Friday, October 10, 2014

NAME Day 2014: Cozy Corner


On October 4th, roughly a dozen members of OCBMG gathered together to work on the Cozy Corner for the 5th Annual NAME Day 2014. NAME Day is when members of NAME get together all on the same day and build the same kit. Last year, we put together a cart. This year, it was a corner. Our members put together all three scales of the Cozy Corner -- 1:48, 1:24, and 1:12. Here you can see the 1:48 version. So tiny:


Our wonderful and generous host was Edna Perkins. She made sure we all had a fantastic time together:


We gathered at the Baright Public Library in Ralston, Nebraska, where there was plenty of room for us to stretch out. Big thanks to Baright for use of their facilities!


So many different corners will be made. In OCBMG, we have a bazillion different ideas:


Looks like some of us got farther along than others...


Here is a Cozy Corner that was on display to help us see the possibilities. This beauty was made by Edna Perkins:


And we were all treated to official 2014 NAME Day pins, which are so fun to add to our collections:


In the library entryway, OCBMG and the Shoe Box Bunch are holding a display to celebrate National Dollhouse Miniatures Month:


And speaking of displays, don't forget our one-day display in Papillion TOMORROW (October 11, 2014). You can get all of the information about that event HERE. We hope to see you there!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Nebraska State Day 2015: Sign Up Info


The Omaha-Council Bluffs Miniature Guild proudly invites you to join us for Nebraska State Day 2015! We always have great fun at our State Day events, and we'd be happy to have you join us. For Nebraska State Day 2014 (read all about it HERE), we had miniaturists from five different states and Canada! I wonder how many people we'll get from across the country next year? Let's see if I can entice you...

Above, you can see the sample project. We'll be creating the "Screened-In Porch" next September. I'm already very excited about this project because the sample is so well done. I forgot to make a note of who made this one, but GREAT JOB!!!

It looks like there will be a skylight in the roof, which is always a fun detail:


You can see from this angle that the porch IS connected to the house "inside." I can see wallpaper and a nice inside window curtain there. If you already have an existing dollhouse that you've always wanted to add a porch to, I can see how this could easily be bashed onto an existing structure. Very clever, indeed:


The other side is full-screen. I have no idea what they used for the screening, but it's perfect in 1:12 scale. I'm excited to learn what it is at the event:


Think of all of the wonderful goodies you could put on the porch. You could go Bohemian, old-school country, wildly modern, or choose another culture to represent. The possibilities are endless:


Right now, I truly wish I could squeeze myself in there on the wicker bench. I can already feel the cool breeze coming through the screen:


Interested? GOOD!

Here are the details:

"Screened-In Porch"

22st Annual Nebraska State Day
September 19, 2015
8:30am to 4pm
8100 Giles Road
LaVista, NE 68127
You do NOT need to be a member of NAME
to participate in this event!

Registration: $70.00 (includes morning coffee, lunch, project, tote bag, souvenir gift, and more). This event is limited to 35 registrants, and the deadline for registration is August 15, 2015. Cancellation/refund no later than September 1, 2015.

Gift Exchange: Make 21 miniatures (all alike) that would go into the Porch (no kits or printies) and if you participate you will take home 21 gifts for your Porch. This is NOT mandatory, but it's a lot of fun. 

Make check payable to: Nebraska State Day
Mail to: Ada Vicars, 13412 Montclaire Drive, Omaha, NE 68144


For further information about Nebraska State Day 2015, please contact:


You can also leave a comment here, and I will direct your questions to the proper people. Please let us know if you're interested in being a vendor (must be a registrant). It's always fun to be able to shop for your project immediately!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

On behalf of my fellow OCBMG members, I'd like to thank all of our fantastic State Day committee members for planning this special event. You do a great job, and I know this project will be blast! THANK YOU!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Nebraska State Day 2014: Create a Shop Event


On September 20, 2014, the Omaha-Council Bluffs Miniature Guild hosted the 21st Annual Nebraska State Day in LaVista, Nebraska. The project for the day was "Create a Shop," and the group was able to get their structures up and on their way by the end of the event. We had 33 attendees, and some traveled very far to be with us. We had visitors from Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Vancouver, B.C., Canada! That's five different states AND a whole different country! WHOOT!! The event was fantastic fun, and we'd love to share some photos of our time together.

Above, you can see a finished shop that was on display. The structure and methods of building and decorating this shop are truly genius. The outside is one structure, and the inside is another. Because of this, you can "swap out" in the inside of the shop if you like and have multiple stores over time. So fun!

The outside of the shop was made with high-quality foamcore. There were siding lines drawn on one side, and nothing on the other side. The walls were taped to the front to ensure the siding all lined up:


The first step was to cut along the pencil siding lines with a sharp knife. Cork-backed rulers are so helpful in these situations:


We all received one of these handy tools that was cut to 25 degrees on one end and 30 degrees on the other end. What to do with it? Make siding of course:


You take the tool and run it along the cut you made in the foamcore. It pushes the foamcore down, and what looks like siding is left. It seriously does look like siding, people. Love this tool, and love the process!

Next, it was time to get the walls up:


Some members chose to do other decor outside instead of siding. The houses can easily take paper or other methods to get the facade the way you want it:


The room was buzzing with happy miniaturists:


At noon, we took a break and headed to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. We all had a great time catching up and talking about minis:


Back at the event, we raffled off 10 beautiful items donated by members of OCBMG and The Shoe Box Bunch. Thank you SO much for your kind donations:


Then it was back to construction! Here is what the shell of the shop looks like. We all received a small battery-operated light to attach to the main structure. This is what the shops look like when their internal boxes are pulled out:


Here is the inside of a Christmas shop. You can see that the piece along the top is obvious when it's pulled out of the house, but you don't see it at all when the box is inside:


Here is what the back looks like when the box is slid inside. It's not exactly beautiful, but who goes around and peeks at the backs of every house on display? Not me. Unless I'm taking pictures for my guild blog. Ha!


Here is a box-in-progress:


The external structure went together just as fast. The pieces of wood add extra support:


And here it is all together:


I'm not a very straight-knife kind of person, so please excuse my wobbly siding lines, but trust me, people with steadier hands made BEAUTIFUL siding with their little dowel tools:


It's time for internal decoration!! You can make any kind of shop you want, so let the ideas roll:


The outsides take paint just as well as wood, so paint them any color you please:


Here are the fabulous shops that were on display. At the beginning of this post, you saw a train shop. Here is a doll shop:


A jewelry shop:


A Nebraska Cornerhuskers shop:


Yep, that's a big football trophy in the window!


A Christmas shop:


A clock shop:


A ladies shop:


And another lovely Christmas shop:


We were also blessed to have two vendors this year. We were sad to not have our beloved Wanda Leighton working her usual table, but we were happy to have Harlan Schleuter:


And Ron Chase:


Ron's 1:48 haunted houses are amazing:


We did a gift exchange this year. Whoever wanted to participate brought 21 gifts and received 21. More than that participated, so some people got a mixture of different goodies than others. It was so fun to open the gifts and plan how to use them in our shops:


Here is a small sample of some of the goodies we received through the gift exchange and totebags:


All of the gifts were phenomenal, but I have to take moment to call out this set of miniature tools made by Lois Andres, Edna Bonney, Nancy Covolo, and Del Faris. It looks SO real:


There's even a wee foam brush! Too cute:


Overall, it was a very fun and happy day for all of us. Thank you to the OCBMG, The Shoe Box Bunch, and the State Day Committee of Lois Andres, Edna Bonney, Del Faris, Georgia Gregg, Syd Hulla, Harlan Schleuter, and Ada Vicars. Your hard work, creative energies, and giving hearts are much appreciated by all! This pretty smile below says it all:


Want to join us next year? You don't have to be a member of NAME to come to Nebraska State Day 2015. Stay tuned for more details coming up soon. We will be making this incredible screened-in porch. Imagine the possibilities:


---------------------------------------------

We'd also like to thank Faith Presbyterian Church and their staff for allowing us the use of their beautiful facility. THANK YOU!