Miniature Monday: Wine Barrels

1/12th scale wine barrels on stands by Wright Guide Miniatures.

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Miniature Monday: Easy Books Made from a Magazine, Tutorial

Make miniature books from your old magazines using these simple steps.

Find a magazine that is as thick as a miniature book. It has to be glue bound and not stapled.  I'm using an old Rolling Stone magazine that is 1/8" thick.  I was purging, and wondering why I had a stack of magazines the same size from 2011.  I was honestly shaking my head about my hoarding ways, until I remembered what I had planned on using them for. Now I feel rich!!

I used my T-Square to get an accurate cut as possible.  You're going to use the spine of the magazine as the spine of your mini books.  I cut about 5/8" from the spine.  This is the width of the book.

Cut your books the desired height, mine are 3/4" tall.  I used my T-square again, but I found that when I got closer to the bottom, I had more control without it.

I then covered the books with book cover printouts (re-sized from the internet), leather scraps, origami and scrapbook papers.  I also resized some handwritten journal pages and made a few open books.  The way the pages fan out are perfect.  If you need to, you can slide a bit of glue in between any pages that don't want to lay as they should. While the glue is wet, shape the pages.

This is a quick alternative to cutting individual sheets to make the pages of your miniature books that gives you a more realistic look than wood blocks.  Remember to use a fresh blade in your craft knife and take your time cutting.  You should use several slow strokes to keep your blade steady. I was able to make all of the books in the photo from one magazine spine.  Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for stopping by!

Miniature Monday: Artist's Corner In A Lantern

I purchased a lantern from Michael's and created a small miniature scene as a gift for my graduating niece's high school Guidance Counselor.

The first thing I worked on was the flooring.  Since the only opening was at the top, I used index cards to make a pattern of the inside.  I then transferred that pattern onto thick cardboard (actually the back of a watercolor paper pad).  I soon realized that I wouldn't be able to fit the floor through the small opening, and cut the cardboard in half.  I also carefully marked the front and back so that I would not have a problem fitting everything snugly.  Those corners were tricky to cut!

I used craft sticks and my small table saw to create the flooring; cutting off the rounded edges, then sanding them smooth.

To ensure I had enough, I laid them out on top of the cardboard.  Since this was a small floor, I only needed to cut 2 sizes in order to get the look I wanted.

I used Gorilla Wood Glue and Quick Hold to adhere the wooden craft sticks to the cardboard, then placed a sheet of wax paper and heavy books on top so they wouldn't warp while drying.  I left this to dry overnight. I wanted the flooring to be a bit rough looking, but I was still careful to make sure none of the glue seeped through the planks.  I used the table saw and an x-acto knife to cut any planks that were not flush with the edge of the cardboard.

 This detail shows the slight overlap of the wooden strips that covered the seam beautifully!

When you're working on something like this, dry fit at each stage to be sure everything still lines up perfectly.  I used the same 2 glues to adhere the completed flooring to the bottom of the lantern and put bottles of paint to weigh it all down while it dried.

To cover the top of the lantern, I used a 1/8th inch thick piece of basswood and craft sticks.  The craft sticks fit perfectly into the opening and kept the cover in place.

Now it was time to go through my miniature stash to find art studio related items to put into the scene.  This honestly took longer than the flooring!!  Once selected, I glued everything in with tacky glue and the scene was done!

If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thanks for stopping by!

Miniature Monday: Hookahs and other stuff

When I was working on my market place, I made a ton of hookahs and other bottles from jewelry findings.  I needed so many fillers for the shelves and floor. These are a few that didn't make it into the scene.

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Miniature Monday: A Girl and Her Carriage

Today is the first day of Spring (but it was freezing cold in NYC.)    This little lovely, her carriage and teddy bear were created by Karen's Mini Bears.  She has the sweetest face and is ready for the warm weather.

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Miniature Monday: Dolls in Blue

A few lovelies from my collection.  I pulled them out to photograph them and noticed they were all wearing blue!

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Miniature Monday: Flowers from my Collection

These flowers are from Artistic Florals Miniatures.  They are new to my collection.

Aren't they lovely?  What are you collecting lately?

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Miniature Monday: Books Books and More Books

I am in a miniature book making frenzy!

I took a workshop with Teresa Layman in October.  Her website is HERE.   This is a picture of her prototype for Natalie's Garden House (of course mine is still in progress and I hope it eventually looks this amazing!):

I'm planning  to make a circular bookshelf for a part of the back wall and need tons of books. I've been making books for the last few weeks and wanted to share my progress so far:

I also wanted to share the sources of reference material that I especially loved for miniature book making.  I looked at so many You Tube videos, purchased kits, looked at tutorials on full size books, and made my own book spines to print out.  I started out feeling pretty ambitious wanting all the books to have open pages.  I quickly realized that the books that barely show don't need that level of detail and moved on to the next (easier) technique.  For the assortment above, I used about five different types of materials for the pages.

YouTube Channels and the Tutorials I watched:

DollhouseDesigns  Making Miniature Dollhouse Books
We Love Miniatures  How to Make Miniature Books
AkameruKawaii  Miniature Scrolls & Spell Books
Maive Ferrando  Miniature Spell Books Tutorial
The Mouse Mansion  Miniature Books Tutorial
The Square to Spare  How to Make Miniature Books


Kits that I purchased:

Mini Mundus - 89 Small Antiquarian Book Covers  - I purchased this kit a very long time ago when images of open books weren't readily available on the internet.  I picked it up at a show, but this link is the actual company that makes the kits.  They sell 3 different book cover kits and book cases. The quality is amazing and since these books look new, they will provide a nice variety on my shelves alongside the old tattered books.

LDelaney's Miniature Book Kit and Tutorial (Etsy) -  Visit Lady Delaney's Etsy shop not just for the great book kit but also a wide variety of books that are already done and available for purchase.

I hope this is helpful!  I'll keep you guys posted on my progress.

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Miniature Monday: En Provence

En Provence was the very first workshop that I attended with my favorite instructor Bluette Meloney.  It is a small project with an 8x10 frame.

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Miniature Monday: Beach Hut

Today I'm sharing my 1/12th scale Beach Hut.  The original instructions for the structure were in the Miniature Collector Magazine.  This version is slightly modified.  The base was configured in such a way that I was able to create the illusion of a beach with paint, craft sand and resin.
 

Since this was a club project, everyone pitched in to teach a different mini.  We also had a gift exchange and I made 30 of those outdoor showers for everyone in the club.

The palm trees were surprisingly easy to make and I think they look amazing!

I had this beach bum in my collection.  He really knows how to soak in the sun! The small boogie boards were created by my young son who wanted to contribute.  I purchased and made way too many things for this project, and the fish cart didn't make it in because it was too big.  I love the details the artist put into it though and wanted to share it with you guys.

The back wall is actually removable as one unit.  I made it with mat board, wood strips and thin sheet metal.  

Please do let me know if you have any questions!! Thanks for stopping by.