I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette & Family



"The Shapeways Project" ~ Part 4

The tree is painted and I am pretty happy with the way it is coming together.  Below is a picture of the colors I was working with.  (I'm not sure why I added the glue in the photo, I did not add glue to the paint, LOL)  I used Hippo Grey, Burnt Umber, Toffee, Dark Chocolate and Spanish Olive.   I also used some of my Doc O'Brien's Weathering Powders. (Grungy Gray, Dirty Brown, and Mildew Green).  I love working with these, they add a lot to a project.

 

 

 

I started out by adding a very thin wash of Burnt Umber to the whole tree.  I worked in small sections and wiped off the excess paint with a paper towel as I went along.  The clay soaked up the wash pretty fast, so I had to work quickly.  After that I went back with a thinner brush and added a second coat to the deeper cracks in the tree.  The main purpose of this step was to get some color in the "bark" and highlight the details.  I then let this dry for a couple of hours. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, in a small cup, I made a mixture of Hippo Grey, Dark Chocolate, a small bit of Toffee and an even smaller amount of Spanish Olive.  I don't have an exact measurement for this, I just sort of played around with it until I got a good bark color.  I added some water to the mixture to make a wash, but this time it wasn't as thin as the first coat.   I also worked in larger sections this time before wiping away the excess paint. 

 

 

 

 

After this was dry, I went back and did some highlighting with my aging powders, mainly around the bottom of the trunk.   I also painted the base around the bottom of tree to prepare for the landscaping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the view of the back of the tree.  It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I added a little bit of the green weathering powder to one side of the tree to look like moss.  I may go back and add more to make if show better.

 

I even added a broken limb.  ;o)  I just painted it with the Toffee and did minimal aging so it would look like it happened not too long ago. 

 

 

Well, I hope you like it so far.  Next is landscaping and leaves....lots and lots of leaves.  Maybe when the family comes over for Christmas I will put them all to work punching leaves for me.  Ha! 

 

Merry Christmas to you all!

*Jeannette

 

 

"The Shapeways Project" ~ Part 3

 

 

With bear show preparations behind me, for a little while at least, I was able to get the sculpting done on the tree.  This took a lot longer than expected, but I'm happy with how its going. 

 

 

In the last update, I showed you my wire armature that I started with.  This proved to be really sturdy and worked out well.  If I had to do it over, I probably would have bulked out the trunk a little bit more, but it wasn't a big deal.

 

 

 

I started sculpting at the trunk.  I chose to use Paper Clay because it is light weight and it air dries.  I usually prefer Pro Sculpt, but there was no way this tree was going to fit in my oven, LOL!  As the paper clay dries, it does tend to crack, but I wasn't too worried about that since it would only add to the look of tree bark anyway. 

Once I got the trunk sculpted, I let it dry for a couple of days to be sure it was solid before I started on all of those branches.

(Sorry about the messy table!)

 

 

Here is a close up of the bark details I tried adding.  There was a lot of trial and error, but hopefully the painting process will show everything better.

 

 

Once the trunk was dry I just started adding clay to the branches.  This took quite a while because I found that I could only do a couple at a time before I would have to let them dry overnight.  I was just bumping them too much and then I would have to go back and fix things.  A good tip is to add wood glue to the armature before you add the clay.  I love Gorilla Glue and highly recommend it.

At this point I decided to add the frame to the base as well.  I wouldn't have been able to get it on there once all the braches were added.  

 

 So this is where I am now.  Sorry about the glare, it was late last night when I took this.  All these branches took me about three weeks!  That is mostly dry time though, and I didn't have time to work on it everyday unfortunately.  I have pesky things like laundry and cooking to take care of, LOL! 

Next up is painting.  That won't take me nearly as long. 

I'll be back with another post soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

*Jeannette



Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a safe and wonderful day!

 

 

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette



~ New Bunny Available! ~

I have a new bunny available today on my Bear Pile page.  His name is Harvey.  He is one of my bigger style bears and I think he turned out super cute if I do say so myself. ;o)

I hope you can stop by and have a look at him!

http://jrbcreations.bearpile.com/

 

 

To those of you celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I hope you have a safe and happy holiday!

 

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette

 



~ 3 New Christmas Bears Available ~

Happy Friday!

 

Are you ready for the weekend?  I certainly am!

 

I have three new bears listed today over on my Bear Pile page, I hope you will take a look at them.  I am so happy with the way they turned out!  The idea for these bears has been floating around in my mind since last Christmas.  I had so much fun bringing them to "life"!  I hope you like them too!

 

http://jrbcreations.bearpile.com/

 

*Update: Adopted*

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette



~New Bear Available~

Good Morning!

 

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I've got the Christmas spirit!  My daughter absolutely LOVES Christmas time and has been talking about for weeks, so I think it has rubbed off.

Anyway, I have a new Christmas bear available over on my Bear Pile page this morning.  Her name is Ginger.  I made her a little gingerbread man friend to take along with her to her new home.  :o)  If you would like to learn more about her, or see more pictures, please visit her over on Bear Pile.  I'm also happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

http://jrbcreations.bearpile.com/

 

 

Are you all in the Christmas spirit yet?

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!   I hope you have a wonderful day!

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette

 

 

 

Candy Jar Bears

Good evening!

 

Just a quick post tonight to let you all know that I have just listed two new bears over on my Bear Pile page.  I love these two little ones and their candy jars.  I'm so pleased with how they turned out!  I hope you like them too!

Please take a look at them over on Bear Pile to see the specifics.

http://jrbcreations.bearpile.com/

 

As always, please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

 

 

Have a wonderful evening!

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette

"Noel"

 



"Joy"

"Shapeways" Project ~ Part 2

Happy Sunday!

 

If you missed my previous post, here, I mentioned that I was starting a small side project. 

I now have my base ready and my armature done for the tree that will be the main focus for this piece.  There are so many different ways I could go about making the tree, but I have decided to sculpt it from clay, just because it has been such a long time since I have done any sculpting and I really miss it. :o)

 

I have big plans for this tree!  Now lets just see if I can accomplish them, LOL!  I will likely be adding more branches here and there along the way and I have this pictured in my mind as a late summer tree, so that means a LOT of leaves!  Maybe by the end of this it will be a dead tree in the middle of winter, ha ha! 

 

 Anybody want to come over and help me make leaves??  ;o)

 

  

Next is the sculpting, YEA!  I have to wait for my clay to come in the mail though.  That's ok, I have three bear shows coming up so I will be pretty busy this month. 

 

Have a super awesome week!

 

*Jeannette



The "Shapeways" Project

Hi All!

 

I mentioned in a previous post that I was going to start a small side project soon.  I am calling this my "Shapeways" project because that is where most of my inspiration is coming from.  There will also be a little bit of inspiration from my childhood as well. 

Today I wanted to share some quick pictures I took of the supplies I gathered to start the project.  This is by no means all that I will need for this little project, just enough to get me going.  Any guesses on what I'm making?  Ha ha!

 

I also received my first order from Shapeways for this project.  Isn't it wonderful!  I just love this little chair!  I found this in the shop of tisch and it was originally only listed in half scale, but I sent a message to the shop owner and ask them if it would be possible to get this item in 1" scale.  They replied very quickly and had my item listed before the day was out and then it arrived at my door within a week.  Talk about great service!    I ordered it in white with a matte finish, but I will be painting it.

 

 

I am really looking forward to getting started on this project!  Hopefully this weekend I can do that and then update you all on how it is going.  :o)

 

Happy Friday!

*Jeannette 

 

Newport Update: Master Bedroom

Happy Saturday everybody!  As promised I am posting some pictures of the Newport master bedroom.  This room is pretty much finished, just some finishing touches that will need to be done.  The ceiling/ third floor isn't attached yet, so once that is done I will have to put up the molding.   I'm sure I will add more minis to this room over time as well. :o)

 

 

 

I really love how this room turned out!  It just feels cozy to me.  The inspiration for this room came from the chair and ottoman.  I had this custom made for me by Kris Compas.  Kris does the most wonderful work!  I have several of her pieces now and hope to add more to my collection in the future.  

 

The floors came pre-stained, but I added a wash of black paint to darken them up just a bit. 

 



The nighstands are just an odd pair that I picked up on E-bay a long time ago (see photo below).   I painted them black and added new knobs which I stained to match the top of the posts on the bed. 

 

 

 



I scratch built the bed using matte board and scrap bass wood.  The bedding was also sewn from fabric that I already had on hand.  The rug is a paper print out, but someday I would like to learn punch needle and then attempt to re-do this design. 

 



I purchased the lamps online, but I can't remember the name of the site.  I will add a link in here when I find that info.  I really love the bases on these, but the shades are just really flimsy plastic.  I tried adding fabric to make them look better for now, but eventually I will replace them with something more realistic looking. 

 





The armoire is a Bespaq piece that I have had in my stash for a while.  Another Ebay find.  I usually just buy things I like, not knowing where I will use it.  It's fun to go through things every now and then and find stuff I forgot I had. ;o)  On the other side of that though, I've been looking through my stash and asked myself  "What the heck were you thinking when you bought that?"  LOL!

 



I really love the window seat!  I scratch built this as well, using matte board and bass wood again.  I always pick up more when I'm at Hobby Lobby so that I have it on hand when I need it.  The printed pillows/blue pillows are from a kit by true2scale.  The rest of them were hand made by me. 

 



The pitcher with flowers and the bird patterned boxes are also kits by true2scale.    The stack of books is by MontserratFolch on Etsy.  Unfortunately her shop is now gone, which is a shame because her books are wonderful and I was hoping to get more.   

 

It is kind of hard to see, but the photo on the nightstand is actually of my daughter and niece trying on funny glasses at the store, LOL.  It always makes me laugh, so I resized it and put it in the frame.   

And here is my usual perspective view.  ;o)  You can see that the ceiling isn't attached and the lamp wires are sticking out.  The wires will go through small holes in the ceiling, but I still haven't figured out how I am going to run the wires for the rest of the third floor.  I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.  



 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you like the master bedroom.  Next up I think will be the sun room which is through the French doors off of this room.  I'm at a stand still right now though.  I have a picture in my mind of how I want the windows to look, but I can't find anything that looks even close to what I want.  That means I will have to make them myself and considering it is a sunroom, I'm going to need a lot of windows.  I want them to be working windows too (of course).  Good thing I'm always up for a challenge!  :o)

 

Have a great night!

*Jeannette

Just a couple of new minis

Hi There!

I just wanted to share a couple of new minis with you all tonight.  :o)  A while back I was reading Brae's blog and she had shared some things she purchased from Shapeways, so naturally I had to check it out, LOL!  I ended up getting the laundry basket and the little blue bins that I used in the Newport garage. 

The little laundry basket has wonderful detail to it!  I love it!

You can see the blue bins there on the workbench.  They worked out perfectly for holding little bits and pieces.

These items came from Marion Russek on the Shapeways website.  Shapeways is a 3-D printing marketplace and let me just say, it is amazing what can be done with 3-D printing!  Wow! 

I have spent so much time over on that website, LOL, not only looking at the miniatures, but they also have a great model train section and some of those items would be great in mini scenes as well.  They just have so much to offer!  After looking through it so much it actually gave me an idea for a little side project I want to work on while I try to figure out where to go with the Newport.  I think I will do this little project a bit differently and post my progress here on my blog as I go along.   I will call it my Shapeways project since that is where my inspiration and a lot of the minis will come from.  Now it's back over to their site to add to my wishlist  ;o)

Have a great evening!

*Jeannette

P.S.  I also have a Newport update coming up.  The master bedroom is pretty much done, so I will post pictures of that soon. 



Kitten Update

Hi everybody!  I hope you have had a great weekend!  I've been chasing little kitties around.  They are definitely getting around good now, even getting the hang of running after me wherever I go.  They are so cute though!  I've attached a few pictures so that you can all see how fast they are growing.  They  just turned four weeks old.

 

 

 

It was really hard to get a good picture of them all together until they were sleeping.  They prefer to sleep in the dog's bed, LOL!  The dog isn't too happy about it though.

 

 

So cute!

 

I hope your upcoming week is a good one!

 

Bear hugs,

*Jeannette