Suzy's Minis

Do you have a fairy garden? I like to start one from scratch every spring.  I do reuse most of my items from the previous year though. This year I am doing one in a raised planter box.  Wildlife and weather are the two biggest "threats" to our little cities and villages. One year I was so happy with my fairy town done at the base of a huge tree. Sadly it also became a favourite spot for a neighbourhood raccoon to use as a rest room! Some birds like to flip little things over to get to the insects underneath and squirrels are just jerks and will trample over things like they are invisible. I have found that hanging an aluminum pie pan above the garden deters squirrels a little but they seem to have become used to it after just a week.  This year I'm trying a wood-chip base. So far it is keeping the weeds to a minimum. I like to let a few weeds through for some free natural greenery.  

Yay! It's April!  She is sure living up to her name here in SW Ontario, with plenty of showers so far.  Looking forward to the flowers they bring! So much negative stuff happening in the news-world these days, thankfully Barbie made some headlines this week and gave us something positive to look forward to. I know a movie won't fix the world but having something fun to look forward to always brightens my mood :) #TheBarbiemovie headshots were released last week giving us a glimpse of the characters and the amazing costumes. I have to say, Allan is my favourite. Perfect casting with Michael Cera and his shirt/costume is spot on. Also nice to see so many Canadians!! Have you tried the Barbie Selfie AI generator yet? I've had so much fun scrolling through Instagram looking at everyones creations. I hope Mattel keeps this going for a while so I can use it over and over. So much fun. These some of the ones I've done so far :) Moi!  My Mother :) I almost forgot to include the

Its already half-way through the month!!!!. This Christmas season seems to be approaching way too fast for me this year.  I'm not even done collecting the flower seeds from the garden yet or putting away the lawn furniture.  We haven't had much snow where I am yet and its actually been above seasonal temperature wise. I love the snow but I'll take this at the moment. Do you decorate your doll houses for the holidays? I haven't started my 1:12 scale yet but Barbie's place is all decked out. These candles are made with those little glass jars from Dollar Tree in the crafts area.  I dripped wax into them and stuck a piece of black wire. The label is washi tape

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

Hello Mini Makers!! And just like that it is Autumn once again. My favourite time of the year.  Less humidity, fewer annoying bugs and two food related holidays back to back. Halloween and Thanksgiving!   Here are a few cool printables to make your Dollhouse Halloweeny My Small Obsession   has a fantastic page of fall and Halloween tutorials and printables Miniature Witch Hat Tutorial  Halloween Party printies  - from Nwabisas littlethings blog Halloween Paper Doll Polymer clay Dried Corn  Beautiful Halloween Lampshades  and more - from Glenda's World Make a Miniature Book for a Halloween House - From Paper Glitter Glue Trick or Treat Halloween Bags  - From Small Stuff's Print Mini page More Halloween Printies! Ghost animals tutorial

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

 Happy 63rd Birthday to Barbie. Born on March 9, 1959 ( the day she debuted at the International Toy Fair in NY City.) The first commercial aired the same year during The Mickey Mouse Club Click here to find out which Barbie was popular the year you were born . - From Good Housekeeping. Mine was Malibu Barbie :) 

Hello Friends!, I'm so happy that the first official day of spring is just over two weeks away.  This feels like its been the longest winter ever and I'm excited about getting back to gardening and more outdoor activities.  What is your favourite thing about spring? This is also the time I start thinking about outdoor Mini displays, Fairy Gardens and dollhouse spring cleaning and makeovers. I don't know about you but my dollhouses get just as messy as my real one.  I like to browse the internet and social media for new ideas and of course spring printables. Here are some of the ones I've come across so far.  Easter Printables in Half Scale - From Paper Crafts blog  Easter Printables -   From Blossom Friends   Easter House Printies - From Nwabisa's Little things  Petting Zoo Spring and Bunny party - From Mimi's Dollhouse 1:6 Scale Easter Printies - From Suni Doll - The bunny table setting is adorable!! An Easter Peddlers cart A mini Easter Box 5 Polymer clay

I recently made my first miniature floor out of popsicle sticks.  A ton of mistakes were made and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Some of those tutorial videos make it look so easy. I used the larger size sticks, the ones that are more like the tongue depressors. I used regular craft scissors to cut the ends but I think heavy duty ones would have been better. Maybe ones to cut leather?  The sticks can break very easy when you cut them. I've seen videos where the whole pile of sticks is cut at once with a band saw. Maybe Santa will bring me one next year, Haha! I sanded the ends but not perfectly. The next floor I might take my time and do a nice job.  The large emery board/nail files make great sandpaper for minis if you don't already know. I find them so much easier to use than regular sandpaper and they are great for getting in tiny spots. I made the base from a piece of scrap wood that came as support packaging with a piece of furniture I had delivered. On th