Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Flea markets and the search for terrarium supplies


Everything about miniature worlds fascinates me. Wether in Disney movies, in children's books, in fairytales for grownups or in whimsical glass jars terrariums, I could spend hours watching them and imagining complicated, Alice in Wonderland like scenarios.
So as we went at the flea market again last Saturday, I considered finding a basket full of these miniature wonderful critters to be a sign:)


It's been so long now since I've been wanting to create dioramas, either as a terrarium or as a world in a shadow box!
Now I have to gather more supplies...twigs, acorns, some dried flowers maybe. I already have fake moss, acorn caps and some really beautiful, mysterious rocks from Iceland.

I'm thinking I could have different themes for the dioramas, like maybe a farm, then a woodland scenario with those cute bunnies:)



Definitely a cat&yarn thing scene, a water and rocks scene with the little green plastic flowers and the stork and some playful, vintage style child's room with those adorable puppies:).




I really love those mininature forest themed terrariums in recycled jars, so maybe I will start with one of those and add some clay mini toadstools too.


Among other goodies hidden in an old basket, I had found these vintage wooden stamps, one with a family of penguins and one with a group of cute rabbits. Both in very good condition and for only 50 euro cents each! There was a nice paper corner punch for the same price and I could not leave it behind so I've got it for the same price as the stamps. You can see the small corner motif near the stamped rabbits:) They seem to like it very much!




What other stuff would you use as terrarium or diorama supplies? I would love to hear about it:)








Sunday, October 7, 2012

October search for color inspiration

 I love autumn. My creative juices seem to flow better while the skies are gloomy and it's raining cats and dogs. 
This weekend, my hubby and I payed a visit to the miniature version of our city's big flea market, the neighborhood's small-but-full-of-hidden-treasures market.
The clouds were hanging heavy on the led sky and we knew we had to hurry. Only a few tables were full with the usual second (or third) hand stuff: clothes, bags, toys, cutlery, paintings, a pair of vintage Dior sunglases, jewelry and some vintage camera lenses.


At this last table, my husband lingered more than the usual 30 seconds, so I knew he must have found something very interesting. He bought two lenses, a 1973's Soligor 28 mm 2.8 and a 1983's Helios44m 56mm.


Now, those numbers didn't mean much to me then, but, as we got home soaked by the pouring rain that had just started, I've decided I wanted to learn more.


So when the storm toned down, we went to a walk around the block, to test the camera by taking some shots that were on my autumn photo check list for a while...
A reason why I love this season so much is because whenever my inspiration levels are low, all I have to do is take my camera and go outside.    


We live close to the forest but the beauty of fall is that every little plant that I wouldn't normally notice has something to show off for, so a walk around the neighborhood will do.


The colors and textures of foliage and fruits in the trees are amazing. I like watching all the transformations plants go through and taking photo samples of their color palletes.
It was a very good opportunity to test my new polka dots rainboots, also:)


Don't you think autumn is the coziest of seasons, with the sweaters, wool socks, hot cocoa, umbrellas, fog, rain, warm colors, hoodies and boots?


All these photos we taken with the Soligor prime lens (except the flying birds one, ©Elle Moss), and I must say, the 10 euros Atti payed for it were a bargain! It takes very crisp shots and the manual focusing is definitely more satisfying then the automatic one.


So, by the time it was dark, I had ended up with these photos and some brand new crafting ideas for my shop:)




You can find the felted acorns featured above (and more handmade rustic home decor) in my Etsy shophere.




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