Saturday, December 11, 2010

Baby octopus and squid on rocks

This is a baby octopus clinging to a rock (or, in this case, a pebble). The baby squid is holding a fish and eyeing it hungrily.


Monday, December 6, 2010

Piled fruit platter

I like to pile fruit, but this may be the most piled piece I've ever made. I hope it looks festive enough for the holidays!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Ericka VanHorn: The Queen of fantastical, magical miniatures and curiosities!

I have long admired the work of Ericka VanHorn. I was introduced to her work years ago, through a shared mutual friend of ours, the great Martha Puff. One look, and you'll see why!! The amount of detail she puts into each piece (and each scene) is nothing short of jaw dropping!!! I'm so happy to see that she has a blog where I can feast my eyes....and what a FEAST!!! Check it out:

http://evminiatures.blogspot.com/

http://evminiatures.tripod.com/evminiatures_index.htm



Thursday, December 2, 2010

Yep, more meat!!

This is a leg of lamb. I like making my meat exactly the way I like eating it, so it's pretty red/pink ;-). My sister eats hers well done and it makes me gag. Hello, shoe leather??

Monday, November 29, 2010

Kathy Obrenski, aka Wee Little West: Update!

Awhile ago, when I first started my blog, I mentioned IGMA Artisan Kathy Obrenski, whose work I had long admired on ebay.  When I first discovered miniature food, I found Kathy's work on ebay, and I was astounded. She had a very big following and made some of the most luscious desserts I had ever seen, among other things. Later, I started making my own food, and some time after that, she befriended me and was extremely sweet and so supportive. We corresponded for quite some time. Then, she had a shocking, debilitating stroke that threatened to destroy her very being, never mind her immense creative talent. Well, I am pleased to say that she has worked long and hard to come back, and she has made huge strides!! She will be at the Chicago show as a seller, and I will be so happy to see her!! I would be selling along with her next year, because I was invited by Tom Bishop, but I am still trying to wrap my head around making all that stock :-/.  I will try next year, Kathy!!! These are just a few pics, plus links to her brand new blog and Flickr:

http://weelittlewest.blogspot.com/

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/weelittlewest/


Sunday, November 28, 2010

MEAT!!!! Venison chops

Lance gave me a challenge: make Venison. So, I Googled some pics and found one of Venison chops on a pile of veg. This is the result. I tried Venison decades ago, as a child, in Maine, and I remember thinking that it was too gamey....kind of like licking someone's armpit :-/.
 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Not meat. Well, frog legs.

This little guy is hungry! I stuck a ladybug on the end of his tongue because the thought of making a fly....erm, wasn't happening.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Roasted Pheasant, per Susan's request ;-)

Susan told me that I should make Roasted Pheasant, so I did! These guys are pretty plump (sometimes pheasant can look a wee bit anorexic :-/), so Im jsut going to pretend that they were.....erm, forced fed or something.
 

More meat!!

I am in meat mode, although my sister keeps bugging me about making Christmas treats!! I am more a savory than a sweet kinda gal, but I promise to make some soon ;-). This is one of my bloody roasts, which I think would look kind of yummy on a holiday table. But then, I love me some raw meat!!!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Christmas Goose for daddy! And apples....

My pops loved nothing more than a roasted goose for Christmas, so I am dedicating this piece to him ;-).

I just added some apples. I was going to put them on the goose platter, but left them off. Instead, I added potato dumplings and beet bundles on the platter, and put the apples in a pewter bowl.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Welcome to blogland, Alison!!!

My buddy Alison Shibata, who just happens to live in Hawaii (woot!) has finally started a blog!!! She hasn't been making miniature food for very long, but you would NEVER guess!! Hello?? Check out her perfectly browned, plump roasted turkey (killer wings on that), sushi, and stunning cake!!! Here's linkage to her blog and her etsy shop. Rock on, Alison!!!!!!

http://blissminiatures.blogspot.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/blissminiatures



Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Ham and incense!?

Here's another weird combo: a holiday ham and an incense set :-/. I'm not huge on ham, although I love pork....and bacon, of course! I originally paired the ham platter with a carving set, but didn't like the way it looked so I removed it. As for the incense, well, I buy quite a bit of it and burn it all day and night long (unless I'm out). I made the cone kind, although I'm partial to sticks ;-).


Saturday, November 13, 2010

A Turkey, before it's too late!

I made a turkey for Thanksgiving. Mom brought home this flyer/catalog thing from Sam's Club and told me to check out the pics of holiday food, so I zeroed in on the turkey, which was garnished with orange slices and cranberries. I thought: if I'm not going to make all the sides, I'd better dress up this platter pretty heavily! I also made him pretty damned fat!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Squash display and a potion making board

Thanksgiving is coming, and I still haven't made a turkey, but I did make some Squash! Also, shades of Halloween, but here's a potion making board as well.


Friday, November 5, 2010

Susan is batshit crazy and I love it!!

For a long time, I've wanted to do a post on Susan (aka Sans!)....but, I thought, wouldn't it be kind of redundant?? EVERYONE knows Susan and how immensely talented she is!! Hello? But seriously, every time I visit her blog, I'm speechless, which is rather rare for me ;-). Where to begin??? Her Maharaja's Palace is seriously MIND BLOWING, truly a work destined for a museum (not that she'd give it up, hehe)!! It's difficult not to gush, but her dedication and attention to detail are second to NONE. I would pay to see her work in person. And God willing, I will go to Singapore next year!!! So, here's to Susan, wild, talented chick, and truly, a one of a kind!!!

You really must see her blogs to take everything in, because there's  a cacophony of eye candy, but here is just a tiny, tiny taste...

http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com/

http://sanqueenannediary.blogspot.com/

http://sansddprojects.blogspot.com/





Saturday, October 23, 2010

Rock on, Cindy!!

It's no secret...I am a blogger with severe ADD. Started out strong, but now go in fits and starts. Life and other shit comes along and distracts me, but sometimes I take the time to visit other blogs and it is a real pleasure!! I visited Cindy's blog last night, all bleary eyed, yet I was thrilled to find that she is making more Asian food!! She makes lovely desserts, but when I see her embarking on one of her native "savory food" odysseys, I perk up :-D!! The great think about Cindy, and something I greatly admire, is her willingness to experiment...ALOT. She doesn't settle for "good enough". She wants to nail it. Here is an example of some of her latest dabblings. I love her method for noodle making, because they came out so fine and properly scaled. Oversized, fat noodles give me hives :-/. I usually roll mine out by hand till nearly breaking point to get them fine enough, but hers are so delicate and thin!!!! GREAT job, buddy!!!!

http://snowfern-clover.blogspot.com/



Friday, October 22, 2010

WOW!!! My 1:144 book from Lia in Italy!!!

I got a wonderful gift from my friend Lia Comugnero, of Villa Miniature, in Italy!!! And how fitting- it is the coolest, tiniest, villa in a "book"!! I am a real sucker for uber tiny, and this has such a fantastic amount of detail!!! There's even a wee bird perched on the upper balcony!! Here are some pics of my new treasure. Thank you so much, Lia!! I ADORE it!!!
http://viliaminiature.blogspot.com/
http://www.viliaminiature.it/



Thursday, October 21, 2010

Last of the Halloween treats, methinks??

I think I'm going to end my Halloween food run with this. Bat cupcakes. I guess I have to make a turkey or something for next season. Damn, not nearly as fun :-/!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

More Halloween food....and fish.

Slightly major family emergency, but I'm back :-D!! All is well now. Here are a couple more Halloween meals! I saw the skull fried eggs in a magazine at the grocery store, and the noodle wrapped sausage mummies as well. In the mag, there was no sauce, which I thought was kind of weird, so I added a bit of Marinara. The fish is....well, fish, but on a wooden "stake". Perhaps ready for cooking over an open fire??


Monday, October 11, 2010

Heavily "aged" liquor

I had more bottles that that needed grunging up, so this time I made a tray of some old ass liquor. A couple of them already had labels, and the rest I added. Years ago, I bought a sheet of liquor labels on ebay.  They were made by Brooke Tucker....or, at least, marketed under her name. These are not the original labels, but photocopied ones (which is ok since I destroyed them, lol!!). Somehow, I don't think these would fit in one of Ms. Tucker's sumptuous settings, no :-/ ?? They look like something dredged up from a sunken ship, minus the barnacles!!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

More eyeball madness....

Yes, I said that I would quit with the eyeballs, but I lied :-/.  I had an idea pop into my head, so I made it. Call it "Silence of the Potato Heads". I thought of that film when I looked at the peels with eyes still attached. I'm a little freaked out now. AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Halloween Frankenmallows, and revisiting Dillheads

More goofiness with Halloween. Hey, any time I can slap a face on something, I will do it :-D!! Mom and I went to Border's Bookstore on Sunday, after breakfast (I am a sucker for American breakfasts: scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast, sausage, and pancakes), and I was thumbing through magazines. Around this time, there are a ton of Halloween themed cooking related mags, and I saw these Frankenstein marshmallow thingees. So, I made some, along with Dill Heads, which I've done before.


Monday, October 4, 2010

Mushroom log w/ladybugs, antique bottles, and I hate Facebook

I made a mushroom log and put two little ladybugs on a couple of the shrooms, per my sister's request ;-). Also, I have a stash of glass bottles that I can't fill to save my life (the openings are insanely small), so I just grunged them up and made them old, lol!!! I did have some cobwebbing over them too but removed it because it looked a little weird.

On another note, if there is anyone who is wondering why I haven't "friended" them back on Facebook or not answered any messages for a few days, it's because I can't log into Facebook!!  On my iphone OR my laptop!! There is some kind of asinine, new "security measure" implemented that makes you jump through hoops to make sure you are the same person logging in from different computers or devices. Because I have the Facebook iphone app on my phone, and also log in from my computer, it asks me to verify my identity now. The problem is, this is the verification process: it pulls random photos from all your contact's photo albums and asks you to correctly name the person. Now, I am getting everything from peoples' artwork, to childhood photos, to vacation pics, to frigging screenshots of the "farming" games they play!! HELLO?? Everything but the actual person (and to be honest, I would screw that one up too, in most cases!!!!). And that is the ONLY method of verification! Nope, no secret word, no "what was was your father's middle name" kind of thing. So, I am shut out, for now. Honestly, I have never liked Facebook, and I don't visit there often,  but this is redonkulous!


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Peeping clams

Again with the eyeballs. HELP ME!!! I can't stop!!! They are coming out of every orifice!!



Monday, September 27, 2010

Graveyard brownies, more speckled pumpkins, and....fish

I made more graveyard brownies (a wee but different from last year), some white speckled pumpkins, and Blue Hake fish. I buy my baby sister a mini pumpkin every year, and this one is orange striped with green spots and splatters. It's sitting on top of her stereo, no doubt being tortured by the blast eminating from the speakers. Kind of like me and my poor bleeding ears.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Good lawdy, Miss Glenda!!!!

I was puzzled when mom plunked down a package from New Zealand on on my table. I usually get all my packages from the UPS store, but this one was retrieved from my tiny apartment mailbox. I looked at the name on the package. Glenda!!  Hmmm....what on earth could it be?? I opened it, only to be gobsmacked to find the tiny handmade treasures she sent me (which I have admired before)!!!! Completely unexpected, and such a joy!!!! It really was like a mini Christmas, and brightened my otherwise miserable day. THANK YOU, GLENDA!!!! You are such a doll....a very talented doll, at that ;-)!!! Expect another addition to that gorgeous new kitchen of yours, too!
Check out Glenda's spanking new dollhouse here (as an aside, Kristy, we NEED dollhouses. Hello??) :

http://peppercornminis.blogspot.com/

Her etsy shop with TONS of cool miniatures:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/undancey?ref=seller_info

My goodies!!!