Dollhouse quilts

Enjoying a beautiful day today! It's also been a week since I got married and I am very much enjoying it! (Our honeymoon is in July.)

I've been doing little crafting lately, but am happy to share something I just started making - a dollhouse quilt. This isn't easy and I am not using any tutorials to make one. (But, maybe I'll make a tutorial if this turns out okay!)

I found a bag of tiny fabric scraps in our storage unit a few weeks ago when we were looking for a couple other items. I brought it back to the craft desk and set it aside until I decided to make a tiny quilt. I have a real-life lap quilt that I made last year out of African fabric and I am hoping to make one that (somewhat) matches.

I started on it yesterday. First I cut pieces of the fabric (they were in 2 inch x 2 inch squares) into 2 inch by 1/2 inch strips. I then sewed together different patterns with a 1/8" seam allowance.

This is what I have so far:

I am going to join these together so there will be sets of 4 strips. Then I am going to find a solid color in my stash and join the 4 patterned strips to a strip of solid color then to another strip of four and then continue this until I get the desired length of quilt. Then I will probably cut this in half so the strips are 1" wide. That might look better. We will see!

As you can see, I cut and sewed quite a bit yesterday.

This is a pile of strips pinned together. I just need to sew them to get a group of four strips. :) Now, to raid my stash for a solid color. :-)

I'll keep you all updated about how this works out!

Amazing metalwork tutorial

Via the Greenleaf forum (if you haven't been there yet, you should check it out!), I was introduced to this great Japanese blog that shows how to do some very adorable miniature metalwork. I love that they include pictures to show how it was done for those who (like me) cannot read Japanese. It looks like you need a thin sheet of metal, shears, at least two handles for miniature drills for twisting the metal, needlenose pliers, adhesive or solder, and spray paint.

Tutorial Tuesday: Quick Books!

I think each miniaturist has their own way of making books. Some skillful artisans craft very realistic books with tiny printed pages and beautiful binding that take a lot of time and effort (and look amazing). Others might buy some of the blank books that are out there in many miniature shops. But many of us, with less time, perhaps, need something quick (and cheap!) to fill up a bookshelf.

Today, that was my goal: to make some books that are quick and easy to fill up space in my historical society bookshelf. This is what I did (and I don't take full credit for this idea, as I am sure I've been inspired by others I've seen online - but can't quite remember who at the moment...). Anyway, here's what you need:

- a piece of scrap wood that you can easily cut to the size of books you need. I used the extra pieces of wood you get with art canvases. I never use them for whatever their intended purpose is...
- some white or off-white paint and brush
- brown Kraft paper (used for wrapping parcels)
- covers of the books you'd like to make shrunk down to size on your computer (I use Gimp photo imaging software - it's free and very easy to use, especially if you know how to use Photoshop)

Hint: If you have a color inkjet printer, you will definitely want to seal your book covers after printing - Mod-podge is a quick and easy solution. I have a color laser printer, so it's probably not completely necessary, but I do it anyway, just in case. (And it looks nice!)

Step 1: Measure the size of your book (using a cut out cover as a guide) onto your piece of wood.

Step 2: Cut the wood! Use what you have in your stash - a miter box and saw, an X-acto knife, or an Easy Cutter (my favorite tool!)

Step 3: Paint the edges of your block of wood. You only need to paint one long edge and both short edges. These are your "pages". :)

Step 4: Cover the book (except for the "pages" of course) with the Kraft paper.

Heck, you could leave it like this for school text books!

Step 5: Glue on your cover!

This tutorial is especially good for books that you plan to display as above, with the front covers facing out. I didn't put any printing on the spine of the books, but you could certainly do so. There are some great book printie sites out there where you can find some modern and antique book covers. :)

I hope this was useful! If you have any questions about something I did, I will be happy to add it in to this tutorial.

Cheers,
Linda

Glencroft bathroom

So I took today to work on some finer details. I am going to go room by room as I do this (to focus my energy on one thing at a time and to not distract myself too much!). So today I worked on the bathroom. Here's what it looks like now:

You can compare this with my post from a couple days ago here.

Highlights include: new sink, repainted bathtub, new bath mats, towels, and a new screen.

First, the sink:

How I did it:
Well, I wanted a modern sink that matched the bathtub that I also made (with a Japanese flair), so I looked through my stash to see what I had. Luckily, I had been to a Tuesday Morning recently and grabbed one of these Tim Holtz Configurations boxes (for $4.99!). As you can see, it's one big box with a bunch of little boxes inside that you can use for multimedia projects. I wrapped one of those smaller boxes (that had just the right dimensions for a sink - these are lovely "to scale" pieces) in masking tape. Then I painted it in an acrylic color called "Transparent Red Oxide" which gives that great reddish tint. I had done the same to the bathtub too.
I poked a hole close to the open side of the box to fit a bent paper clip through for the faucet. The bowl of the sink is a wooden mini bowl painted with white acrylic and glossed with varnish until it shines. The "drain" is a piece of brass metal tape that I cut out with a hole punch. I drew in the lines around the drain with an artist marker. As you can see the open side of the box is against the wall. If you wanted, you could add a door or shelves and leave that part exposed. Perhaps even a little curtain across the front could work too, depending on your decor style.
I also added a little towel bar on the side, too. :)

As you can see I did make some towels for the bathroom. I had some linen napkins in my stash that I had found at an antique store and cut one into the correct dimensions for a towel, hand towel and washcloth. I edged the bath and hand towels with some cute ribbon I had on hand.

I also made a bath mat and toilet rug:

Those were simple as I cut up an old kitchen towel we had, but no longer use. It gave that "shaggy" texture that, to me at least, seems right to scale.

Also, as you can see above, I replaced the Asian screen with a lighter, smaller screen that fits in well. I loved the other one, but with the sink installed, it didn't fit in the room. I will definitely be using it in another room or another project.

And, yes, I finally gave this house a door! :) You can see the results below - indoors and out. :)

(PS: I am sorry I didn't post pictures of the sink as I went. :) I really wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. But if anyone is interested, perhaps I could make a photo/video tutorial.)

Mini books and a sidewalk

I am starting small (no pun intended!) in getting back to crafting minis, so I made up two books I got in a kit I bought from minikitz.com that I had in my stash for a few years. They are a medieval manuscript and an herbal. Both would fit in my herbal shop, so that's where they shall go.

Speaking of the herb shop, it needed a sidewalk leading up the door. In the picture below, you can see that the line where the two sheets of grass meet and, well, that won't do.

So, I took a thin piece of basswood, cut it to size, glued on some Paperclay and carved in lines between the flagstones. Once that dried, I painted the walkway and added a coat of varnish. Here's the finished product.

The paint and the cracks in the paperclay give it a nice weathered look. I need to go to a craft store and pick up more landscaping materials, so I can fill in the space along the sidewalk. Maybe I'll do that this weekend; we'll see. I really want to do some work on the Glencroft.

Lots of inspiration this evening though, much of which will result in a few blog posts in the very near future: an entry on Dutch Colonial houses (for inspiration) and some book reviews (as inspired by this entry in the Greenleaf forums).

Here's most of the dollhouse/miniature books on my shelf, which I will start with, if I do some reviews...(this will make me sit down and carefully read these instead of just looking at the eyecandy inside. ;) ).

I have a few others (The Big Book of the Dolls' House by Jean Nisbett, to name one) that don't fit on this shelf.

TREES!

I started to make a tree for one of my projects. So far, I have finished the skeleton. I wanted to share this method, as I am pretty much making it up as I go.

I used a wire hanger, masking tape and wire. I shaped the hanger into a trunk and roots. I wrapped it in masking tape. Then, I took wire, cut lengths, taped them to the wire the trunk and covered those in tape. Lather, rinse, repeat. :)

This is the result:

A closeup, you can see the masking tape. I added secondary branches with the same method.


Here's an idea of scale: it's next to my herb shop and my Alison.
Next steps include: covering it with paperclay, painting it, finding/making leaves, and attaching those leaves.