Nearing completion on the plastic litter collage. I bought some two- by quarter-inch wide ply to build a frame, which I’ll paint white.
As more pieces were collected, I re-worked some of the areas. The blue-green section is pretty much filled in.
Red could use a few more bits.
And in the lower right corner, a bit of hipster humor and tree hugging :)
Poppy the Fairy received these prompt responses to her questions from Ava and Aria. The messages were folded in half, rolled into scrolls and tied with white cord.
Poppy gave it some thought, and decided to combine favorite colors and letters and fun paper folding.
Cutting the letters from watercolor paper.
Protoype fold for Ava.
Aria likes pink! And bacon too! (not pictured).
Will of course make use of the scrap paper.
Both sides painted, replies written, awaiting final assembly.
When I went down to mail them, I found this appreciation in the Fairy Mail box.
Awaiting delivery. One of the things Poppy mentioned in her replies is that she is going away for nine sleeps, coincidentally the length of time my neighbor, who takes walks with the girls, will be away on vacation. Hopefully I’ll have time for some landscaping and an oversized Fairy Mail bin before Poppy returns.
For the record, Poppy the Fairy does not know what poptarts or bacon are, likes both water and parks, her favorite color is orange, and she likes pink the most in flowers and the sky.
Attempting to integrate the show-through back wall brick arch, I built a few brick foundation ruins.
After sealing the bricks, I mortared them with DAP CrackShot.
They have been since grunged, weathered and eroded, and cast into the background.
More importantly, we celebrated my husband’s birthday with the question, What is your spirit animal éclair?
We received so many heartfelt responses, mostly off the list of the available tiny animal figurines. Sloth, hyena, bunny… nope. Thus far, B has resonated with rhino and lion. I found the tiger encased on its side in delicious dark chocolate this morning; I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
This month’s very tardy nancyland splash page pays homage to two of my favorite things: Shelley’s sonnet “Ozymandius” and beach cleanups.
I recently became site captain for Esplanade Beach volunteer cleanups organized by Pacifica Beach Coalition, and my experience is heartfelt and mind-expanding. The image on the splash page is a fishing buoy, possibly debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami, retrieved from the beach some sixty feet below:
The part of the poem that most resonates with me:
“The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed
…
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
This is a reality shot of miniature landscaping.
And this is a super secret in-process shot of a project unrelated to miniatures… 15 x 20-inch (38.21 x 50.7 cm ) watercolor cold process block pages painted in a matte acrylic wash. Pretty! Also, I’m surprised there are no cats sitting on them, dry or otherwise.
Her favorite color remains blue, and she can fly like this bunny.
My favorite modern miniature of all time.
So happy with the results of Annie Christensen’s echeveria tutorial! Here are a few before adding the chalk detailing. I experimented with watercoloring both sides of gray and light green card stock, as well as a duplex sheet of sage/dark green.
Some in place under the lavender-drying deck (two varieties).
And more around the back. Truly, paper alchemy. I’ve got some micro-punches on order to make smaller ones, and different varieties. With lavender and California poppies growing, this landscaping will be so NorCal.
(This is a peek at one of my succulent beds, so you know I speak true. You can just see some CA poppy in the mid right edge. They should start going off next month :)
Short answer? Paperclay. Long answer follows.
I settled in to finish the long back foundation wall, literally before the storm and power went out. Above you see the carton materials wrapped from the left side wall and primed in Ceramcoat “Mudstone”, then the beginnings of the long traverse using various parts of egg carton. Then I noticed something.
A while ago, our thoughtful reader and observer Barbara W. had sent me a mold from Woodland Scenics. Although sized as “boulders” it occurred to me that at 1:12 scale they would make excellent rubble, the kind I was using in the foundation.
I reviewed my on-hand options and chose a pouch of Creative Paperclay. I had never worked with this material before, though it was on my list. I chose some of the larger boulder forms and filled the mold. I forgot about it until I started the back wall foundation masonry. Then I noticed that the molded boulders had a similar texture to the carton materials I was using. Like, really similar.
The dried paperclay is a remarkable material. It is extremely stable and lightweight, easy to trim, and as I was soon to find out, paints very well.
I reloaded the mold with the full set of rocks in paperclay to use around the rest of the foundation, and finished out the back wall with the few that had already dried (those in white), along with egg carton and packaging forms. It seems to take two or three days for the paperclay to dry thoroughly.
I applied the same set of acrylic layers and washes as the interior foundation.
Here’s a dramatic corner shot.
And the entire finished back foundation wall.
Although there is additional touch up and detailing to add, this needs to dry thoroughly. I could not resist gluing in some moss, though, to make it come alive. Thanks, BW, for the gift of the mold and allowing me to discover paperclay. The fun has just commenced.
Thank you all for your hearty congratulations and encouragement along the way. I really was surprised to win again, and a bit overwhelmed. When I got this comment from Bennie:
Something clicked with “I watched it evolve from beginning to end!” Sharing our work as we did has created a genuinely supportive community for both sharers and viewers, something I value. For me, there are elements of vulnerability and trust in posting imperfect works-in-progress, in letting you see unedited glimpses of my messy studio, my naked un-manicured fingers. One of my motivations is to spark your creativity, as a maker or a viewer. Inspiring appreciation, fostering delight, is another. So thank you for dropping by. Really truly.
The light today is crazy, brilliantly sunny then dark and gray. But I was glad to arrive at this point in the new build:
I got enough pieces from a second kit to be able to get a basic (and square) frame up, and determine with only minor maths the additional posts and casings that need to be built. Starting with the porch support post (finally).
Next, I’ll knock it all flat again to finish the interiors and exterior cladding, then reassemble with omg glue.
A peek at the side wall progress:
Now back to bricking.
Well that was a surprise. I am wide-eyed proud to announce that the Sea House Warming Hut placed third —of more than 100 entries! — in the 2015 HBS Creatin’ Contest. (More contest results here.) Thank you for being curious and caring enough to watch and comment on my meandering mini odyssey; heartfelt congratulations to everyone who participated.
Tiny rancor is more than happy to share my five three minutes of fame :)
In other fun news, I just signed on to this 28-day challenge sponsored by Creative Live. It’s free of cost, and results are shared on Instagram (I’m nancy_k_enge). Check it out!
nancyland.com 