Jewellery Makes Me Happy!
A Saturday workshop with Patti Thorne
Scale: 1:12
Price: $80
Step into a world of mini magic and glittering details! If you adore all things bright and beautiful, this workshop is designed to turn your love for sparkle and bling into tiny works of art.
The morning will begin with assembling your own jewellery box with your favorite paint palette. Accentuate the box with micro-rhinestones, delicate filigree, and shimmering touches that match your signature style. You will have your choice of rich jewel tone, plush, faux velvet to line your jewellery box that will hold all the treasures you create in the afternoon. Rolls will be added to your jewellery box to hold a few sparkling rings.
The afternoon will be spent deciding and designing what type of fashionable jewellery you want to create. There will be hundreds of beads to choose from along with charms and pearls. Then craft the ultimate centrepiece – a show-stopping miniature necklace built with an ultra-sparkling Swarovski crystal that captures light from every angle. Your jewels and jewellery box will be a great addition to any boudoir.
Reproducing Famous Paintings in Miniature
A Saturday workshop with Kelly Hadden
Scale: 1:12
Price: $75
Kelly is an avid miniaturist and active member of the Miniature Enthusiasts of Toronto. She studied fine art and art history at the University of Toronto and has been painting commercially for over 20 years – focusing on miniature paintings since 2019.
In this workshop, the participants will review the essential elements of a specific artwork and recreate it in miniature using acrylic paints.
The session will include:
- Understanding the history of the piece
- Reviewing composition and light
- The artist’s colour palette and how the colours are used
- Brush strokes and mark-making
- Tips and techniques for acrylics and acrylic mediums
- Step-by-step instruction in recreating the artwork
If time permits, we will finish with a discussion on framing choices and techniques.
Each participant will receive a prepared and gessoed ground that has been pre-cut to 1:12 scale dimensions of the full-sized artwork. An 8×10 colour image and a reduced copy, in the same size as the final painting, will be provided to serve as reference points for the work. You will also receive a template for reproducing the composition and a step-by-step instructional document containing key learnings of the day.
Supplies: Bring your own paints, palettes, mediums and brushes. A detailed supplies list will be provided closer to the workshop date.
Participants will leave with an enhanced understanding of how to successfully recreate paintings. You should be able to complete your own piece in the time allotted.
Suggested Piece (subject to change): Vincent Van Gogh’s View of Saintes-Maries de la Mer
Join Me at My Table!
A Saturday workshop with Samm Brockhurst
Scale: 1:12
Price: $50
Join Samm for a full day of learning and creating a variety of stylish tables and furniture. She will discuss designing the furniture to be repeatable and square. Samm will briefly touch on finishes for your furniture.
You might enjoy a happy feast at a kitchen table with turned legs or a Tudor banqueting table with 2 long benches and a short bench. You might want to display a favourite plant on a console table with 3 drawers, a side table with tapered legs or in a mission style planter. All of these will be included in your workshop.
This workshop is great for miniaturists at any skill level.
You will need to supply sandpaper and wood glue. As you will be working with wood, wood glue will be the only acceptable glue used.
Space is limited to 9 participants.
1950s Vintage Kitchen Chair & Table
WORKSHOP IS FULL
A Saturday workshop with Sandra Quigley
Scale: 1:12
Price: $100
A lot of happy memories were made sitting around the kitchen table. Didn’t we all have one of these iconic sets in our house growing up, or in our Grandparents’ kitchen? Now, you can recreate that warm, mid-century nostalgia in miniature! We will be crafting a table and one chair.
The table features an authentic tabletop styled in either a gray “Boomerang” or “Crushed Ice” vintage pattern that will match all the chair colours.
The retro chair will be custom built and upholstered in your choice of four vibrant, vinyl fabric colours designed to coordinate seamlessly with the tabletops.
Note: We will be using 5 Minute Epoxy Glue as well as hot glue and white tacky glue, and maybe some Crazy Glue so be prepared to literally get ‘stuck in’!
Tools required:
- X-acto knife
- Ruler
- Scissors with a pointed end for fabric
- Wood glue
- White glue (such as Aleen’s Tacky Glue)
- Glue gun with extra glue sticks
- Small stylus or scoring tool
Lego jigs will be provided, but if you want to make your own, bring 1 Duplo piece, 1 standard (8 bump) Lego brick and 1 flat Lego piece
My Place
A Saturday workshop with Gayle Baillargeon
Scale: 1:48
Price: $85
Step into the enchanting world of miniatures and recreate your very own “My Space” inside/outside setting. This incredibly detailed, dual-aspect vignette bridges indoor comfort with outdoor charm. It is designed to fit inside a 3” dome.
Architectural details feature an engraved wood floor, a bay window, delicate gingerbread trim, and window boxes. You will customize your space your way – with or without a cozy window seat. Personalized furniture includes your choice of a 1/4 scale chair kit.
Finishing touches include choosing from a lovely selection of provided upholstery fabrics, or bringing your own textile to match your style. Bring the scene to life with shelving, landscape materials, and tiny 3D accessories including a vase, bowls, a birdbath, figurines, and a hummingbird feeder.
Tools: glue, paint (to customize your masterpiece)
