my old wooden crate would be the perfect backdrop for one based o

Mattel's Sunshine Family Dolls were a popular fashion doll line in the 1970's. They were considered a bit of a hippy family and some even called them anti-Barbie because they were so wholesome and plain compared to her.   The Sunshine family cooked from scratch, made pottery and art and probably sang around a campfire.  The Baby was called Sweets, Mom Steffie, dad Steve, and Grandpa & Grandma Sunshine. The first video below from the Denver Miniature museum is a great visual explainer and shows the playsets.  I had the craft store when I was a kid. My mom made me tiny candles and fabric bolts for it. This commercial is from 1974 This is a cute video of one of the Sunshine craft booklets. Free Sunshine Family Clothes pattern   - From Chellywood doll blog 

 Updated 3/16/22 This bamboo utensil tray/organizer is my favourite find.  It makes the perfect shelf for Barbie and it fits the Zuru Mini Brands very well.  I haven't tried it in a 1:12 setting yet but it does have possibilities.  Found these adorable little pinwheels at the dollar store in the party section. They are made by Wilton for cupcakes. So sweet but I think I might add some bright colours to some. They are a little too pale for me.  I remember getting these at the hardware store when I was a kid. It was always one of the first signs of #spring when pails of shiny #pinwheels went on display outside.  The bright colours caught your eye whirling in the wind. Found this toilet and the dog crate in the candy section. I have been trying to make a toilet out of clay but its not going so well. I'm going to try to spray paint it a nice shiny white.   The crate and the puppy is adorable. I don't remember if there were other breeds or colours so I'll check on my next vi