A Charming Heart

23 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, art, miniature, photography, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day

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heart, miniatures, toys, Valentines, vintage

On Instagram this month, I am posting a heart a day, #amonthofhearts. AllSparkledUpDesign . Today is Day 23 and I thought it would be fun to share the full size image here. I’ve had most of these charms since my childhood and some go back to my mother’s childhood. Some are old Cracker Jack prizes, some are homemade. My granddaughter and I spent a couple enjoyable hours placing these charms in heart shape for this photo. Click on the image to access the full size. At the end of the month, I’ll post the rest of the photos here as well. Enjoy!

A heart of charms. Can you find two toucans? A mouse with no tail? Two boxes of teeny tiny roses? Ken's missing sock? A Real Wicker Basket? A sphygmomenometer?

A heart of charms. Can you find two toucans? Three trains? A mouse with no tail? Two boxes of teeny tiny roses? A roll of paper towels? Barney Rubble? An old iron trivet? Ken’s missing sock? A Real Wicker Basket? Sparkly ballet slippers? A sphygmomenometer?

The tiniest book I ever made – Blue Flowers

14 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, art, books, crafts, flowers, handmade books, miniature, painting

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art, art books, book arts, bookmaking, crafts, miniatures, painting, water color

This tiny book, less than a quarter inch square, is titled Blue Flowers.

The tiniest book I ever made was titled Blue Flowers.

The tiniest book I ever made was titled “Blue Flowers” and included tiny paintings and descriptions of blue flowers. In order to qualify for “micro mini” status, it had to be under 1/4″ square.

I shaved the blue suede as thin as possible so the edges could be folded with less bulk.

I think I made 7 copies and traded them with book making friends. I have one copy but don’t remember where the other copies went. Each book with blue suede cover and gilded page edges was tucked inside a tiny blue flower.

The text was printed using a laser printer. When the pages were cut apart from the sheet of printer paper, I had to be careful not a single breeze blew over my worktable since I couldn’t see the text and would have to use a magnifying glass to put them all back in order again. I was glad when I had all the pages stitched together!

Each book had a headband made of silk ribbon. The gold ink used to gild the edges was sticky so I used an exacto knife to carefully cut the pages apart so they wouldn’t stick as the ink dried.

Tiny book, with blue suede cover, text and water color paintings of blue flowers.

I made the paintings on each page using a magnifying glass and a brush that had only 3 hairs in it.

Blue Flowers – a micro mini book with descriptions and water colors of blue flowers

The paintings were so fun to make! Some day I hope to make a tiny book about Pink Flowers. But that will have to happen soon before my eyesight ages even more.

The Little Plastic Bears take a Hot Air Balloon Ride!

30 Friday May 2014

Posted by Julia Monroe in Little Plastic Bears, photography

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bears, hot air balloon, kids, Little Plastic Bears, miniatures, Sunset Beach, tiny bears

The Little Plastic Bears will have their own website some day. They’ve been to Washington DC, the Grand Canyon and Grandma’s Bed & Breakfast! They never have enough space in their tiny apartment and vacations are essential to their well-being.

Here are a couple sneak peek photos from their ballooning adventure at the beach last summer. As usual, blue bear isn’t following safety rules. Good thing there is masking tape or he would have fallen out of the basket!

The sun was setting as the Little Plastic Bears began their balloon ride. As usual, blue bear forgot safety rules and nearly fell out of the basket. Fortunately, masking tape held him in.

The Little Plastic Bears enjoy their balloon ride out over the Atlantic Ocean. The sunset on Sunset Beach was soft and dreamy that evening.

Click on the photos to access a larger image.
This fall, the Little Plastic Bears will have their grandest adventure yet. They are going to Japan! Stay tuned.

Miniature Perfume Bottles

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by Julia Monroe in beading, crafts, miniature, sparkling

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bead bottles, bead crafts, beads, crafts, miniature, miniatures

I was cleaning out old photo files and found these photos from way back in 2003.

All the perfume bottles are made of beads, earring backs and jewelry findings. They are tiny, some less than half an inch. To help the bead “bottles” stand up, I glued the bead on a pierced earring back. If you want to see the most detail in these photos, click on the photo to open a larger image. Then at the upper left of each photo will be a link that says “ORIGINAL SIZE AT (number) “. Click that link to see the largest image.

Miniature perfume bottles made from beads and jewelry findings. Please click on the photo to see a larger image.

A small plastic organizer with the lid removed made an elegant faux glass shelf unit for the miniature bead bottles.

A small plastic organizer with the lid removed served as an elegant “glass” shelf unit for the miniature bead bottles.

Miniature perfume bottles made from beads.

Miniature perfume bottles made from beads. This dresser tray is a mirror with trim glued around the edge.

To make the tray, I glued seed beads around the edge of a small mirror.

The first two photos were taken in my kitchen window… so many years ago, even before we planted the rose bush which has climbed all the way up to the kitchen window. I don’t remember where I put all the tiny bead bottles. When I find them, I think I’ll put the display case in the bedroom or bathroom window. I love tucking miniatures around the house. Most people never see them but I like knowing that my home has an even smaller story for those who have eyes to catch it.