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*

World Animal Day

Sooo... this post isn't going to be about minis. I just couldn't let this day go by without acknowledging World Animal Day. 

I'm a great animal lover and am lucky to have some of them living with me. So I wanted to take this day and remind everyone about loving your animals, and animals in general. Respect them and care for them and admire them!

Here are my furry friends:

Tiger

This "little" kitty is 8 years old. It's the best feeling in the world when you come home and he's there waiting for you, waiting to cuddle. If he feels like it, that is, hahaha

Aurora & Cassiopeia (Cassie)

And my two degus. These little "monsters" can decide to chew a log in the middle of the night and there's nothing I can do about it :) But I wouldn't trade them for anything! It's amazing how a little animal like this can understand a person so completely...

Well, this is the first non mini post, and there probably won't be a lot more of these, but this one is special!

*Poof*