About.com

2012 Best New Product for Miniatures Finalists

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:59:47 +0000

The Best New Product for Miniatures Finalists in the 2012 Reader's Choice Awards are a varied lot with everything from books to lights. Check out the descriptions of the finalists by clicking on the link above, then vote in the poll below for your favorites. To vote, you will need to either provide an email address or log in via your facebook or about.com account (forum members). You'll be allowed one vote per user email address per award category per day until March 21 when voting ends. (To keep things fair!)

You can read about the other categories and the finalists by clicking on the links below:

Voting will close on March 21, with winners announced March 30. Get out the word to support your favorites!

2012 Best Miniature Building Kit Finalists

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:59:30 +0000

The finalists nominated for the Best Miniature Building Kit in the 2012 Reader's Choice Awards all represent smaller properties, with two of them being in 1:48 scale. Click on the link above to check out the various nominees, then vote in the poll below for your favorites. To vote, you will need to either provide an email address (see About's privacy statement link in the poll below) or log in via your facebook or about.com account (forum members). You'll be allowed one vote per user email address per award category per day until March 21st. (To keep things fair!)

You can read about the other miniature categories and their finalists by clicking on the links below:

Voting will close on March 21, with winners announced March 30. It's time to get the word out to support your favorites!

2012 Best Miniature Blog Finalists - Readers' Choice Awards

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:59:02 +0000

The finalists for the Best Blog on Miniatures in the 2012 Reader's Choice Awards are a varied lot with many different interests. Read the descriptions of the blogs linked above and visit your favorities, then vote in the poll below. To vote, you will need to either provide an email address (see the About.com privacy statement linked to the poll)or log in via your facebook or about.com account (forum members). You'll be allowed one vote per user email address per award category per day until voting ends March 21st. (To keep things fair!)

You can read about the other categories and the finalists by clicking on the links below:

Voting will close on March 21, with winners announced March 30. Get out the word to support your favorites!

Faux Cloisonne Technique In Miniature Using Wire and Glue

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:32:34 +0000

The faux cloisonne technique using wire and glue is used for making miniature flowers and leaves, as well as tiny jewel like decorations or simple butterfly shapes like the one shown here on a dollhouse plant. An easy way to try the technique out is to test your favorite pva glue or liquid artist medium tinted with watercolor paint. This is much safer than the old dip film craft which used plastic lacquers, but gives the same effect for miniature wire shapes.

Once you get the colored pva mix right you can expand to filling open spaces in wire jewellery findings to make "stained glass" lamps and window sections. It is an easy fun technique for opaque or transparent designs.

Using the FineLine Applicator With Miniatures

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:22:07 +0000

Working with miniatures, tools that can regulate the amount of paint in a line are very useful. A thin line of acrylic paint makes icing detail for a miniature cake, regular thin lines of dimensional pva add window lead to miniature stained glass. The Fineline Needle Applicator is a new tool to help not only make the fine lines, but reduce the work by keeping the nozzle free and clear with a fitted wire cap that threads through the needle point and locks down, to make an airtight bottle seal while keeping the nozzle clear. The system is easy to clean up when you want to change colors or change mediums.

Last Call For Reader's Choice Miniatures!

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:55:05 +0000

We're into the last few days for the Readers' Choice Nominations. Looks like no one is building kits in anything other than 1:48 scale! If you have a building kit you love, please nominate it before the close of nominations, 5 am Greenich mean time or 12pm Eastern Standard time on February 16th. For those of you in the west that will be 9pm February 15th Pacific Standard Time.

There are some great miniature blogs being submitted, but only the five most popular will make the final voting stage, so keep nominating your favorites! Art pieces featuring miniatures and new products are the final two categories, so get those nominations in!

All the category descriptions and nomination forms are on the Readers' Choice form linked above. The four categories again are:

Best Miniature Blog
Best Miniature Building Kit (any scale)
Best Use of Miniatures in Art
Best New Miniature Product or Tool

Add Dimension to Flat Trims Using Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:47:00 +0000

I've been experimenting with Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer which is a viscous, sticky PVA suggested for adding a clear gloss dome coating to sections of paper designs or items like Transparencies for Fairy Wings. The 'lacquer' is easy to clean up with water, and sticks well to a number of substrates, including metal foil. This is an easy way to make custom 'rhinestone' trims tiny "puffy" stickers and even opalescent counters or surfaces in miniature as you can add watercolor to produce custom colors and use the lacquer to coat inclusions like glitter, microbeads and irridescent films.

Yesterday I used the glaze to make 'jelly candy heart' decorations for my valentine's heart cake, and you can see in the photos with the review how it works to add depth to things like vein lines in transparent wings.

Easy Valentine Cakes for the Dollhouse

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:59:43 +0000

Make custom dollhouse cakes in minutes using dry florist's foam. You can spend much more time decorating them when they are this easy. Very light weight they are surprisingly strong when finished and you can easily cut open the decorated cakes and reveal a nice "spongy" cake like interior which can be colored to resemble any cake flavor you want.

These cakes can be personalized for your favorite valentine using your printer and the techniques shown for making miniature photo cakes. As the miniatures are very lightweight, they make interesting earrings and other jewelry pieces, although make sure you give them a thorough coating of gesso to protect the foam base!

Transparent Fairy Wing Sheets From OOAK Artist Emporium

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:22:55 +0000

Signs of spring are taking me outdoors more often, and I'm thinking of setting up some fairy scenes, using the Woodland House and landscaping it with some pruned thyme trees.

Of course fairies are usually shown with wings, so I've been experimenting with mini transparent wings from OOAK Artist Emporium. These are lovely prints, and a good size for any fairy figure smaller than 6 inches as can see from the photo. I'm not sure which type of wings I prefer, probably the silk ones, but the transparent wings are wonderful for the clear dragonfly or cicada wings when combined with a dimensional glaze.

Call for Nominations for Readers' Choice Awards for Miniatures

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:05:16 +0000

One week warning for nominations for the 2012 About Miniatures Readers' Choice Awards! A special warning if you really want to see your favorite dollhouse or building kit nominated, this area is short on nominations, so please get them in asap. You can see last year's miniature building kit nominees for examples. Quarter scale buildings are currently the only ones with nominations, so add your favorites now. The nominations close February 15th, so please make sure you submit items you want to be considered for awards in the following categories:

Best Blog on Miniatures
Best Miniature Building Kit (any scale)
Best New Miniature Product or Tool
Best Use of Miniatures in Art

Just fill in the 2012 Readers' Choice Nomination Forms for Miniatures.

The nomination period will run to February 15th. Nomination finalists will be announced February 22, and voting for your favorites will be from February 22 to March 21 with the Readers' Choice Award Winners in each category announced on March 30th. Spread the word, and encourage nominations to make sure your favorites reach the final voting!