My miniatures through the eyes of a professional photographer

Remember the amazing photos my friend took of my minis? Well, she sent me a new round. Again, I was speechless when I saw them. My fiance said they're worth more than gold since they got me to shut up for a few minutes, hahah. He was kidding.... I think he was kidding.... I hope he was kidding, hahha.

I would like to thank everyone for the lovely comments. It means so much to know that people enjoy my work since I love sharing my process and end results with all of you.

Of course these photos were again taken by the fabulously talented Inaya. You can also find her on facebook. And now without further ado....

What do you think? Amazing, right? These are all things you've already seen on this blog. Isn't it interesting how they can look so much better this way? I don't think I'll ever stop admiring them :) Thank you again Inaya!!

In other news....

Recently I've had some time to set up a facebook page. You can find the link on the right side of this blog or just click here. Just in case you don't want to miss any blog updates or are curious to see more WIP photos. I have decided to post occasional snapshots of my worktable there that won't be on the blog. If you're interested head on over and take a look. I will also have another giveaway only for facebook in the very near future so keep an eye out for that also.

I wish everyone a very happy Easter with lots of colourful Easter Eggs :)

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

OOAK Walnut dining table now on Etsy

Whew, it's done! The serpentine dining table that is!

I finished it with another coat of shellac, so that makes four in total. After waiting for over 12 hours to make sure the shellac was completely dry I added the finishing touch - shellac polishing oil (the one with lavender :/). And this is the finished product. Again the photos aren't the best but since it doesn't look like we'll be having any sunny days soon I photographed it anyway.

Although it's not visible so much it has a semi gloss finish. I actually prefer it to the truly polished finished like on pianos. I think that this way the table looks more realistic and less plastic.You can find this piece in my Etsy shop.

Now I have to be good and write my thesis. I already wrote 10 pages today so a couple more days and I should be finished. And then it's back to minis (hopefully next week!)

Until next time!

*Poof*

Walnut Serpentine Table - part 2

So between everything that's been going on in the last few days I finally managed to give the walnut table a coat of paraffin oil. I swear, I think everyone was just waiting for me to get a job and then they started having picnics, birthdays, doctor's appointments,... Lol!

Ok, on to serious business :) Yesterday before going to work I mixed my shellac flakes with alcohol to get shellac I can actually work with. You can get pre-mixed shellac I've been told, but I don't think they sell it here and I prefer to do it the old fashioned way anyway. So I mixed 100 ml with 24 grams of flakes and got a 2 pound cut. Shellac can be mixed in different "cuts", depending on what you're using it for.
And then after mixing in the flakes I had to shake it every few hours or so (well, my mum did that for me thankfully, since I wasn't home all day yesterday) and after 24 hours or so it's ready to go. Well, I did have to pour it through an old T-shirt first, in case there were any bits left that didn't dissolve.

On the left is the mixed shellac and on the right a small amount of alcohol to wash my brush with. The shellac would ideally be stored in a darker container but I didn't have anything else on hand. I will store it in a dark place though. I realised I mixed way too much even though I only mixed 100ml. But it would probably be harder to mix even less. I guess I'll have to produce quite a few more pieces in the next 6 months (which is usually how long mixed shellac has before going bad).

The table finally coated with paraffin oil. I had to do more sanding after the filling part was complete, but it was so worth the work! I love how rich the colour is! Now I have to wait until tomorrow for the oil to settle in and for the grain to lift. After that the table will get another light sanding and then, finally, it's first coat of shellac. At least I hope so, since I want to finish the scrap piece with at least four coats today. And then I'll see what kind of shine it will have and also if I have to put anything else on.

And again, the difference in colour. The upper piece is not coated with oil. It's amazing how a little oil can transform a piece so much!

The last thing I wanted to show you is the scrap piece. On the left is the first coat of shellac, already dry. In the middle the wood is coated only with oil and on the right side it's completely unfinished. You can see the difference in colour here perfectly. Also the shellac has a slight shine to it, but nothing drastic yet. Now I will have to wait for 2 hours between each coat of shellac but since I already have the second coat drying I will probably get to finish the scrap piece today.

Well hopefully tomorrow I can start coating the table with shellac. Will report on the progress and show more pictures of shellac layers as I apply them.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Walnut Serpentine Table - part 1

Well, it's been a crazy few days. But still, I decided to make another serpentine table. And this time I was brave enough to try making it out of walnut!

I love how it turned out. My main concern was that I won't be able to get everything fitted together perfectly and of course I couldn't. But luckily I coloured some filler. Although I didn't need much I still needed it but it did turn out good anyway.

I used a similar design as on the previous serpentine table, although this one is larger. It's 15cm long and 8,5cm deep.

Here you can see the parts that still need some sanding and filling. 

Mixing the filling with a drop of paint. Worked out perfectly!

After all the sanding and filling was done I faced another dilema. How to finish the table? I've been tempted by shellac for a long time, but never got around to quite trying it. We had some flakes and alcohol left over from a while back, when my mum and dad used it for French polishing a few antique pieces of real life furniture. And so I went to the basement and dragged everything out. Not just shellac but also paraffin oil.

They explained the process to me. First use paraffin oil and let it sit for at least 24 hours and after that a few coats of shellac. I won't be able to rub it on like they could but I can still paint it on with a brush. So I decided to try the whole technique on a scrap piece of walnut.

Here you can see the difference in colour, the scrap piece on top of the table is already coated with paraffin oil and the table is not. I love how rich the colour got and the best part, it stays this way!

Shellac flakes. I will have to mix my own shellac but that shouldn't be a problem.

And I also have the alcohol. Thank got we still had this at home, since it's terribly expensive to buy. Who would have thought that something as silly as denaturated alcohol would be so pricey!

Well, now I have to leave the scrap piece to dry and then I can start applying shellac. I decided not to try it straight on the table since I have no idea how this will turn out. I know that shellac finish is amazing but I'm not sure how this will react with being brushed on versus rubbed/polished on. Will have to see and of course I'll report on my progress here :)

Until next time!

*Poof*

Serpentine table part 2 - finished

And another finished project to show you :) I finished painting the serpentine table I was making last week. All in all I'm very proud of the finished product. Oh, and please excuse the awful pictures. I just couldn't wait till tomorrow to show this to you so I had to photograph it in on my kitchen table in this horrible light. Will post better pictures in a couple of days, when we have nice weather again.

Finished!! It's a very rich dark brown colour. Perfect for a Victorian setting. This is the same colour as my other furniture, the other cabriole leg tables and the Davenport desks.

On top of my next project - a large dining table made from walnut. The next one will be quite bigger, 10cm x 15cm, the measurements were taken from an actual antique table.

The materials - walnut for the next table/tables. Will probably make a slightly different design but overall it will be very similar to the one above. 

Well, I hope to be back soon with more photos, a bit better this time.

Oh, and I also bought a large lantern, which will be perfect for a mini scene. Now to think of what I can put in it..... Will show you pictures of the purchase next time. And I am now officially collecting ideas of that to put inside the lantern :)

Until next time!

*Poof*

Serpentine table part 1

I've finally been able to finish the new table I was working on. I love how it turned out and after it is painted it will go to my Etsy shop.

Here is the assembled table but it still needs to be sanded.

The underside...

And after a lot of sanding.

The first coat of paint. Will need a few coats more to finish it.

I'll need to finish this one and then I was thinking of making a similar table from walnut. It would be larger, a large dining table to fit eight chairs, but made out of walnut and only coated with clear varnish, not stained like this one. And of course this would also look great in a shabby chic style. Well, at least I'm not out of ideas :)

Until next time!

*Poof*