Ophelia's Dollhouse Attic

The eerie attic is coming along. Sooooooo many craft sticks!

For the walls with the wallpaper, I only did a small area of craft sticks, then glued down mat board for the rest of the wall. This way when the wallpaper went down there was no noticeable edges to the wood spots.

I started with the floor by gluing down wider craft sticks and staining them with water based wood stain. Then I brushed a gray wash over them a few times to give the impression of many years of dirt and dust.

Once I got all of the wall/ceiling craft sticks glued down, I stained them with a water based wood stain then put a red and brown paint wash over them. One that was dry I did a black wash in all of the corners and edges. The wallpaper was scrapbook paper that already had an aged look. I used Yes paste to paste it down then ripped it and smacked it with a steeped teabag. Haha I can't say I have ever smacked any thing with a steeped teabag before! I still have to darken the paper edges a bit more, but it's definitely headed in the direction I hoped it would.

Making Bigfoot

After dropping off all of their picnic items, I can only assume that the carefree picnickers made their way down to the nearby stream to wade in the water and search for minnows. Because this spot at the park has always been a good place to find food, Bigfoot never strays too far away. With a watchful eye he crept out of the forest and made his way swiftly to the table. Completely uninterested in the Frisbee or the straw hat, he flipped open the picnic basket lid and began digging through it. First, he grabbed a fist full of grapes, and then he ripped open the bag of potato chips and made a mess of himself as he devoured them. To his delight, he discovered two turkey and cheese sandwiches wrapped in napkins with care. As quick as the napkins had fallen to the ground Bigfoot was sitting comfortably on the bench with two fits full of lunch. Unaware that there is a curious little girl who has spotted him through the fence, Bigfoot inhales his turkey sandwiches.

This project was loads of fun. It all started last Thanksgiving morning when I sculpted him from polymer clay and put him in the oven. Luckily my holiday feast was elsewhere, so a turkey didn’t interrupt his baking time. After painting him using craft paints, I began to adhere the hair. Luckily, I had some left over brown Viscose that I had used for making mini dolls years ago. I cut it in short sections and used a paintbrush to apply Tacky Glue on him, starting at his ankles and then worked my way up. I spread out the short clumps of hair and press it onto him.

I have a long history with Bigfoot, which started in my childhood. When I was a little girl I would lead Bigfoot hunts with the other children in our woods. For some reason, I always thought if I found him we would be good friends. :)
Checkout the February issue of American Miniaturist (AM130) magazine to see more of my Bigfoot!