Dragonscale book

Since my boyfriend and I decided to redo our kitchen I don't really have much time for miniatures. But I did find something amazing at the store, when we were on one of our many excursions to pick out things (sink, cabinets, colors, floors, wallpaper,....). And speaking of wallpaper, I found some wallpaper samples that were free and perfect for miniatures! 

I found one that in my mind looks exactly like dragon scales :)

So without further ado, here's the finished look. They only had this color, but with some acrylics I'll have different colors in no time! And not to brag, but the feel of this book is amazing too, a bit like a leathery kind of fabric....

I love it! Can't wait to use it in my setting...

And today these bottles finally arrived! I ordered them from eBay about a month ago and I finally got them. This is the only miniature thing that I bought, everything else is made by me. Is it silly of me to be proud of that? :P

I have 20, now comes the fun part of filling them!

Well, back to remodeling the kitchen I guess.

*Poof*

Putting it all together

Well, today was one of the hottest days in the year.... 34 degrees outside! Thankfully it was a bit better inside and I had the chance to make some minis :)

I decided it was about time to start putting things together. I finally got the courage to firmly glue everything in place, so here are the finished results.

The table will most probably be by the stairs...

And a better look at the table. I still need to think of something for the middle though. I was thinking of making a mini writing table, but we'll see. Or I'll try making an open book, if I can get my good printer to work again.

And the newest addition is a tall shelf unit. I filled the first two shelves, but can't decide what to do with the bottom two. Perhaps some crates.... hmm....

And a close up. Can you see the little potions bottle in the back? :)

That's about all I had the energy for today, although I'm very pleased with the results. Now I'll have to make more scrolls, books and candles, besides everything else, since I've ran out of almost everything. 

At least I'm not out of ideas what to make, although with this heat it's extremely hard to focus on anything, let alone something this small.

Oh well, I hope it doesn't last long. Until next time!

*Poof*

Bits and pieces, a miniature museum and Minimundus

Hello again! It's been a while since the last update, but things have been hectic around here. And with vacation time we away from home for almost 3 weeks total, so miniatures had to wait. But I did get some miniature sightseeing in.... First it was Minimundus in Klagenfurt, Austria, which is only about an hour and a half from where I live. And next was something even more impressive.... it was a miniature museum near Linz, Austria. We went to visit some relatives who live there and of course we had to see the museum. It's actually not allowed to take photos but I managed to sneak in a few. I truly recommend it, it's a private collection housed in an old school. There are 3 floors full of 1/12 scale miniatures and higher, antique dolls, bears, everything you can imagine!

Still, I managed to make a few mini bits and pieces after we got home. I started making potion bottles with beads and a few other things.
I also got the courage to stain my table and chair and I'm trying to decide what to put on the table now.

Trying out what to put on the table. Nothing glued yet and I'll probably have to add something more...

Close up of the possible potions tray.

And this little guy is the newest addition to my collection. He is one of the few things I actually bought in 1/12 scale and he's extremely tiny. I bought him at the miniature museum we visited.... they had terribly expensive things but I had to have this one, even if he was 20 euros.

And here he is peeking from the chair :)

Another close up of the table.

And my box full of bits and pieces that will surely not go to waste since I have two whole floors to fill.

MINIMUNDUS

This is truly something worth seeing. They have miniature versions of various landmarks from around the world. They're not in 1/12 scale, I don't think they all have the same scale, but it's still something. And they have miniature trains riding by and small ponds, fountains that work,....

A few pictures of more famous miniatures.

PUPPENHAUS - MINIATURE MUSEUM

This museum in in a small town St. Thomas am Blasenstein, Austria, where there's not really much else to see. It's about an hour from Linz but it's well worth it. These pictures aren't all that great, but still something to drool over, hehehehe.

The whole collection belongs to a couple who collected everything in the museum by themselves. And when they needed a place to put everything they bought this old school. At first they didn't even want it open to public but in the end they did decide to make everything public. I do admit I've never been to a miniature museum other than this, but to me it was extremely impressive. 

I think this was the biggest house they had in the collections, I think even without the stand it would be taller than me :)

And some houses were made inside real furniture! I think this one was my favorite out of all of them. I stood there for probably 15 minutes, just by this one, until my relatives had to almost drag me away :)

Well, this is about it for now. Until next time!

*Poof*

Stairs anyone?

Today I've been busy installing the stairs and finally making the second floor. I can't wait to have everything in place, it'll give the house a lot more perspective. Although I'm starting to think that it's going to be too small..... I tried fitting the bed on the upper floor and it takes up quite a chunk of it :/

Anyway, I've finally finished the stairs, even though they're not much I'm relieved to be done with them. I can sincerely say that was not a part of building my house that I enjoyed a lot.
I've decided to paint them black, although in retrospect they would have worked in brown a bit better.

Part of the wall already painted, wanted to do the whole thing but ran out of paint, haha.

And I finished the flooring for the upper floor. I love how it turned out! Now I need to paint the fence and I'm ready to fix it in1

Well, at least the house is coming together rather nicely. Now I'll have to start deciding where everything will go. And from now on I'll have to make things fit into what I have, so probably a bit more restrictions. We'll see. But for today I got quite a few things done. At least for mini making it's good not to have a job at the moment.

Until next time!

*Poof*

A bed fit for a witch!

Hello everyone! I know, I know, I haven't posted in a while. Real life can get in the way a lot... And with a heat wave it's hard to get anything done.

But....
I did manage to finish a bed for my house. Hooray! :)
Well, at least the frame, I still need to make the mattress, pillows, covers.... But I think that a large part is behind me and I'm extremely pleased with the results.

After numerous failed attempts I finally managed to make the padding for the boards. I would like to thank fellow mini makers from SmallStuff Digest and my yahoo group Dream Dwellings, for giving me advice so kindly and responding in such numbers.

And now..... A bed fit for a witch!

Trying out the padding for the lower board.

Both frames cut, sanded and ready for padding.

Finally, after many failed attempts.

It's finished!! Still without a mattress though. It measures 17,5cm x 10cm. I was aiming for a queen size bed, but it would have to be a bit wider. But it's fantasy anyway and there are not exact measurements in fantasy, hahaha.

The boards are a bit low, but I had to glue them on so the side boards would stay in place. I used gold sating for the upholstery and have plenty left for the covers and such.

Well, this is what I came up with. I know it's not perfect, and that there should be buttons in the tufting, but I like it anyway and I think that for a first try it worked out extremely well. I did plan on making the frame gold and the upholstery red velvet, but I couldn't find any so I had to rework the colors. But all in all, I'm pleased with the result. 

I would love to hear what you think, though.

And some random bottles I also made today.... it was something to distract myself while I was waiting for the glue/paint/varnish to dry :) Have to be productive ;)

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

New walls + a bed fit for a witch part 1

I've been busy the past couple of days, so I only had time for miniatures during the weekend. What I decided to improve were the walls in my house. I did a coat of glue for ceramic tiles, which is just like plaster when dry. This is what it looks like now. Only paint left to add.

I still need to sand it down and then it'll be ready for painting. I'm still deciding on the color though.... I'm thinking light grey... I would leave this color but it's a bit too bright.

And the next project was a bed. I saw this bed when I was searching for inspiration. Unfortunately I don't remember where I got the picture from, but I don't own any rights to it.

The ultimate inspiration.... It's just gorgeous! I decided that the curved board is way past my skill level so I came up with a flat design.

This is the plan for the back board.

And the plan for the front board. These plans are my own design, so please ask if you wish to use them.

The pieces for my bed. I had to glue some boards together since I didn't have wood that was big enough.

First I cut out the outer part and then the inner part. I debated if I should just leave the bed with only the outer part, since I liked it already. But I decided to try it anyway. I won't cut out the back board though, will finish this one first with fabric and paint and then I'll see if I'll like it or not. That way, if I don't like it I only have to cut out one piece again :)

And the back board cut out. This will wait until the other one is completely finished. Just in case....

This is all I had time for. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish the front board of the bed tomorrow. I'm just irritated because I had this really gorgeous red velvet that would be perfect for this, but used it for another project. And when I went to the store last week they said they don't have any more. So I'll have to see which fabric would be good for this. Perhaps black velvet..... I'd like a deep purple, but again, can't get any :/ Perhaps I'll have to widen my search and include more types of fabric, not just velvet. We'll see....

This is it for now. Can't wait to see how this bed will turn out!

*Poof*

Furniture..... mostly :)

Well, it's been a busy couple of days. I've had some time off and a lot of time to make miniatures.
I decided it was time to tackle something other than shelves, furniture wise. So I decided on making a table.
I have to admit, I found a few helpful tips + a plan ON CASEY'S MINIS. This blog has great tips, tutorials and so much more!
Again, the plan for the table is from Casey's Minis (although I tweaked it a bit) and I take no credit for it, only for making the table ;)

I sawed the legs by hand after cutting the straight parts.

Here is my trusty saw :)

The legs already cut out and assembled, only the top left to glue.

And the finished table :) I still have to stain or color it, haven't decided yet....

Another project for this week was a chair. I saw something similar on one of the miniature sites, but can't remember where. If anyone knows where I could have seen a similar chair please let me know. 

The chair is 5cm wide, 15cm high and 4cm deep. The table is 11,5cm wide, 7 cm deep and 6,5cm high. They're both made of pear wood.

The chair still needs to be painted and I have to make a cushion for the seat.

I know that to an experienced miniaturist this doesn't look like much, but I'm so very proud of myself :) These turned out great! 

And finally, I had time for another fantasy bird. This one was named Helga :)

Again made of air drying clay, over which I glued feathers. She will probably get a stand to sit on, or perhaps she'll sit on one of the furniture :)

Another project these past few days were stairs. I wanted to make a spiral staircase but couldn't quite figure it out, so I made a regular one with a twist. It still needs a fence, which will be made of toothpicks. And after the staircase is done the upper floor can finally be fitted in!

And this is all for now. Quite a bit work done, but still lots more to go :)

*Poof*

Carving + Alfred

I've been trying something new this week.
First thing is another shelf unit, with carved detail.

The carved detail are actually skewers which I carved out with an electric dremel tool.

Up close...

Is and Lucifer trying it out :)

Painted but not dry yet....

And the painted detail. I think it turned out pretty good, and it adds a bit more detail to the shelves.

I'd like to introduce Alfred, the fantasy owl! I just love how he turned out. I made him with air drying clay and then added the feathers. I didn't want to make an ordinary owl and that's why he's purple, rather than brown or white. But he told me that he likes his feathers purple, so nothing to worry about ;)

Side view and his tail.

Love his ears!

Alfred will eventually be perched on his stand, which I'm still making. I'll probably make some companions for him since I loved making him. I think this is the cutest thing I made so far :)

Until next time!

*Poof*