HBS announces 2015 Creatin Contest - and it's modern and lovely!

Here it is:





Check it out: http://www.miniatures.com/Denises-City-Cottage-Kit--P23269.aspx

I will be entering this contest, and I will not procrastinate, I will not procrastinate, I will not procrastinate.

Ornament Challenge

Mini Dork has challenged miniaturists to use a holiday ornament in a miniature scene. Here is her own very creative repurposing of an ornament into an overhead light:


(Check out her other photos at http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com)

Mini Dork says she was inspired by Emily's use of an ornament for an overhead light at http://www.gohausgo.com/tag/im-a-giant/.

I am inspired by both, and I will be posting my scene with an ornament very soon. I did have to save the ornament from the little teeth of two of my roommates (it's not glass). They do not look guilty to me:


(Mugshot of Lily)


(Mugshot of Freddy)

And they are late on the rent to boot! (Lily, a Chijuajua-Italian Greyhound mix, moved in on November 7. She was a rescue dog, which means she rescued us.)

Wishing you only good things, Neen

(The copyrights to the photos used in this blog belong to http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com or miniatures.com or me. Please respect these rights (I know you will))

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Fluorescent light covers

Have you ever looked up at the office, store or hospital ceiling and seen this?


Not very pretty is it? And those lights- my eyes! Hate the lights, love the covers. I used parts of one in my still-under construction, urban loft.
It still needs much finishing work,










I probably will paint them, and also use the remaining pieces of the light cover in other ways in other projects. On Blog.modernica.net, I found this:


I love the color against the darker wood floors.

The light covers might also be useful in an urban garden, perhaps as the basis of a trestle. These photos of 1920s NYC gardens inspire me:








The photo below looks very much like the garden my grandmother had in her Brooklyn brownstone:


Sigh, so much inspiration, so little time!

Wishing you only good things, Neen

(Garden photos found at http://gothamist.com/2012/07/09/gardens.php#photo-9)

Napkin rings

A miniaturist views everyday objects with a different eye than a non-miniaturist. Turn a miniaturist loose in a thrift or dollar store, and he or she will find the makings of a miniature world. For example, this bag of Dollar Tree silver-plastic napkin rings



looks like this to me (the blue glasses are from eBay, and the other items are Re-ment and Dollar Tree):


I deliberately made the "shelves" crooked since their shape is reminiscent of 1960s retro-futurism.


Like these:





I found these wooden napkin rings at a thrift store:


I think both sets of napkins rings make interesting shelves in my still-under-construction urban loft:



(Paintings by my mother, and the beautiful Elizabeth Causeret vase was a wonderful gift from Mitchymoo. The table in the middle is composed of clear, stacked sewing machine bobbins.)

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Competition building

I may not make HBS's deadline for the 2014 Creatin' Contest, but I have had fun putting my "house" together. Here are a few photos of the building so far (it still has miles to go before it is finished).





(Graffiti created by my mother, a professional artist.)

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Oops!

I thought I would show some more "stuff" I bought at Dollar Tree. So, I took these photos:



To show how to turn dreidels (that didn't work) into these "elegant bowls."



















Except, my scissors slipped, and I had to get stitches. I never said I wasn't clumsy.....


Wishing you only good things, Neen

Dollar Tree ideas

As you can guess from the title, I made a trip to the Dollar Tree yesterday. Here are some things I bought, used in ways that may or may not be part of my 2014 HBS Creatin Contest entry.

Small photo frame with part of a light up bracelet:




Here is the original bracelet:


Little reading lamp:











Folding chairs, folding ladders, and "metal" guard rails:











These fellows were included:


(Fortunately, the little guys next door graciously took the action figures.)

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my family, my friends, for diversity, and for good humor. I am also thankful that, despite all the bad things in this world, I still can be optimistic that the human race will survive and thrive.




I am also thankful that I have blog followers like you!

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Modern small houses from new magnetic building blocks

Very impressive.























https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2002807970/woodymac-magnetic-building-blocks

Wishing you only good things, Neen

Life Imitating Art?

Do you remember the "Fish Condo"?






In 2010, two creative bloggers turned the "Fish Condo" into two incredible modern dollhouses.

One of the bloggers, "Call of the Small," (http://call-small.blogspot.com/2010/06/mini-modern-and-call-small-gone-fishing.html), created this fabulous house:





And the other blogger, Mini Modern, (http://minimodern.blogspot.com/2010/06/call-small-mini-modern-get-tanked.html), created this stunning house:






It seems that architect Sou Fujimoto also may have been inspired by the "Fish Condo." His creation, "House N," looks like this:












(Photos from: http://dornob.com/cubic-cloud-home-perforated-boxes-blend-inside-with-out/).

I think you will agree that all of the creations above are pretty incredible! If I didn't have so many unfinished miniature projects, I would buy a "Fish Condo" and create my own modern miniature house out of it. That would probably be called art imitating life imitating art inspired by the "Fish Condo."

Wishing you only good things,

Neen



(Photos used in this post are used pursuant to the Fair Use Doctrine of the U.S. Copyright Act.)