~ Summer Lovin ~

HI sweet friends! I hope you've all been enjoying the first week of Summer! I've been catching some beautiful sun rays in between baking and creating minis, relishing the longer days , and catching fireflies at dusk :) I just love ...love... love... Summer! Just as much as I love Minis :) The house is already for summer, the vegetable garden is looking good, and there's always fresh flowers for a dinner centerpiece dining alfresco. I couldn't ask for anything more....well I could, lol, but I won't :) I've been pretty busy with all of the above, oh yeah and 3 big kids, lol, so to get back out and enjoy the weather tonight I'll let the pictures do most of the talking....

I seem to be very addicted to "summer style" Miniatures lately and creating them is such a joy! So here's a tiny tour of my new summer style sweets...I hope you enjoy them just as much as I did making them!

I made this Shabby Chic bakery counter and then filled it with pretty pink and pastel sweets....Now I have to make myself one for Summer Rose :)



I love pink cake , frosting and roses ....do you?




Sweets and ..... more sweets :)


My daughter Melanie calls these { below } Cherry "Muffy's" and honestly , I like that better than muffins, so here's some Cherry Muffys :) Spread a little butter or honey and you have a delicious breakfast :)


Or....... You could have chocolate chips instead , hee hee he :)



And yep, just as the sign says..... Cupcakes ARE the sweet life....



I think I went a little muffy crazy this Summer, but I received some emails asking for more for my etsy shop, so I made a LOT :)

These below were part of a setting in an old style Soda Pop box, and adding the other goodies gave it that perfect little look for a Summer table outside.



I love fresh Linens hanging to dry in the summer sun, they always look so pretty and vintage sweet! Not to mention the delicious scent the summer air gives them too! And like most things these days , whatever I love in my big girl life, I try in Mini..... so I created a shabby chic linen rack styled like a vintage ladder and draped all my vintage fabrics over them to get the same look in "small" :)


Then I baked 2 crumb pies and let them sit pretty on an antique window-shutter tray which I made to coordinate with it all. I bet this idea could be in used in my real kitchen too, hmmm, the creative wheels are turning lol...




Whew!! I've had a busy couple of weeks, and much more on my "to-do" list, but I won't forget to smell the flowers and do lots of summer lovin too! I hope you all do the same!



Now it's time to relax and have some tea and cake outside.... I wish you all could come!!



Happy Summer everyone!!..... I wish you good health and a blessed week!

Love ,

Cynthia xo

~ Summer decorating - Mini style ~

Happy Summer friends! (well it's almost official ) Here in my house Summer begins when the kids are done with school and the temperatures get scorching, and when all the sights and scents of it all surround me... I've taken that love of Summer and poured it into a new Miniature I completed this week. I'll take you on a little photo tour of it through different back drops taken from Victoria magazine and Romantic Homes. Hopefully you'll get some decorating ideas for your big girl home too :) or get inspired with a table-scape or setting your own Summer scene somewhere. After years of styling and designing homes , I'm always so happy to bring that experience to my Miniatures and as you probably already know , I even love doing it more in "small" :)

This table is titled "Summer Daydreams"..... so lets pretend a little....

Here's the table all set up on our cottage porch :) {backdrops from Victoria and Romantic Homes}



Set in a sweet little living room, all ready for company.....Come on in and relax and have a dessert and a cool drink.... :) There's fruit infused sparkling water, pink lemonade, peach sugar pie bake, cherry muffins, carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting , strawberry vanilla cake, and lots of other little goodies waiting :)





Or I can set it all up outside and we can relax and have a beautiful lunch in the summer fields :) Picnic style...




Or maybe by the lake?



Or .... On the deck :) whichever your fancy, I'll have your sweets and yummys waiting.... :)

I love using small flags , country cottage accents, and chippy vintage accessories to decorate , they just add such an inviting and welcoming feel!




I'd love to have a porch with white clapboard siding too...my favorite for sure!



I'd love to have each and every one of you over for a bloggerette luncheon!!....but for now, it's a virtual one ..... and I hope you enjoyed your stay :)


Come by anytime! :)

Happy Summer everyone!!


I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead and are enjoying all the sweets and delights of Summer!

Much love and thanks!

Cynthia xo

~ Miniature and big girl Pantry love ~

HI friends! I usually let a week or so go by before I post again, but I finished a project today and just had to share :) I'm one of those people that wake up at 3am with a creative idea and have to write it down right away. Then I can peacefully go back to rest. This ones been in my head and notes for awhile but I've had custom orders to tend to, so this week I squeezed in some time to finish my Miniature dream Pantry.... It's already been sold and getting ready to be shipped off to it's new home, but it's a favorite of mine. I adore Pantry's with screen doors and I've had a picture of one on my side bar for years, fully intending to fit one into my own "real" kitchen, but it looks like I got to the Mini first :) I hope you enjoy!


I made this hutch/pantry completely from scratch and it was a bit of a challenge but super rewarding once I got to the decorating part. I like to photograph the Miniatures in natural light as it gives them a glow that the real house has and makes them very life like. As I type this on my lap top, {I'm on the deck} the sun is just starting to set and I can see this little Miniature on the shelf inside catching the last warm light and I'm thinking maybe it would be so pretty too, verses the morning light I took these with? But this glass of wine I have next to me refuses to let me go and get up and take new photos :) , so here goes....

I white washed a bit of real screening to add that shabby chic vintage touch....


The morning sun coming up and making it come to life...



A little spoon for a handle... Just like my big girl wish list Pantry had....



Room for freshly made Jams, canned vegetables....


Warm from the oven baked breads and muffins and cookies too :)



A tiny little corn muffin too...



And lots of other little sweets and pretties to bring her to life....





I added a little print to the back wall of the middle shelf, just like I'd want in a real one...



I hand-painted a Miniature Le Creuset dutch oven a pale shabby french blue and added other details to give it that vintage charm I have so come to love....and with a few other touches I was happy and yet sad when she was done. {Yes, I call all my Mini's "she", not sure why, but probably because before they leave my home they are like my little babies } and at the end of the day yesterday she was complete and ready for Etsy. I get attached to them and have a long list of ones to make again for myself, but I know they go to wonderful homes so I'm happy and feel very blessed to do this! I hope you enjoyed my little tour of my Miniature Pantry :)



Here are a few big girl Pantry's that I have on my list to design in Miniature and they are fabulous for big girl homes too :)



{bhg}

And the big girl Pantry of my dreams?? well of course :) Ruthann's from Sugar Pie farmhouse ! Yes Ruthie, I intended to try this one in Mini too :)

But before I do that, I have a pie safe to make in Mini for a customer and I love this pic below, so I immediately wrote down "add bows and ribbon to pies" on my list...so I can sleep and not get up at 3am as often as I do :)

{pinterest}

After the pie safe is complete, I'm so excited about my next Miniature.... Lets just say this picture below was my Inspiration and also a new favorite blog of mine too! If you don't already know the blog "Simply Me", head right over there, what a beautiful home and such gorgeous pages of inspiration too!

Well I'm off to finish my Friday night glass of wine and watch the sunset...all the kids are out and about and this is about as quiet as it gets for now, so I'm going to enjoy :)

With love and friendship,

Cynthia xo