Miss Havisham ready for the big M !

I am almost ready for Miniatura in just two weeks time ! In honour of Charles Dickens anniversary year I have been working on some Dickensian characters and even Mr Dickens himself !

I hope you might get the chance to visit the show , be sure to stop by my table if you do.

I have just put the finishing touches to perhaps my favourite of all Charles Dickens characters.

Inspired by the wonderful Gillian Anderson portrayal of the character in the recent BBC drama adaptation, here is my Miss Havisham

I have also made a young Estella to accompany her.

The next two weeks are going to be busy ones but I am very much looking forward to Miniatura, I will take some photos of my stand when I set up but for now I wanrt to keep some surprises so Miss Havisham it a teaser ! There are a few more photos of dolls for the show on my Facebook fan page, simply follow the link on the sidebar to go peek .

julie xx

Beetlejuice in my Etsy Shop and a new ghost for Miniatura

Now in my Etsy shop, my version of Beetlejuice . he is one of a kind and will never be repeated so if you would like him to haunt your miniature abode now is the time to grab him...........just remember never say his name three times , now thats just asking for trouble !

Its that time of year again, I am franticaly getting ready for Spring Miniatura in Birmingham.

This year I have downsized my table . I take longer and longer to make each doll the more practised I become . Quality rather than quantity is my aim so there will be a smaller selection of dolls but all very special.

I have a wonderful array of Dickensian characters and will post about them at a later date.

For now though here is my latest ghost.

I have called this piece " I told you I was ill " !

This poor old fellow sits atop his handmade gravestone lamenting his fate !

After years of being labelled a hypochondriac he did eventually die and came back in ghost form to tell his long suffering friends and family he was right, he was ill !

I hope you like these two characters, If you cant make it to Miniatura this year be sure to visit my Etsy shop as I am listing there on a more regular basis now.

julie xxx

A wonderful gift and The Grand Studio Tidy Up for 2012 !

The most wonderfully packaged parcel arrived to cheer me up this january , it certainly chased away the winter blues ! I was delighted to win Rose's giveaway http://bbflockling.blogspot.com/
just before xmas and even more delighted when Pickering arrived at my home !
Now the xmas decorations are all packed away but I couldnt bear to pack Pickering away so have decided he may live in my studio ( AKA the shed ! ) and now he hangs over my work desk to keep me company .
I think he looks very fine there !
In honour of the new year I decided to give my shed a complete tidy out. In the few years I have worked in there I have gradually amassed more and more " stuff " , it just seems to accumulate !
More and more storage boxes have crept in and now there is barely any space left for me , but its still my favourite place to be .

You can see not an inch of space is wasted ! A mixture of old junk furniture and ikea stoage boxes line the walls, I even have a small chest on the hearth now next to my stove.....

Lucckily I work in miniature as my desk too is lined with storage drawers. I love it as everything is at my fingertips , and I have natural light from the window as well as my daylight lamp.

This little oven fires all my sculpts and the cushion on the floor is for my puppy, although she can usually be found curled in the wicker chair !

More storage boxes sit on the old sideboard which is topped by a glass fronted notice board rescued from and old working mans club . I had intended to paint this cream and line it with pretty fabric, one day perhaps but for now it is in its original state and a fine place for my antique postcards and gloves to hang .
I have been working happily in my newly tidied shed and have some wonderful new characters who I will post about soon.

Until then I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year !

julie xxx

Xmas Gift to my Etsy customers

Its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here , and as I am feeling Christmassy I am offering

15 % off everything in my Etsy Shop from now until January 1st 2012.

Simply use the coupon code xmas1 when buying .

Happy shopping !

julie xx

Cindy Lou Who a very xmassy commission doll !

I had such fun working on this little doll. Some of you may remember I worked on the grinch earlier this year. Well my customer commissioned cindy lou to go alongside him and I think this has to be on of my all time favourite commissions !

The bit I liked best was using real eyelashes. I have been wanting to try this for some time and as cindy lou is blessed with incredibly long ones this was almost a dream come true !

I am very happy with the technique I eventually used, and I think i will be doing this a lot more in future.

Some of you might have noticed the change in my dolls eyes over the past few months. I have always simply sculpted them into the clay as I work on the face, but recently I have started to make eyeballs and cure them first, then insert them as I sculpt. I hand paint the whole face once the doll is cured and I am very pleased with the result, Cindy Lou's eyes are a great example of the eyes I am now making and I think you will agree they are more lifelike.

Hope everyone is enjoying the build up to xmas or whatever holiday you celebrate :0)

julie xx

Still stocking the etsy shop, new ghost just listed

I have been busily stocking my Etsy shop with my accessories tonight and couldnt resist rounding off the evening with a new ghost lady for sale there.

The white lady is a beautiful and tragic figure who will haunt any miniature abode !

I had hoped to have her listed for Halloween but someone must have messed with the time as I blinked and all of a sudden it was december !

julie x

Catching Up and stocking up !

It has been a busy year and somewhere along the line I forgot to blog ! I have a lot of catching up to do as I have missed visiting my favourite blogs and keeping up with everyone.
I have just got home from the Kensington Xmas festival which as always was a lovely event. The atmosphere was wonderful and the whole place was just bustling with customers. I didnt get much chance to look around but when i did I couldnt resist purchasing something special for my miniature toy shop to followers of my other blog will be getting an update soon !
As always I like to start the new year afresh and will be selling the last of the dolls I made this year both on ebay and in my etsy shop to clear the decks for all my new ideas .
The Mad professor and his robot marotika are now available in my etsy shop. Just follow the link in the sidebar to visit.
I will be stocking the shop with more dolls so please pop in to see whats there !
I ventured into miniature accessories this year with some boutique style busts with necklaces made with swarofski crystals , mannequin heads and jewellry stands.
I have decided not to make any more as they are very time consuming and my real love is making dolls so I am selling these at special reduced prices in my etsy shop. When they are gone there will be no more so grab the chance to buy some beautiful accessories for a steal .
I will listing these items today and tomorrow.........going, going , gone !
julie x

Pumpkin People

Something a little different as Autumn sets in !

Mrs Pumpkin is nursing Baby Pumpkin. They are such a sweet pair ! A few months ago I made a pair of pumpkin children and decided they needed a family.

So last week I made a lovely old Pumpkin gardener. I fell in love with him, and decided he needed a wife ..........and of course the wife needed a baby to hold.........so now I have a whole pumpkin family :0)

The family will be on my table at Miniatura and I am happy to take orders for any other pumpkin characters. They are such fun to make and I love to add character to their little pumpkin heads !

julie xx

More Art Deco and Hercule Poirot !

I am still enjoying my foray into the Art Deco era and here are a rather lovely young couple enjoying pre dinner cocktails !

The lady is dressed in an antique silk hankerchief I have been just waiting for the opportunity to use .

The gentleman is dressed in a handsewn tuxedo jacket and trousers. I have been experimenting with jackets and am really pleased with this one :0)

Both dolls are displayed on my new handmade stands. These are very unobtrusive painted wooden discs with prongs that fit into the dolls feet . The dolls now stand steadily without unsightly metal stands showing.

In keeping with the period I have just finished a customer order for hercule Poirot the great detective. I had such fun with him I am now working on Miss Marple, hope to have photos soon.

Only three weeks now until Miniatura at the Birmingham NEC please come and say hello if you are visiting the show. I promise to have an eyecatching display !

julie xxx

Art Deco Lady

I was recently commissioned to make a group of glamourous Art deco ladies to fill an Art deco period house. I adore this period but have never really made dolls dressed in Art deco style because of one thing.................arms ! Most evening wear of this period is sleeveless and I make dolls with soft wired upper arms.

This commission was just too much fun though to turn down, the ladies are all to be very beautiful party types who smoke cigarettes , drink cocktails , wear the latest fashions and have a wonderful time !

This lady's costume it based around an original costume and I had a lot of fun making the beaded head dress. It feels strange making arms in a different way but it worked so well I am now working on 3 more ladies all in quite different evening costumes.

I will post photos as I finish them, just wanted to share this one as I enjoyed making her so much. I am also making some men of the period in dinner suits ......and Hercule Poirot :0)

julie xx

Getting the balance right !

Those that know me know I have never been one for getting the balance right ! I am an all or nothing kind of girl, wether thats work or play ( or whiskey or chocolate ! ) .
I cant seem to do anything in moderation. If I do something, well I really do it .
This summer I mostly gardened. The gardening obsession hit me with such force it surprised even me !
I dug and planted and turned my building site of a garden into a rather lovely place to be , even growing vegetables on the porch of my shed........where I should really have been making dolls.
Then I looked at the calendar and counted the weeks until the first of the Autumn shows and realised there arent many of them !
So I am now working to the hilt in the shed making new dolls and hardly coming up for air....... I think I need to get the balance right. I sense a new year resolution ready for 2012.
I didnt completely forget my dolls over the summer. I have been selling my work on ebay . I decided early in the year that I wanted to have fresh work on my table at shows each season so my customers would enjoy seeing new dolls and not familiar ones.
This has worked really well and those of you visiting Miniatura will see a completely fresh table of new work . I hope you will like it as much as I do.

Bert the chimney sweep and Mary Poppins are being auctioned this evening on ebay. They have had so many compliments at the spring shows but are still looking for the right home .

I have been showing some of my new work on facebook. For those of you who arent facebook members here are just a few or my favourites.

Old fred is a lovely old ghost and comes with a wonderful gravestone and wall by mags of mags-nificent miniatures .

As always I have some ghostly mirrors . These are always popular and I have three new ones, all very different. This witch is my favourite .

This Magician and his glamourous assistant were so much fun to work on.

I am currently working on some very glamourous art deco ladies and gents and I will post here when they are ready.

Thanks to all of you who are still following me despite my all or nothing posting , I really appreciate it :0)

julie xx

Millicent Nightshade

Millicent Nightshade

My very first flying witch and definitely not my last !

I have had so much fun making this character, she will be on my table at Autumn Miniatura this september.

Millicent is sitting proudly on her broomstick taking off into the night sky. Autumn leaves are scattered below her and Millicent is looking up to the sky eager to take off.

I dont kniow why I waited so long to try something like this but I now feel the sky's the limit so watch out for more flying dolls , maybe a ghost next !

julie xxx