Transformations

Rainy day Wednesday here. I'm trying my hand at building some dollhouse furniture.  Why oh why should I put myself through the torture? I'm a miniature food artist, not a furniture maker! Sigh. Well....I'm stepping through the looking glass because I want to stage more elaborate displays for my miniature foods. And that will require some unique furniture. Did I mention - teeny tiny furniture? That's not already set up in my daughters' dollhouses?

After searching high and low for wood I could work with easily, I hit pay dirt yesterday! I found unfinished miniature wood cabinets for only a $1 at Michael's (lowest bottom shelf in the wood section, so sitting on the floor was required to root through everything). But for $1 a piece? Seriously? I scooped up five with the intent to break them down and do a little furniture redesign in my craft workroom. Hmmmm.....the question was...what to try first? My teen has developed an insatiable passion for playing piano and violin (and she's pretty darn good too ;)

So I rolled up my sleeves and started taking apart the unfinished cabinets to try and make a 1/12th scale piano for her dollhouse (I also made a few kitchen cabinets to hang on the kitchen walls too).

Here's the end result - ta-da!! The keys are made from polymer clay. Not too bad for my first attempt at furniture making?  I will strive however, for more intricate perfection in the future...

Here's where it all started:

"Gutting" the furniture (hammer, flat head screwdriver, and a few sore thumbs - ouch!):

The transformation starts taking shape.....

Chopsticks make great piano legs....

Making extra cabinets from the leftovers - these will look great on the kitchen walls! Finally....a place for the girls to put their miniature dollhouse dishes.

Ready to play! (All it needs now is an audio box with the theme song from The Sting ;) 

A "Twist" on Greek Easter Egg Bread

Sometimes, we "borrow" recipes from other traditions. My mom and grandmother did it all the time because there were so many good foods from other cultures that they wanted to try. This one is a slight Polish spin on a Greek sweet bread for Easter. The basic recipe is the same, and the dough is braided (like the Jewish Challah bread - more borrowing for technique :) and then formed into a ring. The raw, undyed eggs are set right into the unbaked bread. After baking, the eggs are perfectly cooked. I brush some egg dye on the eggs, and voila - it's done! The Greek bread will typically have all red eggs. I paint my eggs in multi-colors. Either way, this is a delicious bread that I love to make every Easter. Nom!

Pickling Eggs for Easter

Here's another Easter favorite. Pickled eggs - simple...cider vinegar, beets, onions, whole cloves, and lots of peeled, hard boiled eggs. Great with horseradish - and lots of salt!

Happy Easter - Part One

I love Easter. What's not to like? The weather is getting warmer, the crocuses are peeking out of the ground, and tulip leaves are sprouting everywhere. And the days especially, are longer. This post is the first of many where I will showcase my favorite season in 1/12 scale miniature. I hope you enjoy my spring-infused romp with polymer clay.

When I was growing up we had a specific Eastern Europeon inspired menu planned for Easter that were based on my dad's Polish background, and my mom's Slovakian heritage. Every delectable morsel was prepared with care by my mom (and with a little help from me - especially in the egg dying department, of which I was in charge ever since I was about 8 years-old). Funny how back then, moms didn't seem to give a second thought to handing over a package of dye tablets and a whole bunch of water and hard boiled eggs to the young 'uns. Guess they weren't worried about the ensuing mess. :)

The other night, I went a little crazy making eggs in miniature. Nothing much, only about...a bazillion or so....

Eggstravaganza! This bunny's been busy.

 



Ready for the Easter Bunny!



English Tea Service - The Table is Set!

I had to wait for a few pieces I ordered online to come in, namely, the small glass containers and the porcelain dishes, to complete this darling set. This one goes to a lovely British friend for her upcoming birthday. I hope she likes it. ;)

And more on the found objects theme – I used wood scraps and leftover satin pieces (thanks Kate!) to make a charming table upon which to serve my English tea. Not too shabby. Or is it shabby chic?

Enjoy! (Easter themes coming soon, like..tomorrow) Wow - it's almost officially spring!





A service fit for a queen!



Lemons, lemons, everywhere! Lemon pound cake, lemon curd, lemon tarts, and some clotted cream in a bowl.

Sandwich assembly line. Cucumbers and egg salad.



Making tarts...with English flour. :)



English Tea Service

An English tea service - still a work in progress. This week I've been working on the components - platters of cookies and cakes, and sandwiches. Along the way I discovered that "found" objects, simple things like bottle caps and electrical wiring caps, make some pretty nifty cake stands. I also tried my hand with liquid resin to create some fancy "Depression" era serving plates. Hmmmm....All in all, not bad. I'll definitely be experimenting with more everyday objects in the future.

The cookie "pan" is really a dog tag from the jewelry finding dept.

Blue liquid resin platter holds tiny cucumber and egg salad sandwiches. The "glass" cover on the sandwich board is a "found" object - not really sure what it is - but it makes a nice mini-cover.

Blue liquid resin platter - holds piping hot rolls.

Cutting off the crust makes sandwiches so dainty.

Flattened bottle caps - painted silver.

Lots of work to do!



Slicing cucumbers for tea sandwiches.



Can't forget the egg salad - farm fresh eggs are the best!

Spring Wine Tasting

This one is a gift for a friend of mine. She loves pairing wine and food, and trying new recipes. A la "Martha Stewart." So I wanted to recreate a special scene in miniature for her. I recently delved into the brave new world of liquid glass resins and trying my hand at a few simple castings. The wine glasses and bottles were purchased from the craft store (I personalized the wine bottles with teeny labels). The "Depression-era" glass plates - the scalloped edge cradling the cheddar wedge, and the star shaped plate holding the chunk of Brie cheese, are my first attempts using liquid resin, enhanced with a dab of burgundy oil paint. Not too shabby...not too shabby at'all.

There's always some last minute prep work to be done. Oyster shucking is hard work.



The new Premo granite clays are awesome, and they make it super easy to create realistic pots, pans, and bowls - the bowl holding the oysters waiting to be shucked looks like a real granite bowl; and the cracker and cheese board is arranged on a deep blue granite.



How else can we figure out whose glass is whose - ah - the little wine charms around the stem.



Chocolate heaven!



 

Smoked salmon, early Spring asparagus, and succulent Chesapeake Bay oysters. Yes, that's a real scallop shell.

All set - ready for the guests!