Picture box

Today I finally managed to make the picture box..... not an actual box, but I wanted a setting where I could photograph the mini things I make (not just on my desk).

At first this room was twice the size, but I decided that it doesn't have to be as long.

Egg carton "stones" and walls covered with Gesso.

And the finished thing.... it's still drying but I was impatient and had to take a photo.

I'll have to think of something to do with the walls. Any ideas? I'm thinking a painting, would love a tapestry, but my sewing skills are very much nonexistent. Maybe a shield? Hmmm....

And this is a lucky find.... cheap plastic dinosaur bones. I know they're not 1/12 scale, but I'm probably going to use them separately.... Anyone see dragon bones here? :) As dragons aren't real nobody can say exactly what size they were.... and besides, perhaps the dragon isn't fully grown yet!

Isn't it strange that I can find "dragon" bones, but not an ordinary skeleton? It shows that we don't really celebrate Halloween here...

I'm also very excited to do my first ever mini swap. Michi from Bell and Crow Miniatures has kindly offered to send me some skeleton garlands (since I can't find them anywhere in stores here)! Seeing as I'm trying to make a witchy house I'm sure bones are an essential part of this setting.

Well, going off to my boyfriend's parents for the weekend so probably not going to get much minis done. At least I'll try to make some books, since that's something I can do anywhere and doesn't require a lot of material. We'll see....

Until next time!

*Poof*

Mandrakes and other goodies

Well, got the mandrakes finished and potted today. I still don't have a corner setting to take pictures in though! Will have to work on that, but somehow I don't really like doing the egg carton stones as it's really time consuming.
Also, still looking for ways to make my newest project, a rat goblet from Harry Potter, but the problem is I can't get any made goblets to use and I can't seem to be able to make a goblet myself. I'll have to try it again tomorrow.....

Oh well, here are the mandrakes at least.

Here are the three mandrakes. One of them wants to get out of his pot but the other two are good and will stay put :) I think they're a bit big, but since they're fantasy mandrakes I can make them as I like, lol!

I also made some more books, these are a bit smaller that the ones I already have, they're 1,5cm x 2,2cm. They're the dragon scale series, this time in a dark red, although I think in these photos they look almost purple. I hope to get some real leather tomorrow and see how that will turn out for book covers. 

And some "glass" bottles.... Two clear beads glued together and a little led bulb on top. At least it'll add some variety to my potion bottles.

This is about it for today. I did make the other broom, but I'm still deciding how to decorate it.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Pots and brooms

Today I decided to finish the flower pots I started a few months ago. Don't know why I never finished them before now....

The last coat of varnish is still drying, they won't be glossy when dry.

And another item for today was a broom for Faye. 

Just a plain broom for now. I'm toying with the idea of making it a bit more interesting, though I don't really know how yet. I have another handle ready so I'll have one more to decorate :)

The handle is a found twig that was sanded a bit and the lower part is cut from an actual broom. 

Well, I also got a great idea for another prop, but still need to work on how to make it. I did also manage to make three mandrakes that will go into the pots, but the pictures I took of them were horrible, so I'll wait for the flower pots to dry and then photograph the mandrakes in their proper place inside the pots with soil.

I wish every day was a day when I had a lot of time to make minis....

Until next time!

*Poof*

Meet Faye the witch!

Ok, first of all, please don't laugh. Well, now that that is out of the way, I am happy to introduce Faye, the witch!

I made her from scratch, with no molds. I think she turned out pretty well, except for her face, which is actually laughable. I know I should have spent more time on in, but as it is I made and remade the face again and again. I guess I just don't have the talent for making faces..... So again, I beg you not to laugh. I wouldn't show her at all, except that I quite like how her dress turned out. And with her hat on she's not all that bad (her face doesn't show as much, hehe).

Close up of the dress, with a vintage jewelry piece.

Without the hat she doesn't look quite human :P

The hat improves things.... a lot!

I know, I know, the eyes are totally wrong and don't even get me started on everything else. Perhaps my next try will be better, although I have no idea if and when there will be a next try.

So here you have it, a witch for the house. 

Other things I've been busy with include more crates, over 15 of them I think, and making things to go inside the crates. Also got another package of mini bottles, with glitter this time as they are much cheaper. I'm also experimenting with things to mix to make potions, since I'd have to order resin online and it would take some time to reach me. Maybe I'll find some other way to make potions..... 

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

Crates anyone?

Again, not much times for mini-making. Although I did manage to make these perfect little crates, now all I need is a few more dragon eggs :)

These crates are loosely based on Joanne's Minis Crate Tutorial, but I made a few adjustments.

Dragon egg nestled in the crate on some moss.

Also perfect for empty potion bottles....

And experimenting with jars.... Willow Moss anyone? 

I also made this trunk during the weekend. I only followed instructions from Debbie Dixon so I take no credit for the design, only for the assembly.

Potion bottles fit in perfectly! Perhaps a travelling apothecary?

And just for fun, a mini "dog" (fuzzy creature), which won't be in the house, but is still interesting with the hat :)

And this is it for the last few days. I did start making a display corner, but somehow between work and kitchen makeover I didn't get around to finishing more than a part of the stone floor. Plus I think I may have made it too big, so I'll probably have to trim it a bit. Something only for photos doesn't have to be so big, right? :)

Until next time!

*Poof*

Bookworm? Or potion addict? Nah, just a miniaturist!

Even between choosing paint for my real life kitchen and going to every imaginable store with building supplies I managed to squeeze a bit of time for my minis.

Thankfully I had quite a few books already glued together, so all I had to do was the fun part.... covers!

And I got a few more wallpaper samples, so I played around with them and colored a few. I'm very satisfied with how they turned out. I like them the way they are now, just dragon skin, but perhaps I will do some more decorating in the future.

For now here are the ones I finished, now I'm waiting for the purple paint to dry so I can make more :)

Quite a nice pile.... still more to come. And the purple one is made of some leather I found buried in one of my craft boxes.

This one is my favorite. It's black, with black pages, but the "scales" are gold. It's not a very good picture though, mush better in person. Perhaps the upper photo shows it a bit better.... it's the top book on the pile.

And to break off from the books, I made some potion labels. It was a lot of fun coming up with names, and even my boyfriend helped. In the end he was almost more excited than I was, hahaha!

This is just the first of many labels, I still have to stain the others with coffee.

Hmm... I think it's about time I make a setting to photograph my creations in.... Haven't really thought much about it before, but now I think it's about time to make something simple, instead of taking pictures on my computer :/

Hope to have the time to do that soon. 

Oh, I almost forgot.... If anyone would like to contribute a potion ingredient name, just leave a comment below. I'll have to make more potion bottles anyway, although I haven't decided yet if I want to have the "bead bottles" labeled as potions, or if I'll make those with ingredients too. Oh well, lots to decide....

*Poof*

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*