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

Miniature baking...

I had some spare time to sculpt. It has been so very long since I worked with clay and it is something I love doing, but need to have a sort of Zen mind set when doing it, as I don't like to stop once I start. I have always loved making miniature breads, muffins, rolls, cakes, pies, sweets, etc. Working in 1:6 scale is even more fun because of the detail you can put into a piece. Bread is especially hard unless you have the right technique to get that crumbly soft yumminess. Poppy decided to be my model in the kitchen today.

I made all of the bread boards, as well as the breads. There is braided challah bread, french and Italian breads, hamburger buns, croissants, and loaf bread too. I am hoping to finish enough as I have some more clay and put some of these bread boards up on Etsy, which is empty right now. I was thinking some cheese and grapes would be great with these boards--I will have to get the clay tomorrow for those additions. Let me know if you like these breads, as they are also sliceable . I was thinking of making a simple bread board, with two loaves, one cut and the other uncut, for display with the pieces loose as a beginner piece, than the more on the board, the more higher the cost. After making all these breads, I am wondering if my town shouldn't have a bakery instead of a diner- a real french Patiesserie. 
Enjoy!~Lisa

The Dugout Project progress so far...

As many of you may remember, I started work last month on a large project- replicating the pictures from the Little House books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, starting with On the Banks of Plum Creek. I decided to do the ambitious project of actually building the dugout and staging the dolls believing it would be more realistic, and I was right! Today I had a day uninterrupted (no small feat for me with two businesses, phone ringing  and email that has to be answered.) It was a beautiful day and I made alot of progress!

The exterior of the dugout is done, but not the interior , not yet anyway. I still have to do some more research as Laura was not very specific about how large the dugout was or how much furniture they had, if any. But the exterior is looking very good, if I do say so myself. ENjoy the pics!

New camera in the house!

YEAH ME! I was finally able to get my camera that I have been putting off buying because of dolly orders no less. The Canon Powershot A2300 is one serious great little camera. The camera is sold out at my Wal-mart where I originally ordered it, but was in Sam's club for the same $79 price. Carma? Don't know but I adore this camera. I am not the best at taking pics, in fact, I suck a bit at it. Now I have a camera that puts me on a somewhat even level with other dolly people who take wonderful pics.

Below, Aileen Giles Parker (Truly Madly Deeply Agnes) Poppy's mother, is hosting the tea for Agnes, her niece at the mansion. (Agnes is out shopping today with Natalia). Aileen is hoping Poppy will come to the tea, as her oldest daughter, Patricia (Patty) has arrived with the other ladies. I do not have great lighting and this camera really picked up the details of the diorama.

The pictures just came out so crisp and clear! Yes, that is 'That Girl' Barbie who is the new maid. Lucia didn't do so well as maid, (too tall) . I'm hoping to find another one of these maid outfits as Agnes needs a bunch of maids in the house. I got the little maid outfit off of Ebay last year, should have bought two of them. 

I have been trying to figure out how to continue Poppy and Ryan's story but haven't had time to configure the storyline and set up the props. Ryan hasn't yet met Poppy's parents, or her older sister Patty. I was thinking of having a couple of scenes where Poppy meets with her parents and her sister and tries to explain about Ryan. 

Back to my camera- it is very simple and easy to use, but there is some setup on the computer as it comes with software CD , which I loaded onto my main PC in the office, I usually just upload to my netbook. 

All for now, and enjoy the new pictures!~Lisa