New Wall Shelf

Today I didn't have very much time to work on minis but I did manage to make this cute wall shelf. This was such a fun project! I loved making this one and I have everything cut for a few more :) Now I need to think of a different design for each one.

I have a question for you, my dear readers.... What colour would you like to see this shelf painted? Shabby chic, white, black, natural, a dark wood stain,.....? I would very much like to hear your opinions which colour you would like to see on this piece.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Open books now for sale

I've added a bunch of new books to my Etsy shop. Each of these books is OOAK as each one is different and special in it's own way. There are three new ranges of open books:

Burnt Bat Book Range

Burnt Mushroom Book Range

Burnt Owl Book Range

These are now all available in my Etsy shop. 

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

Spice Rack / Wall shelf part 2

Ok, I had partial success today. I made another shelf, with small adjustments this time. And also added the doors. I love how these doors turned out! But I still haven't added a drawer. The main reason is that I decided to make another shelf using 2mm thick wood instead of 3mm. Although I like how both of these came out I still think it would look better with thinner wood.

Here is the dry fit for the doors, everything else is already glued.

Painting.... I had to paint the inside of the shelf with doors before attaching the doors. I decided to give both of them lighter colours. The first one is blue and isn't distressed. I first painted the second one blue and then went over that blue with white. After everything was dry I distressed it and so now it's this adorable shabby chic style.

This is the photo that inspired the whole thing. I found it somewhere online but can't remember where to put a link back. This is a real life item, not a miniature. Here you can see how  much better thinner wood would be.

And the (almost) finished product :) I still need to add handles to the doors. I used a cross stitch base to finish the doors. I know that in the original there are probably leaded glass doors but I think this looks ok too. It adds a certain charm to the piece :)

Of course the doors open. Inside are two shelves on each side, all with rails, so little treasures don't fall off.

A close up of the blue shelf. This would be perfect in a little nursery!

And here you can see the difference wood thickness makes. The shelf on the left is a new one, made from 2mm thick wood. I think it looks better than the one from 3mm thick wood. Although the blue one doesn't look at all bad, I think it would be more fitting for an upper cabinet (if it weren't only 1,5cm deep).

Ok, 3 of these in 2 days.... not bad. Perhaps in another few days I might make one that will be similar to the one I found online.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Spice rack / Wall shelf

You know the project I told you about yesterday? Well, I decided to try it and so here is some progress. I wanted to make a wall cabinet/spice rack with doors. I found some great inspiration online and decided to try making a miniature version.

This is what I came up with so far.

It's 7 cm high, 8cm wide and 1,8cm deep. 

I wanted to add doors on either side and leave the middle open. But after already assembling this half way it became clear that I won't be able to fix the door quite like I imagined. So I decided to leave this one as it is, the only thing I will add is some moulding on the lower shelf so mini treasures don't fall off when displayed. 

The inner shelf is 0,8cm deep. I'm going to try another one, with some improvements for the doors this time. I also wanted to add a drawer on the bottom so hopefully that will be on the next one too. I have all of the parts for the improved version already cut except for the drawers, so tomorrow I can continue assembling the pieces. Hopefully the second try will turn out as I had hoped. But despite this hiccup I still like this one too. I have some parts cut for some more of these, different styles. They're so adorable! Now I need to think of what kind of finish I want this one to have. I was thinking shabby chic but if I want it for Faye's cottage then it has to be in some darker colours. We'll see...

Oh, and I wanted to introduce you my new best friend!! :D 

My boyfriend got me this last week and I've been dying to try it out. It's great for straight cuts, way better than the saw I was using before (borrowed from my dad). So now I can make straight cuts way easier than before.... I think I see lots more furniture projects in the near future :D

Well, hopefully I'll have good news to report tomorrow.

Until next time!

*Poof*

You find miniatures in the most unexpected places!

So I've had this music box/tower, lovely craftsmanship and around 20 years old, but it was broken. I've been  putting it from one place to another but yesterday I finally decided to dismantle it. Sadly I didn't take any pictures of the whole thing but I did take some of what I could salvage for minis.
My boyfriend was very happy to be able to dismantle everything.... boys and their urge to take things apart, hahaha.

It was a merry go round of the Holy Night... there were a few wood figures, which will make very nice dollhouse toys someday. Plus I got some very nice wood turnings which will be perfect for table legs after some tweaking.

Here are the wood figures.... they're lovely. I especially like the donkey and the three little angels. These are 5cm-3cm high.

These need a bit of cleaning but then they'll be just adorable additions to a child's room.

And the spindles. Enough for four tables. These are two sizes, the smaller ones are about 0,5cm smaller.

And I got a bit of time today for another book. This time it's a closed one...

Another steampunk inspired book. I love these little gears!

A very old tome, slightly distressed around the edges and bound by a golden rope so it wouldn't open by chance and reveal magical secrets.

Well, we're having horrible weather again.... I hope tomorrow will be better so I can get back to my spring workspace.

I have a new miniature in mind but I will have to see how it will turn out as I'm not completely sure I will be successful. All I can say is that it's another furniture piece, although nothing as elaborate as a desk or table.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Davenport Desk 2nd Try

I've slowly been working on another Davenport desk and today I finally finished it. I've made some improvements to it although I'm still not completely satisfied with the drawers. Will have to work on those some more, maybe in another project..... I think that's enough Davenport desks for a while, hehehe.

The drawers are only on one side. After more research I found that Davenport desks usually had drawers on one side and a door or fake door on the other. I decided to make the door on this one working. I drilled a hole in the top and bottom of the door and the frame and inserted a pin so the doors are fully working and yet you can't see any hinges. I love this technique and I'm sure I'll use it again soon. Also the drawers are a bit better but still not quite what I'm hoping for.

Quite a few pictures.... I couldn't resist :D

And this is the first try I made a few weeks ago. I think the second one is better.

I also made another small cabriole leg table. Both of these are going to Brasil for a swap.

My new workspace.... I decided to move outside since we finally have nice weather. It's just great sitting on the terrace/balcony and creating minis!

Well this way a very productive week for me. I finished all the books too, including the bat books. Now I need to make decent photos and list the books on Etsy. And then on to new mini adventures, hehehehe.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Burnt Owl Book range

Well, I managed to finish another book range. This one is about owls.

Again these books are made completely from scratch by me. Pages cut and assembled individually, covers fitted with fabric and everything assembled. The last thing I do is burn them so they look like they were picked from a fire.

The whole pile. These are absolutely perfect for a witch who has to get a new familiar and wants to read up on different types of owls and other birds.

I like how they turned out. These will also be going to my Etsy shop, as soon as I finish the last burnt book range, which will feature mushrooms. Probably not tomorrow since we finally have warm and sunny weather and our garden has been neglected far too long. I'm hoping I'll finish them on Friday though.

Until next time!

*Poof*

New batch of Burnt Bat Books

Ok, so one down two to go.... books that is. I finished the first range today, which are the bat books. I still have the owl books and the mushroom books to finish. Although I'm more than half way done with them there are quite a few so I probably won't be able to finish them tomorrow. Or perhaps if I have a quiet morning and some time in the afternoon... hmmm...

Well, here are is the Burnt Bat Books range. These will be going to my Etsy shop when the other two ranges are finished, but these can be reserved here too, prior to going to Etsy, and I can make a private listing.

Each book has hand cut pages. The covers are made of black fabric and then hand burnt to look like they've been pulled out of a fire. I like to think of these as being saved from a large bonfire made of books, like the ones from the middle ages.

The whole pile that I finished today. I still have to add the ones I already finished the other day.

Every book is different and is OOAK. They all vary in thickness, burn marks and most importantly, the page design.

The second batch... I can just imagine one or more of these in a witch's lair.

And the final set. These will all be available for sale separately.

Seeing as I've had so many distractions today I'm glad I managed to finish these. Now on to new ones tomorrow.

On a side note, I'm so glad that Game of Thrones is back with another season! It's giving me lots of inspiration. Plus The Borgias too! And I've discovered a new series.... Da Vinci's Demons. That one is going to provide mountains of inspiration if the first part is any indication. If anyone needs some fantasy/medieval inspiration, then those series are for you

Until next time!

*Poof*

I won a giveaway!!! Yaay! :D

Last Wednesday I got a message from mijbil that I won one of the prizes from her giveaway. I was totally astonished since I never win anything. Seems my luck is changing :D

So today I got the little package and in it was this very tiny and very cute elf

He's so adorable!! :D Thank you so much for this amazing gift!

Pop on over to her Etsy shop Mijbil Creatures for more mini goodies. Such wonderful creations! 

Birthday Giveaway Winners!

Again I would like to thank everyone who participated in this giveaway and thank you for all the birthday wishes!

And it's over midnight CET, so it's the 14th and you all know what that means.... Giveaway winners! I decided to post this now since tomorrow will be a very busy day. I used a random generator to pick from the list of all who participated.

And now without further ado.... on to the winners!!

The prize.

The winner of the Birthday Giveaway is........... Ascension! Congratulations Ascension!

And now for the secret prize!!

The lucky winner is....... Jane Smith! Congratulations Jane! 

Want to know what the secret prize is? 

The secret prize - an open Burnt Owl Book! 

Hope you both like your prizes. Please send me your address so I can get these gifts to you as quickly as possible. You can contact me through my Etsy shop.

This was so much fun! And I can't believe I have almost 100 followers! Wooohoo :) Now on to new mini challenges.

Until next time!

*Poof*