One last Day to Enter the Give-Away!

Hi All,

Just wanted to remind everyone that my give-away ends tomorrow.  Go to this post to see details on how to enter to win this throne/chair (scroll to the bottom to see give-away info).

Good luck to everyone!  I will draw a winner tomorrow in the afternoon!

hugs, Ara and the Addamses

Gomez's Train Set and A Give-Away!!!!

 Hello All,   As I said I have been trying to do little things for the Mini-mansion during nap times and when my DH gets home to watch busy little Bella.  One of my most recent projects was finishing Gomez's train set.   Whether in the tv show or the Movies, Gomez is always seen with a train set.  He blows them up as recreation or as a stress reliever!  I knew it was a necessity for the mansion!

I saw a few working trains at a recent miniature show but they only went in an oval and had a huge battery pack that had to be hidden.  I decided to do a train set that looked like it had recently been blown up and left for lurch to clean up :)

Here it is, complete with ignition box!

Here is a photo from a higher vantage point so you can see the detail.  A tunnel, bridge, and rail road house all sits with in a 3"x3" square.

You can also see a corner where explosives have recently gone off.  The bridge is blown and a single train car is dangling off of the side.

Below you can see a photo of where it sits in Gomez's office.  Initially I thought it would fit nicely in the alcove in the back.... but it turned out to be smaller than I thought and just looked dwarfed in the large alcove.

So here is where the give-away comes in.  I have recently passed 300 followers on blogger and I am ready to celebrate!  Especially to say thanks to all of you who have hung on through my long absences!  Here's what you need to do to enter:

Leave a comment on this post with a suggestion on what I should do in the empty alcove (this will get your name into the drawing).  I have also pointed out there is a small library (which you can see here) on the other side of the office wall so I am trying to think of something other than book shelves.  I will be watching the movies and tv shows to brainstorm BUT I know you guys always have great ideas so bring 'em on!

And here is the prize for the give-away.  It's actually a piece from the mini-mansion.  Originally I was using it as Gomez's chair for the living room (you can see it in the house here) but its not working with my vision for that room anymore.  It's a big chair! lol.  This would be perfect for anyone doing a scene with a Seer or Palm reader, etc... as the back of the chair is decorated with 4 hands.  It's painted gold so it will definitely catch the eye in any room display.

Ps.  If you link to this give-away in one of your blog posts let me know and I will put your name into the drawing a second time!

I will pull the name for the winner a week from now (5-24-12) and post the name Thursday afternoon!  Maybe I will have Bella pick the name! Have a great weekend all, Ara and the Addamses :)

Progress and the hatred of baseboards!

 So I pulled my Addams Family mansion out of the depths of my office last week and told myself I WILL DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE THIS WEEK!!  And I have!  I have done a few of the projects I have been avoiding because I knew they would be tedious and time consuming. 

First of all I finally put the columns in on the second floor.  Here you can see the before and after.  As you can see I was able to leave the dust relatively undisturbed lol.

 Here is the same room aged and with the furniture put back in (Gomez's office).

 I also worked on the office ceiling which took a while as well.  I used a punch, a grid, paint and old business cards to create the look of an old tin ceiling. (The house is upside down in case you were confused at the pictures below!)

 On the other side of the weapons wall in Gomez's office I have made a library nook.  I added this extra book case built-in and I think it makes it very cozy! 

I also worked on the bottom floor trying to age it a little more.  Here is a fun pic of the stairs.  Luckily for me, the more dust this project gathers, the more authentic it looks lol!

Anyway, as the title of this post suggests, I am now completely sick of putting in base boards.  There will be several more fun projects in between now and the baseboards on the 3rd floor! 

Finally found Gomez's Office Chair!

I know I haven't mentioned this much but I have been searching for the perfect office chair for Gomez for a while now. I have tried out several but none have done justice to the space and the desk in the space.

Gomez is known for his grand business ventures and he definitely needs a space to have meetings and conduct his many affairs. In the future I hope this room will also somehow hold his model trains that he crashes.

Anyway, I know that I make chairs in my miniatures business.... but sometimes I just can't see what I want for my own projects until I see it done by someone else..... if that even makes sense lol. I found this little guy tucked away in an antique store for $10. I am pretty happy with the purchase!

Also, I would like to point out that the lovely papers and candles on Gomez's desk are from Victoria of Dark Squirrel's Miniature Asylum. I was the lucky girl who won a giveaway and the items are just perfect for the Addams Mansion! Thank you Victoria!

Also, I have passed 300 followers recently and hope to have a give-away soon! Not sure what I'll give away though. Suggestions are welcome. Hugs to all, Ara

Happy 100th Birthday to Charles Addams!

I would feel horrible if I didn't get on and wish Happy 100th Birthday to Charles Addams, the man who created the family I so dearly love! I wish he were still here to see how his characters have lived on into the 21st Century. And now they're even on Broadway!

If you would like to read more about Mr. Addams you can go to the Wiki page on him here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Addams

or to the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation here:
http://www.charlesaddams.com/
(you may not be able to get on today... looks like they're servers can't handle the traffic!)

I highly suggest you look into Charles Addams and the wonderful contributions he made to the world of cartooning and art. What a wonderful mind!


Happy Birthday to Charles Addams from the Mini-Mansion! We miss you!
(I don't know what's in that cake..... but I'm sure he would love it :)

Sculpting Smokey

Well I finished him! Meet Smokey, the Addams' stuffed polar bear.



Some of you might be thinking "I thought they had a brown bear" OR you might be thinking "Ara must think everyone else watches the addams family episodes over and over like she does - I didn't even know they had a stuffed bear." Either way, you're right :) They did have a stuffed brown bear in season 1 of the show, but in season 2 they all the sudden had a Polar bear (which they eventually accidentally set on fire with a flame thrower). He is not to be confused with their polar bear rug on the floor (his name is Bruno).



I started with a wire frame covered in masking tape for bulk. Then I added clay over the top and sculpted to the best of my ability. I cooked him and then added paint and details on the base to make him look like a real piece of taxidermy. I thought about flocking him but the clay ended up looking really softish so I didn't want to mess it up with flocking.



He may only be 8 1/2" tall but as you can see below he has quite a presence in the mini world. I am so excited to be finally adding some Addams detail to the mansion! One less thing on the to -do list! Hooray!

Moved my work space....

We're still adjusting to Miss Bella being here... and one of those adjustments was figuring out how to protect the baby from the minis, and protect the minis from the baby! So I worked my tail off cleaning out the back room of my house to move my office into it. Before it was in what should have been our dining area (we're an eat in front of the tv type of family).


DH got some shelves hung for me and I got my retro floor lamp installed so we're good to go now! We also got the mansion snug in its own corner. There's actually more room for me to spread out here I think. The dogs have to live underneath the whole thing but they're no trouble. I like to say they live in the 'basement'.



I have also made an extensive to-do list. Now a days it seems like if its not on a list... it won't get done. My first to-do is a sculpt I have been putting off that is absolutely necessary for the completion of this mansion. I have to be in the mood to sculpt... And I think I finally am! I'm not going to tell what it is in case I fail miserably.... but hopefully will post soon with the results!

-ara