The Little Red Shrine - Not!

This was a very unsatisfying tiny construction project. I cavalierly slogged on a wet coat of red ink, using it like stain, over all the pieces planned for this little red structure. This was my first mistake, since the wet ink warped all the jumbo craft sticks, aka, my tiny lumber. Also, I made...

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #8

These are not the final photos by any means, but this first Japanese Tea House is basically completed. There are a lot of things I will do differently for my next creations in the "Temples, Shrines & Tea Houses" project, but this is good for starters. Stay tuned for the next piece, The Red...

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #7

While we're waiting for the roof to dry, here's a look at the tiny lumber yard. ...

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #6

To make this roof I used craft or popsicle sticks, large and jumbo. Even with a tiny miter box it is hard to make perfect cuts. Balsa is so soft it kind of crumbles on the ends. And Basswood needs a surprising amount of muscle. As you can see by the pile of debris, tiny slices are the way to go....

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #5

 I found these tools while assembling my "Temples, Shrines & Teahouses" Kit. My husband David's father was a golf course architect, therefore collected these sets of marvelous tools. I don't even know what to do with most of the Xacto blades, still very sharp, but I love the set and the little...

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Making Stuff - Japanese Teahouse #4

 Wow! I forgot how wonderful and fun it is to have little Xacto saws and a tiny miter box to use on Basswood and Balsa. Thanks to David for hunting them down. Now the tiny architecture and carpentry can move up a notch. After creating the doors I made little troughs in which they could slide...

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Making Stuff - Japanese Tea House, Part 3

 I made these shoji screen doors entirely out of coffee stir sticks which cut easily with scissors. Instead of rice paper I covered the doors in muslin fabric. Today I received a tiny Xacto miter box in the mail, as if by magic (thank you, David). While I await the tiny Xacto saw, expected...

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Making Stuff - A Japanese Tea House, Part 2

This tea house is built at 1/24 scale. I am precisely following a YouTube tutorial to get the scale and style firmly in my head before branching out into my own creations. The platform (made from jumbo craft sticks) is approximately 8" x 8" and each tea house is four tatami mats, each 3"x6" in size....

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Making Stuff - A Miniature Japanese Teahouse, or two...

Every now and then I get a creative bee in my bonnet. It buzzes around in my hair telling me it's time to make something. Really, to build something. I'm always making something (knitting, cards, dinner) but this urge to build is different. It's a feeling in the solar plexis that will not relax...

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eBOOKS!!!

Thanks to the Lucky Valley Press tech department, First You Grow the Pumpkin, 100 cool things to make and preserve, my best cookbook, filled with all my favorite concoctions and kitchen creations, is available as an eBook. First You Grow the Pumpkin was inspired by my brother Jess, who posed the...

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