Oh boy, it’s been a while. Do you miss me? I sure miss everyone! I know my last few posts lacked any substance and I tried to get back into the rhythm for the holidays, but eventually decided to just take a break from miniatures and this blog for a bit. Hope you didn’t mind.

I’ve been telling friends that I’ll be back “soon” for months, but finally, here I am! Yes, I’m alive! I’m blogging! RAWR! It feels weird posting again – like that feeling when you revisit an old neighborhood you moved away from for several years. But I’m back in this neck of the woods for good. You can’t get rid of me.

I have quite a bit of images and content backed up for months, but I don’t want to be dedicating whole posts about the holidays months late, so I’m cramming everything in here.

Some pictures are late, some are quick updates, and some are sneak peeks of what’s to come.

During the holidays, I was sent a sweet little package from Lara as a thank you for winning and receiving one of my giveaways. Seriously, the miniatures community is full of awesome people like Lara. She didn’t have to, I never expected anything, but she did anyway. THANK YOU LARA!

Also during the holidays, my ElfDoll TinyDoll Kai came in the mail. I waited a good 6 months for her. Unfortunately, they messed up my order and that soured me to the doll itself. Other than the initial unboxing, she went right back in the box and sat there since. I have been mulling over whether or not to sell her (hence the lack of a name), but looking over the images now, there’s a possibility I make keep her. We’ll see.

A few days later, Charlemagne arrives! So cute! *head explodes*

Charlemagne is a FairyLand PukiPuki Lily. I had decided that “Lily” will be a boy and named him Charlemagne before he even arrived (I waited about 8 months for him!). This decision came from the fact that the Lily facemold looks great as a boy in the Caramel Mushroom Full Package (which I puchased), but unfortunately, Charlie came with too much blush on. It’s just a small complaint and nothing I can’t handle, so he’s definitely a keeper!

But you know what this means? Dakota now has a partner in crime! I feel really bad for Petunia…

Why hello there! Speaking of the devil, it’s Dakota.. in a dry fit Hello.Shawn! This was an exciting day for me. More to come about the H.S house.

And if you’re wondering about the H.S for the I Am a Giant thing… no, I didn’t have time to work on it, let alone finish it. *glum*

Remember the Nyne House from (what feels like) ages ago? Well, something is happening to it. To be honest, it’s not much, but it’s something!

And lastly the RC Bookcases are back and I’m getting ready for a little sale…

So that’s what happened betwixt and between October until now. There are some other undocumented projects and tutorials being worked on. Hoping to blog more soon!

Betwixt & Between is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

This is a few days late, but I have a good excuse. I’m not going to tell you, other than it’s a good one! *wink*

Well, October has been a busy month on the treasury circuit. I was featured in 41 public treasuries. That certainly beat out my personal best (the total escapes me right now, but it was in the low 20s). And if I removed the totals for all the cardstock deer treasury features, I still come out on top of my old record, so it that’s something. Anywho, go check them out!

• 10/31/2011 - Mirror, Mirror…Who’s the Fairest of them All?by ReneeBowen, featuring Miniature Art Deco Mirror, “Shuriken” Wood Frame, Wall Decor in 1:12 Scale
• 10/29/2011 – Mini by CutTheFish, featuring Miniature IKEA Inspired VIKA Desk in 1:12 Scale
• 10/28/2011 - Mustard and Chocolate by LongWinterSoapCo, featuring Rectangular “Low Boy, Large” Miniature Modern Coffee Table
• 10/27/2011 - Natural Beauty by TheLandofCraft, featuring Rectangular “Low Boy, Large” Miniature Modern Coffee Table
• 10/25/2011 - Black, Red, Black, Red, Black Red! by Bergio, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/23/2011 - Rendez-vous in Paris by FoxtailCreek, featuring Miniature Paris Silhouette Wall Decor in Bamboo
• 10/21/2011 – Spoon Me by MySelvagedLife, featuring Set of 2 Miniature Modern End Table Set in Black Acrylic
• 10/21/2011 - Hunting Season –> by TriptophonicStudios, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/21/2011 - I’m 2 Sexy for the Subway by peifferStudios, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/20/2011 - Eclectica by StudioBytheForest, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/18/2011 – Minimum, Indeed Minimalist! by MammaCarla, featuring Modern Minimalist Dining Table, “Simplism” Small Kitchen Table
• 10/16/2011 - Silhouette by ShirleyBeMine, featuring Miniature Paris Silhouette Wall Decor in Bamboo
• 10/16/2011 - Keep Calm and Shut Your Piehole by Monalina, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/16/2011 - It’s A Teeny Weeny World. by 1buddie2000, featuring Oval “Bow Tie” Coffee Table & Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/15/2011 – Les Couleur de Jaune by GoldenBambi, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/15/2011 – Jet Streams by MariesVintage, featuring Miniature Paris Silhouette Wall Decor in Bamboo
• 10/14/2011 - Miniature World by Charitye, featuring Miniature 2 Set of Small Picture Frames in Unfinished Balsa Wood Frame, Made to Your Specification
• 10/14/2011 - Accessorize Every Facet of Your Life by BevaStyles, featuring Oval “Bow Tie” Coffee Table
• 10/14/2011 - ANIMALISTIC by KaroArt, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/14/2011 - Snow and Cardboard Fondue by BoogalooBubbywear, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/14/2011 - Animal Behavior by TsuraLi, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/13/2011 - The Mouse’s House by Thresholder, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/12/2011 – A Quiet Day by MatesRubbish, featuring Bamboo Bookcase “Expeditly 2×1? Storage Unit
• 10/12/2011 - Microcosmos by Kipepeoke, featuring Miniature IKEA Inspired VIKA Desk in 1:12 Scale
• 10/11/2011 – Don’t Tap on Glass. by KnotLoopy, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/10/2011 – Oh Deer. by LaGrenade, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/10/2011 - Eclectic Bungalow- Mini by EtherealKitten, featuring Miniature IKEA Inspired VIKA Desk Kit in Wood
• 10/10/2011 – Creature Comforts by ShellSherree, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/10/2011 – Mini Me by MichaelMacko, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/10/2011 - Never Too Early by Soap, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/10/2011 – Fall Into Aqua by Soap, featuring Zen Pillar Dining Table in 1:12 scale
• 10/09/2011 - Exploring in the Wild by TheBQE, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/07/2011 – A Hunting We Will Go… by GinaZetts, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/07/2011 – Got the Horn for RHINOs! by ZooKshop, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/05/2011 - So Deerly Loved… by GiddyUpAndGrow, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/04/2011 - Lumberjack Style by erachel, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/04/2011 - Vick, Tori & Ana by peifferStudios, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/03/2011 - OH Deer!!!! by PineBranchDesigns, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/03/2011 – Call of the Wild by UpsideDownKisses, featuring Miniature Cardstock Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 10/01/2011 – Ice Age.. Mash Up by RosieOK, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 10/01/2011 – Front Page News by VintageEye, featuring Oval “Bow Tie” Coffee Table

October 2011 Etsy Treasury Round Up is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

I decided to give away the rest of the goodies since I can’t sell them for some reason. So you read that right, there is more than 1 winner! Congrats to you three!

• Lara (Blog entry)
• Melissa J. (from Facebook)
• Mike Geoffrey E.  (from Facebook)

I’ve sent the proper emails, but in case it don’t go through (like the last time with facebook, not sure what’s going on with that), can someone let them know they won? ann[at]amazingminiatures.com

This may have been my most successful giveaway yet and it’s all thanks to you and your support (and even your lack of support )

Mr. Antlers Giveaway Winners is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

This was created by ElementProductions for McDonald’s. Go watch it here. It’s a silly commercial, but I like it!

I see a few custom pieces I made as some reseller stuff and some from the lovely minimodernistas as well. Wooohooo!

P.S. Here’s your chance to win free mini stuff, ends soon.

Made it into a McDonald’s Commercial! is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

I’ve had a few friendly notes from the folks at Cardboard Safari in my public spaces about the cardstock deer head that you may have caught wind of.

Here’s a comment on my facebook page:

And some comments on my blog: 

(FYI, he did apologize for this)

And here’s the conversation via Etsy:

Why am I a miniaturist? Why are you a miniaturist? It’s because for whatever reason, we want to live in this tiny world that may reflect our own – or that we wish to reflect our own.

To build our little world, we need little things. But what if they don’t make these items in scale miniatures? What do we do then? We buy them or make them ourselves. When we make the table that we sit at with our family or the table we want to sit at with our family, we as miniaturists make scale counterfeits. Do you have anything made that looks remotely like IKEA furniture for your dollhouse? They are counterfeits. Can’t afford a Burberry umbrella? Oh, let’s just counterfeit them in 1″ scale. You want to decorate your dollhouse with some Le Corbusier LC2 and LC4 chairs? Get the counterfeits from Reac Japan. How about that MacBook, iPad, or iMac? Huh? They’re no such things in 1″ scale? Well, I guess we’ll have to counterfeit them in miniature. So where does it end? All in all, I’m feeling pretty disappointed in this hobby and in people in general.

But if you’re wondering, the giveaway is still going on. Feel free to check it out if you are interested in winning a miniature counterfeit made by someone who should be ashamed of herself.

Also – comments are closed. If you disagree, hate me, think I’m an idiot/pathetic/stupid/etc, go ahead and tell me. ann[at]amazingminiatures.com

Update 10/18/2011: 

I really don’t have much else to say here.

To end on a more positive note, I just got back from the first vacation I’ve taken in 4 years and I’ve started building the Hello.Shawn House (a counterfeit of a real house somewhere, surely!), normal postings to resume.

On Counterfeits & Miniatures is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

So I just wrapped up my secret facebook giveaway recently, so now it’s time for a blog giveaway!

Giveaway Details:

This giveaway is opened worldwide and I will cover shipping costs.

To be eligible for the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post. Anyone who comments is automatically entered (unless its explicitly stated in your comment that you don’t want to be included in the giveaway). Also, don’t worry if your comment does not appear right away as I will have to approve new commenters first.

If you want a second chance at entering, comment or like THIS AmazingMinis’s Facebook Page wall post. Unfortunately, only those that “Like” the page can do so. Fortunately, it is very easy to “Like” the page in order to post! If you’re already signed in to facebook, you can “Like” it from the Facebook panel on the right of this blog. Anyone who comments on the facebook post is also automatically entered.

Linking to my blog or this blog post is not required, but it is very much appreciated if you do!

Entries will close on Monday, October 24, at Noon (EST, -5GMT). All entries will be added to a spreadsheet and assigned a number and one winner will be chosen via random.org.

Please be aware, if you win and I do not have a way to reach you or if I do not get a response in three days, you will be disqualified and I will draw again.

Good luck!

Mr. Antlers: Mini Cardstock Deer Head Kit Giveaway! is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

Did you see the latest Etsy blog post on dollhouse miniatures? It announced Emily Henderson’s I Am A Giant challenge to the Etsy community and used the image of my Modern End Table Set in Black Acrylic as the header image! Not only that, but other products of mine were also featured on the bottom as well…

My sister can attest to the flailing of arms in excitement when I realized this. I’m still reeling from this actually.

In other (Etsy) news, September has been a good month to me in treasury love. See here for the latest:

• 09/27/2011 – Oh My Deer by TriAndGull, featuring Miniature Cardboard Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 09/25/2011 – Bright Fall…… by Tutika, featuring Miniature Rhino Trophy Head, Modern Animal Friendly Wall Decor in Black Acrylic
• 09/25/2011 – Life in Miniature by cree43, featuring Miniature IKEA Inspired VIKA Desk Kit in Wood
• 09/23/2011 - In Grandfather’s Study by SeedandSky, featuring Miniature Cardboard Deer Trophy Head Assembled
• 09/23/2011 – To be Midas. by SpaceShipEarth, featuring Bamboo Bookcase “Expeditly 4×1? Open Storage Unit
• 09/20/2011 – Tiny is Beautiful Too by KosmoCeratops, featuring Miniature IKEA Inspired VIKA Desk in Black Acrylic
• 09/16/2011 - Live it Up! by SmiLeaGainCreations, featuring Bamboo Bookcase “Expeditly 4×1? Storage Unit
• 09/11/2011 - Fall is in the air…. by DalesDreams, featuring Miniature IKEA Inspired VIKA Desk Kit in Wood
• 09/09/2011 – My Sewing is Never Done by BozenaWojtaszek, featuring Miniature Art Deco Mirror, “Pinwheel” Wood Frame Wall Decor
• 09/09/2011 - Horizon by ProfessorTiny, featuring Bamboo Bookcase “Expeditly 3×1? Storage Unit
• 09/07/2011 - Itsy Bitsies by TheDollhouseNeedle, featuring Bamboo Bookcase “Expeditly 4×1? Storage Unit
• 09/07/2011 – Miniatures by SorryThankYou79, featuring Miniature IKEA Inspired VIKA Desk in Black Acrylic
• 09/07/2011 – It’s Geometric…Boogie Woogie Woogie by rutabagasix, featuring Bamboo Bookcase “Expeditly 4×1? Storage Unit
• 09/03/2011 – Black & Red by BozenaWojtaszek, featuring 5 Piece Black and Red Gothic Modern Dining Set
• 09/02/2011 – Curves by GothicGlassStudio, featuring XCurve Small Dining Table in Black Acrylic

P.S. Next post will be a nice little giveaway!

As Seen on the Etsy Blog & September 2011 Treasury Round Up is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

On the Call of the Small‘s blog, the first sentence of her second paragraph started off with ”Today, the lovely and funny Emily Henderson…”

Why does that name sound familiar?

“…winner of the HGTV show…”

Ok, I remember her! I remember rooting for her on Design Star because she had a dry sense of humor (kind of like me) and she made me laugh! That’s always a plus.

So on further reading, I found that she’s having a challenge called the I’m a Giant challenge. Here’s why she’s doing it:

Dollhouses are totally underrated, often considered ‘creepy’ but we all secretly like them.  We do. Men love their train sets  (i do too, thats next) because its hard to deny the draw of a miniature perfect world.  But all of a sudden its weird for grown women to play with dollhouses? RUDE!!

I can relate 100% to this. It’s not fair that it’s cool for the guys to build miniature trains and cars, but NOT cool for women (or anyone other than architects) to have anything to do scale houses. Sorry, just ranting here, because I recently got called weird due to having/making miniatures. So annoying! But hopefully, with a celebrity like Emily Henderson on our side, dollhouses (especially the modern kind!) get more and more mainstream.

As for the challenge itself, here are the ground rules.

The challenge is to decorate a dollhouse.  You can buy one or make something that resembles a miniature space – it doesn’t have to be a ‘house’ per say, it could be a loft or an industrial space or i’m trying to convince my boxing trainer to do a mini boxing gym.  It can be conceptual or literal.  Whatever you want.

Sounds easy enough right? It’s open ended enough that I can even follow it! Woooo!

And these are the people joining her are the Brick House, Design for Mankind, Homme Maker, Girl Domestic, Little Green Notebook, Making it Lovely, and Simply Grove (all worth a look if you want a glimpse into other perspective and ideas).

It starts nowish and ends on December 15th for a big reveal/party in LA.

Remember how I said that name sounded familiar?

It’s not because she’s famous (though it sorta is), but the name sounded familiar because I had mailed out an Etsy order of an unfinished RC bookcase to an “Emily Henderson” in LA a few days before reading about the challenge.

It wasn’t until then that I put 2 and 2 together that I realized Emily Freaking Henderson bought my stuff and I proceeded to freaked out a little – And by a little, I mean a lot (like screaming out loud and running around the house; a lot).

Really, I’m not one to get star struck. I’ve met famous people I’ve liked and was a fan of before and was all “meh” about it. But something about this really got me giddy. I think it has to do with dollhouses? Heck, just writing about this is getting my heart rate up! YOW!

So am I a Giant?

Yes. I totally am a giant and I am totally doing this.

Not without some caveats though.

The fall is a really, really tough time for me, what with getting ready for the holiday season, setting up a shop on Storenvy, (planning for and then) going on vacation to Puerto Rico in Oct, participating in the NaNoWriMo this November (not dollhouse related, but very cool), working on 2 freelance projects, and prepping for trade shows and audits at the day job. It’s not going to be easy, but dammit, I’m doing it!

Part of the reason why I’m forcing myself to participate in the challenge is because it’s about decorating. If you know me well enough, you’d know that I don’t quite have the attention span for decorating. I’d much rather design and make things than to decorate it. So yeah, I would really love to finish a house and have it decorated enough for lovely little scenes and photo shoots.

If you’re wondering, I’ll be building the Hello.Shawn House. I am waiting on the very LAST part (front of the 2nd floor) to come in and it will be built (finally).

I think you should join in the challenge too!

I’m a Giant Challenge is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

Please see the photography and write up for the assembly instructions for the deer head.

Some of you may have already gotten it (nice!). Some will get it soon depending on your location and which batch your order was made in. As always, if you have any questions, please email me!

And while all that was going on, all the Etsy listings I had planned on posting had been backed up. I have about 20 or so pieces that I’ve been meaning to take photos of, edit the images, write the listing, and post it! Ugh!

I’m hoping to post up coupon code on the blog when that’s all said and done – hopefully by the end of this month.

And in other news, I won a little something, something from the lovely Lyssa. I *heart* Lyssa. Here’s what I won. And here’s Lyssa’s cutie pie son picking me as the winner! SOO CUTE!

If you’re wondering, I STILL haven’t taken them out of the boxes to play with yet. I know, I am lame. I wanted to post something here to prove that I won something. I never win anything lol. You’ll see pictures of them soon enough.

Speaking of winning… I had another secret facebook fan only giveaway. Kayla was the winner. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard back from Kayla yet as I didn’t ask for an email address (I figured the facebook messaging was enough ) and I didn’t set a deadline (I figured everyone is on facebook as much as I am ). At any rate, I’m going to wait until Friday evening (Sept 23) before picking another winner.

I don’t want to be a big doodoo head and have Kayla respond after I’ve given it away, so if you know Kayla, please let her know for me?

Update: got in touch w/ Kayla. Congrats Kayla!

Finally Catching my Breath is a post from: Amazing Miniatures

Before you start, make sure you have all your pieces. If you are missing any pieces, please email me at ann[at]amazingminiaures.com.

Please remember that this kit contains small parts and is not intended for children. Adult use only.

It is recommended that you read through the directions in its entirety before proceeding with assembly.

The recommended supply and tool you should use.

White glue works great as you will only need to use it sparingly. When it dries, it also does not discolor the cardboard.

Tweezers are helpful to use when peeling the adhesive from the cardboard.

The above diagram is probably the most important as it shows the order to stack your pieces. This is key in organizing and assembling the animal head. Starting at #1 moving to #13 is the order you want to remove your pieces and set aside in an ordered stack.

Start removing the first piece. You can gently apply pressure at the bottom of it to lift the pieces up for easy removal.

Following the diagram, start stacking your pieces.

This is what the face stack should look like after all the pieces are removed from the cardboard.

Now remove all the pieces from the cardboard outline. It is recommended to stack the pieces in stacks similar to the picture above. This is so you can keep track of everything.

Peeling

The adhesive used to protect the burn side of the cardboard does not contain enough tack to pull the cardboard away from itself. It is fairly easy to peel off once you get a hold of a frayed edge.

I find that lightly flicking my thumb against the edge of the adhesive, moving the thumb away from the cardboard helps create a gap. If you are unable to do so, this is where tweezers come in handy.

The thinner the tweezer tip, the easier it is to insert between the adhesive and the cardboard for a bit of grip to pull away the adhesive from the cardboard.

As you are peeling the adhesive, remember to do it in the order of your stacks.

Tweezers do come in handy to get a grip on the smallest pieces.

After everything is peeled, stack them again similarly to how it was stacked the first time after removing it from the cardboard cutout.

Dry fit

You are welcome to glue right when you first assemble it. It is recommended that you dry fit first in case the pieces get mixed up.

Start with the middle (longest) neck piece and the largest face piece (#1 on the diagram).

Add in the two other sides of the neck pieces. This allows for a sturdier base during assembly.

Following the diagram from #2 to #13, start adding the face pieces to the head.

Keep adding the face pieces. The above is #8. The ears and the antlers are on different planes.

Keep assembling up until you get to the very nose (#13).

After the entire face is assembled, you can add on the two antler pieces. There are small slots in order to insert them.

Pictured above the fully assembled, dry-fit deer head.

The plaque comes with two pieces in order to give it a bit of dimension. One piece is smaller than the other. Place the smaller piece on top of the larger piece, at its center.

Pictured above the the fully assembled deer head kit.

Gluing

The pieces fit together very snugly. Technically, the only parts that require gluing is the plaque and gluing the head to the plaque itself. However, it is recommended that you glue the pieces together for additional stability and piece of mind.

You do not need much glue for the pieces to stick together.

Just a small dab right at the center of the slot join is adequate.

Pictured above is what my gluing work looks like. I did not use much at all.

Gluing the antlers to the head requires just a small dab as well.

To attack the deer head to the plaque, a few dabs on the back of it is needed.

You may need to readjust the head to your desired placement. Some slight hand pressure for a minute or two while the glue tacks up is recommended.

And you are DONE! Enjoy!

If you have any tips for others, questions, or comments, please let me know below!

Assembly Instructions for Cardboard Animal Trophy Head: Deer is a post from: Amazing Miniatures