Queen Anne chair sneak peek

With the wedding drawing nearer every day I've been busy with lots of details. We had some great weather last week and so I was able to take some time for minis too. I love working on our balcony and thankfully I have a really comfy chair :) 

What I came up with is this Queen Anne chair. I got the plan from the book I bought last year although I followed it only partially. I didn't make tenon joint but I jointed the whole chair with pegs. How can you get so tiny pegs? Well, you sand down a toothpick of course! 

Although it still has many flaws and isn't complete yet I am so very proud of this chair. It is by far the most detailed piece I've made. It took me quite some time to figure everything out but I think that the second one should be easier to make since I know where I made mistakes with this one. I heard somewhere that if you know of one way how not to do/make something you're one step closer to knowing how to do it properly (or something along those lines). 

As far as a first attempt at this style goes I think it turned out great. I was afraid that it wouldn't go together properly and was completely thrilled when it did! That feeling when you put everything together and you see that it's going to work..... it just makes all the trial and error worth it!

I would love to hear what you think! It's still not finished of course but it already has the general shape. I'm not sure if I'll be able to put on the brackets on either side of the legs. Perhaps I should have made them before I glued everything together, but I was just too excited to see if it would turn out as it should. I will try to add them to this one but if not the next one will definitely have them. And next time there will be more pictures of the process and hopefully of this one finished. I already have the cabriole legs for three more chairs so I'll be able to take lots of photos!

Until next time!

*Poof*

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*

Finished Chair and Patisserie Goodies

I've been extremely busy lately with real life and so I didn't get to play with my minis a lot during the last few weeks. The house has also been on hold for now but I'm hoping to return to it soon.

Although I'm very busy with work, I finished my thesis and now I have to wait for a date for my formal presentation. I'm very glad that's going to be over soon. Also planning the wedding and such... I'm going to make a lot of things myself - invitations, thank you cards, wedding favors,.... as much as I possibly can. We're going to have a small wedding so at least there won't be a ton of the same things to make. But still, I need to design everything which I think will take a lot more time than actually making things. Oh well.... I'm looking forward to it thought. You only get married one, right? Well, generally speaking :)

Ok, I got a bit carried away....

I wanted to show you the progress I made on the white lantern I'm making for a relative. I've finished the chair, 'baked' a lot of goodies and played with paper a bit. Today was the first day I had for minis in quite some time. And I have such great luck that I have a nasty cold, I've been sneezing and coughing all day, not to mention my runny nose. Uugh... and even though I didn't really feel all that good I couldn't wait to get some mini time so I got out of bed for a few hours to make a couple of things...

Just finished it today. I love how it turned out! It kind of reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.... perhaps that should be my next project.... an Alice lantern.... hmmm...

I baked all sorts of cookies for the etagere. I love these, my mother bakes these in real life. They're very big in real life too so I decided to make them big in miniature too.

Mmmmm......

Well, considering that this was my first experimenting with Fimo after over a year I think the sweets turned out pretty ok. I'm no expert for sure but they look somewhat like they're supposed to, right?

The whole etagere.... I'm sorry for the bad pics, I promise to get better ones up sometime soon. We've been having horrible weather and there is no chance of going outside for pictures.

Since I was in bed for the most part of the day I decided to try and design a few shopping bags and gift boxes. So far I've assembled a shopping bag. I think it turned out wonderfully and will look great in the patisserie. It still needs handles though....

I know, I know, these are the boxes for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. I cheated a little and filled them with some rock candy. I just love the boxes so much I couldn't resist. And it's impossible to read the sign so I can get away with it.

This is what I'm thinking for the table.... although I probably won't use this piece of cake.... I'm planning on making a half eaten one.

Ok, now I'm going to sleep and hope this pounding in my head is going to go away. Again, I'll try to take some better pics soon but in the mean time I hope you like what I've been up to. I'd love to know what you think of these so far. Nothing on the table is glued yet but the etagere is so not much correcting there I'm afraid. 

Until next time!

*Poof*

What kind of shop will this turn into?

First off.... a very warm thank you for all of your wonderful comments, both on the engagement and the dollhouse. I appreciate each and every one of you and I love getting feedback on my projects! You're the best!

I'm very happy to report that we've been making some progress our project :) The house is coming together quite nicely so far.

First we dry fitted the shell of the house. Fits like a charm! We had to mitre the top sides so the roof will sit on the sides like it's supposed to. We also cut the roof to size and dry fitted it but I didn't snap any pictures of that.

And the front facade. We cut out all the openings for windows and the front door plus the upper curves. I couldn't believe how it transformed everything! A few cuts and everything starts looking more and more like a dollhouse and less like a large wooden box.

We glued and clamped each piece individually to the facade and had to wait for the glue to dry. Here you can see the bevelled edge for the lowest part of the shop. It turned out exactly as it should. We didn't have any problems with this one as it's quite thick and wide,

The shop window is getting it's form also.....

And here is the complete shop window. We added two types of bevelled wood for the frame of the window. I was a bit worried because these are quite narrow and there is only a few millimetres between each edge but with some trial and error we managed to figure these out too. The thing is that my dad only has router knives that are used in real life furniture and so we had to try a few of them to get the effect we wanted. Thankfully we can set the router to cut at any thickness and as far into the wood as we want. Although we still have to set it manually and sometimes that takes a few tries to get it right.

The door isn't finished yes but you can also see the foundations for the two pillars, one on each side. These will get a moulded piece glued on top of this piece so they will stand out even more.

Here you can see a bit more detail to the window. I thought this was the hard part until we started working on the upper windows which require even thinner strips of wood. But more on that next time....

Today I finally found the right "plexi glass" for the windows. It's 2mm thick, just like the book says so I'm very excited. Now we need to cut that to size and try it on the windows. Can't wait!

Although now I need your advice my friends..... I have a very hard decision ahead. I need to think of what the shop will look like, at least from the outside. We can't start on the upper windows until I decide how I want the entire facade to look. I do know that the lower part of the house (aka the shop) will be a dark brown colour (an imitation of wood) after staining. Now I have to decide on the upper floor. I was thinking about a light cream or dirty white for the facade and the same dark brown for the windows. Also I have to figure out some way to make a slightly grouted finish like in real houses on facades. Any suggestions on that? I would love any and all advice you might have for me about the colour and the grouting, since I'm such a newbie at this.

Also, I still haven't decided what exactly I would like the shop to be. One option (which I'm leaning heavily to) is a Harry Potter/magical themed shop. This would mean turning it into a shop on both levels plus a little storage room in the attic. They would stock everything from Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, cauldrons, dragon eggs to potions and herbs.

Another option is to turn the house into a general goods shop downstairs and have a small living room or bedroom upstairs. Although I don't like this idea as much.... But I would love to know what you think!

I think this is it for now. Between finishing my thesis, all the wedding planning going on and the lantern project from a few posts ago I think we're making good progress on the house. All in all it's been a productive few weeks.

Until next time! 

*Poof*

Étagère

Finally I have some free time to write this post....

I think this is the last piece of furniture of 2013. Well, the Étagère and another console table, which is painted white.

I made this Étagère last month and it will be used in a lantern scene I'm making for a very dear relative. I hope to have everything finished in January for her birthday. It's going to be a shabby-chic-like patisserie, if I can make enough cakes and pastries to fill the scene.

It began with all the pieces cut out.... I made the plan based on a picture I found on the net.

I like how it turned out for a first try although I think that next time I should build a cabinet for the bottom and then add the Étagère..... my boyfriend thinks that it looks strange because the first three parts are the same size. Do you agree or is it ok the way it is?

I still can't decide if I should leave it like this or should I distress it a little..... some sanding here and there wouldn't be a problem but would it look better like this or distressed?

This is the lantern where I plan on making the little scene.... the table will be white, I already have it made but didn't find the time to take pictures yet.... There are going to be pastries on the Étagère. On the table there will be a plate with a fork and a half eaten cake. When my relative was visiting a few weeks ago she couldn't believe the small cutlery I purchased in Vienna so I decided to build something around that. Of course a dining table with a full dinner would be ideal but my Fimo skills aren't all that.... I'm just hoping I'll be able to whip up some pastries....

I'm hoping I'll get everything done before the middle of January. I have all the furniture, now I still need the cakes and pastries. I already made some cake slices but I will need quite a few more. I'm thinking of adding some boxes for pastries in the left corner.... and of course the chair still needs a seat... 

Oh, and please excuse the bad pictures..... We've had terrible weather for the last month and I have to take pictures inside.

Well, I think this is the last post until Christmas, unless I manage to take some more photos, which is unlikely.

I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful holiday and may Santa bring you lots of minis!

Until next time!

*Poof*

A chair!

This time things actually went as planned!! I'm super excited to share my newest creation with all of you, my dear readers! Finally, after many failed attempts..... I present to you.... a chair! :)

This is the end result and my first chair made from scratch. I like how it turned out although I might have been a bit too impatient to finish it and see how it will look. I could have done some more sanding on the back but all in all I think it's great for a first try.

Now as promised in my last post, I'd like to show you my new working area....

This is my father's workshop. As you can see he isn't exactly accustomed to keeping things clean. And I completely understand that you can't have a clean workshop if you actually work in it. You can see the large lathe he has on the left. Too bad it's not small enough for making minis....

This is the other part of the workshop where I'm currently taking up space :) It's too cold to work outside now but at least here I don't have to worry about bad weather and can work any time I like (unlike on my balcony).

And another view.... You can see the saw we use to cut the wood for my minis. Actually, my dad cuts everything to the correct thickness.... I guess it's for the best since I would probably loose a finger or two trying to operate this thing.

Now for some pictures of work in progress on the chair. It took me quite some time to figure out the best way for making mini chairs that would stick together. I'm very aware that these are not even a little close to what they could be like but for now I'm satisfied they stay glued together. The chair is made out of pear wood.

This is how I started....  These two seats are for the new chairs, I forgot to take pictures of the "prototype".

And this is the actual chair in the making (from the picture above). I had so much fun cutting out these tiny cabriole legs! They're a lot easier to cut than the ones for tables since they're about two times thinner to begin with.

Then it was time for the back of the chair. I drew my own pattern so there isn't another chair like this in the world. And of course some holes and a lot more sawing. 

And this is the semi finished result. I love how it turned out! After I figured out the lower part and forced it to stick together I got a little worried about the back. But it all worked out perfectly.

And here it is, fully assembled although not yet completely sanded.

If you look closely you can see that the legs are made of different wood. I just had a spare piece of walnut the right size and since this was a "prototype" I didn't want to bug my dad with cutting me pear for the legs. Now that I've seen it sticks together and how it works I do have pear wood for legs also.

And the end result. I wanted to make it into a shabby chic style but I can't decide if I should leave it like this (just white) or should I sand some parts and make it look a bit work and more shabby-chic-like. Any thoughts?

I couldn't resist trying it with one of my tables. Although this table is actually meant to be more of a side table or something standing in a foyer, not a table you would put a chair to..... but still, I had to see how it would look. I think I'm going to have to make a shabby chic dining table and some more chairs.

I was thinking of making some very light pink or lavender chair colours..... Hmm..... I think those would be lovely although I'm not sure they would fit into any settings.... Or perhaps I should just leave them a natural colour? Any suggestions on chair colours? 

Now I can't wait to make more chairs! Seems like once I understand how something works I can't wait to make more. I'm sure I'll make some walnut ones (finished with shellac) in the future but right now I'd like to get some more practice with pear wood (we have a lot more of pear than walnut wood at home). And I don't feel bad about colouring pear but I wouldn't dream of colouring walnut (except for the scrap piece I had for this chair legs) or much less mahogany.

Until next time!

*Poof*