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Romantic Picnic for Two

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May 2012

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Romantic Picnic:
The Summer is here and your dollshouse family are wanting to get out to enjoy the awesome weather.

Barbie + Ken

With your romantic picnic let the feasting begin...

Barbie and Ken can hardly wait to get outdoors and enjoy the summer months ahead. We have found some unique miniatures to help in the quest for fun in the sun too.

We start off the day scoping out a romantic picnic in small details. These particular samples will aid your dolls in accomplishing their desire.

We have found items that go extremely
well in a mini summer display.

• First off there are dolls available that already cry to have you use them in your miniature summer romantic picnic scenes. Such as the Barbie and Ken duo above.

Romantic Setting Iced Tea Picnic Basket White Flatware Mini Cookout Table Barbie and Ken Beach Cruiser

• Finding a tiny cookout setting helps you design without a lot of trouble as well. You can always add your own ideas to enhance what already exists or leave it as is. Designing is easier with items such as the illustration to the right.

• Then there are items like the miniature iced tea set which will definitely set the pace for a summer romantic picnic mood. Mmmmmm... let your mind incorporate all kinds of interesting ideas as you view each of these products.

• A woven basket is just what your display will need as you head your dolls out to enjoy their summer as much as you do yours. Little elements are never as cumbersome as larger real life items but they do take as much imagination to implement.

• What romantic picnic would be complete without plastic cutlery. Who would want to think of dishes at a time like that? No self-respecting picnicker would leave home without them. Imagining all the things you would use at your own get-together is most of the fun when creating in mini.

• Next in line is finding a great cookout table and we have done that in spades. Imagine the fun you will have designing this scene for yourself or someone else. Will you really want your kids to play with this? Oh now if it was fun making it think of the fun your kids will have.

• And then Ken and Barbie head back from their romantic picnic. They end the day at their humble abode recounting all the delightful moments spent together.

• Remember as you construct, always do as your doll's house people are doing and truly enjoy every playful moment you spend creating....

• All of the above ideas may be obtained for your doll's home by doing searches with appropriate keywords for any of the items pictured to the right.

Acting as Kids as We Create...

Why can't adults act like big kids and reap the benefits of a childlike mentality? Most children we have ever spent time with don't know how to worry unless an adult has taught them.

That characteristic is just what is needed too, to develop your own mini romantic picnic scene.

So instead of putting on a gloomy, pessimistic personality become as the children around you are. Play and make it a point to thoroughly entertain, relax and enjoy this present summer.

Yes by all means, do nothing but play your days away this season. For sure you'll greet the fall as a whole new person. Full of outdoor cookouts, parties, special occasions, music, art and on and on...

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PROJECT:
Creating Your Own Miniature Mosaic Garden Stones

Gather your Supplies

• Step 1: Is always the same no matter what project you start. You have to gather your supplies. We suggest the following: polymer clay for making the base, variety of small glass pieces, beads, tiny sea shells, rocks, creative elements you possess... Don't forget pencil, tracing paper, adhesive, etc. Grout if you feel you will need it. After all some supplies may not be appropriate or necessary since you will be working in miniature. View suggestions in block of products to right titled Garden Stone Picks. Use the up and down arrows provided to access each item.

Creating your Design

• Step 2: Look around in craft books you have on hand and select a picture you would like to place on the surface of your polymer clay base. Or search online for a picture, for personal use only, using this convenient link.

• Step 3: Make a copy of your pattern using a scanner to help. Remember to choose a picture with not too much detail. Mini items will not need extreme details. Unless you are much more artistic than most other people stick with this scenario. However, if you happen to love extreme in mini then go for as much detail as you personally desire.

• Step 4: After scanning your picture shrink it down to fit the size miniature you want. Tip: 100 pixels = 1 inch. Be willing to experiment until you get your desired scale right. A special word concerning scale sizes can be found here.

• Step 5: Now that you have your picture in the right scale the fun can begin. Start by making a scale base out of polymer clay. Be imaginative where your stone is concerned. Make it resemble a stone by choosing the appropriate color for your clay.

• Step 6: Next copy your chosen design onto the polymer base using craft carbon paper.

• Step 7: Experiment by placing various element on your base until you can plainly see the features of your design.

• Step 8: Begin gluing these pieces in place after you are totally satisfied with their placement on your surface. Be sure to stick with your design as you proceed for best results.

• Step 9: Fill in all outside spaces with theme appropriate items and continue on until your design measures up to your critical eye.

• Final Tip: Do not stop until your design feels finished. Any other moment before that and you risk not finishing at all. And we all know how easy it is to procrastinate.

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View or Buy Mini Bottle Bibs for Barbie.

Summer Selection of Dollshouse Books

Since we started this issue in a summery mood designing our romantic picnic for two we thought we would continue with that same state of mind. We have picked out a total of seven selections of doll's house books.

A few we have seen before and others we are not familiar with. All are ones that perked our interests greatly. With that said however these also are 4 and 5 star selections. With enough informative reviews to help with a good decision to investigate further, purchase or decline.

Our Seven Choices are as follows:

1. Making Miniature Gardens by Freida Gray
   
2. The Art of the Miniature: Small Worlds and How to Make Them by Jane Freeman
   
3. Miniature Food Masterclass: Materials and Techniques for Model-Makers by Angie Scarr
   
4. In Miniature Style II: Over 40 How-To Projects by Christine Verstraete
   
5. Miniature Worlds in 1/12 Scale by Susan Penny
   
6. Making Miniature Food and Market Stalls by Angie Scarr - This book in particular may help in making your own romantic picnic display absolutely life-like.
   
7. America's Doll House: The Miniature World of Faith Bradford by William L. Bird

Some of these book examples may be of use to you in helping to round out your already exquisite romantic picnic above. The food books in particular may spur you on to even more imaginative ideas.

So explore and imagine what each book below could hold in store in regards to your own miniature world. Enjoy.

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What's been Happening At-the-Doll-House.com

Join the On-Going Excitement on At-the-Doll-House.com. Tell your friends and family members today. Check our site out here.

We are always building new pages for you At-the-Doll-House.com. It seems that the more we build, the more new and exciting ideas come to mind. Some of our newest pages include:

Doll's House Related Pages

• Free EBook Offer 10 Important Tips to Great Doll House Design! Join our community and receive your complementary eBook. All are welcome.

• Creative Dollshouse Paper Miniatures Find out about paper miniatures. A bit of information regarding them. Then join in the fun and shrink your favorite magazine...

• How-to Books for your Growing Dollshouse Knowledge Base... Information is a must-have resource we all need. The more we have the more we know. Check out this page for more houses information books.

• Fine Scale Miniatures for Dollhouses Check out the various scales and information about them. Learn to miniaturize the objects currently around you. Then blend your real world into your mini environment.

Learn Website Building Skills

• Work-at-home-moms! Becoming a work at home mom is a worthwhile goal for some ladies. Find out if you have what it takes to achieve this goal. Take this course today...

• Your Best Internet Business Opportunity Read this 4 part introduction to working online. Take notes as ideas come to mind. Jot them down. You never know from where a truly profound nugget of internet ideas will come from. So always be a note maker...

• Craft Business EBooks. Study these Guides to a Successful Craft E-Business Great internet guides to a successful business are everywhere. Seldom however are they online for free. Check out these winners and begin your authentic business journey today...

For more details about our site check out The Doll House Blog here.

To see more issues like this Romantic Picnic in Mini Newsletter online click here.

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