Wingardium Leviosa!

I think this is a record in the amount of free time I've had lately. I decided to try my hand at wands today. I think they turned out quite nice.

They are made of toothpicks and either painted black or with a walnut stain. All of them are around 3cm long.

I think this is my favorite. I made the handle from a slightly wider toothpick and the rest from a normal one. I carved the handle with my rotary tool.

These two are also carved but they're not made from two parts. 

The black wand is made with a very thin wire and string. 

Well, 3 different techniques and they all turned out well. I'm going to try making more of these and of course they'll need boxes. 

Until next time!

*Poof*

How to shine your cauldron 101

Lately I've had a little more free time and that means mini making! And I've wanted to try the ping pong ball method for making cauldrons for a long time. So that was number one on my list. I made two different versions, one with legs and one with a flat bottom. I think they turned out great! Now I need to find something to fill them with. I think I'm going to have to order some scenic water for this...

I actually like this one better. I'm still thinking if I want to hang it in the fireplace or not.... Maybe it could be on the table if the witch needs to add ingredients :)

Another project for today were Fimo candles. I've made a lot of these last year but I've used almost all of them so I needed new ones. My Fimo got really hard and I've put off making anything out of it but now I've found this great tip that you can soften Fimo with a bit of oil. I used baby oil and it worked perfectly!

I think I got a taste for mirrors :) I loved the shape of this one and so I just had to make it. Now I'm trying to decide how to finish it. I'd really like to add some embellishments to the frame but I'm not good at carving nor at simulating carving with clay. I was thinking of just staining it with the same stain as the table. More of a medieval look than a fantasy one. Hmm.... Well, if I don't like it I can always make another one since it was so easy to make.

Ok, that was the most projects in one post in a long time. I'm glad I have more time for minis. I'll probably have to start on the house itself again.... I don't know why but I can't bring myself to continue the rooms. Which is silly because I only have to make the upper railing and put the upper floor in. Somehow I don't like stairs at all! 

Oh well, maybe I should think about making a fireplace.... it would be a nice addition, or more of a requirement. 

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Finally I had a bit of time today for some mini goodies. I wanted to make a mirror for some time, but I was thinking of ways I could make a carved one instead of simplifying things. So today I decided to just go ahead and make one. After all, I can always make more :)

I had these little corners for a while now. I think they look great on the mirror!

Overall the mirror is 15cm tall and 8,5cm wide, made out of 3mm thick pear wood. It's meant to be this large and I got the measurements from a friend, who has one life size, and it's gorgeous! 

I painted everything with gesso and then with a black wash. Then I decided the corners could be gilded so I painted those gold, then distressed them and painted another black wash over them. After that I still wasn't satisfied as there was still too much gold showing through. So I painted over them with black acrylics and then dabbed the extra paint off with a paper towel. Turned out quite good actually. 

And a close up of the corner.

I thought about doing the whole mirror in gold first and black on top but I really like how it looks now. Although I might just make another one of these. After all, what sort of a respectable witch would be caught dead without magic mirrors! :)

I did find this great tip on one of the blogs how to age the mirror (which is an acrylic mirror sheet) but it looks like I didn't age it enough as the scrapes don't show on the pictures. I think I will definitely need more mirrors!

I also started a cauldron, made from a ping pong ball. So far it's working out ok. Now I need to figure out what to put in it to make it look like liquid. I tried clear glue, but it's not very good. I filled two mini jars one with white glue and the other with clear satin lacquer. Will see if either of these will do. 

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

More books anyone?

Yay, 2013 is here!! And a new year for mini projects! Lots of them I hope.

I present to you....... dun dun dun dun..... a magical stack of books!

I've recently watched all Harry Potter movies again and I got the idea for high stacks of books. I've made this with books I already had, the red one is real leather, the brown one is made of fabric and the others are from the Dragonskin line. Oh, and these stand on their own, no glue necessary :)

Now here is something new! A book covered in very light colored moss. I found this great moss and I just couldn't resist. And I decided to make this an especially thick tome.... I like to think this is a very ancient encyclopedia of herbology :)

And another green mossy book. This one is smaller than the other one, it measures 1,5cm x 2,2cm

And the two books together. It's very easy to see size difference here. You might have noticed I generally have two sizes for closed books and two for opened. I am planning on making some more sizes, but only after I run out of the blanks I've made over the holidays. I do hope they'll last some time though.

In other news, I managed to make blank covers for over 25 books, so all I need to do now is to decide what to do with them.... leather, Dragonscale line, moss? I think I'll need to try something new.....

Well, hope you enjoyed the first post of 2013!

Until next time!

*Poof*

Tons of books.... cover ideas anyone?

Hi everyone!! Hope you all had a great time during the holidays and that you still have a few days off to enjoy with family, friends, minis.

I haven't made any new minis, visiting family and friends during the holidays, one event after another, a trip to Slovakia and kitchen remodeling coming along fast..... well, it just doesn't leave much time for anything else.

The only thing I did manage to make are a few blanks for books. I had some free time when we were visiting  the in-laws. These blanks are a bit time consuming, with all the cutting and folding and gluing, but I think the results are well worth it. These books really do look like they have real pages, and can be open or closed. I've decided I'll need a ton of books for Faye since she's a bit of a bookworm.

Here are 34 large closed books,30 small closed books and 15 bat books. Now all they need are the covers. I'll have to try some new ideas for these.

I'd like to wish everyone happy holidays (belated) and a very happy New Year, full of joy, inspiration and successful mini projects!

See you next year!

*Poof*

I'm still here....

Hi everyone! I know, I know, no update in a while. Real life/work getting in the way of making minis. But at least we made a lot of progress on our real life kitchen remodeling :)
I will hopefully have some time to make minis next week. I have a few ideas I want to try out, not to mention making a few pieces of furniture with my new saw! I've been meaning to try making a cauldron from a ping pong ball.... I've read about it somewhere, don't really remember where.... And I got some more moss, a grey-ish color, so I'll definitely be doing some more books. And perhaps I'll try making a chest. I've been thinking about making dragonskin luggage.... hmm....

If you have time take a look at this amazing blog Honey, I shrunk the house, a lot of inspiration there! And a giveaway too, although only for another day, so hurry if you want to participate!

Well, this is it for now, no minis but hopefully next week will be better.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Early Christmas gift!!!!!

I got a really nasty cold so I wasn't able to do much of anything last week. But I finally got better now so I decided to show you my early Christmas gift.

First let me tell you a little story.... when I was in primary school, about 14 years old, we had a class where we learned about various craft related things. And we were supposed to do a project where we got to cut a chess set with a scroll saw. But there were only a few scroll saws and so not enough for everyone. And the teacher (male), had us girls cut out one piece each and then said we saw how it worked and that we had to let the boys have our place with the saws (they made the whole set!). I know it sounds silly but I loved cutting out my knight (the one chess piece I made) but when I asked to make more the teacher told me that I should let the boys have fun. And since then I've always wanted a scroll saw. It's funny how such a thing stays with you for so long....

And imagine how excited I was when I saw one decently priced a few days ago. These usually cost a minimum of 120€ but this one was for only 70€!!! And then my wonderful boyfriend came home with it today (an early Christmas present!!!). I'm so excited to finally have one of these!

Ok, a bad photo, I know, but it was already dark outside.

And of course I couldn't resist making something. I drew up this design a few weeks ago, but wasn't sure if it would look good or not.... I'm still not sure actually, but I don't exactly hate it so perhaps it has potential. I didn't want to hand cut it so I put it off. And turns out it was a good thing. I got this finished on the scroll saw quite quickly, while it would have probably taken me quite a while by hand. 

Here is how the chair will look. It still needs to be sanded, not to mention glued and painted. But I really wanted to see how it would turn out. I'm the kind of person who can imagine a lot of things but I prefer to partially see how things will turn out to get a better idea of an item. As I said, I don't exactly hate it. Perhaps with some paint it'll be better? Or perhaps this should be turned into a bench?

This is all I have to show for now. Hopefully I got rid of this cold for good and I can get back to making minis! I have a feeling that there will be quite a few new furniture pieces in Faye's house in the next few months.

I would also like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! Even though we don't celebrate this holiday where I live I know it has a special meaning for a lot of people. Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Until next time!

*Poof*

Giveaway Winners!!!

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for participating in the giveaway and thank you for all your lovely comments.
And now for the winners:

First I made a list of all the eligible contestants. I assigned the numbers based on the comments, so the first one to comment had the number one and so on.

The list. 

Then I decided to use a random number generator, which gave me the next results.

#1: A set of three books goes to........

Comment number 4 was left by Margriet! Congratulation! 

#2: The Bat Book goes to.....

Comment number 14 was left by Malu! Congratulations!

#3: A dragonscale book goes to.....

Comment number 5 was posted by Heather Cutting-Rayl! Congratulations!

Well, these are the winners, so congratulations to all three!!! Please send me an email with your contact information so I can send the parcels straight away. 

I hope to have another giveaway soon so check back often as you will all have another chance at this soon.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Giveaway reminder and new additions

First of all, I'd like to remind everyone that there is one more day until the drawing for the giveaway, so for those who didn't put your name in the drawing there's still time to do so. You can find the giveaway here.

Well, I haven't been as busy with miniatures as I could have been. We've had horrible floods all over the country on Monday but thankfully our house was spared. Others haven't been as fortunate so we did what we could to help.
What I did manage to make is a large amount of books and finish a staff I started a while back.

Made all of these books yesterday.... I have something special planned so I need  to make a lot more.

These aren't all of them, I still have a lot more to assemble!

And the staff. My first attempt but I like it. I was thinking of having a collection of these and mounting them up on the wall, sort of a display of staffs.

Well, this is it for today. Good luck to all of you who entered the drawing! I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winners.

*Poof*

Halloween Giveaway!

Today I have a very special surprise! In celebration of Halloween I have decided to host a giveaway. Although the contest will last well over Halloween, these are a perfect fit for any witch or wizard. Of course they would look just as good on a Tudor desk or a Victorian Bookshelf.

For my giveaway I am offering three prizes. 

#1: A set of three Illyria's Miniatures original books - a Bat Book, a Mossy Book and a Dragonscale Book - Turquoise.

#2: One Illyria's Miniatures original Bat Book

#3: One Illyria's Miniatures original Dragonscale Book - Gold

Well, here they are, the three prizes waiting for the lucky winners!

Now for the rules:

1. You have to be a follower of my blog. (new followers will also be able to participate, so don't be shy!)

2. Leave a comment on this blog entry to let me know you wish to be added to the draw.

3. Post about my giveaway on your blog.

The giveaway will last until Sunday, November 11th, when I will draw the winners at 12am CET (Central European Time).

Good luck!

*Poof*

Of spyglasses and orreries and other bits

Well, even though October is usually a very tiring month (lots of birthdays and such), I'm glad I still find the time for minis. Being without a job does have it's good sides sometimes.
As promised, here are the finished spyglasses. At first I thought I'd make them into telescopes, but I think they work just as well as spyglasses.

This is the second try. I decided to go with a more fantasy inspired colors. I think it turned out great! The only thing I'm not happy about is the lens at the end. I made that with glue and at first there were no visible bubbles, but when the glue started to dry the bubbles started showing. I did try to think of something else to use for the lens, but couldn't think of a better solution.

And here are both spyglasses together. I think the black one is a bit too thick so I'm not sure I'll use it in a setting, but it seemed a waste to just throw it away.

I also decided to make a book stand for the table. Nothing fancy as you can see, but it does serve it's purpose.

And a bit of playing around with settings.

A side view of the finished book stand. I love this table so much I'm hesitant to put anything down permanently.

And the making of another orrery.

Finished another one. Look great and I love these new colors!

And just for fun I added this funny picture I took of my cat Tiger the other day. I don't normally post off topic things, but this was just too good to resist! My boyfriend and I can't agree, he says Tiger is laughing, but I say he looks like he's singing.... Either way this picture is hilarious!

Now I need to decide what to work on next. Hmmm....

Until next time!

*Poof*

Orrery and other bits

Well, after a completely wild weekend I actually had to take some time for sleeping.
After resting for two days I finally decided to make myself an orrery. I think something like that fits perfectly onto a witchy table.

In the making.... The lower pole was too large, so I cut half of it off. Much better I think...

Well, I think I did ok for a first try. I should have added more gears, but I don't have all that many and I do want to make some more of these....

And two mossy books. These will look great on a table.

And two telescopes in the making. Will be updating these as I finish them.

Well, these are all the projects I was able to come up with.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Cabriole legs dining table + mini making goodies!

Since we don't have any shops with art supplies near where I live (where I could be every day), I can't go to one very often. But yesterday my wonderful boyfriend took me to one. I knew I couldn't spend all that much, and we were in a bit of a hurry, but I still managed to find some wonderful things!

A distress ink pad! I wanted one of these for some time.

And some metallic acrylic paints! They're great but unfortunately they don't really show well in the pictures. There were so many colors to choose from! More of these in different colors will definitely be on my shopping list next time I'll be able to get to the shop. I really wanted a darker purple, but they didn't have any darker shades so I took a lighter one instead. These will be perfect for dragons and the dragon scale books!

Cats!! It's amazing what you can find in the toy section of shops! I found these four cats and another bigger one (not suitable for 1:12 scale) for less than 2€!

I think I'll try painting the left one black.... I like the white one, although the eyes aren't very realistic.

And finally, something I managed to make myself... another table with cabriole legs.

And the table painted with three coats of wood stain. Without varnish as of yet, but they are actually this glossy with only stain.

And dragon skin books, had to try out the new metallic colors! Although these are actually a blue-green hue, but I think this picture makes them look blueish.... 

Both tables with three coats of stain.

They really look a lot better than with only one coat of stain. I love how they turned out!

Well, this weekend we're celebrating my boyfriend's 30th birthday, so I won't be able to get any mini work done. But for next week I already have a couple of ideas that I'll have to try :)

Until next time!

*Poof*