Online Events April 17-19, 2020

 

Around this time of year, I'm usually ramping up my caffeine intake and carrying around to-do lists in anticipation for the show in Chicago...usually. But this year will be different. Miniature enthusiasts who've looked forward to the Spring miniature shows will sadly have to find ways to fill their mini voids until the shows resume.

In lieu of the Chicago show this Spring, I'm hosting online events, April 17-19, 2020, on my website, true2scale.com

Enjoy a workshop, website-only promotions, and prizes - all from your home.

Friday - Sunday, April 17-19 Introducing new kits and offering special sales on the website. 

Saturday, April 18 online workshop (requires registration)
Workshop participants will create a 1:48 succulent potting bench. The instructions will be given online via video with a live Q&A. Participants will receive the workshop kit in the mail before the workshop and a link to the online class. The workshop kit may be purchased without attending the class. Workshop info and registration 

Sunday, April 19 drawing for prizes and last day for special sales.
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Please stay safe and sane during these stressful times. 💙

Miniature Workshops in Australia

Feb. 14 and Feb. 18, 2018

Workshop: Create 1" Scale Succulents and Accessories

LOCATIONS

• Parramatta/Sydney, NSW, Wed., Feb. 14, 2018 Email Nerida O'Callaghan for availability.
• Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Feb. 18, 2018 (sold out)

Unable to attend? We'll send you a workshop kit from Australia. Contact us to order before Feb. 4, 2018.

Save on Shipping and Customs Fees. We're accepting orders for any  items from our website and we'll ship your order to you from Australia! Contact us to make your order before Feb. 4, 2018.

Workshop Description
In the dry climate of California, we enjoy using colorful succulents in creative containers. These little "hens and chicks" as they are sometimes called, grow in almost any well-drained container and make a cheerful, low-maintenance display. During the workshop, Carol will show faux painting and image transfer techniques to create succulents in old, re-purposed pots and pans. Students will make realistic looking succulents; weather wood; transfer artwork; create "china", "aluminum", and "graniteware"; and work with paper to make a 3D garden star.

PRICE: $63 (AUD) Includes:

• wood crate with succulents
• cooking pot with succulent garden
• small pan with succulent garden
• coffee pot with succulents
• tea kettle with succulents
• muffin tin with succulents
• garden gloves
• "mini" teacup house
• "china" dishes
• pot with soil and scoop
• 3D hanging star 

A list of recommended tools/supplies to bring will be emailed to participants prior to the workshop.

The potting bench structure kit (shown below) may be purchased at the workshops for $88 (AUD). Please email Carol to reserve a kit before Feb. 4.

Hope to see you Down Under!

Tucson Workshops Still Have Openings!

This is your last opportunity to sign up for our workshops at the NAME National Convention in Tucson, July 8-14. Registration closes May 31. This year, we are offering two workshops:

A Night in the Museum

Mon., July 8 - Tues., July 9. This is not your typical Egyptian pyramid; it’s a Mummy’s Day party complete with tiny treats! On Monday, students will build a 1:48 scale pyramid, age, and apply a “magical mummy mixture” to the exterior, construct the Egyptian style furnishings, electrify the room with a battery-powered LED, and apply the wall, ceiling and floor designs. Students will learn different aging and finishing techniques. On Tuesday, students will create quarter scale treats with Ruth Stewart. She will teach polymer clay blending techniques as students make cake pops in pyramid and mummy shapes, create a cake decorated with Egyptian motifs, and tiny cupcakes with a mold that will be yours to keep. A menagerie of tiny laser cut mummies and camels will be provided to decorate the scene. Contact Carol for registration info. 

A quick and easy technique for finishing the exterior will be taught.

Students will create Egyptian-inspired treats in quarter scale with Ruth Stewart.

Silent Night Fireplace with Glitter Houses

Wed., July 10. Create an all-white, snowy, village scene on a beautiful, 1” scale fireplace. Make a winterscape on the mantel; add an ice skating pond, trees, and a hill for the church to rise above the village. When the LED lights are switched on, the snow sparkles and the houses glow warmly! Sparkly icicles and a snowflake garland complete your fireplace decor. Contact Carol for registration info. Hurry, there are only a couple of spaces left!

Create and light 3 houses. Winterscape a mantel with an ice skating pond.

Fireplace is included.

Texas Miniature Showcase 2013

Arrangement by Helen David.

Mr. T2S and I enjoyed returning to Dallas and seeing the friends that we had made last year. It was the one year anniversary of my miniature teaching career! This year, the class made little wreaths with a glitter house inside. 

The exhibits drew crowds all weekend. These are some talented ladies!

A porch scene in quarter scale by Karen Carter.

One of the clubs exhibited their chocolate shops. We enjoyed seeing how they incorporated the Eiffel Tower chocolate display kits and the chocolates made from the molds. It's a good thing that the scenes were protected by cases because they looked so decadent!

Chocolate Shop by Susan Sanchez.

Chocolate Shop by Susan Sanchez.

The Little Village glitter house kits and icicle shelf edging were incorporated into a cheerful market stall.

Market stall by Kendra S.

I met Helen David last year in Dallas. Sadly, she passed away this spring. The remainder of Helen's floral arrangements were being sold by her daughter. Helen was known for creating historically and seasonally accurate floral arrangements. Her legacy will continue as her daughter will make the laser cut flowers available through the website, helendavidflowers.com.

Floral arrangements by Helen David.

Lisa Engler (Lisa's Little Things) offered kits and finished items to complete a 1:12 coffee shoppe. It is l-o-v-e-l-y!

Preview of Our New Kits

Finally, I've seen the first robin of Spring, the tulips are poking up, and the brown snow is disappearing! It has been a long, but productive Winter. Mr. T2S and I are looking forward to sharing what we have been working on during those bleak months. 

Here is a preview of the new things that we will be bringing with us to the Chicago International Show, (April 19-21). These new items will be added to the website soon after the show. Hope to see you in Chicago!

1:12 Scale Glitter House Tower Kit

Up on the Housetop Vintage Decorations; workshop and kit

1:!2 Scale Glitter House Wreath Kit

Kitchen Shelf with Decals Kit

1:48 Scale Peel and Stick Wallpaper. Many designs are available now

Chicago International Workshop

We have been working feverishly to prepare new items (I'm really excited about!) for the Chicago International Show. If you will be attending the show, please stop by our table to say hello and take a look at the items that we will be introducing.

If you interested in taking a workshop, we will be teaching the vintage style Glitter House and Sleigh. We'll light it with your choice of a white or red LED, construct a tiny little sleigh and create an itsy bitsy Santa made from a real pinecone. Just like the antique versions from yesteryear! You'll learn techniques for working with LED lighting, paper and wood veneer. This will be a fun, shorter class. Students will likely leave with a finished project. How often does that happen?!? 

Glitter House and Sleigh workshop at the Chicago International Show.

Our Trip to the Dollshouse Nederland Show 2012

We were accompanied by a Stewart Little
(sans red car).

It was a week of much fun and much work! Our friends, Ruth and Dan Stewart, from Stewart Dollhouse Creations, accompanied us to the Netherlands and brought their adorable, young children, whom we've nicknamed the "Stewart Littles." Our first stop was Amsterdam, where we slept several nights on a houseboat and enjoyed walking around the city and sightseeing. The museums were fantastic and the food was delicious!

Hotel Abbekerk

We arrived in Apeldoorn and stayed in the charming Hotel Abbekerk. On Friday, we taught a workshop. Despite the fact that one of our students didn't speak English, the talented ladies were able to take home finished projects.

It was a lot of fun to see people with whom we've become acquainted with; and meet many new people as well!

Hindeloopen painting by Godelief Janssen (Wagon Mountain Studio).

Bas Middel's fantasy structure (more to come in a future post).

Ruth Stewart (Stewart Dollhouse Creations) at her first European show!

The Texas Show and Our First Workshop

It was a weekend of firsts for Mr. T2S and me – our first trip to Texas, our first time teaching a workshop, and our first Texas BBQ! We enjoyed them all!! Everything in Texas seems to be a bit bigger, including the hospitality.

Our weekend began with teaching a workshop. Eight fun ladies signed up to create the vintage style Christmas hutch with glitter houses. We had a great time assembling the houses and electrifying them. And I'm not embarrassed to say that I learned a lot from our students!

 

Mr. T2S and I had just enough time to set up the table before the show preview. We enjoyed meeting new people and seeing the work of some of the top miniature artists. I even had a few moments to do a bit of shopping. I was happy to see Helen David. Since I was a young girl, I've admired her gorgeous flowers that are arranged so thoughtfully. A former florist, she pays special attention to the design and historical accuracy of the arrangements and the containers. I treated myself to the tiniest stem of lilies of the valley.

Lilies of the valley by Helen David

I also chose a basket of mushrooms from Autumn Leaf Studio. Even though Mr. T2S told me that some of the types of mushrooms are not appropriate for an Italian scene, I plan to use it in my Tuscan farmhouse anyway.

Mushrooms by Autumn Leaf Studio. Basket by Al Chandronnait.

Tomorrow we are off to London for the Kensington Dollshouse Festival. We will share a table in the ground floor hall with Andrea Thieck. If you will be at the fair, please stop by and say hello!

Workshops in Texas and Sturbridge

In the upper Midwest, Spring is in the air! Or perhaps my burgeoning tulips are just being optimistic. This Spring, Mr. T2S and I will be busy preparing for several shows and teaching our first class, the Vintage-Inspired Christmas Hutch with Glitter Houses. If you will be attending the Texas Miniature Showcase in May, or the Sturbridge Miniatures Festival in June, I hope you will join us. We'll have fun working with LED lighting, paper techniques and assembling glitter houses. The lighted glitter houses and the decorations will be added to a hutch that has been beautifully painted and aged by Jo Dewane Miniatures (the QUEEN of mini aging techniques!).

Vintage Style Christmas Hutch with Glitter Houses 
1” scale Aged Hutch (prepared by Jo Dewane) holds 2 sizes of glitter houses which you will assemble and light.
Learn to work with LED lights to create this charming Christmas display. The light switch and battery are housed behind the cabinet doors, allowing you to easily add and remove the hutch from your scene. You will be given tips and shown techniques for working with paper, as we assemble 2 sizes of glitter houses and decorate them. Materials and instructions to make the decorations shown will also be included in the class.
Tools required: 6” ruler, sharp tweezers, x-acto knife with new blades, small paint brushes (old and new), small wire cutters, work light, small sharp scissors, white glue, magnification if needed.

Class registration for the Texas Miniature Showcase is available on their website. If you are interested in attending the class in Sturbridge, please contact me. We will also be teaching a class at Philadelphia Miniaturia in November. I hope you can join us!