No-clay miniature Chlorophytum succulent plant tutorial

Hello dear readers,

The bad news is that I have to stay home in quarantine until Wednesday next week because unknowingly I've been in contact with two persons who are diagnosed with Corona.  The good news is that I feel all right and am waiting for a Corona test right here at home. If negative, I'll be able to be free again to go out in the company of friends and family.

There was plenty of time to read books, see television, listen to music, and make plans for easy-to-make miniatures.  

In my stash. was a large packet of multicolored micro-foam balls.  I bought it last year with the intention of making "Floam" with my younger great-grandchildren.  One of my favorite succulent plants is the string of pearls (Chlorophytum).  I picked up the green balls and just glued them to a green sewing thread.  Ta-dam!

The pedestal is a huge glass bead with a punched-out paper card top.  Actually, I planned to use them for macrame.  I may still do so in the future. 

I experimented with one of the seeds in my pot puree bowl.  I just trimmed it with nail scissors.  I hope it looks like a cactus.  It will save the ladies at the center a lot of work.

I'm still working on my Zen vignettes.  Finished two more wooden boxes for the frames but nothing to show yet.

And here is something that touched my heart. In my country, it is not permitted to cut down a grown tree even if it is in your own garden.  You have to get a special permit, only if it is absolutely necessary.

I wish you, dear readers, a lovely weekend with blessings.

Translation results

First Zen garden vignette complete

 Hello dear readers,

Here is the first completed vignette out of a three Zen gardens project. My dear friend Birgit sent me the little Buddha as well as other items, all parts of her 2020 Christmas gifts.

Complete with perspex "glass".  

Without glass.  I hope to have captured a serenity atmosphere.  Below, you can see the stages of how the scene was planned.

  

The tree is made from electrical copper wires covered with masking tape.  The foliage is also part of Birgit's Christmas gifts.

 

The Japanese "stone" lantern is made from beads and bits.  (See photo below.) The wooden spool is also a part of Birgit's Christmas gifts.

I made another version of the "stone" lantern but it resulted too large for the vignette.  I'll probably use it in another larger picture frame.

The box inside the frame measures in centimeters 12 width x 8.5 length x 3.5 depth.  The frame is 15 x 11.

I sincerely hope your summer is cooler than ours. It's melting hot outside.  At least I have a good air-conditioner which enables me to keep working on my minis.

Dear readers, I wish you all a lovely restful weekend with blessings.

Gorgeous gifts from Rosa Maria

Hello dear readers,

I made many plans for this summer but became ill instead.  I had a very high fever, unusual for a person like me who almost never has a fever.  My doctor wanted me hospitalized but I refused, preferring to stay home on strong antibiotics.  I'm alright now.

A precious little parcel arrived from Spain, right in the middle of the bad days.  Rosa Maria sent me some teeny-tiny jaw-dropping sculptures which left me open-mouthed with a delightful surprise.

 

I wish I was a better photographer.  Believe me, my photos do not give these precious items enough justice.  Each of them is simply breathtakingly gorgeous.

THANK YOU, DEAR ROSA MARIA, FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AND WONDERFUL GESTURE!

Well, now that I am absolutely well and healthy again, I'm continuing my work at the home care center.  We finished 5 embroidered covers for toilet rolls.  There is a large demand for more but we are out of burlap and hope that a new supply will arrive soon.

I am also back to working on my mini Zen garden project.  In my stash, I found two small gadgets which I purchased years ago at a hardware store.  They are supposed to connect washing-line ropes. With a touch of Jesso and a wild imagination, I hope to turn them into Japanese stone garden lanterns. 

In my next post soon, I hope to be able to complete the first vignette and show you how I made this little "stone" lantern from the above gadget. It still needs some sanding.

 My dear friend Birgit is sending me more Buddhas so I'll attempt to make all three zen vignettes. (See photos on my previous post.)

I wish you, dear readers, a wonderfully healthy, and enjoyable weekend with blessings.

A little Zen garden

Hello dear readers,

For a long time, I wanted to make a little Zen garden miniature but somehow didn't find the right time to do it.  One of Birgit's Christmas 2020 gifts was a tiny Budha which is perfect for this kind of project. (Thank you again dear Birgit).  Searching for inspiration I found many photos of miniature Zen gardens.   I  picked three photos out of several on the net in order to decide which one I like best.

Of the three, I like the middle one best although it'll be more difficult to make. (Especially the stone burner.)  It will be a challenge and I'll have to try hard to do one similar to this.

I intend to make it a vignette, and already cut and glued up a wooden box for one of the four wooden frames in my stock.

Size of the box 12.5 cms width,  9 cms. length. 4 cms. depth.  Made from popsicles and tongue depressors wooden sticks, glued to cardboard and cut to size.

Four ladies at the home center are following my tutorial for making a real-size toilet rolls holder from burlap fabric embroidered with wool.  I spent a few hours making a model and finished it.  It will keep them occupied and happy for a few days. 

Meanwhile, I'm planning the next miniature for them to make after they finish this.

                             

I'm going to make a miniature one like this for the dolls' bathroom.

I wish all my followers and readers an enjoyable, well-deserved summer vacation. Stay safe and happy. Blessings!

Burlap baskets

 Hello dear readers

Although I'm teaching how to make miniatures, I still don't have enough pupils to justify spending funds on craft materials.  I spent a lot of time trying to come up with ideas on how to use available cheap stuff for crafting and recycling. 

Here is what we managed to create last week, at no cost, except for the white plastic glue that I supplied from my own stock. The burlap was a left-over scrap, also from my stock.

I forgot to take photos of the way the baskets were made. You can figure it out for yourselves, or if anyone is interested, I'll make a step-by-step tutorial.  All the baskets in the photo are made out of glue stiffened burlap. We pulled out lengths of threads before stiffening the burlap to make the handles and for trimming the ends.  The knitting needles are tiny colored foam balls pierced into straight sewing pins.

Remember the poster from my previous post here? There was enough card paper left to make 10 more pitchers.

I wish all my followers and readers a happy, enjoyable weekend with blessings.

A very rewarding cause

 Hello dear readers,

Working with old folks is very rewarding.  I now have four ladies who very enthusiastically follow my tutorials and together we managed to create these miniatures within a few meetings.

All the flowers were made by the a/m ladies. I showed them how to stiffen the green crochet thread with glue, cut it into stem lengths and, then glue on the sepals and the flower petals.  (see my tutorial here).  All the pitchers were made by me recycling advertising posters.

The stand was also made by me.  I hope it will attract some of the gentlemen to make the next ones. So far, I supplied all the materials, from my own hoarded piles. An opportunity to get rid of a little trash for a good cause. Three pairs of chopsticks, 6 lollipop sticks.  

Our next project is going to be a knitting basket.  I made this one as a sample. 

June became a difficult month for me.  On the 26th of June 2020, I lost my beloved husband,  The 4th of June is my birthday.  I am not ready yet to celebrate my birthdays without my partner, especially this month that I became 90. Life goes on, I don't feel my age and I can only count my blessings, still on my feet, able to do some volunteer work, surrounded by a loving family and friends. I have a great supply of books to read and miniatures keep me busy and interested.  I don't drive a car anymore,  twice a week I go to a gym, exercising to keep fit. And yes, although I always found it hard, I still cut and saw wood for my crafts. 

I wish you all, my readers and friends, a lovely Sunday with blessings.

sunday 

Working with elderly people

Hello dear readers,

Sorry for having neglected my blog and for not visiting many of your blogs for a while.

Shortly after the corona restrictions were lifted, another trouble landed on us here in Israel.  Missiles were fired from Gaza in all directions, regardless of children and elderly people. Alarm sirens sounded at all hours of the day and night. It was necessary to go down to the shelter or stay in a protected space within the building. There are no protected spaces in our building except for an underground shelter. Since the elevator must not be used during an alarm, and of course, going down from the top floors down to the shelter in 3 minutes with babies and small children on our hands is an equally dangerous operation, most of the tenants, including myself, preferred to stay in the apartments and hope we would get out of it safely.

I started working with people at the daycare for the elderly center in May.  There was very little interest at the beginning. I brought along some of my miniature items that I found easy to create, but they couldn't believe it possible for them to learn.  So I took out some pipe-cleaners and began to make tiny puppies and kittens.  This was a huge success.  Now even the gentlemen want to make them.

It took a few weeks and here I can show what we already finished.

The pitcher is recycled from a poster advertising apartments sale which I found hanging on my door. These posters are ideal for pitchers since they are already colored and shiny. 

After noting that the flowers were really not difficult to make and learning to use paper punches and how to shape and cup the petals they became very enthusiastic and we were able to fill recycled poster pitchers with dozens of flowers. I was too busy to take photos. I'll do it next time I'm at the center.

A very warm welcome to the new followers of my blog. Thank you for your interest.

I wish you, all my dear readers, a very nice and safe weekend with blessings.