I hope you have a Joyful Holiday and Happy New Year, Santa's Workshop in 1:12 scale by Jean Day

Merry Christmas Everyone! Santa's Workshop in 1:12 scale by Jean Day

1:12 Scale Roombox: Christmas Morning: The Girls

This girl's Christmas room box and porcelain dolls I made in the 1980’s and enjoyed renovating the box recently. After having 2 terrific sons myself I realize a girl’s and boy’s Christmas can be quite different. The next post shows the boy's Christmas roombox.

There is a tutorial on our website for the Angel on the mantel piece. I’ve put free miniature gift wrap printables in a previous blog post, many were used in the boy's room and can be printed in various sizes. The bows I made from vintage self sticking ribbon we sell in our Etsy site.. Thank you Tony for your beautiful videos.

1:12 Scale Roombox, Christmas Morning: The Boys

As a child, Christmas morning was the most exciting time of the year! I would wake up really early and was aloud to open my stocking but not the wrapped gifts until my parents were finally up. I would wake up my younger sister for this special time too. Santa would always put such thought into my stocking. The little things always meant so much to me.

I made these two room boxes, the girls is shown in the previous blog post and porcelain dolls in the 1980’s and renovated the boxes recently. After having 2 terrific sons myself I realize a girl’s and boy’s Christmas can be quite different. I’ve put free miniature gift wrap printables in the previous blog, many were used in this boy's room and can be printed in various sizes. The bows I made from vintage self sticking ribbon we sell in our Etsy site. Thank you Tony for your beautiful videos.

Free Season's Greeting Printables, Christmas Gift Wrap, Boxes and Cards DIY

 

Here are some free printables for this season's gift wrapping. The last gift wrap I have offered before in AIM magazine and here,  I thought I would offer them in red and green this year too. The top gift wrap I made up this year with gnomes, snowflakes and some bricks for a Santa scene.  Just click on the images and right click to save them to your computer before printing. These can be printed in many scales, they are supposed to be 8.5 by 11 for 1:12 scale but I enjoyed using them while revamping my old Christmas room boxes in a smaller size too. If you can change your printer settings to 50% you get half scale papers and 25% you can print out quarter scale paper too. I will soon be posting my newest videos to see more ways I have used these papers. If you search for Free printables on my blog you can find some other gift wrap as well. On this page I show the above printable and directions as well. https://jdayminis.blogspot.com/2013/12/free-printable-page-and-aim-12-makes-of.html

A Mini Miniature Show starts today until Sunday, New Snowy Town Scene kit

 

Just organizing my page for A Mini Miniature Show starts today until Sunday. Hope to see you there. http://aminiminiatureshow.weebly.com/

When I was young at around this time of year and closer to Christmas, I used to love walking up and down our main street and visiting all the wonderful shops, fabric shops, toy stores etc. It was so much fun to just window shop and the windows were always fabulous. That was what I was thinking of when I started this kit but it really morphed, LOL.

I have just finished a new Quarter Scale kit as a roundtable kit for the show. It is called a Snowy Town Scene that is laser cut on heavy paper and the 4 layers and buildings can be arranged in many creative ways.

New Quarter Scale Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus Shelf and Outfit Kits

 

These are two new Quarter Scale 1:48 Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus shelf and outfit kits that are now available at an Intro Price in my Etsy shop. Included in the Santa and Mrs. Claus outfit kits are their shelfs with a snowflake design and boots with a fabric Elf doll for each of them. These kits include a maple veneer shelf kit and fabric kit to cut out for their outfits. Can't believe Halloween in over already!!

New Quarter Scale Kits I will be offering during a free online Mini Miniature Show starting tomorrow,

 Here are the 2 new quarter scale kits I will be offering for the November Mini Miniature Show starting tomorrow. I think you will love it!!

https://aminiminiatureshow.weebly.com/

Thanks for looking, Mini Hugs, Jean

New Kit Gingerbread Christmas Baking at an Intro price in Etsy!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

This is a kit I had so much fun designing, mind you I always love designing but this was extra special since  I have always enjoyed baking, especially around Christmas. When my sons were young it was so much to bake gingerbread houses that they enjoyed devouring. One year I wanted to do our tree in a baking theme....I hung all the gingerbread men and cookies I baked. I also bought small copper cookie cutters that were on sale and tied them with red ribbons as well for the tree. Red felt decorations, garland and red balls finished the tree. Fun times!!

 

Happy Holidays, Free Printables, Dec.AIM magazine is out

I am very happy to announce that the new, free AIM magazine is now available to read or download. I just love Bea Broadwood’s Dickinson village featured called Cobblestone Snicket and Pearl Hudson’s Christmas traditions and so much more. AIM’s editor Sally Watson and team did such a terrific job even though it is such a busy time. ❤️ http://www.artisansinminiature.com



Also included above are my printable contributions for the AIM magazine Dec.issue and earlier in the year for the Knots and Cordage page.

Have a terrific Holiday Season with wonderful mini dreams of future projects!

 Mini Hugs, Jean
 https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/jdayminis

Christmas Getting Creative with Paper Kits

Here is an article I wrote for AIM magazine last year to help customers work with my paper kits, including instructions on how to finish them for Christmas. I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. Please click on the pages to enlarge them.

Mini Hugs, Jean
 https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/jdayminis

A Mini Miniature Show ends on Sunday, new doilies

Here is a new set of 1:12 scale laser cut paper Christmas Doilies each measuring 1", "Snowflakes and Trees" that I will be offering as a roundtable for $5.00 CAD at Shelly's on line Nov. Show. Love to see you there.
https://thenovembershow.weebly.com

FREE to the on line public beginning on November 8th at 10AM MST and closing late November 11th

I hope you are all enjoying all of the wonderful Christmas craft shows that are available.
Hugs, Jean

Best Wishes Everyone!!

New 1:48 Retro Christmas Paper Laser Cut Kits or 1:12 scale Christmas tree decor

These quarter scale retro 1:48 or quarter scale Christmas kits will be available on our website and Etsy soon. I hate to cause anyone undue stress with tiny pieces flying everywhere before Christmas but I just couldn't resist designing extremely tiny laser cut paper designs. I was really happy with the reindeer, so small, yet all of their detail shows up. I need to fix the trains before I sell them because they do not hold together well yet. The 2 kits on the left are on lighter papers and have lace designs while the 2 kits on the right are on heavier paper that can be easily coloured with felt pens or watercolours etc.

I am hoping to use textured snow or sparkles on the background design in the lower right and attach some of the pieces to that before putting it on a fire place. The doilies can be used stacked for trees, angels or cones too. The Merry Christmas sign is the same as the red and silver one we used in the 50's and later. The ornaments are very 50's and later too. I hope to have more photos before Christmas of them in a scene. Happy Holiday Season to everyone!!

PS    The very talented miniaturist, Elizabeth from Studio E http://studioeminiatures.blogspot.ca/
has just suggested that these could be used to one twelfth scale Christmas Decorations and she is so right!! I'm so pleased she mentioned it. The reindeer would be about 5" in real life and the trees and nutcracker would be 3 to 4" in height etc. Great idea, thanks Elizabeth.

SEASON"S GREETINGS, my 2 free projects, Ribbon Bows & Bow Makers

Hi Everyone, The best of this wonderful season to everyone! I wrote these projects for the AIM Advent Calendar which is so fabulous this year, so I thought I would make them available here! Please click on the pages to view them larger for reading. You can have a look at all of the contributions of the 2014 Advent Calendar through the doors here. http://www.artisansinminiature.com/photo_25.html

I would like to thank Sally Watson who is the editor, the editorial team and each of the contributors for all of their hard work and generosity in making the AIM Advent Calendar possible. Special thanks to Bea Broadwood for starting the AIM magazine years ago. If you haven't looked at the archives you are in for a surprise and it is all free.

Love & Hugs, Jean

Stay in your PJ's and enjoy Shelly's Wonders in Miniature online Show, ends Nov. 2.. New Kits too!

The Wonders in Miniature Show started last evening and continues until Nov.2.

Here is my link in the show. http://wondersinminiature.weebly.com/jean-day-miniatures.html You will find so many terrific dealers offering seasonal and other miniatures. There are roundtables and workshops too. I am offering the Quarter Scale 1:48 Gingerbread Christmas on shelf kit as a roundtable kit for $6.50 and the Twelfth Scale 1:12 "12 Birds of Christmas" hang on the wall Advent Calendar as a workshop for $18.00. I'm also offering my 3 Halloween kits 1:48 for $5.00 each as roundtables. On our website http://jdayminis.com we are offering 20% off Christmas Books in 2 scales and all of our kits.
Please come visit the Wonders in Miniature Show.  http://wondersinminiature.weebly.com/home.html

New "Joyous Noel White Christmas" Kit & Ballroom Dancing

The days are shorter in winter and they do seem to go by so quickly with Christmas soon approaching soon. I'm sorry I haven't been visiting all the blogs I would love to visit. We are busy with my mini business and enjoying ballroom dancing...we even try to find the time to practice during the day. We are taking 3 classes from a terrific instructor during the week. I love all the dances and social contacts as well as the exercise but if we don't practice I feel overwhelmed with some of the moves. Thank you so much for visiting my blog, I appreciate it so much and your comments.

In the photos above I am showing a new kit I have been working on for a while now. As most of you know I have collected antique French postcards for years from France and my favorites are the Noel ones, especially with Pere Noel & toys. They are such fabulous images and such a joy to repaint and fix up, I have spent hours doing this to the ones I sell as digital downloads on Etsy, I thought it would be enjoyable to use a few of the images in a miniature project kit. You can see Pere Noel with toys and children in the pillows, stockings and on the cones.

I have designed this kit on a fabric panel, where I have designed the pillows, cones, hearts and stockings in a paint program using snowflakes and scrolls as accents then ironed it onto very fine white batiste cotton. The edges don't fray so they are fun to cut out and easy to put together with the white bias tape I include for backings and the stars as well. Templates are used for the stars with directions on shaping these. Aluminum wire mesh is included for the trees and stars which are easy to make. Silver ribbon is shaped for the other 2 or 3 trees. Silver medallions are also included as accents.

The hearts and cones can also be used separates on a miniature Christmas tree or as a garland on a fireplace so this kit can be used very creatively. Everything is included in this kit except the wicker love seat and fire place. This would be a fun project for your miniature Christmas scene.

Mini Hugs, Jean

New Advent Calendar Kit and a biref History of the Advent Calendar

New For Christmas:an Advent Calendar Kit Since this is my favorite time of year, I really enjoyed designing this Advent Calendar.  I looked up the history of Advent Calendars in Wikimedia and  I have written a brief synopsis because I found it really interesting. To find out more please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_calendar. The first known Advent calendar was handmade in 1851. According to the Lower Austrian Landesmuseum, the first printed Advent calendar was produced in Germany by a protestant bookshop. Other authorities say that a Swabian parishioner, Gerhard Lang, was responsible for the first printed calendar in 1908. Lang was a printer who made 24 little coloured pictured that were affixed to a piece of cardboard. Several years later he introduced a calendar with 24 little doors. He had about 30 designs until 1930 when he went out of business. Sankt Johannis Printing Company started producing religious Advent calendars with Bible verses instead of pictures behind the doors. After World War 11 Richard Sellmer of Stuttgart started making the Advent calendars again and this is why they are so popular today. His company maintains a stock of over 1 million calendars worldwide. His company today is called Richard Sellmer Verlag. Since that time many families have enjoyed putting out an Advent Calendar on Dec. 1 to enjoy counting down the days until Christmas with an image related to Christmas, candy, chocolate, or other gifts. Wikimedia mentions that handmade Advent calendar have become popular projects with artisans and we see them including fabric, felt, chipboard and small boxes. The concept of the Advent Calendar has recently broadened to include Countdown Calendars, which I also thought would be great for a miniature scene, including birthdays, Easter, Halloween, graduation, last day of school, retirement and more. It was a real challenge to come up with the calendar design and 24 tiny gifts. Since I have recently finished a Gingerbread House Kit, I thought that gingerbread would be a good choice for some of the gifts. I made various shapes in a paint program and enjoyed decorating the designs. I designed the other stuffed style gifts with my digital drawings. Cutting out one of the designs each day might be a nice way to start the calendar. The calendar includes gifts: 2 crowns, a gingerbread house, star, wreath, 2 teddies and 1 chocolate look teddy, dog, cat, Santa, snowflake, 2 owls, an elf, 2 stockings, doll, snow man, butterfly, 2 candy canes, a heart and a mitten. The calendar part has fabric strips with numbers to glue onto the fabric backing and trim. I hope you will enjoy this holiday season as much as I do.

Wonders in Miniature Show online Nov. 8 & new Gingerbread House & kits & AIM magazine 48

Shelly Norris' Wonders in Miniature online show http://wondersinminiature.weebly.com/ starts today Nov 8 and goes until Monday. So many terrific dealers, I've had so much fun visiting each of them. The 3 Vintage Gingerbread Kits shown above, in 3 scales, I am selling as roundtable kits for $5.00 each during the show. We are also offering a selection of mini Christmas books from my originals and kits in 2 scales at 25% off during the show dates. I have had so much fun designing a few new kits for the show.

The upper photo is a new Gingerbread House and Accessories kit. Designing it reminded me so much of the fun I would have each Christmas making Gingerbread Houses and cookies for my sons, they really enjoyed devouring it too. This will last much longer and would look great on a mantle piece or under a tree. I have designed this kit and printed it onto a fabric panel with the Gingerbread House, Gingerbread and Star garlands and ribbons with gingerbread men. The fabric panel looks less shiny than the paper panel printed on laser that is also included with accessories. The fabric is very forgiving too and so easy to glue. These can also be used to decorate a Christmas tree. There is also a paper kit with wrapping papers suitable for wrapping gifts or rolling for display. Also included are 2 pieces of self sticking ribbon that can be striped into narrow strips and used to make bows and many lollypops and other accessories to add to the Gingerbread House scene. This kit is $9.00 during the sale.

I am also showing a new Christmas baby outfit kit for both a newborn and larger baby. These can be adapted to fit Heidi Ott dolls as well. You can also see the tiny doll I enjoyed designing I called Candy Kiss which is included in the Newborn Kit. You can find these in the sale page on the link through the sale banner on the top of our home page, they are $9.00 during the sale too.. http://jdayminis.com

In October we enjoyed a terrific Mediterranean Cruise and visited Aix en Provence, Florence, Rome, Venice, Greece and Turkey. We were going on tours each day from 6 in the morning until nearly 6 at night. It made me realize how much I missed waking up really early so I started waking at 5:30 each day since we have come home and designing. It has been so energizing and I seem to be getting so much more done. Aside from a cold I brought back I've been feeling very invigorated but I do feel like going to sleep much earlier and nearly fall asleep in ballroom dance classes in the evening. I hope to put up some photos from our trip soon.You can also find the wonderful and free new AIM magazine here http://www.scribd.com/doc/181358539/AIM-IMag-issue-48-pdf

2012 Christmas Decor, keeping it simple.

This Christmas I wanted to have my decorations simple in our studio. As well as working in the studio, we watch TV and read at night. Since we spend most of our time in the studio, decorating in it is more important to me. I had been admiring many French blogs with their wonderful stars and simple images for Noel. I started in earlier December by printing out some antique Christmas music and gluing it to card stock and cutting out stars. I then strung them on linen and hung them from the studio mantel piece. It is made of a very large piece of drift wood.

I've collected antique and vintage decorations for quite some time so decorated with them, trying to keep it simple and added candles. We have lit the candles every night since I decorated and love the soft natural glow and tried to show this in the photos. We have had the small tree for a few years and this year I just decorated it with my antique garlands and realized that was really all it need. You can also see John and our son's dog Artie at Butchart Gardens which was beautiful this year and also my center piece on our dining room table.

I was inspired by Kathleen's home at Faded Charm Cottage, her decor is fabulous. I joined her Holiday Home Tour. You might like to go over an check out each of the wonderful links to decorated homes.  http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.ca/2012/12/holiday-home-tour-2012-linky-party.html

Thank you so much to all of my fabulous followers..without you I wouldn't feel the need to blog. I hope you have a healthy and happy New Year. Hugs, Jean