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*

Bat Books

Today I decided to make bat themed books and a few posters.
These books are opened for a change and they are dedicated to the study of bats, perfectly fit for a witch!

The burnt series. I recently watched a documentary about Medici, a powerful Italian family from Florence, who were probably the most responsible for starting the Renaissance. There was also a bit about the Inquisition, where the Church had a lot of books burnt. I like to imagine these books being saved from a fire :)

A few that escaped the fire...

In the back are the bat posters I made.... perfectly acceptable for a witch studying bats to have large detailed sketches.

I still have enough pages cut to make about 6 or 7 more, so tomorrow is probably going to be bat day too. I think it's just the most perfect theme for a witch! And I have some scroll pages already aged with coffee so I'm probably going to make some of those too.

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

Table with cabriole legs

Well, the last two days have been very educational for me. I finally got the courage to do research on how to make cabriole legs for tables, chairs,...
I still can't believe that I actually managed to make these legs, but I guess I have woodworking in my genes :)

Here is the making of the first two legs. The left one still needs a lot of sanding but the right one is starting to look like a decent leg.

And the table finished! It's a little over 6cm tall and the top is 7,5cm x 7,5cm. I know this isn't a side table and it's not a dining table, something in the middle.... I just wanted to see how/if these legs will even work. And I can stick it in a corner anyway and put witchy goodies on top. Perhaps an orrery? Isn't it fun when you can say your house is fantasy if you don't make something exactly like real life? 

A close up of the leg. I think I did quite well for my first try.

I always wondered how these tables were made. Luckily for me I know Mr. Google, hahaha!

And painted. But not varnished yet. I'm still deciding between shiny or matt varnish. In general shiny varnish would better suit this table, but for my whole witchy house I think matt would be better, since everything else will be mostly matt.

And just for fun I couldn't resist putting some trinkets on the table. It looks good!

And two new books on the floor.... the red and green one. They're made of real leather. I got a huge amount of real leather but I think most of it is too thick for book covers. I'll have to experiment a bit on that.

And this is it. I truly think I did a passable job of making a table with cabriole legs. I'll have to go hunting for reference photos so I can make some other furniture items with cabriole legs. Well, I think yesterday was very productively spent. The only thing I actually did today was glue the whole thing together and paint it. With all this kitchen remodeling it's not easy having time for minis. 

Oh, and finally I have a place where I can take pictures in!! Hooray! Although the walls still need something.... I'll have to see about making some pictures. At least not I have new cartridges for my HP so I can print in color again!

Well, until next time!

*Poof*

World Animal Day

Sooo... this post isn't going to be about minis. I just couldn't let this day go by without acknowledging World Animal Day. 

I'm a great animal lover and am lucky to have some of them living with me. So I wanted to take this day and remind everyone about loving your animals, and animals in general. Respect them and care for them and admire them!

Here are my furry friends:

Tiger

This "little" kitty is 8 years old. It's the best feeling in the world when you come home and he's there waiting for you, waiting to cuddle. If he feels like it, that is, hahaha

Aurora & Cassiopeia (Cassie)

And my two degus. These little "monsters" can decide to chew a log in the middle of the night and there's nothing I can do about it :) But I wouldn't trade them for anything! It's amazing how a little animal like this can understand a person so completely...

Well, this is the first non mini post, and there probably won't be a lot more of these, but this one is special!

*Poof*

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*