Loft Update and Geraniums in Window Boxes Tutorial

 Welcome Back Mini Friends!!!  Ever had a project that just sits and waits for you while life is chaotic?  2025 has been a tough year on the farm but one thing I can count on is that my miniature project in the craft room is patiently waiting for my next move.   There is such a comfort in that.  

The Loft above my Apothecary is coming together.  At least the patio is, and today I am sharing my progress and some "flowers" and flower boxes for the patio railing that I made.  For the planter boxes I used packaging from my dog's heartworm medication and added some hot glue details and then painted them.

For the geraniums I used beet seeds, mounted them on green floral wire and then painted them.  I glued floral foam into the planters and painted it brown.  Then I just stuck the flower picks into there with E6000 glue.  For the geranium leaves I used a flower-shaped punch.  

Towards the end of the post you will see that I added ivy climbing the half wall.  I also have started on the flooring in The Loft.  

My big question for you is... What do you think the inside decor should be?  I am thinking it should be an Artist's Loft, with paintings and paints.  What do you think??

Thank you for visiting!  Stay tuned for more Loft updates.  Maybe I'll get it finished by the end of the year!  LOL.  I'm working on lighting, flooring, walls, and eventually a ceiling and rooftop.

What do you think on decor for this space?  

XOXO! Laurie

Miniature Potion Jars - Glitter Edition

 Welcome back my mini friends!  My Apothecary needed more potion jars... and also more sparkle!  I love to have eye-catching items in my minis and glitter is the perfect supply to use.  I went to Etsy to link the seller that I used to buy my ultra-fine glitter from but she's no longer selling.  She had the best colors.  

These little jars are so fun to make.  They don't require a ton of ingredients but do require a little bit of patience as the opening to the bottles is so small it takes a day or two for the glue to dry inside the bottle.  You don't want to put the lid on without them being dry inside.  These actually took three days.  But that's ok because I've other things to do.    

I purchased the tiny glass jars from Amazon.  A couple of them I already had.  I wound up buying some that were rounded on the bottom and wouldn't stand up.  I glued a jewelry ring finding to the bottom and wha-la!  Easy fix.  

I used two drops of school glue and one drop of water in each jar.  I mixed it together with a toothpick, put my finger over the opening and gave them a good shake to coat the inside of the jar.  Sometimes you have to roll it around a bit to cover the entire inside.

Next, I carefully pour in very fine glitter.  Be prepared to get some sparkle everywhere! :)

I found some apothecary jar labels online.  It doesn't matter to me exactly what they say.  When they are in the display you can't read them anyway.

After that just use what you have to embellish the jars.  I painted the corks, glued sparkly string and used tiny rhinestones to give each bottle it's own flare.

These are the "shop made" specialty potions.  Slightly tacky but very powerful!

Have a wonderful day!  Thanks so stopping by!  

XOXO ~Laurie

Miniature Wisteria Vines

 Hi Mini Friends!  I will admit that I am not skilled in miniature plant making.  Never have been.  But I felt like I wanted a Wisteria vine on the outside of my Apothecary.  I found a floral pick in my stash that I think was bought around Christmas time.  I snipped off some of the bunches and painted them in shades of purple.  I also used a leaf punch for leaves.  I only have one leaf punch and realize that the leaves are far different in shape than real Wisteria but it works for me.  I appreciate imperfection!  I also added a couple of twigs I found outside and some moss.  I really like the way it turned out.

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great day!

XOXO ~Laurie

Miniature Stone Walkway

 Hi Mini Friends!  This Apothecary project has been so fun!  I decided that my storefront needed a sidewalk and steps up to the door.  I had already used the egg carton stone technique on the inside wall and decided to do something different for the walkway.  I used joint compound and carved the stones out of that.  Although while I was carving the stones I didn't take any pictures because it can get a little messy and I wound up with joint compound on my fingers.  But the process of carving the stones was so fun and truly mesmerizing.

I used a piece of chip board and traced the shape of the rounded window so I knew where my stones needed to be.  I cut out a few rounded pieces of cardboard and built my steps.  Then I covered everything with masking tape as the joint compound is a rather wet substance and I didn't want the chip board wet and soggy.

I also built a few borders which I'm not sure was necessary but I did it anyway.  I wound up taking them off and just using my finger to edge any access off.

I used a small tipped clay working tool (not pictured) and just went to carving.

This was the really fun part.

After all the carving, I had to let it all dry overnight.   The next morning, I lightly used a fingernail file to sand down any bits that didn't need to be there.  Also, I think my joint compound is getting old because when it dried it was more powdery than I remembered so I had to be careful.

I gave it a basecoat of paint in a medium gray color.  Then I went over each piece dry brushing white, black and light brown.

When the paint dried, I gave it a generous coating of Mod Podge to act as a sealer.  My paint chipped off pretty easy before the glue coating.  Then I broke out my tinted sawdust and gave some of the cracks some moss.

I love the look and the way it turned out.  I'm wondering if a nice "wrought iron" handrail is needed??

HEY, guess what!!!  This post makes 1,000 posts on my blog!  Congrats to me!  And while all of my 1,000 posts are not miniature related it still serves as my creative lifestyle since 2009.  From gardening, woods hunting, farm life, fur babies, my day care I had for five years, and all in between.  I have really enjoyed blogging and can look back anytime I want.

Thanks for being here!  Do you like my apothecary so far??

XOXO ~Laurie