My new dollhouse build from foam board

My new blog is up and running. I hope you will be a part of my journey and that my dollhouse story will interest you!

http://thekinfelddollhouse.blogspot.com/

A new 1:12-scale dollhouse build

I will be launching a new sister blog in January 2016 to represent my newest build, The Kinfeld.

Be sure to "Follow" it once it's up and running because it will be full of great tips, and fun photos! I will announce the launch here.
This house will be made from foam board and cardboard in 1:12 scale. I have been playing with this idea for a long time and have finally took it on.
Because I love creating fun stories and characters, once the build is complete it will be an ongoing photo journal about the spirited family that moves in and I will also be sharing lots of tutorials as I make items for the inside.
Here is a sneak peak of what will soon be a three-story Victorian style home with a modern touch.
More detail about the build will be on the new blog once it's up.

This is Bradley, my mini-carpenter. 

Sigh...asleep on the job, again!

Miniature Christmas garland

What better way to dress up the stairs and fireplace than to add a festive string of garland with big red bows!

This is a super easy little project that will definitely be more fun with Christmas music playing. So set up a Pandora Christmas station or line up some holiday CDs in your player and let’s get creative!

Cut a thin green wire the length of your garland. Fold the end over.

Pinch off three small sections, of lycopodium, also known as prince's pine,princess pine or erica moss. 

Wrap green thread around the small bunch as well as the wire about five times and then overlay another bunch and wrap the thread around where the two bunches meet and then down to the end of that second bunch.

Basically you want each bunch of three to overlap over and over down the line.

Then add another bunch and wrap the thread in the same way and the same direction you did the very first two.

Continue this until you get to the desired length.

Once you come to the end of the strand put a dap of glue there and wrap the thread into it. Bend the end of the wire into the glue as well and let it dry.

Once dry you can snip the thread away. 

Use a small pair of scorers to trim the garland shorter if desired.

There is a new mini show in town! 
This will be the one to go to in Chicago next spring. I will be there. Will you?

http://www.theminiatureshow.com/

Weave a miniature basket with no wires!

The beautiful angle wing candleholder and vintage rabbit book were gifts from Pricilia at TresPetite Dollhouse Miniatures on Etsy.


This is a faster way to weave a wicker bowl without having to struggle with many pieces of wire. Choose a paper close to the color of the basket you wish to make. I used regular thin paper, but you can try a thicker paper or even thin vinyl would work. I will say the gentler you are with your string as you weave, the easier it will be using thin paper. You also want to find the thinnest hemp string that you can.

Trace the pattern onto your paper. Cut out using a craft knife.

Tuck the hemp string into one of the slots and secure it against the back base with your finger.

Begin to interweave the string around the pattern. Go over and under the tabs.

As you weave around gently pull a bit tighter to make the tabs move upward to form the dish shape. Push the string down on the tabs as you go if there are gaps.

When you get to the height you want, cut the string and put a dab of glue on the end of it and tuck it under the other strings with a toothpick.

Trim away all the excess paper with scissors, flipping the basket up and over for each tab so you can see the highest strings on the tabs and don’t accidentally cut them.

Cut three 8” pieces of string and tie a knot at the end. Tape it to your cutting board.

Braid the string nice and snug and then tie the end into a knot.

Put some glue on the end, just before the knot, on the top and bottom of the braid with the toothpick.

Run Tacky Glue around the top of the basket using your toothpick.

Lay the braid along the glue, pressing it down as you go.

Snip of the glued end of the braid in the center of the area you glued before the knot. Press it to the basket edge.

Put glue under and over the other end of the braid right where it meets the end you just cut. Snip in the center of that glued area and press it to the end to complete the circle.

Spread some glue on the base and begin wrapping the string from the outside in, until it’s completely covered. Do the same for the base if you wish.

You can use a toothpick to move the strings on the tab if you see areas where the paper shows through. This is why you want a paper close in color to the string.

Make your template small for a smaller bowl. You can also use embroidery thread or even thin yarn in pretty colors for this project. If you do that then you can put coordinating fabric on the base instead of wrapping the thread.
Get your groove on and have fun weaving!

Just found this great conversion chart!

http://webpages.charter.net/sinkwich/sdventure/html/sd_scalecalc2.htm

Merry Mini Christmas!!

Do you see little Bat?

Miniature cottage windows

I finally finished making the little windows to go in my new cottage. :-)

Still trying to figure out my new camera though. :-/
Can't seem to get it to focus on everything in the frame and not just the center point.
Anyway, they turned out pretty cool!

Now I just have to put them in. I made the handles from paper, but glued them at the wrong height so I had to flip the windows upside down and now the handles are at the correct height, but on the left side instead of the right. Haha Oh well, perhaps the resident is left handed!

Next up will be shutters!

Make a miniature Christmas stocking

I decided to add some stockings to my little fireplace for Christmas. Note that these stockings are before Santa pays a visit! If I only had a mini glass of milk and some cookies.

Trace the stocking pattern onto the backside of the fabric. Be sure to flip the pattern piece when you trace the second one.

With a very sharp craft knife, cut the corners as shown on pattern (dotted lines on pattern).

Use a toothpick to spread Tacky Glue along the edge of the stocking and fold over the extra fabric. I use the other end of the toothpick to fold and press each piece. Press again as you go to be sure the fold stays down.

Cut some felt to fit inside the stocking.

Using your toothpick run glue all around the edges, but not the top opening of the stocking. Press the pieces together and keep pinching until they are adhered.

Once dry, use sharp scissors to trim away anything that is not even around the edges.

Use your choice of trimming around the top. Glue the trimming on.

Wrap embroidery thread around a 1/2" wide piece of mat board 3 times and cut.

Thread a needle and insert it at the top and pull through until you have enough thread to tie two knots. Trim thread off the needle so you have at least one piece of thread about 4” long.

Push the craft knife under the thread at the base of the wrapped thread and slice it off the board.

Pinch the top and push the threaded needle through the pinched area and then wrap in around about seven times. Then push the needle through wrap and push it through again. Snip the thread off close to the tassel.

Lay the tassel on your cutting board and run the tip of the needle through the embroidery thread to open up the strands. Press in between fingers to shape.

Put a dab of glue on your finger and twist it up the tassel string on the top. Let dry.

Put a blob of glue inside the back of the stocking. Position the tassels where you want them and pinch them against stocking. Snip the threads on the top of the tassels and push them inside the stocking into the glue with a toothpick. Pinch and hold until set.

If needed put a bit of glue behind the tassels to keep them against the stocking.

 There are so many styles you can make! Have fun!

antiqued mirror in miniature

I was given this little mirror as a gift and I knew right away I wanted it to be an attic treasure. After researching online about how to age a mirror I found some really cool techniques for a life size mirror using a piece of glass, but had to come up with my own solution for a mini mirror.

It's a pretty basic technique, but I thought maybe someone out there would like to know...

First, I used a course brush to stipple on some grey paint and dabbed it immediately with a crumpled up napkin. Then stippled spots of black and dabbed it again.

 

I cut a piece of shiny acetate and put it in the mirror hole and then put the mirror in behind it.
Even though old mirrors are chipped and discolored the fronts are still shiny. Because the paint dulled the shine, the acetate helped to give it a shiny effect.

I painted the mirror cream and rubbed some brown charcoal on it with a course brush before I assembled it. Such a fun addition to the attic!

Miniature grandfather clock shelf

I finally found some time to make this piece I have been thinking about!

I managed to take some photos during the process. I hope this tutorial inspires you to make one of your own.

Cut out the patterns on mat board. I used a very sharp craft blade.

NOTE: When cutting out the clock face backing and cupboard door frame, use cereal box cardboard.

Gently sand the edges if necessary for the two side pieces. I used a foam-centered nail file.

Using yellow wood glue, run glue along the edges of the back piece and brace it between the two side pieces with a toothpick. I used two small square boxes with some weight to them to help brace everything while it dried.

Put glue on the back and side edges of the 5 shelf pieces and slide them into the appropriate slots.

Put glue on the top edges of the shelf and glue on the top piece. The back of the top should be flush to the back of the shelf. Brace the top against another box.

Glue the base front on and then both side bases. Gently stand it up to be sure its even when the glue just starts to set. When you are happy turn it over and coat some wood glue on the inside corners.

Score the corners on the cupboard door frame with the back of your blade and glue the thin cardboard molding onto the cupboard door.

Glue in cupboard insets.

Glue in clock face insets. The door will rest on these, one above and below.

Glue the clock face onto the thin-board clock face backing.

Glue the cap on top and once set, glue the two tops onto that.

Once glue is dry, paint entire piece and the clock face door frame (do not assemble this piece yet). Sand and apply paint until you are happy.

Drill holes for knobs on cupboard and clock face door.

Glue the clock face door on. Put glue on front edge of top shelf and the top edge of clock face door. Set in, careful the door does not fall into the clock at the top. Add acetate to back of door if you want glass there.

Put a dab of Tacky Glue on the curve of the cap, let it dry just a bit and then place bead on the glue. Glue seed bead on top of bead. Let dry and then paint.

Please keep in mind there may be piece you have to test fit first and trim a bit. It will depend on how you place your pieces together. Things may be off just a hair.

Francisco del Pozo Parés

I wanted to share this link. It was sent to me by Francisco del Pozo Parés. I am in the process of featuring his amazing miniature lighting in Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine - Jan/Feb. He is also a brilliant dollhouse designer/builder. He is from Spain and has a background in architecture and it shows!
I think you will love this!

http://www.fineminiaturesforum.com/index.php?/topic/456-building-materials-fa%C3%A7ades-ceilings-finishings/

~Auralea

Miniature Scarecrow

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Fall is here! I couldn't stop envisioning a scarecrow surrounded by pumpkins so I had to figure out how to make one.

I made his outfit and then used Raffia that was bound in bundles with very thin wire and added thicker wire inside each bundle. I slipped a bundle straight through the shirt from one arm to the other arms and then two pieces in the pant legs up to the chest and bent the arms hips and legs to pose him. Then I trimmed the raffia and pulled apart the thicker pieces to make them thinner. I will do a step-by-step tutorial when I have time to make another one. This one was an experiment, so I needed to be sure it worked first. 

The Pumpkins

I used natural dried gourds as well as a few painted one on the left. You can buy these from the last of my inventory here. (scroll down to the bottom once you click the link).

 


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The hat is super easy and quick.

I used cross-stitch fabric and made the top section by wetting it and pulling it over an object to shape it. I used a rubber band to hold it in place over a hammer tip. Sprayed it with hairspray and let it dry overnight.

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Then trim it out and place it on more of that fabric and cut a circle around it at least 3/4" out from the top of the hat area.

 
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I used a circle template to gauge the circumference of the top and centered that on my circle rim. Draw the circle and cut out the center. Snip all around the base of the top piece making 1/8" snips.

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Slip it up inside the rim and put glue all around then flatted the snipped pieces down on the underside of the hat. Once dry, trim the rim all around even more if needed. Spin the hat in your hand as you scratch your nail along the edge to make it look tattered.

I painted mine with craft paint and pressed the top down to shape it. Once dry trim with ribbon or braided needlepoint thread and add a flower!

 So much fun! I hope you have a wonderful fall season. :)