Tutorial--Forest Friend in a Nutshell

My children and I share a fascination with tiny things, from doll house miniatures, to fairies and gnomes, to just about anything on a small scale.

An immature pine cone brought to me by Adrian

 My daughter draws teeny, tiny ladies in period costumes.  My son Sebastian has nimble fingers that sculpt amazing little things in Sculpey.

And a salvaged walnut shell

I have been charmed by little things for as long as I can remember.  I liked to make things--horse brushes and boxes of "horse treats" for my Stablemate-size Breyer model horses.

Hot glue in a ribbon hinge

I would cut the bristle part of the horse brush from Velcro and glue it to cardboard, adding a tiny hand-strap. I collected berries that looked like tiny apples from ornamental shrubs.

Add a needle-felted mound of moss

I still enjoy making tiny things, say, as Christmas ornaments.

A little section of a branch will make a good stand

We also occasionally will write one another tiny letters or cards in tiny envelopes, a la Tasha Tudor.

Glue in your hedgehog, with penned in eyes and nose-tip

Paint a little woodsy motif, and you're done!