Portada: The actual translation is "facade" or "front (of a building)". Here in Chile, making miniature versions is a very popular craft and they are sold in the artisans' markets and souvenir stores, sometimes for quite high prices. They hang on the wall and are supposed to bring good luck to your home. They are made to represent the fronts of houses, stores or other attractive or interesting buildings. Here in Chile many properties, especially in some of the more affluent areas, have a very large and ornate gate structure, which really stands out after a long run of rather plain or rundown fence or wall. These are the subject of many of the portada models too. My wife loves them and has several now. I have some portadas made of plaster that I painted with acrylics and have a few more to go. Most are made of wood or MDF and a variety of other things, such as clay, copper sheet, dried flowers, etc. I guess you could say that they are really a type of caricature rather than a scale model, as they are similar in proportion to the original but not actually to scale. The most interesting characteristics of the original are usually overly emphasized. I bought a couple of portadas for my wife for her birthday and really fell in love with one of them myself. It is the entrance to a ranch, but obviously one that has seen better times or has been abandoned. When Helen and I were passing messages back and forth about modelling scenes in 144 scale in match boxes, I instantly thought of that portada and what a wonderful model it would make. I scanned it and sent the picture to Helen and she decided to make one too. Since then we have been trying to get poor old Cliff to make some copies of the big clay pot we need to make the model. I finally made a sketch of it the other day and sent it to Helen so maybe Cliff can make them the right size this time. We will keep the digest posted, won't we, Helen? Meanwhile I managed to get some clay so I can try my hand at making it in that medium as I am not sure Cliff is going to get it right... So that is the story of the portadas and how a poor English amateur woodworker came to be so badly maligned in a public forum. David, Santiago, Chile |
Blueprints : site update: you can find free plans for a Victorian house at http://www.thewoodcrafter.net/proj/p40.html Karolyn |
Dovecote Park: http://www.joyperkins.com/myminiatures/dovecotepark.html The Gazebo was already made, which I purchased about a year ago, so I just painted it peach outside and white inside.... I added a wooden drawer knob to the top along with some additional, stained wood strips on the roof to give it a bit of dimension. All the little white flower pots are wooden, from Lee Valley Tools, and I painted them white. The tree is from Lemax, which I painted (cuz it was white for a winter scene). I made the two Grecian benches in the Gazebo and stained them a rich green with Saman stains. The dovecote is from a separate project book from the magazine Dollshouse and Miniature Scene. And as for all those flowers, it's all dried flowers, shoved into clumps and lumps of Fimo, then glued, then more glue slathered over that, then sprinkled tea leaves over it all. I don't think that will come apart ! LOL There are a couple of things I am happy with, one of which is the planter where the green foliage runs up the side and the roof of the gazebo. The planter is porcelain, from Connie Stitt, which I bought a few of at the MEM show last year. I mixed an indigo blue wood stain and a dark brown wood stain ... to the point where the 2 colours streaked together, and just sponged it over the container. Sometimes the things we fuss the least with, come out the best. The sign was an afterthought because I realized parks are usually named, and I asked my husband if he had any ideas as to what to call the park and he just came up with Dovecote Park. Okay, that seemed right, and he's so good when the obvious eludes me! The curly thingy that the sign is suspended from is for cake decorating supplies and I bought a bunch of them a couple of years ago, knowing they would come in handy for this very thing...signs! They are plastic and paint up great with a couple of coats acrylic paints.Joy in Pointe Claire |
Miniature Rugs: We have over 300 hundred designs of miniature rugs in 4 different sizes. May be you can find something which may work for your project. Please check us at http://www.anatolian-treasures.com Korhan Kartin |
Peter Cook's Signs: Just received the wonderful wooden engraved sign that Peter Cook made for my potting shed/shop. I can't tell you how absolutely perfect it is and how pleased I am with Peter's work. I was so happy to have been able to pick the font I wanted, too. The price was reasonable and his service was ultra-quick. Highly recommend him to all. Once again Peter's website is: Bev |
Cinder block veneer: try Precision Products; they have all sorts of shingles, bricks, cobblestones, etc. It comes in sheets about a foot square - and in a flat box marked "This is NOT a pizza"! - and is easily cut with scissors. I don't have a web site for them, but the address is 763 Cayuga, Lewiston, NY 14092-1724. The catalogue is $3, but if you tell them what scale you want, they may be able to give you a price right off the bat. Dani, in Bradshaw, MD |
Electric Problems: I would like to caution the people who are having problems with the electricity in their dollhouses to please unplug the transformers from the wall when not working on the dollhouse. If they aren't working properly, they could start a fire. I'm sure you know that, but just in case. I think sometimes we think those little tiny lights are harmless, but they can start a fire. Linda |
Japanese site: I found this site with lots of traditional as well as western miniatures - beautiful work. The artist's name is Yuki Yoneda. Her website is: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/yuki/world And you can view it in English or Japanese. Susan in Gan. Can. |
Poppies: I love poppies, and did a bunch for my last garden. Not too difficult, and this is the right time of year to get the foliage. Materials are covered wire, preferably green, red tissue or crepe paper; poppy seeds, black sand, or superfine charcoal chips; tacky glue; gray-green paint; and the smallest Dusty Miller leaves from the plant tips (dried, but not pressed). Substitute other florist greenery if you can't find any Dusty Miller in your yard or around the neighborhood.Punch a bunch of red circles for the petals. Cut the wire into 1 and five-eight inch lengths and use needlenose pliers to form a small loop on one side. Dab tacky glue on the loop and attach 6 or 7 punched petals around the loop; if they're slightly overlapped and uneven, it just looks more realistic. While the petals dry, stick the wire into some styrofoam and paint the Dusty Miller leaves, then glue them around the lower stem (leave at least a quarter-inch "root" to "plant"). Finally, plop a blob of glue in the center of the flower and sprinkle on real poppy seeds or sand. Dab a green calyx on the underside of the petals to disguise the wire loop. They make up fairly quickly. Use stuff you may already have, and en masse they look very realistic.Loretta.Sniarowski |
Ultimate Glue: I have been using Ultimate glue recently and find it useful for many purposes. It is sort of a cross between Tacky Glue and Quick Grab although it looks like Tacky. It sets up more quickly than Tacky but is easier to use than Quick Grab. Most miniature dealers carry it. I also found it at Hobby Lobby and Michael's. The latest Quick Grab that I have used is sporting a new cap. It is more like a screw-on toothpaste tube cap instead of the tapered one that was previously used. It is much easier to use and the glue doesn't accumulate on the end of the opening as it did on the older tubes. This was one of my gripes about Quick Grab. There is no substitute in certain applications in my opinion. Juanita in Missouri |
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