So in just about 6 months, I've managed to attract 50 followers! A big hat tip to Mary for being number 50.  You all are wonderful.  All the humor, great suggestions, encouragement and of course, complements are so very much appreciated.  Look for a give-away coming up very soon. (I promise.) And I've got some more great posts to share with you as well.

'Love' of Art, A Gallery Exhibit

Love, love, love.

I created an exhibit to celebrate the beauty and artistry of typography.  As you can see the word featured in this exhibit is...LOVE. The sculptures I used here are inspired by the work of Robert Indiana who first designed a Christmas card in 1964 for the Museum of Modern Art. 

The now iconic image was placed on a US post stamp in 1973.

He later created a sculpture made from steel and since 1970 it has remained on exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Many recreations and parodies of the sculpture have been erected internationally.

The original 'Love' sculpture

Welcome to studio7! The gallery curator 
keeps client lists and inventory on a laptop.

'B' Love

Love Faith

Details: gold/white 'Love' sculptures were Christmas ornaments from Urban Outfitter; small silver 'Love' sculpture was a place card holder from party supply chain; chair is ReacJapn; Desk from The Container Store; Laptop from Rement and pedestal is a napkin ring from West Elm.

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Challenge Reveal: Design Within (my) Reach

Magazine/Catalog Challenge:

Many may be elbow-deep in major undertakings such as the DHE Creative Competition, Greenleaf's Spring Fling Contest or the Miniatures.com Creatin Contest. However, after the fun and near immediate gratification from the wallpaper challenge, Cyd of My Mini Mod Pod took up the gauntlet and suggested we recreate a scene from a catalog or magazine in miniature.  The deadline was May 1st. Fortunately, in the realm of challenges for inspiration and fun, deadlines are shall we say flexible. Ha ha. Thanks also to Megan of Mini Modern Houses and her insatiable archival needs, no challenge is ever forgotten.

I'm so captivated by the recreated in miniature scenes.  Be sure to check out the Home Beautiful Magazine scene recreated by The Shopping Sherpa in the link below. It continues to be a stunner, even today.  When it actually comes down to doing a scene of my own, I always seem to get stuck. I feel my inventory of miniatures furnishings is too small or my miniature craftsmanship skills are too limited.  That being said, my approach to this challenge was...let's just call it...minimalist.

modern and miniature Design Within (my) Reach

This was taken from a July 2007 Design Within Reach catalog. Hence, the title of this post. Why do I have such an old catalog? For research, of course! (I'm not so sure if the DWR.com website was the powerhouse of resources it has become today.) 

Like everyone else, there were elements to this set up that I had to make by hand. The "Little Field of Flowers" rug required that I painstakingly punched each and every tiny leaf from scrapbook embellishments---which were themselves leaves made from mulberry paper.  I also made two of the books.  So there you have it!

Check out other miniature catalog/magazine layouts at these blogs:  Jazzi Mini, Left Coast Mini and My Mini Mod Pod

We were also inspired by the works created by these great blogger pre-challenge:  Raum für Raum and The Shopping Sherpa

More Details:  bamboo floor samples from Lowe's; Eames chair by ReacJapan; yellow book from Kaleidoscope House Collection by Bozarts Toys; rug made by me from eco-friendly felt covered with leaf-punched scrapbook embellishments, both by Recollections.

Gaming for Klout

I finally took the plunge and decided to join Klout.com. This web application encourages you to interact with your online communities as a way to earn influence.  We do this everyday and some of us spend a considerable amount of time in our online communities, all for the love of our hobby (or hobbies) collecting and making miniatures.  Of course, there's a healthy dose of crafting, design,  sewing and photography added to the mix.  

From the Klout.com webpage

I quickly realized while navigating my way through the site, that the creators by using the principals of gamification gave me the incentive to interact with my online communities while simultaneously promoting their application.  Yes, you can skip prompts to tweet or post to your Facebook timeline but sometimes these actions are wrapped into earning rewards or accomplishing certain tasks.  There's a mixture of positive and negative opinions about Klout.com.  For those of you who have used it, I'd love to hear your opinions.

From the Klout.com website

I see it as worthwhile because as your Klout score increases, you become eligible for some nice perks in the form of access to various products or services without any obligation to promote them.  Yes, Klout gives you the option to do so with a recommended disclosure statement.  However, receiving the perk is not contingent upon promotion.  I have only received 2 perks so far.  They include 1) a pack of co-branded (you can pay to remove their brand) business cards for the cost of shipping ($5.00 US) from Moo.com and 2) an invite into a beta-testing group for a new web application. Simply by doing what you love, blogging and interacting with other miniaturists, you could be earning perks that might interest you.  Something to consider, at least.  Cruise on over to Klout.com, it might be a good fit for you.

Note: This is my second post to mention Moo.  Their cards are truly little design gems and if you want to really stock up here's a link to a discount just from me and Moo...http://www.moo.com/share/tcj6qc 

Will You Have Some Tea?

I added another area to my livin' easy scene. While sitting on the couch enjoying the cool breeze blowing through the open French doors, here's what I see as I look back towards the interior of the house. A bistro table and credenza make a great place to prepare that perfect cup of tea.

Details: credenza, white vase and tea set by Dolls House Emporium; tray is the top of an AMAC box from The Container Store; orange vases are Kaleidoscope House Accessories by Bozart Toys; chairs by Reac Japan; tabletop is from a coaster set; table legs are napkin rings by West Elm; mat underneath the table is a sample from The Rubber Flooring Company; and the mug on the table is an eBay find.

Create A Virtual Business Card

I recently attended a conference where Victor Hernandez, a producer and journalist at CNN gave a talk about various social media tools and communities.  One in particular really stood out, About.me. This application allows you to create a sleek virtual business card.  You can upload a striking background image, write a bio about yourself and then link all (or a few) of the online communities in which you participate. This has so many applications.  I created an about.me page primarily for my professional life.  Then I did something I'd been thinking of doing for a while.  What is that you ask?  I purchased my name as a domain.  I'm no politician or celebrity but why on earth would I want anyone else to own my name online, ya know?!  Anyway, I registered the domain name and then immediately went in and pointed it to my about.me url.  Voila...business card online!

As seen on the home page for http://about.me/

Back to our tiny corner of the social web world, here's a scenario for our hobby (or cottage industry) as miniaturist. I can see a striking background photograph of one of your favorite dollhouses or miniature scenes.  Many of you have a fabulous eye and take the most beautiful photographs.  Yes, Shopping Sherpa and Mini Dork I'm talking to both of you. And after all that hard work why not show off your prized dollhouse creation before you sell it off on eBay, right? *Wink to MadforMod* Write up a quick bio (maybe you'll just copy and paste your Blogger profile) and you can add an additional smaller picture, similar to an avatar or company logo. *Nod to callsmall*  Then link your blog, your Facebook profile or page, your Etsy, your Pinterest, and your twitter accounts.  As you add accounts, it will identify your friends, fans followers from other communities who have created About.me pages so you can add them to your favorites. When you share your About.me page as a part of your email signature or your twitter profile, there are analytics to track how many visitors and from what locations are coming to check your page.  There's also a mobile app for your iPhone so you'll have your favorites with you on the go.  Activation of the auto locate function will even allow you to find out what contacts are near you. Now, I know I began this post talking about a virtual business card but as a bonus for signing up with About.me, for the price of shipping ($5.00 US) you can order a set of Moo.com cards featuring a QR code to your About.me page. How cool is that?!

I'm enjoying the application so far and thought I'd share it with you guys in case you had not discovered it already. How fun will it be taking your About.me profile and QR code cards to the next miniature show or meet-up? Check it out and tell me what you think, perhaps there are other applications, I have not considered.

Livin' Easy

One of my contacts on Flickr, MurderWithMirrors often uses magazine pages as backgrounds for her miniature scenes.  I've decided to try this technique myself.  My inspiration---the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day is fast approaching. This has me thinking about carefree outdoor living.  I envisioned an airy room that with grand doors that provide for seamless indoor-outdoor living.  I used floor tile samples from Lowe's and The Rubber Flooring Company.  Add in a few standard furniture pieces then sprinkle with an accessory or two...voila!  I think it turned out nicely.  What do you guys think?

Setting up the shot.

Details: flooring from Loew's; rug from PRDminiatures; table made from West Elm napkin rings and The Rubber Flooring Company sample; sofa and vases from Kaleidoscope House by Bozarts Toys,  and wire basket from Etsy.