Miniature birthdays for 2013!

Wondering what's in store for Hummingbird Miniatures in 2013....?! I'll tell you. :)

First of all, I must apologise for my absence for a few weeks of this year thus far. I've been busily preparing for my move back to the US and also had some exciting work in miniatures at a film company... for an insight into my miniature work outside of Hummingbird Miniatures see my professional blog here.

Now, as for 2013 - I'll be moving back to Los Angeles in about 10 days time (during which I am afraid my online Hummingbird Miniatures shop will remain closed)... then I will re-open, all miniatures will ship from LA and I will soon introduce my new ranges. Yay!

Expect to see a much anticipated new Birthday Cake range (which I started working on back in summer 2012 and blogged about here)... there will be very detailed and tiny birthday cake prep boards, birthday cake tables, birthday party gift sets and birthday cake mini food jewelry.

There will not be a Valentines range this year (but there will be on my other blog) however, there will be Mexican food, summery foods, Independence Day foods, a Hummingbird Miniatures FURNITURE RANGE and a whole lot more in store which I'll be a bit secretive about for now! Follow this blog here and / or become a fan on Facebook here and you'll be able to stay ahead of these new ranges, new coupon codes and a brand new competition coming soon....

Here's a glimpse at the new birthday range in the making... including tiny hand-blown glass jars of birthday candles for prep boards and prep tables, birthday cake cookbooks... and more...

~ Caroline x

miniature birthday cake, dollhouse birthday cake, dolls' house birthday cake, dollhouse miniature birthday cake, one inch scale cake, polymer clay cake, Hummingbird Miniatures dolls house food cake birthday cake polymer clay faux food

Happy 2013 and Shop Announcement!

Hello everyone!
Happy New Year......! Yes I know, it's already 11th January 2013 and have only just found the time to wish you all a Happy New Year but I've been a busy bumble bee as of late! Hope you all enjoyed the countdown and have set off on the right foot.

Thank you to everyone who jumped on my big post-Christmas sale. All orders were shipped out promptly via First Class Delivery of course, and everything wrapped ready for gift giving as usual. :)

SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT
I am off to Manchester, England to work on some miniature sets for a film company, so I have set my shops to 'vacation mode' for a bit (hopefully not much more than a week or two). So please note that as of today my online Hummingbird Miniatures shop will be on vacation, but you will be able to buy again soon. Feel free to email me if you have any queries.

Until then - have you seen the latest YouTube video? It's show-casing products from last year and I finally uploaded it yesterday!
Click here to be taken to the YouTube channel and don't forget to subscribe. More videos and tutorials to come... ;).

Merry Christmas & Jan Sales!

Merry Christmas to all my friends, fans and customers!

Contrary to initial plans, I spent Christmas in England instead of America. My plans are now to head back to Los Angeles within early January (if visa plans hold up). :)

So, I had the most wonderful Christmas at home with my incredibly large (and expanding) family. We started the day with champagne, devils on horsebacks and quail eggs with Cornish sea salt. Then my mum made a 26 lb turkey with homemade traditional apple and pork stuffing, chipolatas, roast parsnips, roast potatoes, roast carrots, Brussels sprouts and amazing gravy. We pulled crackers, doused the pudding with brandy and lit it ablaze and had it with double cream and brandy butter. Later on we ate mince pies with mulled wine. The following day (Boxing Day) my mum made lobster thermidor as an hors d' oeurve followed by 3 roast ducks between 11 of us with braised red cabbage, mashed swede, English peas, apple sauce and again - phenomenal gravy. We finished with trifle and chocolate roulade. 

Okay - so out of my non-British friends - how much of the above did you understand? Come on, be honest - not much, right?! I provided links with definitions to some of the above I thought my non-British / non-European friends might not be familiar with.

And now for the fun stuff...... it's COUPON TIME!! I am starting my January sales early! 

How. To. Use.
Just click to buy whatever you like, and then before you pay you just need to enter the coupon code: JAN2013 at the checkout. 30% will be deducted from your entire order but not from postage.

Where. To. Use.
This coupon is valid at my online Hummingbird Miniatures store only.

When. To. Use.
It's available right away and expires on January 8th. 

Conditions.
You must be a follower of either this blog (follow now by clicking here) OR a fan of Hummingbird Miniatures on Facebook (become a fan by clicking here) in order to use the coupon code discount.
You can click on the icons below to follow or become a fan also. :)

Email me if you have any problems or queries. :) C xXx

Cover Girl FEATURE this Christmas!

I am honoured to have been given the front cover for the Christmas issue of UK magazine Dolls House & Miniature Scene (find the issue here)!

The front cover shows my Christmas living room which I made specifically for Christmas this year. I laid all the hardwood flooring myself, papered the walls, created the fireplace, all the food, traditional decorations, decorated the tree, painted the furniture and took the photographs. I will post a free tutorial on how to create a room like this one (in terms of papering and flooring) soon, so look out for that.

Have a look at the feature below and some more of the photos they used. Enjoy!

Christmas Cake 2012

Moving away from the 'homemade cake' look, this is quite a fancy patisserie Christmas Cake in an English style.
This Christmas cake is a detailed one of a kind piece. 

* As featured in the Christmas issue of 'Dolls House & Miniature Scene' magazine!*

It is white frosted and has individually handmade gingerbread men surrounding it. Decorated with a meringue forest of trees, red currants and holly leaves, Christmas snowflake candy (handmade at Hummingbird Miniatures to unique design) and finished with a 100% silk ribbon bow. It sits on a delicate paper doily.

I only made one and it sold within hours of listing it at my online shop, but I thought I'd share it here on my blog anyway!

Shop for more 'one of a kind' Christmas miniatures at my online Hummingbird Miniatures shop. I am sending everything out ASAP and via First Class Mail of course - to have the best chance of your receiving your packages in time for Christmas. As usual, everything comes nicely wrapped and ready for gift giving.

one inch scale dollhouse Christmas food, miniature Christmas cake, dollhouse Christmas cake in miniature, miniature dolls' house or dollhouse Christmas cake and food, one inch scale food, dollhouse food, polymer clay food, faux food, Hummingbird Miniatures Christmas

Treats to leave out for Santa!

Have you caught the scent of freshly baked cookies from the Hummingbird kitchen yet?! I've just made available a brand new range or assorted cookies and candy on little handpainted dishes. Only one of each!

* As featured in the Christmas issue of 'Dolls House & Miniature Scene' magazine!*

All of the candy is entirely handmade by me (I never buy pre-made canes) and I make the cookies as realistic as possible through dedication to detail. There are gingerbread men, tree shaped cookies, chocolate chip cookies, ginger cookies, German loveheart cookies (Lebkuchen) and checkerboard cookies. The old fashioned candy and candy canes are very detailed and made to my own designs.

Hop over to my online Hummingbird Miniatures shop and find my OOAK (one of a kind) cookie plates before they go. Get them now and they'll be sent out very promptly to have the best chance of arriving in time for Christmas. :)

miniature cookies, dollhouse cookies, Christmas cookies for dollhouse or dolls house, miniature faux food, buy miniature dollhouse food, dolls house food, miniature Christmas food polymer clay, miniature Christmas scene

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. :)

***

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. :)