Turning miniature pieces can be done on a big lathe too :)

First of all I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to comment on my blog and to everyone for all of your wonderful wishes and lovely comments on pictures from our wedding.

Well, things seem to have calmed down a bit on my end. Now with the wedding over and all the details taken care of after the wedding I have more time for miniature projects.

I have finally convinced my father to let me try turning miniature pieces on his big lathe! After 2 years of convincing he finally gave in. And I couldn't be happier! It's actually the same as a tabletop lathe, the only difference is that I have to stand when I work. And now I can stop drooling all over tabletop lathes every time we go to the hardware store :)

After a crash course in safety on the big lathe and how to handle the chisels I am now successfully making miniature turnings! Yaaaay!

My first attempt was a bit timid from all the years my father spent saying that his big machines were scary and not for me :P I think he used to say that when I was little, because even then I was always curious about everything and his machines always fascinated me - and you know how kids are when something interests them.... of course he had to scare me a bit so I wouldn't be tempted to try turn one on, hehehe

Anyway, after the first bottle was done I got a bit bolder and tried new shapes. I'm not afraid of the lathe anymore and now I can make so many different items. For now I can only make things from pre-made poles. We had a part made so I will be able to turn table legs and such. My father has parts that are for turning bigger things and so we needed something smaller. We're still waiting for that but hopefully we'll get it next week.

The big and scary lathe :)

First batch of turnings. For some reason I wanted to make bottles.... the fourth bottle is my first try. I was still very scared to put the chisel to the wood and it shows. It's too bulky and it doesn't look good at all. The next pieces are progressively better though.... I'm no expert by a long shot but at least things are starting to look somewhat normal.

And a batch of candle stands. There are so much fun to make! I can't wait to make some more!

As you can see I still have a lot to learn when it comes to turning wood.... and miniatures in general. But I'm having fun creating and learning!

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In other news.... my father and I also did some work on my Victorian shop. 

We put the carcase together. I searched all over on the best ways for applying wallpaper and there are a lot of different opinions.... But in the end I decided we should just put the entire thing together and I'll wallpaper it then.

The front of the house. It's starting to look good! It still needs a lot of ageing and distressing but so far so good.

We also added the side columns. It totally changes the entire front.

The ground floor ceiling. The only thing I made before we assembled the house. I'm probably going to regret not doing the upper ceiling before but I don't have anything special planned for that one. Will probably just paint it before wallpapering. But I love how this one turned out!

I couldn't resist taking a shot through the window :) You can also see some of the ceiling. I can't wait to start putting furniture in! Everything is going to be very nicely visible though the window. 

I'd love to know what you all think - both about the turnings and the house. 

Now I have a question.... does anyone have any advice on how to make an aged setting. Both inside and outside. Or does anyone perhaps know of a site that explains it a bit? I'd love to see some distressing tutorials and such, to get the most realistic effects. I tried searching on the web but uncle Google came up empty handed. Or I didn't search for the right phrases. And tips and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Until next time!

*Poof*