At the Show - Upcoming Workshop at Shellie's Miniatures

Long-time dealer Shellie Kazan has posted her new 2013 workshop offerings on the Shellie's Miniature Mania website. All classes are held in her shop in San Carlos, CA. The first workshop to be offered is Laurel Doll's "Market Stall" which has an Easter theme. It is a one day class and scheduled for Saturday, February 23, 2013.

To see several more photos of the Market Stall go to the link below. Scroll down the page until you find Laurel's class photos. http://shelliesminis.com/shop/index.php?main_page=page&id=1

The one day February 23 workshop is scheduled from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. The fee is $100.00 per person (which does not include market stall). It includes: Canopy fabric, brick and paint for base. Straw hat with items to complete it. Baked clay and color to make eggs. Supplies to construct a diorama egg. Paint and paper for a gift box. Three baskets with straw and ribbon. Glitter for figurines, shelf paper, hooks for hanging baskets and other fun surprises.

To register, contact Shellie Kazan. Tel 650-593-4921, shelliesminis@msn.com, shelliesminis.com

At the Show - Exhibit

We are deferring the exhibit planned for this week until next week. The "Chinatown's Green Dragon Restaurant" was displayed at the 2012 Good Sam Show. We have many photos to share with you, and feel that this exceptional miniature structure merits its own week on the Blog.  From time-to-time, we will devote the Blog to a single exhibit. 

In anticipation of next week's exhibit, we wish you Gung Hay Fat Choy! (Happy New Year!)

Photo courtesy of Connie Sauve, Exhibit Chairman.

2012 Good Sam Show Report-Dollhouse Miniatures, U.S.

The January/February 2013 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures magazine carries spectacular coverage for the 2012 Good Sam Show. Part one has eleven gorgeous pages dedicated to dealer offerings. Part two has six pages devoted to 2012 Mini Exhibits, Workshops and More. Special thanks to the Ashdown team for its fine presentation of the show. Here are two dealer displays that each received a full page:

French day bed by Maritza Moran, Maritza Miniatures. maritza@maritzaminiatures.com, www.maritzaminiatures.com

Offerings from the Victorian Steampunk line of Brian (Rainbow Hand) and Kathy Tepper.  briantep@verizon.net, http://www.rainbowhandandkathy.com/

To order a copy of the January/February 2013 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures magazine, email usoffice@ashdown.co.uk or go to http://www.craft-club.com/usa. Downloadable issues and overseas shipping available.

Celebrating Valentine's Day with Good Sam Dealers

Valentine's Day 2013 is fast approaching. You will find anything but ordinary Valentine-themed miniatures in this week's Good Sam Blog. The dealers shown here bring you uncommon quarter-scale structures, food, accessories and collectibles. If you are looking for fresh ideas--a little outside the box--these unique offerings are sure to surprise and delight you. Look for the artisans at the 2013 Good Sam Show.

The Hearts & Lace Cottage kit shown here is offered in 1/4-inch scale and 1/144th inch scale by Karen Cary Miniatures. The kit is laser cut from bass wood. It comes with a door, windows, shutters, paper shingles, exterior and interior trims. Each window has its own flower box. The flooring lines and exterior wall lines are already engraved. A dealer since 2000, Karen offers a workshop (or workshops) most years. minis@karencary.com, www.karencary.com

Hearts & Lace Cottage kit, $37.50. Available in 1/4-inch and 1/144-inch.

Interior view of Hearts & Lace Cottage kit. Furniture available on website.

To see more Karen Cary kits, go here.

At the Show - Valentine's Day Kits & Collectibles

New to the Good Sam Show in 2012, Carol and Tomas Kubrican (True2Scale Dollhouse Miniatures) design delightful, precision cut miniature kits for the dollhouse enthusiast. They incorporate LED lighting into many items. The Kubricans work in both 1:12 scale and the smaller scales. At the 2012 Good Sam Tools & Techniques Program, Carol taught attendees how to work with decals to enhance plastic dishes. Look for their table at the 2013 Show.  www.true2scale.com, www.true2scale.blogspot.com

1:12 scale Valentine's Day kits available from True2Scale.

Detail of some of the Valentine's Day kits.

This 1:12 kit includes Valentines, a box, and a basket.

1:12 heart-shaped glitter house kit. May be lit with a LED. Heart design decals and dishes are shown in the background.

Dessert tower and cupcake wrappers kit, 1:12 scale.

To see more of the Kubricans work, go here and here.

At the Show - Valentine's Day Decor

Laura Montgomery (Milestone Miniatures) shares her unique Valentine's Day miniatures with a vintage twist. She creates distinctive Holiday decor, shabby chic furniture, and other one-of-a-kind items. Laura has attended Good Sam since 2011. Look for her table at this year's Good Sam Show.   hobbyqueen@mail.com, www.milestoneminiatures.com

Charming Valentine's Day vignette with frosted donuts included.

Large heart-shaped pink filigree Valentine's Day card with ribbon and glitter.

Charming topiary with double glitter hearts--one in pink and the other in cream.

Vignette with vintage sideboard decorated for Valentine's Day.

Large heart-shaped cream filigree Valentine's Day card with ribbon, cupid and glitter.

Valentine topiary with glitter, beads and ribbon.

Red filigree heart with cupid, ribbon and glitter.

Four heart-shaped ornaments in Valentine box.

To see more of Laura's miniatures, go here.

At the Show - Valentine's Day Collectibles

Judith A. (Judy) Orr, A Fairy Walk, has been a dealer at Good Sam since 2008. She works in all three scales and offers a wide range of fantasy figures, holiday decorations, craft supplies, and much more. Most years, she offers a workshop or workshops at Good Sam for adults and children. Look for Judy at the 2013 Show.  Her table will bring a smile to your face. Judyorr@hughes.net, http://afairywalk.com

Snow White Bear sitting on red block with polka dots heart, 1" tall.

Tiny dressed doll with blonde hair sitting on a red heart block, 1" tall.

Brown bear with glazed red heart body and white silk bow, 3/4" tall.

To see more of Judy's work, go here and here.

At the Show - Valentine's Day Food in Quarter-Scale

New to Good Sam in 2011, Janet Smith of Desert Minis, Inc. specializes in creating a wide range of quarter-scale foods and kits. She makes some half-inch scale and micro scale foods. Janet offers workshops at Good Sam. Last year, she taught how to make quarter-scale fruits and candies in the Sunday morning Tools & Techniques Program. A consummate perfectionist, Janet is constantly re-inventing her line of offerings. desertminis@gmail.com, http://desert-minis.com/

Quarter-scale Valentine's Day offerings including Valentine Cake, sliced strawberry pie, strawberry cheesecake, red wine and blush wine.

Strawberry Cheesecake, two glasses of red wine, and fruit bowl with oranges, lemons, pears, green apples and red apples. Quarter-scale.

Strawberry pie with one slice on plate and two glasses of red wine, quarter-scale. (Janet now offers glasses of red, white and blush wine on her website.

Valentine Cake with two glasses of blush wine, quarter-scale.

To see more of Janet's quarter-scale offerings, go here and here.

At the Show - Exhibit

Sometimes miniaturists will bring a favorite exhibit back to the Good Sam Show that they displayed in an earlier year. That is the case with this week's delightful room box inspired by Mary Engelbreit's illustrations. The exhibit plays off the old saying, "Life is just a bowl of cherries." Like Mary Engelbreit's first greeting card, it features a chair piled high with bowls, and the legend "Life is just a chair of bowlies."

Kathleen Stats from Vallejo, California first exhibited her captivating 1:12 scale "Life is Just a Chair of Bowlies" at the 2009 Good Sam Show. Its humor is timeless and its charm is irreplaceable. Kathleen has been creating miniatures for about 40 years.  Photos by Connie Sauve, Exhibit Chairman.

To see more photos of this room box, go here.

From the Chairman - New Magazine Covers

The Good Sam show has an article in the July/August 2012 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures magazine. It is a gallery featuring the work of the fine furniture artisans who were dealers at the 2011 show. Each year, highly talented miniature furniture makers within the U.S. and from Canada, England, Europe and Japan attend Good Sam. They offer an amazing range of exceptional furniture.

This unique Butterfly Collector's table and chair from the Steampunk Collection of Brian "Rainbow Hand" and Kathy Tepper is on the cover.

In a two-part gallery, the February 2013 issue of American Miniaturist showcases the "small scale" artisans who participated in the 2012 Good Sam Show. Part one devotes 13 pages to the work of seven artisans at the show who offer kits to build small scale structures. Part two has 8 pages on the unique offerings of six artisans at Good Sam who sell small scale food, furniture, accessories and landscaping.

Rustic lighthouse in quarter-scale by Mel Yost, Mel's Miniatures, is on the cover.

To order a copy of either magazine, email usoffice@ashdown.co.uk or go to http://www.craft-club.com/usa. Downloadable issues and overseas shipping available. 

From the Show - Quarter Scale

Mel Yost, Mel's Miniatures, Sunriver, Oregon, handcrafts unique quarter-scale structures using all natural materials including local Oregon woods, cones, lava rocks, stones, etc. Each small building is placed on a natural base such as walnut burl or birds-eye maple. All structures are open at the back. He also makes 1/4" scale furniture from the same manzanita and bitterbrush wood used for his structures. Along with his wife Janet, Mel has attended Good Sam for most of the last ten years. MelvinJanet@aol.com

Lighted lighthouse photographed on showroom floor.

Stone lighthouse with whimsical stove pipe chimney, copper trimmed windows, and water feature.

Tiny tree house made with all natural materials, quarter-scale. Open at back.

Some of Mel's handcrafted cottages photographed at his table.

Tiny thatched roof cottage on birds-eye maple base, quarter-scale. Open at back.

Whimsical tree house on natural wood landscaped base, quarter-scale. Open at back. Quarter-scale.

Lighted cottage will loads of natural trims, copper windows, and stone chimney, 1/4" scale. From the 2007 Show. Photo courtesy of Connie Sauve.

Fabulous tree house made with all natural Oregon woods and other materials, 1/4" scale. From the 2007 Show. Photo courtesy of Connie Sauve.

At the Show - Store Fixtures

Mike Sickenger, M & M Specialties, Farmington, New Mexico, expertly handcrafts a wide selection of sales counters, display counters, and display shelves in 1:12 scale. His shop items come unfinished and are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. Several pieces have mirrored backs. New to Good Sam in 2012, Mike's table is great fun to explore.  msickenger@hotmail.com

At the Show - Wright Guide Miniatures

Mary Ann and Grover Ledyard, Wright Guide Miniatures, handcraft authentic looking 1:12 scale accessories. Their range of merchandise includes an old-fashioned candy store, doctor/dental office, general store, meat market, shoe cobbler, veterinary/pet shop, and much more. Every item they make is high quality, sold individually, and reasonably priced. Their general store of yesteryear was featured in the January/February 2013 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures magazine. wgminiatures@aol.com, www.wrightguideminis.com

Old-fashioned Meat Market. Photo taken on showroom floor.

1950s soda fountain. Photo taken on showroom floor.

To see more Wright Guide Miniatures go here and here.

At the Show - Wine Making Accessories

Jan Yinger, Minuette Minis, Inverness, Florida has been handcrafting inventive high quality miniatures for more than 40 years. Her lines include Bath & Beauty, Cheese, Cowboy, Seaside and much more. A family member of Mary Ann & Grover Ledyard (Wright Guide Miniatures), she was a dealer at the 2012 Good Sam Show. The Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures magazine has a delightful article on Jan's 1950's Beauty Shoppe.  jan@minuetteminis.com, http://www.minuetteminis.com

Accessories for a wine making scene or wine cellar.

2013 MiniCals Workshop Series

This is a reminder of the upcoming MiniCals Workshops through June 2013. All classes are 1-inch scale and will be held at 315 Digital Drive, Morgan Hill, CA. (The first 2013 workshop, "French Boulangerie (bakery)" was held on January 19.)

*February 16:  Experiment with fimo, kitchen clay and air dry clay making breads and cakes.  Learn coloring techniques for your baked goods.  They will look great in the display window built in January’s workshop.  Molds, paints and clays will be provided. $15

March 23:  Learn a paint/tissue/glue texturing technique for the exterior of a vignette box.  Make an egg carton/slate floor and electrify the box. $25

*April 27:  We will build and tile a sink/cabinet/wine rack and paint wine bottles.  This could be a sink/cabinet without a wine rack if that is your choice.  This will furnish the March workshop vignette. $20

May 18:  Regular solder vs. liquid solder.  Experiment with both and you will complete a simple metal project in 1 inch scale. $17

June 22:  Learn how to create decals and decorate plates. $15

A basic toolbox and gluing jig is all that is needed.
Reservations are now being taken. If you are interested email Ruth Heisch.
Shoebox sales will be offered.  Bring a sack lunch. Hot and cold beverages will be provided.
If you have questions, call Ruth @ 408-997-1004 or grouchybeartoo@aol.com
Karen Laisure@408-436-3955, cell 408-688-4799, klaisure@aol.com

Make checks payable to Ruth Heisch, 7197 Wooded Lake Dive, San Jose, CA 95120

*NOTE CHANGE OF DATE SINCE ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT.

At the Show - Exhibit

This week's enchanting exhibit--the Little Cobbler Shop--has a "once-upon-a-time" fantasy quality about it. Totally captivating in design, the Cobbler Shop looks as though it fell out of a fairytale. Photographed at the 2012 Good Sam Show by Connie Sauve, Exhibit Chairman.

"I built this little cobbler shop after seeing a shop made by Wright Guide Miniatures," says Don Silva of Modesto, California. "I made most of the furniture and cabinets. I built the building from scratch."  In 1:12 scale, it is 24-inches wide, 24-inches deep, and stands 27-inches high.