Blueberries, Blueberries....

I have some items I created here, and some have sold, some are just listed in my Etsy store. Link to my Etsy is above the blog post. 
As the title says, the dolls were all into Blueberries today. This is some of the items I created. (The Blueberry pie preparation board has already sold, hopefully I will be able to do another one of these if there is an interest.)

All of the blueberries in the pie, tarts and prep board were individually handsculpted. I was really pleased with the effect of the broken egg on the board- reminds me what a careless cook I sometimes am myself! I was thinking of blueberry pie today so decided the dolls needed one or two. 

The prep board I can probably do again; it comes with 2 whole eggs, 1 broken egg with yolk on the board, punnet basket of blueberries and a pastry crust in the pie pan- all of it glued onto the wood board. The tarts and pie are still in my Etsy store.

On another note, I decided to go through my unboxed dolls I have about the house who have not yet been deboxed. I was quite astounded at the number so far.

So far, I have the washer and dryer set, I can be a Teacher set, Out Sass Vanessa club doll from the W club that just arrived, The Great Oz (had to pick him up before he couldn't be found!) and Chrissy and Barbie bedtime set. 

That is a total of four unboxed dolls and one unboxed playset. I have decided to give myself a de-boxing day on my birthday, May 1st which falls on a Wednesday. I may not be able to resist de-boxing Chrissy bedtime set. I also have a Johnny Depp Pirate doll I have been meaning to de-box but haven't had the time since I bought him last year. Johnny Depp is one of my favorites, so have been saving him.  I don't know if I will debox the playset of the washer and dryer yet as I have nowhere right now to put these, unless I work on Poppy and Ryan's home. Hubby has asked me what I want to do for my birthday- celebrate the weekend before or after? Part of me wants to stay home and do nothing but play! Another part of me just wants to take off and go shopping for more doll stuff!lol...

More pictures up as I finish things I am still working on!~Lisa

Projects and building...

Projects, projects! It seems as soon as I start one diorama another mushrooms off of that!
While working on the Laura Ingalls dugout- still working on that one, weather has held me up yet again, I came up with the idea to build a boulangerie/patisserie in the french style to display my miniature foods I am selling on Etsy. (to view my Etsy offerings, click on the viewbar at the top of this blog) Hubby has said he will build it if I decide what dimensions, etc. to make it. 
Shopping for supplies also has its drawbacks- I went to Michael's a day or two ago - and foamboard was .88 cents each!!! I bought 5 sheets even though I had more at home, you can never have enough white foamboard. So my boulangerie can be mocked up until the wood roombox can be built. 

In my purchase of supplies, I was able to get the items to make the signs. I want a shabby chic french look to the shop. I think this works. Here are the pics of the signs.

Oops, I forgot to take pics of the Boulangerie sign- will do that again. I played with placement and figuring out what I would like the boulangerie to have - should it be all shop showcase and nothing else? Perhaps a small restuarant/bakery kitchen in the back?? Sketching to figure out what it should look like as well as googling pics of French boulangeries in France. 
On another note, I finished a chocolate cake. Sorry to say the cake itself looked like someone opened the oven door and it fell on one side. however the cake slice came out nicely and Pa Ingalls was certainly enjoying it! Back to the drawing board on creating a cake with a slice out of it, I will use this in my dioramas for fun scenes when Ryan and Poppy cook together. 
~Lisa

Barbie/Krissy bedtime score- new Etsy food items

My hubby and I were out antiquing or rummaging at some local antique stores and flea markets, and I scored big at one nearby in Tappahanock, near where I live. It was an antique store I had not been in, and it had this wonderful never removed from box Barbie/Krissy bedtime-- with the original crib and canopy! SQUEE! The best of all- only $12!!!!!!! I had been wanting this crib for a while, but wasn't willing to pay what some ebay sellers had it going for. I still have her in the box, but am going to wait until I have a moment and a clear idea what diorama this doll will go into.
On another note, the pot belly stove I got from Ebay arrived for the dugout and the one room schoolhouse project i have planned. It's great.

I have been creating more miniature food items for my Etsy shop . Be sure to check back as some items sell out, are relisted or I have new more intricate items. The new items are a little more complicated to create and  cost a little more, but I think will be a stunning addition to your dolls' diorama dining room, tea, or shop.
Here are the new three items-
5 tarts of 'Chocolate Delights'- come in tiny little tart pans. Chocolate tea cake 'tart' with fudge wedge, whipped cream, and chocolate sprays
fruit, bread, and cheddar  cheese board. All these items are glued on the board. Great for a dolls' wine tasting- comes with 2 french breads, bunch of green grapes and cheddar cheese slices and wedge.

Croissant and cheese board- this board has the ittems so you can move them about. Cheddar cheese wedge, cheddar cheese slices- sculpted together, 3 croissants, 1 round loaf.

All of these items are now in my Etsy store, and I am making and creating more! Hopefully I will have a photostory around soon with the foods, so stay tuned. 

Baking Bread in the Little House kitchen...

Once again I have been baking, or rather, baking for Ma Ingalls. It bothered me there was no goodies or food since Laura talks of baking bread, fishing, many activities which centered around food. So I finished some loaves and biscuits. Who didn't eat biscuits? Being from the South, I remember my grandmother telling me about going to school and taking large homemade biscuits with ham on them, and that was their lunch--however the town kids made fun of her and her sisters because the bread wasn't sliced loaf bread purchased for a nickel at the store! It shows how times have changed. 

There is more bread up in my Etsy store but it's going fast. I never thought in a million years I would create something for a project and then have other collectors admire it and buy it! It is fun. Still planning my boulangerie with sketches and specific dimensions with hubby. I am thinking of making a mockup of foamcore board with the components to get a feel for the dimensions before I start with wood. 

I hope to have the breads I finished last night up in the store by tomorrow or Tuesday!

~Lisa

On my Etsy shop now!

I had a wonderful day today.....I had decided to list some items to see how well received my miniature foods would be received by an audience, and boy was I blown away! within a couple of hours of listings 6 items, they were all sold out! I simply couldn't believe it. I was so encouraged and excited, I went ahead and listed more items that I had put to the side but decided why not. My Etsy store- Pumpkin Hill Studios has currently been re-filled and you can see the items in my Etsy store box to the side of the blog.
Above are some of the photos of the items, small items, and large ones, and most if not all the items have the food so you can move it around the napkin or bread board how you like.

I would like to thank everyone for their enthusiasm, the emails and encouragement. I have been suffering from stress and really picked up the clay just because it was fun to do and relaxed me. My relaxation came and I found myself excited about creating a diorama of this size such as boulangerie and filling it with my own homemade items, the whole thing my creation. Though the roombox is still sketches and drawings, I know I'm on to something when I go to sleep and dream about and wake up thinking what I'd like to make next! So it has been fun. I will try to create more items but the breads sometimes take a while until I'm satisfied with their size shape, and color.

Enjoy the photos- and be sure to browse!~Lisa

French Macaroons progress..

So I made alot of progress today on the French macaroons. Ever since seeing pics of them on google, and hearing so much about them, I have wanted to make them for my dolls. I also experimented with a bread and fruit tray in this last picture. I am so pleased that I have had so many positive responses on my breads and small foods.
So far have completed pink, rose pink, yellow and green. I think the greens have the best texture, will try to replicate that when I work on the chocolate and blue ones. 

Here Poppy, the consummate sales girl, is selling her delicious macaroons to Market Day silkstone. Why eat bread when you can those yummy oh so sinful macaroons?
Enjoy! Hoping to work on some boxes or packaging for the macaroons so I can get them up in Etsy!~Lisa

More miniature food

Welcome to the boulangerie-patisserie! (French for bakery/pastry shop) I had purchased some polymer clays from Hobby Lobby (30% off this week) as well as at Michael's (..87 cents- all clays!)  as well as a small toaster oven to cook the clay in so there would be no contamination with foods. (The dollar general sells one that runs quite inexpensive and is perfect for baking small batches of clay.) 

Today I worked on grapes. I want to create a bread, fruit and cheese board. For some reason I thought it might be easier to make grapes than cheese! It was not bad for a first try, but I still have to work on it to achieve the different shades of green in the green grapes. I used a bit of twig off my grapevine wreath for the stem. 

I also dug out my Re-ment display case and so glad I did- the breads I have made so far look delicious in it! I want to build a real room box boulangerie/patisserie out of wood= not foam core- and hubby has agreed when he saw how much work I put into my breads- he loved it. I haven't sculpted like this in a long time, and it worries him when I don't create. Sculpting in clay or working with any type of medium, being creative, is my release and as well as my reason for breathing. I get ll hyper and moody when I am not able to create. I have so many things I want to create for the dolls- especially food. I did not realize how much I love making breads, croissants, etc. One thing that irks me a bit about the Re-ment is it is plastic, even though some of it is nicely done. I would like the food to not look soo......shiny. I don't eat shiny food, do you? 

I put a little sealer on the grapes and think it turned out nice for a first try. Hopefully I will be able to whip up some cheddar and Roquefort tomorrow. I am also working on making breads for Ma Ingalls and the wood cook stove as well!

Lisa