Tons of books.... cover ideas anyone?

Hi everyone!! Hope you all had a great time during the holidays and that you still have a few days off to enjoy with family, friends, minis.

I haven't made any new minis, visiting family and friends during the holidays, one event after another, a trip to Slovakia and kitchen remodeling coming along fast..... well, it just doesn't leave much time for anything else.

The only thing I did manage to make are a few blanks for books. I had some free time when we were visiting  the in-laws. These blanks are a bit time consuming, with all the cutting and folding and gluing, but I think the results are well worth it. These books really do look like they have real pages, and can be open or closed. I've decided I'll need a ton of books for Faye since she's a bit of a bookworm.

Here are 34 large closed books,30 small closed books and 15 bat books. Now all they need are the covers. I'll have to try some new ideas for these.

I'd like to wish everyone happy holidays (belated) and a very happy New Year, full of joy, inspiration and successful mini projects!

See you next year!

*Poof*

I'm still here....

Hi everyone! I know, I know, no update in a while. Real life/work getting in the way of making minis. But at least we made a lot of progress on our real life kitchen remodeling :)
I will hopefully have some time to make minis next week. I have a few ideas I want to try out, not to mention making a few pieces of furniture with my new saw! I've been meaning to try making a cauldron from a ping pong ball.... I've read about it somewhere, don't really remember where.... And I got some more moss, a grey-ish color, so I'll definitely be doing some more books. And perhaps I'll try making a chest. I've been thinking about making dragonskin luggage.... hmm....

If you have time take a look at this amazing blog Honey, I shrunk the house, a lot of inspiration there! And a giveaway too, although only for another day, so hurry if you want to participate!

Well, this is it for now, no minis but hopefully next week will be better.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Early Christmas gift!!!!!

I got a really nasty cold so I wasn't able to do much of anything last week. But I finally got better now so I decided to show you my early Christmas gift.

First let me tell you a little story.... when I was in primary school, about 14 years old, we had a class where we learned about various craft related things. And we were supposed to do a project where we got to cut a chess set with a scroll saw. But there were only a few scroll saws and so not enough for everyone. And the teacher (male), had us girls cut out one piece each and then said we saw how it worked and that we had to let the boys have our place with the saws (they made the whole set!). I know it sounds silly but I loved cutting out my knight (the one chess piece I made) but when I asked to make more the teacher told me that I should let the boys have fun. And since then I've always wanted a scroll saw. It's funny how such a thing stays with you for so long....

And imagine how excited I was when I saw one decently priced a few days ago. These usually cost a minimum of 120€ but this one was for only 70€!!! And then my wonderful boyfriend came home with it today (an early Christmas present!!!). I'm so excited to finally have one of these!

Ok, a bad photo, I know, but it was already dark outside.

And of course I couldn't resist making something. I drew up this design a few weeks ago, but wasn't sure if it would look good or not.... I'm still not sure actually, but I don't exactly hate it so perhaps it has potential. I didn't want to hand cut it so I put it off. And turns out it was a good thing. I got this finished on the scroll saw quite quickly, while it would have probably taken me quite a while by hand. 

Here is how the chair will look. It still needs to be sanded, not to mention glued and painted. But I really wanted to see how it would turn out. I'm the kind of person who can imagine a lot of things but I prefer to partially see how things will turn out to get a better idea of an item. As I said, I don't exactly hate it. Perhaps with some paint it'll be better? Or perhaps this should be turned into a bench?

This is all I have to show for now. Hopefully I got rid of this cold for good and I can get back to making minis! I have a feeling that there will be quite a few new furniture pieces in Faye's house in the next few months.

I would also like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! Even though we don't celebrate this holiday where I live I know it has a special meaning for a lot of people. Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Until next time!

*Poof*

Giveaway Winners!!!

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for participating in the giveaway and thank you for all your lovely comments.
And now for the winners:

First I made a list of all the eligible contestants. I assigned the numbers based on the comments, so the first one to comment had the number one and so on.

The list. 

Then I decided to use a random number generator, which gave me the next results.

#1: A set of three books goes to........

Comment number 4 was left by Margriet! Congratulation! 

#2: The Bat Book goes to.....

Comment number 14 was left by Malu! Congratulations!

#3: A dragonscale book goes to.....

Comment number 5 was posted by Heather Cutting-Rayl! Congratulations!

Well, these are the winners, so congratulations to all three!!! Please send me an email with your contact information so I can send the parcels straight away. 

I hope to have another giveaway soon so check back often as you will all have another chance at this soon.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Giveaway reminder and new additions

First of all, I'd like to remind everyone that there is one more day until the drawing for the giveaway, so for those who didn't put your name in the drawing there's still time to do so. You can find the giveaway here.

Well, I haven't been as busy with miniatures as I could have been. We've had horrible floods all over the country on Monday but thankfully our house was spared. Others haven't been as fortunate so we did what we could to help.
What I did manage to make is a large amount of books and finish a staff I started a while back.

Made all of these books yesterday.... I have something special planned so I need  to make a lot more.

These aren't all of them, I still have a lot more to assemble!

And the staff. My first attempt but I like it. I was thinking of having a collection of these and mounting them up on the wall, sort of a display of staffs.

Well, this is it for today. Good luck to all of you who entered the drawing! I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winners.

*Poof*

Halloween Giveaway!

Today I have a very special surprise! In celebration of Halloween I have decided to host a giveaway. Although the contest will last well over Halloween, these are a perfect fit for any witch or wizard. Of course they would look just as good on a Tudor desk or a Victorian Bookshelf.

For my giveaway I am offering three prizes. 

#1: A set of three Illyria's Miniatures original books - a Bat Book, a Mossy Book and a Dragonscale Book - Turquoise.

#2: One Illyria's Miniatures original Bat Book

#3: One Illyria's Miniatures original Dragonscale Book - Gold

Well, here they are, the three prizes waiting for the lucky winners!

Now for the rules:

1. You have to be a follower of my blog. (new followers will also be able to participate, so don't be shy!)

2. Leave a comment on this blog entry to let me know you wish to be added to the draw.

3. Post about my giveaway on your blog.

The giveaway will last until Sunday, November 11th, when I will draw the winners at 12am CET (Central European Time).

Good luck!

*Poof*

Of spyglasses and orreries and other bits

Well, even though October is usually a very tiring month (lots of birthdays and such), I'm glad I still find the time for minis. Being without a job does have it's good sides sometimes.
As promised, here are the finished spyglasses. At first I thought I'd make them into telescopes, but I think they work just as well as spyglasses.

This is the second try. I decided to go with a more fantasy inspired colors. I think it turned out great! The only thing I'm not happy about is the lens at the end. I made that with glue and at first there were no visible bubbles, but when the glue started to dry the bubbles started showing. I did try to think of something else to use for the lens, but couldn't think of a better solution.

And here are both spyglasses together. I think the black one is a bit too thick so I'm not sure I'll use it in a setting, but it seemed a waste to just throw it away.

I also decided to make a book stand for the table. Nothing fancy as you can see, but it does serve it's purpose.

And a bit of playing around with settings.

A side view of the finished book stand. I love this table so much I'm hesitant to put anything down permanently.

And the making of another orrery.

Finished another one. Look great and I love these new colors!

And just for fun I added this funny picture I took of my cat Tiger the other day. I don't normally post off topic things, but this was just too good to resist! My boyfriend and I can't agree, he says Tiger is laughing, but I say he looks like he's singing.... Either way this picture is hilarious!

Now I need to decide what to work on next. Hmmm....

Until next time!

*Poof*

Orrery and other bits

Well, after a completely wild weekend I actually had to take some time for sleeping.
After resting for two days I finally decided to make myself an orrery. I think something like that fits perfectly onto a witchy table.

In the making.... The lower pole was too large, so I cut half of it off. Much better I think...

Well, I think I did ok for a first try. I should have added more gears, but I don't have all that many and I do want to make some more of these....

And two mossy books. These will look great on a table.

And two telescopes in the making. Will be updating these as I finish them.

Well, these are all the projects I was able to come up with.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Cabriole legs dining table + mini making goodies!

Since we don't have any shops with art supplies near where I live (where I could be every day), I can't go to one very often. But yesterday my wonderful boyfriend took me to one. I knew I couldn't spend all that much, and we were in a bit of a hurry, but I still managed to find some wonderful things!

A distress ink pad! I wanted one of these for some time.

And some metallic acrylic paints! They're great but unfortunately they don't really show well in the pictures. There were so many colors to choose from! More of these in different colors will definitely be on my shopping list next time I'll be able to get to the shop. I really wanted a darker purple, but they didn't have any darker shades so I took a lighter one instead. These will be perfect for dragons and the dragon scale books!

Cats!! It's amazing what you can find in the toy section of shops! I found these four cats and another bigger one (not suitable for 1:12 scale) for less than 2€!

I think I'll try painting the left one black.... I like the white one, although the eyes aren't very realistic.

And finally, something I managed to make myself... another table with cabriole legs.

And the table painted with three coats of wood stain. Without varnish as of yet, but they are actually this glossy with only stain.

And dragon skin books, had to try out the new metallic colors! Although these are actually a blue-green hue, but I think this picture makes them look blueish.... 

Both tables with three coats of stain.

They really look a lot better than with only one coat of stain. I love how they turned out!

Well, this weekend we're celebrating my boyfriend's 30th birthday, so I won't be able to get any mini work done. But for next week I already have a couple of ideas that I'll have to try :)

Until next time!

*Poof*

Bat Books

Today I decided to make bat themed books and a few posters.
These books are opened for a change and they are dedicated to the study of bats, perfectly fit for a witch!

The burnt series. I recently watched a documentary about Medici, a powerful Italian family from Florence, who were probably the most responsible for starting the Renaissance. There was also a bit about the Inquisition, where the Church had a lot of books burnt. I like to imagine these books being saved from a fire :)

A few that escaped the fire...

In the back are the bat posters I made.... perfectly acceptable for a witch studying bats to have large detailed sketches.

I still have enough pages cut to make about 6 or 7 more, so tomorrow is probably going to be bat day too. I think it's just the most perfect theme for a witch! And I have some scroll pages already aged with coffee so I'm probably going to make some of those too.

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

Table with cabriole legs

Well, the last two days have been very educational for me. I finally got the courage to do research on how to make cabriole legs for tables, chairs,...
I still can't believe that I actually managed to make these legs, but I guess I have woodworking in my genes :)

Here is the making of the first two legs. The left one still needs a lot of sanding but the right one is starting to look like a decent leg.

And the table finished! It's a little over 6cm tall and the top is 7,5cm x 7,5cm. I know this isn't a side table and it's not a dining table, something in the middle.... I just wanted to see how/if these legs will even work. And I can stick it in a corner anyway and put witchy goodies on top. Perhaps an orrery? Isn't it fun when you can say your house is fantasy if you don't make something exactly like real life? 

A close up of the leg. I think I did quite well for my first try.

I always wondered how these tables were made. Luckily for me I know Mr. Google, hahaha!

And painted. But not varnished yet. I'm still deciding between shiny or matt varnish. In general shiny varnish would better suit this table, but for my whole witchy house I think matt would be better, since everything else will be mostly matt.

And just for fun I couldn't resist putting some trinkets on the table. It looks good!

And two new books on the floor.... the red and green one. They're made of real leather. I got a huge amount of real leather but I think most of it is too thick for book covers. I'll have to experiment a bit on that.

And this is it. I truly think I did a passable job of making a table with cabriole legs. I'll have to go hunting for reference photos so I can make some other furniture items with cabriole legs. Well, I think yesterday was very productively spent. The only thing I actually did today was glue the whole thing together and paint it. With all this kitchen remodeling it's not easy having time for minis. 

Oh, and finally I have a place where I can take pictures in!! Hooray! Although the walls still need something.... I'll have to see about making some pictures. At least not I have new cartridges for my HP so I can print in color again!

Well, until next time!

*Poof*