Davenport desk part 3

I'm almost finished with the desk, all I have to do is get another coat of stain on the drawer fronts, find something for the knobs and four legs.

This is going to be a bit of a long post, I just wanted to show the progress I've made.

Ok, first let me show you what the table looks like assembled, but still without drawers.

I had to rethink the top of the desk. I don't have any mini hinges so I had to improvise. I decided to shrink the top of the table so it fit inside the frame and then I was able to get little nails inside so they act like hinges. The top opens and closes as needed.

This is what I came up with. 

Some of the pieces drying from the first coat of stain. I put a bit of plasticine like glue on the bottom of the piece, and put a leftover stick on it. This way I can hold the piece and stain everything in one shot. Then I just flip it around and finish the underside.

Finished top of the desk. It's a bit of a snug fit since I forgot that after staining, everything would be a bit more bulky.

And the open top.

Finally the desk is assembled!! 

And with the drawers. I have to get another coat of stain on the fronts. And I will have to rethink the veneer on the bottom for the next desk, since it shows that it's there. Either I'll have to glue everything around the veneer or make the front in the end. 

And the other side. This side isn't as good as the other one, so maybe I'll leave some of the drawers open on this side and let the table face the other side. 

I'm thinking I might make a new drawer to replace the second one from the bottom, since that one has the biggest hole.

All of the drawers. 

Tomorrow I'll try to find some knobs and legs. I was thinking beads for the legs, except I don't know what that'll look like since they're not made of wood. And for the knobs I was thinking I'd snip off the kind of nails I used for the opening top but leave them to stick out a little. I'll have to try that, but if that doesn't work I'll have to think of something else. I just don't know what yet... 

Well, all in all it was great building this desk and I can't wait to make another one. I'll do some things differently and I hope that it'll turn out better than this one. I like almost everything on this one, except the drawers. I'll have to work on that on the next one. 

Well, it was silly to expect that on my first try the drawers would turn out perfectly so for a first try I'm satisfied with them.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Davenport desk part 2

I made a lot of progress on my desk today. First of all, let me show you the progress so far and then we'll get to the process part.

This is the desk so far. The top part is still not finished, but I hope to have everything done tomorrow.

Now for the process. First I started working on the legs. I made the design myself from looking at a lot of pictures of actal Davenport desks. So these legs are my own design. If anyone wants to use the design that's ok, but only for personal projects and a link back would be appreciated.

These are actually flat legs, not like cabriole legs. The leg process... template, transfer on wood, cut leg.

And this is the result, after sanding both. I decided to give them a bit of curved edges, since the sharp ones didn't look good to me. 

Next up was working on the decoration for the front of the table. I decided to add some 1mm veneer. I think it totally transforms the whole thing, especially once painted. And there's also the lowert part of the table, where the legs go. Now I need to find something for the four little legs on the bottom of everything. 

Of course I couldn't resisit a dry fit and so far it looks great!

I changed the top a bit but didn't take any photos of the new one. 

And now for the most feared part of this project.... drawers!!! I managed to make these 4, since I have to cut them one by one. They turned out pretty ok for a first try, although they don't fit as snugly as I would like.

I'm hoping that the little mistakes won't be as noticable after some paint. If not I'll have to make fronts for all of them. I'll se how they look once I have them all assembled and painted.

The drawers don't look half bad when they're open....

Well, this is it for today, I'm hoping to have the whole thing finished tomorrow, but we'll see.

Until next time

*Poof*

Davenport desk part 1

Ok, I finally decided to try my hand at making something with drawers. I'm still not sure how it will all turn out but that's part of the fun!
I've decided to make a Davenport style desk. I recently discovered this style and I instantly knew I had to make something similar in miniature.
So today I got all the parts cut and sanded (except for the drawers, I'll make those in the end so I can measure everything properly) and assembled part of the desk.

This (and other similar designs) was the initial inspiration for my table. Of course mine won't be as detailed but I'll try to do my best.

My so called plan. I'm useless at reading actual plans so I have to draw every piece and know where it goes in my mind. I know, I know, makes no sense but there it is anyway :) My process of working. Unprofessional, yes, but it works for me.

And I've assembled the main part of the table. Drawers will go in both sides, I'm just hoping I'll be able to make them *fingers crossed* I've also stained this piece already but forgot to take a picture. Of course it'll need a couple more stains before it's completely finished.

And my very special friends.... LEGOS!! I love these, used to play with them all the time as a kid. Forget Barbies, I wanted Legos :) And they're useful for so many things!

Well, tomorrow I have to assemble the top and shape some parts. And of course I still have to make the legs. I love making them so it shouldn't be a problem.

Until next time!

*Poof*

Test tubes + stand

Finally, a new mini to show! Been very busy with the real life kitchen, which is coming along nicely.

As we were cleaning some things out I came across some q-tips, that are flat on one side and pointy on the other. I think they're generally used for make-up. I bought them a long time ago (don't know what for) and was just about to throw them out but then I decided I could probably use them for something in miniatures.

I sat down at my table today and saw the whole box. And to my surprise I saw that the "stems" were clear plastic and actually hollow.
And so I got the idea for test tubes!

Half assembled stand and "test tubes". And the q-tip I made them from. The "test tubes" don't have a rounded bottom but I drilled slightly deeper holes in the bottom of the stand so I think they look pretty realistic. The bottom is made from pearwood and the sides are made from 1mm thick veneer. Had to cut that very carefully. I did try it with 3mm veneer but I think it all looked too bulky.

And the finished result. I decided to paint the stand antique gold, I think it adds a certain magical touch to the whole thing.

The test tubes are 1cm long and 2mm in diameter. The whole stand is 3,1cm long.

These will look great on Faye's table. I might try filling them but the holes are so small I think it would be nearly impossible. All in all I like how this turned out. 

Until next time!

*Poof*

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*