A special surprise for you!

Remember I had told you the dolls were preparing a surprise for you? Well, this morning I was told it was ready and that we had to open a certain box to find out what it is... Let's see... I have found the box:


Let's open it...


Hello! I'm a special friendship Tiniest Twinkle Doll and I have a surprise for you. Below there are two pictures of a Valentine setting. The first one is the original and the second one has five differences. Find these differences and send an e-mail with them to Maia at: twinkleminiatures@gmail.com
All correct answers will enter a draw to win a prize.
Here are the two pictures. You can click on them to make them bigger:





The person who wins will take me home. :) You can enter this game until February 14 at 10:00 A.M. (Pacific time). I will draw a name on Valentine's Day and announce the winner here on February 15th.



I can't wait to see where I will go!

The newest member of the tiniest Twinkle Doll family lives in her own box:



Let's see if we can visit...



It seems that she has just been to the sweet shop to buy some Valentine treats!

I read this fun fact about where the expression "To wear your heart on your sleeve" comes from. It seems that during the Middle ages girls and boys drew a name from a jar to find out who their Valentine would be and then they wore that name on their sleeve for a week or more. I love these tradition tidbits! Do you know any you would like to share?

February is here...

... And in Twinkleville the little dolls seem to be getting ready for a certain date!

Some dolls are being elegantly wrapped:



Others are writing cards to send:



Still another doll has been busy baking, and maybe eating too!



And I know that there's a little surprise being prepared for you too; but shhh..., it's not quite ready yet so I'll have to wait to tell you.

Almost finished

My miniatures are inside the little room! I'm so happy to see them out and in their home. :)
There are still some details I would like to add and make for the room: some shelves to fill with more goodies and a rug in case there are splashes for the doll bath!



I had made the slippers some time ago and hadn't found a place for them, but since the little girl is barefoot, I think they fit nicely here!



The doll on the chair was my Christmas gift from my husband a year ago, I was so happy... And the little bear picture on top was made by Monica Vilchis, another very talented friend form Mexico. It's not very clear in the picture but it's a 3D picture!

P.S. I just noticed that my last post was my 100th post, I don't usually see these things but I did feel excited! Thank you for following, reading and sharing your comments; it's what makes sharing what I make a joy.

P.S.2 I added a little picture on the left which I will show whenever I have items on e-bay. :)

What is the little girl doing?

It took me quite some time to decide whether the little girl was in a little corner of her own room, or of her mother's room, like you mentioned Kim. :) Finally, I have decided that she's in her room.

And this next doll tells the story of what she's doing:



She's giving her doll a bath! The clothes are neatly folded and waiting:



I then bought this wonderful little book from Jean Day. It is called " Make belief men and women" and has beautiful pictures of children doing grown-up activities. Some of these include dolls so it just seemed right for this scene.



Still a few more details to add...

What will go inside the little box?

The first piece of furniture I'm creating this little scene for is this one:



I just love the silk pillows and the soft colors! When I bought it, it didn't come all by itself which, is partly why I loved it; it came with this beautiful little girl:



Both the chaise with the doll and the next piece of furniture where made by Gabriela DiCarlo from Mexico, she makes beautiful things! I live far away now, but I was very lucky to buy several of her things.




I just loved this washstand when I saw it, the porcelain is so delicate. It didn't come will all the accessories, only with the jug and the rose, so you can imagine the fun I've had putting everything on it. I don't know how many times I've rearranged it, but I think I'm happy with it now! :)



There is still some room in the little room, I'll show you some more special items next time... What will the little girl be doing?

A new project!

I found this box at a flea market last year; I didn't know what kind of a scene I would make, but it was a nice size. I also liked that it came with plexiglas to protect it, so that was an added bonus.

I have had some furniture and a doll put away for some time now, and I just love them and wanted to make a scene to display them. The box on the outside isn't really the style of the scene, but I decided to use it anyway.
So, I'm excited about starting this new project. I won't tell you what the inside will have yet, that will be the next post, but I'll show you the beginning of the box. :)

First I wallpapered it: I really liked the delicate and faded look and the colors of this toile pattern. For the roof I used some cream rough paper, and for the floor I lay wood strips and waxed, sanded and buffed them. I really like the smell of the wax on the wood!



Here is a close-up of the floor and wallpaper.



What do you think it will have inside?

Do you remember this project?

I have a surprise today! I'm very happy to share my finished Nature Lover's Hutch with you.:)



Last Saturday I took a workshop given my Sharon Sipma-Hammel at Paddy's. We made a framed box to display miniatures. We were to bring whatever we wanted to put inside and our wallpaper and build our little box during the workshop. I chose a bird wallpaper from Jennifer's free DollsHouse printables, so that it would match the theme. And here is the result:



I really like that the frame can be either hung on the wall or displayed on a shelf and it can be opened; because although I just said it's finished, in miniatures a project isn't really ever finished. :)

Here are some more detailed pictures...


Do you remember The Little books collection?



The doors on the bottom can be opened just a little and I have put some baskets inside. What other things do you think could be kept there?

P.S. If you would like to read more about this project just type Nature Lover's Hutch into the search box.

It's time for new calendars!

At the beginning of the year I always look forward to choosing a calendar for my house, one with beautiful and inspiring pictures! One of my favorite was about moons, I've had unicorns, markets...

So naturally, I had to translate this joy into miniatures and this is how my Twinkle Magnet calendars were born. Each one has 12 different pictures and these can be changed as often as one wants to because they're magnetic.

There is a yummy chocolate one for a kitchen or shop...



A special calendar for the Teddy Bear lover!



The art collector or traveller might enjoy one on Mexican Art:



And there are two more designs!
Please click here to go to my website and see them :)
Which is your favorite one?

King's day and bread - Traditions

In Mexico and also in some other countries, the 6th of January is dia de los Reyes Magos, or King's Day.
On the 5th at night, children leave a shoe and a letter out for the three King's; they might also leave some food and water and straw for the animals. In the morning they wake up to find toys!
Another part of the tradition is the Rosca de Reyes, King's Bread. It's lovelly to get together with family and friends and eat the delicious bread with hot chocolate! There are always one or several babies inside it and whoever finds them will have to invite the others over for tamales in February.

I can't find this bread here so I decided to make one today for the first time. Here are some pictures of a very fun day:

Ready to go into the oven:


And time to take it out...


Here is my little Panoramix figure I hid inside, who will find it?


For the decoration I made some frosting to put the fruits on: cherries, citron and orange peel.


It's now ready to be enjoyed! Will you join me? There is a beautiful wintery sunset outside and the hot chocolate will be delicious!