Desktop Stables

2019 in Review

December 28, 2019 by Nichelle

I hope you all had a good Christmas. ❤️ I gave myself permission to not worry about any holiday related model horse stuff, and I’m so glad I did. This month has been weird and stressful. I’m happy the holidays are (mostly) over.

Sooo with a new year fast approaching, it’s time for another rambly year-end post!

2019 was a pretty good hobby year. I got to go to BreyerWest in Oregon…

Splurged on so many Breyers…

Fell in love with micro minis…

Made some tack…

Improved my blankets…

Had some fun photos published in JAH…

And worked on a cool project for Breyer.

I’m so grateful for every opportunity I’ve had this year. ❤️

As for 2020…

I’ll be going to BreyerWest in Colorado this February. I’ve been focused on working on pieces I’ll have available for sale there, which I’ve been randomly posting on social media.

I’ve started downsizing my collection, so I’m hoping to continue that. Space has become an issue that I can no longer ignore!

And lastly, I want to create more for myself, whether that’s tack, props or miniatures. (or maaaybe try painting all the nekkid micros I accumulated this year?!)

I hope you all have a very happy new year, and I’ll see you in 2020!

Posted in Collection, Rambling | Tagged collection, hobby goal, new year | 2 Comments »

Yuletide Greetings – 2020 Holiday Horse

December 23, 2019 by Nichelle

Early this year Breyer approached me about creating the prototype for their 2020 Holiday Horse costume. I’ve always loved the fancy costumes on the holiday horses, so I was very excited to work on this project.

I do want to stress that the design and theme of the costume was put together by the creative team at Breyer, not me! My task was to create a 3D version of their design. I was granted some artistic freedom, but I tried to keep it as close to their design and instruction as I could.

Thank you Breyer for letting me play a part in this. ❤️ I am so excited to see the horse and costume together, and am thrilled at the positive response he’s been getting from collectors!

Posted in Breyer, Holidays, Special Projects | Tagged Breyer, Christmas, holiday, Special Projects | 2 Comments »

Challenge Accepted

December 1, 2019 by Nichelle

In 2014, Lauren Mauldin shared a list of tack items she had yet to see in miniature. One of those pieces was a scrim sheet, which I started working on right away. I think I posted this on Facebook but it never made it to the blog so…

I was using a mesh type of material, and hand stitching pre-made bias tape around the edge. Turns out the tape I had was a couple inches too short, and since I didn’t have any more or know how to make it at that time, I put the sheet away and forgot about it.

Jennifer’s recent post on that same list got me thinking about trying again.

The first step was to decide on what fabric to use. The mesh I was originally using would have worked, but I wanted to find something with a smaller texture in different colors. Two fabrics I was considering were Voile and Chiffon, so I made a trip to Joann’s to see them in person. I lucked out and found a sample of each in their remnant bins. (good thing too, as the cut counter was super busy)

They’re very similar, but the voile has a bit more stiffness to it.

I really love the texture though. I think this would work nicely for fly sheets.

The chiffon has a better drape to it, but is much more delicate.

I ended up choosing the chiffon to give a scrim sheet a try.

On this sheet, I eliminated my usual back seam, sewing down a piece of thin ribbon instead. On the hip darts, I tried a sewing trick I’ve seen in multiple sewing videos, which is to add a piece of tissue paper underneath the stitching.

I could easily tear this away once the stitching was done. I’m also using my walking foot here, to help pull the material through.

Here’s what I ended up with:

The bias went on easier than I thought it would, and after adding some piping, a tail cord and a buckle in the front, the scrim sheet was done.

Even though this is a really simple sheet, it took me a long time to finish. Normally I avoid using these types of fabrics because they are slippery and frustrating to work with. I’m sure that’s something that will get easier with time and practice though.

I do have problems with one side flaring out, which could be because of the bias and added piping. I’m not sure if I can avoid that unless I add some sort of belly band.