Finch Express office...

I am finally back home and am sharing with you some photos I have meant to take but had time to do the scene. This little aged greenhouse from Hallmark I created about 8? years ago, when Hallmark sold these little greenhouse structures in their stores. I took one and aged it into a witches greenhouse but when my Felix Brownie and my Realpuki bjd's came along, it now has become my little Wren & Marigold's Finch Express office. Here Wren has her pumpkin briefcase, her mailbox that is an in/out box - a pumpkin of course, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin blotter for her desk and so on. All of these items were made by Tori West of MiniMotion, wonderful artist in paperclay.
I did all of the exterior and interior stonework and made all of the books and the book easel, a friend made the potion cabinet which Wren uses when she needs a potion to make the mail travel faster and pixie dust won't work! I am also working on the pumpkin house for her and Marigold, it is coming along slowly.
On this structure, I aged it completely with paints, and also used transparency and glass paints with liquid lead to create the stained glass effect on the windows. Enjoy the pictures!
Lisa

Pumpkin House progress..what I'm working on...

I am currently working on Wren's little pumpkin House, and have been sketching and figuring out how I wish this to look. So I've started with a circular floor, made of paperclay.

The floor will look like a stone floor in the pumpkin house, and be round. This will be the place where Finch Express is located, and where Wren and Marigold take care of all the mail for the dolls in the Pumpkin patch at Pumpkin Hill. So I was thinking of a cross between a Tudor cottage with vines, thatch roof, timbers, crumbling stone but with full size shrubs/flowers about as it is a fairy house dwelling. Perhaps a lookout finch, or little finches with baskets on their sides strapped carrying rolls of mail and packages to the inhabitants of Pumpkin Hill. As well as mice mail carriers. 
I am working on one of the birds, and he is coming along nicely. He is going to be made of paperclay as well as the floor and exposed stonework on the pumpkin house. 

I was especially surprised at how well his features came out in the paperclay. His feet will be made of wire. Hopefully big enough for one of the mice postal workers to ride on his back. 
On another note, Wren has been sewing rose petals for a new dress for herself.

I am hoping to bring home a companion Realpuki from Denver Doll soon for Wren, she is very lonely and has been telling me about a friend she wishes to come and live with her. Also, she has become demanding of late and said she needs a pair of wings. 
Back to the drawing board to see if I can keep up with the ideas I need to create!
~Lisa

Marigold & Wren...& in search of fairy dwellings...

Today since the day was so beautiful, I thought some pictures of Wren and Marigold having a day off from the mailroom of Finch Express would be in order. I have been doing alot of thinking of how I would like to use them, and have been doing some sketching , creating, and basically dreaming about my next project. 

It isn't often they get to wonder in the fields and swing on tree branches and have fun! Honestly I wish I were sometimes small enough to enjoy the tree branches with them, lol. The next project I want to do that is part of a much larger one, is finish the pumpkin house I started for Wren a long time ago. I got no farther than cutting the foam pumpkin. Yesterday I cut the back of it out, and cut a cardboard floor in it that will soon be stone. This will be the 'hub' of Finch Express with a Tudor style feel to it. I have alot of ideas to sketch out on this one, so hopefully it will come together with the story soon.
Speaking of Magical places, I have begun to notice I 'look' for them now...places of Wren and Marigold, I like to say. Where a small Hagrid or Hobbitt would come out and greet me and pour me a cup of tea. In my travels, I found these marvelous tree roots growing in an embankment on a country road I sometimes go up as a shortcut. It looks like Arietty, Pod, and Homily just need a shoe to wedge into these roots and they would be comfortable.
Enjoy the pictures!

Enjoy the pictures! ~Lisa

Cake & Candy for Pixies & Mice...

Above is a photo of what I have been working on- candy and cake for my fantasy characters at Pumpkin Hill. The cake is pink, with a slice cut out with candy striped candles that Wren, my little Pixie fairy, is pulling out after celebrating her birthday with Minuette Mouse- who of course, loves to dance.

This cake is done in a smaller scale of 1:12 scale, my tiny bjd's are just the correct size to fit in a dollhouse and enjoy these treats! (For those unfamiliar with tiny ball jointed dolls, Wren is a Realpuki doll and Minuette is made by Dollfactory. Both were purchased at

 Denver Doll Emporium.

More pictures are following-

These are not yet available on Etsy, as I am still perfecting the candy and candles. I went for a sort of fantasical type of cake like a fairy would have, or a very pink loving mouse would want. I am back on the creating wagon and have more ideas than my hands can sculpt! Enjoy!

What I've been up to the past few months....

First, I would like to apologize to those following this blog on being awol for so very long. When I looked at my last blog entry and the goals I had set myself, it is little wonder. An artist dealing with the frustration of not having time to create needs to get serious goals in order, or else, as I have found myself in this situation, your life runs you! lol...so with alot of organizing with hubby and I on board, we have achieved some of those goals or the beginnings.
Above is the result of some of that time management. I was able in the last two or three months to sit down and create. And yes, I threw away alot before I was satisfied, but it felt good. I first created just for myself. There are so many projects and scenes I want to do in 1:6 scale! As a result of this- I began listing items on Etsy in my Etsy shop since I found that there were many doll people who wanted the type of items I was creating.
This blog itself as well as my other blogs- The One Sixth Scale Dollhouse and King William Miniatures blog
will be going thru a transformation too. As I get more organized and have more photos taken, I will be going from there and tweaking my sites a bit too. This blog will become more of a representation of updates on my work, handcrafted, for 1:12 scale as well as 1:6 and possibly the larger doll scales as well, depending on how well received it is.
If you have a miniature commission you wish me to work on for your diorama or dollhouse, please email me at pumpkinhillstudios@msn.com

By the way, don't forget our site on Ebay at our Ebay store Pumpkin Hill Studios as well as our HUGE list of
eBAY Auctions ! Currently I have 24+ listed of damaged, flawed large scale Bespaq doll furniture items as well as the curios, and various vintage items as well on auction. I will also be adding more!

Don't forget to visit our Pumpkin Hill Studios FACEBOOK PAGE  and follow us!
~Lisa