Christmas plates of Cookies

Christmas treats left out for Father Christmas! (or Santa Claus if you're in the US or Canada... Père Noël in France, Papá Noel in Spain and South America, Babbo Natale in Italy, Christmas Father in India etc. etc....)

I'll be listing a wonderful new range of handpainted plates of cookie selections with sweets, candy canes and clementines. You may have already caught a glimpse of some of these new miniatures for Christmas 2012 in this month's issue of Doll's House & Miniature Scene, in which I was featured and given the front cover.
Coming soon. :)

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Shop News!............................................................................

Hummingbird Miniatures has re-opened after a few days closure whilst I packed up my entire apartment and workshop and left New Zealand (after a 5 month stay there). You can find my online shop here.

Thank you for your patience whilst I took a little longer to re-open than planned. The 30 hour flight (pausing in Auckland and then Hong Kong along the way) was fine but on arrival in Heathrow, London, I found that one of the large suitcases containing my miniatures, tools and craft supplies had split right open and there was a gaping hole in it! All's fine now and the airline even sent me a brand new suitcase. 

New Christmas miniatures will be made available in store very soon, I promise. 

Please also note that Hummingbird Miniatures will be stationed in the UK for a few weeks and then returning to California, USA after that. :)

Christmas Preview and Shop Announcement

Hello everyone,
Hope you're all wrapped up warm and starting to feel the Christmas buzz...
I'm currently in New Zealand and it's technically the end of their spring / start of summer, so it doesn't exactly feel like Christmas is coming any time soon for me!

Here's a glimpse at some of my new Christmas Range for 2012. Several of these Christmas items are featured in and on the front cover of this month's issue of DHMS magazine (I'll write a post about this soon).
Aside from the roast goose (which has already sold), there will be Christmas wreaths (entirely handmade by myself from scratch, and very detailed), Christmas cookies, traditional gingerbread houses, brussels sprouts, candy canes, festive candles, candle center pieces, hurricane candles, Christmas cakes and Yule logs. Note that some of these items are OOAK (one of a kind) - so there may only be one available.

!IMPORTANT SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT!

I am flying out of New Zealand in just less than 4 day's time and arriving in London Heathrow, UK on Wednesday 21st November. This means that I will have to close my shop for a couple of days whilst I fly. Don't worry - I'll open up again very quickly and make the full Christmas Range available so you can place your orders and get them in time for Christmas.

Until I fly (on Tuesday) there will be a DISCOUNT CODE available at my online Hummingbird Miniatures shop! Do me a favour and lighten my 'carry-on' load by grabbing something at a discounted price now. ;)

Just enter the coupon code: FLIGHT
after you click to buy but before you pay. A massive 20% will be deducted from your entire order but not from shipping. The coupon code is valid immediately and lasts until I fly out... a few days from now.

Happy shopping.... and please feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Cherry Chocolate Cake Prep Boards

I shared in-the-making photos of these Cherry Chocolate Cake prep boards recently (here) and now you can see them all nicely finished off.

The cake's pretty realistic-looking up close - quite hard to photograph it, but those who acquire one will see what I mean.

The wooden prep boards were stained, painted, sanded and waxed by me, and then they are decorated with pink striped tea towels, the cakes, cherries, a cherry tag, 3 slices of cake (one with a bite taken out of it) and finally my signature dotty spoon with frosting on it.

An original handmade Hummingbird Miniatures piece! I will make one or two available at my online shop tomorrow. As usual feel free to email me to request a reserve. Thanks! :)

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Traditional Gingerbread House

Don't you just love the smell of gingerbread?! I love going to the Christmas markets in London and tasting warm soft gingerbread from the stalls, as well as mulled wine, shortbread and florentines.... and I love seeing all the brilliant traditionally German wooden crafts... handmade Christmas ornaments, nativities and candles...

It was my love of traditional and German Christmas things that inspired me to make this very traditional Gingerbread House. It looks a little like something out of the German fairytale Hansel and Gretel.

Carefully handmade with enormous patience (hand-iced of course, so it required a lot of time and a magnifying glass) this gingerbread house is currently featured in the Dec issue of UK magazine 'Dolls House & Miniature Scene'. It is in one inch (1:12) scale and entirely handmade by myself, including all the cane candy as I never buy pre-made canes!

I will make it available at my online Hummingbird Miniatures shop soon.

More Christmas items coming soon... :)

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My Workspace... Chocolate Cake Preps

Haven't heard from me in a while?! I've been quite busy since Halloween getting all ready for Christmas. I hope you caught my recent post about my roast goose (here) which is actually being listed on Etsy tomorrow afternoon PST.

Before I get too Christmassy I thought I'd share some non-holiday miniatures. Over the past couple of days I have been making chocolate cakes decorated with cherries on rustic waxed prep boards. Here's a glimpse at them in the making. These are mostly as 'thank yous' to editors and such (I've been featured in magazines a few times lately). I made 6 so will offer one or two for sale as well. The design won't be repeated, so as usual, feel free to email me directly to request that I put one aside for you if you like. :)

Only 2 more weeks in New Zealand and then I fly off to the UK for a few weeks, and then back to the US in early Dec.... so start to make a mental note now - my online Hummingbird Miniatures shop will be closed for a bit whilst I am traveling and you may like to purchase things sooner than later if you're keen to have something in time for Christmas.

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Happy Halloween 2012!

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween! Hope you all have fabulous plans for tonight and fabulous costumes.
As many of you know, I am living in New Zealand for a few months (leaving next month on November 20th) so we're a day and a half ahead of you in America, and 12 hours ahead of the UK. I've already celebrated Halloween dressed as a pirate wench at a Weta Halloween party!




Thank you to those of you that used the exclusive Halloween coupon code advertised in The Dolls' House Magazine this month. Hope you enjoyed your 25% off coupon. And thank you to all that used the other coupon code issued here on this blog (see past post about it here). Glad to see so many of you used this 25% off code also. :)

Don't miss all the Christmas treats coming very soon to this blog and of course to my Hummingbird Miniatures online shop...

PS Did you know you can browse all the different Hummingbird Miniatures seasonal and holiday ranges by clicking here?

Roast Goose for a Dickensian Christmas!

It's not too early to start thinking about Christmas is it? Hope not because I have plenty to share!

At Christmastime in London, what did Scrooge feast his eyes on when led into the home of his employee Bob Cratchit? Amidst the "merry sound of scales", the rattle of canisters and the "blended scents of tea and coffee", Scrooge saw raisins "so plentiful and rare," sticks of cinnamon "so long and straight", candied fruits "caked and spotted with molten sugar as to make the coldest lookers-on feel faint", figs "moist and pulpy", French plums "blushed in modest tartness from their highly decorated boxes" and finally he said;

"There never was such a goose. Its tenderness and flavour, size and cheapness were the themes of universal admiration."

I myself grew up in a mediaeval village in England, and Christmas was old fashioned, traditional and I loved it! I thought back to my favourite Christmases as a child and created a traditional roast goose with blood orange and crab apples. It is featured in the Dec issue of UK magazine 'Dolls House Miniatures Scene' (out next month).

Roast Christmas Goose with Blood Orange, Crab Apples, Cranberries and greens in one inch scale. A one of a kind piece which will not be repeated. The dish is fine bone china with a 22k gold pattern.